“And now, Israel, listen.” (Deut. 4:1) Israel is a people who have become accustomed to not having images of God. His Word is sufficient for them. God is a God who speaks, who guides them on what they should do or not do in order to become “a great nation” of wise and intelligent men. […]
“All those who are apparently hidden or ‘second in line’ have an unparalleled role in the history of salvation…” “Faith does not distance us from the world, but inserts us more deeply into it,” says Pope Francis speaking of Saint Joseph. “We must go deep into the world, but with the power of prayer. Each
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“One is your teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters.” (Mt. 23:1-12) The invitation that Jesus makes to us today is radical. The ‘synodal’ community that He proposes to us demands the renunciation of appearances, of the social scales that place some people higher than others. to strengthen the name of the “Father”, which
“We have sinned.” (Dan. 9:5) Today the liturgy brings us back to the penitential attitudes that run through this Lenten season. It expects from the Church a change, a renewal, a walk in the ways of God. Francis’ pontificate has had that purpose: the reform of the Church. He promotes the goal to overcome the
“Go first to be reconciled to your brother.” (Mt. 5:24) It would be worth noting that in “The Sermon on the Mount,” a profile of the Christian in the Gospel of Matthew, the first commandment is V: Thou shalt not kill. And, among the counsels that Jesus gives, which go beyond the Law, there is
“If your son asks for bread, will you give him a stone?” (Mt. 7:7-10) Today the texts invite us to visit, in the Old Testament, the Book of Esther: the prayer of a woman who touches the heart of God on behalf of her people. Let’s examine our prayer and look at its goals, our
“Mercy, my God, by your goodness…” (Ps. 50) On this beautiful Lenten journey, the Psalmist puts on our lips the words of David, repentant. The Babylonians, too, repented at Jonah’s preaching. It is us that Jesus invites us to recognize in Him, ‘the sign of Jonah’. Jesus calls his generation “perverse” (Mt. 12:38). They have
“When you pray, do not use too many words.” (Mt. 6:7) And yet, we do not want to leave the silent and permanent communion “with the one who we know loves us” (St. Teresa). Teresa tells us to sit next to Jesus and watch him speak with his “Abba”; she really teaches us to pray,
“Come, you who are blessed by my Father…” (Mt. 25:31-46) Where do your goods come from? If you think: it comes from my luck, you are an atheist, says St. Basil, if by God, they have a purpose…. But you, who wrap your goods in the folds of an insatiable avarice… Who is the miser?
“Do not neglect your own.” (Isaiah 58:7) But does religious fasting still exist? A fast to try to convince God that we are good, or that we are rightly repairing our faults? “The fast that God wants is to loosen the unrighteous chains, to loosen the straps of the yoke, to free the oppressed, to
