Jesus is the Life that gives life on earth and for eternity.

XIII Sunday Ordinary Time - Year B - June 30, 2024

Roman Rite

Wis 1.13-15; 2,23-24; Ps 30; 2Cor 8,7.9.13-15; Mk 5: 21-43

 

Ambrosian Rite

VI Sunday after Pentecost

Ex 3,1-15; Ps 68; 1Cor 2: 1-7; Mt 11.27-30

 

 

1) The one who touches Life heals. The one who is touched by Life rises.

 This XIII Sunday in Ordinary Time’ s Gospel presents Jesus Christ healing a woman, whose sickness was worsening despite the long and costly cares, and resuscitating a young girl awakening her from the sleep of death.

Therefore, is the Messiah a healer and a thaumaturgic man who offers to a humanity always looking for effective treatment the answer to its sufferings, defeating disease and death?

Jesus was sent by the Father not to go where science and medicine failed, or to realize the utopia of a world without pain and without death.

The miracles performed by Christ are, together with the preaching, the good news that announces that the liberation offered by God has come into the world giving back to man his dignity as child of God, reuniting man to his God, and giving life back to him . 

Faith is needed to truly welcome this Gospel (= good news). In fact, the account of two miracles does not draw attention to these two prodigious facts, but to the faith of those who ask for them. Faith is indispensable to the miracle. Jesus does not perform miracles to force, at any cost, the human heart. Miracles are signs in favor of faith, but they do not diminish the courage to believe. Miracles are a gift, a response to the sincerity of the man who seeks the Lord: they do not serve where there is closure and obstinacy. This is why the Messiah does not perform miracles where men claim to be the ones to establish the modalities of God's action.

Therefore, even in these two cases the miracle is a gift of the free initiative of God, who answers lovingly to those who humbly ask.

Let us take a closer look at the two facts:

The miracle of healing of the woman who suffered blood loss would have let itself very well to underlining the power of Jesus. To this woman it was enough to touch the garment of Jesus to be healed. However, Saint Mark does not emphasize this aspect, but emphasizes the hidden but full of faith gesture of the sick woman.

Why does the woman wish not to be noticed and Jesus, instead, seems to do everything to emphasize her gesture?

The law declared impure the woman who had blood loss, and impure to touch her. This is why the woman touches Jesus' dress in secret, taking advantage of the crowd. This is why she feels so guilty, frightening and trembling when she sees herself discovered. It is for the same reason that Jesus gives publicity to what has happened: to declare publicly, in front of everyone, that he does not feel impure after having been touched by the woman. He goes beyond the legal purity and impurity and looks at the faith of the woman to whom he says: "Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed of your evil "(Mk 5: 34). She becomes a daughter, regenerated in the power of Jesus, through the door of faith that has "saved" her before "healing" her. She can now go in peace, healed from the root of evil, because first she was "saved". The audacity of her faith has opened the heart of God: touching Jesus means pure and adult faith in which to abandon oneself to him even from the depths of the gravest sin. In fact, faith is touching Jesus, dragging him into our half-dead and impure life. It is to make him aware that he has saved us. It means "forcing" the power that the Lord Jesus seems to be incapable of controlling.

It is still faith at the center of the healing of the daughter of Jairus: "Do not be afraid, only have faith" (Id. 5, 36).

It is faith in the power of Jesus, a power capable of reaching the person in his or her particular situation, and, in this case, victorious even over death.

Faith is a very human and vital act that tends to life and opposes death. Faith is an act of intelligence and an abandonment of the will, which makes us adhere to God like a child clinging to the mother's chest. Then, like children with a simple heart, let us remain confident in the arms of God.

 

 

2) Persevering faith in the resurrection

Commenting on these two miracles, Pope Francis said, "The message is clear, and can be summarized in a question: do we believe that Jesus can heal us and awaken us from death? The whole Gospel is written in the light of this faith: Jesus has risen, he has conquered death, and for this victory we too will be resurrected "(Words at the Angelus of June 29, 2015).

This Sunday’s liturgy of the Word invites us to live in the certainty of the resurrection: "Jesus is the Lord, Jesus has power over evil and death, and wants to take us to the Father's house where life reigns. We will all meet there, all of us who are here in the square today will meet in the house of the Father, in the life that Jesus will give us "(Id). Therefore, the Resurrection of Christ acts in history as a principle of renewal and hope. If anyone who is desperate and tired to death entrusts himself to Jesus and to his love, he or she can begin to live again. What does it mean to live if you do not share the vital love that the Lord gives? In fact, in today's Gospel we see Jesus sharing the sorrow of Jairus, one of the leaders of the synagogue who has a seriously ill 12-year-old daughter, and the suffering of the sick woman. To her, he gives back the ability to give life, to the other he gives life so that she can meet Life: Himself.

To those who thirsty for life, “To those who suffer, God does not provide arguments which explain everything; rather, his response is that of an accompanying presence, a history of goodness which touches every story of suffering and opens up a ray of light. "(Lumen Fidei, 57).

In the same way as he entered the house of Jairus and became present to his little daughter taking her by the hand, Christ takes us by the hand and intertwines his life with ours, which receives Life forever.

Like that little girl, Christ lifts us up, makes us rise again. We receive love from Him and return love to Him.

When this love is completely given to God, it is called virginity.

The consecrated Virgins in the world testify that virginity is the highest way of loving and of living God. Their life as virgins is a testimony of God's love and the manifestation of the wisdom of the heart received from Christ. With their life totally given to God these women "preach the gospel of Virginity" according to which "faith is not a decorative, ornamental thing. To live faith is not to decorate life with a little bit of religion "(Pope Francis), but it is the basic criterion for living truly.

With humility and with loving faith, the consecrated Virgins in the world have given themselves to Christ, to whose Word they listen constantly through the assiduous reading of the Bible. They reach out into the world as gospel of Virginity " to more ardently love Christ and serve with more free dedication their brothers and sisters "(Premises of the Rite of Consecration of the Virgins). This is why the apostolic exhortation Vita Consecrata attributes to them a sort of "spiritual magisterium" which places them as "expert guides of spiritual life" (Vita Consecrata, n. 55). They teach us to live faith with the heart, to listen to his Word so that it becomes flesh in them as it happened to Mary, and to be true evangelizers carrying into the world the Word of God that is light to our steps.

 

 

                                                                 Patristic reading

                                                                    Golden Chain

                                                                   On Mk 5:35-43

 

 

Theophylact: Those who were about the ruler of the synagogue, thought that Christ was one of the prophets, and for this reason they thought that they should beg of Him to come and pray over the damsel. But because she had already expired, they thought that He ought not to be asked to do so.
Therefore it is said, "While He yet spake, there came messengers to the ruler of the synagogue, which said, Thy daughter is dead; why troublest thou the Master any further?"
But the Lord Himself persuades the father to have confidence.
For it goes on, "As soon as Jesus heard the word which was spoken, He saith to the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid; only believe."
Augustine: It is not said that he assented to his friends who brought the tidings and wished to prevent the Master from coming, so that our Lord's saying, "Fear not, only believe," is not a rebuke for his want of faith, but was intended to strengthen the belief which he had already. But if the Evangelist had related, that the ruler of the synagogue joined the friends who came from his house, in saying that Jesus should not be troubled, the words which Matthew relates him to have said, namely, that the damsel was dead, would then have been contrary to what was in his mind.
It goes on, "And He suffered no man to follow Him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James."
Theophylact: For Christ in His lowliness would not do any thing for display.
It goes on, "And He cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly."
Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: But He Himself commands them not to wail, as if the damsel was not dead, (p. 102) but sleeping.
Wherefore it says, "And when He was come in, He saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth."
Pseudo-Jerome: It was told the ruler of the synagogue, Thy daughter is dead. But Jesus said to him, She is not dead, but sleepeth. Bother are true, for the meaning is, She is dead to you, but to Me she is asleep.
Bede: For to men she was dead, who were unable to raise her up; but to God she was asleep, in whose purpose both the soul was living, and the flesh was resting, to rise again. Whence it became a custom amongst Christians, that the dead, who, they doubt not, will rise again, should be said to sleep.
It goes on, "And they laughed Him to scorn."
Theophylact: But they laugh at Him, as if unable to do any thing farther; and in this He convicts them of bearing witness involuntarily, that she was really dead whom He raised up, and therefore, that it would be a miracle if He raised her.
Bede: Because they chose rather to laugh at than to believe in this saying concerning her resurrection, they are deservedly excluded from the place, as unworthy to witness His power in raising her, and the mystery of her rising.
Wherefore it goes on, "But when He had put them all out, He taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with Him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying."
Chrys.: Or else, to take away all display, He suffered not all to be with Him; that, however, He might leave behind Him witnesses of His divine power, He chose His three chief disciples and the father and mother of the damsel, as being necessary above all. And He restores life to the damsel both by His hand, and by word of mouth.

Wherefore it says, "And He took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, Arise."
For the hand of Jesus, having a quickening power, quickens the dead body, and His voice raises her as she is lying.
Wherefore it follows, "And straightway the damsel arose and walked."
Jerome, Hier. ad Pam., Ep. 57: Some one may accuse the Evangelist of a falsehood in his explanation, in that he had added, "I say unto thee," when in Hebrew, "Talitha cumi" only means, "Damsel, arise;" but He adds, "I say unto thee, Arise," to express that His meaning was to call and command her.
It goes on, "For she was of the age of twelve years."
Gloss.: The Evangelist added this, (p. 103) to shew that she was of an age to walk. By her walking, she is shewn to have been not only raised up, but also perfectly cured.
It continues, "And they were astonished with a great astonishment."
Chrys., Hom. in Matt., 81: To shew that He had raised her really, and not only to the eye of fancy.
Bede: Mystically; the woman was cured of a bloody flux, and immediately after the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue is reported to be dead, because as soon as the Church of the Gentiles is washed from the stain of vice, and called daughter by the merits of her faith, at once the synagogue is broken up on account of its zealous treachery and envy; treachery, because it did not choose to believe in Christ; envy, because it was vexed at the faith of the Church.
What the messengers told the ruler of the synagogue, "Why troublest thou the Master any more," is said by those in this day who, seeing the state of the synagogue, deserted by God, believe that it cannot be restored, and therefore think that we are not to pray that it should be restored. But if the ruler of the synagogue, that is, the assembly of the teachers of the Law, determine to believe, the synagogue also, which is subjected to them, will be saved.
Further, because the synagogue lost the joy of having Christ to dwell in it, as its faithlessness deserved, it lies dead as it were, amongst persons weeping and wailing. Again, our Lord raised the damsel by taking hold of her hand, because the hands of the Jews, which are full of blood, must first be cleansed, else the synagogue, which is dead, cannot rise again. But in the woman with the bloody flux, and the raising of the damsel, is shewn the salvation of the human race, which was so ordered by the Lord, that first some from Judaea, then the fulness of the Gentiles, might come in, and so all Israel might be saved. Again, the damsel was twelve years old, and the woman had suffered for twelve years, because the sinning of unbelievers was contemporary with the beginning of the faith of believers.
Wherefore it is said, "Abraham believed on God, and it was counted to him for righteousness." (Gn 15,6)
(ed. note: Bede's own words are rather more clear than those in the Catena: "That is, the woman began to be afflicted at the same time as the damsel was born; for nearly at the same period of the world the synagogue began to arise amongst the patriarchs, and the race of Gentiles throughout the world to be polluted with idolatry.")
(p. 104)
Greg., Mor. 4, 27: Morally again, our Redeemer raised the damsel in the house, the young man without the gate, Lazarus in the tomb; he still lies dead in the house, whose sin is concealed; he is carried without the gate, whose sin has broken forth into the madness of an open deed; he lies crushed under the mound of the tomb, who in the commission of sin, lies powerless beneath the weight of habit.
Bede: And we may remark, that lighter and daily errors may be cured by the remedy of a lighter penance. Wherefore the Lord raises the damsel, lying in the inner chamber with a very easy cry, saying, "Damsel, arise;" but that he who had been four days dead might quit the prison of the tomb, He groaned in spirit, He was troubled, He shed tears. In proportion, then, as the death of the soul presses the more heavily, so much the more ardently must the fervour of the penitent press forward.
But this too must be observed, that a public crime requires a public reparation; wherefore Lazarus, when called from the sepulchre, was placed before the eyes of the people: but slight sins require to be washed out by a secret penance, wherefore the damsel lying in the house is raised up before few witnesses, and those are desired to tell no man.
The crowd also is cast out before the damsel is raised; for if a crowd of worldly thoughts be not first cast out from the hidden parts of the heart, the soul, which lies dead within, cannot rise.
Well too did she arise and walk, for the soul, raised from sin, ought not only to rise from the filth of its crimes, but also to make advances in good works, and soon it is necessary that it should be filled with heavenly bread, that is, made partaker of the Divine Word, and of the Altar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jésus est la Vie qui donne la vie sur terre et pour l’Éternité.

 XIIIème Dimanche Temps Ordinaire - Année B – 30 juin 2024

 

Rite Romain

Sag 1,13-15; 2,23-24; Ps 29; 2Cor 8,7.9.13-15; Mc 5,21-43

 

Rite Ambrosien

VI Dimanche après la Pentecôte

Ex 3,1-15; Ps 67; 1Cor 2,1-7; Mt 11,27-30

 

 

            1) Qui touche la Vie guérit, qui est touché par la Vie ressuscite.

 

L'Évangile de ce XIIème dimanche du temps ordinaire nous présente Jésus-Christ qui guérit une femme dont la maladie s'est aggravée malgré de longs traitements coûteux, et ressuscite une petite fille, la tirant du sommeil de la mort.

           Le Messie est-il donc un guérisseur et un thaumaturge qui offre à l'humanité, toujours à la recherche de remèdes efficaces, une réponse à ses souffrances, en la faisant vaincre la maladie et la mort ?

Jésus a été envoyé par le Père non pour arriver là où la science et la médecine ont échoué, ni pour réaliser l'utopie d'un monde sans douleur et sans mort.

Les miracles que le Christ accomplit sont, avec sa prédication, la bonne nouvelle qu’est venue la libération de Dieu dans le monde, qui redonne à l'homme sa dignité de fils de Dieu, qui réunit l'homme et son Dieu, qui lui redonne la vie. 

Pour accueillir vraiment cet Évangile (=bonne nouvelle), il faut qu’il y ait la foi. En effet, l'histoire de deux miracles n'attire pas l'attention sur ces deux faits prodigieux, mais sur la foi de ceux qui les demandent. La foi est indispensable au miracle. Jésus n'accomplit pas de miracles pour forcer, à tout prix, le cœur de l'homme. Les miracles sont des signes en faveur de la foi, mais ils ne diminuent pas le courage de croire. Les miracles sont un don, une réponse à la sincérité de l'homme qui cherche le Seigneur : ils ne servent pas là où il y a fermeture et obstination. C’est pourquoi le Messie n'accomplit pas de miracles là où les hommes ont la prétention d’établir eux les modalités de l'action de Dieu. 

Par conséquent, même dans ces deux cas, le miracle est un don à la libre initiative de Dieu, qui répond avec amour à ceux qui, avec une foi humble, le demandent.

Examinons de plus près les deux faits :

Le miracle de la guérison de la femme qui souffrait de pertes de sang se serait très bien prêté à mettre l'accent sur la puissance de Jésus. Il a suffi que cette femme touche le vêtement de Jésus pour guérir. Mais saint Marc, dans son récit, ne souligne pas cet aspect. Il met l’accent sur le geste caché, mais plein de foi, de la malade.

Pourquoi la femme ne veut pas se faire remarquer alors que  Jésus, au contraire, semble tout faire pour souligner son geste ? 

           La loi déclarait impure la femme qui avait des pertes de sang, et impur de la toucher. Voilà pourquoi la femme touche la robe de Jésus en cachette, en profitant de la foule, et pourquoi elle se sent si coupable, effrayée et tremblante quand elle se voit découverte. Et c'est pour la même raison que Jésus fait de la publicité à ce qui s'est passé : pour déclarer publiquement, devant tout le monde, qu'il ne se sent pas impur d'avoir été touché par la femme. Il va au-delà de la pureté et impureté juridique et regarde la foi de la femme à qui il dit: « Ma fille, ta foi t’a sauvée. Va en paix et sois guérie de ton mal » ( Mc 5, 34).  Elle devient fille, régénérée dans la puissance de Jésus, par la porte de la foi qui l'a « sauvée » avant de la « guérir ». Maintenant elle peut aller en paix, guérie à la racine du mal, parce qu'avant elle a été « sauvée ». L'audace de sa foi a ouvert le cœur de Dieu : toucher Jésus signifie une foi pure et adulte dans laquelle s'abandonner à Lui, même du plus profond du péché le plus grave. La foi, c’est en effet toucher Jésus, l'entraîner dans notre vie à moitié morte et impure. C'est réaliser qu'il nous a sauvés, « forcer » la puissance que le Seigneur Jésus semble incapable de contrôler.

            Et c’est encore la foi qui est au centre de la guérison de fille de Jaïre: « Ne crains pas, crois seulement »  (Id. 5, 36).

Foi en la puissance de Jésus, une puissance capable d'atteindre la personne dans sa situation particulière, et dans ce cas victorieuse jusque dans la mort. 

La foi est un acte très humain, vital, qui tend vers la vie et s'oppose à la mort. La foi est un acte d'intelligence et d'abandon de la volonté, qui nous fait adhérer à Dieu comme un enfant adhère à la poitrine de sa mère, puis comme des enfants au cœur simple, nous restons confiants dans les bras de Dieu. 

 

2) Foi persévérante dans la résurrection 

            Commentant ces deux miracles, le pape François a dit : « Le message est clair et peut se résumer en une question : croyons-nous que Jésus peut nous guérir et peut nous réveiller de la mort? Tout l'Évangile est écrit à la lumière de cette foi : Jésus est ressuscité, il a vaincu la mort, et pour cette victoire, nous aussi nous ressusciterons ». (Angelus du 29 juin 2015). 

             En effet, la liturgie de la Parole de ce dimanche nous invite à vivre dans la certitude de la Résurrection : « Jésus est le Seigneur, Jésus a le pouvoir sur le mal et la mort, et il veut nous emmener dans la maison du Père, où règne la vie. Et là, nous nous rencontrerons tous, nous tous qui sommes ici sur la place aujourd'hui, nous nous rencontrerons dans la maison du Père, dans la vie que Jésus nous donnera ». (Id.). Par conséquent, la Résurrection du Christ agit dans l'histoire comme principe de renouveau et d'espérance. Celui qui est désespéré et fatigué jusqu'à la mort, s'il se confie à Jésus et à son amour peut recommencer à vivre. Et que veut dire vivre si ce n'est partager l'amour vital que le Seigneur donne. En effet, dans l'Évangile d'aujourd'hui, nous voyons Jésus partager la douleur de Jaïre, l'un des chefs de la synagogue, qui a sa fille de douze ans gravement malade, et la souffrance de la femme malade. A celle-ci il redonne la capacité de donner la vie, à l'autre il donne la vie pour qu'elle puisse rencontrer la Vie : Lui.

             A l’homme qui a soif de vie et d’une vie qui ait un sens (entendu comme signification, direction et goût de la vie) Dieu ne donne pas un raisonnement qui explique tout, mais offre sa réponse sous forme de présence qui accompagne, d’une histoire de bien qui s’unit à toute sorte de souffrance pour ouvrir en elle un soupirail de lumière » (Lumen Fidei, 57).

Comme il est entré dans la maison de Jaïre et s’est rendu présent à sa petite fille, en la prenant par la main, le Christ nous prend par la main et tisse sa vie avec la nôtre, qui reçoit ainsi la Vie pour toujours.

Comme avec cette petite fille, le Christ nous relève, nous fait ressusciter. De Lui, nous recevons de l'amour, à Lui, nous rendons de l'amour.

            Quand cet amour est donné complètement à Dieu, on l'appelle virginité. 

Les vierges consacrées dans le monde témoignent que la virginité est la plus haute façon d'aimer Dieu et de vivre Dieu. Leur vie de vierges est un témoignage de l'amour de Dieu et manifestation de la sagesse du cœur reçue du Christ. Par leur vie totalement donnée à Dieu, ces femmes « prêchent l'Évangile de la virginité », selon lequel « la foi n'est pas une chose décorative, ornementale ; vivre la foi n'est pas décorer la vie d'un peu de religion » (Pape François), mais le critère de base pour vivre vraiment.

 Avec humilité et une foi aimante, les vierges consacrées dans le monde se sont données au Christ, dont elles écoutent constamment la Parole par une lecture assidue de la Bible, et s'étendent dans le monde comme évangile de la virginité « pour aimer plus ardemment le Christ et servir leurs frères avec un dévouement plus libre ». (Préambule du rite de consécration des vierges). C'est pourquoi l'exhortation apostolique Vita consecrata leur attribue une sorte de « magistère spirituel » qui les place comme « guides compétents de vie spirituelle » (Vita consecrata, n.55). Elles nous enseignent à vivre la foi avec le cœur, à écouter sa Parole, afin qu’elle se fasse chair en elles comme il est arrivé à Marie, et être ainsi de vraies évangélisatrices qui portent au monde la Parole de Dieu qui est lumière pour nos pas.

 

 

Lecture Patristique

Saint Pierre Chrysologue (400- + 450)

Sermon 34, 1.5

CCL 24, 193.197-199.

S. Pierre Chrysologue commente le passage parallèle de l'évangile de Matthieu

 

Toute lecture d'évangile nous est d'un grand profit aussi bien pour la vie présente que pour la vie future. Mais plus encore l'évangile de ce jour, car il contient la totalité de notre espérance et bannit tout motif de désespoir.

Mais venons-en au chef de la synagogue qui conduisit le Christ auprès de sa fille, et donna en même temps l'occasion à une femme (qui souffrait d'hémorragie) de venir trouver Jésus. Ainsi commence la lecture de ce jour: Voici qu'un chef s'approcha. Il se prosternait devant Jésus en disant: "Ma fille est morte à l'instant, mais viens lui imposer la main, et elle vivra" (Mt 9,18)2.

Le Christ connaissait l'avenir et n'ignorait pas que cette femme viendrait à sa rencontre. C'est elle qui ferait comprendre au chef des Juifs que Dieu n'a pas besoin de se déplacer, qu'il n'est pas nécessaire de lui montrer le chemin ni de solliciter sa présence physique. Il faut croire, au contraire, que Dieu est présent partout, qu'il y est avec tout son être et pour toujours. Qu'il peut tout faire sans peine en donnant un ordre, qu'il envoie sa puissance sans la transporter; qu'il met la mort en fuite par un commandement sans bouger la main; qu'il rend la vie en le décidant, sans recourir à la médecine.

Ma fille est morte à l'instant, mais viens. Ce qui signifie: "Son corps conserve encore la chaleur de la vie et des traces visibles de son âme; son esprit ne l'a pas encore quittée; la famille garde encore son enfant; le royaume des morts ne la reconnaît pas encore pour sienne. Viens donc vite retenir son âme prête à partir."

L'insensé! Il ne croyait pas que le Christ pourrait ressusciter une morte, mais seulement la retenir. Aussi, dès que le Christ arriva à la maison et vit que les gens pleuraient la jeune fille comme une morte, il voulut amener à la foi leurs coeurs incrédules. Comme eux pensaient qu'on ne pouvait pas ressusciter d'entre les morts plus facilement que sortir du sommeil, le Christ déclara que la fille du chef (de la synagogue) était endormie et non pas morte. La jeune fille n'est pas morte, dit-il, elle dort (Mt 9,23).

Et vraiment, pour Dieu, la mort est un sommeil. Car Dieu fait revenir un mort à la vie en moins de temps qu'un homme ne tire un dormeur de son sommeil. Et Dieu rend la chaleur aux membres refroidis par la mort plus vite qu'un homme ne peut rendre vigueur aux corps plongés dans le sommeil.

Écoute ce que dit l'Apôtre: Instantanément, en un clin d'oeil, <> les morts ressusciteront (1Co 15,52). Sachant qu'il lui était impossible de signifier par des mots l'immédiateté de la résurrection, le bienheureux Apôtre l'a évoquée par des images. D'ailleurs, comment aurait-il pu condenser dans des mots la rapidité d'un événement dans lequel la puissance divine dépasse la rapidité même? Ou bien, comment le temps pourrait-il intervenir dans le don d'une réalité éternelle, non soumise au temps? Parce qu'il n'y a pas de temps sans flux qui s'écoule, l'éternité exclut le temps.

 

 

Gesù è la Vita che dà la vita sulla terra e per l’eternità.

XIII Domenica Tempo Ordinario - Anno B – 30 giugno 2024

 

Rito Romano

Sap 1,13-15; 2,23-24; Sal 29; 2Cor 8,7.9.13-15; Mc 5,21-43

 

Rito Ambrosiano

VI Domenica dopo Pentecoste

Es 3,1-15; Sal 67; 1Cor 2,1-7; Mt 11,27-30

 

 

            1) Chi tocca la Vita guarisce, chi è toccato dalla Vita risorge.

Il Vangelo di questa XIII Domenica del Tempo Ordinario ci presenta Gesù Cristo che guarisce una donna, la cui malattia peggiorava non ostante le cure lunghe e costose cure, e risuscita una ragazzina, risvegliandola dal sonno della morte.

E’ dunque il Messia un guaritore e un taumaturgo che offre all’umanità, sempre alla ricerca di cure efficaci, la risposta alle sue sofferenze, sconfiggendo la malattia e la morte?

Gesù è stato mandato dal Padre non per arrivare là dove la scienza e la medicina hanno fallito, o per realizzare l’utopia di un mondo senza dolore e senza morte.

I miracoli che Cristo compie sono, insieme con la predicazione,  la buona notizia che annuncia che è giunta nel mondo la liberazione di Dio, che ridà all’uomo la sua dignità di figlio di Dio, che ricongiunge l’uomo al suo Dio, che gli ridà la vita. 

            Per accogliere davvero questo Vangelo (=buona notizia) occorre la fede. In effetti il racconto di due miracoli non attira l’attenzione su questi due fatti prodigiosi, ma sulla fede di chi li domanda. La fede è indispensabile al miracolo. Gesù non compie miracoli per forzare, ad ogni costo, il cuore dell'uomo. I miracoli sono segni a favore della fede, ma non sminuiscono il coraggio di credere. I miracoli sono un dono, una risposta alla sincerità dell'uomo che cerca il Signore: non servono là dove c'è chiusura e ostinazione. Per questo il Messia non compie miracoli dove gli uomini pretendono di essere loro a stabilire le modalità dell'agire di Dio. 

Quindi, anche in questi due i casi il miracolo è un  dono della libera iniziativa di Dio, che risponde alla con amore a chi con fede umile domanda.

Esaminiamo più da vicino i due fatti:

Il miracolo della guarigione della donna che soffriva perdite di sangue si sarebbe prestato molto bene a sottolineare la potenza di Gesù. A questa donna è bastato toccare la veste di Gesù per guarire. Ma San Marco nel suo racconto non  sottolinea questo aspetto, ma dà rilievo al gesto nascosto, ma pieno di fede, della malata.

Perché la donna desidera non farsi notare e Gesù, invece, sembra far di tutto per dar risalto al suo gesto? 

La legge dichiarava impura la donna che aveva perdite di sangue, e impuro toccarla. Ecco perché la donna tocca la veste di Gesù di nascosto, approfittando della calca, ed ecco perché si sente tanto colpevole, paurosa e tremante, quando si vede scoperta. Ed è per lo stesso motivo che Gesù dà pubblicità all'accaduto: per dichiarare pubblicamente, di fronte a tutti, che non si sente impuro per essere stato toccato dalla donna. Lui va al di là della purità e impurità legale e guarda alla fede della donna alla quale dice: “Figlia, la tua fede ti ha salvata. Va’ in pace e sii guarita dal tuo male” ( Mc 5, 34).  Diventa figlia, rigenerata nel potere di Gesù, attraverso la porta della fede che l'ha “salvata” prima di “guarirla”. Ora può andare in pace, sanata alla radice dal male, perché prima è stata “salvata”. L'audacia della sua fede ha aperto il cuore di Dio: toccare Gesù significa la fede pura e adulta nella quale abbandonarsi a Lui anche dal fondo del peccato più grave. La fede, infatti, è toccare Gesù, trascinarlo dentro la nostra vita mezza morta e impura. E’ fare in modo che si accorga che ci ha salvati, “obbligare” il potere che il Signore Gesù sembra sia incapace di controllare.

E’ ancora la fede al centro della guarigione della figlia di Giairo: “Non temere, soltanto abbi fede”  (Id. 5, 36).

Fede nella potenza di Gesù, una potenza capace di raggiungere la persona nella sua particolare situazione, e in questo caso vittoriosa persino sulla morte. 

La fede è un atto umanissimo, vitale, che tende alla vita e si oppone alla morte. La fede è un atto dell’intelligenza e un abbandono della volontà, che ci fa aderire a Dio come un bambino aderisce al petto della madre, poi come i bambini dal cuore semplice restiamo confidenti nella braccia di Dio.

 

 

2) Fede perseverante nella risurrezione.

            Commentando questi due miracoli, papa Francesco ha detto: “Il messaggio è chiaro, e si può riassumere in una domanda: crediamo che Gesù ci può guarire e ci può risvegliare dalla morte? Tutto il Vangelo è scritto nella luce di questa fede: Gesù è risorto, ha vinto la morte, e per questa sua vittoria anche noi risorgeremo” (Parole all’Angelus del 29 giugno 2015). 

In effetti, la liturgia della Parola di  questa domenica ci invita a vivere nella certezza della risurrezione: “Gesù è il Signore, Gesù ha potere sul male e sulla morte, e vuole portarci nella casa del Padre, dove regna la vita. E lì ci incontreremo tutti, tutti noi che siamo qui in piazza oggi, ci incontreremo nella casa del Padre, nella vita che Gesù ci darà” (Id). Dunque, la Risurrezione di Cristo agisce nella storia come principio di rinnovamento e di speranza. Chiunque è disperato e stanco fino alla morte, se si affida a Gesù e al suo amore può ricominciare a vivere. E che vuol dire vivere se non condividere l’amore vitale che il Signore dona. In effetti, nel Vangelo di oggi vediamo Gesù che condivide il dolore di Giairo, uno dei capi della sinagoga, il quale ha la figlia dodicenne gravemente ammalata, e la sofferenza della donna malata. A questa ridà la capacità di dare la vita, all’altra dà la vita perché possa incontrare la Vita: Lui.

All’uomo che ha sete di vita e di vita che abbia un senso (inteso come significato, direzione e gusto della vita) Dio non dona un ragionamento che spieghi tutto, ma offre la sua risposta nella forma di una presenza che accompagna, di una storia di bene che si unisce a ogni storia di sofferenza per aprire in essa un varco di luce” (Lumen Fidei, 57).

Come è entrato nella casa di Giairo e si è fatto presenza alla di lui piccola figlia, prendendola per mano, Cristo ci prende per mano e intreccia la sua vita con la nostra, che così riceve la Vita per sempre.

Come a quella bambina, Cristo ci rialza, ci fa risorgere. Da Lui riceviamo amore a Lui restituiamo amore.

            Quando questo amore è donato completamente a Dio si chiama verginità.

Le Vergini consacrate nel mondo testimoniano che la verginità è la maniera più alta di amare Dio e di vivere Dio. La loro vita di vergini è testimonianza dell’amore di Dio e manifestazione della sapienza del cuore ricevuta da Cristo. Con la vita totalmente donata a Dio queste donne “predicano il vangelo della Verginità”, secondo il quale “la fede non è una cosa decorativa, ornamentale; vivere la fede non è decorare la vita con un po’ di religione” (Papa Francesco), ma è criterio di base per vivere veramente. 

Con umiltà e con fede amorosa le Vergini consacrate nel mondo si sono donate a Cristo, di cui ascoltano la Parola con costanza mediante la lettura assidua della Bibbia e si protendono nel mondo quale vangelo di Verginità “al fine di amare più ardentemente il Cristo e servire con più libera dedizione i fratelli” (Premesse del Rito di Consacrazione della Vergini). Per questo l’esortazione apostolica Vita consecrata attribuisce loro una sorta di “magistero spirituale” che le colloca come «guide esperte di vita spirituale» (Vita consecrata, n. 55). Esse ci insegnano a vivere la fede con il cuore, ad ascoltare la sua Parola, perché si faccia carne in loro come accadde a Maria, ed essere così vere evangelizzatrici che porta al mondo la Parola di Dio che è luce ai passi nostri.

 

Lettura Patristica

Sant’Efrem, il Siro (306 – 373)

Diatessaron, VII, 6, 19-23

 

 La sua fede arrestò in un istante, come in un batter d’occhio, il flusso di sangue che era sgorgato per dodici anni. Numerosi medici l’avevano visitata moltissime volte, ma l’umile medico, il figlio unico la guardò soltanto un momento. Spesso, quella donna aveva profuso forti somme per i medici; ma all’improvviso, accanto al nostro medico, i suoi pensieri sparsi si raccolsero in un’unica fede. Quando i medici terreni la curavano, ella pagava loro un prezzo terreno (Mc 5,26); ma quando il medico celeste le apparve, ella le presentò una fede celeste. I doni terrestri furono lasciati agli abitanti della terra, i doni spirituali furono elevati al Dio spirituale nei cieli.

       I medici stimolavano coi loro rimedi i dolori causati dal male, come una belva abbandonata alla sua ferocia. Così, per reazione, come una belva inferocita, i dolori li diffondevano dappertutto, essi e i loro rimedi. Quando tutti si affrettavano di sottrarsi alla cura di quel dolore, una potenza uscì, rapida, dalla frangia del mantello di Nostro Signore; colpì violentemente il male, lo bloccò e s’attirò l’elogio per il male domato. Uno solo si prese gioco di quelli che s’erano presi gioco per molto. Un solo medico divenne celebre per un male che parecchi medici avevano reso celebre. Proprio quando la mano di quella donna aveva distribuito grandi cifre, la sua piaga non ricevette alcuna guarigione; ma quando la sua mano si tese vuota, la cavità si riempi di salute. Finché la sua mano era ripiena di ricompense tangibili, essa era vuota di fede nascosta, ma quando si spogliò delle ricompense tangibili, fu ripiena di fede invisibile. Diede ricompense manifeste e non ricevette guarigione manifesta; diede una fede manifesta e ricevette una guarigione nascosta. Sebbene avesse dato ai medici il loro onorario con fiducia, non trovò per il suo onorario una ricompensa proporzionata alla sua fiducia; ma quando diede un prezzo preso con furto, allora ne ricevette il premio, quello della guarigione nascosta...

       E coloro che non erano stati capaci di guarire quest’unica donna coi loro rimedi, guarivano frattanto molti pensieri con le loro risposte. Nostro Signore, invece, capace di guarire ogni malato, non voleva mostrarsi capace di rispondere anche ad un solo interrogativo; conosceva quella risposta, ma descriveva in anticipo coloro che avrebbero detto: "Tu, con la tua venuta, dai testimonianza di te stesso; la tua testimonianza non è vera" (Jn 8,13). La sua potenza aveva guarito la donna, ma il suo parlare non aveva persuaso quella gente. Eppure, per quanto la sua lingua restasse muta, la sua opera risuonava come una tromba. Col suo silenzio soffocava l’orgoglio arrogante; con la sua domanda: "Chi mi ha toccato?" (Lc 8,45) e con la sua opera, la sua verità era proclamata.

       Se non ci fosse che un senso da dare alle parole della Scrittura, il primo interprete lo troverebbe, e gli altri uditori non avrebbero più il lavoro pesante della ricerca, né il piacere della scoperta. Ma ogni parola di Nostro Signore ha la sua forma, e ogni forma ha molti membri, e ogni membro ha la sua fisionomia propria. Ciascuno comprende secondo la sua capacità, e interpreta come gli è dato.

       È così che una donna si presentò a lui e che la guarì. Si era presentata davanti a parecchi uomini che non l’avevano guarita; avevano perduto il loro tempo con lei. Ma un uomo la guarì, quando il suo volto era girato da un’altra parte; egli biasimava così coloro che, con grande cura, si volgevano verso di lei, ma non la guarivano: "La debolezza di Dio è più forte degli uomini" (1Co 1,25). Sebbene il volto umano di Nostro Signore non poté guardare che da una sola parte, la sua divinità interiore aveva occhio dappertutto poiché vedeva da ogni lato.

       

The other shore

XII Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B - June 23, 2024

Roman Rite

Jb 38, 1.8-11; Ps 107; 2 Cor 5.14 to 17; 4.35 to 41 Mk 

Ambrosian Rite
Gen18.17 to 21; 19, 1.12-13.15.23-29; Ps 32; 1 Cor 6.9 to 12; Mt 22, 1-14 

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost. 

 

 

1)     Sailing to the other shore 

Regarding this Sunday Gospel describing the calming of the storm, first of all I would like to draw the attention to the opening sentence of Jesus "Let us cross to the other side of the shore" (Mk 4, 35). 

It is an invitation that Jesus makes to his disciples after having spoken of the kingdom of heaven that from a seed becomes a big tree. As I have said before, wanting to "be" with Christ is a verb of motion because it necessarily implies a move to follow Him. 

It is a call made in the early evening when Jesus' followers think they have concluded the day travel and have the humane and right need to stop and rest from the strain of taking with Christ the gospel to the people. The first movement of this “going further” is to leave the crowd, to be alone with Jesus, to go away with him from the shore where they had arrived. 

The boat is our life that sails with the Savior. It is a boat that rides the waves of time and space and is able to carry the Son of God. Jesus, true man and true God, is so powerful that it does not care about the storm. Sometimes the wind blows violently. It represents all the voices that move in and out of us and that often rise with such force that they deviate our steps that until recently had moved safely on the path. The waves spill into the boat: what is part of our day and that we seem to know well is turned against us and events happen that seize us suddenly, make us feel at the mercy of the unexpected and fill with fear the life that we think we have. 

Today Jesus gives us a clear lesson on how to approach the sea of personal history and of the world. We must sail with him, we must take Him on our boat "as he is" (Mk 4. 36), for He will take us to the other side saving us from the stormy waters. 

With Christ, whose love is stronger than the force of nature, we can get to the other shore that is reachable thanks to confident abandonment in him. The storms of the nature and 

that of the human heart are dangerous and can lead to death. The "storm of the heart God” brings peace, as long as we, like the apostles, say "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing ?" (Mk 4, 38). 

 

2) Jesus was asleep, but his heart was awake. 

Only in this passage of St. Mark’s gospel we see Jesus asleep. How to interpret this sleeping? Jesus is really tired. After a day of preaching in which he spent so much energy, the Savior boards the boat and falls deeply asleep to the point of not even hearing the noise of the wind and of the waves. Here we can see the real humanity of Jesus. However, it is useful to add some other explanation: Jesus trusts his disciples and has no doubt about their responsibility and professional capacity. We too ought to trust him. Certainly his attitude is full of mystery. His peaceful sleep means –I think - full confidence in God, the trust of the Son who feels protected and loved in the Father’s arms also in the storms of sea and of life. 

We must make ours this attitude of Christ, maybe praying Psalm 131 that suggests one of the sweetest pictures of our surrender to God even under trial "I am calm and serene like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul "(131.2-3). 

 

3) The heart of man is a request for the infinite. 

Besides teaching us to have a total abandonment in Him, with his sleep on the boat tossed by stormy seas the Savior awakens the cry of our faith. In fact, in a tone of astonished reproach Jesus says to his disciples "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mk4, 40) The Son of God requires the faith of his brothers to awaken the power of his love. 

With the question “Why are you afraid?" Christ shifts the focus from the power of the miracle to the faith of the disciples, who have left their previous jobs, families and the "crowd" to be with him, following him along the roads of the world. And Jesus, Teacher and Friend, educates this faith making them understand that they should not expect a presence and a power of God that take away for them the effort of living. Moreover, He teaches them to be courageous (cor agere = to act with the heart) educating the heart 

How to respond to Christ who asks"Why are you afraid?" Asking him the same question of the father of the Apostles "Increase our faith, Lord" (Lk 17, 5). A faith that is an act of intelligence and abandonment of the will 

Let us make sure that our life is really the opening of our mind and our heart to a faith every day purer, to faith every day bigger. Let us pray that our faith may be more and more open to the gift of God. A mature faith makes us calm even in difficulties, and serene even in persecution. Think about how St. Peter in prison was sleeping peacefully. Think about the “little" Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus[1]. She, who died at 24, is the saint of simplicity and love, the saint of trusting abandonment to God's will. If we want to grow in faith we must educate our heart, imitating the "little" Saint of Lisieux. 

We must educate our heart to recognize Christ. Why do we use the verb to recognize? The etymology of to recognize is "ire ad cor" (go to the heart), it is to make my heart go to Christ's heart, and the heart of Christ go to my heart. Doing so we not only are unafraid in the boat of life, but with Christ we pacify the sea of life. 

A significant way of life that is able to recognize Christ is the one of the consecrated Virgins in the world. Through virginity these women educate their heart "by building it" in the heart of Christ, who loves and wants the good of those who donate themselves to Him. 

The way of the consecrated Virgin in the world is that of someone who does not own her neighbor, because her heart is full of the love of God. Being full of this love, she becomes a clear sign of it and uses toward the neighbor the kindness she received from God. Indeed virginity is a vocation to love: it makes the heart free to love God. Free from the duties of conjugal love, the virgin heart can feel more disposed to the gratuitous love for its brothers and the sisters.

Virginity, of course, implies the renunciation of the form of love which typifies marriage, but the waiver is made with the intention of making deeper the dynamism, inherent in sexuality, of altruistic opening to others, strengthening and transfiguring it by the presence of the Spirit that teaches us to love the Father and our brothers and sisters as did the Lord Jesus. 

 

Pope Benedict XVI on May 15, 2008 said:  "That your whole life may be a faithful witness of God's love and a convincing sign of the kingdom of heaven" (RCV, n. 17). Take care always to radiate the dignity of being a bride of Christ, expressing the newness of Christian existence and the serene expectation of future life. Thus, with your own upright life you will be stars to guide the world on its journey. The choice of virginal life, in fact, is a reference to the transient nature of earthly things and an anticipation of future rewards. Be witnesses of attentive and lively expectation, of joy and of the peace that characterizes those who abandon themselves to God's love. May you be present in the world, yet pilgrims bound for the Kingdom. Indeed, the consecrated virgin is identified with that bride who, in unison with the Spirit, invokes the coming of the Lord: "The Spirit and the Bride say "Come" (Rv 22: 17)” (Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the participants in the international congress-pilgrimage of the Ordo Virginum).

 

 

 

Patristic Reading

Golden Chain On Mark 4,35-41

Pseudo-Jerome: After His teaching, they come from that place to the sea, and are tossed by the waves.

Wherefore it is said, "And the same day, when the even was come, &c."
Remig.: For the Lord is said to have had three places of refuge, namely, the ship, the mountain, and the desert. As often as He was pressed upon by the multitude, He used to fly to one of these. When therefore the Lord saw many crowds about Him, as man, He wished to avoid their importunity, and ordered His disciples to go over to the other side. 

There follows: "And sending away the multitudes, they took Him, &c." [p. 86]
Chrys., Hom. in Matt. 28: The Lord took the disciples indeed, that they might be spectators of the miracle which was coming, but He took them alone, that no others might see that they were of such little faith.
Wherefore, to shew that others went across separately, it is said, "And there were also with Him other ships."
Lest again the disciples might be proud of being alone taken, He permits them to be in danger; and besides this, in order that they might learn to bear temptations manfully.
Wherefore it goes on, "And there arose a great storm of wind;" and that He might impress upon them a greater sense of the miracle which was to be done, He gives time for their fear, by sleeping.
Wherefore there follows, "And He was Himself in the hinder part of the ship, &c."
For if He had been awake, they would either not have feared, not have asked Him to save them when the storm arose, or they would not have thought that He could do any such things. Theophylact: Therefore He allowed them to fall into the fear of danger, that they might experience His power in themselves, who saw others benefitted by Him. But He was sleeping upon the pillow of the ship, that is, on a wooden one.
Chrys., Hom. in Matt. 28: Shewing His humility, and thus teaching us many lessons of wisdom. But not yet did the disciples who remained about Him know His glory; they thought indeed that if He arose He could command the winds, but could by no means do so reposing or asleep.
And therefore there follows, "And they awake Him, and say unto Him, "Master, carest thou not that we perish?"
Theophylact: But He arising, rebukes first the wind, which was raising the tempest of the sea, and causing the waves to swell, and this is expressed in what follows, "And He arose, and rebuked the wind;" then He commands the sea.
Wherefore it goes on, "And He said to the sea, Peace, be still." 

coming of the Lord: "The Spirit and the Bride say "Come'" (Rv 22: 17) 

Gloss.: For from the troubling of the sea there arises a certain sound, which appears to be its voice threatening danger, and therefore, by a sort of metaphor, He fitly commands tranquility by a word signifying silence: just as in the restraining of the winds, which trouble the sea with their violence, He uses a rebuke. 

For men who are in power are accustomed to curb those, who rudely disturb the peace of mankind, by threatening to punish them; by this, therefore, we are given to understand, that, as a king can repress violent (p. 87) men by threats, and by his edicts sooth the murmurs of his people, so Christ, the King of all creatures, by His threats restrained the violence of the winds, and compelled the sea to be silent.
And immediately the effect followed, for it continues, "And the wind ceased," when He had threatened, "and there arose a great calm," that is, in the sea, to which He had commanded silence.
Theophylact: He rebuked His disciples for not having faith; for it goes on, "And He said unto them, Why are ye so fearful?" How is it that ye have not faith? For if they had faith, they would have believed that even when sleeping, He could preserve them safe.
There follows, "And they feared with a great fear, and said one to another, &c."
For they were in doubt about Him, for since He stilled the sea, not with a rod like Moses, nor with prayers as Elisha at the Jordan, nor with the ark as Joshua, the son of Nun, on this account they thought Him truly God, but since He was asleep, they thought Him a man.
Pseudo-Jerome: Mystically, however, the hinder part of the ship is the beginning of the Church, in which the Lord sleeps in the body only, for He never sleepeth who keepeth Israel; for the ship with its skins of dead animals keeps in the living, and keeps out the waves, and is bound together by wood, that is, by the cross and the death of the Lord the Church is saved.
The pillow is the body of the Lord, on which His Divinity, which is as His head, has come down. But the wind and the sea are devils and persecutors, to whom He says Peace, when He restrains the edicts of impious kings, as He will.
The great calm is the peace of the Church after oppression, or a contemplative after an active life.
Bede: Or else the ship into which He embarked, is taken to mean the tree of His passion, by which the faithful attain to the security of the safe shore. The other ships which are said to have been with the Lord signify those who are imbued with faith in the cross of Christ, and are not beaten about by the whirlwind of tribulation; or who, after the storms of temptation, are enjoying the serenity of peace.
And whilst His disciples are sailing on, Christ is asleep, because the time of our Lord's Passion came on His faithful ones when they were meditating on the rest of His future reign.
Wherefore it is related, that it took place late, that not only the sleep of our Lord, but the hour itself of departing (p. 88) light might signify the setting of the true Sun.
Again, when He ascended the cross, of which the stern of the ship was a type, His blaspheming persecutors rose like the waves against Him, driven on by the storms of the devils, by which, however, His own patience is not disturbed, but His foolish disciples are stuck with amazement. The disciples awake the Lord, because they sought, with most earnest wishes, the resurrection of Him whom they had seen die. Rising up, He threatened the wind, because when He had triumphed in His resurrection, He prostrated the pride of the devil.
He ordered the sea to be still, that is, in rising again, He cast down the rage of the Jews. The 

disciples are blamed, because after His resurrection, He chided them for their unbelief. And we also when being marked with the sign of the Lord's cross, we determine to quit the world, embark in the ship with Christ; we attempt to cross the sea; but, He goes to sleep, as we are sailing amidst the roaring of the waters, when amidst the strivings of our virtues, or amidst the attacks of evil spirits, of wicked men, or of our own thoughts, the flame of our love grows cold. Amongst storms of this sort, let us diligently strive to awake Him; He will soon restrain the tempest, pour down peace upon us, give us the harbour of salvation. 

 

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[1] The name Theresa of the Child Jesus, that she chose when she was nine years old when she expressed the desire to become a Carmelite, had remained ever present to her and she tried to deserve it constantly. Late, under an image of the Child Jesus, she wrote this sentence "O little Child, my only treasure, I abandon myself to your divine whims, I will have no other joy than to make you smile. Imprint on me your graces and your virtues of a child, so that the day of my birth into heaven, the angels and saints may recognize in your little bride, Theresa of the Child Jesus. "