The communion between the Church of Heaven and the Church of the Earth.

Feast of All Saints - Commemoration of the Faithful Departed – XXXI Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B – November 3,  2024

Roman Rite
Rev 7,2-4.9-14; Ps 23; 1 John 3,1-3; Mt 5,1-12a

Ambrosian Rite
Is 56,3-7; Ps 23; Eph 2,11-22; Lk 14,1a.15-24
The Sunday after the Dedication of the Milan Cathedral.


1) Citizens and family of heaven.
         The liturgy, which on November 1st[1] celebrates the Solemnity of All Saints and on November 2nd remembers all the dead, makes us venerate the memory[2] of the saints not only by having them as exemplary models or rescuers, but also to make us live in their company through a familiarity that becomes prayer and consolidates the union of the whole Church in the Holy Spirit through the exercise of fraternal charity. To help understand and live more and more the prayer of praise to God for the Saints, charity for the dead and a life that has  love as the law of freedom, I’d like propose some reflections on the communion of the saints and the eternal life.
         a- To believe and live the communion of saints[3], means to believe and live the mysterious but real life that we share with the saints. The life of Christ in us is the same life that it is in them.
As the communion among us, who are on a journey on this earth, brings us closer to Christ, so the communion with the saints unites us to Christ from whom, as from the source and from the head, comes the grace and life of the people of God. Nothing is more beautiful than this sharing acted in us and in the saints by the Holy Spirit. Thanks to this love of sharing, we can live in the Communion of Saints that begins at home, in the workplace, in the office, in the fields, and wherever a human person with his work carries out the design of divine charity. It is love that pierces our works of provisional life and transforms them into works of eternal life. The Communion of Saints is a communion of love, which unites in prayer all the faithful of Christ: those who are pilgrims on this earth, those who, having died, purify themselves, and those who are happy in heaven. All together we form one Church: an immense community of sisters and brothers who in the Brother pray the Our Father (cf. Clement Rebora). In extreme synthesis, love is not only a law; it is a gift to be shared, as this XXXI Sunday in Ordinary Time reminds us.

        b- For us Christians to believe and live eternal life is not only to believe in a life that lasts forever, but also in a new quality of existence, fully immerse in the love of God, that frees us from evil and death and puts us in endless communion with all the brothers and sisters who share the same Love. Eternity, therefore, can already be present at the center of earthly and temporal life, when the soul, through grace, is united to God, its ultimate foundation. "All things are passing away, God never changes" (Saint Teresa of Avila). A Psalm says: "My flesh and heart are broken; but the rock of my heart is God, God is my destiny forever" (Ps 72/73, 26). All Christians called to holiness are men and women.

 

2) Longing of Heaven and happy Communion.

       While I hope that these two liturgical feasts will awaken in us a longing for Heaven, I would like to invite us to cultivate not only the desire of the company of the Saints, but also prayer so that Christ, our life, may be shown to us as he has shown himself to the Saints and make us ever more deeply rooted in Him. In this happy communion of saints, it is very useful the prayer that recommends to the mercy of God the dead who in Him are alive, have preceded us and wait for us. It is a guarantee of consolation, as St. Augustine reminds us: "A tear for the dead evaporates, a flower on the grave withers, a prayer, instead, reaches the heart of the Most High" who redeems with the gift of his Son on the Cross. For this reason, we have the certainty that "no one will be lost". Christ’s love for us has pierced His hands and has eternally "nailed" us to Christ. Those wounds are now glorious and fill of hope every fragment of our life which, in Him, is anchored for eternity. In this regard Pope Francis recalled that "the first Christians represented hope with an anchor, as if life was the anchor on the shore, and all of us, on the move, pull the rope tied to the anchor ... This hope is a beautiful image: having our heart anchored where our loved ones, relatives and friends are, where our ancestors are, where the saints are, where Jesus is. Where God is. This is hope: this is hope that does not disappoint. It is a sure hope that comes from faith which assures us that nothing is lost in Heaven, where there will be the reunion with our father, our mother, our brothers and sisters and all our friends.

        Indeed, love stronger than death is the guarantee that there will be the desired reunion. The passionate heart of Christ is our "stable and definitive dwelling place", where we will be united forever in Love, for Love and from Love. For this reason, on November 2nd we "commemorate" our brothers and sisters. Let us remember "with them" the same love that has reached us and united us in the great family of God. The liturgy is not so much a memory of death, but of resurrection. The liturgy speaks of tears wiped away by the hand of God. The liturgical prayer for the dead makes us ask, "Let them enjoy the light of your face". Here is a verb humble and strong, unarmed and human: enjoy. Eternity blooms in the joy of a love enjoyed forever because nothing can separate us from it, as the Apostle Paul teaches: "Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Neither angels nor demons, neither life nor death, nothing can ever separate us from love" (Rom 8,35-37). Let us pray then with the whole Church, which in the Mass makes us ask: "Hear, God, the prayer that the community of believers raises to you in the faith of the risen Lord and confirm in us the blessed hope that together with our deceased brothers and sisters we will rise again in Christ to new life. Amen".

        This is what I propose to invite you to live the feast of the saints, the commemoration of the dead and the XXXI Sunday in Ordinary Time, in which we are reminded that the love for God and the neighbor[4] is not only a commandment but a gift to be lived according to the authentic Christian spirit, that is, in the light that comes from the Paschal Mystery that illuminates the law of love as a law of freedom. Christ died, rose again, and opened for us the way to the house of the Father, the Kingdom of life and peace. Whoever follows Jesus in this life is welcomed there, where he has preceded us and awaits us.

        The Gospel of this XXXI Sunday (Mk 12,28-34) proposes again the teaching of Jesus on the greatest commandment: the commandment of love, which is twofold: love God and love your neighbor. The saints, whom we have just celebrated in a single solemn feast, are precisely those who, trusting in the grace of God, seek to live according to this fundamental law. In fact, the commandment of love can be fully put into practice by those who live in a deep relationship with God, just as the children become capable of loving from a good relationship with their mother and father. At the beginning of his Treatise on the love of God, Saint John of Avila writes: "The reason that most drives our heart to the love of God is to consider deeply the love that He had for us... This, more than the benefits, drives the heart to love because the one who gives another a benefit, gives something that he possesses, but the one who loves the other, gives himself and all that he has, without leaving anything else to give. “(n. 1). Again, love is not reducible to a command, it is a gift, a reality that God makes us know and experience, so that, like a seed, it can sprout also within us and develop in our life. 

 

3) Way of holiness.
       I’d like to conclude these reflections with some thoughts on holiness, because this is the unifying theme of the three days that we are called to live as members of the Communion of Saints.
       Holiness is for all, as the Bible teaches already in the Old Testament: "Be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy" (Lev 19,2). And in the New Testament Saint Paul writes: "This is the will of God that you be holy" (1 Thes. 4:3) following in Christ who said in the Sermon on the Mount: "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5:48). What is this perfection, this holiness of God? It consists in the fullness of Love which is God. Holy is he who believes in love and has confidence in Jesus, who has revealed the mercy of God. Mercy freely offered, continually offered and offered to all.
        Holiness is not something that only some people with special gifts are interested in: "Holiness is not something extraordinary, it is not for a few chosen. Holiness is a simple duty for each one of us" (St M. Teresa of Calcutta). The saints are the saved ones; they are those who have responded with love to the Love up to give their lives to the Lord.
Besides martyrdom, the highest way of giving life to the Lord is virginity. The women, who consecrate their virginity for the Kingdom of God while remaining in the world, show that the gift of themselves and of all their existence is possible every day, in the humility of a daily life constantly oriented to God loved above all things, in joys and sufferings.
        The qualities that adorn this life are: consecrated and spiritually fruitful virginity, passionate charity, reserved modesty, discreet sweetness,  and Marian humility: in short: the wisdom of the heart. For this reason, on the day of their consecration, the Church asks these women to "always contemplate the divine Master and to conform their lives to his example. Let perfect chastity, generous obedience, and poverty lived with evangelical joy shine in them.  Father, may you like them for their humility. May they serve you docilely, adhere to you with all their heart. Let them be patient in trials, steadfast in faith, happy in hope, and diligent in love. May their lives consecrated to you edify the Church, promote the salvation of the world and appear as a luminous sign of future goods" (RCV n. 8).

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[1] As early as the 4th century, the Church celebrated the memory of all Christians who were martyrs of the faith on May 13th. In 615 Pope Boniface IV made this celebration official by instituting the "Feast of All Martyrs" to commemorate the dedication of the Pantheon, an ancient Roman temple transformed into a Christian church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the martyrs. This temple dedicated to all the gods (Pantheon) was thus converted to celebrate the memory of the martyrs, that is, of those who "come from the great tribulation and have washed their robes, making them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev 7,14). Subsequently, the celebration of all martyrs was extended to all saints. In fact, during the 8th century, at the initiative of the Frankish Bishops, the feast of All Martyrs took the name of All Saints' Day and was moved to November 1st.

  

[2] Much more than a simple remembrance, memory is an intimacy that transcends time and space, the "memorial" which in Scripture comes to become "the present of the past" (St. Augustine).

[3] The Catechism of the Catholic Church states at No 960 that "the expression communion of saints indicates first of all the "holy things" ["sancta"], and above all the Eucharist with which the unity of the faithful, who constitute one body in Christ, is represented and produced. And at No 961 he recalls that communion of saints also refers to the communion of "holy persons" ["sancti"] in Christ who is "dead for all", so that what each one does or suffers in and for Christ bears fruit for all those who live firmly anchored to this "Rock". They have feet on the earth, but their hearts already in Heaven, definitive dwelling of the friends of God.

[4] This is also the teaching of Pope Francis in his recent encyclical DILEXIT NOS (published on October 24th, 2024) in which he teaches that the Most Holy Heart of Jesus shows the immense love of Jesus towards us, his brothers and sisters. At the same time, it reminds us of our primary duty to love God above all things and to love our neighbor as ourselves, as a law of freedom.

La communion entre l’Église du Ciel et celle de la Terre

 Fête de la Toussaint – Commémoration des Défunts - Dimanche II du Temps Ordinaire – Année B – 1er, 2 et 3 novembre 2024

 

Rite Romain

Ap 7,2-4.9-14; Ps 23; 1 Jn 3,1-3; Mt 5,1-12a

Rite Ambrosien

Is 56,3-7; Ps 23; Eph 2,11-22; Lc 14,1a.15-24

II Dimanche après la Dédicace de la Cathédrale de Milan.

 

1) Concitoyens et familiers du ciel.

La liturgie du 1er novembre qui célèbre la Solennité de tous les Saints[1] ainsi que celle du 2 novembre en souvenir de tous les morts, nous fait vénérer la mémoire[2] des saints non seulement pour les avoir comme modèles ou protecteurs mais pour nous faire vivre en leur compagnie, avec une familiarité qui devient prière et qui consolide l'union de toute l'Église dans l’Esprit Saint, par l’exercice de la charité fraternelle. Pour aider à comprendre et vivre davantage la prière de louange à Dieu pour les Saints, la charité envers les défunts, et la loi de l’amour comme don (XXXIème dimanche du Temps ordinaire) je propose donc des réflexions sur la communion des saints et sur la vie éternelle.

A- Croire et vivre la communion des saints[3], cela veut dire croire et vivre la vie mystérieuse mais réelle que nous partageons avec les saints : la vie du Christ en nous est la même vie que celle qui est en eux. Comme notre communion et notre chemin sur cette terre nous rapproche du Christ, ainsi la communion des saints nous unit au Christ de qui, telle une source, arrive toute la râce et toute la vie du Peuple de Dieu. Rien n'est plus beau que ce partage opéré en nous par l’Esprit Saint dans les Saints et en nous. Grâce à cet amour de partage, nous pouvons vivre dans la Communion des Saints qui débute à la maison, à l’usine, au bureau, aux champs, partout où la personne humaine exécute à travers son travail le dessin de la charité divine. L'amour transperce nos œuvres de vie provisoire et les transforme en œuvres de vie éternelle. La Communion des Saints est une communion d’amour qui rend frère dans la prière tous les fidèles du Christ : ceux qui sont des pèlerins sur cette terre, les défunts qui se purifient, et ceux qui sont heureux au ciel.

Tous ensemble nous formons une seule église : « une communauté immense de frères et sœurs qui disent Notre Père dans le Frère » (cf. Clemente Rebora – prêtre et poète italien).

B- Croire et vivre la vie éternelle pour nous, chrétiens, ne signifie pas seulement croire en une vie qui dure pour toujours, mais aussi en une nouvelle qualité d'existence, pleinement immergée dans l’amour de Dieu qui libère du mal et de la mort. Cette qualité d’existence nous met en communion sans fin avec tous les frères et sœurs qui participent au même amour.

L'Éternité, donc, peut déjà être présente au centre de la vie terrestre et temporelle, lorsque l’âme est jointe à Dieu par la grâce. « Tout passe : Dieu seul reste » (Sainte Thérèse d'Avila). Un psaume dit : « Ma chair et mon cœur sont usés mais le roc de mon cœur, c’est Dieu pour toujours. » (Ps

72/73,26).Tous les chrétiens, appelés à la sainteté, sont des hommes et des femmes qui vivent solidement ancrés à ce « roc ». Ils ont les pieds sur terre, mais le cœur, déjà au ciel, demeure définitivement parmi les amis de Dieu.

 

2) Nostalgie du ciel et communion joyeuse.

Si je souhaite que ces trois fêtes liturgiques réveillent en nous une nostalgie du ciel, je désirerais aussi inviter à cultiver non seulement le désir de la compagnie des saints, mais aussi la prière parce que le Christ, notre vie, se montre à nous comme il s’est montré aux saints. Il nous enracine toujours plus en Lui. Dans cette joyeuse communion des saints, rien n’est plus utile et nécessaire que la prière : celle qui recommande à la miséricorde de Dieu, les défunts qui sont vivants en lui, qui nous ont précédés et qui nous attendent. La prière est une garantie de consolation, comme nous le rappelle Saint-Augustin qui écrit : « Une larme pour les défunts s’évapore, une fleur fane sur la tombe, une prière, au contraire, arrive jusqu' au cœur du Très- Haut » qui nous rachète par le don de son Fils sur la Croix.

Pour cela, nous avons la certitude que personne ne sera perdu : l’amour du Christ pour nous a transpercé Ses mains et nous a « cloués » pour toujours au Christ. Ces plaies sont maintenant glorieuses et remplissent d’espérance chaque fragment de notre vie qui est ancré en Lui pour l’éternité. A cet égard, le pape François a rappelé que « les premiers chrétiens représentaient l’espérance avec une « ancre », comme si la vie était l'ancre jetée sur ce rivage, tous tirant la corde liée à l’ancre. C’est une belle image, cette espérance : Avoir le cœur ancré là où se trouvent tous nos êtres chers, parents et amis : là où sont nos ancêtres, là où sont les saints, là où est Jésus. Là où est Dieu. C’est cela l’espérance. L’espérance ne déçoit pas. C’est une espérance sûre qui provient de la foi qui nous assure elle-même que rien ne se perd au ciel où nous serons réunis avec notre père, notre mère, nos frères et sœurs et tous nos amis ».

En effet, l’amour plus fort que la mort est la garantie qu’il y aura la réunion de famille tant désirée. Le cœur passionné du Christ est « notre demeure stable et définitive », où nous nous retrouverons pour toujours unis dans l’Amour, pour l’Amour et par l’Amour. Pour cela, le 2 novembre, nous commémorons nos frères défunts : souvenons-nous d’eux, du même amour qui nous a rejoints et unis dans la grande famille de Dieu. La liturgie ne nous rappelle pas tant la mort que la résurrection. Elle parle de larmes essuyées par la main de Dieu. La prière liturgique pour les défunts nous fait nous demander : « admet-les pour jouir de la lumière de ton visage ». Voici un verbe humble et fort, désarmé et humain : jouir. L’Éternité fleurit dans la joie d’un amour apprécié pour toujours parce que rien ne peut nous séparer de lui, comme nous l'apprend l’apôtre Paul : « Qui nous séparera de l’amour du Christ ? Ni les anges, ni les démons, ni la vie, ni la mort, rien ne pourra nous séparer de l’amour » (Rm 8,35-37). Prions alors avec toute l’église, qui dans la collecte de la messe, nous fait demander : « Écoute, ô Dieu, la prière que la communauté des chrétiens présente à toi dans la foi du seigneur ressuscité, et confirme en nous l’espoir et qu’avec nos frères défunts, nous ressusciterons dans le Christ pour une nouvelle vie! Amen ».

C’est ce que je propose pour vous inviter à vivre la fête des Saints, la commémoration des défunts et le XXXIe dimanche qui nous rappelle que l’amour[4] de Dieu et du prochain ce n’st pas qu’un commandement, mai un don à vivre avec un esprit chrétien authentique, c’est à dire dans la lumière qui vient du mystère pascal. Le Christ est mort et ressuscité et nous a ouvert le passage vers la maison du Père, le Règne de la vie et de la paix. Qui suit Jésus dans cette vie est accueilli là où Il nous a précédés et nous attend.

L'Évangile de ce XXXI dimanche (Mc 12,28-34) nous présente l’enseignement de Jésus sur le plus grand commandement : le commandement de l'amour, qui est double : aimer Dieu et aimer les autres. Les saints, que nous avons très récemment célébrés tous ensemble dans une seule fête solennelle, sont précisément ceux qui, confiants dans la grâce de Dieu, s'efforcent de vivre selon cette loi fondamentale. En effet, le commandement de l’amour peut être pleinement mis en pratique par celui qui vit dans une relation profonde avec Dieu, tout comme l'enfant devient capable d'aimer à partir d'une bonne relation avec sa mère et son père. Saint Jean d'Avila  écrit ainsi au début de son Traité sur l'amour de Dieu : « La cause - dit-il - qui pousse le plus notre cœur à aimer Dieu est de considérer profondément l'amour qu'Il avait pour nous... Ceci, plus que des bienfaits, pousse le cœur à aimer ; parce que celui qui rend un bien à autrui lui donne quelque chose qu’il possède ; mais celui qui aime se donne avec tout ce qu'il a, sans rien avoir à donner » (n. 1). Je le répète : l’amour ne peut pas être réduit à un commandement, c’est un don, une réalité que Dieu nous fait connaître et expérimenter, pour que, comme une graine, il puisse germer aussi en nous et se développer dans notre vie.

 

 

3) Vie de sainteté

Je conclus ces réflexions avec quelques pensées sur la sainteté parce que c’est le thème unifiant des deux jours que nous sommes appelés à vivre comme membres de la Communion des saints.

La sainteté, nous le savons bien, est pour tous, comme nous l'apprend la Bible, déjà dans l’Ancien Testament : « Soyez saints, parce que moi, le Seigneur, Votre Dieu, je suis saint » (Lv19,2). Dans le Nouveau Testament, Saint-Paul écrira : « C’est la volonté de Dieu que vous soyez saints » (1 Ts 4,3) en suivant le Christ qui, dans le discours de la montagne avait dit : « Soyez parfaits comme votre père céleste est parfait » (Mt 5,48).

En quoi consiste cette perfection, cette sainteté de Dieu ? Elle consiste en la plénitude de l’amour qui est Dieu. Saint est celui qui croit en l'amour et a confiance en Jésus, qui a révélé la miséricorde de Dieu. Miséricorde gratuitement offerte, continuellement offerte et offerte à tous.

La sainteté n’est pas une chose extraordinaire et ne concerne pas seulement un nombre restreint d’élus, « la sainteté est pour chacun de nous un devoir simple » (Ste M. Teresa de Calcutta). Les saints sont ceux qui sont sauvés, ceux qui ont répondu à l’amour avec amour, jusqu' à donner leur vie pour le Seigneur.

Outre le martyr, la façon la plus grande de donner sa vie au Seigneur est celle de la virginité. Les femmes qui consacrent leur virginité pour le Règne de Dieu, en restant dans le monde, montrent que le don de soi-même et de toute leur existence est possible chaque jour, dans l’humilité de la vie quotidienne orientée constamment vers Dieu, aimé au-dessus de tout, dans les joies et dans les souffrances.

Les qualités qui sont l’ornement de cette vie sont : la virginité consacrée et spirituellement féconde, la charité passionnée, la modestie réservée, la douceur discrète, l’humilité mariale, en bref : la sagesse du cœur. 

Pour cela, le jour de leur consécration, l’Église demande à ces femmes qu’elles « contemplent toujours le Maître divin et qu’elles conforment leur vie à son modèle. Que resplendisse en elles une parfaite chasteté, une obéissance généreuse, une pauvreté vécue avec une joie évangélique. Elles te plaisent pour l’humilité, O Père, elles te servent docilement, elles adhèrent à toi avec tout leur cœur. Qu’elles soient patientes dans les épreuves, solides dans la foi, heureuses dans l’espoir, actives dans l’amour. Que leur vie, qui t’est consacrée, édifie l’Église, favorise le salut du monde et apparaisse comme un signal lumineux des biens futurs » (Rite de Consécration des Vierges, n.8)

 

 

 

Lecture patristique

Saint Bernard de Clairvaux

Premier Sermon pour la Fête de la Toussaint.

1. La fête de tous les saints que nous faisons aujourd'hui mérite d'être célébrée avec toute sorte tic dévotion. En effet, si la fête de saint Pierre, de saint Étienne, ou de tout autre saint nous paraît grande, et l'est, en effet, combien plus grande doit être pour nous celle que nous- faisons aujourd’hui, puisque au lieu d'être la fête d'un seul saint, elle est la fête de tous les saints? Vous n’ignorez pas, nies frères, que les gens du monde célèbrent leurs fêtes par des festins mondains, et que plus la solennité est grande plus aussi ils font bonne chère. Eh quoi donc? ne faut-il pas aussi que ceux qui se sont convertis dans leur cœur, recherchent les délices du cœur; les gens spirituels ne doivent-ils pas aussi rechercher des joies spirituelles? Aussi, mes frères, notre festin est-il préparé, tout est-il cuit, et le temps de nous mettre à table est-il arrivé. Il est juste que nous commencions par les festins de l'âme puisque, sans l'ombre d'un doute, elle l'emporte sur le reste de notre être, et qu'elle est sans comparaison la meilleure partie de nous-mêmes. D'ailleurs, il est de toute évidence que la fête des saints se rapporte bien plus à l'âme qu'au corps. Or, les âmes doivent prendre beaucoup plus de part aux choses qui se rapportent à l'âme, attendu qu'il y a entre ces choses et elles un plus grand rapport. Voilà pourquoi aussi les saints compatissent beaucoup plus aux âmes, désirent davantage les biens des âmes et se complaisent plus dans leur réfection, ils ont, comme nous, été passibles, comme nous ils ont eu à déplorer les peines de notre voyage et de notre misérable exil, et à éprouver le poids accablant de ce corps, le tumulte du siècle, et les tentations de l'ennemi. On ne saurait donc révoquer en doute que cette solennité ne leur soit beaucoup plus agréable, parce qu'il y est pourvu, au festin des âmes, que celle que les mondains célèbrent, en donnant plus de soins à la chair dans les désirs de la volupté.

2. Mais où trouverons-nous le pain des âmes dans cette terre déserte, dans ce séjour d'horreur, dans cette solitude? Où procurer le pain spirituel, sous le soleil où ne se trouve que travail,douleur et affliction d’esprit? Mais je sais quelqu'un qui a dit. « Demandez et vous recevrez » (Mt

7,7), et ailleurs : «Si donc vous autres, tout méchants que vous êtes, vous savez néanmoins donner de bonnes choses à vos enfants, à combien plus forte raison, votre Père qui est dans les cieux donnera-t-il le bon esprit à ceux qui le lui demandent (Lc 11,13)?» Je n'ignore pas avec quelles instances vous avez, pendant toute la nuit et toute cette journée, demandé au ciel de vous donner le pain vivant qui fortifie non le corps, mais le cœur de l'homme. Car je n'oserai vous donner le nom de convives ; nous ne sommes que des, mendiants qui vivons de la prébende de

Dieu, oui, des mendiants, étendus à la porte d'un roi excessivement riche, des pauvres couverts d'ulcères et désirant se nourrir, que dis-je, se soutenir au moins en mangeant les miettes qui tombent de la table de leurs maîtres dont ils font, aujourd'hui la fête, qui nagent en ce moment au sein des délices, et qui reçoivent une mesure bonne et foulée, une mesure qui déborde. Nous espérons bien qu'il se trouvera quelqu'un pour nous distribuer ces miettes, car il y a un chaos immense, une distance infinie entre la libéralité, la bonté de Dieu et la cruauté du mauvais riche.

Aussi, notre Père nous a-t-il donné notre pain aujourd'hui; d'ailleurs, il faut bien que le Père des miséricordes se montre le Père des misérables, il nous a donné, dis-je, le pain du ciel, et nous a envoyé des vivres en abondance: je serai voire fidèle maître d'hôtel, puisse mon âme servir utilement à vous les préparer.

3. Mon cœur s'est échauffé pendant toute la nuit au-dedans de moi pour vous préparer les mets

que je dois vous servir, et pendant que je méditais ces choses, un feu s'est embrasé dans mon âme (Ps 38,4), sans doute, celui que le Seigneur est venu apporter sur la terre, et qu'il n'a d'autre désir que de voir prendre comme un incendie. Pour une nourriture spirituelle, il faut nécessairement une cuisine spirituelle et un feu spirituel. Il ne me reste plus qu'à vous servir ce que j'ai préparé; pour vous, ne voyez que le Seigneur qui vous traite, non le serviteur qui vous distribué ce qu'il vous donne. Cas pour moi, en ce qui me concerne, je ne suis pas autre chose que votre compagnon do service, qui s'unit à vous pour mendier pour lui en même temps que, pour vous,comme le Seigneur le sait, le pain du ciel; mais c'est votre Père lui-même, c'est lui qui vous repaît d'œuvres et de paroles, et même de la chair de son propre Fils, qui est une vraie nourriture. Quant aux œuvres, je lis: «Ma nourriture est de faire la volonté de mon Père (Jn 4,34),» pour ce qui est des paroles, je lis également: «L'homme ne vit pas seulement de pain, mais de toute parole quisort de la bouche de Dieu (Dt 8,3).» Nous avons donc à nous nourrir aujourd'hui de ses œuvres et de ses paroles; ensuite nous recevrons, s'il nous en fait la grâce, le sacrement sans tache de son corps sur la très-sainte table de son autel.

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[1] Au 4ème siècle déjà, l’Église célébrait la mémoire de tous les chrétiens martyrs de la foi le 13 mai. En 615, le Pape Boniface IV officialise cette célébration en instituant la fête de tous les martyrs afin de commémorer la consécration du Panthéon, temple antique romain transformé en église chrétienne et dédiée à la bienheureuse Vierge Marie et à tous les martyrs. Ce temple, dédié à tous les dieux (Panthéon) fut ainsi converti pour célébrer la mémoire de tous les martyrs, c’est à dire de ceux qui “venant de la grande tribulation ont lavé leur vêtement et les ont blanchis dans le sang de l’Agneau (Ap 7,14). Successivement, la célébration de tous les martyrs a été étendu à celle de tous les saints.

En effet, au cours du 8ème siècle, à l’initiative des Évêques français, la fête de tous les martyrs pris le nom de fête de Toussaint, et fut déplacé au 1er novembre.

 

[2] Bien plus qu’un simple souvenir, la mémoire est une intériorité qui dépasse le temps et l’espace, le mémoriel quidans les Écritures deviennent “ le présent du passé” (Saint Augustin).

 

[3] Le Catéchisme de l’Église catholique affirme (n.960) que “l’expression communion des saints indique avant tout les “choses saintes) [sancta] et d’abord l’Eucharistie avec laquelle est représentée et produite l’unité des fidèles, des personnes saintes [sancti] dans le Christ qui est mort pour tous, afin que si quelqu’un souffre en et pour le Christ, il porte du fruit à tous.

 

[4] C’est aussi l’enseignement du Papa François dans sa récente encyclique DILEXIT NOS (publiée le24 octobre 2024) dans laquelle il enseigne que le Très Saint Cœur de Jésus montre l'immense amour de Jésus envers nous ses frères et sœurs. En même temps il nous rappelle le devoir premier d'aimer Dieu par-dessus tout et d'aimer notre prochain comme nous-mêmes, comme loi de liberté.

La comunione tra la Chiesa del Cielo e quella della Terra.

 

Festa di Tutti i Santi – Commemorazione dei Fedeli Defunti e Domenica XXXI del Tempo Ordinario – Anno B – 1-2-3 novembre 2024

 

Rito Romano

Ap 7,2-4.9-14; Sal 23; 1 Gv 3,1-3; Mt 5,1-12a

 

Rito Ambrosiano

Is 56,3-7; Sal 23; Ef 2,11-22; Lc 14,1a.15-24

II Domenica dopo Dedicazione del Duomo di Milano.

 

 

1) Concittadini e famigliari del cielo.

La liturgia, che il 1° novembre celebra la Solennità di Tutti i Santi[1] e che il 2 novembre

ricorda tutti morti, ci fa venerare la memoria[2] dei santi non solamente averli modelli esemplari o protettori soccorrevoli, ma per farci vivere in loro compagnia, mediante una famigliarità che si fa preghiera e che consolida l’unione di tutta la Chiesa nello Spirito Santo, mediante l’esercizio della carità fraterna. Per aiutare a capire e vivere sempre di più la preghiera di lode a Dio per i Santi, la carità per i defunti e una vita che abbia come legge della libertà quella dell’amore come propongo alcune riflessioni sulla comunione dei santi e sulla vita eterna.

a- Credere e vivere la comunione dei santi[3], vuol dire credere e vivere la misteriosa ma reale vita in comune che noi condividiamo coi santi: la vita di Cristo in noi è la stessa vita che è in loro.

Come la comunione tra di noi che siamo in cammino su questa Terra ci porta più vicino a Cristo, così la comunione con i santi ci unisce a Cristo, dal quale, come dalla fonte e dal capo, viene tutta la grazia e tutta la vita dello stesso popolo di Dio. Niente è più bello di questa condivisione operata in noi e nei santi dallo Spirito Santo. Grazie a questo amore di condivisione possiamo vivere nella Comunione dei Santi che s’inizia in casa, in fabbrica, in ufficio, nei campi, ovunque una persona umana col suo lavoro esegue il disegno della divina carità condividendo la vita quotidiana.

L’amore che trafigge le nostre opere di vita provvisoria e le trasforma in opere di vita eterna. La Comunione dei Santi è una comunione di amore, che affratella soprattutto nella preghiera tutti i fedeli di Cristo: quelli che sono pellegrini su questa Terra, quelli che, defunti, compiono la loro purificazione, e quelli che sono felici in cielo. Tutti insieme formiamo una sola Chiesa: Una comunità immensa di fratelli e sorelle che nel Fratello dicono Padre Nostro (Cfr. Clemente Rebora). In estrema sintesi, l’amore non è solamente una legge è un dono da condividere, come questa XXXI domenica del Tempo Ordinario ci ricorda.

b- Credere e vivere la vita eterna per noi cristiani non vuol dire credere solamente in una vita che dura per sempre, ma anche in una nuova qualità di esistenza, pienamente immersanell’amore di Dio, che libera dal male e dalla morte e ci pone in comunione senza fine con tutti i fratelli e le sorelle che partecipano dello stesso Amore. L’eternità, pertanto, può essere già presente al centro della vita terrena e temporale, quando l’anima, mediante la grazia, è congiunta a Dio, suo ultimo fondamento. “Tutto passa: solo Dio non muta” (Santa Teresa d’Avila). Dice un Salmo: “Vengono meno la mia carne e il mio cuore; ma la roccia del mio cuore è Dio, è Dio lamia sorte per sempre” (Sal 72/73, 26). Tutti i cristiani, chiamati alla santità, sono uomini e donne

 

2) Nostalgia del Cielo e Comunione felice.

Mentre auguro che queste due feste liturgiche risveglino in noi una nostalgia del Cielo,vorrei invitare a coltivare non solo il desiderio della compagnia dei Santi, ma anche la preghiera

perché Cristo, nostra vita, si mostri anche a noi come si è mostrato ai Santi e ci faccia essere

sempre più radicati in Lui. In questa comunione felice dei santi è quanto mai utile e necessaria la

preghiera che raccomanda alla misericordia di Dio i defunti che in Lui sono vivi, che ci hanno

preceduto e che ci attendono. Essa è garanzia di consolazione, come ci ricorda Sant’Agostino,

che scrive: “Una lacrima per i defunti evapora, un fiore sulla tomba appassisce, una preghiera,

invece, arriva fino al cuore dell’Altissimo”, che redime con il dono del Figlio in Croce. Per questo

abbiamo la certezza che “nessuno andrà perduto”: l’amore di Cristo per noi Gli ha trafitto le

mani e ci ha “inchiodati” eternamente a Cristo. Quelle piaghe sono ora gloriose, e riempiono di

speranza ogni frammento della nostra vita che, in Lui, è ancorato per l’eternità. A questo riguardo

Papa Francesco ha ricordato che “i primi cristiani rappresentavano la speranza con un’ancora, come se la vita fosse l’ancora in quella riva, e tutti noi, andando, tiriamo la corda legata all’ancora … è una bella immagine, questa speranza. Avere il cuore ancorato là dove sono i nostri cari, parenti e amici: dove sono i nostri antenati, dove sono i santi, dove è Gesù. Dove è Dio. Questa è la

speranza: questa è la speranza che non delude. E’ una speranza sicura che viene dalla fede la quale

ci assicura che niente va perduto in Cielo, dove ci sarà il ricongiungimento con nostro padre,

nostra madre, i nostri fratelli e sorelle e tutti gli amici.

In effetti, l’amore più forte della morte è la garanzia che ci sarà il ricongiungimento tanto desiderato. Il cuore appassionato di Cristo è la nostra “dimora stabile e definitiva”, dove ci ritroveremo per sempre uniti nell’Amore, per l’Amore e dall’Amore. Per questo il 2 novembre “commemoriamo” i nostri fratelli : facciamo memoria “con loro” dello stesso amore che ci ha raggiunti e uniti nella grande famiglia di Dio. La liturgia non fa tanto memoria della morte, quanto della risurrezione. La liturgia parla di lacrime asciugate dalla mano di Dio. La preghiera liturgica per i defunti ci fa chiedere: “ammettili a godere la luce del tuo volto”. Ecco un verbo umile e forte, disarmato ed umano: godere. L’Eternità fiorisce nella gioia di un amore goduto per sempre perché niente ci può separare da esso, come ci insegna l’Apostolo Paolo: “Chi ci separerà dall’amore di Cristo? Né angeli né demoni, né vita né morte, nulla ci potrà mai separare dall’amore” (Rm 8,35­37). Preghiamo allora con tutta la Chiesa, che nella Colletta della Messa ci fa chiedere: “Ascolta, o Dio, la preghiera che la comunità dei credenti innalza a te nella fede del Signore risorto, e conferma in noi la beata speranza che insieme ai nostri fratelli defunti risorgeremo in Cristo a vita nuova. Amen”.

Questo propongo per invitare a vivere la festa dei santi, la commemorazione dei defunti e la XXXI domenica del Tempo Ordinario, nella quale ci viene ricordato che l’amore a Dio e al prossimo[4] non è solo un comandamento ma un dono da vivere secondo l’autentico spirito cristiano, cioè nella luce che proviene dal Mistero pasquale che illumina la legge dell’amore come legge di libertà. Cristo è morto e risorto e ci ha aperto il passaggio alla casa del Padre, il Regno della vita e della pace. Chi segue Gesù in questa vita è accolto là, dove Lui ci ha preceduto e ci attende.

Il Vangelo di questa XXXI domenica (Mc 12,28-34) ci ripropone l’insegnamento di Gesù sul più grande comandamento: il comandamento dell’amore, che è duplice: amare Dio e amare il prossimo. I Santi, che abbiamo da poco celebrato tutti insieme in un’unica festa solenne, sono proprio coloro che, confidando nella grazia di Dio, cercano di vivere secondo questa legge fondamentale. In effetti, il comandamento dell’amore lo può mettere in pratica pienamente chi vive in una relazione profonda con Dio, proprio come il bambino diventa capace di amare a partire da una buona relazione con la madre e il padre. San Giovanni d’Avila così scrive all’inizio del suo Trattato dell’amore di Dio: “La causa - dice - che maggiormente spinge il nostro cuore all’amore di Dio è considerare profondamente l’amore che Egli ha avuto per noi… Questo, più dei benefici, spinge il cuore ad amare; perché colui che rende ad un altro un beneficio, gli dà qualcosa che possiede; ma colui che ama, dà se stesso con tutto ciò che ha, senza che gli resti altro da dare» (n. 1). Lo ripeto: l’amore non è riducibile a un comando - è un dono, una realtà che Dio ci fa conoscere e sperimentare, così che, come un seme, possa germogliare anche dentro di noi e svilupparsi nella nostra vita.

 

 

3) Via di santità.

Concludo queste riflessioni con alcuni pensieri sulla santità, perché questo è il tema unificante dei tre giorni che siamo chiamati a vivere come membri della Comunione dei Santi.

La santità, lo sappiamo bene, è per tutti, come ci insegna la Bibbia già nell’Antico Testamento: “Siate santi, perché io, il Signore, Dio vostro, sono santo” (Lv 19,2). E nel Nuovo Testamento San Paolo scriverà: “Questa è la volontà di Dio che siate santi” (1 Ts. 4,3) seguendo in ciò Cristo che nel discorso della Montagna aveva detto: “Siate perfetti come è perfetto il Padre vostro celeste” (Mt 5, 48). In che cosa consiste questa perfezione, questa santità di Dio? Consiste nella pienezza dell’Amore che è Dio. Santo è chi crede all’amore e ha fiducia in Gesù, che ha rivelato la misericordia di Dio. Misericordia gratuitamente offerta e continuamente offerta e offerta a tutti.

La santità non è qualcosa cosa che interessa solo alcuni che hanno doti particolare “La santità non è qualcosa di straordinario, non è per pochi eletti. La santità è per ciascuno di noi un dovere semplice” (Santa M. Teresa di Calcutta). I santi sono i salvati, sono coloro che hanno risposto con amore all’Amore, fino a dare la vita per il Signore.

Oltre al martirio, il modo più alto di donare la vita al Signore è quello della virginità. Le donne, che consacrano la loro verginità per il Regno di Dio[5] restando nel mondo, mostrano che il dono di se stesse e di tutta la loro esistenza è possibile ogni giorno, nell’umiltà della vita quotidiana orientata costantemente a Dio amato sopra ogni cosa, nelle gioie e nelle sofferenze.

Le qualità che fanno da ornamento a questa vita sono: la virginità consacrata e spiritualmente feconda, la carità appassionata, modestia riservata, dolcezza discreta, l’umiltà mariana: in breve: la sapienza del cuore. Per questo nel giorno della loro consacrazione la Chiesa chiede per queste donne che “Contemplino sempre il divino Maestro e al suo esempio conformino la loro vita. Risplenda in loro una perfetta castità, un'obbedienza generosa, una povertà vissuta con letizia evangelica. Ti piacciano per l'umiltà, o Padre, ti servano docilmente, aderiscano a te con tutto il cuore. Siano pazienti nelle prove, saldi nella fede, lieti nella speranza, operosi nell’amore. La loro vita a te consacrata edifichi la Chiesa, promuova la salvezza del mondo e appaia come segno luminoso dei beni futuri” (RCV n. 8).

 

 

Lettura Patristica

San Bernardo di Chiaravalle

Discorso 2 per la Festa di Tutti i Santi

Opera omnia,

ed. Cisterc. 5 [1968] 364-368.

 

A che serve dunque la nostra lode ai santi, a che il nostro tributo di gloria, a che questa stessa nostra solennità? Perché ad essi gli onori di questa stessa terra quando, secondo la promessa del Figlio, il Padre celeste li onora? A che dunque i nostri encomi per essi? I santi non hanno bisogno dei nostri onori e nulla viene a loro dal nostro culto. E’ chiaro che, quando ne veneriamo la memoria, facciamo i nostri interessi, non i loro. Per parte mia devo confessare che, quando penso ai santi, mi sento ardere da grandi desideri. Il primo desiderio, che la memoria dei santi o suscita o stimola maggiormente in noi, é quello di godere della loro tanto dolce compagnia e di meritare di essere concittadini e familiari degli spiriti beati, di trovarci insieme all’assemblea dei patriarchi, alle schiere dei profeti, al senato degli apostoli, agli eserciti numerosi dei martiri, alla comunità dei confessori, ai cori delle vergini, di essere insomma riuniti e felici nella comunione di tutti i santi. 

Ci attende la primitiva comunità dei cristiani, e noi ce ne disinteresseremo? I santi desiderano di averci con loro e noi e ce ne mostreremo indifferenti? I giusti ci aspettano, e noi non ce ne prenderemo cura? No, fratelli, destiamoci dalla nostra deplorevole apatia. Risorgiamo con Cristo, ricerchiamo le cose di lassù, quelle gustiamo. Sentiamo il desiderio di coloro che ci desiderano, affrettiamoci verso coloro che ci aspettano, anticipano con i voti dell’anima la condizione di coloro che ci attendono. Non soltanto dobbiamo desiderare la compagnia dei santi, ma anche di possederne la felicità. Mentre dunque bramiamo di stare insieme a loro, stimoliamo nel nostro cuore l’aspirazione più intensa a condividerne la gloria. Questa bramosia non é certo disdicevole,

perché una tale fame di gloria é tutt’altro che pericolosa. Vi é un secondo desiderio che viene suscitato in noi dalla commemorazione dei santi, ed é quello che Cristo, nostra vita, si mostri

anche a noi come a loro, e noi pure facciamo con lui la nostra apparizione nella gloria. Frattanto il

nostro capo si presenta a noi non come é ora in cielo, ma nella forma che ha voluto assumere per noi qui in terra. Lo vediamo quindi non coronato di gloria, ma circondato dalle spine dei nostri peccati. Si vergogni perciò ogni membro di far sfoggio di ricercatezza sotto un capo coronato di spine. Comprenda che le sue eleganze non gli fanno onore, ma lo espongono al ridicolo.

Giungerà il momento della venuta di Cristo, quando non si annunzierà più la sua morte. Allora

sapremo che anche noi siamo morti e che la nostra vita é nascosta con lui in Dio. Allora Cristo

apparirà come capo glorioso e con lui brilleranno le membra glorificate. Allora trasformerà il

nostro corpo umiliato, rendendolo simile alla gloria del capo, che é lui stesso.

Nutriamo dunque liberamente la brama della gloria. Ne abbiamo ogni diritto. Ma perché la

speranza di una felicità così incomparabile abbia a diventare realtà, ci é necessario il soccorso dei

santi. Sollecitiamolo premurosamente. Così, per loro intercessione, arriveremo là dove da soli non

potremmo mai pensare di giungere.

 

Godete e rallegratevi, perché grande è la vostro ricompensa nei cieli.

 

La beatitudine, consiste nel raggiungimento di ciò che colma e fa felice definitivamente il cuoredell’uomo. È la felicita che hanno conseguito i santi, che oggi celebriamo riuniti in un’unica festa. 

È una schiera che nessuno può numerare e che hanno lavato le loro vesti nel sangue dell’Agnello, hanno cioè sperimentato in vita e in morte l’infinita misericordia di divina e vivono, anche per le loro virtù, nella beatitudine eterna. Una beatitudine a cui ogni fedele aspira nella speranza che lo stesso Cristo ci infonde. Il Cristo annuncia una felicità che non è nell’ordine dei valori terreni, ma è in vista del Regno, proclamato da lui, e, pur cominciando già su questa terra per coloro che accolgono Cristo e le sue esigenze, sarà definitiva solo nell’eternità. La Chiesa, formata da tutti i santi, ci invita oggi a guardare al futuro e al premio che Dio ha riservato a coloro che lo seguono nel difficile cammino della perfezione evangelica. Tutti vorremmo che, dopo la nostra morte, questo giorno fosse anche la nostra festa. Gesù ci invita a godere e rallegrarci già durante il percorso in vista dell’approdo finale. La santità quindi non è la meta di pochi privilegiati, ma l’aspirazione continua e costante di ogni credente, nella ferma convinzione che questa è innanzi tutto un progetto divino che nessuno esclude e che ci è stata confermata a prezzo del sacrificio di Cristo, che ha dato la vita per la nostra salvezza, quindi per la nostr santità. Non conseguire la meta allora significherebbe rendersi responsabile di quel grand peccato, che nessuno speriamo commetta, di vanificare l’opera redentiva del salvatore.

Sant’Agostino, mosso da santa invidia soleva ripetersi: “Se tanti e tante perché non io?”

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[1] Già nel 4° secolo, la Chiesa si celebrava la memoria di tutti i cristiani martiri della fede il 13 maggio. Nel 615 Papa Bonifacio IV ufficializzò questa celebrazione istituendo la “Festa di Tutti i Martiri” per commemorare la dedicazione del Pantheon, un antico tempio romano trasformato in Chiesa cristiana dedicata alla Beata Vergine Maria e a tutti i martiri. Questo tempio dedicato a tutti gli dei (Pantheon) fu così convertito per celebrare la memoria dei Martiri, cioè di coloro che “vengono dalla grande tribolazione e hanno lavato le loro vesti, rendendole candide nel sangue dell’Agnello” (Ap 7,14). Successivamente, la celebrazione di tutti i martiri è stata estesa a tutti i santi. Infatti, nel corso dell’8° secolo, per iniziativa dei Vescovi franchi, la festa di Tutti i Martiri prese il nome di Festa di Ognissanti e fu spostata al 1° novembre.

[2]  Molto più di un semplice ricordo, la memoria è un’intimità che supera tempo e spazio, il “memoriale” che nella Scrittura giunge a diventare “il presente del passato” (S. Agostino).

 

[3] Il Catechismo della Chiesa Cattolica afferma al n. 960 che “l’espressione comunione dei santi indica prima di tutto le “cose sante” [“sancta”], e innanzi tutto l’Eucaristia con la quale viene rappresentata e prodotta l’unità dei fedeli, che costituiscono un solo corpo in Cristo. E al n. 961 ricorda che comunione dei santi designa anche la comunione delle “persone sante” [“sancti”] nel Cristo che è “morto per tutti”, in modo che quanto ognuno fa o soffre in e per Cristo porta frutto per tutti quelli, che vivono saldamente ancorati a questa “Roccia”. Hanno i piedi sulla terra, ma il cuore già nel Cielo, definitiva dimora degli amici di Dio.

 

[4] Questo è anche l’insegnamento di Papa Francesco nella sua recente enciclica DILEXIT NOS (pubblicata il 24 ottobre 2024) in cui insegna che il Cuore Santissimo di Gesù mostra l’immenso amore di Gesù verso noi, suoi fratelli e sorelle. Allo stesso tempo ci ricorda il dovere primario di amare Dio sopra ogni cosa e di amare il prossimo come noi stessi, come legge di libertà.

[5]La consacrazione è il dono totale di se stessi a Dio, non solo al fine di realizzare la propria vocazione ma per il benedì tutti, perché anche gli altri giungano alla vittoria finale, al Regno di Dio.

In order to see with the eyes of the heart.

XXX Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B - October 27,2024

 

Roman Rite

Jer 31.7 to 9; Ps 126; Heb 5, 1-6; Mk 10, 46-52

Ambrosian Rite

Acts 8.26 to 39; Ps 65; 1 Tim 2, 1-5; 16,14b Mk 16, 14b-20

First Sunday after the dedication of the Cathedral of Milan. 

 

1) A jump in the light.

 The Gospel is a gift, it is always the proclamation of a gift, it is the gift of being able to see, to be able to contemplate the passion of Christ and to be saved by it. This Sunday's Gospel, which precedes the account of Christ’s passion, offers to our meditation the healing of a blind man who, even if he has a name, "Bartimaeus", represents each one of us crying out to Christ. In this blind beggar who cries out to Jesus, we can recognize our inability to see not so much from the physical point of view, but above all from the spiritual one. In him we can recognize our inability to "see" God in our lives to the point of often feeling lost and in spiritual darkness.

However, if we beg for healing, Christ hears our cry. He heals us and saves us, and so we can follow him on the path of light that the miraculously healed eyes of the heart can see.

Along with sight and light, Bartimaeus had received Christ "to know God and man at the same time" (Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation to the Gentiles, 11). It is obvious for him to follow Jesus "on the path" of passion, death and resurrection in Jerusalem. In this context, Bartimaeus represents the "creation that suffers and groans for the pains of childbirth" (Rom 8) and in its lament produces a cry of pain that rises to God for him to listen. The "knowing at the same time God and man" by Clement Alexandrian is to remind us that if it is of man to implore healing, the birth of the new man deified by the Spirit, and therefore to consider the earthly pilgrimage necessary for this purpose, it is of God, the closest of all our neighbors, to listen to the groan that comes from the human being, who, even though it is the most perfect of his creatures, needs grace to fulfill his destiny and walk on the streets of hope" (Pope Francis)

 Today's Gospel is prepared by the first reading taken from Jeremiah’s book of the consolation: these pages are pervaded by a profound hope. God announces to the prophet what seems impossible to the human heart: the people in exile can return to the mountains of Samaria. "Behold, I bring them back from the land of the north, and gather them at the end of the earth; among them are the blind and the lame, the pregnant woman and the woman in labor; they will come back here in great crowd "(Jer.31.8). It is God who acts in the first person, it is God who guides and who leads. To ensure that it is His work, God specifies that in this people of saved those who stand out are not the powerful and noble but rather the suffering, (the blind, the crippled), the weak and those who, in their simplicity, contain in themselves the future of the people: pregnant women and women in labor.

The Gospel passage then offers us the experience of the blind Bartimaeus who, when he "hears" Jesus, shouts to him "Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!", jumps up to Christ and, to throw himself into the light which he still does not have, also throws the little he has: his cloak. He went from blindness to sight, that great sight that is the faith in the man (Son of David) in Jesus Christ, Son of God the Savior

We can look at the sight of Bartimaeus as the model of a believer. Today, St. Mark’s Gospel does not want only to tell us a miracle but rather to talk to us about a journey of faith that comes from listening and, passing through the recognition of one’s own infirmity and the impossibility to cope alone, asks for mercy. There is more: the newly healed man responds to a call by impulsively leaving all his securities (the mantle) to meet the Lord and to follow him through the paths of missionary charity. Overwhelmed by the piety that he had implored, full of the love of God that had become next to him, Bartimaeus goes after Christ, who has healed and saved him from physical and spiritual darkness.

What were (and are today) the conditions for this miracle of light to happen? Prayer ("Jesus, have mercy on me" - Mk 10, 47) and faith ("Go, your faith has saved you" - Mk 10, 52), both are expressions of freedom: the freedom of the blind man who "feels" the presence of the Savior and senses that it is worthwhile to adhere to the Truth of the love of Christ who stops when he hears the cry of the blind Bartimaeus, and the freedom of Jesus that "frees" his emotion. The cry of mercy screamed by the blind man stops the walking Jesus who performs the implored miracle.

Let us put the Gospel scene before the eyes of the heart. Bartimaeus, a poor and blind man, is curled up on the side of the road, ashamed of begging for a living. He is sitting, he has stopped in the same way as do those who give in because of the waves of life. Then, one day, suddenly,  into the village where this beggar asked for charity comes Jesus, who is charity made flesh. This blind man hears the noise of the people surrounding the Messiah, feels a healing presence and senses that he can resume the journey of life in the light.  Bartimaeus hurries (literally makes a leap) to Jesus and begs him shouting: "Have mercy on me!" (The invocation "Lord have pity" - "Kyrie eleison" of the Mass finds its origin here). Some scold him and tell him to stay calm, but he shouts and prays even louder: "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

He does not ask for something, he ask the mercy of God over his life. Let us also hasten to Christ and, like the blind man, implore "Be merciful to me, Son of David, and open the eyes of my soul, that I may see the Light of the world who are you, my God, (see Jn 8:12) so that I may become the son of the divine light (see Jn 12:36). O clement, sends the Comforter on me, so that he himself teaches me (see Jn 14:26) what concerns you and what is yours, God of the universe. Dwell in me, as you said, so that I become worthy to dwell in you (see Jn 15, 4). "(Ethics by Simeon the New Theologian (949 AD – 1022 AD).

Let’s run to Jesus and we will get the sight of the heart and of the mind.  Let us draw near and, after obtaining sight from Christ, we will also be irradiated by the splendor of his light. The closer we get to the Messiah, putting us closer to the brightness of his light, the more beautifully and splendidly will radiate his splendor, as revealed by God himself through the prophet” Draw near unto me and I will draw near to you, says the Lord” (Zech 1, 3), and again” I am a God who is close and not a distant God” (Jer 23, 23).

Not all come to Him in the same way, but each one goes to Him according to his or her abilities and capabilities (see Mt 25, 15). 

The important thing is to go to Him as we can. For him this is enough to save us.  Let’s make ours the prayer of the Psalm "Restore us, let your face shine, and we shall be saved" (Ps 80, 20).

 The important thing is to be on the road where Jesus of Nazareth passes. It is the way of love that leads to Jerusalem, where the Paschal passion and resurrection, toward which the Redeemer goes for us, will take place. It is the way of his return to the house of the Father and of his exodus which is also ours: the only way of reconciliation that leads to Heaven, "Earth" of justice, love, peace and light. God is light and the creator of light. We humans are children of light, made to see the light. We do not see because we are blinded by our sins and by our lack of faith. If we are realistic, we must beg and then the Lord Jesus, who begs our faith and our love, heals us and makes us part of the Kingdom of Heaven, which “is not a matter of food and drink, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the holy Spirit;whoever serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by others. Let us pursue what leads to peace and to building up one another”. (Rom 14: 17-19).

 

2)     A loving question and a request for compassion.

 Bartimaeus, like each one of us, needs to be loved, and is fortunate to receive by Jesus a loving question. Not “what do you want to do?" asks Jesus, but: "What do you want me to do?” It's a question that comes from the heart of Christ and shows his compassion. 

If one day we should hear these same words spoken to us, what would we ask to the Lord? Personally, I would put to Christ the same question of Bartimaeus "Lord, have mercy on me", then I would add this second prayer "Come, Lord Jesus", and I would continue "Come, Lord, in your great goodness, dwell in me for faith and enlighten my blindness. Stay with me and defend my weakness. If you are with me, who can deceive me? If you are with me, I can everything in you, who give me strength. If you are for me, who can be against me? You are born into the world, Jesus, to live in me, with me and for me, to take sides by me, to be my Savior. Thank you, Lord Jesus. "(Saint Bernard of Clairvaux).

 Let us identify ourselves with Bartimaeus and so we will be able to look at the eyes of Christ who looks at us with love and compassion. If we ask the Lord to increase our faith, we can see with the eyes of faith and be filled with the compassion of Christ.

Do not forget, though, that to see God it takes pure heart and pure eyes. You cannot expect to see God if you are impure. How is it possible to be cleansed? Invoking forgiveness and contemplating with confidence the merciful goodness of the Lord. Our purification, our confidence and our justice are in the faith that leads us to contemplate the greatness of the Lord merciful[1], compassionate and welcoming.

In fact, the passage of today's Gospel[2], before narrating the miracle, tells us that Jesus welcomes the blind beggar. Like everyone else, the first thing that this man needs, is to be welcomed. But Christ does even more, he surprises him filling him with the love that heals eyes and heart.  He covers this man with light and with the light of faith. Bartimaeus recognizes in Jesus Christ, the incarnated God. With this miracle the effective love of God invades his life to sustain him in every moment with His Presence. With our sight healed by the Redeemer, let focus our eyes on Him and ask Him the strength to lean only on Him, relying nothing on ourselves "For with the Lord is the source of life. In his light we see light "(see Ps 36/37, 10).

 In this light we must not stop begging Christ. Like the blind man, let’s abandon that piece of road where we sit begging for life and let us become beggars of Christ and, therefore, disciples of Life. With the miracle of sight Bartimaeus is gripped in a new and surprising relationship that attracts and entices him. The no-longer-blind man follows Christ with his heart and his eyes turned to him, origin (alpha) and fulfillment (omega) of everything: family, work, friendships. Now he knows Whom to beg; he will follow Him on a path of faith and light that will last for a lifetime to learn to go "straight ahead".

 

3) The road.

The road of the blind man is our road, and Christ goes on it always, to the very end. He came for the blind, for each one of us and, until there is a blind man, he will be on the road. He is the Way. Faith enables the healed blind man, like each of us, to walk on it. Faith is a journey of enlightenment: it starts from the humility of recognizing ourselves in need of salvation and arrives at the personal encounter with Christ, who calls us to follow the path of love which coincides with the way of the Cross.

  The way par excellence to follow the Redeemer on this path is consecrated virginity. With their consecration the Virgins go with a firm step on the path of love because, with the total, spiritual and physical offering of themselves, they follow Christ on the path of the Cross, which is the road of sacrifice.  They consecrate to Christ even their body to be pure souls to His full service. Thanks to their virginal and devoted love they adore the Body of Christ that is on the altar or in the tabernacle “caring for his members that are the poor" (St. Gregory the Great). These brides of Christ do not speak of love: they love, testifying that it is possible to imitate Christ who gave his life with a love deep, suffering, gentle, and "tender, namely, attentive to the totality of our being" (Saint John Paul II).

 

 

 

 

Patristic Reading

Golden Chain

on Mk 10,46-52

 

Jerome: The name of the city agrees with the approaching Passion of our Lord; for it is said, "And they came to Jericho." Jericho means moon or anathema; but the failing of the flesh of Christ is the preparation of the heavenly Jerusalem.

It goes on: "And as He went out of Jericho with His disciples, and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the wayside begging."

Bede: Matthew says, that there were two blind men sitting by the wayside, who cried to the Lord, and received their sight; but Luke relates that one blind man was enlightened by Him, with a like order of circumstances, as He was going into Jericho; where no one, at least no wise man, will suppose that the Evangelists wrote things contrary to one another, but that one wrote more fully, what another has left out.

We must therefore understand that one of them was the more important, which appears from this circumstance, that (p. 215) Mark has related his name and the name of his father.

Augustine, de Con. Evan., ii, 65: It is for this reason that Mark wished to relate his case alone, because his receiving his sight had gained for the miracle a fame, illustrious in proportion to the extent of the knowledge of his affliction. But although Luke relates a miracle done entirely in the same way, nevertheless we must understand that a similar miracle was wrought on another blind man, and a similar method of the same miracle.

It goes on: "And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy upon me."

Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: The blind man calls the Lord, the Son of David, hearing the way in which the passing multitude praised Him, and feeling sure that the expectation of the prophets was fulfilled.

There follows: "And many charged him that he should hold his peace."

Origen, in Matt. tom. xvi, 13 (ed. note: these preceding words of Origen are necessary to make up the sense: "Next observe, that on the blind man's crying out, Thou Son of David, have mercy upon me, it was they who went before that charged him that he should hold his peace." see Lc 18,39): As if he said, Those who were foremost in believing rebuked him when he cried, "Thou Son of David," that he might hold his peace, and cease to call Him by a contemptible name, when he ought to say, Son of God, have pity upon me. He however did not cease; wherefore it goes on: "But he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy upon me;" and the Lord heard his cry; wherefore there follows: "And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called."

But observe, that the blind man, of whom Luke speaks, is inferior to this one; for neither did Jesus call him, nor order him to be called, but He commanded him to be brought to Him, as though unable to come by himself; but this blind man by the command of our Lord is called to Him.

Wherefore it goes on: "And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise, He calleth thee;" but he casting away his garment, comes to Him. It goes on: "And he casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus."

Perchance, the garment of the blind man means the veil of blindness and poverty, with which he was surrounded, which he cast away and came to Jesus; and the Lord questions him, as he is approaching.

Wherefore there follows: "And Jesus answered and said unto him, What will thou that I (p. 216) should do unto thee."

Bede: Could He who was able to restore sight be ignorant of what the blind man wanted? His reason then for asking is that prayer may be made to Him; He puts the question, to stir up the blind man's heart to pray.

Chrys., Hom. in Matt., 56: Or He asks, lest men should think that what He granted the man was not what he wanted. For it was His practice to make the good disposition of those who were to be cured known to all men, and then to apply the remedy, in order to stir up others to emulation, and to shew that he who was to be cured was worthy to obtain the grace.

It goes on: "The blind man said unto Him, Lord, that I may receive my sight."

 

Bede: For the blind man looks down upon every gift except light, because, whatever a blind man may possess, without light he cannot see what he possesses.

Pseudo-Jerome: But Jesus, considering his ready will, rewards him with the fulfilment of his desire.

Origen: Again, it is more worthy to say Rabboni, or, as it is in other places, Master, than to say Son of David; wherefore He given him health, not on his saying, Son of David, but when he said Rabboni.

Wherefore there follows: "And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him in the way."

Theophylact: The mind of the blind man is grateful, for when he was made whole, he did not leave Jesus, but followed Him.

Bede: In a mystical sense, however, Jericho, which means the moon, points out the waning of our fleeting race. The Lord restored sight to the blind man, when drawing near to Jericho, because coming in the flesh and drawing near to His Passion, He brought many to the faith; for it was not in the first years of His Incarnation, but in the few years before He suffered, that He shewed the mystery of the Word to the world.

Pseudo-Jerome: But the blindness in part, brought upon the Jews (Rm 11,25), will in the end be enlightened when He sends unto them the Prophet Elias.

Bede: Now in that on approaching Jericho, He restored sight to one man, and on quitting it to two, He intimated, that before His Passion He preached only to one nation, the Jews, but after His Resurrection and Ascension, through His Apostles He opened the mysteries both of His Divinity and His Humanity to Jews and Gentiles. (p. 217) Mark indeed, in writing that one received his sight, refers to the saving of the Gentiles, that the figure might agree with the salvation of those, whom he instructed in the faith; but Matthew, who wrote his Gospel to the faithful among the Jews, because it was also to reach the knowledge of the Gentiles, fitly says that two received their sight, that He might teach us that the grace of faith belonged to each people.

Therefore, as the Lord was departing with His disciples and a great multitude from Jericho, the blind man was sitting, begging by the way-side; that is, when the Lord ascended into heaven, and many of the faithful followed Him, yea when all the elect from the beginning of the world entered together with Him the gate of heaven (ed. note: This refers to the opinion that by the descent of our Lord into hell, the Patriarchs were freed from the limbus Patrum, where they had been confined, and were carried by Him into a place of happiness; see authorities quoted in Pearson on the Creed, Art. 5), presently the Gentile people began to have hope of its own illumination; for it now sits begging by the wayside, because it has not entered upon and reached the path of truth.

Pseudo-Jerome: The people of the Jews also, because it kept the Scriptures and did not fulfill them, begs and starves by the wayside; but he cries out, "Son of David, have mercy upon me," because the Jewish people are enlightened by the merits of the Prophets. Many rebuke him that he may hold his peace, that is, sins and devils restrain the cry of the poor; and he cried the more, because when the battle waxes great, hands are to be lifted up with crying to the Rock of help, that is, Jesus of Nazareth.

Bede: Again, the people of the Gentiles, having heard of the fame of the name of Christ, sought to be made a partaker of Him, but many spoke against Him, first the Jews, then also the Gentiles, lest the world which was to be enlightened should call upon Christ. The fury of those who attacked Him, however, could not deprive of salvation those who were fore-ordained to life. And He heard the blind man's cry as He was passing, but stood when He restored his sight, because by His Humanity He pitied him, who by the power of His Divinity has driven away the darkness from our mind; for in that Jesus was born and suffered for our sakes, He as it were passed by, because this action is temporal; but when God is said to stand, it means, that, (p. 218) Himself without change, He sets in order all changeable things. But the Lord calls the blind man, who cries to Him, when He sends the word of faith to the people of the Gentiles by preachers; and they call on the blind man to be of good cheer and to rise, and bid him come to the Lord, when by preaching to the simple, they bid them have hope of salvation, and rise from the sloth of vice, and gird themselves for a life of virtue.

Again, he throws away his garment and leaps, who, throwing aside the bonds of the world, with unencumbered pace hastens to the Giver of eternal light.

Pseudo-Jerome: Again, the Jewish people comes leaping, stripped of the old man, as a hart (red stag, male deer) leaping on the mountains, that is, laying aside sloth, it meditates on Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles on high, and raises itself to heights of holiness. How consistent also is the order of salvation. First we heard by the Prophets, then we cry aloud by faith, next we are called by Apostles, we rise up by penitence, we are stripped of our old garment by baptism, and of our choice we are questioned. Again, the blind man when asked requires, that he may see the will of the Lord.

Bede: Therefore let us also imitate him, let us not seek for riches, earthly goods, or honours from the Lord, but for that Light, which we alone with the Angels can see, the way to which is faith; wherefore also Christ answers to the blind man, "Thy faith hath saved thee." But he sees and follows who works what his understanding tells him is good; for he follow Jesus, who understands and executes what is good, who imitates Him, who had no wish to prosper in this world, and bore reproach and derision. And because we have fallen from inward joy, by delight in the things of the body, He shews us what bitter feelings the return thither will cost us.

Theophylact: Further, it says that he followed the Lord in the way, that is, in this life, because, after it, all are excluded who follow Him not here, by working His commandments.

Pseudo-Jerome: Or, this is the way of which He said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." This is the narrow way, which leads to the heights of Jerusalem, and Bethany, to the mount of Olives, which is the mount of light and consolation.

 

 

 

 

 

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[1] See William of Saint-Thierry (1085-1148 AD) “The contemplation of God“ 1-2;Sc 61

[2] “As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging . On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.  But he kept calling out all the more "Son of David, have pity on me." Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you." He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.  Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?"  The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see."  Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you."  Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way” (Mk 10, 46-52)