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. "

 

L’autre rive

XIIIème dimanche du Temps Ordinaire – Année B – 23 juin 2024

 

Rite Romain
Jb 38,1.8-11; Ps 106; 2 Cor 5,14-17; Mc 4,35-41 

 

Rite Ambrosien 

Gn 18,17-21;19,1.12-13.15.23-29; Ps 32; 1Cor 6,9-12; Mt 22,1-14

 IV Dimanche après Pentecôte. 

 

1) Prendre le large vers l'autre rive. 

L’Evangile d’aujourd’hui décrit la tempête apaisée ; mais, c’est sur la phrase initiale de Jésus : « Passons sur l’autre rive » (Mc 4,35) que je désirerais avant tout attirer l’attention. 

C’est une invitation que Jésus adresse aux siens après avoir parlé du Royaume des Cieux qui devient un grand arbre à partir d’une petite semence. Comme je l’ai déjà dit d’autres fois, « rester » avec le Christ est un verbe de mouvement parce qu’il implique nécessairement de se déplacer et de se mettre à sa suite. 

C’est une invitation faite quand le soir tombe, donc lorsque les disciples qui suivent Jésus, pensent être arrivés au bout du chemin de la journée et ont l’exigence juste et humaine de s’arrêter et de se reposer de la fatigue de « porter » l’évangile avec Jésus. Le premier moment de cet « aller au-delà » est de laisser la foule, de rester seuls avec Jésus pour s’éloigner avec Lui de la rive où ils étaient arrivés. 

La barque représente notre vie qui avance avec le Sauveur. C’est un bois qui sillonne les vagues du temps et de l’espace et qui est capable de porter le Fils de Dieu. Jésus, vrai homme et vrai Dieu, est si puissant qu’il ne se préoccupe pas de la tempête. Il peut arriver que le vent souffle violement : ce sont toutes les voix qui s’agitent à l’intérieur et à l’extérieur de nous-même et qui se lèvent souvent avec une force telle que nos pas dérapent du sentier alors qu’ils étaient assurés quelques instants auparavant. 

Les vagues se déversent dans la barque : ce qui fait partie de nos journées et que nous pensons bien connaître se déverse contre nous. Certains imprévus nous saisissent et nous mettent dans les mains de l’inattendu à tel point que notre vie est remplie par la peur, même quand pensons maîtriser les événements. 

Aujourd’hui, Jésus nous donne une leçon claire sur la manière d’affronter la mer de notre histoire personnelle et de ce monde : nous devons naviguer avec Lui, nous devons Le prendre à bord de notre barque, « comme il est », parce qu’Il nous pilote vers l’autre rive, en nous sauvant des eaux orageuses. 

Avec le Christ dont l’amour est plus fort que la force de la nature, nous pouvons arriver vers l’autre rive qui nous pouvons rejoindre grâce à notre abandon confiant en Lui. La tempête 

de la nature et celle du cœur humain, sont dangereuses et peuvent conduire à la mort. Au contraire, la « tempête du cœur de Dieu » conduit à la paix si nous disons comme les apôtres : « Maître, nous sommes perdus ; cela ne te fait rien ? » (Ibid. v. 38). 

 

2) Jésus dormait, mais son cœur veillait. 

Uniquement dans ce passage de Saint-Marc, Jésus est présenté pendant qu’il dort. Comment interpréter ce sommeil? Jésus est réellement fatigué. Après une journée de prédication dans laquelle il a dépensé beaucoup d’énergie, le Sauveur monte dans la barque et s’endort profondément. Nous pouvons constater ici la réelle humanité de Jésus. Il est toutefois utile ajouter quelques explications : Jésus a confiance en les siens comme «bons marins », il ne doute pas de leur responsabilité et capacité professionnelle. Nous aussi nous devons faire confiance au Seigneur comme « navigateur ». 

Certes, son comportement est rempli de mystère : son sommeil tranquille signifie –à mon avis- la confiance sereine en Dieu, la confiance du Fils qui se sent protégé et aimé par le Père, entre ses bras, même dans la tempête furieuse de la mer et de la vie. 

Nous devons faire nôtre ce comportement de Jésus, en priant le psaume 130 qui nous suggère une des plus belles images de notre abandon en Dieu, même dans l’épreuve : « Je tiens à mon âme égale et silencieuse. Mon âme est en moi comme un enfant, comme un petit enfant contre sa mère. » (Ps 130, 2). 

 

3) Le Cœur de l’homme est une demande d’infini. 

En plus de nous apprendre l’abandon total en Dieu, Jésus Sauveur qui dort dans la barque sur la mer agitée, réveille le cri de notre foi. En effet, Jésus reproche aux siens : « Pourquoi avez-vous peur ? Vous n’avez pas encore la foi? ». Il exige de ses frères la foi pour réveiller la puissance de son amour. 

Avec la question : « Pourquoi avez-vous peur ? », le Christ déplace l’attention de la puissance du miracle qui vient de se produire à la foi de ses disciples. Certes, ils viennent de se détacher du précédent travail, de la famille, de la foule, pour rester avec Jésus, en le suivant sur les rues du monde, mais ce n’est pas suffisant : ils sont appelés à croire en Lui dans l’abandon. Et Jésus, Maître et Ami, éduque cette foi en leur faisant comprendre qu’ils ne doivent pas prétendre à une présence et une puissance divine qui les éloigne de la fatigue de vivre. Il les éduque de plus à être courageux ( = agir avec le cœur) en éduquant le cœur. 

Comment répondre au Christ qui nous demande : « Pourquoi avez-vous peur? ». En lui posant la même question que celle du premier des apôtres « Augmente en nous la foi, Seigneur » (Lc 17,5). Foi qui est un acte d’intelligence et d’abandon de la volonté. 

Faisons de sorte que notre vie soit réellement cette ouverture de notre esprit et de notre cœur vers une foi chaque jour plus pure, vers une foi chaque jour plus grande. Prions pour que notre foi nous ouvre toujours davantage au don de Dieu. La foi mature est capable de nous rendre tranquilles même dans les difficultés et sereins même dans la persécution. Pensons à Saint- Pierre qui dormait sereinement en prison. Pensons aussi à la « petite » Sainte-Thérèse de l’enfant Jésus. Elle qui mourut à l’âge de 24 ans à peine, est la sainte de la simplicité et de l’amour. La Sainte de l’abandon confiant à la volonté de Dieu. 

Si nous voulons grandir dans la foi, nous devons éduquer le cœur, en imitant « la petite » Sainte de Lisieux. 

Eduquer notre cœur à percevoir Jésus. Que signifie Le percevoir ? : C’est faire passer notre cœur dans le cœur du Christ, et le cœur du Christ vers le nôtre. De cette façon nous pouvons non seulement ne pas avoir peur de la barque de la vie, mais aussi pacifier la mer de la vie avec et par le Christ. 

Une façon significative de vie de percevoir le Christ est celle des vierges consacrées dans le monde. A travers la virginité, ces femmes éduquent leur cœur en le « construisant » dans celui du Christ qui aime et veut le bien de celui qui se donne à Lui. 

Le style de vie de la Vierge consacrée dans le monde est celui de celui qui ne possède pas le prochain parce que son cœur est rempli de l’amour de Dieu. Riche de cet amour, elle en devient un signe limpide et pratique de la bienveillance qu’elle a reçu de Dieu ; elle le manifeste envers le prochain. En effet, la virginité est vocation à l’amour : elle rend le cœur libre d’aimer Dieu. Libre des devoirs de l’amour conjugal, le cœur vierge peut se sentir, donc, plus disponible pour l’amour gratuit des frères. 

Certes, la virginité implique le renoncement à la forme d’amour typique du mariage. Mais le renoncement est accepté dans le but d’assumer plus en profondeur de dynamisme, inhérent à la sexualité, d’ouverture oblative envers les autres , en le transfigurant et en le rendant puissant moyennant la présence de l' Esprit qui apprend à aimer le Père et les frères comme le Seigneur Jésus. 

Et le 15 mai 2008,  le Pape Benoît XVI leur dit : « Que votre vie soit un témoignage particulier de charité et un signe visible du Règne futur. (Rituel de la consécration des vierges, 30). Faites en sorte que votre présence irradie toujours la dignité d’être l'épouse du Christ exprime la nouveauté de l’existence chrétienne et l’attente sereine de la vie future. De cette façon, à travers votre vie, vous pouvez être des étoiles qui orientent le chemin du monde. Le choix de la vie virginale, en fait, est un appel à la fugacité des réalités de la terre et anticipation des biens futurs. La vierge consacrée, en fait, s’identifie à cette épouse qui, avec l’Esprit, invoque la venue du Seigneur : ‘ L’Esprit et l’épouse disent : ‘viens’ (Ap 22,17) ». (Discours aux participantes du Congrès de l’Ordo Virginum, n.6). 

 

Lecture patristique
Saint Augustin d’Hippone (354 - 430)

Sermon 63, 1-3

PL 38, 424-425.

 

Je vais, avec la grâce du Seigneur, vous entretenir de l'évangile de ce jour. Je veux aussi, avec l'aide de Dieu, vous encourager à ne pas laisser la foi dormir dans vos cœurs au milieu des tempêtes et des houles de ce monde. Le Seigneur Jésus Christ exerçait sans aucun doute son pouvoir sur le sommeil non moins que sur la mort, et quand il naviguait sur le lac, le Tout-Puissant n'a pas pu succomber au sommeil sans le vouloir. Si vous le pensez, c'est que le Christ dort en vous. Si, au contraire, le Christ est éveillé en vous, votre foi aussi est éveillée. L'Apôtre dit: Que le Christ habite en vos cœurs par la foi (Ep 3,17). Donc le sommeil du Christ est le signe d'un mystère. Les occupants de la barque représentent les âmes qui traversent la vie de ce monde sur le bois de la croix. En outre, la barque est la figure de l'Église. Oui, vraiment, tous les fidèles sont des temples où Dieu habite, et le cœur de chacun d'eux est une barque naviguant sur la mer: elle ne peut sombrer si l'esprit entretient de bonnes pensées. 

On t'a fait injure: c'est le vent qui te fouette; tu t'es mis en colère: c'est le flot qui monte. Ainsi, quand le vent souffle et que monte le flot, la barque est en péril. Ton cœur est en péril, ton cœur est secoué par les flots. L'outrage a suscité en toi le désir de la vengeance. Et voici: tu t'es vengé, cédant ainsi sous la faute d'autrui, et tu as fait naufrage. Pourquoi? Parce que le Christ s'est endormi en toi, c'est-à-dire que tu as oublié le Christ. Réveille-donc le Christ, souviens-toi du Christ, que le Christ s'éveille en toi. Pense à lui. 

Que voulais-tu? Te venger. As-tu oublié la parole qu'il a dite sur la croix: Père, pardonne-leur: ils ne savent pas ce qu'ils font (Lc 23,34)? Celui qui s'était endormi dans ton cœur a refusé de se venger. 

Réveille-le, rappelle-toi son souvenir. Son souvenir, c'est sa parole; son souvenir, c'est son commandement. Et quand tu auras éveillé le Christ en toi, tu te diras à toi-même: "Quel homme suis-je pour vouloir me venger? Qui suis-je pour user de menaces contre un homme? Peut-être serai-je mort avant d'avoir pu me venger? Et quand viendra pour moi le moment de quitter ce corps, si j'expire brûlant de haine et assoiffé de vengeance, celui qui n'a pas voulu se venger ne m'accueillera pas. Celui qui a dit: Donnez, et vous recevrez; pardonnez, et vous serez pardonnes (Lc 6,37) ne m'accueillera pas. Je réprimerai donc ma colère, et mon cœur trouvera à nouveau le repos." Le Christ a commandé à la mer, et elle s'est calmée (cf. Mt 8,26). 

Ce que je viens de vous dire au sujet des mouvements de colère doit devenir votre règle de conduite dans toutes vos tentations. La tentation surgit: c'est le vent qui souffle; ton âme est troublée: c'est le flot qui monte. Réveille le Christ, laisse-le te parler. Qui donc est celui-ci, pour que même les vents et la mer lui obéissent (Mt 8,27)? Quel est celui à qui la mer obéit? A lui la mer, c'est lui qui l'a faite (Ps 94,5). Par lui, tout s'est fait (Jn 1,3). Imite plutôt les vents et la mer: obéis au Créateur. La mer entend l'ordre du Christ, vas-tu rester sourd? La mer obéit, le vent s'apaise, vas-tu continuer à souffler? 

Que voulons-nous dire par là? Parler, agir, ourdir des machinations, n'est-ce pas souffler, et refuser de s'apaiser au commandement du Christ? Quand votre cœur est troublé, ne vous laissez pas submerger par les vagues. Si pourtant le vent nous renverse - car nous ne sommes que des hommes -, et qu'il excite les passions mauvaises de notre cœur, ne désespérons pas. Réveillons le Christ, afin de poursuivre notre voyage sur une mer paisible et de parvenir à la patrie. 

 

L’altra riva

Domenica XII del Tempo Ordinario – Anno B – 23 giugno 2024 

Rito Romano
Gb 38,1.8-11; Sal 106; 2 Cor 5,14-17; Mc 4,35-41 

Rito Ambrosiano
Gen 18,17-21;19,1.12-13.15.23-29; Sal 32; 1Cor 6,9-12; Mt 22,1-14 IV Domenica dopo Pentecoste. 

 

1) Prendere il largo verso l’altra riva.

Del Vangelo di questa domenica, che descrive la tempesta sedata, vorrei prima di tutto attirare l’attenzione sulla frase iniziale di Gesù: “Passiamo all’altra riva” (Mc 4,35). 

Un invito che Gesù rivolge ai suoi dopo aver parlato del Regno dei cieli, che da seme diventa albero grande. Come ho già detto altre volte lo “stare” con Cristo è un verbo di moto perché implica necessariamente uno spostarsi, un seguirLo. 

Un invito fatto quando cade la sera, dunque quando i seguaci di Gesù pensano di aver concluso il cammino della giornata ed hanno la umana e giusta esigenza di fermarsi e riposare dalle fatiche di portare con Cristo il vangelo. Il primo momento di questo andare oltre, è di lasciare la folla, di restare soli con Gesù per allontanarsi con Lui dalla riva dove erano arrivati. 

La barca è la nostra vita che procede con il Salvatore. E’ un legno che solca le onde del tempo e dello spazio ed è capace di portare con sé il Figlio di Dio. Gesù, vero uomo e vero Dio, è così potente che non si preoccupa della tempesta. Può capitare che il vento soffi con violenza: tutte le voci che si agitano dentro e fuori di noi e che spesso si levano con tanta forza da sbandare i nostri passi fino a poco prima sicuri del sentiero. Le onde si rovesciano dentro la barca: ciò che è parte delle nostre giornate e che ci sembra di conoscere bene si ribalta contro di noi, certi significati che ci afferrano improvvisi e ci fanno sentire in balìa dell’inaspettato al punto da riempire di paura la vita che pensiamo ci appartenga. 

Oggi Gesù ci dà una chiara lezione di come affrontare il mare della storia personale e di questo nostro mondo: dobbiamo navigare con Lui, dobbiamo prenderLo sulla nostra barca, “così com’è” (ibid. v. 36), perché Lui ci porti all’altra riva, salvandoci dalle acque burrascose. 

Con Cristo, il cui amore è più forte della forza della natura possiamo arrivare all’altra riva raggiungibile grazie all’abbandono confidente in Lui. La tempesta naturale e quella del cuore umano è pericolosa e può portare alla morte, la “tempesta del cuore di Dio” porta pace, purché come gli apostolici diciamo; “Maestro, non t’importa che siamo perduti” (ibid. v.38). 

 

2) Gesù dormiva, ma il suo cuore vegliava. 

Solo in questo brano di San Marco Gesù è presentato mentre dorme. Come interpretare tale sonno? Gesù è veramente stanco. Dopo una giornata di predicazione in cui ha speso tante energie, il Salvatore sale in barca è si addormenta profondamente, al punto tale di avvertire neppure il rumore del vento e delle onde. Possiamo così constatare qui la reale umanità di Gesù. Ma è utile aggiungere qualche altra spiegazione: Gesù si fida dei suoi, non dubita della loro responsabilità e capacità professionale, anche noi dobbiamo fidarci di Lui. Certo il suo atteggiamento è carico di mistero: il suo sonno tranquillo significa –secondo me- la serena fiducia in Dio, la fiducia del Figlio che si sente protetto e amato dal Padre, tra le sue braccia, anche nell'infuriare della tempesta del mare e della vita. 

Dobbiamo fare nostro questo atteggiamento di Cristo, magari pregando il Salmo 130 che ci suggerisce una delle più dolci immagini del nostro abbandonarci in Dio, anche nella prova: “Sono tranquillo e sereno come bimbo svezzato in braccio a sua madre, come un bimbo svezzato è l'anima mia” (130,2-3). 

 

 

3) Il cuore dell’uomo è domanda di infinito. 

Oltre ad insegnarci ad avere un abbandono totale in Lui, con il suo sonno sulla barca sbattuta dal mare in tempesta, il Salvatore risveglia il grido della nostra fede. Infatti, con un tono di stupito rimprovero Gesù dice ai suoi: "Perché siete così paurosi? Non avete ancora fede?". (Ibid. v. 40) Il Figlio di Dio esige la fede dei suoi fratelli per risvegliare la potenza del suo amore. 

Con la domanda: “Perché siete così paurosi?”, il Cristo sposta l’attenzione dalla potenza del miracolo alla fede dei discepoli, che si sono staccati dal lavoro precedente, dalla famiglia, dalla “folla” per stare con Gesù, seguendoLo per le strade del mondo. E Gesù, Maestro ed Amico, educa questa fede facendo oggi comprendere loro che non devono pretendere una presenza e una potenza divina, che li tolga dalla fatica del vivere. Inoltre li educa ad essere coraggiosi (cor agere = agire con il cuore), educando il cuore 

Come rispondere a Cristo che ci chiede: “Perché siete così paurosi?”. Facendogli la stessa domanda del padre degli Apostoli “Aumenta in noi la fede, Signore” (Lc 17,5). Fede che è atto dell’intelligenza e abbandono della volontà

Facciamo in modo che la nostra vita sia veramente questo aprirsi della nostra mente e del nostro cuore ad una fede ogni giorno più pura, ad una fede ogni giorno più grande. Preghiamo perché la nostra fede ci apra sempre di più al dono di Dio. La fede matura sa rendere gli apostoli tranquilli anche nelle difficoltà e sereni anche nella persecuzione . Si pensi a San Pietro che in prigione dormiva serenamente. Si pensi anche alla “piccola” Santa Teresa del Bambin Gesù[1]. Lei che morì ad appena 24 anni è la santa della semplicità e dell'amore; la santa dell'abbandono fiducioso alla volontà di Dio, Padre amoroso, amante ed amato, 

Se vogliamo crescere nella fede dobbiamo educare il cuore, imitando la “piccola” Santa di Lisieux. 

Educare il cuore ad accorgersi di Cristo. Perché accorgersi? L’etimologia di accorgersi è “ire ad cor” (andare al cuore), è il far passare il mio cuore al cuore di Cristo, e il cuore di Cristo al mio cuore e così possiamo non solo non avere paura nella barca della vita, ma pacificare con Cristo il mare della vita. 

Un modo di vita significativo per accorgersi di Cristo è quello delle Vergini consacrate nel mondo. Attraverso la verginità queste donne educano il cuore “costruendolo” in quello di Cristo, che vuole bene e vuole il bene di chi a Lui si dona. 

Lo stile della Vergine consacrata nel mondo è quello di chi non possiede il suo prossimo, perché il suo cuore è pieno dell’amore di Dio. Ricca di questo amore ne diventa segno limpido e pratica verso il prossimo la benevolenza che ha ricevuto da Dio. In effetti la verginità è vocazione all'amore: rende il cuore più libero di amare Dio. Libero dai doveri dell’amore coniugale, il cuore vergine può sentirsi, pertanto, più disponibile all’amore gratuito dei fratelli. 

La verginità, certo, implica la rinuncia alla forma di amore tipica del matrimonio, ma la rinuncia è compiuta allo scopo di assumere più in profondità il dinamismo, insito nella sessualità, di apertura oblativa agli altri e di potenziarlo e trasfigurarlo mediante la presenza dello Spirito, il quale insegna ad amare il Padre e i fratelli come il Signore Gesù. 

E già nel 15 maggio 2008, Papa Benedetto XVI disse loro: “La vostra vita sia una particolare testimonianza di carità e segno visibile del Regno futuro” (Rituale della Consacrazione delle Vergini, 30). Fate in modo che la vostra persona irradi sempre la dignità dell’essere sposa di Cristo, esprima la novità dell’esistenza cristiana e l’attesa serena della vita futura. Così, con la vostra vita retta, voi potrete essere stelle che orientano il cammino del mondo. La scelta della vita verginale, infatti, è un richiamo alla transitorietà delle realtà terrestri e anticipazione dei beni futuri. Siate testimoni dell’attesa vigilante e operosa, della gioia, della pace che è propria di chi si abbandona all’amore di Dio. Siate presenti nel mondo e tuttavia pellegrine verso il Regno. La vergine consacrata, infatti, si identifica con quella sposa che, insieme allo Spirito, invoca la venuta del Signore: “Lo Spirito e la sposa dicono ‘Vieni’” (Ap 22,17)”. (Discorso alle Partecipanti al Congresso dell’Ordo Virginum, n 6) 

 

 

Lettura Patristica
Sant’Agostino

Vescovo de Dottore della Chiesa (354-430)

Discorso 63, 1-3

PL 38, 424-425

 

Battuti dal vento e dalle onde 

Per grazia di Dio vi rivolgo la parola sul passo del santo Vangelo letto poco fa e in nome di lui vi esorto a far sì che nei vostri cuori non si assopisca la fede con cui resistere alle tempeste e ai marosi di questo mondo. In effetti non è vero che Cristo nostro Signore avesse in suo potere la morte e non il sonno e che forse l'Onnipotente fu oppresso dal sonno contro la sua volontà mentre stava sulla barca. Se voi crederete questo, egli dorme nel vostro intimo; se invece Cristo è desto, è desta anche la vostra fede. 

L'Apostolo dice: « [Chiedo di] far abitare Cristo nei vostri cuori per mezzo della fede » (Ef 3,17). 

Anche il sonno di Cristo è dunque un segno esteriore d'un simbolo. Sono come dei naviganti le anime che fanno la traversata di questa vita in una imbarcazione. Anche quella barca era la figura della Chiesa. Poiché anche ogni persona è tempio di Dio e naviga nel proprio cuore e non fa naufragio se nutre buoni pensieri. Se hai sentito un insulto, è come il vento; se sei adirato, ecco la tempesta. Se quindi soffia il vento e sorge la tempesta, corre pericolo la nave, corre pericolo il tuo cuore ed è agitato. All'udire l'insulto tu desideri vendicarti: ed ecco ti sei vendicato e, godendo del male altrui, hai fatto naufragio. E perché? Perché in te dorme Cristo. Che vuol dire: "In te dorme Cristo"? Ti sei dimenticato di Cristo. Risveglia dunque Cristo, ricordati di Cristo, sia desto in te Cristo: considera lui. 

 

Pietro Crisologo Sermone 21, 1 ss.

 

1. Il sonno di Cristo sulla barca 

Tutte le volte che Cristo dorme nella nostra nave, e a causa del sonno della nostra ignavia s’addormenta nel nostro corpo, insorge una totale tempesta per la violenza dei venti, infieriscono minacciose le onde, e mentre troppo frequentemente si innalzano e cadono con flutti spumeggianti, amaramente suscitano nei naviganti con l’attesa i naufragi, come ha detto la lettura del nostro evangelista... 

"E lo prendono", disse, "così com’era nella nave" (Mc 4,36). Altro è il Cristo in Cielo, altro è il Cristo in nave: altro nella maestà del Padre, altro nella umiltà dell’umanità si avverte; altro si vede coeterno al Padre, altro temporale in rapporto alle età; altro dorme nel nostro corpo, altro veglia nella santità del suo spirito. "Lo prendono così com’era", disse, "nella nave". Lode di fede è ricevere il Cristo come è e si ha nella nave, cioè, nella Chiesa, dove è nato, dove crebbe, dove soffrì, dove fu crocifisso e sepolto, dove ascese al Cielo, siede alla destra di Dio Padre, donde verrà come giudice dei vivi e dei morti: professare tutto questo è di singolare salvezza. Colui che avrà accolto nella nostra nave e confessato il Cristo, qualora venga sommerso dagli scandali delle onde, non è immerso dai pericoli e coperto dalle onde... "Quella burrasca gettava le ondate nella nave" (Mc 4,37): poiché come le onde dei popoli e la ferocia delle persecuzioni agitano e squassano la nave del Signore esternamente, così all’interno i burrascosi flutti degli eretici irrompono ed infieriscono [contro di essa]. Il beato Paolo dichiara di aver sofferto questa tempesta, quando dice: "Al di fuori le lotte, internamente i timori: talmente che la nave fosse sommersa" (2Co 7,5). Giustamente l’evangelista, a causa dei flutti spumeggianti, riferisce che la nave fosse ripiena [d’acqua], soffrendo la Chiesa un numero così grande di eresie, quante controversie della legge leggiamo che ci siano. 

"Ed egli", disse, "dormiva a poppa sopra un capezzale. Lo svegliano e gli dicono: Maestro, niente t’importa che affondiamo? E, alzandosi, minacciò il vento e disse al mare: Taci e ritorna tranquillo. E cessarono i venti ed il mare ritornò calmo" (Mc 4,38-39). Mentre avveniva ciò gli insegnamenti si resero palesi, e il tempo lo addita all’esempio. Dal momento che grande e abbastanza violenta incombe una burrascosa tempesta, mentre da ogni parte il turbine pericoloso dei venti ruggisce e infierisce, muggisce il mare, le stesse isole sono scosse dalle fondamenta e i litorali sono scossi da pauroso fragore. Ma poiché dicemmo: Cristo dorme nella nostra nave, avviciniamoci a lui più con la fede che col corpo, e bussiamo alla sua porta [svegliamolo] più con le opere di misericordia che con il contatto di disperati; scegliamolo non con un frastuono indecoroso ma con grida di canti spirituali: non mormorando maliziosamente, ma supplicandolo con animo vigile. 

Offriamo a Dio qualcosa del tempo della nostra vita, affinché questa infelice vanità e miseranda sollecitudine non sciupi tutto il tempo [della nostra vita]; affinché l’eccessivo sonno e il vano torpore non sciupi tutta la notte ma parimenti parte del giorno e della notte noi stessi dedichiamo all’autore del tempo. 

Vigila, uomo, vigila! Hai l’esempio, e ciò che il gallo ti impedisce all’ospite, tu offrilo al tuo creatore, soprattutto quando egli ti suggerisce che ti sarà di aiuto, quando ti spinge al lavoro, quando già vicina la luce del nuovo giorno; quanto più con inni celesti ti conviene rivolgerti a Dio con virtù celeste per la tua salvezza. Ascolta il profeta che dice: "Durante la notte il mio spirito veglia presso di te, o Dio" (Is 26,9). E il salmista: "Sono con le mie mani di notte davanti a lui, e non sono stato ingannato" (Ps 76,3). Del giorno, invero, tre momenti lo stesso salmista ammonisce che bisogna riservare a Dio, dicendo: "Di sera, al mattino e nel mezzogiorno narrerò ed annunzierò, ed egli esaudirà la mia voce" (Ps 54,18). Mentre Daniele supplicava diligentemente Dio, in questi tre momenti [della giornata], ottenne non solo la prescienza del futuro, ma meritò la liberazione del suo popolo a lungo prigioniero. Ripetiamo, dunque, col profeta: "Sorgi, sorgi e non respingermi fino alla fine" (Mc 4,38). Diciamo con gli apostoli: "Maestro, niente t’importa che affondiamo?" (Mc 4,38). E veramente il maestro, non solo è il creatore di tutti gli elementi, ma anche il moderatore e il reggitore di essi. Ed egli quando ci avrà ascoltato, quando si sarà degnato di vigilare, si calmeranno le onde, e gli spaventosi marosi si appianeranno e così i colli, i venti si allontaneranno, cesserà la tempesta e quella che è imminente e la grande burrasca si trasformeranno nella più grande calma. 

 

---

[1] Il nome di Teresa del Bambin Gesù, che fece suo fin dall’età di nove anni, quando manifestò il desiderio di farsi carmelitana, resterà per lei sempre attuale e sforzò di meritarselo costantemente. Più tardi sotto un’immagine di Gesù Bambino, scriverà questa frase: «O piccolo Bambino, mio unico tesoro, mi abbandono ai tuoi divini capricci, non voglio avere altra gioia che quella di farti sorridere. Imprimi in me le tue grazie e le tue virtù infantili, affinché il giorno della mia nascita al cielo, gli angeli e i santi riconoscano nella tua piccola sposa: Teresa del Bambin Gesù». 

 

 

Hope: trust in God's love.

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B - June 16, 2024

 

Roman Rite

Ez 17.22 to 24; Ps 92; 2 Cor 5.6 to 10; Mk 4: 26-34

 

Ambrosian Rite

Third Sunday after Pentecost

Gen 2, 18-25; Ps 8; Eph 5.21 to 33; MK 10, 1-12

 

 

1) Man sows with faith; God makes grow with love.

The Gospel of this Sunday (Mk 4: 26-35) offers two brief parables, the one of the seed that grows by itself and the one of the mustard seed. The sowing of the smallest grain produces the biggest event: the Kingdom of heaven. Using images taken from the life in the fields, Jesus presents the kingdom of God[1] and indicates the reasons for our commitment full of hope.

In the first parable Jesus shows the miracle of growth, describing the dynamics of sowing. The seed is sown in the earth, then, whether the farmer sleeps or vigils, it sprouts and grows by itself.

Man does nothing but sowing and waiting. We are in front of the mystery of creation, God's action in history which we must contemplate in amazement. He is the Lord of the Kingdom, man is a humble collaborator contemplating and rejoicing of God's creative doing and waiting for the harvest, eager to participate in it.

In this regard, St. Gregory the Great says "Man throws the seed when he conceives in his heart a good intention. The seed sprouts and grows but he is not aware of that because, until it is time to harvest, the good deeds continue to grow. The earth bears fruit by itself, because through prevenient grace, the human mind naturally goes toward the fruit of good deeds. The earth does it in stages: grass, ear, wheat. Producing grass means to have the weakness of the beginning of good. The grass does the ear when virtue progresses into good. Wheat fills the ear when virtue reaches the strength and the perfection of the good deed. When the fruit is ripe, comes the sickle because it is time to harvest. In fact, God Almighty, when the fruit is ripe, sends the sickle and reaps the harvest because when He has led each of us to the perfection of the work, he truncates our temporal life to take his grain in the granaries of heaven "(In Exodus , II, 3, 5  and following)

In the second parable Jesus speaks again of sowing. However, he refers to a specific seed, the mustard seed, considered the smallest of all seeds (1.6 mm according to the experts). Though so small, it has an unthinkable dynamism and power of life. So is the Kingdom of God, something really small humanly speaking and made up of people usually simple, poor, not important to the eyes of the world. Nevertheless the power of Christ breaks through them and transforms what is minor and seemingly insignificant. The mustard seed becomes a high and robust shrub, able to give shelter in its branches to the birds. The Kingdom of God, from a human point of view, is like a tiny seed scorned for its appearance, but that contains within itself the mystery of a prodigious divine force that for us is unimaginable.

Saint Ambrose, commenting on this parable, wrote "Let us see why the sublime kingdom of heaven is likened to a mustard seed. I remember reading, in another passage, about the mustard seed that the Lord compares to faith with these words "If you have a faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain” Move from here to there” (Mt 17, 20). It is not a mediocre faith, but a great faith the one that is able to command a mountain to move. In fact, it is not a mediocre faith the one that the Lord demands from the apostles knowing that they must fight the greatness and the exaltation of the spirit of evil. So, if the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed and faith too is like a mustard seed, faith is certainly the Kingdom of heaven, and the Kingdom of heaven is faith. "(Exp. in Lk., 7, 176-180; 182-186).

The first lesson to be learned from this passage of the Gospel is that we must look to the nature of the similarities, not to their appearance. In fact, despite the humble beginnings of the action of God in the person and the work of Jesus, as well as in the people and the works of Christians, thanks to the Christian sowing, humanity will grow in full justice, peace and freedom because of the love of providential God.

 

2) Hope and patience.

The second lesson that comes from the two parables is that, even and especially in a society that is in a hurry and that calls "real time" a news that arrives within seconds, we must be active and wait patiently because the seed, freely given, can bear fruit only if it is welcomed and cared for.

We are confronted with God's grace and our freedom. God's grace and human freedom characterize all our personal history. On the one hand, we are called to live with amazement the growth of the small seed planted in the ground (first parable). On the other hand, we are taught that both patience and care are crucial for the earth to protect and feed the seed and for the sun to bring it to fruition.

The Gospel is a school that educates to the waiting. Jesus lived in the time and limit of a short life and of horizons that seem restricted, but He has waited for nothing less than the Kingdom of God in this world. For this reason, in the Gospel we can gather images of waiting by which to learn to live the "already and not yet", the paradoxical waiting of Christian life.

 To wait is not easy, especially today. But the verb “to wait" has two meanings: to wait and to wait on. Let me explain it by referring to ordinary life where someone is asked to "wait on” for the most mundane and everyday jobs like feeding, watching over the lives of those entrusted to him or to her, setting the table, keeping the fire, being alert of looming dangers. A person waits paying attention to the brothers and sisters entrusted to him or to her, not letting himself or herself not letting go of the fatigue caused by everyday life in its banality and not seeking gratification, i.e. not thinking of oneself before thinking of the needs of others.

            Waiting requires asceticism, an effort to not let go. 

One waits in the vigilance of a light (prayer) and in the active life (charity) of those who are with their loins girded by the apron of service. Prayer and charity are the exercises that teach us to wait. Those who pray learn that the Lord neither speaks nor enters into dialogue immediately with the person praying. There is a silence to go through, but this silence educates to the waiting and gives resonance to the words. Those who love and serve know the difference between the services provided and the fruits and the awards, because it is necessary to serve free of charge, like "useless servants" honoring their task without any other concern. It is first of all to "do their part" and not to avoid the fatigue of the days when it seems an "unnecessary work" without immediate results.

The other meaning is to wait and this implies hope and patience.

Patience is “suffering the time" (Maria Zambrano) and the emptiness of a work that is not wholly and solely in our hands, the timing of which escapes our hustle and our need for control and reassurance. But, once done our part, we can rest in peace because there is a time that comes to us "spontaneously" and independently of us. As you cannot "force" the growth of the seed without risking damaging the plant, so you cannot force the growth of our brothers and sisters. We must learn to wait in the long run, to work without curtailing the time, without giving forced deadlines to growth.

It is in the school of the Gospel that we learn the true patience that keeps track of time. In this passing of time the meaning comes from the future, and the fullness of time accounts for the time of waiting. If we look at it from our side, history begins at the beginning. If we look from God’s side the beginning starts from the end. In the "fullness of time" came the Son, and humanity realized that time had come to its fullness because of his presence that led it to completion. He comes because he is long-awaited by the patient work of countless generations who have sown with faith in the hope to see that day. His coming is, however, a real surprise: the waiting is dissolved in the joy of contemplating the abundance of the field of the kingdom of God, the shadow of a tree under which to find rest like birds escaped from danger.

Hope consists in putting ourselves in a filial and trusting way in the hands of God, who knows what we need (see Mt 6,8) and "gives to all with simplicity and without conditions" (James 1, 5). Like the Redeemer, who gave up his life in the hands of the Father (see Lk 23:46), so the Christian is anchored in the Eternal because hope is as a spiritual anchor, sure and steadfast, thrown in the afterlife into which for us Jesus has already entered (see Heb 6.19 to 20).

However, it must be remembered that Christian hope is the hope of the fulfillment of this life, and not of another life where to escape to. It implies the acceptance of history as a place in which the presence of God is manifested. It doesn’t breed contempt, but causes appreciation and gratitude while being aware of the limits. It is the inner strength of faith that makes men walk with God, seek His presence and commit themselves to work for the coming of the Kingdom: "Only when the future is certain as a positive reality, it becomes possible to live the present.[2]" Christian hope sees and loves what it will be. It is the dynamic element of moral life, which pursues in continued growth both the light of faith and the energy of love. Hope is the younger sister holding hands and guiding the older ones, faith and charity, toward the goal[3]. While we are on the way, in the midst of trials and difficulties both individual and collective, hope generated by faith produces charity.[4]

 

3) The mustard seed of consecrated virgins in the world.

The Parable of the mustard seed shows that humility is the God's method. This method was realized in the Incarnation in the cave of Bethlehem, in the simple home of Nazareth, and in the "earthly" life of Jesus. In today’s liturgy this method of humility is taught to us through the parable of the mustard seed.

We need not to fear the humility of small steps and must trust that the (seemingly) small seed grows in us and then must be given to others. An example of how we can imitate this method of humility is the one offered by the life of the consecrated virgins in the world who show to us that "in giving life with simplicity one gets Life" (Pope Francis)

Consecrating themselves to Love, these women have placed their hope in something that is not from God, but God himself. In this regard, Saint Augustine teaches "May the Lord your God be your hope; do not expect anything from the Lord your God, but let the same Lord be your hope. Many hope from God something outside of Him; but look for your God. Forgetting other things, remember Him; leaving everything behind, reach to Him. He will be your love "(Enarrationes in Psalmos, 39, 7-8).

The mustard seed is not only a likeness of Christian hope, but provides evidence that great comes from small not by exceptional ability but thanks to the Christian attitude of simple people who live of God's love and patience that is the long breath of love.

 

Patristic Reading

Golden Chain 6426

Mark 4, 26-29

 

Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: A parable occurred, a little above, about the three seeds which perished in various ways, and the one which was saved; in which last He also shews three differences, according to the proportion of faith and practice.

Here, however, He puts forth a parable concerning those only who are saved.

Wherefore it is said, "And He said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground, &c."

Pseudo-Jerome: The kingdom of God is the Church, which is ruled by God, and herself rules over men, and treads down [p. 82] the powers which are contrary to her, and all wickedness. 

Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: Or else He calls by the name of kingdom of God, faith in Him, and in the economy of His Incarnation; which kingdom indeed is as if a man should throw seed. For He Himself being God and the Son of God, having without change been made man, has cast seed upon the earth, that is, He has enlightened the whole world by the word of divine knowledge.

Pseudo-Jerome: For the seed is the word of life, the ground is the human heart, and the sleep of the man means the death of the Saviour. The seed springs up night and day, because after the sleep of Christ, the number of Christians, through calamity and prosperity, continued to flourish more and more in faith, and to wax greater in deed.

Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: Or Christ Himself is the man who rises, for He sat waiting with patience, that they who received seed should bear fruit. He rises, that is, by the word of His love, He makes us grow to the bringing forth fruit, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand, (2Co 6,7) by which is meant the day, and on the left, by which is meant the night of persecution; for by these the seed springs up, and does not wither.

Theophylact: Or else Christ sleeps, that is, ascends into heaven, where, though He seem to sleep, yet He rises by night, when through temptations He raises us up to the knowledge of Himself; and in the day time, when on account of our prayers, He sets in order our salvation.

Pseudo-Jerome: But when He says, "He knoweth not how," He is speaking in a figure; that is, He does not make known to us, who amongst us will produce fruit unto the end.

Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: Or else He says, "He knoweth not," that He may shew the free-will of those who receive the word, for He commits a work to our will, and does not work the whole Himself alone, lest the good should seem involuntary. For the earth brings forth fruits of its own accord, that is, she is brought to bear fruit without being compelled by a necessity contrary to her will. "First the blade."

Pseudo-Jerome: That is, fear. For "the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Then the full corn in the ear;" (Ps 111,10) that is, charity, for charity is the fulfilling of the Law. (see Rm 13,8)

Pseudo-Chrys., Vict. Cat. e Cat. in Marc.: Or, first it produces the blade, in the law of nature, by degrees growing up to advancement; afterwards it brings forth the ears, which are to be collected into a bundle, and to be offered on an altar to the Lord, that is, in the law (p. 83) of Moses; afterwards the full-fruit, in the Gospel.

Or because we must not only put forth leaves by obedience, but also learn prudence, and, like the stalk of corn, remain upright without minding the winds which blow us about. We must also take heed to our soul by a diligent recollection, that, like the ears, we may bear fruit, that is, shew forth the perfect operation of virtue.

Theophylact: for we put forth the blade when we shew a principle of good; then the ear, when we can resist temptations; then comes the fruit, when a man works something perfect.

It goes on: "and when it has brought forth the fruit, immediately he sendeth the sickle, because the harvest is come."

Pseudo-Jerome: The sickle is death or the judgment, which cuts down all things; the harvest is the end of the world.

Gregory, in Ezech, 2, Hom. 3: Or else, Man casts seed into the ground, when he places a good intention in his heart; and he sleeps, when he already rests in the hope which attends on a good work. But he rises night and day, because he advances amidst prosperity and adversity, though he knows it not, for he is as yet unable to measure his increase, and yet virtue, once conceived, goes on increasing.

When therefore we conceive good desires, we put seed into the ground; when we begin to work rightly, we are the blade. When we increase to the perfection of good works, we arrive at the ear; when we are firmly fixed in the perfection of the same working, we already put forth the full corn in the ear.

 

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[1] An interesting reflection of Joseph Ratzinger ("Jesus of Nazareth") can help us understand properly the Gospel passage. "Kingdom of God" means "God's sovereignty" and that means that his will is taken as a criterion. This is the desire that creates justice ... That is why Solomon asks God for "a docile heart" to be able to do justice and to distinguish right from wrong; "a docile heart" so that it is God who reigns not him, because, if you are not in tune with God, you cannot exercise true justice ...... The kingdom of God is through the " docile heart ". Then the most important prayer you can do for the kingdom of God to come is” Make us yours, Lord! Live in us! May God be all in all. (see 1Cor 15,26-28)

[2] Benedict XVI “Spe salvis” nr.2

[3] See Charles Peguy ” The Portico of the Mystery of the Second Virtue”

[4] See Saint Thomas of Aquinas “Summa theologica” 2-2 q17,a8;1-2.q.62,a 4