The Humble People

"Mary then set out for a town in the hill country of Judah.  She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.  When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leapt in her womb.  Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and, giving a loud cry, said, 'You are most blessed among women; and blessed is the fruit of your womb!  How is it, that the mother of my LORD comes to me?  The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby within me suddenly leapt for joy.  Blessed are you, who believed that the LORD's word would come true!'" - Luke 1:39-45 

(The angel's message has not left Mary alone with her problems.  The angel spoke of her elderly cousin, Elizabeth.  With her Mary will share her joy and her secret.  Mary, quite young [was she more than fifteen?], will learn from her many things that Joseph could not tell her.  What had been foretold to Zechariah will now be fulfilled: "Your son will be filled with the Holy Spirit while in the womb of his mother."

What is most important in history is not what is spectacular.  The Gospel prefers to draw our attention to life-filled events.

A few years later, Jewish crowds would go to John the Baptist looking for the word of GOD.  No one would wonder how he received the Spirit of GOD, and no one would know that a humble girl, Mary, put GOD's plan in motion on that Visitation day.

Blessed are you who believed!  What is important is not that Mary is the mother of JESUS in the flesh, and this, JESUS will repeat [11:27].

Mary, who has become the Temple of GOD, communicates the Spirit--the Spirit of JESUS.)

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The Reward For Those Who Follow JESUS

"Peter spoke up and said, 'We have given up everything to follow YOU.  JESUS answered, 'Truly, there is no one who has left house, or brothers or sisters, or father or mother, or children, or lands, for MY sake, and for the gospel, who will not receive his reward.  I say to you: even in the midst of persecution, he will receive a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and lands in the present time; and, in the world to come, eternal life.  Do pay attention: many who now are the first will be last, and the last, first.'" - Mark 10:28-31 

(There is no one who has left house... These words of JESUS that we find again in Mathew 19:29 and Luke 18:29 have been given here a notable addition: with persecution.  Once the Gospel had been preached the Church began to suffer persecution: From the year 34, then again in 41 and 62 in Jerusalem, in 64 in Rome with the great persecution ordered by the emperor Nero.  During these persecutions Christians experienced the bonds that united them, often stronger than family relationships.  Hunted, obliged to hide, they found hundreds of brothers and sisters ready with houses to give them refuge.  JESUS does not only speak of reward in the next life.  Already in this world, in the midst of persecution, those who sacrifice themselves for the kingdom will find friendship, joy an human fulfillment far greater than anything they could have hoped for.)

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The New Heaven And The New Earth

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.  The first heaven and the first earth had passed away and no longer was there any sea.  I saw the new Jerusalem, the holy city coming down from GOD, out of heaven adorned as a bride prepared for her husb
and.  A loud voice came from the throne, 'Here is the dwelling of GOD among mortals: HE will pitch HIS tent among them and they will be HIS people; HE will be GOD-with-them.

HE will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There shall be no more death or mourning, crying out or pain, for the world that was has passed away.'  The One seated on the throne said, 'See, I make all things new.'

And then HE said to me, 'Write these words because they are sure and true'." - Revelation 21:1-5 

(First vision of the heavenly Jerusalem.   "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard what GOD has prepared for those who love HIM" [1 Corinthians 2:9].

The bible began with a vision of the first creation in which GOD was conversing with Adam, HIS friend, in the garden of Eden.  The Apocalypse ends with a more beautiful vision in which there is overflowing delight in GOD.  Now I make all things new.  The holy and permanent City of people has been built.

A new heaven and a new earth.  The risen body of CHRIST was the principle of the new spiritual and material universe we were hoping for.  Now, the power of HIS resurrection has transformed the whole world.  It will not be a paradise for isolated "soul," nor for pure angels, but a city of human beings: humans have fully become GOD's children: HE will be MY son.

HE will wipe every tear.  GOD dwells among people and HE pours HIS own happiness into them.  The sufferings that filled so many lives, the martyrs' tortures, the inner pain of repentant sinners, all this is over.  Such joy and peace, as cannot be found in any place on earth, are finally found in the heart of GOD.) 

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One Who Does Not Know How To Forgive Does Not Know How To Love

"On the evening of that day, the first day after the Sabbath, the doors were locked where the disciples were, because of their fear of the Jews, but JESUS came and stood in their midst.  HE said to them, 'Peace be with you'; then HE showed them HIS hands and HIS side.  The disciples kept looking at the LORD and were full of joy.

Again JESUS said to them, 'Peace be with you.  As the FATHER has sent ME, so I send you,'  After saying this HE breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit; for those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained'." - John 20:19-23 

(Just as in the first creation GOD infused life into Adam, so, too, JESUS' breath communicates life to the new spiritual creation.  CHRIST, who died to take away the sin of the world, now leaves to HIS own the power to forgive.

Thus the hope of the Biblical people has been realized.  GOD led them in such a way that they felt the universal presence of sin, and so they offered animals in the Temple uninterruptedly to appease GOD.  That river of blood failed to destroy sin, and the priests themselves offered sacrifices for their own sins before praying to GOD for the others.  Ceremonies and rites had no power to purify the heart or to give the Holy Spirit.

Now, in the person of JESUS risen from the dead, a new world has begun.  Although humanity may continue to sin,  already the first of its sons and daughters, the "eldest brother of them all" is sharing fully the holy life of GOD.

Those who strive for the spiritual  life, suffer above all from a keen awareness of the universal presence of sin.  They grieve deeply at not yet having attained total liberation from sin.  Hence they recognize the forgiveness of sin as the greatest gift given to the Church.

The capacity to forgive is the only power able to release the great tensions within humankind.  Although it does not easily conquer hearts, it is an invaluable secret and the Church should consider it as its own particular treasure.

One who does not know how to forgive does not know how to love.  On making us aware of sin and purifying us from it, the Church helps us demonstrate a more authentic love for the neighbor.)

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The Security Of GOD's Friends

 "YAHWEH is in HIS holy place--

our GOD whose throne is in heaven.

HE looks down to earth

to observe the race of Adam.

YAHWEH searches both righteous and wicked.

HE hates those who delight in violence.

Upon the wicked, HE will rain

coals of fire and brimstone;

a burning blast will be their lot.

For YAHWEH is righteous;

HE loves justice.

The upright will see HIS face."

- Psalm 11:4-7

(This is another picturesque variation of the theme of trust in GOD.  The psalmist is confident that the righteous will meet GOD face to face and chooses not to let the wicked trouble him instead.  The hunters are out again, but the psalmist is already away to the refuge he knows so well, every cranny of it, the mountains, which is GOD.  What else can he do, when all the rest that seemed dependable, has collapsed?  Perhaps the attitude is as grudging as Peter's 'To whom shall we go?'  Doubtless, our own motives are never unmixed: something creative has disappointed us and we turn to the Creator.  Strangely enough, HE seems to be satisfied with this: HE runs to us, undignified like the Prodigal's father.  Shall we ever understand how humble GOD's love is?  Even the form of a servant was not enough, unless it hung on a cross!)

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Do You Love ME More Than These Do?

"After they had finished breakfast, JESUS said to Simon Peter, 'Simon, son of John, do you love ME more than these do?'  He answered, 'Yes, LORD, YOU know that I love YOU.'  And JESUS said, 'Feed MY lambs.'

A second time JESUS said to him, 'Simon, son of John, do you love ME?'  And Peter answered, 'Yes, LORD, YOU know that I love YOU.'  JESUS said to him, 'Look after MY sheep.'  And a third time HE said to him, 'Simon, son of John, do you love ME?'

Peter was saddened because JESUS asked him a third time.  'Do you love ME?' and he said, 'LORD, YOU know everything; YOU know that I love YOU.'

JESUS then said, 'Feed MY sheep!  Truly, I say to you, when you were young, you put on your belt and walked where you liked.  But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will put a belt around you, and lead you where you do not wish to go,'

JESUS said this to make known the kind of death by which Peter was to glorify GOD.  And HE added, 'Follow ME!'" - John 21:15-19 

(The triple questioning of Peter by JESUS may be thought of as the undoing of the triple denial during JESUS' passion.  Peter, too, being the shepherd of the shepherds, is a forgiven sinner.  JESUS entrusts the whole Church to him: the same as in Matthew 16:18.  Do you love ME?  This is the first condition to be fulfilled by a shepherd in the Church.

This dialogue between JESUS and Peter expresses what being a Christian is all about.  JESUS asks us every day if we love HIM in a special and exclusive way: Do you love ME more than these do?  We answer, "Yes," despite our miseries, as Peter did; JESUS then invites us to follow HIM anew, out of love, and to share with HIM the responsibility of caring for the people of GOD.  There is no better way of following JESUS than by giving up our lives for HIS mission. 

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Ecumenism

"I pray not only for these, but also for those who through their word will believe in ME.  May they all be one, as YOU FATHER are in ME and I AM in YOU.  May they be one in US, so that the world may believe that you have sent ME.

I have given them the glory YOU have given ME, that they may be one as WE are one: I in them and YOU in ME.  Thus they shall reach perfection in unity; and the world shall know that YOU have sent ME, and that I have loved them, just as YOU loved ME.

FATHER, since YOU have given them to ME, I want them to be with ME where I AM, and see the glory YOU gave ME, for YOU loved ME before the foundation of the world.

Righteous FATHER, the world has not known YOU, but I have known YOU, and these have known that YOU have sent ME.  As I revealed YOUR name to them, so will I continue to reveal it, so that the love with which YOU loved ME may be in them, and I also may be in them." - John 17:20-26 

(In our times, we have a better understanding of these past difficulties.  Many Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants are attempting to unite as believers.  At the same time, however, new problems have arisen within each Church.  Today Christians disagree and are split, not only in their political options, but also in their understanding of CHRIST and their views on how HIS message is best delivered in our time.

Ecumenism, that is, efforts to reconcile in truth and bring the Churches together, demands that we overcome the new dissensions that threaten the internal unity of the Church.  All of us must work so that the unity of all Christians may be realized as CHRIST desires, and by the means HE wants.  In any case, nothing can be done without obeying the truth and doing the truth.  In no way can we disregard Peter's charism of unity that is granted to Peter's successors.)

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The Journey Of GOD's People

 "Arise, O GOD, scatter YOUR enemies; let YOUR foes flee before YOU.

As smoke is blown by the wind, so blow them away; as wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish before YOU.

But let the righteous be glad and exult before GOD; 

let them sing to GOD and shout for joy.

Sing to GOD, sing praises to HIS name; open the way, to HIM who rides upon the clouds; YAHWEH is HIS name.  Rejoice in HIS presence.

FATHER of orphans and protector of widows--such is our GOD in HIS holy dwelling.

HE gives shelter to the homeless, sets the prisoners free; but keeps the rebels in their jail."

- Psalm 68:2-7

(This is the most picturesque--and obscure--of all the psalms.  In the liturgy, it particularly celebrates the Ascension of CHRIST.  And no wonder: it is a hymn fit for the climax victory of GOD, fighting for HIS people and there is wild joy, running through it.  

This psalm is adequate to celebrate our liberation, as we journey toward the Promised Land.)

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Prayer Of JESUS For The New Holy People

"'I pray not only for these, but also for those who through their word will believe in ME.  May they all be one, as YOU FATHER are in ME and I AM in YOU.  May they be one in US, so that the world may believe that YOU have sent ME.I have given them the glory YOU have given ME, that they may be one as WE are one: I in them and YOU in ME.  Thus they shall reach perfection in unity; and the world shall know that YOU have sent ME, and that I have loved them, just as YOU loved ME.

FATHER, since YOU have given them to ME, I want them to be with ME where I AM, and see the glory YOU gave ME, for YOU loved ME before the foundation of the world.

Righteous FATHER, the world has not known YOU, but I have known YOU, and these have known that YOU have sent ME.  As I revealed YOUR name to them, so will I continue to reveal it, so that the love with which YOU loved ME may be in them, and I also may be in them.'" - John 17:20-26 

(In our times, we have a better understanding of these past difficulties.  Many Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants are attempting to unite as believers.  At the same time, however, new problems have arisen within each Church.  Today Christians disagree and are split, not only in their political options, but also in their understanding of CHRIST and their views on how HIS message is best delivered in our time.

Ecumenism, that is, efforts to reconcile in truth and bring the Churches together, demands that we overcome the new dissensions that threaten the internal unity of the Church.  All of us must work so that the unity of all Christians may be realized as CHRIST desires, and by the means HE wants.  In any case, nothing can be done without obeying the truth and doing the truth.  In no way can we disregard Peter's charism of unity that is granted to Peter's successors.)  

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Paul In Ephesus

"While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the country and came to Ephesus.  There he found some disciples whom he asked, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?'  They answered, 'We have not even heard that anyone may receive the Holy Spirit.'  Paul then asked, 'What kind of baptism have you received?'  And they answered, 'The baptism of John.'

Paul then explained, 'John's baptism was for conversion, but he himself said they should believe in the one who was to come, and that one is JESUS.'  Upon hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the LORD JESUS.  Then Paul laid his hands on them and the Holy Spirit came down upon them; and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy.  There were about twelve of them in all.

Paul went into the synagogue and for three months he preached and discussed there boldly, trying to convince them about the Kingdom of GOD." - Acts 19:1-8 

(For three years, Paul wanted to evangelize Ephesus.  Ephesus was one of the most beautiful and largest cities in the empire.

Luke wanted to relate the baptism of these twelve disciples of John the Baptist. As we have just said they knew something of JESUS' teaching, but as for being his disciples, they lacked what was most important: they had not received the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit came down upon them.  We must not forget that in the beginning, the Christian language was limited.  We know that the Holy Spirit is much more than the manifestations that follow the laying on of hands.  So we have such statements as: we have not heard that there is the Holy Spirit, while other texts state: that the Holy Spirit be received.  The laying on of hands is meant to confirm the change worked at baptism through the experience of the gifts of the Spirit [1 Corinthians 12:7].  Many Christians would be surprised today if they have never had this tangible experience of GOD.  Let us not say that these gifts are no longer useful or that such things do not happen today.  What is important, surely, is to believe and live one's faith rather than to feel it.  Such an experience, however, is often the shock that gives rise to a re-blossoming of our faith: it shows us that GOD is near, and HE is master of our inner self.   Perhaps our rationalist temperament and our Church life, mistrustful of all that is a personal expression, serves as a dampener of the gifts of the Spirit; perhaps it is rather the poverty of our commitment to JESUS.

They were baptized in the name of the LORD JESUS.  Are we to presume that in the beginning baptism  was in the name of JESUS and not in the name of the FATHER, the SON, and the HOLY SPIRIT?  It is not certain.

In the name of signifies: by the power of; maybe the baptism in the name of the FATHER and of the SON and of the Holy Spirit was called the baptism in the name of JESUS to distinguish it from the baptism of John and the baptisms of other religions.  It is also possible that at the moment of receiving the water in the name of the Holy Trinity, the person baptized had to make a personal invocation in the Name of JESUS.  Possibly also in early times, baptism was given "in the Name of JESUS" and later the Church modified the formula in order to distinguish itself from groups that believed in  JESUS but without recognizing HIM as Son of GOD, born of the FATHER.  There would be nothing to astonish us in such a change: the Church of the apostles had given the first formula; the same Church gave the second formula attributed to JESUS in Matthew 28:19.)

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