First Reading: Wisdom 7: 7-11 7 Wherefore I wished, and understanding was given me: and I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came upon me:
8 And I preferred her before kingdoms and thrones, and esteemed riches nothing in comparison of her.
9 Neither did I compare unto her any precious stone: for all gold in comparison of her, is as a little sand, and silver in respect to her shall be counted as clay.
10 I loved her above health and beauty, and chose to have her instead of light: for her light cannot be put out.
11 Now all good things came to me together with her, and innumerable riches through her hands,
R. (14) Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
12 Can number thy wrath? So make thy right hand known: and men learned in heart, in wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord, how long? and be entreated in favour of thy servants.
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
14 We are filled in the morning with thy mercy: and we have rejoiced, and are delighted all our days.
15 We have rejoiced for the days in which thou hast humbled us: for the years in which we have seen evils.
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
16 Look upon thy servants and upon their works: and direct their children.
17 And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us: and direct thou the works of our hands over us; yea, the work of our hands do thou direct.
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Second Reading: Hebrews 4: 12-13 12 For the word of God is living and effectual, and more piercing than any two edged sword; and reaching unto the division of the soul and the spirit, of the joints also and the marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
13 Neither is there any creature invisible in his sight: but all things are naked and open to his eyes, to whom our speech is.
Alleluia: Matthew 5: 3 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Mark 10: 17-30 17 And when he was gone forth into the way, a certain man running up and kneeling before him, asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may receive life everlasting?
18 And Jesus said to him, Why callest thou me good? None is good but one, that is God.
19 Thou knowest the commandments: Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, bear not false witness, do no fraud, honour thy father and mother.
20 But he answering, said to him: Master, all these things I have observed from my youth.
21 And Jesus looking on him, loved him, and said to him: One thing is wanting unto thee: go, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.
22 Who being struck sad at that saying, went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus looking round about, saith to his disciples: How hardly shall they that have riches, enter into the kingdom of God!
24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus again answering, saith to them: Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches, to enter into the kingdom of God?
25 It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
26 Who wondered the more, saying among themselves: Who then can be saved?
27 And Jesus looking on them, saith: With men it is impossible; but not with God: for all things are possible with God.
28 And Peter began to say unto him: Behold, we have left all things, and have followed thee.
29 Jesus answering, said: Amen I say to you, there is no man who hath left house or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,
Who shall not receive an hundred times as much, now in this time; houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions: and in the world to come life everlasting.
FAUSTI - "All is possible with God," Jesus replied to the disciples when they finally understood that no one could save himself. In fact, we are all rich, deprived of child poverty, essential to welcome the Kingdom. But recognizing this impossibility is already a principle of salvation. Indeed, to see one's own perdition means to be reduced to extreme poverty, a necessary condition to accept that only God saves. The story is divided into three scenes. The first presents us with a rich man who, beyond the good intentions of entering the Kingdom, seems to have all the required qualities. Will the encounter with Jesus make possible the impossible by making him recognize the Lord and freeing him from the idol that enslaves him? Jesus tries to put him on this path, telling him that only God is good and that he can now leave everything and decide to follow Him, but the attachment to his possessions makes him blind. In the alternative God / Mammon, he chooses Mammon; in the end, instead of the joy of those who have found the treasure, he has the sadness of those who know they are lost; the Lord, when he gives joy in good, thus gives sadness in evil so that one can repent. The second scene shows us Jesus' statements about the impossibility of salvation and the dismayed astonishment of the disciples. We are all too old to enter the realm of children: we are camels trying to pass through the eye of a needle, and recognizing this impossibility makes us small. The richer we are, the more we find ourselves unable and poor in the face of what matters. The third scene shows us Peter's wonderful observation: how the disciples followed the Lord, fulfilling this passage that leads to the Kingdom... His call and Word made them poor and small, making them discover the priceless treasure for which everything is left, the disciple is the one who, in His sight, discovered the only good, defeated by the Lord, like Paul, he lets everything fall and runs to reach Him. His relationship with things becomes what it was at the beginning, according to God's plan; free from idolatry, the disciple lives them as a gift, receiving them from the Father and sharing them with his brothers and sisters; the Kingdom is loving Jesus who became our brother in order to be met and embraced by us; and He became the last, because when we love the poorest , love Him; by loving HIM, we love all the brothers.
PAPA FRANCIS - ANGELUS - St. Peter's Square -Sunday, October 11, 2015 Today's Gospel, taken from ch. 10 of Mark, is divided into three scenes, punctuated by three LOOKS of Jesus. The first scene presents the encounter between the Master and a man who - according to the parallel passage in Matthew - is identified as a "young man". Jesus' encounter with a young man. The young man runs to Jesus, kneels down and CALLS HIM "Good Teacher". Then he asks Him, "What must I do to inherit ETERNAL LIFE?", that is, happiness. (v. 17). "ETERNAL LIFE" is not only the life of the hereafter, but it is the full, fulfilled, unlimited life. What must we do to attain it? Jesus' answer sums up the COMMANDMENTS that refer to LOVE towards one's neighbor. The young man has nothing to reproach himself for, but the observance of the precepts is evidently not enough for him, it does not satisfy his desire for fullness. And Jesus senses this desire that the young man carries in his HEART; therefore, his response is translated into an intense gaze full of tenderness and affection. This is what the Gospel says: "He fixed his gaze on him and loved him" (v. 21). He saw that he was a good boy... But Jesus also understood the weakness of his interlocutor and made him a concrete proposal: give all his goods to the poor and follow Him. But the young man's HEART was torn between two masters: God and money, and he left unhappy. This shows that faith and attachment to riches cannot coexist. Thus, in the end, the initial impetus of the young man is dampened in the unhappiness of a wrecked following. In the second scene, the evangelist frames Jesus' eyes, and this time it is a thoughtful glance, a warning: "Looking around, he said to his disciples: How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the KINGDOM of GOD! (v. 23). To the amazement of the disciples, who ask, "And who can be saved?" (v. 26), Jesus responds with a GAZE of encouragement - it is the third GAZE - and says: salvation is, yes, "impossible to men, but not to God!" (v. 27). If we trust in the Lord, we can overcome all the obstacles that prevent us from following Him in the journey of faith. Rely on the Lord. He will give us strength, He gives us salvation, He accompanies us on the journey. And so we have arrived at the third scene, that of Jesus' solemn declaration: Truly I tell you, whoever leaves everything to follow me will have ETERNAL LIFE in the future and a hundredfold in the present (cf. vv. 29-30). This "hundredfold" is made up of the things first possessed and then left, but which are found multiplied infinitely. One is deprived of possessions and receives in return the enjoyment of the true good; one is freed from the slavery of things and gains the freedom of service for LOVE; one renounces possession and gains the joy of gift. What Jesus said, "One is more blessed in giving than in receiving" (cf. Acts 20:35). The young man did not allow himself to be conquered by Jesus' LOVING GLANCE, and so he could not change. Only by welcoming with humble gratitude the LOVE of the Lord do we free ourselves from the seduction of idols and from the blindness of our illusions. Money, pleasure and success dazzle, but then disappoint: they promise life, but bring death. The Lord asks us to detach ourselves from these false riches in order to enter into true life, the full, authentic and luminous life. And I ask you, young people, boys and girls, who are now in the square: "Have you heard Jesus' LOOK at you? What do you want to answer him? Do you prefer to leave this square with the joy that Jesus gives us or with the sadness in your HEARTS that worldliness offers us?"... May the Virgin Mary help us to open our HEART to the LOVE of Jesus, to the GLANCE of Jesus, the only one who can satisfy our thirst for happiness....
BENEDICT XVI - ANGELUS - Saint Peter's Square - Sunday, 14 October 2012 This Sunday's Gospel (Mk 10:17-30) has as its main theme that of wealth. Jesus teaches that it is very difficult for a rich person to enter the KINGDOM of GOD, but not impossible; in fact, God can conquer the HEART of a person who possesses many goods and lead him to solidarity and sharing with those who are in need, with the poor, that is, to enter into the logic of gift. In this way, it follows the path of Jesus Christ, who - as the apostle Paul writes - " from being rich, He became poor for your sake, so that you might become rich through His poverty" (2 Cor 8:9). As is often the case in the Gospels, everything takes its origin from an encounter: that of Jesus with a man who "possessed much wealth" (Mk 10:22). This was a person who since his young age had faithfully observed all the COMMANDMENTS of God's Law, but had not yet found true happiness; and for this reason he asked Jesus how to have access to "the inheritance of ETERNAL LIFE" (v. 17). On the one hand he is attracted, like everyone else, by the fullness of life; on the other hand, being accustomed to counting on his own wealth, he thinks that ETERNAL LIFE can also be "purchased" in some way, perhaps by observing a special commandment. Jesus grasps the profound desire that exists in that person, and - the evangelist notes - fixes on him a LOOK full of LOVE: the LOOK of God (cf. v. 21). But Jesus also understands what that man's weak point is: it is precisely his attachment to his many possessions; and therefore He proposes that he give everything to the poor, so that his treasure - and therefore his HEART - is no longer on earth, but in heaven, and He adds: "Come! Follow me!" (v. 22). However, instead of joyfully accepting Jesus' invitation, the man goes away depressed (cf. v. 23), because he cannot detach himself from his riches, which can never give him happiness and ETERNAL LIFE. It is at this point that Jesus gives the disciples - and to us today as well - His teaching: "How difficult it is for those who possess riches to enter the KINGDOM of GOD!" (v. 23). At these words, the disciples were bewildered, and even more so after Jesus added, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the KINGDOM of GOD. But, seeing them astonished, He said, "Impossible to men, but not to God! For all things are possible to God" (cf. vv. 24-27). Saint Clement of Alexandria comments: "The parable teaches the rich that they must not neglect their salvation as if they were already condemned, nor must they throw their wealth overboard or condemn it as insidious and hostile to life, but they must learn how to use their wealth and procure their life" (Which Rich Man Will Be Saved?, 27, 1-2). The history of the Church is full of examples of rich people who have used their wealth in an evangelical way, even achieving holiness. Just think about Saint Francis, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary or Saint Charles Borromeo. May the Virgin Mary, Seat of Wisdom, help us to accept with joy the invitation of Jesus, to enter into the fullness of Life.
APOSTOLIC PILGRIMAGE TO FRANCE -- HOMILY OF SAINT JOHN PAUL II - Strasbourg - October 9, 1988
The WORD OF GOD has come to meet human works. It has entered into the "work" of man. It has penetrated the course of human history. It has manifested itself in man's culture. Here, ... at the center of the European continent, we never cease to be witnesses of this encounter: of the encounter of the eternal Word, in which God manifests Himself as KNOWLEDGE and LOVE, with the human WORD, with human work, with the culture of peoples, with human history. ... 4. The WORD OF GOD penetrates . . . It does not remain outside man, nor outside his works and actions, nor outside culture and history. After having revealed itself, after having pronounced itself in our history, it continues to speak. It continues to operate. It creates the deepest dimension of human actions. It does not cease to challenge man. These challenges belong to the authenticity of the image and likeness of God, which man incarnates. God Himself as Creator and Redeemer presents them to man. At the same time, God's challenges are such that man must address them to himself. Man's conscience must consider them as its own, if it is upright and faithful to the truth. 5. Every man . . . The man . . . of this country, of this continent . . . to whom does he resemble? Does he not resemble the rich young man of whom the Gospel speaks today? When we hear that this young man "rushed toward Him" (toward Christ), that he got down on his knees and asked Him " what must I do in order to have ETERNAL LIFE?" (Mk 10:17), then in this attitude and in this question is manifested all the youthfulness of men, peoples, nations and society on our continent. They have run to meet Christ with the same question of the young man of the Gospel. They called him "Good Teacher" and Christ replied: "No one is good except God alone" (Mk 10:18). In this way, He led them to the Father who sent Him. And the men, the peoples, the nations of our old continent have received, in their historical past, the truth about God who is good, who is LOVE. Then Christ, through the apostles Paul and Peter, teachers and educators, reminded to our ancestors and to our fathers the COMMANDMENTS: "Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not defraud, thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother" (Mk 10:19). Immutable principles of divine KNOWLEDGE without which human life is no longer truly human. 6. Christ reminds us of these same principles at the end of the second millennium. Can we respond like the Young Man in the Gospel: "I have kept all these COMMANDMENTS"? (Mk 10:20). Do I observe all these COMMANDMENTS? In Europe, a "Christian" continent, the moral sense is weakening, the very WORD "commandment" is often rejected. The rules are rejected in the name of freedom, the moral education of the Church is ignored. When Christ reminds the young man of the COMMANDMENTS it is a WORD of KNOWLEDGE that He speaks. How could we be truly free without basing our behavior on this WORD of truth? How could we give its fullness of meaning to our lives without tying our acts to KNOWLEDGE and making the choice of the good? A freedom that would reject the principles of the WORD OF GOD and the lines of conduct established by the Church would be unable to base its actions on indisputable moral values. The truth of LOVE, of justice, of]he dignity of life is in God the Creator, revealed by His Son who came to bring man the WORD of His Father, who Alone is good (cf. Mk 10:18). Christ's disciples today cannot ignore the COMMANDMENTS when it is a question of the essential requirements of purity and fidelity of conjugal LOVE, respect for life, justice and fraternal sharing, welcoming the stranger, rejecting hatred and lies, and showing concrete solidarity with the poor and those who suffer.
RispondiEliminaFirst Reading: Wisdom 7: 7-11
7 Wherefore I wished, and understanding was given me: and I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came upon me:
8 And I preferred her before kingdoms and thrones, and esteemed riches nothing in comparison of her.
9 Neither did I compare unto her any precious stone: for all gold in comparison of her, is as a little sand, and silver in respect to her shall be counted as clay.
10 I loved her above health and beauty, and chose to have her instead of light: for her light cannot be put out.
11 Now all good things came to me together with her, and innumerable riches through her hands,
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 90: 12-13, 14-15, 16-17
R. (14) Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
12 Can number thy wrath? So make thy right hand known: and men learned in heart, in wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord, how long? and be entreated in favour of thy servants.
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
14 We are filled in the morning with thy mercy: and we have rejoiced, and are delighted all our days.
15 We have rejoiced for the days in which thou hast humbled us: for the years in which we have seen evils.
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
16 Look upon thy servants and upon their works: and direct their children.
17 And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us: and direct thou the works of our hands over us; yea, the work of our hands do thou direct.
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Second Reading: Hebrews 4: 12-13
12 For the word of God is living and effectual, and more piercing than any two edged sword; and reaching unto the division of the soul and the spirit, of the joints also and the marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
13 Neither is there any creature invisible in his sight: but all things are naked and open to his eyes, to whom our speech is.
Alleluia: Matthew 5: 3
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Mark 10: 17-30
17 And when he was gone forth into the way, a certain man running up and kneeling before him, asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may receive life everlasting?
18 And Jesus said to him, Why callest thou me good? None is good but one, that is God.
19 Thou knowest the commandments: Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, bear not false witness, do no fraud, honour thy father and mother.
20 But he answering, said to him: Master, all these things I have observed from my youth.
21 And Jesus looking on him, loved him, and said to him: One thing is wanting unto thee: go, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.
22 Who being struck sad at that saying, went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus looking round about, saith to his disciples: How hardly shall they that have riches, enter into the kingdom of God!
24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus again answering, saith to them: Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches, to enter into the kingdom of God?
25 It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
26 Who wondered the more, saying among themselves: Who then can be saved?
27 And Jesus looking on them, saith: With men it is impossible; but not with God: for all things are possible with God.
28 And Peter began to say unto him: Behold, we have left all things, and have followed thee.
29 Jesus answering, said: Amen I say to you, there is no man who hath left house or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,
Who shall not receive an hundred times as much, now in this time; houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions: and in the world to come life everlasting.
FAUSTI - "All is possible with God," Jesus replied to the disciples when they finally understood that no one could save himself. In fact, we are all rich, deprived of child poverty, essential to welcome the Kingdom. But recognizing this impossibility is already a principle of salvation. Indeed, to see one's own perdition means to be reduced to extreme poverty, a necessary condition to accept that only God saves.
RispondiEliminaThe story is divided into three scenes.
The first presents us with a rich man who, beyond the good intentions of entering the Kingdom, seems to have all the required qualities. Will the encounter with Jesus make possible the impossible by making him recognize the Lord and freeing him from the idol that enslaves him? Jesus tries to put him on this path, telling him that only God is good and that he can now leave everything and decide to follow Him, but the attachment to his possessions makes him blind. In the alternative God / Mammon, he chooses Mammon; in the end, instead of the joy of those who have found the treasure, he has the sadness of those who know they are lost; the Lord, when he gives joy in good, thus gives sadness in evil so that one can repent.
The second scene shows us Jesus' statements about the impossibility of salvation and the dismayed astonishment of the disciples. We are all too old to enter the realm of children: we are camels trying to pass through the eye of a needle, and recognizing this impossibility makes us small. The richer we are, the more we find ourselves unable and poor in the face of what matters.
The third scene shows us Peter's wonderful observation: how the disciples followed the Lord, fulfilling this passage that leads to the Kingdom... His call and Word made them poor and small, making them discover the priceless treasure for which everything is left, the disciple is the one who, in His sight, discovered the only good, defeated by the Lord, like Paul, he lets everything fall and runs to reach Him.
His relationship with things becomes what it was at the beginning, according to God's plan; free from idolatry, the disciple lives them as a gift, receiving them from the Father and sharing them with his brothers and sisters; the Kingdom is loving Jesus who became our brother in order to be met and embraced by us; and He became the last, because when we love the poorest , love Him; by loving HIM, we love all the brothers.
PAPA FRANCIS - ANGELUS - St. Peter's Square -Sunday, October 11, 2015
RispondiEliminaToday's Gospel, taken from ch. 10 of Mark, is divided into three scenes, punctuated by three LOOKS of Jesus. The first scene presents the encounter between the Master and a man who - according to the parallel passage in Matthew - is identified as a "young man". Jesus' encounter with a young man. The young man runs to Jesus, kneels down and CALLS HIM "Good Teacher". Then he asks Him, "What must I do to inherit ETERNAL LIFE?", that is, happiness. (v. 17). "ETERNAL LIFE" is not only the life of the hereafter, but it is the full, fulfilled, unlimited life. What must we do to attain it? Jesus' answer sums up the COMMANDMENTS that refer to LOVE towards one's neighbor. The young man has nothing to reproach himself for, but the observance of the precepts is evidently not enough for him, it does not satisfy his desire for fullness. And Jesus senses this desire that the young man carries in his HEART; therefore, his response is translated into an intense gaze full of tenderness and affection. This is what the Gospel says: "He fixed his gaze on him and loved him" (v. 21). He saw that he was a good boy... But Jesus also understood the weakness of his interlocutor and made him a concrete proposal: give all his goods to the poor and follow Him. But the young man's HEART was torn between two masters: God and money, and he left unhappy. This shows that faith and attachment to riches cannot coexist. Thus, in the end, the initial impetus of the young man is dampened in the unhappiness of a wrecked following.
In the second scene, the evangelist frames Jesus' eyes, and this time it is a thoughtful glance, a warning: "Looking around, he said to his disciples: How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the KINGDOM of GOD! (v. 23). To the amazement of the disciples, who ask, "And who can be saved?" (v. 26), Jesus responds with a GAZE of encouragement - it is the third GAZE - and says: salvation is, yes, "impossible to men, but not to God!" (v. 27). If we trust in the Lord, we can overcome all the obstacles that prevent us from following Him in the journey of faith. Rely on the Lord. He will give us strength, He gives us salvation, He accompanies us on the journey.
And so we have arrived at the third scene, that of Jesus' solemn declaration: Truly I tell you, whoever leaves everything to follow me will have ETERNAL LIFE in the future and a hundredfold in the present (cf. vv. 29-30). This "hundredfold" is made up of the things first possessed and then left, but which are found multiplied infinitely. One is deprived of possessions and receives in return the enjoyment of the true good; one is freed from the slavery of things and gains the freedom of service for LOVE; one renounces possession and gains the joy of gift. What Jesus said, "One is more blessed in giving than in receiving" (cf. Acts 20:35).
The young man did not allow himself to be conquered by Jesus' LOVING GLANCE, and so he could not change. Only by welcoming with humble gratitude the LOVE of the Lord do we free ourselves from the seduction of idols and from the blindness of our illusions. Money, pleasure and success dazzle, but then disappoint: they promise life, but bring death. The Lord asks us to detach ourselves from these false riches in order to enter into true life, the full, authentic and luminous life. And I ask you, young people, boys and girls, who are now in the square: "Have you heard Jesus' LOOK at you? What do you want to answer him? Do you prefer to leave this square with the joy that Jesus gives us or with the sadness in your HEARTS that worldliness offers us?"...
May the Virgin Mary help us to open our HEART to the LOVE of Jesus, to the GLANCE of Jesus, the only one who can satisfy our thirst for happiness....
BENEDICT XVI - ANGELUS - Saint Peter's Square - Sunday, 14 October 2012
RispondiEliminaThis Sunday's Gospel (Mk 10:17-30) has as its main theme that of wealth. Jesus teaches that it is very difficult for a rich person to enter the KINGDOM of GOD, but not impossible; in fact, God can conquer the HEART of a person who possesses many goods and lead him to solidarity and sharing with those who are in need, with the poor, that is, to enter into the logic of gift. In this way, it follows the path of Jesus Christ, who - as the apostle Paul writes - " from being rich, He became poor for your sake, so that you might become rich through His poverty" (2 Cor 8:9).
As is often the case in the Gospels, everything takes its origin from an encounter: that of Jesus with a man who "possessed much wealth" (Mk 10:22). This was a person who since his young age had faithfully observed all the COMMANDMENTS of God's Law, but had not yet found true happiness; and for this reason he asked Jesus how to have access to "the inheritance of ETERNAL LIFE" (v. 17). On the one hand he is attracted, like everyone else, by the fullness of life; on the other hand, being accustomed to counting on his own wealth, he thinks that ETERNAL LIFE can also be "purchased" in some way, perhaps by observing a special commandment. Jesus grasps the profound desire that exists in that person, and - the evangelist notes - fixes on him a LOOK full of LOVE: the LOOK of God (cf. v. 21). But Jesus also understands what that man's weak point is: it is precisely his attachment to his many possessions; and therefore He proposes that he give everything to the poor, so that his treasure - and therefore his HEART - is no longer on earth, but in heaven, and He adds: "Come! Follow me!" (v. 22). However, instead of joyfully accepting Jesus' invitation, the man goes away depressed (cf. v. 23), because he cannot detach himself from his riches, which can never give him happiness and ETERNAL LIFE.
It is at this point that Jesus gives the disciples - and to us today as well - His teaching: "How difficult it is for those who possess riches to enter the KINGDOM of GOD!" (v. 23). At these words, the disciples were bewildered, and even more so after Jesus added, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the KINGDOM of GOD. But, seeing them astonished, He said, "Impossible to men, but not to God! For all things are possible to God" (cf. vv. 24-27). Saint Clement of Alexandria comments: "The parable teaches the rich that they must not neglect their salvation as if they were already condemned, nor must they throw their wealth overboard or condemn it as insidious and hostile to life, but they must learn how to use their wealth and procure their life" (Which Rich Man Will Be Saved?, 27, 1-2). The history of the Church is full of examples of rich people who have used their wealth in an evangelical way, even achieving holiness. Just think about Saint Francis, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary or Saint Charles Borromeo. May the Virgin Mary, Seat of Wisdom, help us to accept with joy the invitation of Jesus, to enter into the fullness of Life.
APOSTOLIC PILGRIMAGE TO FRANCE -- HOMILY OF SAINT JOHN PAUL II - Strasbourg - October 9, 1988
RispondiEliminaThe WORD OF GOD has come to meet human works. It has entered into the "work" of man. It has penetrated the course of human history. It has manifested itself in man's culture.
Here, ... at the center of the European continent, we never cease to be witnesses of this encounter: of the encounter of the eternal Word, in which God manifests Himself as KNOWLEDGE and LOVE, with the human WORD, with human work, with the culture of peoples, with human history. ...
4. The WORD OF GOD penetrates . . . It does not remain outside man, nor outside his works and actions, nor outside culture and history.
After having revealed itself, after having pronounced itself in our history, it continues to speak. It continues to operate. It creates the deepest dimension of human actions. It does not cease to challenge man. These challenges belong to the authenticity of the image and likeness of God, which man incarnates. God Himself as Creator and Redeemer presents them to man. At the same time, God's challenges are such that man must address them to himself. Man's conscience must consider them as its own, if it is upright and faithful to the truth.
5. Every man . . . The man . . . of this country, of this continent . . . to whom does he resemble? Does he not resemble the rich young man of whom the Gospel speaks today?
When we hear that this young man "rushed toward Him" (toward Christ), that he got down on his knees and asked Him " what must I do in order to have ETERNAL LIFE?" (Mk 10:17), then in this attitude and in this question is manifested all the youthfulness of men, peoples, nations and society on our continent.
They have run to meet Christ with the same question of the young man of the Gospel. They called him "Good Teacher" and Christ replied: "No one is good except God alone" (Mk 10:18). In this way, He led them to the Father who sent Him. And the men, the peoples, the nations of our old continent have received, in their historical past, the truth about God who is good, who is LOVE.
Then Christ, through the apostles Paul and Peter, teachers and educators, reminded to our ancestors and to our fathers the COMMANDMENTS: "Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not defraud, thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother" (Mk 10:19). Immutable principles of divine KNOWLEDGE without which human life is no longer truly human.
6. Christ reminds us of these same principles at the end of the second millennium. Can we respond like the Young Man in the Gospel: "I have kept all these COMMANDMENTS"? (Mk 10:20). Do I observe all these COMMANDMENTS?
In Europe, a "Christian" continent, the moral sense is weakening, the very WORD "commandment" is often rejected. The rules are rejected in the name of freedom, the moral education of the Church is ignored.
When Christ reminds the young man of the COMMANDMENTS it is a WORD of KNOWLEDGE that He speaks. How could we be truly free without basing our behavior on this WORD of truth? How could we give its fullness of meaning to our lives without tying our acts to KNOWLEDGE and making the choice of the good?
A freedom that would reject the principles of the WORD OF GOD and the lines of conduct established by the Church would be unable to base its actions on indisputable moral values.
The truth of LOVE, of justice, of]he dignity of life is in God the Creator, revealed by His Son who came to bring man the WORD of His Father, who Alone is good (cf. Mk 10:18).
Christ's disciples today cannot ignore the COMMANDMENTS when it is a question of the essential requirements of purity and fidelity of conjugal LOVE, respect for life, justice and fraternal sharing, welcoming the stranger, rejecting hatred and lies, and showing concrete solidarity with the poor and those who suffer.