Treasure and Pearl - forms of interiority

(Mt 13:44-46)

Jesus does not want to make us poor poor, but Allies. His Presence completes and realizes us by Name; not in a negative sense, but in a full capacity.

The choice or "renunciation" He asks for, is not about options any. He does not make what is not worth protrude. That's why He does not belittle us.

And the total Word is the real deal.

A hidden Treasure that must first be hidden again (v.44)!

We realize that we have only partially seen of it; there is still much more to discover.

It’s not something verifiable immediately and completely.

Warning: we have to hide it again!

Here is the whole game, because such Splendor doesn’t belong to the rituals of folklore, or to the contour duties, that would make us prisoners.

In fact, the spring to get out of the cliché, the protocol, the pack ways, becomes an opportunity to discover something new.

The authentic Kingdom will not be intrusive: it doesn’t demand membership - under penalty of exclusions. It delivers other messages, transmutative from within.

We can grasp it in our roots, because it corresponds to the complete life project that inhabits us and mysteriously we intuit our own.

We understand: it makes us look forward, it makes us feel good. It makes us discover other worlds, and our own Core; beyond the problems that are gripping.

This is where the unexplainable, works.

The insecure becomes a determined person, the loser is transformed by grace into wise.

We understand that welcoming the springing Logos and corresponding to one’s personal Vocation will not be terrifying, but regenerating.

Who will shift his thoughts, will bet everything, and will bring out his essence.

In ancient times «Pearls» were the most precious and splendid things: in short, man is in search of Beauty as a meaning of life and of his own personality.

But who is the really charming man who lives completely, not epidermal?

Before Matthew allowed himself to be made an apostle, he assumed that his invaluable Diamond was the hoarding. And he has to change his mind.

Saul imagined that the boundless Gem - the authenticity of man - was the inappuntability of his practices and ideas.

God’s free Gift has urged both in the Quest for the Precious Pearl: what is delicious, fraternal, donative, lovable and not to be missed.

The preciousness of the Gospel, the valuable Uniqueness of Faith in Christ, his authentic Kingdom, are the true Capital that makes us happy.

The most beautiful unforeseen of the genuine Church: that has nothing to do with the fiction of identifications - inattentive to humanization - nor with the inculcated appearance of the many external things.

In this way, the people of the sons generated to new life will find wealth already in the being of things, in the furrows of history; from the soul, and in trials.

Out of concealment, out of patient silence, out of sudden reality, come understandings, empathies, spontaneous correspondences.

Voices that can come to us, to change life and make it unpredictable.

Exceptional Encounters tell the soul: we are not only the hardships that afflict us.

But those events, one must know how to wait for them.

[Wednesday 17th wk. in O.T.  July 30, 2025]

(or anonymous weight, toil, and deprivation, of collective rituals)

(Mt 13:44-46)

Jesus does not want to make us poor paupers, but allies - not because he intends to enrich us with 'superior goods' in a generic way.

The Encounter and its Action not only free us from attachment to things (as was once said, as the cornerstone of negative discernment).

His Presence completes and fulfils us by Name, in its own right.

He wants us to emancipate quickly and radically: in the capacity for acquisition and fullness, not emptying and depersonalisation.

The choice or 'renunciation' that he asks for does not concern petty options.

He does not make that which is not worthwhile stand out. That is why he does not belittle us.

Ancient religion emphasised collective manners and rituals, so paradoxically it accentuated the focus precisely on the transitory for all - that which really did not deserve to be overvalued.

The Lord knows that there is a 'more and better' than the petty acts of mortification, and the anonymous communal choices.

For he does not speak of sacrifices for the sake of the Kingdom, but of Joy, of fullness of being.

As the Message for the XXVII World Youth Day states, the whole experience of Faith is for Joy - the measure and Source of the heart: Happiness even in Conversion and trials (nos. 5-6).

In short, the divine condition Comes, it offers itself for free: it is not a reward for previous summary merits.

But it puts everything on the line, so that we come to a complete pursuit - not of burdens, labours, and privations. Least of all approvals.

It is the total Word that is the real deal.

A hidden treasure that must first be hidden again (v.44)!

We realise that we have only seen in part; there is still much more to be discovered.

It cannot be verified immediately and completely.

Beware: it must be hidden again! The codes of healing do not take postures from external configurations.

This is where the whole game lies, because such Splendour does not belong to the rituals of folklore, or to the duties of side duties, which would make us prisoners.

Precisely, the spring to break out of the cliché, out of protocol, out of conformist herd ways, becomes an opportunity to discover something new.

The authentic Kingdom will not be intrusive: it does not demand adherence - on pain of exclusion. It delivers other messages, transmuting from within.

It is grasped at our root, because it corresponds to the complete life project that inhabits us and that we mysteriously sense is ours.

We understand: it transfers our gaze, it makes us feel good. It makes us discover other worlds, and our own core; beyond the problems that grip us.

Outside the cog of thoughts and 'that's the way they all are' - the territory of the mind can produce different, eccentric perceptions; not so much ideas, rather images, perhaps seemingly absurd.

But it draws on important experiences of other energies, cosmic and acutely personal; hence of self, of others, of out-of-the ordinary opinions, and of God.

Multifaceted and converging profiles, mysteriously allied: that do not force us to live as strangers to ourselves, yet trace another future.

Here the inexplicable is at work.

The insecure becomes assertive, the loser is transformed by grace into the wise - even grasping the discomforts (they are not hindrances to be eliminated).

We understand that welcoming the Logos arising and corresponding to one's personal Vocation will not be terrifying, but regenerating.

He who will shift his thoughts, point everything, and bring forth his own essence.

He will be an attainable Person, not manipulable.

The multifaceted Friendship with one's eminent and profound Self will surpass all posturing.

In Spirit and in real life - even before valued inferiorly - each will discover the Magnificent One that others do not even remotely imagine can intimately excel.

Even Communion - conviviality of differences - we will learn from within.

In ancient times, Pearls were the most precious and splendid things: in short, man is in search of the Beautiful as the meaning of life and of his own personality.

But who is the Beautiful man, truly fascinating and living in a complete, non-epidermal way?

Matthew, before he let himself be made an apostle, assumed that his priceless Diamond was hoarding. And he has to think again.

Saul imagined that the boundless Gem - the authenticity of man - was the unflinchingness of the devout and practising man. The inflexibility of the one who observed all the traditions (even oral) of the people, and belonged to the most consistent and strict group of Pharisees.

Suddenly they both perceived the difference between the Love of one who meets Christ in earnest and the rubbish and ugliness of puerile beliefs - which always made them feel wrong.

These unlearned 'beliefs' external to woman and man produced people who were then unapproachable, duplicitous, untrustworthy, disloyal; scrounging, dangerous, cunning, violent, always ready to cheat.The free Gift of God prompts the Search for the Precious Pearl: that which is delicious, brotherly, giving, lovable and not to be missed.

It is the life of believers transformed into men of Faith who learn the necessity of transformation for life.

Adults endowed with the spirit of childhood: who no longer feel others' judgments looming over them, according to absurd expectations, and even in the common selection between 'inside' and 'outside'.

This, perhaps only because of the discrepancy between the mythology of the extraordinary devout 'models' proposed in some elite circles, and their own experience (inculcated as insufficient).

Critical witnesses then choose to no longer allow themselves to be disturbed by provisional and circumstantial commitments normally propagated - nor by any form of empty spirituality.

In this way, we will no longer be scolded by the obligations of the role, dates, fixed or other people's schedules... which do not take into account the person's hopes.

And the soul will no longer be reduced to an enslaved dependent that must constantly compare, and impose fatuous, forced, insidious relationships on itself (for fear of being isolated).

The preciousness of the Gospel, the valuable uniqueness of Faith in Christ, His authentic Kingdom, are the true Capital that makes one happy.

The most beautiful unexpectedness of the genuine Church: which has nothing to do with the fiction of identifications - inattentive to humanisation - nor with the inculcated flashiness of the many external things.

The people of children generated to new life will find wealth already in the being of things, in the furrows of history; from the soul, and in trials.

Out of concealment, out of patient silence, out of sudden reality, come understandings, empathies, spontaneous correspondences.

Voices that can come to us, to change our lives and make them unpredictable.

Exceptional encounters tell the soul: we are not just the inconveniences that afflict us.

But those events, one must know how to wait for them.

Dear young friends,

I am happy to address you once more on the occasion of the 27th World Youth Day. The memory of our meeting in Madrid last August remains close to my heart. It was a time of extraordinary grace when God showered his blessings on the young people gathered from all over the world. I give thanks to God for all the fruits which that event bore, fruits which will surely multiply for young people and their communities in the future. Now we are looking forward to our next meeting in Rio de Janeiro in 2013, whose theme will be: “Go and make disciples of all nations!” (cf. Mt 28:19).

This year’s World Youth Day theme comes from Saint Paul’s exhortation in his Letter to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always” (4:4). Joy is at the heart of Christian experience. At each World Youth Day we experience immense joy, the joy of communion, the joy of being Christian, the joy of faith. This is one of the marks of these gatherings. We can see the great attraction that joy exercises. In a world of sorrow and anxiety, joy is an important witness to the beauty and reliability of the Christian faith.

The Church’s vocation is to bring joy to the world, a joy that is authentic and enduring, the joy proclaimed by the angels to the shepherds on the night Jesus was born (cf. Lk 2:10). Not only did God speak, not only did he accomplish great signs throughout the history of humankind, but he drew so near to us that he became one of us and lived our life completely. In these difficult times, so many young people all around you need to hear that the Christian message is a message of joy and hope! I would like to reflect with you on this joy and on how to find it, so that you can experience it more deeply and bring it to everyone you meet.

1. Our hearts are made for joy

A yearning for joy lurks within the heart of every man and woman. Far more than immediate and fleeting feelings of satisfaction, our hearts seek a perfect, full and lasting joy capable of giving “flavour” to our existence. This is particularly true for you, because youth is a time of continuous discovery of life, of the world, of others and of ourselves. It is a time of openness to the future and of great longing for happiness, friendship, sharing and truth, a time when we are moved by high ideals and make great plans.

Each day is filled with countless simple joys which are the Lord’s gift: the joy of living, the joy of seeing nature’s beauty, the joy of a job well done, the joy of helping others, the joy of sincere and pure love. If we look carefully, we can see many other reasons to rejoice. There are the happy times in family life, shared friendship, the discovery of our talents, our successes, the compliments we receive from others, the ability to express ourselves and to know that we are understood, and the feeling of being of help to others. There is also the excitement of learning new things, seeing new and broader horizons open up through our travels and encounters, and realizing the possibilities we have for charting our future. We might also mention the experience of reading a great work of literature, of admiring a masterpiece of art, of listening to or playing music, or of watching a film. All these things can bring us real joy.

Yet each day we also face any number of difficulties. Deep down we also worry about the future; we begin to wonder if the full and lasting joy for which we long might be an illusion and an escape from reality. Many young people ask themselves: is perfect joy really possible? The quest for joy can follow various paths, and some of these turn out to be mistaken, if not dangerous. How can we distinguish things that give real and lasting joy from immediate and illusory pleasures? How can we find true joy in life, a joy that endures and does not forsake us at moments of difficulty?

2. God is the source of true joy

Whatever brings us true joy, whether the small joys of each day or the greatest joys in life, has its source in God, even if this does not seem immediately obvious. This is because God is a communion of eternal love, he is infinite joy that does not remain closed in on itself, but expands to embrace all whom God loves and who love him. God created us in his image out of love, in order to shower his love upon us and to fill us with his presence and grace. God wants us to share in his own divine and eternal joy, and he helps us to see that the deepest meaning and value of our lives lie in being accepted, welcomed and loved by him. Whereas we sometimes find it hard to accept others, God offers us an unconditional acceptance which enables us to say: “I am loved; I have a place in the world and in history; I am personally loved by God. If God accepts me and loves me and I am sure of this, then I know clearly and with certainty that it is a good thing that I am alive”.

God’s infinite love for each of us is fully seen in Jesus Christ. The joy we are searching for is to be found in him. We see in the Gospel how the events at the beginning of Jesus’ life are marked by joy. When the Archangel Gabriel tells the Virgin Mary that she is to be the mother of the Saviour, his first word is “Rejoice!” (Lk 1:28). When Jesus is born, the angel of the Lord says to the shepherds: “Behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a Saviour has been born for you, who is Messiah and Lord” (Lk 2:10-11). When the Magi came in search of the child, “they were overjoyed at seeing the star” (Mt 2:10). The cause of all this joy is the closeness of God who became one of us. This is what Saint Paul means when he writes to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near” (Phil 4:4-5). Our first reason for joy is the closeness of the Lord, who welcomes me and loves me.

An encounter with Jesus always gives rise to immense inner joy. We can see this in many of the Gospel stories. We recall when Jesus visited Zacchaeus, a dishonest tax collector and public sinner, he said to him: “Today I must stay at your house”. Then, Saint Luke tells us, Zacchaeus “received him with joy” (Lk 19:5-6). This is the joy of meeting the Lord. It is the joy of feeling God’s love, a love that can transform our whole life and bring salvation. Zacchaeus decides to change his life and to give half of his possessions to the poor.

At the hour of Jesus’ passion, this love can be seen in all its power. At the end of his earthly life, while at supper with his friends, Jesus said: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love... I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete” (Jn 15:9,11). Jesus wants to lead his disciples and each one of us into the fullness of joy that he shares with the Father, so that the Father’s love for him might abide in us (cf. Jn 17:26). Christian joy consists in being open to God’s love and belonging to him.

The Gospels recount that Mary Magdalene and other women went to visit the tomb where Jesus had been laid after his death. An angel told them the astonishing news of Jesus’ resurrection. Then, the Evangelist tells us, they ran from the sepulchre, “fearful yet overjoyed” to share the good news with the disciples. Jesus met them on the way and said: “Peace!” (Mt 28:8-9). They were being offered the joy of salvation. Christ is the One who lives and who overcame evil, sin and death. He is present among us as the Risen One and he will remain with us until the end of the world (cf. Mt 28:20). Evil does not have the last word in our lives; rather, faith in Christ the Saviour tells us that God’s love is victorious.

This deep joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit who makes us God’s sons and daughters, capable of experiencing and savouring his goodness, and calling him “Abba”, Father (cf. Rm 8:15). Joy is the sign of God’s presence and action within us.

3. Preserving Christian joy in our hearts

At this point we wonder: “How do we receive and maintain this gift of deep, spiritual joy?”

One of the Psalms tells us: “Find your delight in the Lord who will give you your heart's desire” (Ps 37:4). Jesus told us that “the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Mt 13:44). The discovery and preservation of spiritual joy is the fruit of an encounter with the Lord. Jesus asks us to follow him and to stake our whole life on him. Dear young people, do not be afraid to risk your lives by making space for Jesus Christ and his Gospel. This is the way to find inner peace and true happiness. It is the way to live fully as children of God, created in his image and likeness.

Seek joy in the Lord: for joy is the fruit of faith. It is being aware of his presence and friendship every day: “the Lord is near!” (Phil 4:5). It is putting our trust in God, and growing in his knowledge and love. Shortly we shall begin the “Year of Faith”, and this will help and encourage us. Dear friends, learn to see how God is working in your lives and discover him hidden within the events of daily life. Believe that he is always faithful to the covenant which he made with you on the day of your Baptism. Know that God will never abandon you. Turn your eyes to him often. He gave his life for you on the cross because he loves you. Contemplation of this great love brings a hope and joy to our hearts that nothing can destroy. Christians can never be sad, for they have met Christ, who gave his life for them.

To seek the Lord and find him in our lives also means accepting his word, which is joy for our hearts. The Prophet Jeremiah wrote: “When I found your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and the happiness of my heart” (Jer 15:16). Learn to read and meditate on the sacred Scriptures. There you will find an answer to your deepest questions about truth. God’s word reveals the wonders that he has accomplished throughout human history, it fills us with joy, and it leads us to praise and adoration: “Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord; let us kneel before the Lord who made us” (Ps 95:1,6).

The liturgy is a special place where the Church expresses the joy which she receives from the Lord and transmits it to the world. Each Sunday at Mass the Christian community celebrates the central mystery of salvation, which is the death and resurrection of Christ. This is a very important moment for all the Lord’s disciples because his sacrifice of love is made present. Sunday is the day when we meet the risen Christ, listen to his word, and are nourished by his body and blood. As we hear in one of the Psalms: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad” (Ps 118:24). At the Easter Vigil, the Church sings the Exultet, a hymn of joy for the victory of Jesus Christ over sin and death: “Sing, choirs of angels! ... Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendour ... Let this place resound with joy, echoing the mighty song of all God’s people!” Christian joy is born of this awareness of being loved by God who became man, gave his life for us and overcame evil and death. It means living a life of love for him. As Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, a young Carmelite, wrote: “Jesus, my joy is loving you” (P 45, 21 January 1897).

4. The joy of love

Dear friends, joy is intimately linked to love. They are inseparable gifts of the Holy Spirit (cf. Gal 5:23). Love gives rise to joy, and joy is a form of love. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta drew on Jesus’ words: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35) when she said: “Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls; God loves a cheerful giver. Whoever gives with joy gives more”. As the Servant of God Paul VI wrote: “In God himself, all is joy because all is giving” (Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete in Domino, 9 May 1975).

In every area of your life, you should know that to love means to be steadfast, reliable and faithful to commitments. This applies most of all to friendship. Our friends expect us to be sincere, loyal and faithful because true love perseveres even in times of difficulty. The same thing can be said about your work and studies and the services you carry out. Fidelity and perseverance in doing good brings joy, even if not always immediately.

If we are to experience the joy of love, we must also be generous. We cannot be content to give the minimum. We need to be fully committed in life and to pay particular attention to those in need. The world needs men and women who are competent and generous, willing to be at the service of the common good. Make every effort to study conscientiously, to develop your talents and to put them at the service of others even now. Find ways to help make society more just and humane wherever you happen to be. May your entire life be guided by a spirit of service and not by the pursuit of power, material success and money.

Speaking of generosity, I would like to mention one particular joy. It is the joy we feel when we respond to the vocation to give our whole life to the Lord. Dear young people, do not be afraid if Christ is calling you to the religious, monastic or missionary life or to the priesthood. Be assured that he fills with joy all those who respond to his invitation to leave everything to be with him and to devote themselves with undivided heart to the service of others. In the same way, God gives great joy to men and women who give themselves totally to one another in marriage in order to build a family and to be signs of Christ’s love for the Church.

Let me remind you of a third element that will lead you to the joy of love. It is allowing fraternal love to grow in your lives and in those of your communities. There is a close bond between communion and joy. It is not by chance that Saint Paul’s exhortation: “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 4:4) is written in the plural, addressing the community as a whole, rather than its individual members. Only when we are together in the communion of fellowship do we experience this joy. In the Acts of the Apostles, the first Christian community is described in these words: “Breaking bread in their homes, they ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart” (Acts 2:46). I ask you to make every effort to help our Christian communities to be special places of sharing, attention and concern for one another.

5. The joy of conversion

Dear friends, experiencing real joy also means recognizing the temptations that lead us away from it. Our present-day culture often pressures us to seek immediate goals, achievements and pleasures. It fosters fickleness more than perseverance, hard work and fidelity to commitments. The messages it sends push a consumerist mentality and promise false happiness. Experience teaches us that possessions do not ensure happiness. How many people are surrounded by material possessions yet their lives are filled with despair, sadness and emptiness! To have lasting joy we need to live in love and truth. We need to live in God.

God wants us to be happy. That is why he gave us specific directions for the journey of life: the commandments. If we observe them, we will find the path to life and happiness. At first glance, they might seem to be a list of prohibitions and an obstacle to our freedom. But if we study them more closely, we see in the light of Christ’s message that the commandments are a set of essential and valuable rules leading to a happy life in accordance with God’s plan. How often, on the other hand, do we see that choosing to build our lives apart from God and his will brings disappointment, sadness and a sense of failure. The experience of sin, which is the refusal to follow God and an affront to his friendship, brings gloom into our hearts.

At times the path of the Christian life is not easy, and being faithful to the Lord’s love presents obstacles; occasionally we fall. Yet God in his mercy never abandons us; he always offers us the possibility of returning to him, being reconciled with him and experiencing the joy of his love which forgives and welcomes us back.

Dear young people, have frequent recourse to the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation! It is the sacrament of joy rediscovered. Ask the Holy Spirit for the light needed to acknowledge your sinfulness and to ask for God’s forgiveness. Celebrate this sacrament regularly, with serenity and trust. The Lord will always open his arms to you. He will purify you and bring you into his joy: for there is joy in heaven even for one sinner who repents (cf. Lk 15:7).

6. Joy at times of trial

In the end, though, we might still wonder in our hearts whether it is really possible to live joyfully amid all life’s trials, especially those which are most tragic and mysterious. We wonder whether following the Lord and putting our trust in him will always bring happiness.

We can find an answer in some of the experiences of young people like yourselves who have found in Christ the light that can give strength and hope even in difficult situations. Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925) experienced many trials during his short life, including a romantic experience that left him deeply hurt. In the midst of this situation he wrote to his sister: “You ask me if I am happy. How could I not be? As long as faith gives me strength, I am happy. A Catholic could not be other than happy... The goal for which we were created involves a path which has its thorns, but it is not a sad path. It is joy, even when it involves pain” (Letter to his sister Luciana, Turin, 14 February 1925). When Blessed John Paul II presented Blessed Pier Giorgio as a model for young people, he described him as “a young person with infectious joy, the joy that overcame many difficulties in his life” (Address to Young People, Turin, 13 April 1980).

Closer to us in time is Chiara Badano (1971-1990), who was recently beatified. She experienced how pain could be transfigured by love and mysteriously steeped in joy. At the age of eighteen, while suffering greatly from cancer, Chiara prayed to the Holy Spirit and interceded for the young people of the movement to which she belonged. As well as praying for her own cure, she asked God to enlighten all those young people by his Spirit and to give them wisdom and light. “It was really a moment of God’s presence. I was suffering physically, but my soul was singing” (Letter to Chiara Lubich, Sassello, 20 December 1989). The key to her peace and joy was her complete trust in the Lord and the acceptance of her illness as a mysterious expression of his will for her sake and that of everyone. She often said: “Jesus, if you desire it, then I desire it too”.

These are just two testimonies taken from any number of others which show that authentic Christians are never despairing or sad, not even when faced with difficult trials. They show that Christian joy is not a flight from reality, but a supernatural power that helps us to deal with the challenges of daily life. We know that the crucified and risen Christ is here with us and that he is a faithful friend always. When we share in his sufferings, we also share in his glory. With him and in him, suffering is transformed into love. And there we find joy (cf. Col 1:24).

7. Witnesses of joy

Dear friends, to conclude I would encourage you to be missionaries of joy. We cannot be happy if others are not. Joy has to be shared. Go and tell other young people about your joy at finding the precious treasure which is Jesus himself. We cannot keep the joy of faith to ourselves. If we are to keep it, we must give it away. Saint John said: “What we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; we are writing this so that our joy may be complete” (1 Jn 1:3-4).

Christianity is sometimes depicted as a way of life that stifles our freedom and goes against our desires for happiness and joy. But this is far from the truth. Christians are men and women who are truly happy because they know that they are not alone. They know that God is always holding them in his hands. It is up to you, young followers of Christ, to show the world that faith brings happiness and a joy which is true, full and enduring. If the way Christians live at times appears dull and boring, you should be the first to show the joyful and happy side of faith. The Gospel is the “good news” that God loves us and that each of us is important to him. Show the world that this is true!

Be enthusiastic witnesses of the new evangelization! Go to those who are suffering and those who are searching, and give them the joy that Jesus wants to bestow. Bring it to your families, your schools and universities, and your workplaces and your friends, wherever you live. You will see how it is contagious. You will receive a hundredfold: the joy of salvation for yourselves, and the joy of seeing God’s mercy at work in the hearts of others. And when you go to meet the Lord on that last day, you will hear him say: “Well done, my good and faithful servant... Come, share your master’s joy” (Mt 25:21).

May the Blessed Virgin Mary accompany you on this journey. She welcomed the Lord within herself and proclaimed this in a song of praise and joy, the Magnificat: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour” (Lk 1:46-47). Mary responded fully to God’s love by devoting her life to him in humble and complete service. She is invoked as “Cause of our Joy” because she gave us Jesus. May she lead you to that joy which no one will ever be able to take away from you!

From the Vatican, 15 March 2012

[Pope Benedict, Message for the XXVII World Youth Day, 2012]

1. "The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand" (Mk 1:15). With these words Jesus of Nazareth begins his messianic preaching. The kingdom of God, which in Jesus breaks into human life and history, constitutes the fulfilment of the promises of salvation, which Israel had received from the Lord.

Jesus reveals himself as Messiah not because he aims at temporal and political dominion according to the conception of his contemporaries, but because with his mission, which culminates in the passion - death - resurrection, "all the promises of God have become 'yes'" (2 Cor 1:20).

2. To fully understand the mission of Jesus, it is necessary to recall the message of the Old Testament that proclaims the salvific kingship of the Lord. In the canticle of Moses (Ex 15:1-18), the Lord is acclaimed "king" because he has admirably delivered his people and led them, with power and love, to communion with him and with their brothers and sisters in the joy of freedom. The very ancient Psalm 28/29 also testifies to the same faith: the Lord is contemplated in the power of his kingship, which dominates all creation and communicates to his people strength, blessing and peace (Ps 29:10). It is above all in the vocation of Isaiah that faith in the Lord 'king' appears totally permeated by the theme of salvation. The "King", whom the prophet contemplates with the eyes of faith "on a high and lofty throne" (Is 6:1), is God in the mystery of his transcendent holiness and his merciful goodness with which he makes himself present to his people, as the source of love that purifies, forgives and saves: "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord, God of hosts, all the earth shall be full of his glory" (Is 6:3).

This faith in the Lord's saving kingship prevented monarchy from developing in the covenant people as it did among the other nations: the king is the chosen one, the Lord's anointed one, and, as such, is the instrument through which God himself exercises his sovereignty over Israel (cf. 1 Sam 12:12-15). "The Lord reigns," the psalms continuously proclaim (cf. Ps 5:3; 9:6; 29:10; 93:1; 97:1-4; 146:10).

3. Faced with the painful experience of human limitations and sin, the prophets announce a new covenant, in which the Lord himself will be the salvific and kingly leader of his renewed people (cf. Jer 31:31-34; Ez 34:7-16; 36:24-28).

In this context arises the expectation of a new David, whom the Lord will raise up to be the instrument of exodus, of deliverance, of salvation (Ez 34:23-25; cf. Jer 23:5-6). From this moment on, the figure of the Messiah will appear in intimate relationship with the inauguration of the full kingship of God.

After the exile, even though the institution of the monarchy disappears in Israel, faith in the kingship that God exercises in his people continues to deepen and will extend to the "ends of the earth". The psalms singing the Lord King constitute the most significant testimony of this hope (cf. Ps 96 and Ps 99).

This hope touches its maximum intensity when the gaze of faith, directing itself beyond the time of human history, will understand that only in the future eternity will the kingdom of God be established in all its power: then, through the resurrection, the redeemed will be in full communion of life and love with the Lord (cf. Dn 7:9-10; 12:2-3).

4. Jesus refers to this Old Testament hope and proclaims it fulfilled. The kingdom of God constitutes the central theme of his preaching as the parables in particular show.

The parable of the sower (Mt 13:3-8) proclaims that the kingdom of God is already at work in Jesus' preaching, and at the same time directs one to look forward to the abundance of fruit that will constitute the superabundant wealth of the Kingdom at the end of time. The parable of the seed that grows by itself (Mk 4:26-29) emphasises that the Kingdom is not a human work, but solely the gift of God's love that acts in the hearts of believers and guides human history to its ultimate fulfilment in eternal communion with the Lord. The parable of the tares in the midst of the wheat (Mt 13:24-30) and the parable of the fishing net (Mt 13:47-52) point first of all to the presence, already at work, of God's salvation. Together with the "children of the Kingdom", however, there are also present the "children of the Evil One", the workers of iniquity: only at the end of history will the powers of evil be destroyed and those who have welcomed the Kingdom will always be with the Lord. Finally, the parables of the hidden treasure and the precious pearl (Mt 13:44-46) express the supreme and absolute value of the kingdom of God: those who understand it are willing to face any sacrifice and renunciation to enter it.

5. A very enlightening richness appears from Jesus' teaching.

The kingdom of God, in its full and total realisation, is certainly future, "it must come" (cf. Mk 9:1; Lk 22:18); the prayer of the Lord's Prayer teaches to invoke its coming: "Thy Kingdom come" (Mt 6:10).At the same time, however, Jesus affirms that the kingdom of God "has already come" (Mt 12:28), "is in your midst" (Lk 17:21) through Jesus' preaching and works. Moreover, from the entire New Testament it appears that the Church, founded by Jesus, is the place where God's kingship is made present, in Christ, as a gift of salvation in faith, of new life in the Spirit, of communion in charity.

Thus the intimate relationship between the Kingdom and Jesus appears, a relationship so strong that the kingdom of God can also be called "the kingdom of Jesus" (Eph 5:5; 2 Pet 1:11), as Jesus himself affirms before Pilate, asserting that "his" kingdom is not of this world (Jn 18:36).

6. In this light we can understand the conditions that Jesus indicates for entering the Kingdom. They can be summed up in the word "conversion". Through conversion man opens himself to the gift of God (cf. Lk 12:32), who "calls to his kingdom and to his glory" (1 Thess 2:12); he welcomes the Kingdom like a child (Mk 10:15) and is willing to make any renunciation in order to enter it (cf. Lk 18:29; Mt 19:29; Mk 10:29).

The Kingdom of God demands a deep or new "righteousness" (Mt 5:20); it requires commitment to do the "will of God" (Mt 7:21); it demands inner simplicity "like a child" (Mt 18:3; Mk 10:15); it involves overcoming the obstacle of riches (cf. Mk 10:23-24).

7. The beatitudes proclaimed by Jesus (cf. Mt 5:3-12) appear as the "magna charta" of the kingdom of heaven that is given to the poor in spirit, the afflicted, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those persecuted for the sake of righteousness. The beatitudes do not only indicate the demands of the Kingdom; they manifest first of all the work that God does in us by making us like His Son (Rom 8:29) and capable of having His sentiments (Phil 2:5ff.) of love and forgiveness (cf. Jn 13:34-35; Col 3:13).

8. Jesus' teaching on the kingdom of God is witnessed by the New Testament Church, which lived it in the joy of its Easter faith. She is the community of the "little ones" whom the Father "has delivered from the power of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of his beloved Son" (Col 1:13); it is the community of those who live "in Christ", allowing themselves to be led by the Spirit in the way of peace (Lk 1:79), and who struggle not to "fall into temptation" and to avoid the works of "the flesh", knowing full well that "he who does them will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Gal 5:21). The Church is the community of those who proclaim, with life and word, the same message of Jesus: "The kingdom of God is at hand" (Lk 10:9).

9. The Church, which "throughout the ages tends unceasingly to the fullness of divine truth, until the words of God are fulfilled in it" (Dei Verbum, 8), prays to the Father in every celebration of the Eucharist that "his kingdom come". It lives in ardent expectation of the glorious coming of the Lord and Saviour Jesus, who will offer to the divine majesty "the eternal and universal kingdom: a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace" (Preface on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe).

This expectation of the Lord is an unceasing source of confidence and energy. It stimulates the baptised, who have become sharers in the royal dignity of Christ, to live each day "in the kingdom of his beloved son", to witness and proclaim the presence of the Kingdom with the same works of Jesus (cf. Jn 14:12). By virtue of this witness of faith and love, the Council teaches, the world will be imbued with the spirit of Christ and will reach its goal more effectively in justice, charity and peace (cf. Lumen Gentium, 36).

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 18 March 1987]

Jesus’ parabolic discourse groups together seven parables in the 13th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, and concludes with today’s three parallel stories: the hidden treasure (v. 44), the fine pearl (vv. 45-46) and the fishing net (vv. 47-48). I will pause on the first two which highlight the protagonists’ decision to sell everything in order to acquire what they have found. The first case has to do with a farmer who casually happens upon a hidden treasure in the field he is working. As the field is not his property, he must purchase it in order to take possession of the treasure: he therefore decides to risk all his possessions so as not to lose that truly exceptional opportunity. In the second case, there is a merchant of precious pearls; as an expert, he has spied a pearl of great value. He too decides to wager everything on that pearl, to the point of selling all the others.

These parallel stories highlight two characteristics regarding possession of the Kingdom of God: searching and sacrifice. It is true that the Kingdom of God is offered to all — it is a gift, it is a present, it is a grace — but it does not come on a silver platter: it requires dynamism; it is about searching, journeying, working hard. The attitude of searching is the essential condition for finding. The heart must burn with the desire to reach the valuable good, that is, the Kingdom of God which is made present in the person of Jesus. He is the hidden treasure; he is the pearl of great value. He is the fundamental discovery who can make a decisive change in our lives, filling it with meaning.

Faced with the unexpected discovery, both the farmer and the merchant realize that they are facing a unique opportunity which should not be missed; hence, they sell all that they own. Assessing the inestimable value of the treasure leads to a decision that also implies sacrifice, detachment and renunciation. When the treasure and the pearl are discovered, that is, when we have found the Lord, we must not let this discovery become barren, but rather sacrifice everything else in order to acquire it. It is not a question of disdaining the rest but of subordinating them to Jesus, putting him in first place; grace in first place. The disciple of Christ is not one who has deprived himself of something essential; he is one who has found much more: he has found the complete joy that only the Lord can give. It is the evangelical joy of the sick who have been healed; of the pardoned sinners, of the thief for whom the doors of heaven open.

The joy of the Gospel fills the heart and the entire life of those who encounter Jesus. Those who allow themselves to be saved by him are freed from sin, sadness, inner emptiness and isolation. With Jesus Christ, joy is always born and reborn (cf. Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, n. 1). Today we are called to contemplate the joy of the farmer and the merchant in the parables. It is the joy of each of us when we discover the closeness and the comforting presence of Jesus in our lives. A presence which transforms the heart and opens us to the needs and the welcoming of our brothers, especially the weakest.

Let us pray for the intercession of the Virgin Mary so that each of us may know how to bear witness, in daily words and gestures, to the joy of having found the treasure of the Kingdom of God, that is, the love that the Father has given us through Jesus.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 30 July 2017]

The Lord of Life (or the pale sign)

Jn 11:19-27 (1-45)

The event of death is disconcerting, and that of a friend of God in community [Bethany] perhaps accentuates the questions about the meaning of our belief and commit ourselves thoroughly.

Why in the time of greatest need does the Lord let us fall? Why does He seem not to be there (v.21)?

Letting even His dearest friends die, Jesus educates us: it’s not His intention to procrastinate biological existence (vv.14-15), nor simply improve it a little.

“Eternal” [in the Gospels, the very Life of the Eternal: Zoè aiònios] is not this form of life [in the Gospels: Bìos - possibly strengthened] but only its times of strong love.

Ultimate World does not interfere with the natural course.

For this reason the Lord doesn’t enter the “village” where others went to console and give condolences.

He wants Mary to leave the house where everyone cries in despair and mourns funeral - as if everything was over.

He intends to get us out of the “small hamlet” where it’s believed that the earthly end can be only delayed, until the tomb without a future.

The natural emotion for detachment does not hold back tears, which spontaneously «flow from the eyes, sliding down» [dakryein-edakrysen].

Intimate upheaval does not produce a broken and screamed cry [klaiein] as the inconsolable one of the Jews (vv.33.35).

No farewell. For this reason, it follows the order to remove the stone that at that time closed the tombs (v.39).

The strong Call is absolutely imperative: the ‘deceased’ ones are not ‘dead’ ones, as ancient religions believed; their lives goes on.

«Lazarus, out here!» (v.43): it’s the cry of the victory of life. 

In the adventure of Faith in Christ we discover that life has no stones on it. Enough, mourning the deadly situations, and the "dead ones"!

The Appeal that the Lord makes is that there is no disappeared souls’ world, separated from us; stand-alone, devoid of communication with the actual one.

Archaic beliefs imagined Hades or Sheôl as a dark, fog-soaked cavern, populated here and there by insubstantial wandering larvae.

On the contrary, the world of the living ones is not separated from that of the ‘deceased’ ones.

«Lazarus is asleep» (v.11), that is: he is not a fallen, because men do not die. They pass from the creaturely life [bìos] to full Life [Zoè].

The ‘deceased’ left this world and entered the world of God, re-Born and begotten to his authentic, complete and definitive being.

Then: «Untie him and let him go!».

In short, Lazarus did not simply end up in the pit, nor, having been well put back on his feet by Christ, did he reappear in this form of life for another stretch... inexorably marked by the limit.

In the Gospel passage, in fact, while everyone goes to Jesus, Lazarus doesn’t.

It’s not this not what Jesus can do in the face of death. He doesn’t immortalize this condition, otherwise all existence would continue to be a useless escape from the decisive appointment.

And it is time to stop crying our loved ones: «deceased», not ‘dead’.

We must not hold them back with obsessive visits, tormented memories, talismans, condolences: let them exist happily in their new condition!

Life for us and Life for those who have already flourished in the world of God's Peace - where we will live fully: with each other and for each other.

[St  Martha, Mary and Lazarus, July 29]

The Lord of Life (or the pale sign)

(Jn 11:1-45)

Jn 9:1-41 [the famous passage of the Born Blind] makes us reflect on the sign of the opening of the eyes.

Even in losers, there can be growth in awareness of personal dignity and vocation by Faith.

One question remains: a Light, if given in time... perhaps not much use.

Christ conveys to us a consciousness filled with perception and capable of sapiential, spiritual, missionary endeavour - but is there a final Goal or does it all end there?

If we have to fend for ourselves, what is the point of the biblical Promises? 

How come we feel longings for Fulness, then the plunge into nothingness?

Where is God's Love and omnipotence? What about the Risen One, the life of the Eternal One present among us? Has not his very life already been given to us?

The event of death disconcerts, and that of a friend of God in community [Bethany] perhaps accentuates questions about the meaning of our belief and commitment.

Why is it that in our hour of greatest need, the Lord allows us to fall? Why does he seem not to be there (v.21)?

Yet we understand that to be able to carry on an endless old age would not be a victory over death.

The belief of ancient cultures is that when the gods formed mankind they attributed death to it, and kept life for themselves.

Anyone who went in desperate search of the mythical herb that makes the old young had to resign himself: to die was to leave for a country with no return.

By letting even his dearest friends perish, Jesus educates us: it is not his intention to procrastinate biological existence (vv.14-15), nor simply to improve it a little.

Christ is not a 'doctor' who comes to postpone the appointment with death, but He who conquers death - because He transforms it into a Birth.

After all, a truly authentic, human and humanising life needs to look our condition in the face.

Health and physical life are gifts that everyone wants to prolong, but at the end they must be surrendered, in the Landing that no longer scratches.

Eternal [in the Gospels, the very Life of the Eternal: Zoè aiònios] is not this form of life [in the Gospels: Bìos - perhaps enhanced] but only its times of strong love.

This is the authenticity of grace to be asked for and developed. Perenniality to be responded to, a unique condition that does not give us checkmate.

The Ultimate World does not interfere with the natural course, although it may already manifest itself - in the intimate reality of multifaceted coexistence.

But this higher experience [of Covenant even with discomfort] lurks solely in that which is indestructible quality; personal, and in micro and macro relationships.

In particular, Communion: the only sign of the form of Life that takes on but does not waver, has no limits, and will have no end.

This is why the Lord does not enter the 'village' where others have gone to console and offer condolences.

He wants Mary to come out of the house where everyone is weeping in despair and offering condolences - as if everything were over.

She intends to get us out of the 'little village' where it is believed that the earthly end can only be senselessly deferred, to the tomb with no future.

He definitely wants us out of the little village where everyone is in mourning and left with the feigned consolation of funeral practices, 'relief' seasoned only with pretty phrases.

The natural emotion of parting does not hold back the tears, which spontaneously 'flow from the eyes, slide down' [dakryein-edakrysen].

The emotion does not produce a broken and shouted cry [klaiein] like the inconsolable one of the Jews [vv.33.35 Greek text; the Italian translation is confusing].

No farewell. This is followed by the order to remove the stone that at that time closed the tombs (v.39).

The strong reminder is absolutely imperative: the 'dead' are not 'dead', as the ancient religions believe; their life continues.

"Lazarus, out here!" [v.43 Greek text]: it is the cry of the victory of life. 

In the adventure of faith in Christ we discover that life has no stones on it.

Enough, groaning over deadly situations. They bring us closer to our roots, and to full bloom.

And we stop mourning the "dead"!

The appeal the Lord makes today - still after two millennia! - is that there is no such thing as a sunken world of the disappeared.

Compared to the going on earth, the departed are not well separated from us; in a place of their own, lacking communication with the present.

Archaic beliefs imagined Hades or Sheôl to be a dark cave, steeped in mist, here and there populated with insubstantial, wandering larvae.

The world of the living is not separate from that of the dead.

"Lazarus has fallen asleep" (v.11), i.e.: he is not a fallen man, for men do not die. They pass from creaturely life [bìos] to full Life [Zoè].The deceased has left this world and entered the world of God, re-born and begotten to his authentic, complete, definitive being.

Therefore: "Unbind him and let him go!".

In short, Lazarus did not simply end up in the grave, nor was he well revived by Christ he reappears in this form of life for another stretch... inexorably marked by limitation.

In the story, in fact, while everyone goes towards Jesus, Lazarus does not.

This is not what Jesus can do in the face of death. He does not immortalise this condition, otherwise existence would continue to be a useless flight from the decisive appointment.

And it is time to stop sobbing over the loved one: 'deceased', not 'dead'.

We should not hold it back with obsessive visits, tormented memories, talismans, condolences: let it exist happily in its new condition!

Life for us and Life for those who have already flourished in the world of God's Peace - where we live fully: with one another and for one another.

A condition that we can thus prefigure, dissolving not a few intimate blocks, external impediments, and relational laces; drowned in the moods of bitterness, consternation, and despondency:

"Even today Jesus repeats to us: 'Remove the stone. God did not create us for the grave, he created us for life, beautiful, good, joyful.

Therefore, we are called to remove the stones of everything that smacks of death: for example, the hypocrisy with which one lives the faith, it is death; the destructive criticism of others, it is death; the offence, the slander, it is death; the marginalisation of the poor, it is death.

The Lord asks us to remove these stones from our hearts, and life will then flourish around us again.

Christ lives, and whoever accepts Him and adheres to Him comes into contact with life. Without Christ, or outside of Christ, not only is there no life, but we fall back into death.

Let each one of us be close to those who are in trial, becoming for them a reflection of God's love and tenderness, which frees from death and makes life conquer".

[Pope Francis, Angelus 29 March 2020].

To internalise and live the message:

In the face of bereavement, what atmosphere do you perceive at home, in church, at the cemetery, during the funeral? And condolences, how do they affect you?

On Bethany [continuation of the Lazarus passage]:

Jesus Comes to the Feast, but as a stowaway

(Jn 11:45-56)

Christ is all that the Jewish feasts promised and proclaimed.

They decried authoritatively, but unconsciously (vv.47-52 take pleasure in double-meaning words).

The high priest was in fact speaking for God: he was interpreting the situation in a divinely inspired way.

In Christ, the promise made to Abraham was being fulfilled: the era of the dispersion of men was coming to an end.

The Cross would fulfil the vocation of the Temple: the recomposition of the people and the unity of the human being from the barren and distant land, in sharing and gratuitousness.

But what could also have been the starting point (energy) for Jesus not to retreat within the limits of his own environment down to the last detail, and to activate a path of rebirth?

The community of Bethany ['house of the poor'] is an image of the first realities of faith, destitute and composed of only brothers and sisters, without co-opted and appointed authorities. On a personal scale.

Where one could loosen those bonds that prevented one from going beyond the already known. Without patriarchs with calibrated, obsessive and vindictive control - where one does not look at oneself.

A nest of healthy relationships, which could give meaning even to wounds.

It is the only place where Jesus was at ease, the only reality in which we can still recognise him alive and present in the midst of - indeed, Source of life for the modest and needy.

Strident in the Gospel passage is the comparison with the vulgar cunning of the directors and the out-of-scale dimension of the commanded places and festivals.

As if no sap flows there between God's holiness and the real life of the lowly.

Despite the fact that the Master did good - as in all regimes, there was no lack of delinquents (v.46).

On the other hand, a large part of the inhabitants of Jerusalem found their material sustenance in the Temple activities.

Imagine if the top of the class would have let themselves be ripped off the bone to go after a stranger who intended to supplant the official institution and positions of privilege with an unadorned utopia.

The throne of the prince of the fraternal house was conversely without cushions, and the community co-ordinator a woman: Marta ['madam']. Backward, servant leader.

Anything but a reactionary defence of privileged positions and the ancient order... still all downward tensions and 'settling' according to chain of command, which never give us any hints of new life. A viscous situation that the initiative of the synodal path finally attempts to unhinge.Under Domitian, these small alternative realities - although caring for the small and distant - had to live like Jesus: clandestine.

They paid for their unity with the cross. But they renewed the life of the empire.

[That of Lazarus is] the last "sign" fulfilled by Jesus, after which the chief priests convened the Sanhedrin and deliberated killing him, and decided to kill the same Lazarus who was living proof of the divinity of Christ, the Lord of life and death. Actually, this Gospel passage shows Jesus as true Man and true God. First of all, the Evangelist insists on his friendship with Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary. He emphasizes that "Jesus loved" them (Jn 11: 5), and this is why he wanted to accomplish the great wonder. "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him out of sleep" (Jn 11: 11), he tells his disciples, expressing God's viewpoint on physical death with the metaphor of sleep. God sees it exactly as sleep, from which he can awaken us. Jesus has shown an absolute power regarding this death, seen when he gives life back to the widow of Nain's young son (cf. Lk 7: 11-17) and to the 12 year-old girl (cf. Mk 5: 35-43). Precisely concerning her he said:  "The child is not dead but sleeping" (Mk 5: 39), attracting the derision of those present. But in truth it is exactly like this: bodily death is a sleep from which God can awaken us at any moment.

This lordship over death does not impede Jesus from feeling sincere "com-passion" for the sorrow of detachment. Seeing Martha and Mary and those who had come to console them weeping, Jesus "was deeply moved in spirit and troubled", and lastly, "wept" (Jn 11: 33, 35). Christ's heart is divine-human:  in him God and man meet perfectly, without separation and without confusion. He is the image, or rather, the incarnation of God who is love, mercy, paternal and maternal tenderness, of God who is Life. Therefore, he solemnly declared to Martha:  "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die". And he adds, "Do you believe this?" (Jn 11: 25-26). It is a question that Jesus addresses to each one of us:  a question that certainly rises above us, rises above our capacity to understand, and it asks us to entrust ourselves to him as he entrusted himself to the Father. Martha's response is exemplary:  "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world" (Jn 11: 27). Yes, O Lord! We also believe, notwithstanding our doubts and darkness; we believe in you because you have the words of eternal life. We want to believe in you, who give us a trustworthy hope of life beyond life, of authentic and full life in your Kingdom of light and peace.

We entrust this prayer to Mary Most Holy. May her intercession strengthen our faith and hope in Jesus, especially in moments of greater trial and difficulty.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 9 March 2008]

Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died" (Jn 11:21, 32).

These words, which you have heard read in the Gospel of today's Mass, are pronounced first by Martha, then by Mary, the two sisters of Lazarus, and are addressed to Jesus of Nazareth, who was their friend and their brother's friend.

Today's liturgy presents the theme of death to our attention. This is now the fifth Sunday of Lent and the time of Christ's passion is approaching. The time of death and resurrection. Today we look at this fact through the death and resurrection of Lazarus. In Christ's messianic mission, this shattering event serves as a preparation for Holy Week and Easter.

2. ". . . my brother would not have died".

The voice of the human heart resounds in these words, the voice of a heart that loves and bears witness to what death is. All the time we hear about death and read news about the death of various people. There is systematic information on this subject. There is also death statistics. We know that death is a common and unceasing phenomenon. If around 145,000 people die on the globe every day, we can say that people die every moment. Death is a universal phenomenon and an ordinary fact. The universality and ordinariness of the fact confirm the reality of death, the inevitability of death, but, at the same time, they erase in a certain sense the truth about death, its penetrating eloquence.

The language of statistics is not enough here. The voice of the human heart is needed: the voice of a sister, as in today's Gospel, the voice of a person who loves. The reality of death can only be expressed in all its truth in the language of love.

For love resists death, and desires life . . .

Each of the two sisters of Lazarus does not say 'my brother is dead', but says: 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died'.

The truth about death can only be expressed from a perspective of life, from a desire for life: that is, from remaining in the loving communion of a person.

The truth about death is expressed in today's liturgy in relation to the voice of the human heart.

3. At the same time it is expressed in relation to the mission of Christ, the world's redeemer.

Jesus of Nazareth was the friend of Lazarus and his sisters. The death of his friend was also felt in his heart with a particular echo. When he came to Bethany, when he heard the weeping of the sisters and others who were fond of the deceased, Jesus "was deeply moved, he was troubled", and in this inner disposition he asked: "Where have you laid him?" (John 11: 33).

Jesus of Nazareth is at the same time the Christ, the one the Father sent to the world: he is the eternal witness of the Father's love. He is the ultimate spokesman of this love before men. He is in a certain sense the Host of it with regard to each and all. In him and for him the eternal love of the Father is confirmed and fulfilled in human history, confirmed and fulfilled in a superabundant manner.

And love opposes death and wants life.

Man's death, ever since Adam, is opposed to love: it is opposed to the love of the Father, the God of life.

The root of death is sin, which also opposes the Father's love. In human history, death is united with sin, and like sin it is opposed to love.

4. Jesus Christ came into the world to redeem man's sin; every sin that is rooted in man. That is why he confronted the reality of death; for death is united with sin in human history: it is the fruit of sin. Jesus Christ became man's redeemer through his death on the cross, which was the sacrifice that repaired all sin.

In his death, Jesus Christ confirmed the testimony of the Father's love. The love that resists death, and desires life, was expressed in the resurrection of Christ, of him who, to redeem the sins of the world, freely accepted death on the cross.

This event is called Easter: the paschal mystery. Every year we prepare for it through Lent, and today's Sunday now shows us this mystery at close quarters, in which God's love and power have been revealed, as life has brought victory over death.

5. What happened in Bethany at the tomb of Lazarus was almost the last announcement of the paschal mystery.

Jesus of Nazareth stood by the tomb of his friend Lazarus, and said: "Lazarus, come out!" (John 11: 43). With these words, full of power, Jesus raised him to life and brought him out of the tomb.

Before performing this miracle, Christ "lifted up his eyes and said: 'Father, I thank you that you have listened to me. I knew that you always listen to me, but I said this for the people around me, so that they might believe that you sent me'" (John 11: 41-42).At the tomb of Lazarus a particular confrontation of death with the redemptive mission of Christ took place. Christ was the witness of the eternal love of the Father, of that love that resists death and desires life. By raising Lazarus, he bore witness to this love. He also bore witness to God's exclusive power over life and death.

At the same time, at Lazarus' tomb, Christ was the prophet of his own mystery: of the paschal mystery, in which the redemptive death on the cross became the source of new life in the resurrection.

8. The pilgrimage, which you have undertaken today because of the Jubilee, introduces you, dear soldiers gathered here from different countries, into the mystery of redemption, through the liturgy of today's Lenten Sunday, which invites us to pause, I would say, on the frontier of life and death, to worship the presence and love of God.

Here are the words of the prophet Ezekiel: "Says the Lord God: 'You shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people'" (Ez 37:12, 13).

These words were fulfilled at the tomb of Lazarus in Bethany. They were definitively fulfilled at the tomb of Christ on Calvary. Today's liturgy makes us aware of this.

In the resurrection of Lazarus, God's power over man's spirit and body was manifested.

In Christ's resurrection, the Holy Spirit was granted as the source of new life: divine life. This life is man's eternal destiny. It is his vocation received from God. In this life, the eternal love of the Father is realised.

For love desires life and is opposed to death.

Dear brothers! Let us live this life! Let sin not dominate in us! Let us live this life, the price of which is redemption through Christ's death on the cross!

"And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you" (Rom 8:11).

May the Holy Spirit dwell in you always through the grace of Christ's redemption. Amen.

[Pope John Paul II, Homily for the Jubilee of the Military 8 April 1984]