Building the new ethical sense through the rediscovery of values

1. We come in our analysis to the third part of Christ's statement in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:27-28). The first part was: "You have heard that it was said: you shall not commit adultery. The second: "But I say to you, whoever looks at a woman to lust after her", is grammatically connected to the third: "he has already committed adultery with her in his heart".

The method applied here, which is to divide, to "break" Christ's utterance into three parts, which follow one another, may seem artificial. However, when we are looking for the ethical sense of the whole utterance, in its entirety, the division of the text we use can be useful, provided it is not applied disjunctively but subjunctively. And this is what we intend to do. Each of the distinct parts has its own content and connotations that are specific to it, and this is precisely what we wish to emphasise by dividing the text; but at the same time it should be pointed out that each of the parts is explained in direct relation to the others. This refers in the first place to the main semantic elements by which the utterance constitutes a whole. Here are these elements: committing adultery, desiring, committing adultery in the body, committing adultery in the heart. It would be particularly difficult to establish the ethical meaning of 'desiring' without the element indicated here last, namely 'adultery in the heart'. The preceding analysis has already taken this element into account to a certain degree; however a fuller understanding of the component: "committing adultery in the heart" is only possible after a special analysis.

2.

As we already mentioned at the beginning, it is a question here of establishing the ethical sense. Christ's statement in Matthew 5: 27-28 begins with the commandment "Thou shalt not commit adultery", to show how it is to be understood and put into practice, so that the "righteousness" that God Yahweh as Lawgiver willed abounds in it: so that it abounds to a greater extent than the interpretation and casuistry of the Old Testament doctors. If Christ's words in this sense tend to build the new ethos (and on the basis of the commandment itself), the way to this is through the rediscovery of values, which - in the general anti-Constitution understanding and application of this commandment - have been lost.

3.

From this point of view, the wording of Matthew 5: 27-28 is also significant. The commandment 'thou shalt not commit adultery' is formulated as an interdiction that categorically excludes a certain moral evil. It is well known that the Law itself (Decalogue), besides the prohibition "thou shalt not commit adultery" also includes the prohibition "thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife" ( Ex 20:14 . 17 ; Deut 5:18 . 21 ). Christ does not nullify one prohibition over the other. Although it speaks of "desire", it tends towards a deeper clarification of "adultery". It is significant that after he mentions the prohibition "not to commit adultery", as known to his listeners, he later changes his style and logical structure from normative to narrative-affirmative. When it says: "Whoever looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart", it describes an inner fact, the reality of which can be easily understood by the hearers. At the same time, through the fact thus described and qualified, he indicates how the commandment "thou shalt not commit adultery" is to be understood and put into practice, so that it leads to the "righteousness" desired by the Lawgiver.

4.

Thus we come to the expression 'he committed adultery in his heart', a key expression, as it seems, to understand its proper ethical meaning. This expression is at the same time the main source for revealing the essential values of the new ethos: of the ethos of the Sermon on the Mount. As is often the case in the Gospel, here too we encounter a certain paradox. How, in fact, can "adultery" take place without "committing adultery", that is, without the outward act, which enables the act prohibited by the Law to be identified? We have seen how committed the casuistry of the "doctors of the Law" was to specifying this problem. But even irrespective of the casuistry, it seems evident that adultery can only be detected "in the flesh" (cf. Gen 2:24 ), i.e. when the two: man and woman, who are joined together so as to become one flesh, are not legal spouses: husband and wife. What meaning, then, can "adultery committed in the heart" have? Is this not a merely metaphorical expression, used by the Master to highlight the sinfulness of concupiscence?

5.If we were to admit such a semantic reading of Christ's statement ( Mt 5:27-28 ), we would have to reflect deeply on the ethical consequences that would follow, i.e. the conclusions regarding the ethical regularity of the behaviour. Adultery occurs when the two: man and woman, who are joined together so as to become one flesh (cf. Gen 2:24 ), i.e. in the proper manner of spouses, are not legal spouses. The identification of adultery as a sin committed 'in the body' is strictly and exclusively linked to the 'outward' act, to marital cohabitation, which also refers to the status of the acting persons, recognised by society. In the case in question, this state is improper and does not authorise such an act (hence the name: "adultery").

6.

Moving on to the second part of Christ's utterance (i.e. the part in which the new ethos begins to take shape), one would have to understand the expression: "whoever looks at a woman to lust", in the exclusive reference to persons according to their marital status, i.e. recognised by society, whether or not they are married. Here the questions begin to multiply. Since there can be no doubt that Christ indicates the sinfulness of the inward act of concupiscence expressed through the gaze directed at any woman who is not the wife of the man who looks at her in this way, we can and even must ask ourselves whether by the same expression Christ admits and substantiates such a gaze, such an inward act of concupiscence, directed at the woman who is the wife of the man who looks at her in this way. In favour of an affirmative answer to this question seems to be the following logical premise: (in the present case) only the man who is the potential subject of 'adultery in the flesh' can commit 'adultery in the heart'. Since this person cannot be the man-husband with regard to his lawful wife, therefore the 'adultery in the heart' cannot refer to him, but can be blamed on any other man. If a husband, he may not commit it with regard to his wife. He alone has the exclusive right to 'desire', to 'look with concupiscence' at the woman who is his wife, and it can never be said that because of such an interior act he deserves to be accused of 'adultery committed in the heart'. If by virtue of marriage he has the right to "unite himself with his wife", so that "the two shall be one flesh", this act can never be called "adultery"; similarly, the inner act of "lust" referred to in the Sermon on the Mount cannot be called "adultery committed in the heart".

7.

This interpretation of Christ's words in Matthew 5: 27-28, seems to correspond to the logic of the Decalogue, in which, in addition to the commandment "thou shalt not commit adultery" (VI), there is also the commandment "thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife" (IX). Moreover, the reasoning that has been made in its support has all the characteristics of objective correctness and accuracy. Nevertheless, it remains open to question whether this reasoning takes into account all the aspects of revelation as well as the theology of the body that must be considered, especially when we want to understand Christ's words. We have already seen above what is the "specific weight" of this locution, how rich are the anthropological and theological implications of the only phrase in which Christ returns "to the origin" (cf. Mt 19:8 ). The anthropological and theological implications of the utterance of the Sermon on the Mount, in which Christ appeals to the human heart, also give the utterance a "specific weight" of its own, and at the same time determine its coherence with the whole of the Gospel teaching. And so we must admit that the interpretation presented above, with all its objective correctness and logical precision, requires some broadening and, above all, deepening. We must remember that the appeal to the human heart, expressed perhaps paradoxically (cf. Mt 5:27-28 ), comes from the One who "knew what is in every man" ( Jn 2:25 ). And if His words confirm the commandments of the Decalogue (not only the sixth, but also the ninth), at the same time they express that science about man, which - as we have noted elsewhere - enables us to unite the awareness of human sinfulness with the prospect of the "redemption of the body" (cf. Rom 8:23 ). Precisely such "science lies at the foundation of the new ethos" that emerges from the words of the Sermon on the Mount.Taking all this into consideration, we conclude that, just as in understanding "adultery in the flesh" Christ subjects to criticism the erroneous and one-sided interpretation of adultery that results from the non-observance of monogamy (i.e. marriage understood as the indefectible covenant of persons), so too in understanding "adultery in the heart" Christ takes into consideration not only the actual legal status of the man and woman in question. Christ makes the moral evaluation of 'desire' depend above all on the personal dignity of the man and woman themselves; and this has its importance both when they are unmarried and - perhaps even more so - when they are married, wife and husband. From this point of view, we should complete our analysis of the words of the Sermon on the Mount, and we will do so next time.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 1 October 1980]

Psychological and theological interpretation of the concept of concupiscence

1. Today I would like to complete the analysis of the words uttered by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount about "adultery" and "concupiscence", and in particular the last component of the utterance, in which "concupiscence of the eye" is specifically defined as "adultery committed in the heart".

We have already noted above that the above words are usually understood as the desire for another's wife (i.e. according to the spirit of the 9th commandment of the Decalogue). It seems, however, that this - more restrictive - interpretation can and should be broadened in the light of the global context. It seems that the moral evaluation of concupiscence (of "looking in order to lust"), which Christ calls "adultery committed in the heart", depends above all on the personal dignity of the man and woman themselves; this applies both to those who are not joined in marriage, and - and perhaps even more so - to those who are husband and wife.

2.

The analysis we have made so far of the statement in Matthew 5:27-28: "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery; but I say to you, whoever looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart'", indicates the need to broaden and especially to deepen the interpretation presented above, regarding the ethical meaning that this statement contains. Let us dwell on the situation described by the Master, a situation in which the one who "commits adultery in his heart", by means of an inner act of concupiscence (expressed by looking), is the man. It is significant that Christ, when speaking of the object of such an act, does not emphasise that it is "someone else's wife", or the woman who is not one's own wife, but says generically: the woman. Adultery committed 'in the heart' is not circumscribed within the limits of the interpersonal relationship. It is not these limits that decide exclusively and essentially the adultery committed "in the heart", but the very nature of concupiscence, expressed in this case through the gaze, that is, through the fact that that man - of whom, by way of example, Christ speaks - "looks to lust". Adultery 'in his heart' is committed not only because the man 'looks' in this way at the woman who is not his wife, but precisely because he looks at a woman in this way. Even if he were to look in this way at the woman who is his wife, he would commit the same adultery "in the heart".

3.

This interpretation seems to take into account, in a broader way, what has been said in the present analysis on concupiscence, and in the first place on the concupiscence of the flesh, as a permanent element of man's sinfulness (status naturae lapsae). The concupiscence that, as an interior act, arises from this basis (as we have tried to indicate in the previous analysis), changes the very intentionality of the woman's existence "for" the man, reducing the richness of the perennial call to communion of persons, the richness of the profound attraction of masculinity and femininity, to the mere gratification of the sexual "need" of the body (to which the concept of "instinct" seems to be more closely connected). Such a reduction means that the person (in this case, the woman) becomes for the other person (for the man) above all the object of the potential fulfilment of his own sexual 'need'. This deforms the reciprocal 'for', which loses its character of communion of persons in favour of the utilitarian function. The man who 'looks' in this way, as Matthew 5:27-28 writes, 'makes use' of the woman, of her femininity, to satisfy his own 'instinct'. Although he does not do so by an outward act, he has already assumed this attitude in his innermost being, inwardly so deciding with respect to a particular woman. This is precisely what adultery 'committed in the heart' consists of. Such adultery 'in the heart' can also be committed by the man with regard to his wife, if he treats her merely as an object of gratification of instinct.

4.

It is not possible to arrive at the second interpretation of the words of Matthew 5: 27-28, if we limit ourselves to the purely psychological interpretation of concupiscence, without taking into account what constitutes its specific theological character, namely the organic relationship between concupiscence (as an act) and the concupiscence of the flesh, as, so to speak, a permanent disposition that derives from man's sinfulness. It seems that the purely psychological (i.e. 'sexual') interpretation of 'concupiscence' is not a sufficient basis for understanding the relevant text of the Sermon on the Mount. If, on the other hand, we refer to the theological interpretation, - without underestimating what in the first interpretation (the psychological one) remains unchangeable - it, that is, the second interpretation (the theological one) appears to us as more complete. Thanks to it, the ethical significance of the key statement of the Sermon on the Mount, to which we owe the proper dimension of the ethos of the Gospel, also becomes clearer.

5.

In delineating this dimension, Christ remains faithful to the Law: "Think not that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I came not to abolish, but to fulfil" ( Mt 5:17 ). Consequently, it shows how much we need to go deeper, how much we need to thoroughly unveil the darkness of the human heart, so that this heart can become a place of 'fulfilment' of the Law. The statement of Matthew 5: 27-28, which makes manifest the inner perspective of adultery committed "in the heart" - and in this perspective points out the right ways to fulfil the commandment: "Thou shalt not commit adultery" - is a singular argument. This utterance ( Mt 5,27-28 ) in fact refers to the sphere in which "purity of heart" (cf. Mt 5,8 ) (an expression which in the Bible - as is well known - has a wide meaning) is particularly dealt with. We shall also have occasion elsewhere to consider how the commandment "Thou shalt not commit adultery" - which, in terms of the way it is expressed and its content, is an unequivocal and severe prohibition (like the commandment "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife") ( Ex 20:17 ) - is fulfilled precisely through "purity of heart". The severity and strength of the prohibition is indirectly testified to by the subsequent words of the text of the Sermon on the Mount, in which Christ speaks figuratively of "plucking out the eye" and "cutting off the hand", when these members were the cause of sin (cf. Mt 5:29-30 ). We noted earlier that the Old Testament legislation, while abounding in severe punishments, nevertheless did not contribute "to the fulfilment of the Law", because its casuistry was marked by multiple compromises with the concupiscence of the flesh. Christ, on the other hand, teaches that the commandment is fulfilled through "purity of heart", which is not imparted to man except at the price of firmness towards everything that originates from the concupiscence of the flesh. He acquires "purity of heart" who knows how to consistently demand it from his "heart" and from his "body".

6.

The commandment "Thou shalt not commit adultery" finds its justification in the indissolubility of marriage, in which man and woman, by virtue of the Creator's original design, are united so that "the two become one flesh" (cf. Gen 2:24 ). Adultery, by its very essence, contrasts with this unity, in the sense that this unity corresponds to the dignity of persons. Christ not only confirms this essential ethical meaning of the commandment, but tends to consolidate it in the very depths of the human person. The new dimension of the ethos is always connected with the revelation of that depth, which is called "heart" and with the liberation of it from "concupiscence", so that in that heart man can shine forth more fully: male and female in all the inner truth of their mutual "for". Freed from the constraint and impairment of the spirit that brings with it the concupiscence of the flesh, the human being: male and female, find themselves reciprocally in the freedom of the gift that is the condition of all cohabitation in truth, and, in particular, in the freedom of mutual self-giving, since both, as husband and wife, must form the sacramental unity willed, as Genesis 2,24 says, by the Creator himself.

7.

As is evident, the demand, which Christ poses in the Sermon on the Mount to all his current and potential listeners, belongs to the inner space in which man - the very one who listens to him - must see again the lost fullness of his humanity, and want to regain it. That fullness in the reciprocal relationship of persons: of man and woman, the Master vindicates in Matthew 5:27-28, having in mind above all the indissolubility of marriage, but also every other form of cohabitation of men and women, of that cohabitation which constitutes the pure and simple fabric of existence. Human life, by its very nature, is 'co-educative', and its dignity, its balance depend, at every moment in history and at every point of longitude and geographical latitude, on 'who' she will be to him, and he to her.

The words spoken by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount undoubtedly have such universal and at the same time profound significance. Only in this way can they be understood in the mouth of the One, who to the very depths "knew what is in every man" ( Jn 2:25 ), and who, at the same time, carried within himself the mystery of the "redemption of the body" as St. Paul would express it. Should we fear the severity of these words, or rather trust in their salvific content, in their power?In any case, the accomplished analysis of the words pronounced by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount opens the way to further reflections that are indispensable to be fully aware of 'historical' man, and especially of contemporary man: of his conscience and his 'heart'.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 8 October 1980]

A prayer "for discarded women, for used women, for girls who have to sell their dignity to get a job". The Pope asked for it in the homily of the Mass celebrated today at Santa Marta, in which, starting from today's Gospel, he recalled the words of Jesus: "Whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery" and "whoever repudiates his wife exposes her to adultery". Women are "what all men lack to be the image and likeness of God", said Francis, according to Vatican news reports: Jesus pronounced strong, radical words that "changed history" because up until that moment woman "was second class", to put it mildly, "she was a slave", "she did not even enjoy full freedom". "And Jesus' doctrine on the woman changes history," the Pope commented, "And it is one thing the woman before Jesus, another thing the woman after Jesus. Jesus dignifies the woman and puts her on the same level as the man because he takes that first word of the Creator, both are 'the image and likeness of God', both; not first the man and then a little lower the woman, no, both. And the man without the woman beside him - whether as mother, as sister, as wife, as workmate, as friend - that man alone is not the image of God'. "In television programmes, in magazines, in newspapers," he denounced, "women are made to be seen as an object of desire, of use," as in a "supermarket". The woman, perhaps in order to sell a certain quality "of tomatoes", becomes precisely an object, "humiliated, without clothes", causing the teaching of Jesus who "dignified" her to fall.We don't have to go 'that far', the Pope pointed out: it also happens 'here, where we live', in 'offices', in 'firms', women are 'the object of that disposable philosophy', like waste material', where they don't even seem to be 'people'. "This is a sin against God the Creator, to reject woman because without her we males cannot be the image and likeness of God," Francis' warning, according to which "there is a fury against woman, an ugly fury. Even without saying it... But how often do girls have to sell themselves as disposable objects to get a job? How many times? 'Yes, father I heard in that country...'. Here in Rome. Do not go far".The Pope then wondered what we would see if we made a 'night pilgrimage' to certain places in the city, where 'so many women, so many migrants, so many non-migrants' are exploited 'as in a market': to these women, he continued, men 'approach not to say: 'Good evening', but 'How much do you cost?' And to those who wash their 'consciences' by calling them 'prostitutes', the Pontiff said: 'You have made her a prostitute, as Jesus says: whoever repudiates exposes her to adultery, because you do not treat the woman well, the woman ends up like that, even exploited, a slave, many times. So it is good to look at these women and think that, in the face of our freedom, they are slaves to this thought of discard'. All this, for the Pope, 'happens here, in Rome, it happens in every city, the anonymous women, the women - we can say - 'without a look' because shame covers the look, the women who do not know how to laugh and many of them do not know, do not know the joy of breast-feeding and of being called mother. But, even in daily life, without going to those places, this ugly thought of rejecting the woman, she is a second-class object". "This passage from the Gospel helps us to think in the market of women, in the market, yes, the trafficking, the exploitation, that is seen; also in the market that is not seen, what is done and not seen. The woman is trampled on because she is a woman," Francis' exhortation. Jesus, the Pope concluded, 'had a mother', he had 'many friends who followed him to help him in his ministry' and to support him. And he found 'so many despised, marginalised, discarded women', whom he lifted up with such 'tenderness', giving them back their dignity.

[Pope Francis, homily s. Martha; https://www.agensir.it/quotidiano/2018/6/15/papa-francesco-a-santa-marta-sfruttare-le-donne-e-peccato-contro-dio/]

Pentecost Sunday (Year C)  [8 June 2025]

May God bless us and the Virgin protect us! On the feast of Pentecost, like Mary and the apostles, let us prepare our hearts to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit who transforms us into fire and light of love. Today, the first reading and the responsorial psalm are common to years A, B, and C, while the second reading and the Gospel are different each year.

*First reading from the Acts of the Apostles (2:1-11)

Jerusalem is not only the city where Jesus instituted the Eucharist, died and rose again, but it is also the city where the Spirit was poured out upon humanity. It was the year of Jesus' death, but the people in the city had probably never heard of his death, let alone his resurrection, so the feast of Pentecost was like any other for them. The Jewish Pentecost was very important because it was the feast of the giving of the Law, one of the three feasts of the year for which people went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and the list of all the nationalities present on that occasion proves its great interest. For the disciples of Jesus, who had seen, heard and touched him after his resurrection, nothing was the same as before, even if they did not expect what was about to happen. Luke helps us to understand what is happening by choosing his words carefully and evoking at least these three texts from the Old Testament: the gift of the Law at Sinai, a prophecy of Joel, and the episode of the Tower of Babel. First of all, Sinai. The tongues of fire and the sound like a mighty wind recall what happened at Sinai when God gave the tablets of the Law to Moses (Exodus 19:16-19).  Following this line, Luke helps us understand that Pentecost was not simply a traditional pilgrimage, but a new Sinai, where God gave his Law to teach the people how to live in the Covenant. At Pentecost, He gave His own Spirit, and from then on, His Law, the only true path to freedom and happiness, was no longer written on stone tablets but in the hearts of men, as Ezekiel had prophesied (Ezekiel 11:19-20; 36:26-27). The prophet Joel: Luke certainly wanted to evoke a word of Joel: 'I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, says God' (Joel 3:1), that is, on all humanity. For Luke, those devout Jews from all nations under heaven, as he calls them, are a symbol of the whole of humanity, for whom Joel's prophecy is finally fulfilled, and this means that the long-awaited 'Day of the Lord' has come. The Tower of Babel is an event that can be summarised in two acts: Act 1: Men, who speak the same language and the same words, decide to build an immense tower between the earth and the sky. Act 2: God stops them and scatters them across the earth, confusing their languages, and from that moment on they no longer understand each other. What is the meaning of this story? God certainly does not want to stifle man's potential, and if He intervenes, He does so to spare humanity the false path of single-minded thinking and a human project that excludes God. It is as if He were saying: you are seeking unity, which is a good thing, but you are going about it the wrong way, because unity in love does not come through standardisation, but through diversity. And this is the message of Pentecost: at Babel, humanity learns diversity; at Pentecost, it learns unity in diversity, 'conviviality' (as Don Tonino Bello writes), because all nations hear the proclamation, each in its own language, of the one message: 'Magnalia Dei, the great works of God' (Acts 2:11).

*Responsorial Psalm (103 (104), 1.24, 29-30, 31.34)

This psalm has 36 verses of praise and wonder at the works of God, a beautiful poem. It is proposed for the feast of Pentecost because Luke, in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, recounts that on the morning of Pentecost, the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, began to proclaim in all languages the 'great works of God' of creation. All civilisations have poems about the beauty of nature. In particular, a poem written by the famous pharaoh Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV) was found in Egypt in the tomb of a pharaoh, a hymn to the Sun God. Amenhotep IV lived around 1350 BC, at a time when the Jews were probably in Egypt and may have known this poem. There are similarities in style and vocabulary between the pharaoh's poem and Psalm 103/104, but what is interesting is to note the differences marked by God's revelation to the people of the Covenant. First difference: God alone is God, an essential difference for the faith of Israel: God is the only God, there are no others, and the sun is not a god. The account of creation in the book of Genesis puts the sun and moon in their place: they are not gods, but luminaries, themselves simple creatures. Several verses show God as the only Lord of creation using royal language: God presents himself as a magnificent, majestic and victorious king. Second peculiarity: Creation is all good, and here there is an echo of Genesis, which repeats tirelessly: 'And God saw that it was good'. This psalm evokes all the elements of creation with the same wonder: 'I rejoice in the Lord', and the psalmist adds (in a verse not read this Sunday): 'I will sing to the Lord as long as I live, I will sing praise to my God while I have my breath'. However, evil is not ignored: the end of the psalm mentions it and invokes its disappearance, since it was already understood in the Old Testament that evil does not come from God, because all creation is good and one day God will remove all evil from the earth: the victorious King will eliminate everything that hinders human happiness. Third peculiarity: Creation is continuous, not an act of the past, as if God had thrown the earth and man into space once and for all, but a perennial relationship between the Creator and his creatures. When we say in the Creed: "I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth," we are not only affirming our faith in an initial act, but we are recognising that we are in a necessary relationship with him, and this psalm reiterates this by speaking of God's constant action: "All wait for you... You hide your face, they are dismayed... You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. You send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth." Another peculiarity: Man is the culmination of creation. According to the Jewish faith, man is at the summit of creation, the king of creation, and for this reason he is filled with the breath of God. And this is precisely what we celebrate at Pentecost: the Spirit of God who is in us vibrates and resonates with man and with all creation, and the psalmist sings: 'Let God rejoice in his works! I rejoice in the Lord." In conclusion, creation makes sense in the light of the Covenant: In Israel, every reflection on creation is placed in the perspective of the Covenant, since Israel first experienced liberation by God and only afterwards meditated on creation in the light of this fundamental experience. There are visible traces of this in the psalm: First of all, the name of God used is always the famous tetragrammaton YHWH, which we translate as Lord, the name of the God of the Covenant, revealed to Moses. Furthermore, in the expression, 'Lord, my God, how great you are', the possessive is a reference to the Covenant, since God's plan in the Covenant was precisely this: 'You shall be my people, and I will be your God'. This promise is fulfilled in the gift of the Spirit to all flesh, as the prophet Joel proclaims, and every person is invited to receive the gift of the Spirit to become a true child of God.

*Second Reading from the Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Romans (8:8–17)

 The main difficulty in this text lies in the word 'flesh', which in St Paul's vocabulary does not have the same meaning as in our vocabulary, where the two components of the human being, body and soul, are often contrasted, with the risk of misinterpreting what Paul means when he speaks of flesh and Spirit. What he calls 'flesh' is not what we call body, and what he calls 'Spirit' does not correspond to what we call soul; indeed, he specifies several times that it is the Spirit of God, 'the Spirit of Christ'. He does not contrast two words, 'flesh' and 'Spirit', but two expressions: 'living according to the flesh' and 'living according to the Spirit', that is, choosing between two ways of living, or rather deciding whom to follow and what course of action to take. Here we return to the theme of the two paths that every Jew, like St Paul, knows well: choosing between two paths, between two possible attitudes in the face of difficulties or trials: trust in God or distrust; the certainty of never feeling abandoned by God or the doubt and suspicion that God does not really seek our good; fidelity to his commandments because we trust him, or disobedience because we consider ourselves capable of autonomous decisions. The history of Israel in the Bible (think of Massah and Meribah in the Book of Exodus) presents numerous examples of mistrust in the face of life's trials, especially in the desert, where the people faced many trials, including hunger and thirst. When the people suspected that God had abandoned them, they put God and Moses on trial. Even Adam, faced with the limits placed on his desires, suspected and disobeyed the Lord. The temptation of Adam and Eve in Eden is repeated in our lives every day: it is the constant problem of trust and distrust, the so-called 'original' sin in the sense that it is at the root of all human disasters. Opposed to suspicion and rebellion against God is Christ's attitude of trust and submission because he knows that God's will is only good. Especially in the face of the challenges of pain in all its forms and death, there are two opposing attitudes that Paul calls 'living according to the flesh' or 'living according to the Spirit'. For him, living according to the flesh means behaving like slaves who do not trust and obey out of obligation or fear of punishment. "Living according to the Spirit," on the other hand, means "behaving like children," that is, weaving relationships of trust and tenderness which, following Christ's example, lead to life. Living under the influence of the flesh (i.e., in an attitude of distrust and disobedience towards God) leads to death, while living through the Spirit is to put to death the works of sin. In other words, the attitude of a slave is destructive, while the attitude of a child is the way to peace and happiness. The Spirit of God, who dwells in us through baptism, enables us to call God 'Abba-Father', and on the day when all humanity recognises God as Father, the divine plan will be fulfilled, and we will all enter into his glory together. A few verses later, Paul notes that creation eagerly awaits the revelation of the children of God. Finally, today's text reminds us that since we are children of God, we are also heirs of God, co-heirs with Christ, on condition that we suffer with him in order to be with him in glory. This text can be read in two ways: the slave imagines a God who sets conditions on inheritance; instead, the son considers God as Father even and above all in suffering. Suffering is inevitable, as it was for Christ, but lived with him and like him, it becomes a path to resurrection, and then 'on condition that we suffer with him' means: on condition that we are with him, that we remain united to him at all times, even in inevitable suffering.

*From the Gospel according to John (14:15-16, 23b-26)

 This well-known Gospel passage takes on new meaning today thanks to the other biblical texts proposed for the feast of Pentecost. For example, we are tempted to think of the Holy Spirit in terms of inspiration, ideas, discernment, intelligence, but for the feast of the gift of the Spirit, today's Gospel speaks only of love. Jesus says here that the Spirit of God is something else entirely: it is Love, Love personified. This means that on the morning of Pentecost in Jerusalem, when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, it was love itself, which is God, that filled them. In the same way, we too, baptised and confirmed, know that our capacity to love is inhabited by the love of God himself. The responsorial psalm 103/104 reminds us of this when it proclaims: You send forth your Spirit, and we, created in the image of God, are called to resemble him more and more, constantly moulded by him in his image. The Spirit is the potter who works his clay, and every vessel becomes more and more refined in the hands of the craftsman. We are the clay in God's hands, so our likeness to Him is refined more and more as we allow ourselves to be transformed by the Spirit of Love. In the second reading, St. Paul speaks of our relationship with God, summarising it in one sentence: we are no longer slaves, but children of God, while in the Gospel, Jesus links our relationship with God to our relationship with our brothers and sisters: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (Jn 14:15), and we know well what his commandment is: 'that you love one another as I have loved you' (Jn 13:34).  If Jesus is referring to the gesture of washing feet, that is, to a decisive attitude of service, we can translate "if you love me, you will keep my commandments" as "if you love me, you will serve one another". God's love and love for our brothers and sisters are inseparable, so inseparable that it is by the quality of our service to our neighbour that the quality of our love for God is judged and therefore "if you do not serve your brothers and sisters, do not claim to love me!"  A little further on, Jesus takes up a similar expression and develops it: "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him" (Jn 14:23). This does not mean that the Father in heaven does not love us if we do not serve our brothers and sisters, because there are no conditions or blackmail in him. On the contrary, the characteristic of mercy is precisely to bend down even more towards the poor, as we are all poor, at least in terms of love and service to others. Love is learned by practising it, but what the Lord is telling us here is something we know well: the ability to love is an art, and every art is learned by practising it. The Father's love is boundless, infinite, but our capacity to receive it is limited and grows as we practise it. We can therefore translate this as follows: 'If anyone loves me, he will put himself at the service of others and little by little, his heart will expand; the love of God will fill him more and more, and he will be able to serve others even better... and so on to infinity," that is, in unlimited progress. Let us conclude by returning to the term "Paraclete," which can be translated as comforter and defender. Yes, we need a defender, but not before God, and St. Paul makes this clear in the second reading: The Spirit you have received does not make you slaves, people who are still afraid, but rather the Spirit who makes you children (cf. Rom 8:15).  We are therefore no longer afraid of God and we do not need a lawyer before Him. But then why does Jesus say that he will pray to the Father, and he will give us another defender, to remain with us forever? Yes, we need an advocate, who defends us from ourselves, from our reluctance to serve others, from our lack of trust in God's power, who constantly defends the cause of others against our selfishness because, in doing so, he actually defends us, since true happiness consists in allowing ourselves to be moulded every day by God in his image, overcoming all selfish resistance.

+Giovanni D'Ercole

(Mt 5:20-26)

«I tell you in fact that unless your righteousness will abound more [that] of the scribes and pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven»

In the churches of Galilee and Syria there were different and conflicting opinions about the Law of Moses: for some an absolute to be fulfilled even in detail, for others now a meaningless frill (v.22).

The disputants went so far as to insult, to ridicule the opposing party.

But as the Tao Tê Ching (xxx) says: «Where the militias are stationed, thorns and brambles are born». Master Wang Pi comments: «He who promotes himself causes unrest, because he strives to affirm his merits».

Mt helps all community sisters and brothers to understand the content of the ancient Scriptures and grasp the attitude of ‘continuity and cut’ given by the Lord: «You have heard that [...] Now I say to you» (vv.21-22).

‘Arrow’ of the ancient codes was shot in the right direction, but only understanding its range in the spirit of concordance sustains trajectory to the point of providing the energy needed to hit the “target”.

Ideal of ancient religiosity was to present oneself pure before God, and in this sense the Scribes official theologians of the Sanhedrin emphasised the value of the rules that they believed were nestled in the First Testament ‘prison of the letter’.

Sadducees - the priestly class - focused on the sacrificial observances of the Torah alone.

Pharisees, leaders of popular religiosity, emphasised the respect for all traditional customs.

Teaching of professionals of the sacred produced in the people a sense of legalistic oppression that obscured the spirit of the Word of God and of Tradition itself.

Jesus brings out the goal: the greater Justice of Love.

The splendor, beauty and richness of the Glory of the living God is not produced in observing, but in the ability to manifest Him Present.

The right position before Father becomes - in Jesus' proposal - the right position before one's own history and that of one’s neighbor.

First «debt» is therefore a ‘global understanding’: here the Eternal is revealed.

Justice is not the product of the accumulation of righteous deeds, in view of merit: this would manifest narrowness, detachment and arrogance (a type of man of unquestioning thought).

The new Justice chases complicity with evil up to the secret roots of the heart and ideas. But not to accentuate the sense of guilt, nor to make us pursues external dreams.

Observance that does not abide in friendship, in tolerance even of oneself, in Christ who orients, would arise from an ambiguous relationship with the norm and doctrines.

We can overlook the childish need for approval.

The Life of God transpires in a world not of sterilised or pure and phlegmatic one-sided people, but in a conviviality of differences that resembles Him.

To internalize and live the message:

Where do you find the emotional nourishment you need?

What do you think of exclusive groups and their idea of ​​the ultimate court?

 [Thursday 10th wk. in O.T.  June 12, 2025]

(Mt 5:20-26)

«I tell you in fact that unless your righteousness will abound more [that] of the scribes and pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven»

In the churches of Galilee and Syria there were different and conflicting opinions about the Law of Moses: for some an absolute to be fulfilled even in detail, for others now a meaningless frill (v.22).

The disputants went so far as to insult, to ridicule the opposing party.

But as the Tao Tê Ching (xxx) says: «Where the militias are stationed, thorns and brambles are born». Master Wang Pi comments: «He who promotes himself causes unrest, because he strives to affirm his merits».

Mt helps all community sisters and brothers to understand the content of the ancient Scriptures and grasp the attitude of ‘continuity and cut’ given by the Lord: «You have heard that [...] Now I say to you» (vv.21-22).

‘Arrow’ of the ancient codes was shot in the right direction, but only understanding its range in the spirit of concordance sustains trajectory to the point of providing the energy needed to hit the “target”.

Ideal of ancient religiosity was to present oneself pure before God, and in this sense the Scribes official theologians of the Sanhedrin emphasised the value of the rules that they believed were nestled in the First Testament ‘prison of the letter’.

Sadducees - the priestly class - focused on the sacrificial observances of the Torah alone.

Pharisees, leaders of popular religiosity, emphasised the respect for all traditional customs.

Teaching of professionals of the sacred produced in the people a sense of legalistic oppression that obscured the spirit of the Word of God and of Tradition itself.

Jesus brings out the goal: the greater Justice of Love.

The splendor, beauty and richness of the Glory of the living God is not produced in observing, but in the ability to manifest Him Present.

The right position before Father becomes - in Jesus' proposal - the right position before one's own history and that of one’s neighbor.

First «debt» is therefore a ‘global understanding’: here the Eternal is revealed.

Justice is not the product of the accumulation of righteous deeds, in view of merit: this would manifest narrowness, detachment and arrogance (a type of man of unquestioning thought).

The new Justice chases complicity with evil up to the secret roots of the heart and ideas. But not to accentuate the sense of guilt, nor to make us pursues external dreams.

Observance that does not abide in friendship, in tolerance even of oneself, in Christ who orients, would arise from an ambiguous relationship with the norm and doctrines.

We can overlook the childish need for approval.

The Life of God transpires in a world not of sterilised or pure and phlegmatic one-sided people, but in a conviviality of differences that resembles Him.

To internalize and live the message:

Where do you find the emotional nourishment you need?

What do you think of exclusive groups and their idea of ​​the ultimate court?

Discord even with creation

If man is not reconciled with God, he is also in discord with creation. He is not reconciled with himself, he would like to be something other than what he is and is therefore not reconciled with his neighbour either. Also part of reconciliation is the ability to acknowledge guilt and ask for forgiveness - from God and from each other. And finally, part of the process of reconciliation is the readiness to do penance, the readiness to suffer to the end for a fault and allow oneself to be transformed. And part of it is that gratuitousness of which the Encyclical 'Caritas in veritate' speaks repeatedly: the readiness to go beyond what is necessary, to go beyond reckoning, but to go beyond what mere legal conditions require. This includes that generosity of which God himself has given us an example. Let us think of Jesus' words: 'If you present your offering at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift' (Mt 5:23f.). God, who knew that we are not reconciled, who saw that we have something against Him, rose up and came to meet us, even though He alone was on the side of reason. He came to meet us up to the cross, to reconcile us. This is gratuitousness: the readiness to take the first step. To first go out to meet the other, to offer him reconciliation, to take on the suffering that entails giving up one's own right. Do not give in to the desire for reconciliation: God has given us an example of this, and this is the way to become like Him, an attitude we need again and again in the world. We must today relearn the ability to recognise guilt, we must shake off the illusion that we are innocent. We must learn the capacity to do penance, to let ourselves be transformed; to go out to meet the other and to let God give us the courage and the strength for such a renewal.

[Pope Benedict, Address to the Roman Curia 21 December 2009].

Jesus' attitude with respect to the Jewish Law: deep motivation, hidden wisdom. Precept - demand of love

The Gospel [...] is still part of the so-called 'Sermon on the Mount', the first great preaching of Jesus. Today the theme is Jesus' attitude towards the Jewish Law. He states: 'Do not believe that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish, but to fulfil' (Mt 5:17). Jesus therefore does not want to cancel the commandments that the Lord gave through Moses, but wants to bring them to their fullness. And immediately afterwards he adds that this "fulfilment" of the Law requires a higher justice, a more authentic observance. For he says to his disciples: "Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 5:20).

But what does this "full fulfilment" of the Law mean? And in what does this superior justice consist? Jesus himself answers us with some examples. Jesus was practical, he always spoke with examples to make himself understood. He starts from the fifth commandment of the Decalogue: "You have heard that it was said to the ancients, 'You shall not kill'; ... But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother shall be subject to judgment" (vv. 21-22). With this, Jesus reminds us that even words can kill! When you say of a person that he has a serpent's tongue, what do you mean? That his words kill! Therefore, not only must one not attempt the life of one's neighbour, but neither should one pour the poison of wrath upon him and strike him with slander. Not even gossip about him. We come to chatter: chatter, too, can kill, because it kills people's reputation! It is so bad to talk! At first it may seem like a pleasant, even amusing thing, like sucking a candy. But in the end, it fills our hearts with bitterness, and it also poisons us. I tell you the truth, I am convinced that if everyone made the resolution to avoid gossip, he would eventually become a saint! That's a good way! Do we want to become saints? Yes or no? [Piazza: Yes!] Do we want to live attached to chatter as a habit? Yes or no? [Piazza: No!] Then we agree: no chatter! Jesus proposes to those who follow him the perfection of love: a love whose only measure is to have no measure, to go beyond all calculation. Love of neighbour is such a fundamental attitude that Jesus goes so far as to say that our relationship with God cannot be sincere if we do not want to make peace with our neighbour. And he says: "If therefore you present your offering at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother" (vv. 23-24). Therefore we are called to be reconciled with our brothers before we manifest our devotion to the Lord in prayer.

It is clear from all this that Jesus does not simply attach importance to disciplinary observance and outward conduct. He goes to the root of the Law, focusing above all on the intention and therefore on the human heart, from where our good or evil actions originate. Good and honest behaviour requires not just legal rules, but deep motivations, the expression of a hidden wisdom, the Wisdom of God, which can be received through the Holy Spirit. And we, through faith in Christ, can open ourselves to the action of the Spirit, who enables us to experience divine love.

In the light of this teaching, each precept reveals its full meaning as a requirement of love, and all are reunited in the greatest commandment: love God with all your heart and love your neighbour as yourself.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 16 February 2014]

In this [...] Liturgy we continue to read Jesus’ so-called “Sermon on the Mount”. It is contained in chapters 5, 6 and 7 of Matthew’s Gospel. After the Beatitudes, which are the programme of his life, Jesus proclaims the new Law, his Torah, as our Jewish brothers and sisters call it. In fact, on his coming, the Messiah was also to bring the definitive revelation of the Law and this is precisely what Jesus declares: “Think not that I have come to abolish the Law and the Prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them”.

And addressing his disciples, he adds: “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt 5:17,20). But what do this “fullness” of Christ’s Law and this “superior” justice that he demands consist in?

Jesus explains it with a series of antitheses between the old commandments and his new way of propounding them. He begins each time: “You have heard that it was said to the men of old…”, and then he asserts: “but I say to you”…. For example, “You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘you shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgement’. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgement” (Mt 5:21-22).

And he does this six times. This manner of speaking made a great impression on the people, who were shocked, because those words: “I say to you” were equivalent to claiming the actual authority of God, the source of the Law. The newness of Jesus consists essentially in the fact that he himself “fulfils” the commandments with the love of God, with the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells within him. And we, through faith in Christ, can open ourselves to the action of the Holy Spirit who makes us capable of living divine love.

So it is that every precept becomes true as a requirement of love, and all join in a single commandment: love God with all your heart and love your neighbour as yourself. “Love is the fulfilling of the Law”, St Paul writes (Rom 13:10).

With regard to this requirement, for example, the pitiful case of the four Rom children, who died last week when their shack caught fire on the outskirts of this city, forces us to ask ourselves whether a more supportive and fraternal society, more consistent in love, in other words more Christian, might not have been able to prevent this tragic event. And this question applies in the case of so many other grievous events, more or less known, which occur daily in our cities and our towns.

Dear friends, perhaps it is not by chance that Jesus’ first great preaching is called the “Sermon on the Mount”! Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive the Law of God and bring it to the Chosen People. Jesus is the Son of God himself who came down from Heaven to lead us to Heaven, to God’s height, on the way of love. Indeed, he himself is this way; all we have to do in order to put into practice God’s will and to enter his Kingdom, eternal life, is to follow him.

Only one creature has already scaled the mountain peak: the Virgin Mary. Through her union with Jesus, her righteousness was perfect: for this reason we invoke her as Speculum iustitiae. Let us entrust ourselves to her so that she may guide our steps in fidelity to Christ’s Law.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 13 February 2011]

7. In his activity as a teacher, which began in Nazareth and extended to Galilee and Judea up to the capital, Jerusalem, Jesus knows how to grasp and make the most of the abundant fruits present in the religious tradition of Israel. He penetrates it with a new intelligence, brings out its vital values, highlights its prophetic perspectives. He does not hesitate to denounce men's deviations from the designs of the God of the covenant.

In this way he works, within the one and the same divine revelation, the passage from the "old" to the "new", without abolishing the Law, but instead bringing it to its full fulfilment (cf. Mt 5:17). This is the thought with which the Letter to the Hebrews opens: "God, who had already spoken in ancient times many times and in various ways to the fathers through the prophets, has lately, in these days, spoken to us through his Son . . ." (Heb 1:1).

8. This transition from the 'old' to the 'new' characterises the entire teaching of the 'Prophet' of Nazareth. A particularly clear example is the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus says: "You have heard that it was said to the ancients: Do not kill . . . But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be brought into judgment" (Matthew 5: 21-22). "Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt not commit adultery; but I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matt 5:27-28). "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy; but I say to you, love your enemies and pray for your persecutors . . ." (Mt 5:43-44).

Teaching in this way, Jesus at the same time declares: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish, but to fulfil" (cf. Mt 5:17).

9. This "fulfil" is a key-word that refers not only to the teaching of the truth revealed by God, but also to the whole history of Israel, that is, of the people whose son Jesus is. This extraordinary history, guided from the beginning by the powerful hand of the God of the covenant, finds its fulfilment in Jesus. The plan that the God of the covenant had inscribed in this history from the beginning, making it the history of salvation, tended towards the "fullness of time" (Gal 4:4), which is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The Prophet of Nazareth does not hesitate to speak about this from his very first speech in the synagogue of his city.

10. Particularly eloquent are the words of Jesus reported in John's Gospel when he says to his opponents: "Abraham, your father, rejoiced in the hope of seeing my day . . .", and faced with their unbelief: "Are you not yet fifty years old and have you seen Abraham?", Jesus confirms even more explicitly: "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am" (John 8: 56-58). It is evident that Jesus affirms, not only that he is the fulfilment of God's salvific designs, inscribed in the history of Israel since the time of Abraham, but that his existence precedes the time of Abraham, to the point of identifying himself as "he who is" (Ex 3:14). But for this very reason he, Jesus Christ, is the fulfilment of the history of Israel, because he "surpasses" this history with his mystery.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 4 February 1987]

It is necessary to live "the petty holiness of negotiation", that is, that "healthy realism" that "the Church teaches us": that is, it is a matter of rejecting the logic of "either this or nothing" and embarking on the path of the "possible" in order to be reconciled with others. Here is the proposal launched by Francis in the Mass celebrated on Thursday morning, 9 June, in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta. With a small note of tenderness: during the homily a child started to cry but Francis immediately reassured his parents: 'No, let's stay calm, because the sermon of a child in church is more beautiful than that of the priest, than that of the bishop and than that of the Pope. Let it be: let it be, which is the voice of innocence that is good for us all".

For his reflection, the Pope started from the passage in Matthew's Gospel (5:20-26), proposed by the liturgy: "Jesus is in the midst of his people and teaches the disciples, teaches the law of God's people". In fact, "Jesus is that legislator whom Moses promised: 'One shall come after me...'". He is therefore "the true lawgiver, the one who teaches us how the law must be in order to be just". But "the people were a bit bewildered, a bit at a loss, because they did not know what to do and those who taught the law were not consistent". And it is Jesus himself who tells them: "Do what they say, but not what they do". After all, "they were not consistent in their life, they were not a testimony of life". Thus "Jesus, in this Gospel passage, speaks of overcoming: 'Your righteousness must overcome that of the scribes and Pharisees'". Therefore, "to this people somewhat imprisoned in this cage without exit, Jesus shows the way out: it is always to go out, to overcome, to go up".

And in this direction, Francis explained, Jesus 'takes as a first example - he takes many, doesn't he? - the first commandment: love God and love your neighbour: "You have heard that it was said to the ancients, 'You shall not kill', one of the commandments of love of neighbour, 'but I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother shall be subject to judgment. And whoever then says to his brother foolish shall be subjected to the sanhedrin, and whoever says to him insane shall be destined for the fire of Gehenna'".

In essence, Jesus states that "it is a sin not only to kill", but also to "insult and scold" one's brother. And "this is good to hear", the Pope added, precisely "in this time where we are so used to qualifiers and have such a creative vocabulary for insulting others". To offend, therefore, 'is also a sin, it is killing'. Because 'it is giving a slap in the face to the soul of the brother, to the dignity of the brother', to say phrases like: 'pay no attention, this one is a fool, this one is a fool', and 'many other swear words that we say, with much charity, to others'. This, the Pontiff reiterated, "is sin".

Francis noted that "Jesus resolves" the doubts "of this bewildered and imprisoned people by looking up: the law up. And he goes on to connect the conduct of the people with worship to God and says: 'If you go to the altar to give an offering and you have a problem with your brother, or your brother has a problem with you, go to your brother first, be reconciled'". And "this is going beyond the law and what it says is a justice superior to that of the scribes and Pharisees".

"How many times do we in the Church hear these things, how many times!" the Pope noted, recalling that it is not uncommon to hear phrases such as: "But that priest, that man, that woman from Catholic Action, that bishop, that Pope tell us "you must do this!", and he does the opposite". This is precisely "the scandal that wounds the people and does not let God's people grow, that goes forward. It does not free". Also "these people," he continued, "had seen the rigidity of these scribes and Pharisees", so much so that "when a prophet came who gave them some joy they persecuted him and even killed him: there was no place for prophets there".

That is why "Jesus says to the Pharisees: 'You have killed the prophets, you have persecuted the prophets: those who brought the new air'". Jesus, "as he said in the synagogue of Nazareth, came to bring us the year of grace, to bring us liberation, true liberation: that of Jesus". For Francis, 'generosity, holiness is going out but always, always up: going out up'. This 'is liberation from the rigidity of the law and also from idealisms that do us no good'.

"Jesus knows us so well," the Pope explained, "and he knows how we were made because he is the creator, he knows our nature. And here he suggests to us: "If you have a problem with a brother - he says the word 'adversary' - get your act together quickly". Thus the Lord "also teaches us a healthy realism: many times you cannot arrive at perfection, but at least do what you can, agree not to come to judgement". This is the 'healthy realism of the Catholic Church: the Catholic Church never teaches 'either this, or this'". Rather "the Church says: 'this and this'". In short, "be perfect: reconcile with your brother, do not insult him, love him, but if there is any problem at least come to an agreement, so that war does not break out". Here is the 'healthy realism of Catholicism'. Instead "it is not Catholic but it is heretical" to say "it is this or nothing".

"Jesus," Francis assured, "always knows how to walk with us, he gives us the ideal, he accompanies us towards the ideal, he frees us from this caging of the rigidity of the law and tells us: 'Do as much as you can do'. And he understands us well'. This is "this our Lord, this is what he teaches us", telling us: "Please, do not insult yourselves and do not be hypocrites: go and praise God with the same language with which you insult your brother, no, this is not done, but do what you can, at least avoid war among yourselves, come to an agreement". And, the Pope added, "I allow myself to tell you this word that seems a little strange, it is the small holiness of negotiation: I cannot do everything, but I want to do everything, but I agree with you, at least we do not insult each other, we do not make war and we all live in peace".

"Jesus is great," the Pontiff said in conclusion, "and he frees us from all our miseries, even from that idealism that is not Catholic. This is why "we ask the Lord to teach us, first of all, to come out of all rigidity, but to come up, so that we can worship and praise God; that he teach us to reconcile with one another; and also, that he teach us to agree with one another to the point that we can do."

[Pope Francis, S. Marta homily, in L'Osservatore Romano 10/06/2016]

(Mt 5:17-19)

In the face of the Law’s precepts, distant attitudes appear.

There are those who demonstrate attachment to the material sense of what has been established. Others, omission or contempt for the rules.

Jesus offered such a new and radical teaching as to give the impression of carelessness and rejection of the Law. But in fact, more than his differences with it, He was attentive to the profound meaning of the biblical-Jewish directives.

He didn’t intend to «demolish» (v.17) the Torah, but he certainly avoided allowing himself to be minimized in the cases of morality that parceled out the basic choices - and made them all exterior, without fulcrum.

The legalistic sclerotization easily tended to equate the codes... with God. But for the believer, his "obligation" is at the same time Event, Word, and Person: global following.

In the first communities some faithful believed that the norms of the First Testament should no longer be considered, as we are saved by Faith, not by works of Law.

Others accepted Jesus as the Messiah, but couldn’t bear the excess of freedom with which some brothers of the church lived his Presence.

Still linked to an ideal ethnic background, they believed that ancient observance was mandatory.

There was no lack of brothers enraptured by an excess of fantasies in the Spirit. In fact, some denied the Hebrew Scriptures and considered themselves free from history: they no longer looked at the life of Jesus.

Mt seeks a balance between emancipation and closure.

He writes his Gospel to support converts to the Faith in Christ in the communities of Galilee and Syria, accused by the Judaizers of being unfaithful to the Torah.

The evangelist clarifies that Jesus himself had been accused of serious transgressions to the Law of Moses.

The trajectory of the Jewish Scriptures is the right one, but it doesn’t have an unanimous and totally clear starting point, nor the strength in itself to reach Target.

The arrow of the Torah has been shot in the right direction, but only in the Spirit of the Beatitudes can a living assembly gain momentum to reach Communion.

The Gospel passage is concerned to emphasise: the ancient Scriptures, the historical story of Jesus, and life in the Spirit must be evaluated inseparable aspects of a single plan of salvation.

Lived in synergy, they lead to the conviviality of differences.

The God of the patriarchs makes himself present in the loving relationship of the communities, through faith in Christ, who expands his own life in their hearts.

The Living One conveys the Spirit that spurs all creativity, He overcomes unfriendly closures; He opens, and invites.

[In us, Jesus of Nazareth becomes a living Body - and the pleasure of doing manifests Him (from the soul) in Person and full Fidelity].

Handing oneself out to brothers and going to God thus becomes agile, spontaneous, rich and very personal for everyone: the Strength comes from within.

New or ancient Words, and Spirit renewing the face of the earth, are part of one Plan.

Only in the total fascination of the Risen One does our harvest come to complete life - the full objective of the Law - becoming ‘forever’.

[Wednesday 10th wk. in O.T.  June 11, 2025]

Not flawed Happiness

(Mt 5:17-19)

In the early communities, some believers felt that the rules of the First Testament should no longer be considered, since we are saved by faith and not by works of the Law.

Others accepted Jesus as the Messiah, but could not tolerate the excessive freedom with which some of their brothers in the Church lived his Presence in the Spirit. 

Still tied to an ideal ethnic background, they believed that ancient observances were binding.

Under the pretext of 'life in the Spirit', there were believers who were carried away by excessive fantasies (personal or group), which they considered 'inspired'.

Some, with an easy-going mentality, inclined to compromise with power, rejected the Hebrew Scriptures and considered themselves detached from history: they no longer looked at the story of Jesus.

Matthew seeks a balance between compromising emancipation and closure in observances, believing that the community experience could achieve harmony between different sensibilities.

He wrote his Gospel precisely to support converts to the Faith in Christ in the communities of Galilee and Syria, accused by their Judaizing brothers of being unfaithful to the Torah.

The evangelist makes it clear that Jesus himself had been accused of serious transgressions against the Law of Moses.

The arrow of the Torah was shot in the right direction, but only in the Spirit of the Beatitudes can a living assembly gain momentum to reach the ideal goal: Communion.

Matthew is concerned to emphasise that the ancient Scriptures, the historical events of Jesus, and life in the Spirit must be seen as inseparable aspects of a single plan of salvation.

Lived in synergy, they lead to fruitful coexistence and conviviality of differences.

The God of the patriarchs makes himself present in the loving relationship of the community, through faith in Christ, who expands his own life in our hearts.

The Living One transmits the Spirit that spurs all creativity, overcomes closed-mindedness, opens, and invites.

In short, in us, Jesus of Nazareth becomes a living Body, and the joy of doing so manifests itself (starting from the soul) in Person and in full Fidelity.

Reaching out to our brothers and sisters and going to God thus becomes easy, spontaneous, rich and very personal for everyone: strength comes from within, not from common ideas, legacies, seductions, mannerisms or external pressures.

To internalise and live the message:

Has the law written in stone remained rigid within you, or do you feel an impulse towards a new Covenant?

Do you sense within yourself an actualised and irresistible desire for good, which rediscovers everything in the Scriptures and energises the Word in the various tastes of doing?

Demolish or Accomplish

Faced with the precepts of the Law, different attitudes emerge.

On the one hand, there are those who show attachment to the material meaning of what has been established; on the other, there are those who omit or despise the norms.

Jesus offered a teaching so new and radical that it gave the impression of disregard and rejection of the Law. But in fact, rather than diverging from it, He was attentive to the spirit and profound meaning of the biblical-Jewish directives.

He did not intend to 'destroy' (v. 17) the Torah, but he certainly avoided even more being reduced to moral casuistry.

This obsession with ethics—still alive in the early communities—fragmented and eroded the meaning of fundamental choices, rendering them all superficial and without substance.

In this way, a legalistic sclerosis was produced, which easily tended to equate the codes... with God.

But for the believer, his 'obligation' is at once event, spirit of the Word, and Person: global following in those same incomparable appointments.

The faithful of the communities of Galilee and Syria were criticised by the old-fashioned Jews.

These observant Jews accused their fellow believers who had converted to the new personal, creative Faith of being transgressors and contrary to the depth of the common Tradition.

Thus, some emphasised salvation through faith alone in Christ and not through works of the law. Others did not accept the freedom that was growing precisely in those who were beginning to believe in Jesus the Messiah.

New, more radical currents already wanted to disregard his history and his Person, to get rid of him and take refuge in a generic 'avant-garde' or 'freedom of spirit' - without backbone, vicissitudes or connections.

Matthew helps us understand the conflict: the direction of the arrow shot from the Jewish Scriptures is the right one, but it does not have a clear starting point, nor the strength to reach its target.

The evangelist harmonises the tensions, emphasising that authentic observance is not formal fidelity [obedience to the 'letter'].

The fundamental spirit of fulfilment does not allow us to put the whole Christ and his trials and tribulations in brackets, perhaps remaining neutral or indifferent dreamers.

Without reductions by virtue of election, nor 'breaking down' (see17) the ancient and identified or particular ways of being - He is present in the most diverse currents of thought.

New words, ancient words, and the Spirit that renews the face of the earth are part of a single Plan.

Only in the total charm of the Risen One does our harvest come to full life - the full goal of the Law - becoming forever.

To internalise and live the message:

How do you evaluate the Pentateuch, the Psalms and the Prophets?

How do you deal with situations in harmony with the Voice of the Lord and in his Spirit?

Pure and impure: God's Law or Tradition

(Mt 15:1-2, 10-14)

The encyclical Fratelli Tutti invites us to take a forward-looking view that inspires decision and action: a new eye, filled with hope.

It "speaks to us of a reality that is rooted in the depths of the human being, regardless of the concrete circumstances and historical conditioning in which he lives. It speaks to us of a thirst, an aspiration, a longing for fulfilment, for a life lived to the full, for a measure of greatness, for that which fills the heart and lifts the spirit to great things, such as truth, goodness and beauty, justice and love. [...] Hope is bold, it knows how to look beyond personal comfort, the small securities and compensations that narrow the horizon, to open up to great ideals that make life more beautiful and dignified' (No. 55; from a Greeting to young people in Havana, September 2015).

The invisible Friend within us is the only Guide we should follow with prudence and determination.

He is the only Spiritual Master who understands what is different and does not harass it, because he does not use it (to promote himself or his own category).

The paradox of Law or Tradition belongs to v. 3 - initially understood, then excluded from the Liturgy: "Why do you also transgress the Commandment of God in the name of your Tradition?"

Habits normalise manners.

Over time, customs that are mechanically fulfilled cause us to lose the meaning of the Commandments from which they sprang.

And empty moral customs then ruin lives (vv. 4-9), annoy and exacerbate people's spirits.

The laws of purity discriminated against people and filled them with resentment.

Instead, exclusivity must not be introduced into the Eucharistic Banquet. Nor does one become part of the Community of the Lord on the basis of ambiguous selections.

The washing of hands up to the elbows was a customary practice, proclaiming the separation of the Judaizers from the pagan world: a sort of rite celebrating the separation between the (supposedly) pure and the impure.

The Eucharist, on the other hand, is accessed without arcane procedures or disciplines, or preventive X-rays.

Everyone is welcome, because it is the encounter with God that makes humanity of any cultural background alive and healthy.

For Jesus, access to the Father cannot be regulated: it depends on the person and their circumstances.

Therefore, communion with God is immediate and free, completely devoid of any prior conditions of perfection.

According to him, children can appear before the Father in any situation, at any time and in any manner: in a relationship of immediacy and freedom. 

Only the poor quality of our relationships with our neighbours can contaminate women and men, nothing else.

There are no other obligations or fears that can obsess us with imperfection, inadequacy or unworthiness.

On the contrary, people lived in a climate of obsession, overwhelmed by fears about details that did not interest God.

And in the effervescence of Semitic culture, there was no lack of a current more sensitive to the social and real needs of life [linked to the theology of the prophets and psalms] that gave rise to Jesus of Nazareth.

A growing number of believers no longer agreed with the legalistic teaching of the official leaders.

In addition, the expectation of the Messiah helped them to hope for a path of 'purity' linked to quality of life and concrete relationships.

Christ opens up a completely new way to bring ordinary people closer to greater balance, to an understanding and communion with the Father, animated by creative, spousal trust.

In the realm of faith, it is life that conquers death.

According to conventional religiosity, it is the seed of death that contaminates purity.

In this prison of misguided ideas, people lived with the fear of sin and transgressions (even involuntary ones) always clinging to them.

To free the oppressed masses from the moralistic and devout ideology that subjected them to daily torment in all aspects of life, Jesus was forced to overturn the 'inside-outside' hierarchy (v. 11).

Spiritual leaders instilled the idea that impurity came from outside and was so pervasive that it contaminated even holy people [even through a simple brush against them - let alone the masses destined to an ordinary existence of deprivation].

Jesus, on the other hand, makes us feel good.

He reverses the virtues at play, well aware of the power of Life, and takes the debate about pure and impure to another level: that of depth, behaviour and relationship.Even today, Faith gives us balance and complete trust in the providential tide of real Grace, which even in times of rebirth from crisis comes to reactivate us with its unexpected impulses - far from being merely religious or sterile.

It tirelessly opens new paths to help us realise ourselves and reach God. 

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit emancipate us from corporate attitudes and from always being on the defensive; they restore our self-esteem and joy of living, and make us feel at home.

In short, Christ's teaching is Good News precisely because it is the exact opposite of established conventions.

His goal is to let us live intensely, with the perception that He is within us guiding the helm. And to do so more wisely, instead of ending up badly - as in the same old mass grave [v.14; where only a few artificial positions of leadership and plagiarism are saved - meaningless to us].

For transparent coexistence

Jesus and the mania for governing: the blind man and those who are blinded

[ref. Lk 6:39-45)]

'Leave them alone! They are blind guides. But if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit' (Mt 15:14).

'How much our human family needs to learn to live together in harmony and peace, without everyone having to be the same!' (Pope Francis FT n.100).

To live in a fraternal and wise way, it is not enough to be together in twos, threes, tens or more: we could be like so many blind people who do not know how to live with themselves.

In that case, our relationships become superficial and can become empty, filled only with judgement: critical, stubborn and pedantic.

Then resentment arises within us, because we are forced into a maniacal space that does not correspond to us.

The inevitable malaise begins to decline if and when those who coordinate the group or company live their closeness with extreme modesty, with a sense of their own boundaries.

The Way of the Spirit is in fact a vocational initiative-response to the need for authentic guidance.

Authentic shepherds help only when they question themselves before others, when they do not get caught up in an exercise of empty indoctrination and moralism that exacerbates and irritates people.

Thus, the inner Friend who infallibly leads souls wants to be reflected in 'teachers' - but only to the extent that they introduce us to ourselves and to the wisdom of Scripture (rather than indulging in their own megalomania).

Commenting on Tao xxix, Master Ho-shang Kung points out (of those who want to be lord of the world):

"He wants to rule creatures through action. In my opinion, he will not succeed, because the Way of Heaven and the hearts of men are clear.

The Way of Heaven [Perfection of Harmony] detests confusion [regarding one's own nature, spontaneously expressed] and impurity [artifice], the human heart detests too many desires'.

The ancient chosen people found themselves hard-hearted, lost and without a horizon, because they were misled by religious leaders who were fiscal and down-to-earth.

Their blinding and artificial blindness was the concrete ruin of the destiny and quality of life of the entire nation.

Jesus addresses the apostles so that his assemblies of naive, humble and disoriented people do not suffer the same fate - because of a lack of righteousness on the part of those responsible for the community.

The latter, intoxicated by self-satisfaction, sometimes, instead of humanising, promoting and brightening the lives of ordinary people, willingly suffocate them with minutiae and lead them astray with trivialities.

The Lord absolutely does not want the leaders of his fraternities to allow themselves the luxury of becoming superior to others and masters of the truth. The truth of the Gospel is not something one has, but something one does.

The Master is not one who gives lessons: he accompanies his disciples and lives with them; he does not limit himself to manners.

He does not teach various subjects, etiquette, mannerisms, good manners: rather, he transmits the living and global Person of Christ - even without etiquette - without depersonalising the disciple.

In short, the Risen One is not just an example to imitate, a model that requires commitments and minutiae, a founder of an institution, of a specific ideology, or of a religion (grammar, doctrine, style and discipline).

In Jesus, we are called to identify with him - not 'by ear' or by copying. Faith itself is a multifaceted relationship.

It pushes us to reinterpret Christ in a new way; each of us in relation to our life story, new situations, events, cultural emergencies, sensibilities, and the spirit of the times.

It is the direct and personal experience of the Father as advocated by the Son. It is a conquest that overturns childish, worldly or customary measures.

It is a source and appropriation that allows us to boldly see ourselves as already redeemed, to pass from darkness to light without conditions or hammering trials.

The Lord's light is the fruit of unprecedented action and the strength of the Spirit.It is intuition of signs and Virtue that overcomes the disorientation of all those who are led astray, whether they are prisoners of opinions, pettiness, solitary selfishness or otherwise.

Unexpected energy that nevertheless comes into play thanks to the difficult situations to which it feels compelled to react; and it becomes regenerating power, unexpected life (for those already saved here and now).

Christ asks for an inventive attitude even in reaching out to one's brother - without preconceived, suffocating, morbid or cerebral patterns and codicils; without perhaps, only to welcome. 

This openness is almost impossible if community ministers remain distracted or are already biased, and therefore unnecessarily rigid towards others.

In this way, they would remain pedantic, more impatient than the pagan God they still have in their bodies and minds.

All of us, freely healed, have been called by name in a special way to guide our brothers and sisters towards fundamental choices. As expert guides of the soul and of the intensity of relationships.

Not commanders and rulers with no possibility of replacement: but bread, support, nourishment, a shining sign of the Lord, a spur in favour of the lives of others.

Church leaders must be very special points of reference and cornerstones of creative, regenerating communion, from which the persistence and tolerance of a higher force of reciprocity shines through.

The eyes of the faithful in Christ remain clear and bright because they find brilliant friends who introduce them to confront and reflect not on external models (induced by opinions or intentions), but on the Word.

Conditioned by the bombardment of the 'external society' or by trivial partisan interests, spiritual leaders themselves can lose their creative discernment.

Thus, he clings to the old man, bound to vain hopes; many little and insignificant nothings - and finally becomes "blind" again.

Unfortunately, the kingdom of darkness includes not only the short-sighted, the long-sighted and the astigmatic, but above all those who see 'far' (as they say) but not the people before their eyes.

Faster and more organised than others, they take control of the situation.

For a long time, things seem pleasant in their company, but having no deep roots, it is precisely these people who ultimately ruin the fate of the weak.

They organise events or festivals instead of revitalising from within and singing the authentic song of a full life, joyful for all.

Beyond short-sightedness, attention should also be paid to 'moderation': we are not called to become good-natured, impeccable gentlemen, nor slightly more prudent and 'practical' defeatists.

All these are old failures that do not face the present and do not open up the future.

We have received the gift of the mission to build the world in the Risen One, who radiates strength and divine spark: radically new heavens and earth, even in our search.

Let us not dwell on the "specks".

In short, through grace, guidance, propulsive orientation and action, the genuine Action of vital Providence distances us from the domination of ancient superstructures ["beams" in the eye].

With such personal baggage, we can also become companions of a humanity that is no longer alienated, but enabled to breathe beyond the usual fervour... which incites trivialities.

Despite our faults, guided and blessed by the great Master and his Word in the Spirit, it will be our desire for a full and complete life that will not allow us to lose sight of our sacred Uniqueness in the world.