Be eccentrics

It is not religion that saves: it is not the law, the temple, circumcision, not the sacraments, the Mass, rosaries, pilgrimages, indulgences, the Bible. What saves it is the pure consciousness and the good life that goes with it, is the unconditional adherence of soul to the good , truth, justice. That's the whole meaning of Jesus' preaching, away from the center in religion and putting it in genuine consciousness (see Luke 18, 9-14).

The passage is from book by Vito Mancuso, "The soul and its destiny,"Raffaello Cortina Editore, 2007, p.. 176.

I'm fascinated by this author's freshness speaking of faith, inviting his readers to savor the taste of a life like authentic disciples of Jesus Master.

I linked his statement to last Sunday's Gospel in which Jesus says to lawexpert, who asked him to test him, what is the greatest commandment:

22:34 Now when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled together. 22:35 And one of them, an expert in religious law, asked him a question to test him: 22:36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 22:37 Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 22:38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 22:39 The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 22:40 All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
(Mt 22, 34-40)

Love is truly the only requirement to be true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
If so, there are some unconscious and others who believe they be, are not.
But the final surprise will be entirely due to our inattention to signs that the Master has repeatedly given:

9:13 Go and learn what this saying means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mt 9,13)

 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 25:32 All the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 25:33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 25:34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 25:36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 25:37 Then the righteous will answer him,‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 25:38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? 25:39 When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 25:40 And the king will answer them, ‘I tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me.’ 25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels! 25:42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. 25:43 I was a stranger and you did not receive me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 25:44 Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not give you whatever you needed?’ 25:45 Then he will answer them, ‘I tell you the truth, just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’ 25:46 And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Mt 25, 31-46)

Often we consume a lot of our energies to observe religious precepts or to cultivate our personal asceticism, rather than to love God by loving men and women we meet in our lives.

Wasted energy behind the fear of not being in place before God or spiritual pride of feeling right in front of Him

Jesus teaches us to be "eccentric" - ex-centric, with the center outside of us - not looking to our navel like the centre of the world, but looking with love towards other... towards the Other.

Sieve and winnowing

Today is the feast of the Holy Archangels!
Wishes for the name day for all those who bear the name, even to my second child: wishes darling!

Today I wanted to share with you a reflection that I was born the Gospel reading, or rather reading by adding two verses (Jn 1, 45-46) before the piece chosen by today's liturgy (Jn 1, 47-51).

1:45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also wrote about – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 1:46 Nathanael replied, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip replied, “Come and see.”
1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and exclaimed, “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”1:48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus replied, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 1:49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel!” 1:50 Jesus said to him, “Because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 1:51 He continued, “I tell all of you the solemn truth – you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”  (Gv 1,45-51)

Philip raves about the meeting with a person who has deeply affected him, and Nathanael responds with a prejudice. He does not yet know Jesus, but he has already judged on the basis of a mindset that makes him see the reality in a distorted way.

On the contrary, when Jesus meets him for the first time, despite not knowing him. appreciates him. Nathanael fact remains amazed!

In both cases there is an opinion, but completely different tools are used to get there.

Nathanael, using the sieve, lets go of the good that might be present in the person of Jesus and holds the negative, represented in his prejudice against the Nazarenes.

Jesus uses the winnowing, leaving fly away "chaff" of the defects of Nathaniel, and holding the "grain" that is, his potential for real man.

Jesus appreciates as Nathanael is an Israelite in whom is no guile. In reality, the prejudice arouses in him a false vision. But Jesus lets go of the negative opinion, retaining and enhancing the potential of authenticity that's in Nathanael.

If it's true, as psychological theories say, that the opinions of others affect us until we become to some extent as others see us, it's amazing to think that our God sees us always in our best chance.

An intense look that captures all our potentials for good and makes them possible, beyond our selfishness and our prejudices, beyond our own consciousness.

Emotions in prayer

Music and songs: an exciting way to pray God.
Because head and will are not enough...