In today’s Gospel reading, we are introduced to John the Baptist, who is intent on proclaiming conversion through baptism. Mark invites each one of us to clothe ourselves with Christ: with his way of living, thinking and acting. In short, to clothe ourselves with the Gospel, with God’s love for us, with the logic of…
Read more »
“Be watchful! Stay alert! You do not know when the time will come.” The invitation of Jesus is pressing because those who live asleep in this life will remain asleep forever. Even after death. Instead, if we live awake and alert, we will not die, because we are aware of our existential task, which is…
Read more »
In this passage, Joseph is defined as an “upright man.” He was reluctant to take Mary and the child into his home not because he believed his wife to be an adulteress, but because he considered himself upright. The Gospel overturns this mentality, typical of religious people of all times, namely: to consider God’s gift… Read more »
John the Baptist, the greatest of the prophets, has doubts and asks: “Are you the one who is to come?” John, a man of the Old Testament, was formed in that school in which God is not only the God of the living, but also of the dead, in the sense that he can also… Read more »
John the Baptist, the point of transition from the Old to the New Testaments, from religion to faith, invites us to welcome that love which has now become a Presence alongside us, because love–a gift–can only be received. It is not something to be understood, studied or learned. It is a presence to be welcomed… Read more »
They did not know…. Life is a practice of attention. The drama is to live unconsciously–passively, routinely–in such a way that inattentiveness becomes the principal feature of one’s existence. In the end, the “flood”–biological death–will touch everyone and will submerge those who always lived as though dead because while death cannot touch the living, it… Read more »
Race Along the Paths of the World Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste (Lk. 1:39). Perhaps you too have found yourself racing to joyously welcome a special person without thinking about the obstacles in your way. The heart does not stop when faced with possible bottlenecks and steep ascents… Read more »
GIVE THE BEST OF YOURSELF Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none (Lk. 3:11). Perhaps you too have tried to find the nicest gift possible for a person who is particularly close to your heart: a special, unique, original gift–in short, one that is worthy of the situation and… Read more »
Perhaps you too are searching for the profound meaning of history, of the events that you are living, of the persons you meet, of the paths you are following, of the emotions you feel, of the contradictions you endure, of the future you dream about. The Gospel of this Second Sunday of Advent offers us …
Read more »
Perhaps you too have gone through times when you have felt heavy-hearted, weighed down by sadness, pain or disappointment, or else tossed about by worry, fatigue or the lack of profound relationships that give meaning and a future to life. When one’s heart is weighed down, it hurts! If we are heavy-hearted, then we are…
Read more »