Love Alone

La domanda posta a Gesù da Giovanni – tramite i suoi discepoli – non sorge da un certo dubbio? Non era Giovanni incarcerato nei dubbi sulla venuta del Figlio dell’uomo, lui che poco prima aveva dichiarato Gesù come il Figlio dell’uomo, Agnello di Dio e subito dopo invia i suoi discepoli a chiedere sulla sua identità? Forse il carcere non va al di là di quello fisico? Non c’è forse qui un altro senso nascosto che ci fa pensare ai limiti della nostra conoscenza umana che ci pone dinanzi al dubbio? Non è forse questa notte oscura del Battista un invito ad entrare nella gnosis di Dio, una nuova profonda gnosi che ci porta ad esclamare nello Spirito che geme dentro di noi: Abbà! Padre ? La risposta di Gesù di fronte a questa domanda di Giovanni presenta sinteticamente l’ iter mistico che in fine porta l’uomo a godere dell’unione con l’Amore! L’azione di Gesù è un mandato: “andate”. Ci pone in cammino l’iniziativa di Dio che ci sfida ad uscire dalla propria terra, dalla propria sicure

If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed. (Albert Einstein)

Il popolo vedeva , i capi deliberavano , e Cristo crocefisso – donatosi completamente per la nostra salvezza – in silenzio. Quello del popolo è un silenzio che allontana di più il Mistero dalla persona che è quasi ceca e alienata nella sua anima dall’evento della salvezza. È un silenzio che vuol rimanere fuori del dramma, uno che vuole annichilare la propria partecipazione; che esclama in sé, non lo conosco (Lc 22:57). Invece quello del Signore Gesù è un silenzio appassionato, pieno della Verità, di Lui stesso, della Sua dimora mistica, nell’anima. È un silenzio che tace fino a promettere, oggi sarai con me nel paradiso . (Lc 23:43) Quindi, la croce è la partecipazione simultaneamente attiva e passiva, ascetica e mistica, dell’anima nell’opera divina della redenzione. È l’essere disponibili e liberi di impegnarsi nel proprio cammino verso la Gerusalemme celeste non per causa propria ma per essere mossi in cammino da Dio stesso, dal essere coinvolti dall’Amore ad amare, anche nei pr

Iže cheruvímy táino obrazúiušče, i životvoriáščei Tróitsě trisviatúiu piěsn’ pripiěváiušče, vsiákoe nyně žitiéiskoe otložin popečéniie. "We, who mystically represent the Cherubim , And chant the thrice-holy hymn to the Life-giving Trinity , Let us set aside the cares of life That we may receive the King of all, Who comes invisibly escorted by the Divine Hosts. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia."

"The friend is me and I am the friend" (Matteo Ricci)

Send me a sign, a hint, O whisper Fill me with life 'cause I am listening Come break the quiet, breathe your awakening Bring me the light 'cause I am fading Surround me with the rush of angels' wings Shine Your light so I can see You Pull me up, I need to be near You Hold me, I need to feel loved Can You overcome this heart that's overcome? You sent a sign, the hint, O whisper Human, divine, everyone is listening Death laid low, quiet in the night is stirring All around the rush of angels O the wonder of the greatest love has come Shine Your light so all can see it Lifted up, 'cause the whole world needs it Love has come, what joy to hear it He has overcome, He has overcome

La porta per entrare nel castello interiore della nostra anima è la preghiera. Così scrive Santa Teresa di Gesù al inizio della sua opera Las Moradas . È sempre stato un dilemma (per chi vuole prendere la vita spirituale sul serio) come si prega incessantemente. Mosè, di fronte alla guerra di Amalèk, il salmista, San Paolo e la vedova che chiedeva giustizia dal giudice ci hanno qualcosa d’insegnarci oggi per risolvere il dilemma. Il prefisso greco προσ nel verbo προσ εύχεσθαι [pros-euchestai ] in Lc 18:1 si può tradurre così: “è vantaggioso”, “verso”, “a” (nel senso di prossimità). Il senso che dà questo verbo nel greco originale dunque è sia della prossimità vantaggiosa del pregare e sia del viaggiare verso qualcosa che sta sempre un po’ più avanti di noi, quasi irraggiungibile. E questo è proprio il significato della preghiera. Come ancora scrive Sta Teresa, “l’orazione non è pensare molto ma amare molto.” Quindi “pregare incessantemente” significa “amare incessantemente”. Da

Si prega come gli angeli dinanzi al Signore, pronti e attenti a ogni sua parola. Si appassiona per le cose divine non per motivo proprio ma perché come gli angeli messaggeri noi possiamo rendere la Parola di Dio presente ovunque siamo. From "The Life of St Gregory Palamas" by St Nikodemus of the Holy Mountain on unceasing prayer Let no one think, my fellow Christians, that only the clergy and the monks are obliged to pray unceasingly and at all times, and not also the laity. Oh, no! All of us Christians are obliged to pray always, as well. To demonstrate this, Philotheos, that most-holy Patriarch of Constantinople, writes the following, in his biography of St. Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica. The divine Gregory had a beloved friend named Job, a very simple man of great virtue. Once when they were conversing, Gregory told him about prayer, that each Christian individually ought always to make an effort to pray, and to pray unceasingly, as the Apostle Paul exhorts a

A gesture of love is not beyond your reach

"Because I'm a Girl" by Kiss The story begins with the scene of a photograp her who was taking a picture for an automobile magazine. He accidentaly took a picture of a girl who was walking across right in front of his camera. She excused politely and went away. One day, the photographer went to a salon which by accident was the the same place where the girl worked. He left his bini in the salon (by accident), leaving the girl a chance to come by his workplace to return it. So she came to his studio and returned his bini. But before she left, he made her pose as a model. They found out that they shared a same passion. He was a professional photographer and she was a girl who dreamed to be a model. They became close and spent a lot of time together. He took a lot of pictures of her and published them. One day, an accident happened while she was trying to get something from a high rack in his studio. An unlid bottle of photographic product fell and spilled on her eyes. She

This glancing life is like a morning star A setting sun, or rolling waves at sea A gentle breeze or lightning in a storm A dancing dream of all eternity The sand was shimmering in the morning light And dancing off the dunes so far away The night held music so sweet, so long And there we lay until the break of day We woke that morning at the onward call Our camels bridled up, our howdahs full The sun was rising in the eastern sky Just as we set out to the desert's cry Calling, yearning, pulling, home to you The tents grew smaller as we rode away On earth that tells of many passing days The months of peace and all the years of war The lives of love and all the lives of fears Calling, yearning, pulling, home to you We crossed the river beds all etched in stone And up the mighty mountains ever known Beyond the valleys in the searing heat Until we reached the caravanserai Calling, yearning, pulling, home to you Calling, yearning, pulling, home to you What is this life the pulls me far a

Si legge Lc 17:11-19 Il cammino lungo il quale procede Gesù in questa parte del Vangelo di Luca va verso Gerusalemme, dove offrirà se stesso come sacrificio per noi, in una morte che vivifica. L’ambiente più ampio di questo brano fa parte della catechesi che Luca ci offre dove presenta Gesù come “il Maestro” (17:13) della vita di preghiera, in modo concreto della vita abbracciata con la croce. È importante notare un punto prominente; è appunto lunga la via che porta alla morte che Gesù guarisce i dieci lebbrosi donandoli la vita di nuovo. Ricordiamo che per la società giudea i lebbrosi erano considerati esclusi dalla vita sociale, in pratica loro non potevano partecipare in quegli atti e obblighi più indicativi della vita giudaica che si facevano tutti in comune, nella società – come per esempio andare alla sinagoga, al tempio, vivere con la propria famiglia, e così via. In un certo modo, quindi, questo vuol dire che i lebbrosi erano considerati esclusi dal popolo eletto da Dio, i

Zjara lis-sorijiet tal-klawsura karmelitani li jinsabu fil-monasteru ta' Vetralla, l-Italja.

A Reading from the Gospel of Luke (17:11-19) Now on his way to J erusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" When h e saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him—an d he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." Reflection by Dr Scott Hahn A foreign leper is cleansed and in thanksgiving returns to offer homage to the God of Israel . We hear this same story in both the First Reading and Gospel today. There

A major new resource has been published for Carmelites, both lay and religious, and for anyone interesting in exploring "Carmel". The book, entitled Climbing the Mountain: The Carmelite Journey , has been published jointly by Saint Albert's Press (the publishing house of the British Province of Carmelites) and Edizioni Carmelitane (the Order's central publishing house in Rome). It was printed by the Carmelite friars in the Czech Republic, and published on 1st October 2010, the feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Climbing the Mountain is a comprehensive yet accessible introduction to all the major themes of Carmelite spirituality. It collates in book form the initial formation programme of the Carmelite Third Order in Britain, published in Assumpta magazine between 2005 and 2007. In book form the material has been expanded in both its artwork and content to appeal to the broader Carmelite Family worldwide, and is going to be used as an initial and ongoing formation r

When the dark wood fell before me And all the paths were overgrown When the priests of pride say there is no other way I tilled the sorrows of stone I did not believe because I could not see Though you came to me in the night When the dawn seemed forever lost You showed me your love in the light of the stars Cast your eyes on the ocean Cast your soul to the sea When the dark night seems endless Please remember me Then the mountain rose before me By the deep well of desire From the fountain of forgiveness Beyond the ice and the fire Cast your eyes on the ocean Cast your soul to the sea When the dark night seems endless Please remember me Though we share this humble path, alone How fragile is the heart Oh give these clay feet wings to fly To touch the face of the stars Breathe life into this feeble heart Lift this mortal veil of fear Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears We'll rise above these earthly care