Thursday, September 03, 2009

Jesus takes nothing and gives all

VATICAN - Ave Maria: Mgr Luciano Alimandi - 

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - "‘'Listen to me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that goes into someone from outside can make that person unclean; it is the things that come out of someone that make that person unclean. Anyone who has ears for listening should listen!' When he had gone into the house, away from the crowd, his disciples questioned him about the parable. He said to them, 'Even you -- don't you understand? Can't you see that nothing that goes into someone from outside can make that person unclean, because it goes not into the heart but into the stomach and passes into the sewer? And he went on, 'It is what comes out of someone that makes that person unclean. For it is from within, from the heart, that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within and make a person unclean.' " (Mk 7, 14-23). 

St Patrick’s Cathedral – St Francis of Assisi ...

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In this teaching which re-echoed in our churches last Sunday, once again Jesus underlines the importance of the inner life of the human person, in other words the dimension of the heart, since it is in the heart that we live our human life made of joys and sorrows, hopes and anxieties. It is from within that a person makes the decisions of life, small or great, amidst tragedies and successes. 

How deep is the solitude of a heart which is closed to God, how unequal is the struggle against selfishness which can never be conquered unless we turn to Him! Only God who created the human heart, can calm fear and give serenity and rest, as St Augustine writes. However God will only “enter” a heart which is open, which is prepared for His coming with all its sweetness and gentleness. 

The Lord Jesus came to save “hearts” and restore them to the original innocence which man had lost forever, when he let himself be contaminated by his own pride and by the deceitfulness of the Evil One. In order to exercise His living sovereignty over our passions and egoism, Jesus needs to “enter” our heart. In fact His redemption is not merely superficial, He is not content with worship which is exteriorly ordered but empty of content. Jesus desires our heart. If He wins it with his love, our whole life will have meaning and will stand firm: our house will be solid since it is built on rock (cfr. Mt 7, 24-25). 
Jesus comes, as a beggar for Love, he stands at the door of our human freedom and never tires of saying those captivating words: “Look, I am standing at the door, knocking. If one of you hears me calling and opens the door, I will come in to share a meal at that person's side.” (Rev. 3, 20). To open the door of our heart to welcome Jesus it takes just one movement involving the higher faculties of our soul, a movement which starts from deep inside us and moves unhesitatingly towards Him. This act is called faith! 

The greater the act of faith, the more the human heart opens to God. If we turn with faith to the Lord, the divine bursts into the human and step by step our life is transformed, because wherever God enters He makes everything new! Selfishness turns to love, foolishness becomes wisdom. Evil, in all its many forms, gives way to goodness and the bad odour of vice is overpowered by the perfume of virtue. 

Francis of Assisi

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The Lord desires to reveal the almighty power of his love which converts and conquers our heart. The heart of a saint is the scene of God's greatest conquest, the great human adventure: Jesus enters the life of a poor sinner and transforms it, he works wonders for all to see; think of the life of St Francis, or St Dominic, or before them, the life of St Monica and St Augustine… Innumerable “hearts” have allowed themselves to be conquered by God's love thus becoming living magnets drawing many more hearts to realise the immensity of God love for us.

This is why the Church, first of all through the Supreme Pontiffs, calls all men and women to open to the Lord Jesus, to convert their hearts Him! In the wake of John Paul II,
the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, with extraordinary clarity, has repeated this call, ever since the inauguration of his Pontificate: “At this point, my mind
 goes back to 22 October 1978, when Pope John Paul II began his ministry here in Saint Peter’s Square. His words on that occasion constantly echo in my ears: “Do not be afraid! Open wide the doors for Christ!” The Pope was addressing the mighty, the powerful of this world, who feared that Christ might take away something of their power if they were to let him in, if they were to allow the faith to be free. Yes, he would certainly have taken something away from them: the dominion of corruption, the manipulation of law and the freedom to do as they pleased. But he would not have taken away anything that pertains to human freedom or dignity, or to the building of a just society. The Pope was also speaking to everyone, especially the young. Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us? Are we not perhaps afraid to give up something significant, some
VATICAN CITY- MARCH 23: Pope Benedict XVI cele...

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thing unique, something that makes life so beautiful? Do we not then risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom? And once again the Pope said: No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life. Amen.”
 (Benedict XVI, homily at the beginning of his Pontificate, 24 April, 2005). (Agenzia Fides 2/9/2009) States

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