395. Twenty-sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (B)

Meditations no. 609 (unofficial computer-aided translation)

Charity must be universal.

THE Lord’s dealings with the Apostles were very intense. On occasions, the evangelists recount a conversation between Jesus and them in private. The disciples felt very comfortable with the Master and, with total simplicity, they related to him the incidents of the day. Nothing was alien to Jesus’ interest, nothing seemed inconsequential or boring to him. For this reason, the conversation with Christ encouraged them and filled them with apostolic impulse. How many times our prayer is like this! Natural, spontaneous, trusting, full of trifles that are not so for the Lord.

One of these moments of intimacy is recounted in the Gospel of today’s Mass. At that time, John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we have seen one who cast out demons in your name, and we have forbidden him to do so, because he does not come with us.”

St. John raises a delicate question. It was undeniable that this man expelled demons in the name of the Messiah, but he was not among the number of the disciples. John and the others were carried away by an excessive human vision, because they considered that this person did not meet the necessary requirements to act in the name of the Lord; indeed, that perhaps he used that holy name for his own benefit. And, abusing their authority as Apostles, they wanted to prevent him. But Jesus answered: “Do not forbid him, for there is no one who performs a miracle in my name and can then speak ill of me: whoever is not against us is with us.”

The Master invites them to overcome the partisan vision of those who exclude those who do not share our ideals. Jesus gives a reason that might seem to be a criterion of prudence, but he goes further. In this passage, the Lord teaches first of all that we cannot ordinarily think ill of others; and also that we must rejoice in the apostolic fruitfulness of the other members of the Church. Anyone who does good, who bears authentic supernatural fruits, is at our side and gives glory to God as we do.

Our Father warned us against “the painful lack of charity, about the sins against justice committed by some who proclaim themselves or believe themselves to be apostles, but who love their own institution with inordinate love, or have a one-party mentality, which leads them to think that good is not good, if it does not come from their hands. Many times we have heard our Founder speak about the terrible evil that this exclusionary mentality can produce: and we have seen how he has asked God that my children never seek to exercise a monopoly in any field, and even less in the ecclesiastical field, because we are only going to do the apostolate of Christ, never our apostolate.”

On many occasions, Jesus spoke to us about loving our enemies, about forgiving our offenses. Now he teaches us to love from the heart all those who work in his vineyard, even if they do not share our same ideal, because what is truly important is to give glory to God, to collaborate in the fulfillment of his Will, which wants all men to be saved.

To live charity means to respect the mentality of others; to be filled with joy on their way to God … , without insisting that they think like you, that they unite themselves to you.

“It occurred to me to make this consideration to you: these paths, different, are parallel; following his own, each one will reach God. … do not lose yourself in comparisons, or in the desire to know who is higher: that does not matter, what matters is that we all reach the end.

Practice charity in small details.

THE LORD takes advantage of the words of the Apostle John to broaden the horizon of his charity. And whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you are Christ’s, verily I say to you, he will not lose his reward.

The Lord’s words, in their simplicity, contain a paradox. On the one hand, there are few things of less value than a glass of water; but if they offer with love, because they are disciples of the Master, they are transformed into something of great rank. The Christian who behaves in this way fills Jesus Christ with joy, and the Lord does not fail to reward this gesture. I have continually affirmed, from my poor personal experience, that the Lord is a good payer: when we give him something, a little or a lot, we receive that multiplied by a hundred, immediately or at another time: his promises never fail.

On the other hand, perhaps in the lands of Palestine, scorched by the summer sun, a glass of water could become something very precious. It might seem to us that the gesture of offering it is of little importance, and that it requires little material effort. But the fact of receiving a glass of fresh water is a relief for the needy and leaves his soul full of gratitude. Here is the paradox: the small becomes great because of love; and what is costly engenders recognition in the one who receives it and joy in the one who gives. Let us remember the words of the Lord: there is greater happiness in giving than in receiving.

Our life is interwoven with big and small things. On many occasions it is not possible to solve the problems of others without overcoming comfort or the tendency not to complicate one’s life: an excuse is easily found in the lack of time, in the accumulation of work, in small objective difficulties. However, how grateful then it is that someone helps us solve a small inconvenience! Perhaps it was a matter of a few minutes of attention, but that gesture, in addition to relieving someone of a worry, made them feel the joy of Christian fraternity, of knowing that we are never alone.

These are the glasses of water that do not go unrewarded, because they are services that we do to the Lord and that the Holy Trinity has with us beforehand. You and I are in a position to lavish affection on those around us, because we were born to faith, for the love of the Father. Boldly ask the Lord for this treasure, this supernatural virtue of charity, to exercise it to the last detail.

Many times, perhaps the greatest effort will consist in perceiving that small lack in someone: to keep in mind their needs and to go out to meet them. These are things that, when there is love, are intuited in a gesture or in a question. We all have our daily setbacks and God wants us to forget ourselves and be aware of the needs of others; only in this way will we be truly happy. If the Lord rewards having given a glass of water for his sake, how much more will he reward the service, perhaps prolonged in time and carried out with sacrifice, that we have been able to offer to others! We must behave as children of God with the children of God: ours must be a sacrificial love, a daily one made up of a thousand details of understanding, of silent sacrifice, of self-giving that is not noticeable. This is the bonus odor Christi, the one that made those who lived among our first brothers and sisters in the faith say: See how they love each other! (Tertullian, Apologeticum, 39).

This charity that the Lord proposes to us in the Gospel of the Mass, made up of a thousand small services to others every day, is the fullness of love to which we are called. Jesus Christ never ceases to make us aware of his contentment, placing in our souls a peculiar joy and the certainty that it has been worth the effort. In this way we will end up full of sincere gratitude to God and to the person to whom we have done the service, for the opportunity he has given us. In this way it will be easy for charity to be perfect, without making it known, with a smile, without waiting for a return, because the greatest beneficiaries are ourselves. That you pay attention to the small, that you be in the details. It is not obsession, it is not mania. It is affection, vigilant love, supernatural sense at all times, and charity. Always be faithful in small things, out of love, with rectitude of intention, without waiting on earth for a smile, or a look of gratitude.

The danger of causing scandal.

JESUS CHRIST promises us the reward for charity in the details, and he also warns us of the terrible punishment that will become, on the contrary, the lack of charity. Especially scandal, the most serious sin against this virtue, which consists in inciting evil, in stumbling in one of these little ones, moving him - by bad example or by words - to go down the paths of perdition. The Lord’s warning is very expressive: it would be better for him if a millstone were fastened around his neck, one of those moved by an ass, and he was thrown into the sea.

The Lord asks us always to set a good example and to see that others walk in the path of good. As if He were saying to us: “As those who honor you for my sake will be rewarded, so also those who do not honor you, that is, those who scandalize you, will receive the ultimate punishment. In this way, then, He prepares us to understand the terrible torment that He describes by mentioning the immersion with the millstone, and He does not say that a millstone should be tied around His neck, but it would be better for Him to be tied, thus showing that another and more serious evil awaits Him. He calls believers little ones, and also those who call on His name, even if they do not follow Him, even those who offer a cup of water for Him, even if they have never done anything better. And He does not want any of these to be scandalized or disowned, because this would be like forbidding them to call on His name.”

There is a duty to value the good and evil that can be caused to others. In the field of charity, nothing is small, nothing can be treated superficially. If you are not bad, and you look like it, you are stupid.

“And that nonsense-a stone of scandal-is worse than evil.

The Lord’s response to St. John ends with one last warning. The sense of responsibility - which leads us to draw all the consequences of the duties of charity - extends to our relationship with God: if your hand scandalizes you, cut it off. It is better for you to enter Life crippled than with both hands to end up in hell, in the unquenchable fire. And if your foot scandalizes you, cut it off. It is better for you to enter Life lame than with both feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye scandalizes you, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the Kingdom of God one-eyed than with both eyes to be thrown into hell, where its worm does not die and the fire is not extinguished.

Clear and strong resound these words of Jesus Christ. We are well persuaded that nothing and less than nothing is worth that which separates us from God. What can be compared to grace, to the love of Jesus Christ, to his most loving will, to happiness that has no end? “After the Lord has taught us that we must not scandalize those who believe in him, he warns us how carefully we should avoid those who scandalize us, that is, those who lead us by their word or example to the ruin of sin.”

With more supernatural vision we will come to the conviction of the bad business that is done by haggling with the Lord, even if it is very little, in some aspect that supposes misdirection. If we see, with a gaze of eternity, what is an occasion for sin or spiritual cooling, it will be easy for us to come to the conclusion that it is necessary to cut off with courage and decision, and as soon as possible, with the occasions of sin or spiritual lukewarmness.

If something is not in accordance with God’s spirit, leave it right away!

Think of the Apostles: they were worthless, but in the name of the Lord they perform miracles. Only Judas, who perhaps also worked miracles, went astray by voluntarily turning away from Christ, by not cutting, violently and courageously, with what was not in accordance with the spirit of God.

Let us ask the Lord for clarity of ideas, for the courage to tackle what is not working, perhaps beginning with the purpose of placing ourselves in the hands of the Good Shepherd, through the Confidence and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In this way we will grow in sincerity of life and in loyalty to the Church and to the Work.

In the face of the need for charity that Jesus Christ proposes to us in the Gospel of today’s Mass, let us place our hope in Mary. In the Virgin, love for God is also confused with concern for all her children. Her most sweet Heart must have suffered greatly, attentive to the smallest details - they have no wine (Jn 2:3) - when she witnessed that collective cruelty, that cruelty that was, on the part of the executioners, the Passion and Death of Jesus. But Mary does not speak. Like her Son, she loves, is silent and forgives. That is the power of love.