miniZibaldone

With this gaze of Jesus, you can help bring about another humanity, without looking for acknowledgement but seeking goodness for its own sake, content to maintain a  pure heart and to fight peaceably for honesty and justice.  Don’t stop at the surface of things; distrust the worldly cult of appearances, cosmetic attempts to  improve our looks.  Instead, “download” the best “link” of all, that of a heart which sees and transmits goodness without growing weary.  The joy that you have  freely received from God, please, freely give away (cf. Mt 10:8): so many people are waiting for it!  So many are waiting for it from you. From the homily But Zacchaeus had to face a number of obstacles in order to meet Jesus.  It was not easy for him; he had to face a number of obstacles. At least three of these can  also say something to us. The first obstacle is smallness of stature .  Zacchaeus couldn’t see the Master because he was little.  Ev...

You might say to me: Father, but I have my limits, I am a sinner, what can I do?  When the Lord calls us, he doesn’t worry about what we are, what we have been, or  what we have done or not done.  Quite the opposite.  When he calls us, he is thinking about everything we have to give, all the love we are capable of spreading.   His bets are on the future, on tomorrow.  Jesus is pointing you to the future, and never to the museum. From the speech Where does fear lead us?  The feeling of being closed in on oneself, trapped.  Once we feel that way, our fear starts to fester and is inevitably joined by its “twin  sister”, paralysis: the feeling of being paralyzed.  Thinking that in this world, in our cities and our communities, there is no longer any room to grow, to dream,  to create, to gaze at new horizons – in a word to live – is one of the worst things that can happen to us in life, and especially at a younger age.  When ...

Sometimes it happens that you want to be a bridge and you are left with your hand stretched out and the other side doesn’t take it: these are the humiliations that we must suffer to do something good. But always build bridges. After the railway incident of July 12, we are afraid to take the train. Every day I take the train to go to the University, and that day I wasn’t on the train by  pure chance. Every day I sit in the first carriages, and there I met and greeted Luciano, one of the engine drivers that, unfortunately, lost his life in the  incident.  In those trains we feel at home, but now we’re afraid. I would like to ask: how can we return to normality? How can we beat this fear and continue, be  happy again also on those trains, which are our trains, our second home? I would like to ask you: given that in any case I have forgiven them somewhat, because I don’t want to hate anyone, I have forgiven them somewhat, however, I’m still  not well. I would...

Going to WYD, do not be in a rush to find an answer to your questions: hurriedness is the sign of the uncertainty that pushes us to want to grab something right away...concern yourselves with making the journey.

The kingdom of God, now as then, “does not come in a way that attracts attention” ( Lk 17:20 ), but rather in littleness, in humility. May each one of us be able to make an interior passage, a Passover of the heart, towards the divine “style” incarnated by Mary . From the homily Instead, in a small village, a simple miracle takes place and brings joy to the wedding of a young and completely anonymous family. At the same time, the water that became wine at the wedding banquet is a great sign, for it reveals to us the spousal face of God, a God who sits at table with us, who dreams and holds communion with us. It tells us that the Lord does not keep his distance, but is near and real . He is in our midst and he takes care of us, without making decisions in our place and without troubling himself with issues of power. He prefers to let himself be contained in little things, unlike ourselves, who always want to possess something greater. To be attracted by power, by grandeur, by ap...

Mercy always has a youthful face! To find fulfillment, to gain new strength, there is a way. It is not a thing or an object, but a person, and he is alive. His name  is Jesus Christ. From the address at welcome ceremony with youth What better opportunity to renew our friendship with Jesus than by building friendships among yourselves! What better way to build our friendship with Jesus than by  sharing him with others! What better way to experience the contagious joy of the Gospel than by striving to bring the Good News to all kinds of painful and difficult  situations!...  In my years as a bishop, I have learned one thing. Nothing is more beautiful than seeing the enthusiasm, dedication, zeal and energy with which so many young people  live their lives. When Jesus touches a young person’s heart, he or she becomes capable of truly great things. It is exciting to listen to you share your dreams, your  questions and your impatience with those w...