miniZibaldone

From the possibility of doubting everything, it does not follow that it would be good to do that. The necessity of positing the reality of the living is not a theoretical compulsion but is itself a kind of moral evidence. Whoever loves a human, whoever has friends, cannot at the same time doubt the beloved's or the friend's existence. That person must hold the other's being alive as irreducible. And when I say one cannot doubt, I do not mean a physical or logical impossibility, but a moral and,  therefore,  absolute impossibility. Insofar as I doubt his reality, I do not merely bracket somewhat the reality of the friendship; rather, I destroy it. Friendship does not allow for an ontological abstinence, for an epoche . It implies an ontological affirmation. In the case of friendship, this affirmation is not a postulate but a necessary implication. But there, where the relationship to the other does not have the intensity of friendship but is defined by the claim of each to...

The Spirit guides us in new existential situations with a gaze fixed on Jesus and at the same time, open to events and to the future. He helps us to walk in history,  firmly rooted in the Gospel and with a dynamic fidelity to our traditions and customs. From the angelus But the mystery of the Trinity also speaks to us of ourselves, of our relationship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In fact, through baptism, the Holy  Spirit has placed us in the prayer and the very life of God, who is a communion of love. God is a “family” of three Persons who love each other so much they form a  single thing. This “divine family” is not closed in on itself, but is open. It communicates itself in creation and in history and has entered into the world of men  to call everyone to form part of it. The trinitarian horizon of communion surrounds all of us and stimulates us to live in love and fraternal sharing, certain that  where there is love, there is God. Our b...

The central purpose of Jesus mission, which culminated in the gift of the Holy Spirit, was to renew our relationship with the Father. From the homily The Spirit is given to us by the Father and leads us back to the Father. The entire work of salvation is one of “re-generation”, in which the fatherhood of God,  through the gift of the Son and the Holy Spirit, frees us from the condition of being orphans into which we had fallen. In our own day also, we see various signs of  our being orphans: in the interior loneliness which we feel even when we are surrounded by people, a loneliness which can become an existential sadness; in the  attempt to be free of God, even if accompanied by a desire for his presence; in the all-too-common spiritual illiteracy which renders us incapable of prayer; in the  difficulty in grasping the truth and reality of eternal life as that fullness of communion which begins on earth and reaches full flower after death; in the effort  t...

The Holy Spirit frees us from this ‘orphan-like’ condition which the spirit of the world wants to put us in. From the homily Christian life, Francis reiterated, “is not just an ethical life: it is an encounter with Jesus Christ.” And it is thanks to the Holy Spirit that this encounter takes place: "But we keep the Holy Spirit as a ‘luxury prisoner’ in our hearts: we do not allow the Spirit to push us forward, to move us. The Spirit does everything, knows everything, reminds us what Jesus said, can explain all about Jesus. There is only one thing the Holy Spirit can’t do: make us ‘parlour’ Christians (…) The Holy Spirit cannot make us ‘virtual’ Christians who are not virtuous. The Holy Spirit makes real Christians. The Spirit takes life as it is and prophetically reads the signs of the times pushing us forward (…), the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity” he said. Pope Francis urged all faithful this week to reflect on the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives and...

The humble prayer we can say is: ‘Father, lead me to Jesus, help me to know Jesus’ and the Father will send the Spirit to open our hearts and lead us to Him. From the homily The hardness of the Scribes and Pharisees’ hearts, the Pope said, “is a drama which continues all the way to Calvary.” the Pope said, noting various examples of those who witnessed Jesus’ miracles, but refused to believe. And this, the Pope explained, has its consequences, “because they are orphans who have denied their Father.”  “These doctors of the law,” he highlighted, “had closed hearts, they thought they were their own masters but in fact they were orphans because they had no relationship with the Father. They talked about their fathers, Abraham and the patriarchs, but these were distant figures and in their hearts they were orphans because they would not let themselves be drawn to the Father.”   [link]