miniZibaldone

In Search of a Human Face A Festival of Humanity

Fear governs the world. Power by its very nature avails itself of fear. Human society was built up on fear and, therefore, it was built up on lies, for fear is the father of falsehood. [. . .]   Fear always conceals truth and truth tends to reveal itself when the experience of fear lived through, leads to the overcoming of it, to emancipation. Fear is connected not only with falsehood but also with cruelty. It is not only those who inspire fear who become cruel, but also those who feel it. The masses are not only governed through fear but the masses themselves govern by fear. Fear in the life of society is the mistrust of man; and fear is always conservative although outwardly it has at times been revolutionary in form. . . . Anxiety, insecurity of life, in the last resort give rise to fear. But what is most serious is this; fear distorts thought and hinders the knowledge of truth. . . . Fear lowers the dignity of man, the dignity of free spirit. Fear has always been regarded ...

From the homily Let us never forget: the Mass is the Memorial that heals memory, the memory of the heart. The Mass is the treasure that should be foremost both in the Church and in our lives. Through the Eucharist, the Lord also heals our negative memory , that negativity which seeps so often into our hearts. The Lord heals this negative memory, which drags to the surface things that have gone wrong and leaves us with the sorry notion that we are useless, that we only make mistakes, that we are ourselves a mistake. Jesus comes to tell us that this is not so. He wants to be close to us. Every time we receive him, he reminds us that we are precious, that we are guests he has invited to his banquet, friends with whom he wants to dine. And not only because he is generous, but because he is truly in love with us. He sees and loves the beauty and goodness that we are. The Lord knows that evil and sins do not define us; they are diseases, infections. And he comes to heal them wi...

from  english.clonline.org What We Are Learning: Our Silent World Letters by witnesses “ Life Changes ” : a conversation with Italian author Maurizio Maggiani “ The Renewal of My Humanity ” : Giorgio Vittadini reflects on the temptation to cling to all sorts of  “ have to be ’ s ” “ In the Right Place ” : cardiologist Francesco Rotatori talks about what is happening in New York “ A Continuous  ‘ Here I Am ’ ” : monk Sergio Massalongo on  his experience of “our yes to Christ is, before all else,  our contribution to the salvation of every man and woman today.” “The Touch of the Mystery ” by Luigi Giussani

from  english.clonline.org : COVID-19 has become a shared experience. Everyone, in one way or another, is trying to see how he measures up to this unexpected event that has burst into our daily lives, imposing drastic changes in lifestyle and awakening pressing questions we cannot ignore. What kind of answers are adequate to such a situation? Available in PDF and ePUB format.

from: Balthasar, Hans Urs von.  Light of the World: Brief Reflections on the Sunday Readings . San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1993.