Riflessioni ad alta voce

XVI Sunday of the year Year C Lk 10:38-42 “While Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem a lady received him in her house”. We know that family from another passage of the gospel. This is the house of Lazarus and his two sisters Martha and Mary. Surely they were good friends of Jesus, at least from the way they talk to him we see that they have a friendly relationship. Usually at the time of Jesus the man was the owner of the house, he could invite people or not, he was in charge of staying with the guest talk to him while the women were in charge to prepare water to wash and food and drink. Here we have Martha who seems to be very strong, active and good, she is the one who invites Jesus and then she goes to work and no doubt she was preparing the best possible food for a good friend like Jesus. So she is right in asking that Mary should be there to work with her in the kitchen and let Lazarus do the job of staying with Jesus. I think we all sometimes have sympatized for Mart...

The service of Authority This is a small chapter, small in size but not in importance. It is addressed to the superiors rather than the novices. From our personal experience we understand very well how the character of the superior influences the life of the community. A few years ago Vatican issued a document called “Faciem Tuam” on the task of authority today. When we priests speak to families we are very good in giving recommendations and suggestions on how they should understand each other, love the partners even if unfaithful, forgive the children even when rebellious. But if on one side we are good preachers, on the other side we fall often short when we have to apply them to our community life. Superiors are called to guide the community and this is not an easy task. They are called to be fathers but without falling into paternalism; They have to take the final decisions but without falling into authoritarism; they have to listen to all the confreres and mediate am...