The Gospel of God
At the beginning of the Gospel of Mark (1:15) there are four phrases that summarize the entire work of the Lord; these words nurture and give meaning to our existence:
“This is the time of fulfillment." “The kingdom of God is at hand." “Repent”…, “and believe the Gospel." Analyzing them, we shall understand the sense of the Incarnation and the Resurrection of Jesus.
“This is the time of fulfillment." It tells us that the time for waiting is finished: from the moment when Jesus is born on earth, he becomes at the same time the center of all human history.
“The kingdom of God is at hand." Heaven, which had been closed because of our sin, is now open, in virtue of the transfigured flesh of Christ in his Resurrection. By now his kingdom of justice and peace has definitely arrived. ... The doors of paradise have been thrown open, and the dazzling light of Christ, raised and living, introduce all to the resting place of the redeemed.
“Repent,..." It reveals to us that in order to enjoy eternal happiness, we must change our way of thinking, and therefore our life, in a total and radical way. We have been called to a continuous metanoia, a conversion, a reformulation of our priorities in life, so that this reality can also be fully realized in our own existence.
“…and believe the Gospel" Finally, the fourth phrase tells us how to work this conversion: by living the Gospel. There we have all that is necessary. The Gospel, in turn, summarizes what Jesus commands his disciples: “love one another, even as I have loved you."
What must we do in order to assume all of this in a serious way?
In the convent of San Giovanni Rotondo, in Rome, where Saint Pio of Pietrelcina lived, some of the friars had posters in their cells with inscriptions and reminders. Some were from the Bible but Padre Pio had this: "Human greatness has always humility for its companion."
The sense of it seemed clear to me: we must have humility, precisely like Jesus, whom Saint Paul describes as emptying himself (Phil 2:7), that is, of making himself man even though he was God, and of dying on the cross, rejected by men.
After this poster was stolen from his room, Padre Pio put up another: "Mary is all the reason for my hope." If Mary, who is Mother of Jesus, is our hope, anyone —anyone who suffers, anyone who is alone, or anyone who feels sad— can look at the Nativity of Jesus and at his Resurrection with a heart full of hope.
Excerpts from Father Gabriele Amorth
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