Everything was good and the human was very good

 

There is a phrase that runs through the entire first chapter of the book of Genesis, which narrates the creative work. A sentence that is repeated six times and has no more than one word, introduced by a colon. This phrase is: good! This is the epilogue of each day of creation, the affirmation of the good existence of the creature. God calls his own work good. He has done it. It's good. God, the only creative subject, by affirming the goodness of things, makes them independent, frees them. Created by God, they are good by themselves. When humans make something, a painting, a house, we leave our mark, the imprint of our personality on what we do. But when God creates, what is done has its own consistency. For this reason, he remains expelled from the realm of the divine. This is one of the possible theological meanings of the plural of what is created: the waters, the luminaries, the herbs, the animals. For ancient mythology, the Sun and the Moon, in the singular, seem unique in their kind and are individualized as divine persons. In the Genesis account they become luminaries and this plural gender introduces them into the world of creation.

But suddenly a change occurs in God's speaking. For his last creative act, Yahweh says: Let's make a human being. Let's do. When it came to creating the rest of the things, Genesis expressed itself in an impersonal way: Said God. But now, for the first time, the Creator is no longer spoken of, but the Creator speaks. Instead of it, an I. And more than an I, a you in which the I says to itself: let's do. Before, what the Creator did was told. Now the phrase takes on a personal meaning. It is a self that speaks in the plural: let's do. That means no me outside of him. It is the plural of absolute majesty: a self that talks to itself and can only talk to itself. And when God takes the word personally, a person appears who does not need to be mediated by gender, someone who is no longer created "after his kind." That's why it's not plural because being many, each one is unique and unrepeatable. Each one is unique, with its own name, in the image of God.

God takes one last look at what he has created. And now he turns out… very good. God compares. He surpasses himself. There is a scope that is stated differently: “very” (good), that is, of a higher level than everything else.

 

What bread do we ask for in the Lord's Prayer?

 

The most common answer to the question that begins this article is: daily bread, that is, what is necessary for living. We do not ask for opulence or wealth, but for what we truly need. This interpretation is legitimate and should certainly be included in the request of the prayer that Jesus taught.

Now, this “daily bread” could have another meaning. Exegetes recognize that it is the translation of a difficult term, which has a present sense, but also a future sense (and therefore it would have to be translated as the bread of tomorrow, the bread of the future). In fact, this expression, as interpreted by the first Christian writers, could refer to the bread of the Eucharist (the true eschatological bread), so that a possible translation would be: the bread of eternal life, let us anticipate it today. This bread of eternal life is anticipated in the Eucharist, where we receive the pledge of future glory.

St. Jerome translates the mysterious word (“epioúsios”) as “supersubstantialis.” This super-substantial bread, this new, superior substance, Jerome interprets that it is given to us in the Blessed Sacrament, the true bread of life: “This is the bread which comes down from heaven, so that whoever eats it will not die” (Jn 6:50); “Your fathers ate manna in the desert” (Jn 6:31) and they were still hungry, and they died (like us). Material bread does not satisfy, nor does it fill the heart, nor does it ensure joy. “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (Jn 6:54).

In this petition of the Lord's Prayer, our own needs are linked to the needs of our brothers (that is why we ask for "our" bread and not my bread), but at the same time this bread (especially when it is shared) makes us long for this heavenly banquet, where there will be no more need, because we will be overflowing with all good. This heavenly table is anticipated in the banquet of the Eucharist, and is announced and promised to us in the bread of the word of God.

Believing parents, indifferent children

There are believing parents who have given a good witness of their faith to their children, with words and deeds. Sometimes the children do not seem to pay much attention to their parents in this religious matter. They may respect their parents, but they do not show interest in religion, they do not practice it, they are distant from the Church. Believing parents produce children who are atheists, indifferent or non-religious. When this happens, there are parents, with very good will, who love their children and pray for them, who wonder how it is possible that their children do not embrace the faith: what have we done wrong? Where have we failed?

To begin with, this question is wrongly posed. Surely they have not done wrong, they have done what they could, and what they have done has been good. So where is the problem? An easy answer is to say that the opposite case also occurs: religious children are born from atheist or anti-religious parents. Even if this observation is true, it is worth going to the heart of the problem. First to reassure the parents that they have done what they could and then to understand that good words and good examples are not enough to bring about faith.

For faith to be born, two things are required: one, the proclamation of the Gospel. Faith is not born spontaneously, it is the result of a proclamation, it is the consequence of a good presentation of Jesus Christ. For the proclamation to be correct, eloquent preaching and good signs of faith are required. In the case of parents, preaching consists of educating their children in the faith and signs consist of giving them an example of Christian life and practice. But this alone is not enough for faith to be born.

In order for faith to be born, in addition to preaching and an eloquent, convincing and convincing testimony, this announcement must be accepted by the recipient, in our case by the children. The announcement is the responsibility of the Church, of the parents. Acceptance is free and is the responsibility of the recipient of the preaching, it is the responsibility of the children. In acceptance, the freedom of the listener comes into play. Freedom can be conditioned by many things, but ultimately the person who has to take the step of acceptance is the recipient himself, the one to whom the preaching is addressed. And in this case, believing parents no longer have any responsibility. Acceptance, although it requires a good announcement and a good testimony, is a matter between God and each one.

One more thing: we never know when our words and examples will bear fruit. They may not bear fruit as quickly as we would like. They may bear fruit at the most unexpected moment. The job of good parents is to educate their children in the faith. That is where their job ends. Perhaps, at first, they may be a little sad or disappointed because their children do not respond as they would like. We must continue to pray, because perhaps, one day they will be surprised to see their children integrate into the Church. And if they do not have this pleasant surprise, they should not blame themselves, but rather love their children as they are, because God loves them that way.

 

 

Ultimate hope

Christian hope has the same structure as human hope. Although, of course, the object of Christian hope is God himself. What we Christians ultimately hope for is not only to live longer and better, but to live with God and in God. That is why the Creed of the Christian faith ends with hope: we hope for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. This Christian hope is well founded. It is not a vain illusion. It is based on the power and mercy of God. If in Jesus Christ, God has shown us the power he has to raise the dead and the great love he has for each and every one of us, then it is logical to expect everything from him.

To love someone is to say to him/her: “I want to be with you always.” From this we understand that the love of God is the source of eternal life: God wants to be always with those he/she loves. On the other hand, those of us who believe that God is at the origin of all life have a good argument here to trust in the power of God, because if God can draw life from where there is, by the same power he can give us life back. To be born is to “appear.” Before being born I was not. At birth there was a leap from not being to being. Why can this leap not be repeated at the moment of my death? Why what can has already happened once not happen again?

This Christian hope in the resurrection of the dead, this hope in living with and in God forever, is not a reason to sit back, but rather a spur to want God's will to be fulfilled here and now, in our reality and in our world. And God's will is life and love for all. God wants not only a future for each of his sons and daughters, but also a present full of life. For this reason, hope in God is a reason to fight for a better world in which human beings find reasons to live and to hope. Without a good present, without this effort to build a world in which the dignity of all is respected, without this present, I say, Christian hope becomes a false consolation.

 

The Rosary, prayer for difficult times

October 7 is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Many things have been said about the Rosary. It has its great defenders. Some consider it a repetitive prayer and one proper for simple people. Leaving aside the fact that simple people deserve respect and that all prayer is pleasing to God, not based on its literary, poetic or theological quality, but based on the dispositions of the person praying and its capacity to help the one who recites it to raise his heart to God, I would like to make a consideration about the Rosary that may perhaps help some who are suspicious to value this prayer a little more.

It is easy to memorize and remember; it alludes to the different mysteries of Jesus' life. To pray it, no preparation is needed, nor any special place, book, material or instrument. Many of us learned it as children and, from this point of view, it connects with moments in our lives when the relationship with God was more natural and less complicated. All this leads me to the following: there are difficult, painful, complicated moments in life. These moments make believers wonder about the presence of God in their lives. I clarify that I do not believe that God is an easy resource in the face of difficulties and that, in my opinion, we must always seek Him, in good and bad times. I also clarify that difficulties are not resolved by folding our arms and waiting for magical divine interventions.

But I do say that the Rosary can be a simple prayer for difficult times. Times when it is almost impossible to have calm thoughts about God. And when it is better not to do so. At these times the Rosary can help, it can serve to feel accompanied by the mysterious presence of the risen Jesus. These are times when one does not know what to say, perhaps one does not know what to think either. The Rosary helps to keep the soul calm, the heart trusting, the mind occupied with God. It helps the lips and life to bless, to speak well. Without a doubt the difficulty is still there. But there are two ways of facing difficulties that seem insurmountable: with desperation or with confidence. A confidence that may not be very conscious, but no less real. The Rosary helps to live through difficulties with this confidence.