Unveiling the Evil Spirits that Sabotage Lives - Confronting the Dark Forces Within

The Spirit of Fear is an insidious entity that inflicts paralyzing fear and anxiety upon individuals, hindering them from realizing their full potential and achieving their objectives. It thrives on insecurity and doubt, leaving people feeling powerless and entrapped.

The Spirit of Hatred embodies a negative energy that breeds deep-seated animosity and hostility towards others, resulting in conflict, aggression, and break-up. This force thrives on resentment, prejudice, and an unwillingness to forgive, spreading toxicity throughout relationships and communities.

The Spirit of Addiction is a wicked force that entraps people in harmful addictions to substances like drugs, alcohol, gambling, and other bad-habits. It takes advantage of people's vulnerabilities and exploits their weaknesses, leading them down a path of dependency and despair, causing great suffering and harm.

The Spirit of Deception is a malevolent force that distorts the truth and leads off individuals with lies, manipulation, and false promises. It thrives on spreading confusion, doubt, and distrust, which can undermine faith and integrity, leading to moral and spiritual decay.

The Spirit of Despair is an oppressive force that can overwhelm individuals, breaking-down their sense of hope, joy, purpose, and meaning in life. It feeds on feelings of worthlessness and failure, often leading to self-destructive behaviours or even thoughts of self-harm.

The Spirit of Pride is a dangerous entity that fuels arrogance, self-centeredness, and entitlement. It creates a veil of ignorance that clouds one's ability to recognize their own failures and shortcomings, resulting in a false sense of superiority and indifference towards others. This attitude often leads to conflicts and isolation.

Kien jgħallimhom bħal wieħed li għandu s-setgħa - Studju Bibbliku Mk 1:21-28 - Raba’ Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena

 

F’dak iż-żmien, Ġesù u d-dixxipli tiegħu daħlu Kafarnahum. Malajr, f’jum is-Sibt, daħal fis-sinagoga u qagħad jgħallem. In-nies baqgħu mistagħġbin bil-mod tat-tagħlim tiegħu, għax beda jgħallimhom bħal wieħed li għandu s-setgħa, u mhux bħall-kittieba.

Mela jkun hemm fis-sinagoga tagħhom raġel bi spirtu ħażin u qabad jgħajjat u jgħid: “Aħna x’għandna x’naqsmu, Ġesù ta’ Nazaret? Ġejt biex teqridna? Jien naf min int: il-Qaddis ta’ Alla!”.

Imma Ġesù kkmandah: “Iskot! Oħroġ minnu!”. Imbagħad l-ispirtu ħażin lir-raġel beda jħabbtu ħafna, għajjat għajta kbira u ħareġ minnu.

U lkoll stagħġbu, u bdew jistaqsu lil xulxin u jgħidu: “Dan x’inhu? X’tagħlim ġdid mogħti bis-setgħa! Sa lill-ispirti ħżiena jikkmanda, u huma joqogħdu għalih!”. U l-fama tiegħu malajr xterdet mal-inħawi kollha tal-Galilija.

Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

Ġesu’, mal-erba’ dixxipli ġodda, imur Kafarnahum.  Inzerta s-Sibt, allura marru s-sinagoga.  Din kienet viċin tad-dar tal-familja ta’ Pietru, fejn Ġesu’ u d-dixxipli tiegħu spiss kienu jgħaddu jistrieħu.  Din id-dar kienet speċi ta’ “headquarters” ta’ Ġesu’ u d-dixxipli matul it-tliet snin tal-ħajja pubblika Tiegħu.  Ġesu’ għażel Kafarnahum għax in-nies t’hemm kienu aktar disposti biex jilqgħu l-Aħbar it-Tajba. 

Fis-Sinagoga kienu jinqraw żewġ testi: wieħed mit-Torah u l-ieħor minn xi profeta. Min jaqra t-tieni waħda seta’ wkoll jagħmel il-kumment tiegħu.  Ġesu’ qara t-tieni silta u għamel l-ispjega. 

S’issa, kull min għamel hekk kien jirrepeti dak li kienu jgħallmu r-Rabbini.  Għall-ewwel darba n-nies semgħu spjega differenti u baqgħu mistagħġba għax Ġesu’ tkellem bħal wieħed li kellu awtorita’. 

Dak li kien jintqal qabel, ma kien jiskomoda lil ħadd għax kien iħalli kollox kif inhu.  Il-kelma ta’ Ġesu’ hi provokanti u stimulanti ħafna li ċċaqlaq l-“istatus quo” tal-affarijiet. 

Tista’ tisma’ l-Kelma t’Alla minn xi ħadd li mhux konvint mill-qawwa tagħha.  Din tħallik biered, u int tibqa’ fejn tkun.  Imma jekk tismagħha minn għand xi ħadd li għamel esperjenza qawwija tal-Kelma li qanqlitu u ċaqalqitu, allura hemm ċans li tqanqal, tinkwieta u ċċaqlaq lilek ukoll, tant li tikkonkludi kemm dil-kelma hi l-Verita’.  

Dan li nifhmu meta ngħidu li Ġesu’ tkellem b’awtorita’.  B’hekk wera li t-tagħlim tar-Rabbini m’għadux aktar aċċettabbli.  B’effett ta’ dan bdew jiġru ħwejjeġ tal-għaġeb.

   

“Mela jkun hemm fis-sinagoga raġel bi spirtu mniġġes.”  Għandu mnejn dan ma kienx l-ewwel fejqan li għamel Ġesu’, imma S. Mark iqiegħdu fil-bidu tal-ministeru ta’ Ġesu’ għax dan se jagħti tifsira tal-ħidma kollha Tiegħu.  

It-tkeċċija u r-rebħa fuq il-mewt u x-xitan, se jkunu l-bażi tas-saltna l-ġdida li Ġesu’ ġie jwaqqaf fuq din l-art.  Ir-raġel bi spirtu mniġġes kien ilu mill-bidu bilqiegħda f’postu kwiet. 

Il-kelma ta’ Ġesu’ qanqlet fih rejazzjoni mmedjata: qabad jgħajjat.

Fi żmien Ġesu’, in-nies kellhom ħjiel tal-kawża tal-mard komuni, e.g. uġiegħ ta’ żaqq, infezzjoni ta’ ferita, eċċ.  Imma ma kellhomx ħjiel tal-mard mentali.  Għalhekk kienu jwaħħlu fix-xitan.  Għalihom kien hemm ir-renju pur, dak t’Alla, u r-renju mniġġes – dak tal-mewt u spirti mpuri li kienu jaħsbu li jgħixu fid-dlamijiet ta’ qiegħ il-baħar.

(Ara r-rakkont ta’ meta x-xjaten talbu li jmorru fil-qżieqeż, u dawn qabżu l-baħar).  Ġesu’ jċanfar lix-xitan: “Iskot! Oħroġ minnu!.”  Imma Ġesu’ għajjat anki mad-deni tal-kunjata ta’ Pietru, għax hekk kienet il-mentalita’ dak iż-żmien. 

Mela, kull meta naqraw li xi ħadd kellu fih spirtu mniġġes, mhux bil-fors kien ippossedut minn xitan u kellu bżonn eżorċiżmu.  Dal-mard mentali kien meqjuż opra tax-xitan għax ineżża’ l-bniedem mill-umanita’ tiegħu, u jressqu għar-rovina billi jġiegħlu jaħqar u jweġġa’ lilu nnifsu. 

Ir-raġel tas-silta tal-lum kien maħkum minn idejat negattivi, imxaqilbin aktar lejn il-mewt milli lejn il-ħajja.  Allura malli Ġesu’ jitkellem fuq is-saltna Tiegħu ta’ mħabba li twassal għall-ħajja ta’ dejjem, il-forzi mxaqilbin lejn il-qerda u l-mewt joqomsu u jaqbdu jgħajtu: 

“Aħna x’għandna x’naqsmu, Ġesu’ ta’ Nazaret? Ġejt biex teqridna?”  Għax il-forzi (mhux forza waħda imma ħafna) jridu jkomplu jirrenjaw f’dan ir-raġel.  Dawn il-forzi fija huma l-passjonijiet u l-ġibdiet ħżiena li, jekk ma nrażżanhomx, isarrfu f’egoiżmu, inġustizzji u vjolenzi, u b’hekk ma nkunx qed inġib ruħi ta’ bniedem uman.

“Iskot u oħroġ minnu!”  B’din il-kelma Ġesu’ jħabbar il-missjoni Tiegħu, li hi, dik li jaqla’ minn qalb il-bniedem dawk il-forzi tal-ħażen li jgħassruh, biex b’hekk il-bniedem ikun ħieles biex jgħix ta’ uman kif suppost.

Il-fejqan tal-lum jista’ jitqies ukoll bħala parabbola u eżempju tal-fejqan li se jwettaq Ġesu’ fit-tliet snin ta’ ħidma Tiegħu.  Illum jien imħeġġeġ biex infittex x’inhuma dawn il-ġibdiet li qed ixekkluni. 

Is-suppervja tgħidli: “Hemm bżonn turi li int aħjar minn kulħadd  billi tiddominahom.”  Lil dax-xitan tas-suppervja,  bl-għajnuna ta’ Ġesu’ u flimkien miegħu jiħtieġli ngħidlu: 

(a) “Iskot!”, għax jekk ma nagħlaqlux ħalqu se jikkonvinċini li kulħadd qed jagħmel hekk, u jkompli jgħassarni.; 

(b) “Oħroġ minn hawn! Għax din mhux darek, mhux postok fi bniedem maħluq xbieha t’Alla, tempju tal-Ispirtu s-Santu, u li jrid jgħix l-umanita’ tiegħu fil-milja kollha tagħha.”  

Eżempju ieħor: “Jekk dak li weġġgħek ma tpattihilux, se tibqa’ ssofri.  Trid tpattihielu biex isserraħ qalbek.”  Jekk ma ssikkitx lil dax-xitan, se ssib ruħek tixtieqlu tant deni li forsi tiġi marda u tieħdu. B’hekk issir kompliċi ta’ omiċidju. 

Hemm xitan ieħor li jsefsiflek li Alla hu sever, jikkastiga u jpattiha.  Dal-kliem jinżel għasel fl-imħuħ ta’ xi wħud li trabbew b’dan l-għidut, u jirrabjaw meta xi ħadd jipprova jsikket dan ix-xitan.  Jiħtieġ li jien ma niddakkarx minn dawn it-talin, u nsikket lil dax-xitan fil-ħin. 

L-istess nistgħu ngħidu fuq l-għażż, rabja, eċċ.  Meta nisma’ l-Kelma t’Alla ċċanfarni fuq xi wieħed minn dawn il-forzi, u jien inħossni nirribella għax inkun irrid nipproteġi idejali bħal dawn, ikun ifisser li jien qiegħed taħt il-ħakma ta’ din il-forza.

“Dan x’inhu?  X’tagħlim ġdid mogħti bis-setgħa?”  Dawn il-forzi jistgħu jinsabu mhux biss fija imma f’diversi strutturi tas-soċjeta’. Ħafna minn dawn (e.g. faqar, tirannija, skjavitu’) tant huma vasti li jidher li m’hemmx soluzzjoni għalihom. 

In-nies tas-silta tal-lum aktar baqgħu mistagħġba għall-qawwa tal-kelma ta’ Ġesu’ milli għall-fejqan tar-raġel.  Din turi li m’hawn ebda forza fid-dinja li hi aktar qawwija mill-Kelma ta’ Ġesu’ ta’ Nazaret.  Sta għalina li nwasslu dil-kelma għax, kull fejn tasal, tkeċċi dawn ix-xjaten.

Indmu u emmnu fl-Evanġelju - Studju Bibbliku Mk 1:14-20 - Tielet Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena

 

Wara li arrestaw lil Ġwanni, Ġesù mar il-Galilija jxandar l-Evanġelju ta’ Alla u jgħid: “Iż-żmien huwa mitmum, u s-Saltna ta’ Alla waslet; indmu u emmnu fl-Evanġelju”.

Waqt li kien għaddej ma’ xatt il-baħar tal-Galilija, lemaħ lil Xmun u ’l ħuh Indrì qegħdin ikalaw ix-xbiek fil-baħar, għax kienu sajjieda. U Ġesù qalilhom: “Ejjew warajja, u nagħmel minnkom sajjieda tal-bnedmin”. U minnufih telqu x-xbiek, u marru warajh.

Wara li mexa ftit ieħor ra lil Ġakbu ta’ Żebedew u lil ħuh Ġwanni fid-dgħajsa qegħdin isewwu x-xbiek, u minnufih sejħilhom. U huma telqu lil missierhom Żebedew fid-dgħajsa mal-lavranti, u marru warajh.

Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

Is-silta tal-lum tibda bl-arrest ta’ Ġwanni.  Meta jqum xi ħadd li jhedded l-idejat fissi tad-dinja l-antika, din tarrestah u tieħdu għand xi awtorita’ biex twaqqfu b’kull mod. Hekk Ġwanni jtemm il-missjoni tiegħu u fix-xena jidħol Ġesu’. 

Telaq lejn il-Galilija u, minn kull fejn jgħaddi, “jxandar il-Bxara t-Tajba”, - jipproponi dinja ġdida ta’ mħabba tal-ħaruf mans. 

Kif għedna l-Ħadd li għadda, min iħaddan dil-proposta ikun qed jirriskja bil-kbir u, quddiem id-dinja, ikun għamel għażla ta’ tellief.

Il-Galilija kien meqjuż post impur, għax il-Lhud t’hemm ġew influwenzati minn ħafna pagani ta’ dawk l-inħawi.  Fl-Antik Testment tissemma’ ħames darbiet biss.  

Ġesu’ kien trabba u ħadem hawn, u ried joffri l-Aħbar tiegħu l-ewwel lill-Galilin, lill-bnedmin fil-ħajja tagħhom ta’ kuljum.  Din l-Aħbar m’hiex xi devozzjoni – titlob impenn li int tbiddel ħajtek u l-mod kif taħsibha fuq it-tbatija, l-inġustizzja, eċċ.  Ħafna jaħsbu li 

(a) “ħajja spiritwali” tfisser tgħix ‘il bogħod min-nies, f’xi kunvent, issum u titlob il-ħin kollu f’intimita’ mal-Mulej; u 

(b) “ħajja materjali” hi dik ta’ kuljum, tax-xogħol, tal-familja, maniġġar ta’ flus, eċċ.  Mhux hekk. 

Il-ħajja spiritwali hija l-ħajja ta’ kuljum li ngħixuha mhux skont fejn jiġbduna l-istinti, imma skont kif imexxina l-Ispirtu t'Alla ( il-forza li Ġesu’ ġie biex jintroduċi fid-dinja.)  Min iħalli l-qawwa tal-Ispirtu tmexxih, kull jum għalih ikun jum spiritwali.

   

“Iż-żmien huwa mitmum.” Dan mhux żmien immarkat bl-arloġġ – kronos imma kairos, il-mument deċiżiv, l-opportunita’ li ma tistax taffordja titlef, għax jekk titlifha tkun tlift iċ-ċans biex tibni ħajja awtentika.  

Iż-żmien laħaq il-milja tiegħu, jiġifieri, waslet is-siegħa fejn Ġesu’ ta’ Nażaret se jipproponi ħajja ġdida għall-dinja ġdida. Wara preparazzjoni twila, issa s-saltna t’Alla resqet tant viċin li tista’ tmissha b’idejk.  

Meta l-poplu Lhudi talbu biex imexxihom re u mhux profeta, kien żmien ikrah, ħlief għal xi ftit snin taħt ir-re David.  Ir-rejiet l-oħra abbużaw mill-poter u selħu l-poplu. Telqu l-preċetti t’Alla, żebilħu l-profeti u żvijaw il-poplu mit-triq it-tajba.  Għalhekk kibret l-istennija bil-ħerqa ta’ re differenti minn dawn.  Il-profeti kienu ħabbru l-miġja ta’ dan ir-renju fejn Alla stess se jieħu t-treġija tal-poplu f’idejh.  

Illum Ġesu’ jħabbar: “Tistennewx aktar. Is-saltna t’Alla waslet.” Is-Sadduċej kienu kuntenti bil-ħajja sinjura tagħhom, u ma riedu ebda saltna oħra.  

Il-Fariżej kienu jistennew is-Saltna t’Alla bħala osservanza stretta tat-tradizzjonijiet u tat-Torah. 

Il-fanatiċi riedu renju konkret, bidla fir-reġim.

In-nies tad-dinja xtaqu saltna aktar ġusta fejn il-fqar ikollhom identita’ fis-soċjeta.  

Bis-saltna t'Alla, Ġesu’ kellu f’moħħu dinja fejn il-bniedem ikun tassew bniedem, għax fid-dinja l-antika ma kienx qed iwettaq il-vera identita’ tiegħu.  Anki dawk li kienu jiksbu suċċess, kienu jaħsbu li biex tkun bniedem trid tiddomina fuq l-oħrajn.  Ġesu’ jgħid l-oppost: il-bniedem ta’ veru hu dak li jħobb u jservi. 

Is-Saltna t’Alla waslet fil-persuna ta’ Ġesu’, għax Hu kien il-bniedem 100% awtentiku, fejn il-bniedem jasal għall-milja tal-vokazzjoni tiegħu.

Din l-istqarrija ta’ Ġesu tasal f’dinja mimlija idejat antiki.  Mela l-ewwel ħaġa li hemm bżonn li ssir hi: “Indmu, ikkonvertu,”  li tfisser; ibdlu l-mod kif taħsbuha fuq il-ħajja. 

Ġona hedded lin-nies ta’ Ninwe li, jekk ma jikkonvertux, il-belt issir ħerba. Ġesu’ ma jheddidx, imma jistieden (lilna wkoll) biex nibdlu l-mentalita’ l-antika (p.e. li Alla jikkastiga u jpattiha lill-ħżiena.  Din kienet idea ta’ dawk li riedu li Alla jagħmel bħalhom, għax kienu jipproġettaw il-ħażen tagħhom fuq Alla.) 

Ġesu’ jgħinna niksbu l-konverżjoni (metanoia) billi jġib terrimot fir-raġunar tagħna, taqliba ta’ taħt fuq tal-iskala tal-valuri.

Ezempju: Jekk fl-ewwel post jien inpoġġi il-pjaċir u naqta’ kull xewqa li jkolli, nagħmel minn kollox biex inwettaq dan l-iskop. Nibdel il-mara, nigdeb, nisraq, inqarraq, eċċ isiru ħwejjeġ tajbin għalija.

Biex naċċetta s-Saltna t’Alla, irrid inpoġġi l-proxxmu u l-kuntentizza tiegħu l-ewwel, u lili l-aħħar. B’hekk nagħmel suċċess ta’ veru minn ħajti. 

“Emmnu fil-Bxara t-Tajba”. Din ma tfissirx li nemmen xi pakkett veritajiet. 

Meta ngħid nemmen ifisser li naċċetta din l-istedina ta’ Ġesu’, u nafda ħajti b’impenn għal din il-proposta ġdida Tiegħu.

Mal-ewwel Ġesu’ joffri din l-istedina lil żewġ aħwa.  La kienu saċerdoti u l-anqas skribi.  Ma kinux qegħdin jitolbu fis-sinagoga imma kienu fuq il-lant tax-xogħol tagħhom, is-sajd.  

Hekk se tidħol is-Saltna t’Alla. Kif ġa għidna, l-ispiritwalita’ hija l-ħajja ta’ kuljum li ngħixuha b’dinamika ġdida, kif irid Alla. 

Is-sejħa ta’ Abram bdiet bil-kliem: “Mur f’art li se nurik.” U ta’ Ġona: “Mur Ninwe.”  

Tal-appostli (u tagħna wkoll) tibda bil-kelma: “Ejjew”. Se tibqgħu sajjieda, imma mill-baħar imdardar tad-dlamijiet se tiġbdu n-nies ħa jaraw id-dawl. 

Il-baħar hu d-dinja tal-ħażen li joħnoq il-ħajja tal-bniedem uman.  

“U minnufih ħallew ix-xbiek.” Ġesu’ mgħaġġel. 

Min irid jimxi warajh m’għandux  żmien x’jitlef.  Ma jrid iħalli l-ebda xbiek iżommu lura.  Xbiek jista jfisser ġibda għall-flus, għażż, mod antik kif nitlob (e.g. bil-wegħdi, merti, eċċ).  

Ġesu’ qed jipproponi lil kull bniedem mod ġdid kif jaħseb, jitlob u jirraġuna. 

Biex naċċetta dan jiħtieġ nagħmel hekk fil-ħajja tiegħi ta’ kuljum b’loġika ġdida – dik ta’ Ġesu’.

Ġesu jkompli jimxi u joffri dil-proposta ma’ kull min jiltaqa’.  Wasal f’xatt il-baħar u sejjaħ lill-aħwa Ġwanni u Ġakbu. Ġesu’ jista’ jagħżel lili, b’isem ieħor u b’xogħol differenti, imma s-sejħa tibqa’ l-istess. 

Dawn l-aħwa ħallew lil missierhom. Il-missier kien il-kustodju tat-tradizzjonijiet, u kellu d-dover li jgħaddihom lil uliedu.

Meta ħallew lill-missier ifisser ukoll li nqatgħu mit-tradizzjonijiet antiki u idejat mgħawġa fuq Alla. 

Aħna wkoll illum jiħtieġ neżaminaw it-tradizzjonijiet reliġjużi tagħna, u naraw fejn qed nesaġeraw, fejn xellifnihom biex jogħġbu lil kotra, u kemm qed ibegħduna mill-Vanġelu. Fil-każ hemm bżonn nerġgħu nippurifikawhom jew naqtgħuhom.

“Ħallew il-lavranti.” Min jimxi wara Ġesu’ m’għandux sefturi, imma hu jsir lavrant għall-oħrajn. Ġwanni u Ġakbu fehmu l-proposta affaxxinanti ta’ Ġesu’ u telqu warajh.  Jiħtieġ li aħna wkoll nifhmu sew x’inhi dis-sejħa, u nkunu ċerti li qed nimxu wara Ġesu’ għal dan l-iskop, u għall-ebda skop ieħor.

Marru u raw fejn kien jgħammar il-Mulej - Studju Bibbliku Ġw 1:35-42 - it-Tieni Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena

 

F’dak iż-żmien, Ġwanni kien hemm ma’ tnejn mid-dixxipli tiegħu. Ħares lejn Ġesù li kien għaddej minn hemm, u qal: “Araw il-Ħaruf ta’ Alla”. Iż-żewġ dixxipli semgħuh jgħid dan, u marru wara Ġesù.

Ġesù dar u rahom mexjin warajh, u qalilhom: “Xi tridu?”. Iżda huma staqsewh: “Rabbi” – li tfisser, Mgħallem – “fejn toqgħod?”. Hu weġibhom: “Ejjew u taraw”. U marru miegħu u raw fejn kien joqgħod, u dakinhar baqgħu miegħu. Kien ħabta tal-erbgħa ta’ waranofsinhar.

Wieħed mit-tnejn li semgħu x’kien qal Ġwanni u marru wara Ġesù kien Indrì, ħu Xmun Pietru. L-ewwel ma għamel mar isib lil ħuh Xmun, u qallu: “Sibna l-Messija” – li tfisser Kristu. U ħadu għand Ġesù. Ġesù ħares lejh u qallu: “Inti Xmun, bin Ġwanni. Inti tissejjaħ Kefa” – jew Pietru.

Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

San Ġwann, f’kap 1, jirrakonta l-ġrajjiet li seħħew fl-ewwel ġimgħa tal-ministeru ta’ Ġesu’. Dil-ġimgħa tibda bil-magħmudija ta’ Ġesu u tispiċċa bit-tieġ ta’ Kana. Illum qed jgħidilna fuq it-tielet jum.  

Ġesu’ kien għaddej qrib ix-xmara, il-Battista lemħu u qal lil tnejn mid-dixxipli tiegħu:  “Hekk hu l-Ħaruf t’Alla,” għax mhux biss ħares lejh imma għaraf (emblempo = tara x’hemm ġewwa) tassew min kien, x’kienet l-identita’ profonda tiegħu. 

Ir-riżultat ta’ din is-sejba kien li l-Battista sar appostlu ta’ Ġesu’. Anki llum, kull min jiskopri lil Ġesu’, u jieħu ż-żmien tiegħu biex isir jafu intimament, isir appostlu tiegħu.  Bħal meta ġuvni jieħu grazzja ma’ tfajla u jistqarr il-famuża “love at first sight”.  Imma mbagħad iridu jieħdu ftit taż-żmien  biex isiru jafu ‘l xulxin sew.

Il-Battista, wieqaf, jara lil Ġesu’ għaddej, u jirrejalizza li l-missjoni tiegħu waslet fit-tmiem.  Lest biex jagħti l-‘hand over” lil Ġesu’. Permezz tad-demm tal-ħaruf, il-poplu Lhudi ħeles mill-jasar tal-Eġittu.

Permezz tad-demm tal-Ħaruf t’Alla, il-bnedmin kollha se jinħelsu mill-jasar tad-dnub.  Dan il-Ħaruf ġie mibgħut mill-Missier Etern f’dinja ta’ lpup.  Imma s-salib kien l-unika mod biex il-Missier juri l-imħabba kbira li għandu għall-bniedem, u biex jurih li, biex il-bniedem jgħix ħajja umana awtentika, irid jimxi fuq il-passi tal-Ħaruf, li jagħti ħajtu għas-servizz u l-imħabba tal-oħrajn. 

Dan ried ifisser il-Battista meta qal: “Dan hu li jneħħi d-dnub tad-dinja.” Dan hu d-dnub ta’ dawk li jgħixu ħajja ta’ lpup.  Il-Battista żgur li ftakar fis-siltiet minn Isaija: “Bħal ħaruf meħud għall-qatla”, biex iġib fit-tmiem ir-renju tal-ilpup, poter, u egoiżmu, u tibda s-saltna tal-imħabba u ta’ servizz għall-oħrajn, u b’hekk “il-lupu jibda jgħix mal-ħaruf.” (Isaija).

Żewġ dixxipli tal-Battista semgħuh jgħid x’qal dwar Ġesu’, u telqu warajh.  Biex wieħed jiddeċiedi li jgħix ta’ ħaruf f’dinja ta’ lpup kienet ħaġa ta’ riskju kbir.  

“Marru u raw fejn kien jgħammar, u dak in-nhar baqgħu miegħu.” Il-Battista, bħall-profeti ta’ qablu, ma felaħx aktar għall-imġieba qarrieqa u giddieba tal-poplu, l-aktar tal-mexxejja. Ma kienx jibża’ jgħid il-verita’, bħal fil-każ tal-mara ta’ Erodi.

Kien jittama għall-bidla fil-qlub tal-bnedmin.  Id-dixxipli tiegħu iddakkru minn dan l-ispirtu u entużjażmu. Issa li l-Battista indikalhom Mgħallem ġdid, marru miegħu. 

Jekk aħna rridu nindikaw lil Ġesu’ lill-oħrajn, jiħtieġ nisħqu fuq il-bżonn li hawn fid-dinja li jonqos u jinqered l-egoiżmu u l-materjaliżmu, u nitħabtu biex tikber l-imħabba tal-proxxmu.  Eżempju: żagħżugħ jifhem kemm il-bniedem jonqsu mħabba sinċiera u disinteressata, żgur li jagħmel għażliet għaqlin u umani.

“Xi tridu? X’qegħdin tfittxu?” Dawn huma l-ewwel kelmiet li lissen Ġesu’ fil-Vanġelu skont S. Ġwann. Tajjeb li aħna nsaqsu: “X’qed infittex jien meta nimxi wara Ġesu’? Is-suċċess? Li bit-talb ta’ spiss ikolli ħajja komda, mimlija privileġġi, u bla nkwiet?” 

Għax anki Erodi fittex lil Ġesu’ biex joqgħod jagħmel il-mirakli quddiemu.  Jien hekk ukoll?  Spiss nisimgħu lil xi ħadd jgħid: “Tlabt grazzja imma ma qlajthiex! Mela għalfejn qiegħed Alla u l-Knisja?” Jekk nimxu wara Ġesu’ għal dawn ir-raġunijiet se nibqgħu delużi. 

Meta Ġesu’ jistaqsi “Xi tridu?” irid ifisser “Fhimtu sew x’inhi l-missjoni tiegħi?  Taf għal x’hiex deħlin? Irridu nirbħu lil did-dinja tal-annimali salvaġġi mhux bil-vjolenza imma bil-manswetudni ta’ ħaruf.” 

Id-dixxipli tal-Battista jirrispondu b’domanda: “Fejn tgħammar, Rabbi?” Mhux qed isaqsuh l-indirizz għax, kif nafu, bin il-bniedem ma kellux saqaf fuq rasu.  Mela li riedu jgħidulu hu: “Aħna rridu noqogħdu miegħek, tmur fejn tmur.  Irridu nsiru nafuk sew, irridu ninagħqdu miegħek. Irridu ngħixu mal-Ħaruf u bħal Ħaruf.” 

“Ejjew u taraw,” tfisser: ejjew ħa taraw id-dawl li se jkeċċi d-dlamijiet li ħakmu l-art.” Noqogħdu attenti  biex aħna wkoll, wara li nieħdu risposta u nvit minn għand Ġesu’ għal xi domanda li nagħmlulu, nieħdu deċiżjoni biex nimxu warajh aktar mill-qrib, u mhux nibqgħu staġnati fejn konna qabel. 

Id-dixxipli “baqgħu miegħu il-jum kollu,” - ma reġgħux lura d-dar għall-ħajja l-antika.

“L-erbgħa ta’ wara nofs in-nhar.” Tfisser:

(a) it-tmiem tal-jum huwa fil-qrib, u se jqum jum ġdid li jagħti bidu għal dinja ġdida. Meta ngħidu li bniedem ra d-dawl infissru li twieled. Dawn id-dixxipli twieldu għal dan il-jum ġdid; 

(b) tant kienet esperjenza qawwija li baqgħu jiftakru l-ħin eżatt meta ġrat. Is-silta tal-lum tistedinna biex aħna nagħmlu esperjenza bħal din. In fatti, għalihom din tant kienet esperjenza qawwija li ma felħux iżommuha għalihom biss.  Riedu jaqsmuha m’oħrajn.

Marru jiġru lejn id-dar: “Sibna l-Messija, dak li se jagħti bidu għal umanita’ ġdida.” Aħna wkoll jiħtiġilna nipproponu dil-proposta għal dinja ġdida lill-oħrajn, l-aktar liż-żgħażagħ. 

Indri’ jieħu lil ħuh għand Ġesu’, li malli rah semmieh “Kefa”, blata, għax din se ttih l-identita’ tax-xogħol li se jiżvolġi fil-bini ta’ din id-dinja l-ġdida.  Is-skiet ta’ Pietru juri li aċċetta din is-sejħa bla tlaqlieq.

Id-dixxiplu l-ieħor hu bla isem.  Din insibuha xi sitt darbiet oħra (e.g. Emmaws). Dan għaliex l-Evanġelista jistieden lilek  u lili  biex inkunu  dak id-dixxiplu.

Eżatt qabel it-Tqarbin imqaddes, nerġgħu intennu: “Dan hu l-Ħaruf t’Alla li jaħfer id-dnub tad-dinja” għax permezz tat-Tqarbin aħna mhux biss nitqarrbu lejn Kristu iżda nitwaħħdu miegħu, għax mingħajru aħna ma nistgħu nagħmlu xejn.

Declaration Fiducia Supplicans On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings

 

Declaration

Fiducia Supplicans

On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings

DICASTERY FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH

Presentation

This Declaration considers several questions that have come to this Dicastery in recent years. In preparing the document, the Dicastery, as is its practice, consulted experts, undertook a careful drafting process, and discussed the text in the Congresso of the Doctrinal Section of the Dicastery. During that time, the document was discussed with the Holy Father. Finally, the text of the Declaration was submitted to the Holy Father for his review, and he approved it with his signature.

While the subject matter of this document was being studied, the Holy Father’s response to the Dubia of some Cardinals was made known. That response provided important clarifications for this reflection and represents a decisive element for the work of the Dicastery. Since “the Roman Curia is primarily an instrument at the service of the successor of Peter” (Ap. Const. Praedicate Evangelium, II, 1), our work must foster, along with an understanding of the Church’s perennial doctrine, the reception of the Holy Father’s teaching.

As with the Holy Father’s above-mentioned response to the Dubia of two Cardinals, this Declaration remains firm on the traditional doctrine of the Church about marriage, not allowing any type of liturgical rite or blessing similar to a liturgical rite that can create confusion. The value of this document, however, is that it offers a specific and innovative contribution to the pastoral meaning of blessings, permitting a broadening and enrichment of the classical understanding of blessings, which is closely linked to a liturgical perspective. Such theological reflection, based on the pastoral vision of Pope Francis, implies a real development from what has been said about blessings in the Magisterium and the official texts of the Church. This explains why this text has taken on the typology of a “Declaration.”

It is precisely in this context that one can understand the possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples without officially validating their status or changing in any way the Church’s perennial teaching on marriage.

This Declaration is also intended as a tribute to the faithful People of God, who worship the Lord with so many gestures of deep trust in his mercy and who, with this confidence, constantly come to seek a blessing from Mother Church.

Víctor Manuel Card. Fernández
Prefect

Introduction

1. The supplicating trust of the faithful People of God receives the gift of blessing that flows from the Heart of Christ through his Church. Pope Francis offers this timely reminder: “The great blessing of God is Jesus Christ. He is the great gift of God, his own Son. He is a blessing for all humanity, a blessing that has saved us all. He is the Eternal Word, with whom the Father blessed us ‘while we were still sinners’ (Rom. 5:8), as St. Paul says. He is the Word made flesh, offered for us on the cross.”[1]

2. Encouraged by such a great and consoling truth, this Dicastery has considered several questions of both a formal and an informal nature about the possibility of blessing same-sex couples and—in light of Pope Francis’ fatherly and pastoral approach—of offering new clarifications on the Responsum ad dubium[2] that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published on 22 February 2021.

3. The above-mentioned Responsum elicited numerous and varied reactions: some welcomed the clarity of the document and its consistency with the Church’s perennial teaching; others did not share the negative response it gave to the question or did not consider the formulation of its answer and the reasons provided in the attached Explanatory Note to be sufficiently clear. To meet the latter reaction with fraternal charity, it seems opportune to take up the theme again and offer a vision that draws together the doctrinal aspects with the pastoral ones in a coherent manner because “all religious teaching ultimately has to be reflected in the teacher’s way of life, which awakens the assent of the heart by its nearness, love, and witness.”[3]

I. The Blessing in the Sacrament of Marriage

4. Pope Francis’ recent response to the second of the five questions posed by two Cardinals[4] offers an opportunity to explore this issue further, especially in its pastoral implications. It is a matter of avoiding that “something that is not marriage is being recognized as marriage.”[5] Therefore, rites and prayers that could create confusion between what constitutes marriage—which is the “exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, naturally open to the generation of children”[6]—and what contradicts it are inadmissible. This conviction is grounded in the perennial Catholic doctrine of marriage; it is only in this context that sexual relations find their natural, proper, and fully human meaning. The Church’s doctrine on this point remains firm.

5. This is also the understanding of marriage that is offered by the Gospel. For this reason, when it comes to blessings, the Church has the right and the duty to avoid any rite that might contradict this conviction or lead to confusion. Such is also the meaning of the Responsum of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which states that the Church does not have the power to impart blessings on unions of persons of the same sex.

6. It should be emphasized that in the Rite of the Sacrament of Marriage, this concerns not just any blessing but a gesture reserved to the ordained minister. In this case, the blessing given by the ordained minister is tied directly to the specific union of a man and a woman, who establish an exclusive and indissoluble covenant by their consent. This fact allows us to highlight the risk of confusing a blessing given to any other union with the Rite that is proper to the Sacrament of Marriage.

II. The Meaning of the Various Blessings

7. The Holy Father’s above-mentioned response invites us to broaden and enrich the meaning of blessings.

8. Blessings are among the most widespread and evolving sacramentals. Indeed, they lead us to grasp God’s presence in all the events of life and remind us that, even in the use of created things, human beings are invited to seek God, to love him, and to serve him faithfully.[7] For this reason, blessings have as their recipients: people; objects of worship and devotion; sacred images; places of life, of work, and suffering; the fruits of the earth and human toil; and all created realities that refer back to the Creator, praising and blessing him by their beauty.

The Liturgical Meaning of the Rites of Blessing

9. From a strictly liturgical point of view, a blessing requires that what is blessed be conformed to God’s will, as expressed in the teachings of the Church.

10. Indeed, blessings are celebrated by virtue of faith and are ordered to the praise of God and the spiritual benefit of his people. As the Book of Blessings explains, “so that this intent might become more apparent, by an ancient tradition, the formulas of blessing are primarily aimed at giving glory to God for his gifts, asking for his favors, and restraining the power of evil in the world.”[8] Therefore, those who invoke God’s blessing through the Church are invited to “strengthen their dispositions through faith, for which all things are possible” and to trust in “the love that urges the observance of God’s commandments.”[9] This is why, while “there is always and everywhere an opportunity to praise God through Christ, in the Holy Spirit,” there is also a care to do so with “things, places, or circumstances that do not contradict the law or the spirit of the Gospel.”[10] This is a liturgical understanding of blessings insofar as they are rites officially proposed by the Church.

11. Basing itself on these considerations, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s Explanatory Note to its 2021 Responsum recalls that when a blessing is invoked on certain human relationships by a special liturgical rite, it is necessary that what is blessed corresponds with God’s designs written in creation and fully revealed by Christ the Lord. For this reason, since the Church has always considered only those sexual relations that are lived out within marriage to be morally licit, the Church does not have the power to confer its liturgical blessing when that would somehow offer a form of moral legitimacy to a union that presumes to be a marriage or to an extra-marital sexual practice. The Holy Father reiterated the substance of this Declaration in his Respuestas to the Dubia of two Cardinals.

12. One must also avoid the risk of reducing the meaning of blessings to this point of view alone, for it would lead us to expect the same moral conditions for a simple blessing that are called for in the reception of the sacraments. Such a risk requires that we broaden this perspective further. Indeed, there is the danger that a pastoral gesture that is so beloved and widespread will be subjected to too many moral prerequisites, which, under the claim of control, could overshadow the unconditional power of God’s love that forms the basis for the gesture of blessing.

13. Precisely in this regard, Pope Francis urged us not to “lose pastoral charity, which should permeate all our decisions and attitudes” and to avoid being “judges who only deny, reject, and exclude.”[11] Let us then respond to the Holy Father’s proposal by developing a broader understanding of blessings.

Blessings in Sacred Scripture

14. To reflect on blessings by gathering different points of view, we first need to be enlightened by the voice of Scripture.

15. “May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (Num. 6:24-26). This “priestly blessing” we find in the Old Testament, specifically in the Book of Numbers, has a “descending” character since it represents the invocation of a blessing that descends from God upon man: it is one of the oldest texts of divine blessing. Then, there is a second type of blessing we find in the biblical pages: that which “ascends” from earth to heaven, toward God. Blessing in this sense amounts to praising, celebrating, and thanking God for his mercy and his faithfulness, for the wonders he has created, and for all that has come about by his will: “Bless the Lord, my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!” (Ps. 103:1).

16. To God who blesses, we also respond by blessing. Melchizedek, King of Salem, blesses Abram (cf. Gen. 14:19); Rebekah is blessed by family members just before she becomes the bride of Isaac (cf. Gen. 24:60), who, in turn, blesses his son, Jacob (cf. Gen. 27:27). Jacob blesses Pharaoh (cf. Gen. 47:10), his own grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh (cf. Gen. 48:20), and his twelve sons (cf. Gen. 49:28). Moses and Aaron bless the community (cf. Ex. 39:43; Lev. 9:22). The heads of households bless their children at weddings, before embarking on a journey, and in the imminence of death. These blessings, accordingly, appear to be a superabundant and unconditional gift.

17. The blessing found in the New Testament retains essentially the same meaning it had in the Old Testament. We find the divine gift that “descends,” the human thanksgiving that “ascends,” and the blessing imparted by man that “extends” toward others. Zechariah, having regained the use of speech, blesses the Lord for his wondrous works (cf. Lk. 1:64). Simeon, while holding the newborn Jesus in his arms, blesses God for granting him the grace to contemplate the saving Messiah, and then blesses the child’s parents, Mary and Joseph (cf. Lk. 2:34). Jesus blesses the Father in the famous hymn of praise and exultation he addressed to him: “I praise you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth” (Mt. 11:25).

18. In continuity with the Old Testament, in Jesus as well the blessing is not only ascending, referring to the Father, but is also descending, being poured out on others as a gesture of grace, protection, and goodness. Jesus himself implemented and promoted this practice. For example, he blessed children: “And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them” (Mk. 10:16). And Jesus’ earthly journey will end precisely with a final blessing reserved for the Eleven, shortly before he ascends to the Father: “And lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven” (Lk. 24:50-51). The last image of Jesus on earth is that of his hands being raised in the act of blessing.

19. In his mystery of love, through Christ, God communicates to his Church the power to bless. Granted by God to human beings and bestowed by them on their neighbors, the blessing is transformed into inclusion, solidarity, and peacemaking. It is a positive message of comfort, care, and encouragement. The blessing expresses God’s merciful embrace and the Church’s motherhood, which invites the faithful to have the same feelings as God toward their brothers and sisters.

A Theological-Pastoral Understanding of Blessings

20. One who asks for a blessing show himself to be in need of God’s saving presence in his life and one who asks for a blessing from the Church recognizes the latter as a sacrament of the salvation that God offers. To seek a blessing in the Church is to acknowledge that the life of the Church springs from the womb of God’s mercy and helps us to move forward, to live better, and to respond to the Lord’s will.

21. In order to help us understand the value of a more pastoral approach to blessings, Pope Francis urges us to contemplate, with an attitude of faith and fatherly mercy, the fact that “when one asks for a blessing, one is expressing a petition for God’s assistance, a plea to live better, and confidence in a Father who can help us live better.”[12] This request should, in every way, be valued, accompanied, and received with gratitude. People who come spontaneously to ask for a blessing show by this request their sincere openness to transcendence, the confidence of their hearts that they do not trust in their own strength alone, their need for God, and their desire to break out of the narrow confines of this world, enclosed in its limitations.

22. As St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus teaches us, this confidence “is the sole path that leads us to the Love that grants everything. With confidence, the wellspring of grace overflows into our lives [...]. It is most fitting, then, that we should place heartfelt trust not in ourselves but in the infinite mercy of a God who loves us unconditionally [...]. The sin of the world is great but not infinite, whereas the merciful love of the Redeemer is indeed infinite.”[13]

23. When considered outside of a liturgical framework, these expressions of faith are found in a realm of greater spontaneity and freedom. Nevertheless, “the optional nature of pious exercises should in no way be taken to imply an under-estimation or even disrespect for such practices. The way forward in this area requires a correct and wise appreciation of the many riches of popular piety, [and] of the potentiality of these same riches.”[14] In this way, blessings become a pastoral resource to be valued rather than a risk or a problem.

24. From the point of view of pastoral care, blessings should be evaluated as acts of devotion that “are external to the celebration of the Holy Eucharist and of the other sacraments.” Indeed, the “language, rhythm, course, and theological emphasis” of popular piety differ “from those of the corresponding liturgical action.” For this reason, “pious practices must conserve their proper style, simplicity, and language, [and] attempts to impose forms of ‘liturgical celebration’ on them are always to be avoided.”[15]

25. The Church, moreover, must shy away from resting its pastoral praxis on the fixed nature of certain doctrinal or disciplinary schemes, especially when they lead to “a narcissistic and authoritarian elitism, whereby instead of evangelizing, one analyzes and classifies others, and instead of opening the door to grace, one exhausts his or her energies in inspecting and verifying.”[16] Thus, when people ask for a blessing, an exhaustive moral analysis should not be placed as a precondition for conferring it. For, those seeking a blessing should not be required to have prior moral perfection.

26. In this perspective, the Holy Father’s Respuestas aid in expanding the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s 2021 pronouncement from a pastoral point of view. For, the Respuestas invite discernment concerning the possibility of “forms of blessing, requested by one or more persons, that do not convey an erroneous conception of marriage”[17] and, in situations that are morally unacceptable from an objective point of view, account for the fact that “pastoral charity requires us not to treat simply as ‘sinners’ those whose guilt or responsibility may be attenuated by various factors affecting subjective imputability.”[18]

27. In the catechesis cited at the beginning of this Declaration, Pope Francis proposed a description of this kind of blessing that is offered to all without requiring anything. It is worth reading these words with an open heart, for they help us grasp the pastoral meaning of blessings offered without preconditions: “It is God who blesses. In the first pages of the Bible, there is a continual repetition of blessings. God blesses, but humans also give blessings, and soon it turns out that the blessing possesses a special power, which accompanies those who receive it throughout their lives, and disposes man’s heart to be changed by God. [...] So we are more important to God than all the sins we can commit because he is father, he is mother, he is pure love, he has blessed us forever. And he will never stop blessing us. It is a powerful experience to read these biblical texts of blessing in a prison or in a rehabilitation group. To make those people feel that they are still blessed, notwithstanding their serious mistakes, that their heavenly Father continues to will their good and to hope that they will ultimately open themselves to the good. Even if their closest relatives have abandoned them, because they now judge them to be irredeemable, God always sees them as his children.”[19]

28. There are several occasions when people spontaneously ask for a blessing, whether on pilgrimages, at shrines, or even on the street when they meet a priest. By way of example, we can refer to the Book of Blessings, which provides several rites for blessing people, including the elderly, the sick, participants in a catechetical or prayer meeting, pilgrims, those embarking on a journey, volunteer groups and associations, and more. Such blessings are meant for everyone; no one is to be excluded from them. In the introduction to the Order for the Blessing of Elderly People, for example, it is stated that the purpose of this blessing is “so that the elderly themselves may receive from their brethren a testimony of respect and gratitude, while together with them, we give thanks to the Lord for the favors they received from him and for the good they did with his help.”[20] In this case, the subject of the blessing is the elderly person, for whom and with whom thanks is being given to God for the good he has done and for the benefits received. No one can be prevented from this act of giving thanks, and each person—even if he or she lives in situations that are not ordered to the Creator’s plan—possesses positive elements for which we can praise the Lord.

29. From the perspective of the ascending dimension, when one becomes aware of the Lord’s gifts and his unconditional love, even in sinful situations—particularly when a prayer finds a hearing—the believer’s heart lifts its praise to God and blesses him. No one is precluded from this type of blessing. Everyone, individually or together with others, can lift their praise and gratitude to God.

30. The popular understanding of blessings, however, also values the importance of descending blessings. While “it is not appropriate for a Diocese, a Bishops’ Conference, or any other ecclesial structure to constantly and officially establish procedures or rituals for all kinds of matters,”[21] pastoral prudence and wisdom—avoiding all serious forms of scandal and confusion among the faithful—may suggest that the ordained minister join in the prayer of those persons who, although in a union that cannot be compared in any way to a marriage, desire to entrust themselves to the Lord and his mercy, to invoke his help, and to be guided to a greater understanding of his plan of love and of truth.

III. Blessings of Couples in Irregular Situations and of Couples of the Same Sex

31. Within the horizon outlined here appears the possibility of blessings for couples in irregular situations and for couples of the same sex, the form of which should not be fixed ritually by ecclesial authorities to avoid producing confusion with the blessing proper to the Sacrament of Marriage. In such cases, a blessing may be imparted that not only has an ascending value but also involves the invocation of a  blessing that descends from God upon those who—recognizing themselves to be destitute and in need of his help—do not claim a legitimation of their own status, but who beg that all that is true, good, and humanly valid in their lives and their relationships be enriched, healed, and elevated by the presence of the Holy Spirit. These forms of blessing express a supplication that God may grant those aids that come from the impulses of his Spirit—what classical theology calls “actual grace”—so that human relationships may mature and grow in fidelity to the Gospel, that they may be freed from their imperfections and frailties, and that they may express themselves in the ever-increasing dimension of the divine love.

32. Indeed, the grace of God works in the lives of those who do not claim to be righteous but who acknowledge themselves humbly as sinners, like everyone else. This grace can orient everything according to the mysterious and unpredictable designs of God. Therefore, with its untiring wisdom and motherly care, the Church welcomes all who approach God with humble hearts, accompanying them with those spiritual aids that enable everyone to understand and realize God’s will fully in their existence.[22]

33. This is a blessing that, although not included in any liturgical rite,[23] unites intercessory prayer with the invocation of God’s help by those who humbly turn to him. God never turns away anyone who approaches him! Ultimately, a blessing offers people a means to increase their trust in God. The request for a blessing, thus, expresses and nurtures openness to the transcendence, mercy, and closeness to God in a thousand concrete circumstances of life, which is no small thing in the world in which we live. It is a seed of the Holy Spirit that must be nurtured, not hindered.

34. The Church’s liturgy itself invites us to adopt this trusting attitude, even in the midst of our sins, lack of merits, weaknesses, and confusions, as witnessed by this beautiful Collect from the Roman Missal: “Almighty ever-living God, who in the abundance of your kindness surpass the merits and the desires of those who entreat you, pour out your mercy upon us to pardon what conscience dreads and to give what prayer does not dare to ask” (Collect for the Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time). How often, through a pastor’s simple blessing, which does not claim to sanction or legitimize anything, can people experience the nearness of the Father, beyond all “merits” and “desires”?

35. Therefore, the pastoral sensibility of ordained ministers should also be formed to perform blessings spontaneously that are not found in the Book of Blessings.

36. In this sense, it is essential to grasp the Holy Father’s concern that these non-ritualized blessings never cease being simple gestures that provide an effective means of increasing trust in God on the part of the people who ask for them, careful that they should not become a liturgical or semi-liturgical act, similar to a sacrament. Indeed, such a ritualization would constitute a serious impoverishment because it would subject a gesture of great value in popular piety to excessive control, depriving ministers of freedom and spontaneity in their pastoral accompaniment of people’s lives.

37. In this regard, there come to mind the following words of the Holy Father, already quoted in part: “Decisions that may be part of pastoral prudence in certain circumstances should not necessarily become a norm. That is to say, it is not appropriate for a Diocese, a Bishops’ Conference, or any other ecclesial structure to constantly and officially establish procedures or rituals for all kinds of matters […]. Canon Law should not and cannot cover everything, nor should the Episcopal Conferences claim to do so with their various documents and protocols, since the life of the Church flows through many channels besides the normative ones.”[24] Thus Pope Francis recalled that “what is part of a practical discernment in particular circumstances cannot be elevated to the level of a rule” because this “would lead to an intolerable casuistry.”[25]

38. For this reason, one should neither provide for nor promote a ritual for the blessings of couples in an irregular situation. At the same time, one should not prevent or prohibit the Church’s closeness to people in every situation in which they might seek God’s help through a simple blessing. In a brief prayer preceding this spontaneous blessing, the ordained minister could ask that the individuals have peace, health, a spirit of patience, dialogue, and mutual assistance—but also God’s light and strength to be able to fulfill his will completely.

39. In any case, precisely to avoid any form of confusion or scandal, when the prayer of blessing is requested by a couple in an irregular situation, even though it is expressed outside the rites prescribed by the liturgical books, this blessing should never be imparted in concurrence with the ceremonies of a civil union, and not even in connection with them. Nor can it be performed with any clothing, gestures, or words that are proper to a wedding.The same applies when the blessing is requested by a same-sex couple.

40. Such a blessing may instead find its place in other contexts, such as a visit to a shrine, a meeting with a priest, a prayer recited in a group, or during a pilgrimage. Indeed, through these blessings that are given not through the ritual forms proper to the liturgy but as an expression of the Church’s maternal heart—similar to those that emanate from the core of popular piety—there is no intention to legitimize anything, but rather to open one’s life to God, to ask for his help to live better, and also to invoke the Holy Spirit so that the values of the Gospel may be lived with greater faithfulness.

41. What has been said in this Declaration regarding the blessings of same-sex couples is sufficient to guide the prudent and fatherly discernment of ordained ministers in this regard. Thus, beyond the guidance provided above, no further responses should be expected about possible ways to regulate details or practicalities regarding blessings of this type.[26]

IV. The Church is the Sacrament of God’s Infinite Love

42. The Church continues to lift up those prayers and supplications that Christ himself—with loud cries and tears—offered in his earthly life (cf. Heb. 5:7), and which enjoy a special efficacy for this reason. In this way, “not only by charity, example, and works of penance, but also by prayer does the ecclesial community exercise a true maternal function in bringing souls to Christ.”[27]

43. The Church is thus the sacrament of God’s infinite love. Therefore, even when a person’s relationship with God is clouded by sin, he can always ask for a blessing, stretching out his hand to God, as Peter did in the storm when he cried out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!” (Mt. 14:30). Indeed, desiring and receiving a blessing can be the possible good in some situations. Pope Francis reminds us that “a small step, in the midst of great human limitations, can be more pleasing to God than a life which appears outwardly in order but moves through the day without confronting great difficulties.”[28] In this way, “what shines forth is the beauty of the saving love of God made manifest in Jesus Christ, who died and rose from the dead.”[29]

44. Any blessing will be an opportunity for a renewed proclamation of the kerygma, an invitation to draw ever closer to the love of Christ. As Pope Benedict XVI taught, “Like Mary, the Church is the mediator of God’s blessing for the world: she receives it in receiving Jesus and she transmits it in bearing Jesus. He is the mercy and the peace that the world, of itself, cannot give, and which it needs always, at least as much as bread.”[30]

45. Taking the above points into account and following the authoritative teaching of Pope Francis, this Dicastery finally wishes to recall that “the root of Christian meekness” is “the ability to feel blessed and the ability to bless [...]. This world needs blessings, and we can give blessings and receive blessings. The Father loves us, and the only thing that remains for us is the joy of blessing him, and the joy of thanking him, and of learning from him […] to bless.”[31] In this way, every brother and every sister will be able to feel that, in the Church, they are always pilgrims, always beggars, always loved, and, despite everything, always blessed.

Víctor Manuel Card. Fernández
Prefect

Mons. Armando MATTEO
Secretary for the Doctrinal Section

Ex Audientia Die   18 December 2023
Francis