the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also” (Mt 5:39),
He lived these very words himself. Certainly, we cannot say of
Jesus that He preaches well but acts poorly in His message.
Returning to our times, these words of Jesus risk being
perceived as the words of a weak person, reactions of someone
no longer capable of responding but only of enduring. Indeed,
when we look at Jesus offering Himself completely on the wood
of the Cross, this may be the impression we get. Yet we know
perfectly well that the sacrifice on the cross is the fruit of
a life that begins with the phrase “but I say to you”. Because
everything Jesus told us, he ultimately took upon Himself
fully. And by taking it fully, He managed to pass from the
cross to victory. Jesus’ logic apparently communicates a
losing personality. But we know well that the message Jesus
left us, which He lived fully, is the medicine this world
desperately needs today.
Being prophets of forgiveness means embracing good as a
response to evil. It means having the determination that the
power of evil will not condition my way of seeing and
interpreting reality. Forgiveness is not the response of the
weak. Forgiveness is the most eloquent sign of that freedom
which can recognise the wounds evil leaves behind, but those
same wounds will never become a powder keg fuelling revenge
and hatred.
Responding to evil with evil only widens and deepens
humanity’s wounds. Peace and harmony do not grow on the soil
of hatred and revenge.
Being prophets of gratuity requires from us the ability to
look upon the poor and the needy, not with the logic of
profit, but with the logic of charity. The poor do not choose
to be poor, but those who are well-off have the possibility to
choose generosity, kindness, and compassion. How different the
world would be if our political leaders in this scenario of
growing conflicts and wars had the wisdom to look at those who
pay the price in these divisions – the poor, the marginalised,
