Gospel of March 8, 2023

Gospel of March 8, 2021: I like to see in this figure the Church which is in a certain sense a bit of a widow, because she awaits her Spouse who will return ... But she has her Spouse in the Eucharist, in the Word of God, in the poor , yes: but wait for me to come back, right? This attitude of the Church ... This widow was not important, the name of this widow did not appear in the newspapers. Nobody knew her. He had no degrees ... nothing. Anything. It did not shine with its own light. This is what he tells me he sees in this woman the figure of the Church. The great virtue of the Church must be not to shine with its own light, but to shine with the light that comes from her Spouse (Pope Francis, Santa Marta, 24 November 2014)

From the second book of Kings 2Ki 5,1-15a In those days Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was an authoritative figure among his lord and esteemed, because through him the Lord had granted salvation to the Aramèi. But this brave man was a leper.

Now Aramaean gangs had taken a girl away captive from the land of Israel, who had ended up in the service of Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress: "Oh, if my lord could present himself to the prophet who is in Samaria, he would certainly free him from leprosy." Naaman went to report to his master: "The girl from the land of Israel said so and so." The king of Aram said to him, "Go ahead, I myself will send a letter to the king of Israel."

So he left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand gold shekels and ten sets of clothes. He took the letter to the king of Israel, in which it said: "Well, together with this letter I have sent Naaman, my minister, to you, to free him from his leprosy." Having read the letter, the king of Israel tore his clothes and said: "Am I God to give death or life, so that he orders me to free a man from his leprosy?" You acknowledge and see that he evidently seeks pretexts against me ».

When Elisèo, man of God, knowing that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent word to the king: «Why did you tear your clothes? That man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel. " Naaman arrived with his horses and his chariot and stopped at the door of the house of Elisèo. Elisèo sent a messenger to him to say: "Go, bathe seven times in the Jordan: your body will return to you healthy and you will be purified."

Naaman was indignant and went away saying: "Behold, I thought:" Sure, he will come out and, standing upright, he will call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand towards the sick part and take away the leprosy. " Are not the Abanà and Parpar rivers of Damàsco better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn't I bathe in those to purify myself? ». He turned and went away in anger.
His servants approached him and said to him, 'My Father, if the prophet had commanded you a great thing, would you not have done it? All the more so now that he has said to you: “Bless you and you will be purified” ». He then went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God, and his body became again like the body of a boy; he was purified.

Gospel of March 8, 2021

He returned with all the following to the man of God; he entered and stood before him saying, "Look! Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel."

From the Gospel according to Luke Lk 4, 24-30 At that time, Jesus [began to say in the synagogue at Nazareth]: «Truly I tell you: no prophet is welcome in his country. Indeed, I tell you the truth: there were many widows in Israel at the time of Elijah, when heaven was closed for three years and six months and there was a great famine throughout the land; but Elias were not sent to any of them, except to a widow at Sarèpta di Sidone. There were many lepers in Israel at the time of the prophet Elisèo, but none of them was purified, except Naaman, the Syrian. Upon hearing these things, everyone in the synagogue was filled with indignation. They got up and drove him out of the city and led him to the brow of the mountain, on which their city was built, to throw him down. But he, passing through their midst, set out on his way.