we never say "through the Holy Spirit," but rather "through Jesus Christ”.

Fourth Week of Lent Monday Year I


Night Office. Even after Thursday something remains with me from the Monday words, “the conclusion of our prayer we never say "through the Holy Spirit," but rather "through Jesus Christ”. So I read again from Fulgentius "called the best (Western) theologian of his time".

First Reading:
From the letter to the Hebrews (7:11-28)
Second Reading
From a letter by Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe (Ep. 14, 36-37: CCL 91, 429-431)

This extract from a letter written early in the sixth century by a writer who has been called the best (Western) theologian of his time, teaches that it is through Christ that we make our prayer and offer our sacrifice because it is his sacrificial death that has made our offering acceptable to God the Father. The way we conclude our prayers shows the equality of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Notice that at the conclusion of our prayer we never say "through the Holy Spirit," but rather "through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord." Through the mystery of the incarnation Jesus Christ became man, the mediator between God and men. He is a priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedek. By shedding his own blood he entered once and for all into the Holy Place. He did not enter a place made by human hands, a mere type of the true one; he entered heaven itself, where he is at God's right hand interceding for us. Quite correctly, the Church continues to reflect this mystery in her prayer.

It was in regard to Christ's high-priestly office that the apostle Paul said: Through him, then, let us always offer the sacrifice of praise to God, the fruit of lips that profess belief in his name. We were once enemies of the Father, but have been reconciled through the death of Christ Through him then we offer our sacrifice of praise, our prayer to God. He became our offering to the Father, and through him our offering is now acceptable. It is for this reason that the apostle Peter urges us to be built up as living stones into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices pleasing to God through Jesus Christ; and that is why we offer prayer to God our Father through Jesus Christ our Lord.

When we speak of Christ's priesthood, what else do we mean but the incarnation, by means of which the Son of God, though his state was divine, emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave? As a slave, he humbled himself and in obedience even accepted death. Though he possessed equality with the Father, he became a little less than the angels. Always equal to the Father, the Son became a little less because he became a man. Christ lowered himself when he emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave. It was precisely this self-emptying, this acceptance of a servile condition, that made him a little less than the angels.

By this condition Christ, the only Son of God, became a priest, though he continued to be God by nature. To him with the Father we offer our sacrifice. Yet it is through him as our priest that the sacrifice we now offer is holy, living, and pleasing to God. Indeed. if Christ had not sacrificed himself for us, we could not offer any sacrifice, for it is in him that our human nature becomes a redemptive offering. When we offer our prayers through him, the eternal priest, we profess our faith that he is truly our flesh and blood. Clearly the A postle refers to this when he says: Every high priest is taken from among men. He is appointed to act on their behalf in their relationship to God; he is to offer gifts and sacrifices to God.

We do not, however, only say "your Son" when we conclude our prayer. We also say "who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit" In this way we commemorate the natural unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is clear, then, that the Christ who exercises a priestly role on our behalf is the same Christ who enjoys a natural unity and equality with the Father and the Holy Spirit

Augustine Ps 140 Week 4 Lent Hebrews 8

Night Office - the words of St. Augustine added jam commentary to the bread and butter of the steady Psalms recital. 

Second Reading: From a commentary on the psalms by Saint Augustine (In ps. 140,4-6: CCL40, 2028-2029)

This work,. finished around 416, contains homilies of an allegorical tendency. Augustine interprets Psalm 140 in terms of Christ's passion. Since Jesus and the Church form the whole Christ, head and members undergo the passion together. Through baptism the members have been crucified with Christ and have risen with him to a new life.

• I have called to you, Lord; make haste to help me! We are all in a position to make these words our own. Yet if I pronounce them, they will not be uttered by myself alone, but by the whole Christ. They are spoken in the name of his body; for while he was on earth, he prayed as one who shared our human nature, he besought the Father in the name of all his members, and during his prayer drops of blood were forced from every pore of his body. That is what Scripture tells us: Jesus prayed with such earnestness that his sweat became like drops of blood. This bleeding of his entire body surely signifies that the whole Church will bleed with the suffering of martyrs.
• I have called to you, Lord; make haste to help me! Hear my voice when I cry out to you.
• Did you imagine that crying was over when you said: I have called to you? You may have cried out, but do not suppose you are now safe from care. When anguish is at an end. then there will be no more crying. But if Christ's body, the Church. is liable to suffering until the end of time, then must we not only say: I have called to you; make haste to help me, but add with the psalmist: Hear my voice when I cry to you.
• Let my prayer rise up before you like incense; let the raising of my hands be like an evening sacrifice. Every Christian is aware that this passage is usually understood of Christ our head. As evening drew near, the Lord yielded up his soul upon the cross in the certainty of receiving it back again; it was not wrested from him against his will But we too were represented there. Christ had nothing to hang upon the cross except the body he had received from us. And it was surely not possible for God the Father to abandon his only Son, who shared with him the one godhead. Nevertheless, when Christ nailed our human weakness to the cross - that cross to which, as the Apostle says, our unregenerate nature has been fastened along with him - it was with the voice of our humanity that he exclaimed: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
• That, then, is the evening sacrifice: the Lord's own passion, his cross, the offering on it of the saving victim, of that holocaust which is acceptable to God. And by his rising, Christ turned that evening sacrifice into a morning oblation.
• Similarly, the pure prayer which ascends from a faithful heart will be like incense rising from a hallowed altar. No fragrance can be more pleasing to God than that of his own Son. May all the faithful breathe out the same perfume.
• Our unregenerate nature - it is the Apostle who speaks once more - has been fastened to the cross along with him, in order that our sin-stained humanity may be renewed and cleansed, and we ourselves may no longer be slaves to sin.

Responsory                                          Galatians 2: 19-20

With Christ I have been nailed to the cross, - and I live now no longer my own life, but the life of Christ who lives in me.

I live by faith in the Son of God

who loved me and gave up his life for me. - And I live ...

Br. Aidan Hunt Cistercian Monk died 30 March 2011

NUNRAW ABBEY Press Announcement

HUNT

Brother Aidan, Bernard Neil, OCSO died at Nunraw Abbey on Wednesday 30th March 2011, in his 77th year, and the 48th year of Monastic Profession, Sub-Prior 15 years. Farm Manger 32 years, at work to last day.

He is survived by his Sister, Enis, and brother, Lawrence and extended family.

Funeral on Thursday 14^th April at 1.00 p.m.

Sancta Maria Abbey

Nunraw, Haddington, East Lothian,
Scotland EH41 4LW

Tel. 01620830223

Unusualy prolonged Wake or Vigil of Br. Aidan occasioned by the vist of the Abbot, Mark Caira, at the Priory of Our Lady of the Angels, Nsugbe, Nigeria.

 Brother Aidan RIP

(Obituary Note)  

‘Never know the hour!’ is the true word but this was as sudden as any in the case of Br. Aidan. He died on Wednesday 30^th March 2011. He was preparing  to come to the community Mass at 4 am.. The monks had just finished saying Vigils and were suddenly alarmed by the Infirmarian, Br. Philip calling for help with Br. Aidan who had been found on the floor of the small wash room apparently already dead. All efforts of ourselves and the Medics who came within 15 minutes failed to bring him around. He died peacefully. No one was actually with      him when he died and therefore there  had to be a post mortem.  

On the day before’ Br. Aidan was at work on the farm as usual and 
he aimed to be out at work again at 7 am that very morning.  He is 77 and in principle is retired,  but there were some loose ends to be attended to 
because of some final livestock and machinery sales.  

 Br. Aidan, Bernard Nial Hunt, has been a remarkable monk, ‘a stalwart character in your community’ (Cardinal). He joined the Cistercian Abbey in 1960. He was attracted to the simpler style of the monastic life of manual labour, rather than the clerical, choir form. The community Chronicle gives an insight into the 1960’s social situation. Vatican II Council caused a sea change in the way of the old two tier  of monks and lay-brothers. Quoting from the Chronicle, “Br. Aidan entered with others in Sept/Oct 1960 . . . Is it true to say that it was the lay-brothers who benefitted most for changes? At present we have no lay-brothers which saddens Aidan who in the past, maintained that putting everyone into black and white and into choir – if they wished – destroyed the “lay-brothers” ideal and contribution to the Cistercian life.
In fact, Br. Aidan has been the acting Sub-Prior, (3^rd Superior), for the last 15 years, as well as Manager of the Farm.  

He has had a very full life.After his Gateshead School, he enlisted at Aldershot in 1953, served time in Hong Kong, and the Army Emergency Reserves until 1958. We have the Parish Priest of St. John’s, Gateshead recommends Bernard to a post in the Weights and Measures Department.  

Then there was a turn in the divine rudder.- Bernard Neil set his course towards Nunraw. He took a wise step. He first went to work in forestry. – with the ideal that he would be hardened up for the monastic life. He did not really need all that toughening – since his work-– considering his exercise on the Cricket, and Rugby fields.  

He had much and varied experience. None  of us is so practiced in just about every manual skill and art. - forestry, dairy, cobbling, building construction (new abbey). Up to the last days he could always oblige any cobbling for our boots, and shoes and sandles.

Eventually he was assigned to the farm under the great mentor Br. Carthage, the Farm Manager. When Br. Carthage died in 1979, his mantle was passed over to Br. Aidan, as he continued manager for 32 years. It is no mere coincidence that inscribed on his photo      are the words: “Br. Aidan, Farm Manager, Nunraw. At work till the very last day, Wednesday 30 March 2011”.

From Nunraw

Solidarity with Japan in prayer

Message from Mary.

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: mary
Sent: Fri, 1 April, 2011 8:17:02
Subject: Fw: the article for the interfaith prayers for solidarity with Japan

Dear Family,

A few of our Sisters went along to join  in the prayers for Japan and Sister Shoko, our Japanese Directress of Novices and Superior  wrote this atricle in English.  Quite an accomplishment, I think. 

Blessings. 

Love and prayers,

Mary fmm 

Sent: Thu, 31 March, 2011 13:41:42
Subject: the article for the interfaith prayers for solidarity with Japan

Sharing of the interfaith prayers for solidarity with Japan On March 28th evening, different kinds of prayers were offered in front of the Japanese embassy at Metro Manila .About 70 people of different nationalities and religions were invited by the JPIC team of Catholic Religious in the Philippines to show their solidarity for Japan which was terribly damaged by the big earthquake and Tsunami on March 11th. The prayer of this assembly was very simple and short but touched our hearts. About 10 groups offered prayers in turn, according to their way. Between prayers, the sound of a small Chinese gong was echoed as if it tied all our hearts together. Although we could not understand all of these prayers – the language and its meaning, however, we had a strong sense of unity and felt a deep solidarity with those who are suffering from this disaster. As one of the Japanese present, I was very grateful to these good and loving people, and united with one heart, I offered my prayer in silence. After sharing prayers, with the accompaniment of beautiful music, we, one by one, put small candles around the picture which was prepared on the ground by one religion before the assembly . At the end, a representative from the Japanese embassy came to us and spoke of their gratitude to us in a very humble manner. I hope he truly received the power of solidarity and deep peace from us.    Through this disaster, our Japanese spirit with its calmness ,dignity, consideration for others and team- work etc. was much appreciated. However, I must add that most Japanese people have not encountered the One , the Creator, to whom they could have cried out their despair, sorrow and anger. So often we are accustomed to repress our feelings. Therefore we really need the big support of prayers although they don’t understand its importance. For the Japanese people, this earth quake was surely the worst happening since the World War II. Whole country was shaken terribly and the people were terrified even including those who are living outside of Japan ! Perhaps many people in the world are experiencing of this fear. I remember the head line of one newspaper: Is this a warning or the beginning of the Last Day?? My present response is: we just humbly and unceasingly pray and it is the time for solidarity as brothers and sisters beyond nations and religions. This prayer assembly showed me the orientation of what I should do. Lord of life, as we remember the situations in different parts of the world. We offer to your care, Japan and all those who suffered from the recent tragedy there. We pray that they recover quickly and find better solutions for the worsening conditions of their nuclear plant.                                                             Prayer from catholic paticipant                                                                    Shoko fmm

Br. Aidan Hunt Cistercian Monk died 30 March 2011

Please pray for

Brother
Aidan HUNT OCSO
of this community who died

on Wednesday 30th March 2011
in his 77th year and
the 48th year of Monastic Profession.

Date of Birth                           13/12/1934

Entered Nunraw                    11/11/1960

Novice                                    16/04/1961

Temporary Profession            21/04/1963

Solemn Profession         `      21/04/1966

+

I am the resurrection and the life
he who believes in me,
though he die,
yet shall he live.

Sancta Maria Abbey

Nunraw

OCSO Necrology

Necrology

Never swerving from God's instructions, but faithfully observing his teaching in the monastery until death, we shall through patience share in the sufferings of Christ that we may deserve also to share in his kingdom....and may he bring us all together to everlasting life.   Rule of St Benedict, Prologue and ch.72

Nunraw

Wednesday, 30 March 2011 17:54

March 30, 2011 : Brother Aidan Hunt. Born in 1934 in Isleworth (England), he entered Nunraw in 1960 and made his solemn profession in 1966. Brother was 76 years old and had been in monastic vows for 47 years when the Lord called him.

Of Gods and Men Atlas Monks

 COMMENT

---- Forwarded Message ----
From: Sr. N....
Sent: Mon, 28 March, 2011 20:38:07
Subject: Re: Pope's Book

I like Donald's blog on discipleship, quoting from Benedict XV1's book "Jesus of Nazareth". 

Yours . . .
N....

At last some of us were able to view the award winning film of the Atlas Monks of the Cistercian Community of Our Lady of the Atlas, Algeria.

It was full house at the final showing at the Edinburgh Festival Film House.

After the fateful decision not to leave for France, Fr. Christian has the look of the anguish of responsibility as he walks out through the woods. As he comes to the lake, he reflects a sense of peace. Previously Christian had written, anticipating death, with love of his Muslim brothers and thanking God for all His children.

• Later Br. Luc seemed to have acted ‘mine host for a celebration of the community decision of remaining in Algeria. He put on a tape to play the music of Swan Lake of Tchaikovsky. He served wine with a touch of elegance. It was a moving prolonged moment in the film, a moment of communion of brothers.. The facial expressions ranged the reactions of men pending assassination. 
• The story gave a powerful account of the life of Cistercian monks and the insightful friendship with the village community.
• “Why did they not leave?” was the question. One of the viewers could not understand, as also the Algerian Officials. In fact the villagers asked the monks them to stay to be their best protection from the terrorists.
• This film is a unique picture of the life of the monks and of the poor Muslim villagers in the situation of constant threat and intense risk of life.
• The film only touches on the controversial political background. The conclusion fades away in the snow suggesting a death march. 
• One evening Vespers was dinned by a hovering helicopter with a large gun trained on the Church. It was a frightening experience shattering the quiet of the cloister. The monks moved out of their seats to the centre of the choir. They united their voices to sing a Hymn on light out of the darkness. They embraced together in courage. It was another moment of special communion. 
• Artistically the armed helicopter was visually overpowering. It anticipated the reality in the actual killing of the monks in later weeks.  Information is piecing together on how the kidnapped monks were gunned down by an helicopter action in the hills.  
  
  



Atlas

•  The possible sequel of this film will be a very different story. Unavoidably, the fate of the monks and the accurate account of their deaths will be a very painful, gruelling, and historically accurate. 

+ + + +

Testament of Christian de Chergé

Prior to the capture of the monks, Dom Christian, the superior, wrote a testament to be opened and read if he died by violence. The text was opened on the feast of Pentecost, 26 May, shortly after the monks were killed.

Fr. Christian

If it should happen one day - and it could be today - that I become a victim of the terrorism which now seems ready to engulf all the foreigners living in Algeria, I would like my community, my Church and my family to remember that my life was GIVEN to God and to this country...

Testament of Dom Christian de Chergé

(opened on Pentecost Sunday, May 26, 1996)

Facing a GOODBYE....

If it should happen one day - and it could be today -
that I become a victim of the terrorism which now seems ready to engulf
all the foreigners living in Algeria,
I would like my community, my Church and my family
to remember that my life was GIVEN to God and to this country.
I ask them to accept the fact that the One Master of all life
was not a stranger to this brutal departure.
I would ask them to pray for me:
for how could I be found worthy of such an offering?
I ask them to associate this death with so many other equally violent ones
which are forgotten through indifference or anonymity.
My life has no more value than any other.
Nor any less value.
In any case, it has not the innocence of childhood.
I have lived long enough to know that I am an accomplice in the evil
which seems to prevail so terribly in the world,
even in the evil which might blindly strike me down.
I should like, when the time comes, to have a moment of spiritual clarity
which would allow me to beg forgiveness of God
and of my fellow human beings,
and at the same time forgive with all my heart the one who would strike me down.
I could not desire such a death.
It seems to me important to state this.
I do not see, in fact, how I could rejoice
if the people I love were indiscriminately accused of my murder.
It would be too high a price to pay
for what will perhaps be called, the "grace of martyrdom"
to owe it to an Algerian, whoever he might be,
especially if he says he is acting in fidelity to what he believes to be Islam.
I am aware of the scorn which can be heaped on the Algerians indiscriminately.
I am also aware of the caricatures of Islam which a certain Islamism fosters.
It is too easy to soothe one's conscience
by identifying this religious way with the fundamentalist ideology of its extremists.
For me, Algeria and Islam are something different: it is a body and a soul.
I have proclaimed this often enough, I think, in the light of what I have received from it.
I so often find there that true strand of the Gospel
which I learned at my mother's knee, my very first Church,
precisely in Algeria, and already inspired with respect for Muslim believers.
Obviously, my death will appear to confirm
those who hastily judged me naïve or idealistic:
"Let him tell us now what he thinks of his ideals!"
But these persons should know that finally my most avid curiosity will be set free.
This is what I shall be able to do, God willing:
immerse my gaze in that of the Father
to contemplate with him His children of Islam
just as He sees them, all shining with the glory of Christ,
the fruit of His Passion, filled with the Gift of the Spirit
whose secret joy will always be to establish communion
and restore the likeness, playing with the differences.
For this life lost, totally mine and totally theirs,
I thank God, who seems to have willed it entirely
for the sake of that JOY in everything and in spite of everything.
In this THANK YOU, which is said for everything in my life from now on,
I certainly include you, friends of yesterday and today,
and you, my friends of this place,
along with my mother and father, my sisters and brothers and their families,
You are the hundredfold granted as was promised!
And also you, my last-minute friend, who will not have known what you were doing:
Yes, I want this THANK YOU and this GOODBYE to be a "GOD-BLESS" for you, too,
because in God's face I see yours.
May we meet again as happy thieves in Paradise, if it please God, the Father of us both.

AMEN !   INCHALLAH !  

Algiers, 1st December 1993
Tibhirine, 1st January 1994 

Christian + 

The Disciples - Jesus' prayer as the source of his preaching and action

This morning, Abbot Mark took flight from Edinburgh  airport.

We prayed for blessings with him and with the community of Our Lady of the Angels of Nsugbe, Nigeria. 


Meanwhile, we continue the subject of 'Formation'  in the Community Report. The excerpt from Pope Benedict XVI, "The Disciple" gives gives a deeper NT perspective on "the formation of the community", (Disciples).

Jesus of Nazareth I From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration by Pope Benedict XVI Book Marks; p.168 listen to the most important texts that show the formation of the community of Jesus' closest disciples. p. 170 The calling of the disciples is a prayer event; it is as if they were begotten in prayer, in intimacy with the Father. The calling of the Twelve, far from being purely functional, takes on a deeply theological meaning: Their calling emerges from the Son's dialogue with the Father and is anchored there. This is also the necessary starting point for understanding Jesus' words, "Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (Mt 9:38): We cannot simply pick the laborers in God's harvest in the same way that an employer seeks his employees. God must always be asked for them and he himself must choose them for this service. This theological character is reinforced in Mark's phrase: "Jesus called to him those whom he desired." You cannot make yourself a disciple -it is an event of election, a free decision of the Lord's will, which in its turn is anchored in his communion of will with the Father. p.172 Let us return to our text from Mark. Jesus appoints the Twelve with a double assignment. p.175 It enables him -in the communion of the whole body of Christ- to oppose these powers, knowing that Lord's gift of faith restores the pure breath of life: the breath of the Creator, the breath of the Holy Spirit, which alone can give health to the world. p. 182 special attention to Jesus' prayer as the source of his preaching and action.

Jesus of Nazareth I From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration by Pope Benedict XVI CHAPTER SIX  pp 162-182 The Disciples In all the stages of Jesus' activity that we have considered so far, it has become evident that Jesus is closely connected with the "we" of the new family that he gathers by his proclama­tion and his action. It has become evident that this "we" is in principle intended to be universal: It no longer rests on birth, but on communion with Jesus, who is himself God's living Torah. This "we" of the new family is not amorphous. Jesus calls an inner core of people specially chosen by him, who are to carryon his mission and give this family order and shape. That was why Jesus formed the group of the Twelve. The title "apostle" originally extended beyond this group, but was later restricted more and more to the Twelve. In Luke, for example, who always speaks of the twelve Apostles, this word is practically synonymous with the Twelve. There is no need here to inquire into the widely discussed issues concerning the development of the use of the word apostle; let us simply listen to the most important texts that show the formation of the community of Jesus' closest disciples. 169 ~ POPE BENEDICT XVI The central text for this is Mark 3:13-19. It begins by say­ing that Jesus "went up on the mountain, and called to him those whom he desired; and they came to him" (Mk P3). The events leading up to this had taken place by the lake, and now Jesus ascends "the mountain;' which signifies the place of his communion with God-the place on the heights, above the works and deeds of everyday life. Luke underscores this point even more vigorously in his parallel account: "In these days he went out to the mountain to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles"(Lk 6:12f.). The calling of the disciples is a prayer event; it is as if they were begotten in prayer, in intimacy with the Father. The calling of the Twelve, far from being purely functional, takes on a deeply theological meaning: Their calling emerges from the Son's dialogue with the Father and is anchored there. This is also the necessary starting point for understanding Jesus' words, "Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (Mt 9:38): We cannot simply pick the laborers in God's harvest in the same way that an employer seeks his employees. God must always be asked for them and he himself must choose them for this service. This theological character is reinforced in Mark's phrase: "Jesus called to him those whom he desired." You cannot make yourself a disciple -it is an event of election, a free decision of the Lord's will, which in its turn is anchored in his communion of will with the Father. The text then continues: "And he appointed [literally: "made"] twelve, whom he also called apostles, to be with 170 ~ JESUS OF NAZARETH him, and to be sent out to preach" (Mk 3:14). The first thing to ponder is the expression "he made twelve," which sounds strange to us. In reality, these words of the Evangelist take up the Old Testament terminology for appointment to the priesthood (c£ 1 Kings 12:31; 13-33) and thus characterize the apostolic office as a priestly ministry. Moreover, the fact that the ones chosen are then individually named links them with the Prophets of Israel, whom God calls by name. Mark thus presents the apostolic ministry as a fusion of the priestly and prophetic missions (Feuillet, Etudes, p. 178). "He made twelve": Twelve was the symbolic number of Israel-the number of the sons of Jacob. From them the twelve tribes of Israel were descended, though of these practically only the tribe of Judah remained after the Exile. In this sense, the number twelve is a return to the origins of Israel, and yet at the same time it is a symbol of hope: The whole of Israel is restored and the twelve tribes are newly assembled. Twelve-the number of the tribes-is at the same time a cosmic number that expresses the comprehensiveness of the newly reborn People of God. The Twelve stand as the patri­archs of this universal people founded on the Apostles. In the vision of the New Jerusalem found in the Apocalypse, the symbolism of the Twelve is elaborated into an image of splen­dor (cf Rev 21:9-14) that helps the pilgrim People of God understand its present in the light of its future and illumines it with the spirit of hope: Past, present, and future intermin­gle when viewed in terms of the Twelve. This is also the right context for the prophecy in which Jesus gives Nathanael a glimpse of his true nature: "You will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and 171 ~ POPE OENEDICT XVI descending upon the Son of Man" (Jn 1:51). Jesus reveals himself here as the new Jacob. The patriarch dreamed that he saw a ladder set up beside his head, which reached up to heaven and on which God's angels were ascending and descending. This dream has become a reality with Jesus. He himself is the "gate of heaven" (Gen 28:10-22); he is the true Jacob, the "Son of Man," the patriarch of the definitive Israel. Let us return to our text from Mark. Jesus appoints the Twelve with a double assignment: "to be with him, and to be sent out to preach." They must be with him in order to get to know him; in order to attain that intimate acquaintance with him that could not be given to the "people"-who saw him only from the outside and took him for a prophet, a great fig­ure in the history of religions, but were unable to perceive his uniqueness (cf Mt 16:13ff). The Twelve must be with him so as to be able to recognize his oneness with the Father and thus become witnesses to his mystery. As Peter will say before the election of Matthias, they had to be present during the time that "the Lord Jesus went in and out among us" (c£ Acts 1:8, 21). One might say that they have to pass from outward to inward communion with Jesus. At the same time, however, they are there in order to become Jesus' envoys-"apostles," no less-who bring his message to the world, first to the lost sheep of the House of Israel, but then "to the ends of the earth:' Being with Jesus and being sent by him seem at first sight mutually exclusive, but they clearly belong together. The Apostles have to learn to be with him in a way that enables them, even when they go to the ends of the earth, to be with him still. Being with him includes the missionary dynamic by its very nature, since Jesus' whole being is mission. 172 ~ JESUS OF NAZARETH What does the text say they are sent to do? "To preach and have authority to cast out demons" (Mk 3-14f). Matthew gives a somewhat more detailed description of the content of this mission: "And he gave them authority over unclean spir­its, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infir­mity" (Mt 10:1). The first task is preaching: to give people the light of the word, the message of Jesus. The Apostles are first and foremost Evangelists-like Jesus, they preach the King­dom of God and thereby gather people into God's new family. But the preaching of God's Kingdom is never just words, never just instruction. It is an event, just as Jesus himself is an event, God's Word in person. By announcing him, the Apostles lead their listeners to encounter him. Because the world is ruled by the powers of evil, this preaching is at the same time a struggle with those powers. "In following Jesus, his herald has to exorcise the world, to establish a new form of life in the Holy Spirit that brings release to those who are possessed" (Pesch, Markusevangeliurn, 1, P: 205). And, as Henri de Lubac in particular has shown, the ancient world did in fact experience the birth of Christianity as a liberation from the fear of demons that, in spite of skep­ticism and enlightenment. was all-pervasive at the time. The same thing also happens today wherever Christianity replaces old tribal religions. transforming and integrating their positive elements into itself We feel the full impact of this leap forward when Paul says: "'There is no God but one: For although there may be so -called gods in heaven or on earth­ as indeed there are many 'gods' and many 'lords' -yet for us there is one God. the Father. from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord. Jesus Christ, through whom 173 ~ POPE BENEDICT XVI are all things and through whom we exist" (1 Cor 8:4f). These words imply a great liberating power-the great exorcism that purifies the world. No matter how many gods may have been at large in the world, God is only one, and only one is Lord. If we belong to him, everything else loses its power; it loses the allure of divinity. The world is now seen as something rational: It emerges from eternal reason, and this creative reason is the only true power over the world and in the world. Faith in the one God is the only thing that truly liberates the world and makes it "rational:' When faith is absent, the world only appears to be more rational. In reality the indeterminable powers of chance now claim their due; "chaos theory" takes its place alongside insight into the rational structure of the universe, confronting man with obscurities that he cannot resolve and that set limits to the world's rationality. To "exorcise" the world -to establish it in the light of the ratio (reason) that comes from eternal creative reason and its saving goodness and refers back to it -that is a permanent, central task of the messengers of Jesus Christ. In the Letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul once described this "exorcistic" character of Christianity from another per­spective: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principal­ities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this pres­ent darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph 6:10-12). This portrayal of the Christ­ian struggle, which we today find surprising, or even disturb- 174 ~