The word of the Lord Jesus tries to give us courage because, like the people called to go through the “night” of Easter liberation, we too can face the pilgrimage of faith as and with our fathers. It seems that Jesus’ encouragement: “do not be afraid, little flock”, has always accompanied and will never stop accompanying the steps of every man and woman. The Gospel helps us to take a step further and urges us to enter that “city with solid foundations, whose architect and builder is God himself” and which represents the greatest – indeed the only treasure – of life, inexhaustible and very sure not threatened by the “thief” or by the “woodworm”. Furthermore, the Lord directs our inner journey by indicating the “heart” as a place of discernment and truth whose “night” is illuminated with the perennial lamp of a continuous attention that is suspension of the soul to welcome every passage of God in our life. . The great welcome of the Lord’s return is prepared by the small welcome of each brother whom we will know how to take care of lovingly and with profound justice. We are like children to whom a promise has been made and who await the return of their mother or father, waiting to discover concretely what gift it is. The only thing that children, who have been promised a gift, cannot think – even when they are dangling from sleep while waiting – is that the father does not come back and that the promise can be revealed, in reality, a deception: “be like those who wait for their master when he returns from the wedding, so that, when he arrives and knocks, they open it immediately”.

Commentary by b. Michael David, osb Novalesa Abbey

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves, Prinknash Abbey