Jesus Christ is for every person the Way, the Truth and the Life, the Gospel of the Mass proclaims. Whoever knows him knows the reason for his life and for all things; our existence is a constant journey towards him. And it is in the Holy Gospel that we must learn the supreme knowledge of Jesus Christ , the way to imitate him and follow in his footsteps. "To learn from Him, we must try to know His life: read the Holy Gospel, meditate on those scenes that the New Testament relates to us, in order to penetrate the divine sense of the earthly walk of Jesus.
" We want to identify ourselves with the Lord, that our life in the midst of our tasks may be a reflection of his, and "to be ipse Christushay to look at ourselves in him. It is not enough to have a general idea of the spirit of Jesus, but we must learn from him details and attitudes. And, above all, it is necessary to contemplate his passage on earth, his footprints, to draw from there strength, light, serenity, peace.
"When we love a person, we want to know even the smallest details of his existence, of his character, in order to identify with him. This is why we must meditate on the story of Christ, from his birth in a manger to his death and resurrection.
We must read the Gospel with a great desire to know in order to love. We cannot turn the pages of Holy Scripture as if it were just another book. "In the sacred books, the Father, who is in heaven, lovingly goes out to meet his children to converse with them". Our reading must be accompanied by prayer, for we know that God is the principal author of these holy writings. In them, and especially in the Gospel, is "the nourishment of the soul, the limpid and perennial source of spiritual life". "We," writes St. Augustine, "must hear the Gospel as if the Lord were present and speaking to us. We should not say: 'happy are those who were able to see him'. For many of those who saw him crucified him; and many of those who did not see him believed in him. The very words that came out of the Lord's mouth were written down, were kept and are preserved for us "
In order to read and meditate on the Holy Gospel fruitfully, we must do so with faith, knowing that it contains the saving truth, without any error, and also with piety and holiness of life. The Church, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, has kept the priceless treasure of the Lord's life and doctrine intact and free from error, so that we, meditating on it, can easily approach Him and strive to be saints. And only to the extent that we want to be saints will we penetrate the intimate truth contained in these holy books, only then will we taste the divine fruit that they contain. Do we value this immense treasure that we can so easily hold in our hands? Do we seek in it ever greater knowledge and love for the Holy Humanity of the Lord? Do we ask for help from the Holy Spirit every time we begin to read the Holy Gospel?