*Healing of the Beauty of Corazin. Jesus Speaks in the Synagogue of Capernaum*
*Jesus leaves the house of Peter's mother-in-law together with His disciples, with the exception of Judas Thaddeus. The first one to see Him is a boy, who tells it even to those who do not wish to know.*
*Jesus goes to the shore of the lake and sits on the edge of Peter's boat. He is immediately surrounded by people from the town who welcome Him festively for having returned, asking Him a thousand questions, to which Jesus replies with His insuperable patience, smiling and calm, as if all that clamor were a heavenly harmony.*
*The synagogue ruler also comes. Jesus gets up to greet him. It is a mutual greeting full of Oriental respect.*
*“Master, can I hope that You will come to instruct the people?”*
*“Without a doubt, if you and the people wish it.”*
*“We have desired it all this time. They can tell You so themselves.”*
*The people, indeed, assent with fresh shouts.*
*“If that is so, I will go at twilight. Now go away, all of you. I have to go see a person who is longing for Me.”*
*The people reluctantly walk away, while Jesus, Peter, and Andrew set out across the lake. The other disciples remain on the shore.*
*The boat sails for a short distance. Then the two fishermen direct it toward a small cove between two low hills that originally seem to have been a single one. The cove is sunken in the center by water erosion or seismic movement, forming a tiny fjord that—not being Norwegian—has no fir trees, but only disheveled olive trees, born who knows how on those steep walls, between crumbled rocks and sharp jutting stones, olive trees whose branches entwine, twisted by the winds of the lake—which must act here not a little—to form something like a roof under which a small, capricious torrent foams, full of noise because it is all waterfalls, all foam because it falls meter by meter; but in reality it is a true dwarf compared to other streams of water.*
*Andrew jumps into the water to drag the boat as far as possible against the shore and tie it to a trunk, while Peter ties the sail and secures a plank as a bridge for Jesus.*
*“Nevertheless,” he says, “I advise You to take off Your sandals, remove Your tunic, and do as we do. That madman” (pointing to the stream) “agitates the lake water enormously, and with that swaying, the bridge is not safe.”*
*Jesus obeys without arguing. On land, they put their sandals back on. Jesus also puts on His tunic. The other two remain in their dark undergarments.*
*“Where is she?” asks Jesus.*
*“She must have gone into the thicket upon hearing voices. You know... with what she has on her and with her past...”*
*“Call her.”*
*Peter shouts loudly:*
*“I am the disciple of the Rabbi of Capernaum! The Rabbi is here! Come out!”*
*Nobody shows any sign of life.*
*“She does not trust us,” Andrew explains. “One day someone called her saying, 'Come, there is food,' and then threw stones at her. We saw her then for the first time, because I, at least, did not remember her from when she was the Beauty of Corazin.”*
*“And what did you do then?”*
*“We threw a piece of bread and some fish to her, and a rag (a piece of torn sail we had to dry ourselves), because she was naked. Then we fled so as not to contaminate ourselves.”*
*“How is it that you returned then?”*
*“Master... You were away and we were thinking about what we could do to make You known more and more. We thought of all the sick, all the blind, the crippled, the mute... and also of her. We said, 'Let us try.' You know... many... through our fault, of course, have considered us mad and have not wanted to listen to us. Others, on the contrary, have believed us. I spoke to her in person. I came alone with the boat during several moonlit nights. I called her, I said: 'On top of the stone, at the foot of the olive tree, there is bread and fish. Come without fear,' and I would leave. I think she must have waited to see me disappear before coming, because I never saw her. The sixth time I saw her standing on the shore, right where You are standing. She was waiting for me... What a horror! I did not run away because I thought of You... She said: 'Who are you? Why this mercy?' I said: 'Because I am a disciple of Mercy.' 'Who is He?' 'He is Jesus of Galilee.' 'And does He teach you to have mercy on us?' 'On everyone.' 'Do you know who I am?' 'You are the Beauty of Corazin; now, the leper.' 'And is there mercy for me too?' 'He says His mercy reaches everyone, and we, to be like Him, must have it with everyone.' At this point, Master, the leper unwittingly blasphemed. She said: 'Then He too must have been a great sinner.' I told her: 'No. He is the Messiah, the Holy One of God.' I would have liked to say to her, 'Cursed be your tongue,' but I said only that because I reasoned thus: 'Destroyed as she is, she cannot think of divine mercy.' Then she burst into tears and said: 'If He is the Holy One, He cannot, He cannot have mercy on the Beauty. On the leper He might... but on the Beauty, no. And I who was hoping...' I asked her: 'What were you hoping for, woman?' 'Healing... to return to the world... among men... to die as a beggar, but among men... not like a wild animal in a den of beasts to which I even cause horror.' I said to her: 'Do you swear to me that, if you return to the world, you will be honest?' And she: 'Yes. God has struck me justly for having sinned. I am repentant. My soul carries its expiation, but it loathes sin forever.' It seemed to me then that I could promise her salvation in Your name. She told me: 'Come back, come back... Tell me about Him. Let my soul know Him before my eyes do...' And I kept coming to speak to her about You... as best I can.”*
*“And I come to give salvation to the first convert of My Andrew” (for it is Andrew who has been speaking, while Peter has gone up the stream, jumping from stone to stone and calling the leper).*
*At last she shows her hideous face between the branches of an olive tree. She sees. A cry escapes her.*
*“Come on, come down!” exclaims Peter. “I don't want to stone you! There is Rabbi Jesus. Do you see Him?”*
*The woman lets herself tumble down the slope—I say this because of how fast she comes down—and arrives at Jesus' feet before Peter returns to the Master.*
*“Mercy, Lord!”*
*“Can you believe that I can give it to you?”*
*“Yes, because You are holy and I am repentant. I am Sin, but You are Mercy. Your disciple was the first to have mercy on me and came to give me bread and faith. Cleanse me, Lord; first the soul, then the flesh. For I am thrice impure, and if You were to grant me a cleansing, a single one, I ask You for that of my sinful soul. Before hearing Your words repeated by him, I used to say: 'Heal me to return among men.' Now that I know, I say: 'Be forgiven to have eternal life.'”*
*“I grant you forgiveness. But nothing more besides this...”*
*“Blessed be You! I will live in the peace of God in my hiding place... free... free from remorses and fears. No more fear of death, now that I have been forgiven; no more fear of God, now that You have absolved me!”*
*“Go to the lake and wash yourself. Stay inside until I call you.”*
*She, a wretched specter of a skeletal, corroded woman, with disheveled, harsh, graying hair, gets up from the ground, goes down, and gets into the water of the lake, with her rag of a dress that covers very little.*
*“Why have You told her to wash? It is true that her stench stinks, but... I don't understand,” says Peter.*
*“Woman, come out and come here. Take that piece of cloth on that branch” (it is the piece of cloth used by Jesus to dry Himself after the short passage from the boat to land).*
*The woman obeys and emerges, completely naked—having lost her rag inside the water—to take the piece of dry cloth. Peter, who was watching her, is the first to shout; Andrew, more bashful, had turned his back, but at his brother's shout he turns around and shouts in turn. The woman, whose eyes were so fixed on Jesus that she paid attention to nothing else, at those shouts, at those hands pointing at her, looks at herself... and sees that with her dress made into rags, her leprosy has also remained in the lake. She does not run away, as would seem logical; she crouches, huddling on the shore, full of shame for her nudity, moved to such an extent that she only feels capable of weeping with a long, exhausted lament that is more heartbreaking than any shout.*
*Jesus walks toward her... arrives... throws the piece of cloth over her, lightly strokes her head, and says to her:*
*“Goodbye. Be good. You have deserved grace through the sincerity of your repentance. Grow in the faith of Christ, and obey the law of purification.”*
*The woman continues weeping, weeping, weeping... Only upon hearing the scraping sound the plank makes as Peter puts it back into the boat does she raise her head, stretch out her arms, and shout:*
*“Thank You, Lord. Thank You, blessed One. Oh, blessed, blessed!...”*
*Jesus makes a gesture of farewell to her before the boat turns the prow of the small fjord and disappears...*
*...Jesus, now with all the disciples, enters the synagogue of Capernaum after traversing the square and the street leading to it. The news of the new miracle must have already spread, because much murmuring and many comments are heard.*
*Right on the threshold of the synagogue door, I see the future apostle Matthew. He is there, still, half in and half out, I don't know whether ashamed or annoyed by all the glances cast at him, or even by some unpleasant epithet directed at him. Two robed Pharisees deliberately draw up their wide cloaks, as if they feared catching the plague just by brushing against Matthew's garment.*
*Jesus, upon entering, looks at him intently for a moment, and for a moment He stops. Matthew merely lowers his head.*
*Peter, barely past the door, says in a low voice to Jesus:*
*“Do you know who that man is, more curled and perfumed than a woman? It is Matthew, our tax collector... What is he coming here for? It's the first time. Perhaps he hasn't found the companions, and especially the female companions, with whom he spends the Sabbath, squandering on orgies what he sucks from us in doubled and tripled taxes... for the treasury and for vice.”*
*Jesus looks at Peter so severely that Peter turns redder than a poppy and lowers his head, stopping, so that from first, he becomes last in the apostolic group.*
*Jesus is already in His place. After the songs and prayers with the people, He turns to speak. The synagogue ruler asks Him if He wants any scroll, but Jesus replies: “There is no need. I already have the theme.” And He begins:*
*“The great king of Israel, David of Bethlehem, after having sinned wept, his heart contrite, crying out to God his repentance and asking God for forgiveness. David had had his spirit darkened by the mist of the senses, and this had prevented him from continuing to see the face of God and understanding His word.*
*'The face,' I have said. In the heart of man there is a point that remembers the face of God; it is the most precious point, our Sancta Sanctorum, that from which holy inspirations and holy decisions come, which perfumes like an altar, shines like a bonfire, sings as the seat of seraphim. But when sin produces smoke in us, then that point becomes so darkened that light, perfume, and song cease, leaving only an evil smell of dense smoke and a taste of ash. But when the light returns—because a servant of God carries it with him to whoever has remained in darkness—behold, then he sees his ugliness, his inferior condition, and, horrified by himself, exclaims like King David: 'Have mercy on me, Lord, according to Your great mercy; through Your infinite goodness, wash me of my sin,' and he does not say: 'I cannot be forgiven; therefore, I insist on sinning,' but says: 'I feel humbled, contrite, yes, but—I beseech You—You who know how I was born in guilt, sprinkle me and cleanse me, so that I may become like snow on the peaks.' And he says: 'My holocaust will not consist of rams and oxen, but of true contrition of heart, because I know that this is what You want from us and You do not despise it.'*
*This is what David said after sinning, and after the servant of the Lord, Nathan, had moved him to repent. With greater reason sinners must say this now that the Lord sends them not a servant of His, but the Redeemer Himself, His Word, who, just and ruler not only of men but also of Heaven and the Abyss, has arisen in the midst of His people like the light of dawn that shines without clouds when the sun rises in the morning.*
*You have already read how man, in the hands of Satan, is weaker than a dying consumptive, even if he was first the 'strong one.' You know how Samson was reduced to nothing after yielding to the senses. I want you to know the lesson of Samson, son of Manoah, destined to defeat the Philistines, oppressors of Israel. The first condition for being such was that from his conception he be kept virgin from what stimulates the lower senses and joins the innards of man with impure flesh, that is, wine and cider and fatty meats, which kindle an impure fire in one's sides. Second condition: that to be the liberator he be consecrated to the Lord from his infancy, and remain such with continuous Naziriteship. Consecrated is he who not only externally but also internally keeps himself holy. Then God is with him.*
*But the flesh is flesh and Satan is Temptation. And Temptation takes as an instrument, to combat God in a heart and in His holy decrees, the flesh that excites man: woman. Behold, then the strength of the 'strong one' trembles and he becomes a weak being who squanders the gift that God has given him. Listen: Samson was bound with seven cords of fresh sinews, with seven new ropes, he was fastened to the ground with seven braids of his hair. And he had always prevailed. But the Lord is not tempted in vain, not even in His goodness. It is not permissible. He forgives time and again, but to continue forgiving He demands the will to abandon sin. Foolish is he who says: 'Lord, forgive!' and then does not avoid what induces him to continuous sin. Samson, three times victorious, does not avoid Delilah, the senses, sin, and, completely fed up—says the Book—and having fallen in spirit—says the Book—revealed the secret: 'My strength lies in my seven braids.'*
*Is there no one among you who, tired, with the great weariness of sin, feels that he is losing heart—because nothing depresses like a bad conscience—and is about to surrender defeated to the Enemy? No, whoever you may be, no, do not do it. Samson gave Temptation the secret to subdue his seven virtues: the seven symbolic braids, his virtues, that is, his fidelity as a Nazirite; he fell asleep, tired, on the bosom of the woman, and was defeated: blind, a slave, incapable, for having denied fidelity to his vow. And he did not become the 'strong one,' the 'liberator' again, until in the pain of a true repentance he found his strength once more...*
*Repentance, patience, perseverance, heroism... and I promise you, O sinners, that you will be the liberators of yourselves. Truly I say to you that no baptism is of value, nor does any rite serve, if there is no repentance and will to renounce sin. Truly I say to you that there is no sinner so sinful that he cannot make the virtues that sin has torn from his heart be reborn with his tears.*
*Today a woman, a guilty woman of Israel, punished by God for her sin, has obtained mercy through her repentance. I have said mercy. Less mercy will be obtained by those who had none toward her, and raged pitilessly against this woman who had already been punished. Did these not have the leprosy of guilt within themselves? Let each one examine himself... and have mercy to obtain mercy. I reach out My hand to you on behalf of this repentant woman who returns to the living after a segregation of death. Simon of Jonah, not I, will collect the offering for the repentant woman who, on the threshold of death, returns to true Life. And do not murmur, you, the great ones. Do not murmur. I was not there when she was 'the Beauty,' but you were. And I do not wish to say more.”*
*“Are You accusing us of having been her lovers?” asks one of the two old men.*
*“Let each one stand before his heart and his actions; I do not accuse, I speak in the name of Justice. Come”—Jesus goes out with His disciples.*
*But Judas is stopped by the two who seem to know him quite well. I hear them say:*
*“Are you also with Him? Is He truly holy?”*
*Judas Iscariot reacts with one of those sudden responses of his that confuse:*
*“I wish that you would at least come to understand His holiness.”*
*“Yes, but He has healed on the Sabbath.”*
*“No. He has forgiven on the Sabbath. And what day is more fitting for forgiveness than the Sabbath? Won't you give me anything for the redeemed woman?”*
*“We do not give our money to harlots; it is money offered to the holy Temple.”*
*Judas laughs irreverently and leaves them standing there. He catches up to the Master just as He is re-entering Peter's house, while Peter is saying to Him:*
*“Look: little James, right after leaving the synagogue, gave me two purses today instead of one; as always, commissioned by that unknown person. Who is he, Master? You know... Tell me.”*
*Jesus smiles:*
*“I will tell you when you have learned not to murmur about anyone.”*
*And everything ends.*