Baptism

  Elisha  refusing the gifts of Naaman, by  Pieter de Grebber

  Gospel of the day From the Gospel according to Luke Lk 4:24-30 Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth: “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

Spiritual Exercises of the Curia: Rebirth https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2025-03/spiritual-exercises-of-the-curia-12-march-2025.html The Preacher of the Papal Household, Fr. Roberto Pasolini, OFM Cap, delivers the sixth in his series of reflections for the 2025 Spiritual Exercises of the Roman Curia. You can read a summary of the reflection, entitled 'Rebirth', below.   By Fr. Roberto Pasolini, OFM Cap The path of salvation is revealed as a spiritual rebirth, illustrated in the Gospel of John through the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus. Jesus states that in order to see the Kingdom of God, one must be “born from above,” a concept that confounds Nicodemus and highlights the necessity of a profound and radical transformation. This change is not easy and often provokes fear, as it requires letting go of certainties and deeply rooted habits. Jesus explains that this rebirth happens through water and the Spirit—not as a biological return to infancy but as a new...