Inhabiting the invisible: faith in ordinary days
Jesus left us a simple and decisive promise: “I am with you always, until the end of the world”. And yet this presence it is not imposed with the evidence of visible things; after the Ascension, it delivers itself to a more discreet shapewhich is not always easy to recognize. This is why, especially in moments of fatigue or loneliness, a sincere question can emerge in the heart: “Lord, where are you?”.
This question, however, does not arise against faith, but often crosses it and purifies it. It can become the beginning of a deeper journey, because there is a way of being present that does not immediately fill the void, but inhabits it, igniting desire and making the gaze more attentive. In this sense, faith is not only adherence to truths, but also is a new way of seeing. It is a gaze that is refined, that learns to grasp what, at first glance, remains hidden. And the signs of the Lord’s presence, although discreet, are not lacking: they are small, often silentbut real.
They allow themselves to be glimpsed where someone loves sincerely, where a gratuitous gesture breaks the logic of interest, where one person takes care of the other without seeking recognition. They manifest themselves in faithfulness of many simple lives, in the patience of those who resist evil, in the dedication of those who serve without appearing. And again, in a particular way, in a community that prays, that shares bread and life, that tries to live the Gospel with sobriety and truth.
Even love between two people, perhaps unconsciously, can become a place of a greater presence, because in mutual giving a space opens up that surpasses them. And there is an even closer place, often overlooked: the heart, when it gathers in silence and prepares to listen. However, the Gospel does not limit itself to inviting us to recognize this presence; it also entrusts us with a responsibility. Jesus’ invitation – “Go” – is clear: bring into the world what you have received, let mercy, forgiveness and hope take shape in your concrete choices. This task does not require extraordinary gestures, but a credible life. Words are important, but it is the testimony to make them persuasive. When someone who shares our same struggles and questions speaks, the Gospel becomes closer, more understandable and more incisive.
Our time, marked by a strong search for meaning, often seems to offer fragile responses. Young people in particular bring in a thirst for the infinite which hardly finds space in an immediate culture like ours. For this reason it becomes increasingly crucial to ask ourselves: what concrete signs do we offer them? We don’t need complex speeches, but people capable of listening, welcoming and respect, who know how to broaden their gaze and not close themselves in divisions, who choose brotherhood instead of opposition. The Christian is called to build bonds, to generate communion. The Ascension invites us to do exactly this: to raise our gaze without fleeing from the earth. The more one’s gaze opens, the more one’s heart expands and recognizes others as brothers. There remains then a certainty that guides everything: our life it is not closed in the provisional. In Christ a passage has opened beyond what passes, and nothing that is experienced in love is ever lost. For this reason we can live with trust, learning to recognize the signs of his presence and, together, to become living signs of it ourselves, with simplicity and truth.
