Mt 19,27-29 – Saint Benedict, Abbot, Patron Saint of Europe – Feast
«Behold, we have left everything and followed you; what then will we have with it?”. It is beautiful that, precisely on the day in which the Church celebrates Saint Benedict, patron saint of Europe, the Gospel puts us before this question of Peter. Is it worth leaving everything to follow Christ? What do those who take the Gospel seriously really receive?
Looking at the life of Saint Benedict, some might think of a heroic renunciation, a form of masochism or an existence made only of sacrifices. But his story tells exactly the opposite. Benedict did not leave everything because he despised life. He left what was secondary to find what was essential. And this discovery has made his life infinitely fuller. This is why Jesus speaks of the hundredfold. He does not promise a reward sent only to heaven. It promises a new life right now.
Those who truly follow Christ do not simply receive more. He receives a new way of experiencing everything. Your relationship with people, with time, with work, with things, even with pain changes. The reality remains the same, but the gaze becomes different. It’s a bit like what happens to those who free themselves from an addiction. At first it seems like just a renunciation. But, once freedom is regained, one realizes that one can enjoy life with an intensity that was previously impossible. This is how the Gospel is. The sacrifices he asks for do not serve to impoverish existence, but to free it from everything that prevents it from flourishing.
Saint Benedict is a luminous testimony to this. In an era marked by the collapse of the Empire and confusion, he did not seek power or success. He sought God. And this research has generated a new civilization. Because truly free men and women always change history.
