Fount at the Court of the Lions
(Spanish: Patio de los Leones) is the main courtyard of the Nasrid dynasty
Palace of the Lions, in the heart of the Alhambra, the Moorish citadel formed
by a complex of palaces, gardens and forts in Granada, Spain. It was
commissioned by the Nasrid sultan Muhammed V of the Emirate of Granada in
Al-Andalus. Its construction started in the second period of his reign, between
1362 and 1391 AD.
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Compared to another Sunday, the
gospel today is remarkably short. To understand better, we must approach the
context a bit. The scene is tense and conflictive. Jesus is walking about in
the Temple area. Suddenly, Jews gather around him, harassing him in a
threatening manner. But instead of being intimidated, Jesus openly reproaches
them for their lack of faith: You do not believe because you are not among my
sheep. The Gospel writer says that when Jesus finished speaking, the Jews
picked up rocks to stone him. To prove that they are not his sheep, Jesus dares
to explain to them what it means to be among his own. He underlines two
characteristics, the ones that are most essential and indispensable: My sheep
hear my voice… and they follow me. After twenty centuries, we Christians need
to remember once again that what is most essential about being Jesus’ Church is
to listen to his voice and follow in his footsteps. First, we need to awaken in
us the capability to listen to Jesus. We need to develop much more in our
communities a sensitivity that is alive in many simple Christians. These Christians manage to get what
Jesus means, as they hear the Word that comes from him in all its freshness,
and to be in accord with God’s Good News. St. John XXIII said on one occasion
that “the Church is like an old village fountain, from which fresh water should
always flow.” We should see to it that the fresh water of Jesus keeps flowing
in this twenty-century-year-old Church. Society bombards our consciences with a
barrage of messages, slogans, images, media releases and complaints of all
kinds. If we do not want our faith to go turning progressively diluted into
forms of superficial religiosity that are dying out, we need to learn to put in
the center of our communities the living, concrete and unmistakable Word of
Jesus, our only Lord. It is not enough, however, to listen to his voice. It is
necessary to follow Jesus. The time has come to choose between being content
with “bourgeois religion” that eases our consciences, but suffocates our joy,
and learning to live our Christian faith as an exciting adventure to follow Jesus. The adventure consists in believing what he believed in, giving importance to
what was important to him, in defending the cause of human beings as he
did. It is about being close to
the defenseless and the helpless as he was, being free to do the good he did,
trusting in the Father as he did, and facing life and death with the hope with
which he faced them. There are those who go through life lost, alone and
adrift. If they can find in the Christian community a place where they can
learn to live together in a more dignified way, with greater solidarity and
freedom by following Jesus, the Church will be offering to society one of her
best services • AE
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