Today we celebrate Saint Peter Damian (1007–1072), monk, reformer, and Doctor of the Church, whose life was a burning witness of penance, prayer, and unwavering love for the truth. In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus laments: “O faithless generation, how long will I be with you?” (Mk 9:19). This cry resounds powerfully in the mission of Peter Damian, who fought against the spiritual lukewarmness of his time with a life of austerity and a prophetic word.

The Gospel scene presents a boy possessed, a symbol of a humanity torn apart by evil, incapable of freeing itself by its own strength. The boy’s father cries out: “If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us” (Mk 9:22). Jesus responds with a radical invitation to faith: “Everything is possible to one who has faith” (Mk 9:23). Saint Peter Damian lived this faith with intensity, convinced that the renewal of the Church required the deep conversion of each soul. His monastic life, marked by fasting, silence, and prayer, was a constant plea: “I do believe, help my unbelief!” (Mk 9:24). He called the hermit’s cell “the place where God converses with men.”

He did not separate contemplation from action: from the solitude of the hermitage of Fonte Avellana he wrote letters and treatises in defense of ecclesial discipline, unafraid to denounce sin both within and outside the clergy. As Pope Leo XIV would say: “Consistency of life is a concrete way of contributing to the improvement of society.”

Jesus teaches that “this kind can only come out through prayer” (Mk 9:29). Saint Peter Damian understood that without interior struggle, without the cross, there is no renewal: “O blessed Cross,” he exclaims, “the faith of the patriarchs venerates you, the prophecies of the prophets proclaim you, the judging senate of the Apostles honors you, the victorious army of the martyrs, and the countless multitudes of all the saints.”

Today, his witness challenges us: do we live the faith as a burning fire or as mere routine? Do we pray with our souls, or only with our lips?