Friday 22 March 2024

SUNDAY GOSPEL REFLECTION

March 24 2024 - Palm Sunday

Exclusive to this website English translation of a great homily from Vatican Radio for this Sunday's Gospel. The homilist, Fr Fabio Rosini, is a renowned speaker and fills the Roman basilicas with young people!




Tales of unexpected blessings, hilarious true stories, unique perspectives on the lives of the saints. An original, entertaining and orthodox presentation of the Catholic faith. You won’t be able to put it down!
"Captivating."
— Elizabeth Lev, Professor of Art History, Rome.

“Entertaining.”
— Cardinal Seán Brady, 
Ireland.

"I laughed out loud many times, and told the stories to others who laughed just as hard."
— Sally Read, Author.

"Enchanting."
— Bishop Brendan Leahy, Diocese of Limerick.

"Unique and insightful."
— Archbishop Kieran O'Reilly, Cashel and Emly.

Friday 15 March 2024

March 17 2024. Fifth Sunday of Lent

 

GOSPEL   John 12:20-33

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

 

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

GOSPEL   John 12:20-33

Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast

came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee,

and asked him, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus."

Philip went and told Andrew;

then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

Jesus answered them,

"The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

Amen, amen, I say to you,

unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,

it remains just a grain of wheat;

but if it dies, it produces much fruit.

Whoever loves his life loses it,

and whoever hates his life in this world

will preserve it for eternal life.

Whoever serves me must follow me,

and where I am, there also will my servant be.

The Father will honour whoever serves me.

"I am troubled now. Yet what should I say?

'Father, save me from this hour'?

But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.

Father, glorify your name."

Then a voice came from heaven,

"I have glorified it and will glorify it again."

The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder;

but others said, "An angel has spoken to him."

Jesus answered and said,

"This voice did not come for my sake but for yours.

Now is the time of judgment on this world;

now the ruler of this world will be driven out.

And when I am lifted up from the earth,

I will draw everyone to myself."

He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.

THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

 

SHORTER HOMILY . . . On this fifth Sunday of Lent, we read from the long discourses of John’s Gospel which precede the Last Supper. Some Greeks ask to see Jesus. This theme of seeing or beholding Jesus is a favourite one of St John the Evangelist! In the Prologue of his Gospel, we read that “the Word became flesh and we have seen his glory”. The first letter of John speaks of what our eyes have seen and our hands have touched. At the foot of the cross, John, the beloved disciple, testifies solemnly that he himself has seen the blood and water coming from the side of Christ. Later in the same Gospel, St Thomas, in order to enter into the fullness of faith, places his finger in the wound of Christ and experiences it directly. In all of these cases, it is a personal experience of Christ that transforms everything. This direct beholding of God was lost to humanity after the Fall. After the sin in the garden of Eden, Adam hides himself. When God calls out, “Adam, where are you?” it is the anguished cry of a father who has lost his son. The Old Testament is really the story of a humanity who is seeking to rediscover the face of God again. The second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews speaks of the intimacy between the Father and the Son. What is it to see the face of God? Is it something intellectually satisfying or aesthetically pleasing? No, it is to see a Son who trusts in the Father, and a Father who does not abandon his Son. In the Gospel, Jesus knows that he is about to be crucified on account of sin. Our existence is a constant effort to run from our destiny, to escape death, to deny our vulnerability.At the heart of every act, we are struggling with our mortality and fear of death. This often leads to depression and anguish, the sensation of having no way out. How does Jesus respond when he finds himself confronted by death? He entrusts himself into the hands of the Father, confident that he will not be abandoned. This is the source of the glory of Christ! These Greeks want to see Christ. What is it to see Christ? To see a Son who trusts in his Father. If we try to affront the darkest things of life with our own resources, we will fail continually. But if we see in the darkest situation in front of us an occasion to walk behind Christ, then the situation is transformed. Death and suffering are the places where we entrust ourselves to the Father, confident that he is always with us and for us. In these places, the Father is waiting for us so that his name might be glorified in us.

 

LONGER HOMILY FOLLOWS

 

Jeremiah speaks of a new Covenant when the law will be written in our hearts. But how can we get to the point of observing God’s ways from our hearts, out of love and not out of obligation?

In this fifth Sunday of Lent, we hear the beautiful prophecy from the thirty-first chapter of Jeremiah concerning the new covenant, the covenant that will finally put into the heart of man the wisdom of God: “I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts”. How can a law be written in our hearts? When we speak of law, we are usually referring to a code that is observed physically and externally in a certain way. But there is a big difference between observing a norm because I am constrained to do so, and observing something that I cherish in my heart. It is the difference between legalistically observing a norm of behaviour and following that same pattern of behaviour out of love, because one has understood the norm to its depths. But how do we get to the stage of observing the norms because they are beautiful, because they have become part of us?

 

The Gospel, at first sight, seems to have a different theme. Jesus speaks of falling to the ground and dying in order to produce new life. And this is essentially the same point that we find in Jeremiah. In order to have the life of the new covenant in our hearts, we must die to our old ways

The Gospel seems to have another theme altogether, but if we reflect on the Gospel in its profundity, then we discover otherwise. The story of the Gospel has arrived at the point where even the Greek visitors to Jerusalem are asking about Jesus. Everyone is talking about him and wants to see him. Jerusalem is the place of the cult with great numbers of visitors, and many people wish to know if Jesus is the Messiah. Word comes to Jesus that some Greeks wish to see him, but his response is very strange. He says that the time has come for him to be glorified. “Truly I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone.” What is all of this about? Why is Jesus talking about death, about losing oneself? Unless a seed goes into a state of decomposition, it cannot become the plant. Jesus must die in order to manifest his glory. He must be annihilated in order to show that he is everything. “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.” In order to arrive at the new wisdom, in order to have love in our hearts so that we no longer do things solely out of obligation, in order to have new life, the old life must die. It is pointless to think that the new covenant, the beauty of the new relationship with God, can coexist with the way we were originally. We only recognize the power of God when we renounce our own power. When do we experience the power of God? When we cease trying to rely on our own resources. “Dying” in this sense does not mean dying biologically but serving and following the Lord Jesus.

 

The Greeks thought that Jesus was a spectacle to be casually observed, but we cannot truly encounter God unless we empty ourselves.

We are honoured by the Father when we give Him His rightful value. The word “honour” in Hebrew means to attribute to something its rightful value. It is only when we abandon our own lives into the hands of God that we, to the depths of our being, allow Him to give His life for us.  It is only then, like the seed, when we allow ourselves to be by broken down and destroyed, when we are taken to the point of nothingness, that we can become completely His. The Lord Jesus empties Himself completely because in us there is always something lacking. Easter and the time of resurrection are coming soon, so this is the time to open ourselves to this moment of transition. We must allow this phase of annihilation, of annulment, to happen. In order for Jesus to arrive at the glory of the resurrection, He had to pass the oblivion of the tomb. Jesus had the omnipotence of God within Him but it was left aside at the time of the crucifixion and death. The hands that were capable of healing were nailed to the wood. The feet that walked new paths were rendered immobile. The heart that was capable of such love was torn apart. He gave himself completely. How can a man truly love a woman without giving himself completely? How can a woman be a genuine spouse to her husband without giving everything and holding nothing back for herself? And how can God be our true God if we do not give Him our lives? The Greeks in the Gospel treated the Lord as a spectacle to be seen, but in reality one cannot encounter God unless one empties himself before God. This is not an act of the will or an exertion of the muscles, but an act of abandonment. What we really need to do is allow ourselves to be taken, allow ourselves to be saved, allow ourselves to be transfigured. We need to give Jesus everything and not resist Him any longer. We need to open the door, give Him the password, follow Him until He is truly our Lord. This is the road to Easter and new life




Tales of unexpected blessings, hilarious true stories, unique perspectives on the lives of the saints. An original, entertaining and orthodox presentation of the Catholic faith. You won’t be able to put it down!
"Captivating."
— Elizabeth Lev, Professor of Art History, Rome.

“Entertaining.”
— Cardinal Seán Brady, 
Ireland.

"I laughed out loud many times, and told the stories to others who laughed just as hard."
— Sally Read, Author.

"Enchanting."
— Bishop Brendan Leahy, Diocese of Limerick.

"Unique and insightful."
— Archbishop Kieran O'Reilly, Cashel and Emly.

Thursday 7 March 2024

March 10 2024.  Fourth Sunday of Lent

GOSPEL   John 3:14-21

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

GOSPEL   John 3:14-21

Jesus said to Nicodemus:

“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,

so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,

so that everyone who believes in him might not perish

but might have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,

but that the world might be saved through him.

Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,

but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,

because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

And this is the verdict,

that the light came into the world,

but people preferred darkness to light,

because their works were evil.

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light

and does not come toward the light,

so that his works might not be exposed.

But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,

so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

SUMMARY

On the fourth Sunday of Lent we hear one of the most profound texts of the New Testament: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” The first reading, curiously, is not about this event in the desert but recounts another key moment: we hear how the shocking infidelity of Israel leads to the Babylonian exile, but the Lord brings the people back home through the action of Cyrus, King of Persia. Why was this event chosen for the first reading on Sunday? Because humanity needs to allow itself to be redeemed, ransomed and brought back from the exile of sin.

 

In the story of the serpents in the desert, the people of Israel were disobedient to God and were grumbling. This led to them finding themselves among serpents. The cure for the snake bite was to look the bronze serpent in the face. Jesus does the same for us with the cross! Looking at Christ crucified, we see our sinfulness, our egoism, our idolatry. When we behold Jesus on the cross, we behold our own sins, accepted and forgiven by God. In the Christian life, we can digest meditations, conferences and spiritual techniques in industrial quantities. But what really counts is to have a real experience of the forgiveness of my personal sins by God.

 

Humanity loves hiding in the shadows. Ever since the time of Adam we have constructed hideous garments to cover the state of our souls. Light is painful to those who are used to the shadows. Saul was pursuing his own way and considered himself to be righteous. The light of Christ actually blinded him, even though that light was his salvation. It is important for each one of us to come into that light and to see the state of our souls, our need to be ransomed by Christ. None of us should think he does not need to be ransomed in this way. We all have much to be ashamed of. There is only one thing we need to do about our sinfulness and that is to illuminate it with the light of God, who so loved the world as to give what was most precious to him, his only begotten Son. He became sin for our sake and took all our evil upon himself. We can go on defending our own image, our own presentability, and never allow ourselves to be touched in our deepest and most hidden selves by grace.

 

In this time of Lent and on this Sunday of Joy, there is no joy greater than the forgiveness of God! Let us not fear the light, let us experience the forgiveness of God, not intellectually, but concretely in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, a sacrament that returns us to our baptismal state, restoring us to our status as children of God. This Sunday we have the joy of forgiveness to celebrate and welcome.



Tales of unexpected blessings, hilarious true stories, unique perspectives on the lives of the saints. An original, entertaining and orthodox presentation of the Catholic faith. You won’t be able to put it down!
"Captivating."
— Elizabeth Lev, Professor of Art History, Rome.

“Entertaining.”
— Cardinal Seán Brady, 
Ireland.

"I laughed out loud many times, and told the stories to others who laughed just as hard."
— Sally Read, Author.

"Enchanting."
— Bishop Brendan Leahy, Diocese of Limerick.

"Unique and insightful."
— Archbishop Kieran O'Reilly, Cashel and Emly.

Friday 1 March 2024

March 3rd 2024.  Third Sunday of Lent

GOSPEL: John 2:13-25

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...


GOSPEL: John 2:13-25

Just before the Jewish Passover Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and in the Temple he found people selling cattle and sheep and pigeons, and the money changers sitting at their counters there. Making a whip out of some cord, he drove them all out of the Temple, cattle and sheep as well, scattered the money changers’ coins, knocked their tables over and said to the pigeon-sellers, ‘Take all this out of here and stop turning my Father’s house into a market.’ Then his disciples remembered the words of scripture: Zeal for your house will devour me. The Jews intervened and said, ‘What sign can you show us to justify what you have done?’ Jesus answered, ‘Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this sanctuary: are you going to raise it up in three days?’ But he was speaking of the sanctuary that was his body, and when Jesus rose from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the words he had said.

During his stay in Jerusalem for the Passover many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he gave, but Jesus knew them all and did not trust himself to them; he never needed evidence about any man; he could tell what a man had in him.

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

 

SUMMARY

 The Gospel recounts the event of Jesus purifying the Temple and chasing away the things that should not be there. There is a clear parallel between the Temple of Jerusalem and the temple that is our bodies. Each one of us is a temple of the Holy Spirit and in need of the purifying activity of Jesus. The first reading lists the Ten Commandments. In the Old Testament these are always referred to as the “Ten Words”. They were not cold imperatives but statements of a loving dialogue with a providential Father. The Commandments were kept in the Ark of the Covenant in the most sacred part of the Temple. In the same way, the most sacred area deep within each of us should be a place where the word of the Lord dwells. This Sunday’s Gospel should prompt me to ask myself: What is in my heart? A relationship of abandonment to the providential love of God? Or a spirit of profit and self-gain? “To profane the Temple” in the Old Testament meant to place something that should not be there in the Holy of Holies. May the sacred place inside of me not be profane! May it be the place of a relationship of trust with my loving Father!

 

There is a parallelism in this text between the purification of the Temple in Jerusalem and the need to purify what is inside each one of us, since we are temples of the Holy Spirit.

The last line of this Gospel is a useful way to approach the meaning of the passage, even though it would be very easy not to notice it at all. We are told that Jesus did not need to be told what was in the heart of man, because he already knew. This verse can be used as a lens for viewing the entire story of the purification of the Temple. Jesus arrives at the Temple and discovers animals, doves, money changers and sellers. He fashions a broom and clears all of them away from the entrance to the Temple. The act is clearly premeditated. It is not a case of Jesus losing his temper, flying into a fury and losing control of himself. Such interpretations are  inconsistent with the wider picture of this symbolic, profound action on the part of Jesus. He then makes an extraordinary prophecy about his Passion and Resurrection. John places this event in the second chapter of his Gospel, immediately after the miracle at Cana. Matthew, Mark and Luke recount it to us just as Jesus is entering Jerusalem, shortly before the Passion. But John describes this event just after his account of the transformation of the water into wine, using the very jars used by the Jews for acts of purification. Then he goes to the Temple and cleanses it of the things that ought not be there.

 

Jesus found the spirit of profit and self-gain in the Temple. What does he see when he gazes inside each one of us?

When the Jewish leaders challenge him about his actions, Jesus begins to speak in a prophetic way about his own body. This connection between temple and the body of Christ is something that we are now well familiar with. The Church is the body of Christ, and each of us is called to be a temple of the Holy Spirit. John’s account contains allusions to all of these elements. At the end of the passage he tells us that Jesus knew what was in the heart of man. In this time of Lent it is important to focus on purification and on what is needed for a pure and healthy heart. “Purification” means “to pass through fire”. What is in our hearts that needs to be passed through fire? When Jesus enters the Temple, he finds merchants. In a parallel way we should realize that when the Lord looks into the interior of each of us, he finds a marketplace. He sees habits and attitudes that use the things of God for our own selfish ends.

 

The most sacred area of the Temple used to contain the Ten Commandments. These commandments represent a relationship of dialogue and trust with God. What is in inside us, in the most sacred area of our interior lives?

The first reading contains a statement of the Ten Commandments. What is the connection between the Commandments and the purification of the Temple? The Ten Commandments were contained in the Ark of the Covenant, and the Ark was placed in the most sacred part of the Temple. The Temple was divided into different sections. The Court of the Gentiles was an area where even the non-Jews could enter. Then there were areas reserved only for Jews, for the tribe of Levi, for the priest whose turn it was to offer the sacrifices, and finally there was the most internal zone, the heart of the Temple, the Holy of Holies where the Ark was kept. To profane the Temple meant to put something in that area that did not belong there. When the Gospel says, “Jesus knew what was at the heart of man”, we should reflect on what ought to be at the heart of any temple of the Lord. In the Latin tradition we speak of the “Ten Commandments” but in the Old Testament these were always referred to as the “Ten Words”. In other words, they were not abstract, cold imperatives, but a relationship of dialogue with the Lord. What is in man? Either God is at the heart of each one of us, speaking to us as an intimate providential Father, or there is deceit, the darkness that comes with refusing the authority of God. When the latter is the case, profit and conceit take over in the Temple. Jesus says, “Do not make a market of this place!” Either we have the paternal wisdom of God at heart, wherein we entrust ourselves to his providence in the Holy of Holies within each of us, or we are a marketplace, consumed by a spirit of self-profit that is never satisfied.

 

May this Sunday be a time when the sword of God’s word strikes us within, making us ponder what it is that lies in our hearts! Is it a relationship of trust with God, or a spirit of egoism and self-gain?

In this time of Lent we must focus on the state of our hearts. The word of the Lord this Sunday is like a sword that strikes at us within, enquiring what has taken the place of the relationship of trust with God. What is within our hearts? One of the Psalms says: “If you do not speak to me, then I am like one who goes down in the pit”. But if God speaks to my heart, then I am truly alive, happy and well.




Tales of unexpected blessings, hilarious true stories, unique perspectives on the lives of the saints. An original, entertaining and orthodox presentation of the Catholic faith. You won’t be able to put it down!
"Captivating."
— Elizabeth Lev, Professor of Art History, Rome.

“Entertaining.”
— Cardinal Seán Brady, 
Ireland.

"I laughed out loud many times, and told the stories to others who laughed just as hard."
— Sally Read, Author.

"Enchanting."
— Bishop Brendan Leahy, Diocese of Limerick.

"Unique and insightful."
— Archbishop Kieran O'Reilly, Cashel and Emly.

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Sunday Gospel Reflection