March 27th 2021.  Fourth Sunday of Lent

GOSPEL   Luke 13, 1-9

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

 

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

 

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GOSPEL   Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So to them Jesus addressed this parable:
“A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father,
‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’
So the father divided the property between them.
After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country
where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.
When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country,
and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens
who sent him to his farm to tend the swine.
And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any.
Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers
have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger.
I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him,
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ So he got up and went back to his father.
While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion.
He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.
His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you;
I no longer deserve to be called your son.’
But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him;
put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast,
because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again;
he was lost, and has been found.’
Then the celebration began.
Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house,
he heard the sound of music and dancing.
He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.
The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned
and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf
because he has him back safe and sound.’
He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house,
his father came out and pleaded with him.
He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you
and not once did I disobey your orders;
yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.
But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes,
for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’
He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always;
everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice,
because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”

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

 

SUMMARY OF HOMILY

1. Jesus is having a banquet with sinners. This shocks the Pharisees, but the central message of Jesus is that sinners are invited to the joyous feast of union with the Father.

On Laetare Sunday we remember the mercy and generosity of the Father, recalling that our journey towards Easter is a journey towards joy. The Gospel narrative of the prodigal son is told by Jesus in the context of a banquet. The Scribes and Pharisees are upset that Jesus is eating with sinners. Their tendency is to think that the moral rectitude of man has to be the central consideration of our lives, of who we socialise with, and everything else, but this parable shows us a different way. The phrase that is most repeated in the parable is, “Your brother was dead, but has come to life again; he was lost and now is found”. This joy leads to the father organising a feast, and that is the reason that Jesus gives the Pharisees for the fact that he is feasting with sinners.

 

2. The younger son made a big mistake, but the older son is actually living in continuous error.

The thing that is most necessary is that people return to life, that the children of God live as children of God. If we read life from a horizontal perspective, then we will perceive that some people are more righteous than others. But if we read life from the perspective of the Father, then the thing that is most important is not whether a child has sinned but whether he has returned to life. The greatest risk, ironically, is the attitude of the older son, who lives close to the Father but has the attitude of a slave. He says, “All the years I have served you, and not once have you given me a young goat to celebrate with my friends”. The younger son was immoral, perverse and made a terrible error in leaving his home, but the older son has lived the continuous error of behaving like a slave in the house of his Father. The older son, in fact, is saying that he doesn’t want to celebrate with his Father; he would prefer to do his own thing with his own friends. “With you Father, I am just a slave, I’d prefer to do as my younger brother did and go away and have a feast elsewhere”.

 

3. It is more dangerous to live an “upright” life in self-righteousness than to live a less obedient life that is more open to my need of mercy

It seems absurd, but the older brother who keeps the rules externally is more globally in error than the younger brother who broke the rules recklessly. It is more dangerous to live in the conviction of one’s own righteousness than to be in error, and then rediscover my true identity through the mercy of the Father. People who are under the illusion of their own integrity find it more difficult to repent than sinners whose offences are obvious to everyone. This parable is usually named after the prodigal son or the merciful Father, but its real centre is the older son. The passage opens with the grumbling Pharisees and ends with the grumbling son who does not rejoice in the fact that his brother has been restored to life.

 

4. We must fear self-righteousness more than we fear sin itself

It is right that we fear sin, but we must also fear this attitude that resists conversion, an attitude of self-righteousness, judgment and grumbling. It is very difficult to be converted from a position of false rectitude. Sin, the dissolute life, is a terrible thing, but the Father is still greater than our sin. However, he also respects our freedom. If we consider ourselves righteous and say no to the mercy of the Father, then there is little that he can do. The prodigal son opens himself to the beauty of the Father, first of all through his hunger and deprivation. This Lent may the Lord grant us the grace to open ourselves to the Father and descend from the pedestal of our righteousness, from the presumption of self-sufficiency. All of us are impoverished and have desperate need to enter the feast of the Father.

 

ALTERNATIVE HOMILY

The Fourth Sunday of Lent is traditionally dedicated to joy. We must keep in mind that the penitence of Lent is not a sterile perfectionism but a path to true joy. The Parable of the Prodigal Son gives us a perfect opportunity to reflect on this theme. The younger son goes in search of joy, taking the same path that is taken by so many in our society, the path of complete autonomy in search of worldly pleasure and fulfilment. But this leads to the abyss of despair, prompting the son to “re-enter into himself”. This “re-entering into himself” involves a return to the truth about himself and a rediscovery of how wonderful his father really is. We know the rest of the story. He is welcomed home by his father and a big celebration begins. Now the older brother enters the scene. He is actually a central figure in this parable for he shows us that a servile, external adherence to the Lord does not lead to joy but to bitterness. He considers himself righteous and is angry that his wayward brother should be “rewarded” for his transgressions. In this, the older brother shows that he believes that real enjoyment comes from these forbidden worldly pleasures. We see, in fact, that this older brother is as far away from his father as the younger brother was when we left home. He is not in right relationship with his father and his life is consequently lacking in real joy.

March 20th 2022.  Third Sunday of Lent

GOSPEL   Luke 13, 1-9

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

 

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

 

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GOSPEL   Luke 13, 1-9

Some people arrived and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. At this he said to them, ‘Do you suppose these Galileans who suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.’

He told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to the man who looked after the vineyard, “Look here, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?” “Sir,” the man replied “leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.”‘

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

 

SUMMARY OF HOMILY

1. How do we make sense of the tragic events of our day? Is someone responsible for them? Jesus shows us that there is a right way and a wrong way to respond to such happenings.

Jesus is asked to make sense of the tragic events that happen in his day. Such events are part and parcel of every age. In response, Jesus tells the parable of the man with the fig tree. It has produced no fruit, but the labourer pleads that it be given an opportunity for one more year, while he digs around it and manures it. We too are being given an opportunity in the tragic events that are being presented to us on a daily basis! The second reading on Sunday (from St Paul to the Corinthians) recounts how the Israelites were taken out of Egypt and nourished by the Lord on spiritual food. But they failed to respond in a way that pleased the Lord and they were struck down. St Paul says that this is an example to us that “we might not desire evil things”. The parable of the fig tree, similarly, challenges us to respond in the right way to the difficult challenges that face us.

 

2. The tragedies of our time are invitations to conversion and to fruitful living.

The second reading recounts the story of Moses and the burning bush. The Lord tells Moses that he has seen the oppression and suffering of his people and that he intends to liberate them. Similarly, the negative chronicle that we read in the Gospel regarding the cruelty of the Romans and the tragedy of the tower are not just news to be processed but invitations to conversion. Moses approaches the burning bush with curiosity, but the Lord tells him to take off his shoes for it is sacred ground. When we hear the negative headlines in the news, we too are asked to not remain at the level of curiosity. We are to search for the sacred and to bear fruit. The facts that we hear call upon us to respond in a fruitful way. History is not a collection of facts but a series of opportunities to convert and bear fruit.

 

3. Jesus is the merciful keeper of the vineyard. He digs around us and wants us to be fruitful. In the difficulties of our lives, let us respond according to Christ’s grace.

The Lord Jesus is the merciful keeper of the vineyard. He has descended to proclaim to us a time of grace. He has dug around us with his wisdom, fertilized us with his blood, called upon us to mature and respond with love to the things that happen to us in history. When these difficult or challenging things happen, our task is not to understand why these events have happened, but to know how to respond to them. In fact, Jesus tells us explicitly in this passage not to ask if such and such a thing happened because of the subjective guilt of such and such a person. Rather, what we are asked to do when we see these tragedies is to repent and be converted. This third Sunday of Lent, what we are called to do is to consider these things that happen in our lives and all around us, and to respond with love, the love that God places within us, not with some sort of forced muscular reaction. Let us respond by listening to the inspirations that God gives us. We are asked to not let these events get on top of us, but to respond fruitfully by living according to Christ.

 

ALTERNATIVE HOMILY

Some people approach Jesus and ask him what he thinks of the tragic news story regarding the Galileans who were killed by Pilate. In one fell swoop, Jesus addresses two mistaken attitudes of these people: firstly, it is wrong to conclude that the sinfulness of the Galileans led to their misfortune; and, secondly, it is wrong to look on tragedies such as this in a detached way without our hearts being moved. We must be converted or we will perish the same way! In today’s culture we browse news stories as if we were in a supermarket. We behave as detached observers and use these stories to titillate our curiosity. Jesus is warning us that the painful facts that these stories relate are a call to change our hearts, to remind us that the time for conversion is short. He makes this point with the parable of the fig tree. The tree is given just one more year. It must bear fruit by then or it will be cut down. Jesus is telling us that he wants to see fruit from us. We must cease acting like detached spectators in the world. The tragedies in our news stories are a call to radical conversion. Just like those victims in the news, our time is coming soon and we will be asked to give an account of ourselves. The news is not a commodity for recreation! It is a call to conversion, to truth, to fraternity, to service.

March 13th 2022.  Second Sunday of Lent

GOSPEL   Luke 9:28B-36

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

 

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

 

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GOSPEL   Luke 9:28B-36

Jesus took Peter, John, and James
and went up the mountain to pray.
While he was praying his face changed in appearance
and his clothing became dazzling white.
And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah,
who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus
that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep,
but becoming fully awake,
they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus,
"Master, it is good that we are here;
let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
But he did not know what he was saying.
While he was still speaking,
a cloud came and cast a shadow over them,
and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.
Then from the cloud came a voice that said,
"This is my chosen Son; listen to him."
After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.
They fell silent and did not at that time
tell anyone what they had seen.

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

 

SUMMARY OF HOMILY

1. Christ unveils who he is and who we are called to be.

In the first reading from Chapter 15 of Genesis, the Lord tells Abraham to look at the stars to appreciate how abundantly the promise to him will be fulfilled. In contemplating this visible aspect of nature, Abraham is shown something that is not yet visible – his countless number of descendants. Similarly, the three disciples are called by Jesus out of their normal situation and taken up a mountain where they see Jesus transfigured. Like Abraham, they behold with their eyes something that points to a deeper spiritual reality. They see that Jesus is not only a man but also God. As with Abraham, this is a revelation of the greatness of humanity which hasn’t yet come to completion. In Christ is manifested the glory to which every man and woman is called. As Vatican II says, Christ reveals man to himself. The root of “to reveal” is to take away the veil covering something.

 

2. The revelation of the identity of Christ occurs in the context of contemplating the Scriptures

The Transfiguration reveals to us who Christ is and who we are, but it happens in a very particular context, that of prayer. Moses and Elijah appear with Christ. Moses is the traditional author of the first five books of the Bible, whilst Elijah is the greatest of the prophets. What does this meeting signify? Jesus is the key for unveiling the true meaning of the Scriptures (which are fulfilled in him), and, at the same time, the Scriptures help to unveil the mystery of Christ. What is discussed by Jesus, Moses and Elijah? His “exodus”, namely, his passion, death and resurrection, the redemption that would be wrought by his suffering and death. This encounter between Christ and Scripture, the meaning of his suffering, death and resurrection - this is precisely what we are called to contemplate during Lent. We are called to prayer, to contemplate Christ and to find in him the key to the Scriptures. This is a beautiful thing so it is no wonder that Peter says, “It is beautiful to be here". But what Peter says is incomplete. He has seen the glorious end of the journey, but the journey itself still has to be undertaken. We are called to glory, but must walk the walk! The cloud evokes the Exodus when the Lord was present in the cloud and the people followed it.

 

3. Our Lenten practices help to unveil the mystery of Christ and the light we are called to follow

All of this assists us on our journey towards Easter and towards true glory. Our Christian journey is not one of  ethical perfection or obedience to religious norms. No, our journey is towards the light revealed to us in the Scriptures.  The Lenten practices of fasting, prayer and almsgiving are paschal acts. Through them, we are transported to the new life, the life of Easter. We were created and called to take possession of our complete dignity. This Lent, let us walk towards the glory of Christ and towards our own glory, towards this invisible dimension of things. Through these Lenten practices, through acts of service, this hidden reality is unveiled and we arrive at the light of Christ.

 

ALTERNATIVE HOMILY

This Sunday’s Gospel recounts the transfiguration of Jesus. Peter responds with the words, “Lord it is beautiful to be here”. Sometimes we think of God negatively, but when we truly know him then we discover his inexpressible beauty. But this beauty can only be seen when we have undergone a journey, when we have climbed a mountain. What mountain must we climb in order to behold the beauty of God? Ours is a culture of leisure, entertainment and self-obsession. If the disciples fell asleep during the transfiguration, then how much more are we asleep today! We are constantly distracted by our cell phones and other superficial things. Lent is a journey to the root of authentic living. We often start reluctantly, unwilling to fast, pray or abstain from vice. The most superficial part of us wants to numb us against the discomfort of reality! A thousand arguments arise to postpone fasting or - worse - turn it into a diet in preparation for the beach season. And this only leads us into an even worse form of narcissism. This superficiality of ours is an obstacle to authentic beauty. If we are to behold the beauty of God then there is a mountain that must be climbed, a cloud that must be passed through, a sleep that must be resisted, a darkness that must be bravely borne, the same darkness that all men and women of holiness have passed through. We must battle gluttony, pride and greed, because in these things lies our ugliness. The beauty of God - and our own beauty - lies beyond the mountain of fasting, prayer and almsgiving.

March 6th 2022  First Sunday of Lent

GOSPEL Luke 4:1-13

 

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

 

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

 

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GOSPEL Luke 4:1-13

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit through the wilderness, being tempted there by the devil for forty days. During that time he ate nothing and at the end he was hungry. Then the devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to turn into a loaf.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Scripture says: Man does not live on bread alone.’

Then leading him to a height, the devil showed him in a moment of time all the kingdoms of the world and said to him, ‘I will give you all this power and the glory of these kingdoms, for it has been committed to me and I give it to anyone I choose. Worship me, then, and it shall all be yours.’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Scripture says: You must worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone.’

Then he led him to Jerusalem and made him stand on the parapet of the Temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said to him ‘throw yourself down from here, for scripture says: “He will put his angels in charge of you to guard you,” and again, “They will hold you up on their hands in case you hurt your foot against a stone.” '

But Jesus answered him, ‘It has been said: You must not put the Lord your God to the test.’ Having exhausted all these ways of tempting him, the devil left him, to return at the appointed time.

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

 

SUMMARY OF HOMILY

1. The three temptations of Jesus in the desert show us the pathway to freedom from sin

As always on this first Sunday of Lent we read of the Lord’s battle against temptation in the desert. The key for interpreting this Gospel is given to us by the opening prayer which speaks of this period as a time of conversion, a passage from darkness to light, from a self-referential existence to a life of love. Conversion involves a battle in which we are led out of a condition of slavery. As Jesus says in Chapter 8 of John’s Gospel, those who commit sin are slaves to sin. We don’t stop sinning with a simple act of the will, since sin is an ingrained habit, a vice. We cannot overcome it by ourselves. Pride, jealousy, lust, gluttony, or whatever it may be, are overcome by following the same path that Jesus follows when he is confronted by the three temptations in the desert. But how are they relevant to us? Who among us is tempted to eat a stone for bread, or throw himself from the pinnacle of the Temple, or to exercise dominion over the world? However, in actual fact, these three tests do indeed show us the way to liberty.

 

2. Temptations, tests, are necessary, because they lead to deeper conversion. In moments of extremity we are invited to not content ourselves with banal solutions but to make a leap of faith in God.

In Luke’s account, it is the Holy Spirit who leads Jesus into the desert, into the place where he will be tempted by Satan. Temptations are necessary because it is only when something is tested that we discover if it is real or not. Every relationship – friendship, betrothal, marriage – needs moments of verification. Paradoxically, it is when our faith is put to the test that it is deepened and more radical conversion occurs. In the desert, Jesus arrives at the extremity of hunger. No human body can sustain a fast of that sort and Jesus wants to eat. It is at this point that the temptation arrives whereby things – even stones - become a function of my appetites. Satan says, “If you are the Son of God, turn this stone into bread”. If he is really the child of the Father, then – according to Satan – it should be manifested by his changing the stone into bread, as if divine sonship was all about satisfying an appetite at a moment of extreme need. Jesus, however, turns the thing on its head. It is at this extreme limit that one is invited not to live on bread alone but on every word that comes from God. Similarly, it is at the moment of limit that one becomes a true friend, a true parent, a true spouse, a true Christian. In times of extreme necessity, our hearts have the possibility not stoop to banality but make a leap of faith in God.

 

3. It is in moments of extreme need that we have the opportunity to abandon ourselves as children to the Father. In Christ, sharing his sonship, that we can be transformed by these difficulties.

It is precisely because Jesus is Son that he does not content himself simply with bread. Because he is Son, he does not fling himself from the Temple expecting the Father to adjust to his whims in order to save him. Because he is Son, he does not bow to the powers of this world. There is only One, in fact, to whom he will bend. This is the pathway of conversion. In these difficult moments we become children of God. It is important to be attentive, however! Conversion is not simply about determined acts of the will on our part. Jesus has gone into the desert for us, and it is only with him and in him that we can respond to the Father as his children. Only in Christ do we discover a unique key for resolving the issues of our appetites, our possessiveness, the absolutisation of our own ideas and solutions. It is no longer about relying on our own powers, but walking with and through Christ, sharing in his sonship. We tend to be preoccupied with what we need to do, but this Lent what is more essential is what God is doing in us. As we go about our daily tasks and challenges this Lent, let us abandon ourselves in Christ to the Father. By his power we can begin to be transformed.

 

ALTERNATIVE HOMILY

The people of Israel were purified for forty years in the desert before entering the Promised Land. And when they did enter, as the first reading on Sunday states, Moses declared that they must always keep their priorities in order, offering the best of themselves continually to God. Lent too is a journey of purification, a journey out of ourselves, away from our egos. The temptations of Jesus described in the Gospel story are temptations to go in the opposite direction, temptations to use things, people, and even God himself in service of our own ego. The first temptation is to turn stone into bread. How often we try to misuse things so that they satisfy our appetites! We don’t care what the real value or the real identity of a thing is so long as it can be used to satisfy me. The second temptation is to acquire power and authority in earthly terms. We wish to control people and structures so that they serve my wishes. The third temptation is to use God to further my own projects and wishes. I don’t seek to follow the will of God. I “pray” and cajole and make bargains that he will aid me in promoting my interests. All of these temptations are filled with deceit. They promise everything and give us nothing. For if we use things for our own ends and do not appreciate their real value, then we not only lose those things, we also lose ourselves. If I go after power and authority in the service of my own ego, then I am really an abject slave to something else. My power and freedom are completely illusory. My real master is Satan. And if I try to use God to further my own interests, then God will be unable to save me. Salvation involves abandonment to the will of God. A God who obeys me is not a God that can save me.

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