SUNDAY GOSPEL REFLECTION

December 10 2023 - Second Sunday of Advent

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!

“In the Stars the Glory of His Eyes – Tales from an Irish Tour Guide in Rome”

FROM IGNATIUS PRESS

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.

December 3rd 2023. First Sunday of Advent

GOSPEL: Mark 13:33-37

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

​

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

​

GOSPEL: Mark 13:33-37

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Be watchful! Be alert!
You do not know when the time will come.
It is like a man traveling abroad.
He leaves home and places his servants in charge,
each with his own work,
and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.
Watch, therefore;
you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming,
whether in the evening, or at midnight,
or at cockcrow, or in the morning.
May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.
What I say to you, I say to all: 'Watch!'"

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

 

SUMMARY

The first reading from Isaiah is very beautiful and deserves to be read. In it we hear the cry of a people who are poor, miserable and oppressed. They have sinned and turned away from God, but now they know they need him and they call on him to come! This too is our cry! The issue is not about knowing when the Lord is going to come: the issue is being ready at all times to encounter that which is greater than us, that which is life-giving. Since the time of Adam and Eve, we have tried to have things under our control, but the coming of the Lord into our lives is completely in the hands of God. Waiting for the Lord and being vigilant for his coming is essential. Waiting, in fact, is an important part of life. From the waiting involved in pregnancy to the waiting involved in giving time to others, life calls us to forgo the things that we want to do right now. But our society is hooked on entertainment, distraction and ever-new escapes from reality. Satan is described in Revelation as the one who goes around in a fury because he knows he has little time. Time is a gift of God and we must use it to be obedient, to wait patiently, to look to the Lord, to be on our guard not to let the enemy enter. Those who do not know how to wait on the Lord are driven by appetites, impulses, and interior aggression. This Gospel tries to shake us out of our half-drugged coma in which we carry on, following ourselves and do not look to the Lord. Advent tells us that the King of kings is coming right to our homes and that we must be ready for him! When an important visitor comes, it is right that we get the place in order for him, that we throw out all that is incompatible with his presence.

 

The first reading from Isaiah is the cry of a people who have turned away from God and now realize that they are desperately in need of his visitation

The very important season of Advent begins, the start of a new liturgical year, and it is set in motion with a word of great beauty and appropriateness from chapter 63 of the prophet Isaiah. “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down . . .” Here is expressed the burning desire of a people to be visited by God. This part of the book of Isaiah was written in the period after the exile. The people were poor, miserable and oppressed. “Return for the sake of your servants!” the reading says. “Once you did marvels for us that we did not expect. No eye has seen, no ear has heard any God but you perform such deeds”. This is the recollection by a people in a state of misery of the wonderful deeds the Lord once did for them. But they have not been mindful of the Lord. They have squandered the gift of faith that was given to them. Having brought evil upon themselves, they now are in need of the visitation of God. Various verses from the cry of this poor people, as expressed in chapters 63 and 64 of Isaiah, are put together in our first reading on Sunday.

 

The issue is not knowing when the Lord will come: the issue is being always ready in life to encounter what is greater than us, to encounter the in-breaking of God into our lives.

How should we welcome the Lord who comes to visit us? Advent tells us that the Lord is not distant in the heavens while we try to get by on earth. This season announces that He is coming to meet us. It is important to be ready and to be free from the wrong sort of expectations. In the Gospel, Jesus says, "Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.” We could reply: “Tell us when you are coming, Lord, so that we can be ready for you”. But the problem is not that the Lord comes without warning: the issue at the heart of being vigilant is a different matter altogether. We are called as a people to be always ready to encounter that which is greater than we are. But we try to flee from this situation. Since the time of Adam and Eve we have sought the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We wish to know everything that relates to our own destiny and we pretend to be able to keep our lives within the control of our own schemes. But this is not possible! We simply must recognize that we have no other option than to be ready for the unexpected, to be prepared for the occurrence of the sublime, of that which is outside of our control. As the Gospel says, our gatekeeper must be on the look-out. A building without a doorman is liable to have strangers entering and wandering around the house without the owner’s consent. In life, we all have need of a gatekeeper who is constantly on guard. When we are on guard, we can prevent the enemy, deceit, and treachery from entering in. It is essential that we all be vigilant.

 

Life involves having the ability to wait, the ability to give one’s time up for others and the Lord. Satan is the one who cannot wait because he is so preoccupied with his own schemes

Waiting might seem like a frustrating business, but without waiting there is no life! Pregnancy is a time of waiting. Life involves having the ability to wait. Some people are capable of waiting and giving their time to people, whilst others are impatient. It is interesting that in the book of Revelation, chapter 12, the devil is defined as the one who is full of fury because he knows he has little time. But none of us have our own time in reality because time is made by God. It is not necessary for us to have time but to be obedient to time, obedient to reality. Those who are not obedient to time, those who do not know how to wait, are driven by impulses and appetites and interior aggression. The text tells us to be vigilant at evening, at midnight, at cockcrow and in the morning, the four classic watches of the night when the changing of the guard used to happen. The sentries must always be ready because life is important!

 

This Gospel tries to shake us out of our half-drugged coma in which we go from one distraction to another, one entertainment to another. This Advent we are called to empty ourselves of those things that are incompatible with our Lord, who is on his way to us very soon

This passage calls us to stop going on in an unthinking daze. Don’t forget, we live in a society hooked on entertainment, diversions, distractions. Our society is, as it were, in a half-drugged coma, constantly looking for new escapes from reality. Advent is the marvellous announcement of the visitation by God, a fact that requires us to have our feet soundly planted in reality. We are called to live in a way that is attentive to life, that is in harmony with what is essential, ready for the visit of our Master who is coming again. He will come again! And when he comes it will be beautiful to be with him. Advent is an illuminating time. It is not a sad time. It is indeed a time of penitence, certainly it is! Everything that is incompatible with the coming of the Lord must be thrown away. The more the better. There is nothing surprising about that. When someone important comes to our house, we get the place in order before he arrives. Let us prepare ourselves for the Lord’s visit because the King of kings is coming right to our door!

“In the Stars the Glory of His Eyes – Tales from an Irish Tour Guide in Rome”

FROM IGNATIUS PRESS

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.

November 26th 2023. Feast of Christ the King

GOSPEL: Matthew 25,31-46

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

​

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

​

GOSPEL: Matthew 25:31-46

Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him. 
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 
Then the king will say to those on his right,
'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. 
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.'
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink? 
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you? 
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?'
And the king will say to them in reply,
'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Then he will say to those on his left,
'Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'
Then they will answer and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?'
He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.'
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life."

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

 

SUMMARY. . . This Sunday – the Feast of Christ the King - marks the end of the liturgical year and it is an opportunity for us to think about the end of all things, the eternal significance of every single thing we do. Jesus’ parable shows that he is the centre of history. The meaning of every event in our lives is to be evaluated in relation to him. More specifically, it is to be evaluated in relation to how much love – or lack of love – we show in every action of our lives. Every action, whether we like it or not, is directed either for or against Jesus. It is either an act of love, or an act that constitutes a failure to love. We might think that our lives are small, miserable and inconsequential, but this parable shows that every single action we do has eternal meaning! When my life is over, what matters is whether I have shown love to others, whether I have welcomed others, nourished them, visited them when they were lonely, covered their nakedness, accepted them in their alienation. How many times have I myself been visited in the isolation in which I have enclosed myself, comforted in my sorrow and nourished in my poverty! This Sunday, let us reflect on the significance and gravity of everything we do!

 

The parable told by Jesus shows that he is the centre of history and of life, and that all of our actions in life, whether we realize it or not, are actions done to him.

This Sunday we mark the end of the liturgical year and we contemplate Christ, King of the universe, King of history and the centre of all things. The Gospel this week presents Jesus as the judge and the parameter by which all things are to be interpreted. What does it mean to accept Jesus as the parameter by which to interpret history? In the parable, all the people are divided to the right and left of Christ. Some inherit the Kingdom and others are driven away. In this account we discover that the Lord Jesus is the sole criterion by which our eternal destiny is to be decided. It is no harm, in the first instance, to reflect on the fact that we do have an eternal destiny, that are lives are not as banal as we might sometimes think, and that we are called to something of everlasting significance. A true understanding of ourselves appreciates that there is something definitive about our lives and our actions. The things we do have eternal consequences. Some people might think that it would be great if all of us were granted the same reward at the end regardless of what we have done, but this would trivialize the reality of good and evil. If I do good things, does it really have no significance? If I persecute people, make them suffer and compound their misery, is it really of no consequence? Someone commented once that at the end of time it will not be God who will demand justice from humanity, but humanity who will cry out for justice to God. How can we forget the occasion when John Paul II forcefully confronted the mafia at Agrigento in Sicily? He told them that there would be a day of reckoning and that they should never forget that fact. Our lives are not lived in vain; there is something definitive in the things that we do! Indeed, it can be a cause of anguish when we consider that there is something irreversible about life. The things that we have done are objective. They are not simply inconsequential.

 

Love is the criterion with which our lives will be evaluated. Every single act that I do today has eternal significance. It is either a “Yes” to love or a “No” to love. It is a moment that cannot be reversed and that has permanent meaning

What is the parameter by which are lives are to be evaluated? It is love. When confronted with this criterion, many things seem very small and silly. On the basis of this criterion, every single day takes on a significance that goes beyond itself. This Sunday – the end of the liturgical year – we reflect on the end of all things. This prompts us to remember, as St Ignatius of Loyola did, that there will be a reckoning for all the things that we have done. If I was on the point of death and had the time to think, if the Lord conceded to me the grace to reflect on my life and ask for pardon, what would I ask myself? I would ask if I had truly loved others, if anyone had become happy on account of me, if anyone had been clothed by me, if anyone had their thirst quenched by me, if any lonely person had been visited by me when they were closed in a prison, if anyone had been welcomed by me, shown mercy, had their poverty diminished, had their alienation lessened, had been welcomed tenderly as a pilgrim. I have been a pilgrim myself a thousand times, after all, in need of acceptance. I have suffered hunger many times and needed someone to nourish me. I have been shielded by the patience of another, have been visited  by the sacrifice of others. The Lord Jesus says, “Every time you have done these things to someone else, you have done them to me.” We cannot separate our acts from their eternal dimension. When we do something good to another person, there is something permanent in that which we are doing. “Every time you have failed to do these things to these little ones, you have failed to do them to me”. Unfortunately there is also something eternal in our “No” to love. How many times have we stubbornly said, “He deserves his fate, he deserves his imprisonment, his bad fortune”, and we have forgotten that each one of us has been liberated from prison, that each one of us has needed to be looked upon with tenderness when we were locked up inside the delusions of our own making.

 

Our lives might appear small and insignificant, but every single act of our has eternal significance

This is a fantastic Sunday for reflection and an opportunity to centre everything upon love. All things are to be measured, evaluated, considered from the point of view of their eternal significance. This small and miserable life that we appear to be leading is instead an eternal adventure. It is a life that has permanent and definitive consequences. Every single act has within it an opening onto eternity. Every act is far more significant than we can ever imagine.

“In the Stars the Glory of His Eyes – Tales from an Irish Tour Guide in Rome”

FROM IGNATIUS PRESS

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.

  November 12th 2023. Thirty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL: Matthew 25, 14-30

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

​

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

​

GOSPEL: Matthew 25, 14-30

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
"A man going on a journey
called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.
To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one--
to each according to his ability. 
Then he went away.
Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them,
and made another five.
Likewise, the one who received two made another two. 
But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground
and buried his master's money.

After a long time
the master of those servants came back
and settled accounts with them.
The one who had received five talents came forward
bringing the additional five. 
He said, 'Master, you gave me five talents. 
See, I have made five more.'
His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. 
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities. 
Come, share your master's joy.'
Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said,
'Master, you gave me two talents. 
See, I have made two more.'
His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. 
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master's joy.'
Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, 
'Master, I knew you were a demanding person,
harvesting where you did not plant
and gathering where you did not scatter;
so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. 
Here it is back.'
His master said to him in reply, 'You wicked, lazy servant!
So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant
and gather where I did not scatter? 
Should you not then have put my money in the bank
so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? 
Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. 
For to everyone who has,
more will be given and he will grow rich;
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'

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

 

SUMMARY: In the Gospel, a man is about to embark on a journey and he entrusts his servants with five talents, two talents and one talent respectively. At the time of Jesus, a talent was worth 33 kilos of gold – a genuine fortune! This man is giving his entire wealth to his servants! This makes us think immediately of the Lord Jesus who bestows on us incredible gifts and immeasurable graces. But why do some people respond well to God’s gifts, while others respond in a mediocre and half-hearted way? The answer is given by the third servant. He tells the master than he buried the talent because he was afraid of him. “You are a demanding master, sowing where you do not reap”. This attitude to God is at the root of our mediocrity. We do not enter into the grace that Jesus gives us because we are suspicious of the Lord. We think that he is really looking for something from us! We suspect that God is only giving to us so that he can get something from us that we really don’t want to give. This image of God is unfounded and offensive! The Lord has emptied himself for us, but out of his infinite generosity, not so that he can gain something in return! It is true that he wishes us to respond, however, if he is to bestow even more blessings on us. That is why the first two servants receive even more bounty because they “were faithful in small matters”. This Sunday let us banish from our minds the image of a demanding God and reflect on his love and mercy.

 

The readings speak of God’s invitation to use the gifts he has given us. Some respond well to God’s call and others do not respond at all. Why?

In the first reading we hear of an industrious lady who is able to achieve wonderful things from that which is allotted to her. The reading holds up the beauty of fruitful works, and the joy they bring to others. It is a privilege to work and it one of the things that gives meaning to our lives. The Gospel reading presents the famous parable of the talents in which a number of people are called to work. We hear of people who accept their call to work and manage to produce wonderful results, and we hear of another who does not respond to the call. How can we understand the reasons behind these contrasting attitudes?

 

A man distributes enormous wealth to his servants. The Lord Jesus, similarly, gives us immeasurable gifts

A man is embarking on a journey and he decides to distribute his goods: five talents, two talents and one talent, according to the capacities of the recipients. But just how much is a talent? If we go to any Bible with tables of information at the back, we will discover that, at the time of Jesus, a talent corresponded to 33 kilos of gold. Thus, we are talking about a real fortune. The man has handed over his entire wealth to these men. Of course, this man is to be compared to the Lord Jesus. Jesus does not give us small favours. He entrusts us with immense gifts, with unlimited graces, with the power of the sacraments - which is enormous in comparison to the smallness of our lives. So we receive these immeasurable gifts from God and some of us put these gifts to work. Often we meet people who have received some special grace from the Church or from Divine Providence, and they have entered into this grace. But why do some people not enter into the grace that they have been given? Even the man who received one talent has received something virtually immeasurable. What prevents him from using it?

 

The servant does not use what the master has given him because he fears the master. He thinks that the master is not really giving him a genuine gift but is actually demanding something difficult from him

Let us examine the psychology of this servant when the master speaks to him. The servant replies, “I know that you are a demanding person, reaping where you do not sow and gathering where you do not scatter. I was afraid and went and hid your talent under the ground. Here it is back”. The servant is afraid to enter into the great affairs of God because he is afraid of God! This is what makes people mediocre, and indeed this servant is an image of the mediocre Christian, the person who does not open the doors, who does things in a tepid and half-hearted way. Why does this person fear God? Because he thinks that God’s gifts are just ways of camouflaging demands, that God’s gifts are really traps. If God is calling me to an encounter with grace, perhaps it is because he wants to exploit me?  He wants to gather where he has not scattered. He is demanding and wants more from me than he will ultimately give.

​

The servant’s image of his master is the same mistaken image that many of us have of God. We think God is looking for something from us. God does not deserve this image! He is fundamentally someone who gives to us without end. He only wants us to respond to him so that he can give us even more!

This servant highlights a mistaken image of God. We tend to think of God as someone who appears to be giving us a talent, but who knows what he really wants? We look on God with suspicion. The Lord, with all his generosity, does not deserve to have this image! With all of us God is patient and generous, the very opposite to demanding. The mercy of God covers so many of our faults! If the Lord really kept an account of our deeds, who would be saved? The image of God presented by the servant as a demanding and pretentious tyrant is aberrant and unacceptable. It is the image of a God who wants something from us. Do we really think God needs anything from us? What could we give him? But when God gives to us it is only so that he can give us even more. In the case of the other two servants, the master replies, “You have been faithful in small matters”. For the Lord, the enormous quantity represented by the talents is nothing; he has so much more that he wishes to give us! When he offers something, it is solely out of generosity, not because he wants something in return.

 

This Sunday let us reflect on the generosity and patience of God and banish from our minds the image of a God who is demanding and vengeful

This Sunday let us enter into the truth about our heavenly Father, that which is revealed to us in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is gratuity in person. Jesus holds nothing back and gives everything for us, even offering up his life on our account. We have no grounds for reasoning in the suspicious manner of the third servant. Why are we mediocre? Because we are suspicious of God and we therefore do not abandon ourselves to him. Mediocrity is widely diffused in Christianity and is fundamentally derived from an offensive and unacceptable image of God.

“In the Stars the Glory of His Eyes – Tales from an Irish Tour Guide in Rome”

FROM IGNATIUS PRESS

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.