DECEMBER 30th. FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY

Gospel: Luke 2:41-52

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

Reflection on the Gospel follows the Scripture passage ...

GOSPEL              Luke 2:41-52

Every year the parents of Jesus used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual. When they were on their way home after the feast, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. They assumed he was with the caravan, and it was only after a day's journey that they went to look for him among their relations and acquaintances. When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere.

Three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the doctors, listening to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, 'My child, why have, you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.' 'Why were you looking for me?' he replied 'Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father's affairs?' But they did not understand what he meant.

He then went down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority. His mother stored up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favour with God and men.

SUMMARY OF DON FABIO'S HOMILY ....

Mary loses Jesus and then finds him again three days later in the temple. She ponders this event in her heart for the rest of her life. Twenty years later, she loses Jesus for three days again, but then finds him risen. The Lord prepares us for our mission in life with events and signs that we must ponder continually in our hearts. His future action in our lives is prepared for by His past action in our lives. What are the things that God has wrought in my life that I need to ponder continually?

Don Fabio also asks us to use this Gospel to reflect on the fundamental spirit of obedience that characterizes the Holy family. Joseph, Mary and Jesus are  distinguished by their obedience to the will of the Father. In this passage, Jesus shows himself to be consumed with the desire to carry out his Father’s will. The key to a healthy family life is that the family members put obedience to the will of God first and foremost in their lives. Only then can we learn to be true fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters. 

Mary teaches us the importance of pondering the right things in our hearts

The key for understanding next Sunday’s Gospel is to be found in the phrase, “His mother pondered all these things in her heart.” The story that Luke recounts to us has something that is going to be of great importance to Mary later. Mary, the model of wisdom, is the archetype of how one should relate to God, and she teaches us the importance of holding things in our hearts. But what exactly should we conserve in our hearts? This particular Gospel passage holds up one thing in particular that deserves to be pondered continually.

Mary loses Jesus and finds him three days later in the temple. During the Passion she will lose him again and find him three days later.

At the age of twelve, every Jewish boy (to this day) is expected to undergo his “bar mitzvah,” a rite which marks the transition to adulthood. The boy is expected to be able to read the Scriptures and be able to respond to questions posed by his elders. From this point on, he can take his place in the religious assembly of the people of Israel.

        Jesus undergoes this transition in an indirect way during the family visit to Jerusalem. Mary ponders that moment for the rest of her life because it was the moment in which she lost him and then found him again three days later in the temple. She lost him because he was engaged in his Father’s business. Twenty years later Mary would remember this event when she lost Jesus again in Jerusalem because he was engaged in his Father’s business, and she would find him again alive after three days. God prepares us for our mission in life with signs and events that remain impressed in our memories. These are events that have a particular symbolic force, and we recount again and again during our lives. At the age of twelve, Jesus performs this prophetic act, and Mary must hold it in her heart. In order to understand the present ways of God in our lives we must ponder on his past ways. The wonderful things that are to come have already been announced in the things that have already happened. This is true for all of us. What are the significant things that have happened to us that we need to ponder in our lives?

The Holy Family is a model of obedience to the will of God

Liturgically, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family next Sunday. The three members of the Holy Family are fundamentally united at the core of their beings in their obedience to the Father. Joseph fulfils his role with regard to Jesus and Mary in complete obedience to the instructions of the angel and to the plan of the Father. Mary, in her obedience to the angel at the Annunciation, goes on to live out her wondrous mission of being the mother of Jesus. And Jesus, in this Gospel passage, is shown to be completely caught up with the desire to be obedient to this Father. He is on fire with the longing to be engaged in his Father’s business.

        Jesus, true God and true Man, reveals to us the meaning of our existence, which is to be obedient to the will of the Father. Like him at twelve years of age, we must immerse ourselves in the story of God, and develop hearts that have no other desire than to be occupied with the affairs of God, conforming themselves to His sacred will.

Healthy family life is based on the way the family members conform themselves to the will of God

This conformity with the will of God is what keeps our families together, heals our existence, and enables us to grow. This is what makes us genuine women and men, authentic adults. The only one who can transform us into responsible adults is the invisible Father. He is all-powerful yet loves us tenderly. It is only when we become faithful children of His, acting in conformity to His will, that we are enabled to become fathers and mothers in the truest sense, taking a proper place in our own family life and in our own destinies.

WHILE WE WERE WAITING FOR DON FABIO’S HOMILY TO APPEAR THIS WEEK, WE PUT UP TWO OTHER REFLECTIONS ON SUNDAY’S GOSPEL. THEY CAN BE FOUND BELOW. The first is part of an online homily given by Fr Munachi Ezeogu, cssp. The second comes from a film on the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

A little boy greets his father as he returns from work with a question: “Daddy, how much do you make an hour?” The father is surprised and says: “Look, son, not even your mother knows. Don’t bother me now, I’m tired.” “But Daddy, just tell me please! How much do you make an hour?” the boy insists. The father finally gives up and replies: “Twenty dollars.” “Okay, Daddy,” the boy continues, “Could you loan me ten dollars?” The father shouts at him: “So that was the reason you asked how much I earn, right? Now, go to sleep and don’t bother me anymore!” At night the father thinks over what he said and starts feeling guilty. Maybe his son needed to buy something. Finally, he goes to his son's room. “Are you asleep, son?” asks the father. “No, Daddy. Why?” replies the boy. “Here's the money you asked for earlier,” the father said. “Thanks, Daddy!” replies the boy and receives the money. Then he reaches under his pillow and brings out some more money. “Now I have enough!” says the boy to his father, “Daddy, could you sell me one hour of your time?” Today’s gospel has a message for this man and for all of us, and the message is that we need to invest more of our time in our family life.

The gospel shows us Jesus at the age of twelve. That was the age that every Jewish boy was expected to make his bar mitzvah and so become a responsible subject of the law. It was a ceremony of legal adulthood. From then on he was required to keep the law and make the annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem like any other Jewish man. One way teenagers celebrate their coming of age is to go out and do those things that the law had hitherto forbidden them to do. You know your boy is growing up when he stops asking where he came from and begins to not tell you where he is going. As we can see, Jesus was no exception. To celebrate his coming of age he attends the Temple Bible class without informing his parents. When his parents catch up with him after two days of searching for him everywhere, all he tells them is, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” (Luke 2:49). Even holy families do have their occasional tensions and misunderstandings.

The most puzzling part of the story, however, is the way it ends: “Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them” (v.51). The twelve-year old adult Jesus already knows that his mission is to be in his Father’s house and be about his Father’s business. From the test-run he did in Jerusalem earlier that day, it was clear that he was already capable of doing it very well, because “all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers” (v. 47). The puzzle then is this: If Jesus, already at the age of twelve, was ready to begin his public mission, and was evidently well prepared for it, why would he go down with his parents and spend the next eighteen years in the obscurity of a carpenter’s shed only to begin his public ministry at the age of thirty? Were those eighteen years wasted years? Certainly not! In a way that is hard for us to understand, Jesus’ hidden life in Nazareth was as much a part of his earthly mission as his public life. We are reminded that it was at this time that “Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favour” (v.52). And when we reflect on the fact that for every one year of his public life Jesus spent ten years in family life, then we shall begin to understand the importance and priority he gave to family life.

We have two lives, a private or family life and a public or professional one. These two lives should be in harmony but very often they are in tension. Whereas Jesus resolved the tension by giving priority to his private life, we, unfortunately, often try to resolve it by giving priority to our professional life, leaving our family life to suffer. Rose Sands writes about the unhappy man who thought the only way he could prove his love for his family was to work hard. “To prove his love for her, he swam the deepest river, crossed the widest desert and climbed the highest mountain. She divorced him. He was never home.” The celebration today of the holy family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus reminds and challenges us to value and invest in our private life with our families before our professional life at the work place, even when our job is as important as saving the world.

The second reflection on Sunday’s Gospel comes from a film on the life of Jesus we saw last year in Italy. When Jesus is crucified, the disciples lock themselves indoors frightened and confused. Only Mary, the mother of Jesus, seems relatively calm, even though she too is grieving. One of the disciples asks her how she manages to stay so composed and she replies by telling him the story fo the finding of the boy Jesus in the Temple. She and Joseph had been distraught for three days, and then they found him in the Temple. In the same way, she has no doubt now that she will find Jesus in three days time “in the Temple.” In other words, his separation from her was because he had to do his Father’s business. And when that business is done, she will find him in a glorious way, restoring the temple of God that he himself embodies.

        The story of the finding in the Temple has something to say to all of us at times of grief, confusion, worry or despair. The three frantic days of worry represent any period of time in our lives when we feel frightened, lonely, lost, or depressed. And just as Mary and Joseph found Jesus when that terrible period was over, so we too will find great happiness when the “three days” have passed. If a woman loses a child, it will most likely be a long time before she meets that child again in paradise. But she can be sure that the day will come when she will find her loved one again “in the temple.” The same goes for any other burden that we are carrying. The time when come when the Lord’s saving presence will be felt and that burden will vanish. All that matters is that we hold steadfast to the Lord during these “three days” of trial, never losing hope in his saving and redeeming love.

December 23^rd. FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Gospel: Luke 1:39-45
Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio
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Don Fabio tells us that the most distinctive thing about this passage is the attitude displayed by Mary. She went to visit her cousin with a zeal and with a commitment for the things of God that was exemplary. We too must learn to cultivate this attitude if we are to be life-giving in the way that Mary and Elizabeth were. Mary was a virgin and Elizabeth a sterile woman, but the Lord was able to make them life-giving in extraordinary ways. In our own lives, there is much sterility and apparent incapacity for productivity. The Lord can bring our lives to fruition in extraordinary ways, but only if we zealously care for our faith lives.

Mary visits Elizabeth with a very distinctive attitude

In this dynamic passage it is the attitude of Mary that stands out. The passage begins with the words, “In those days . . .” Which days is the text referring to? Immediately prior to this event, Mary had been visited by the Angel in the Annunciation. As soon as Mary is visited by the Angel, she springs into action. We are told that she went “in haste”. The original Greek word for “haste” refers to something that is done with great intention, great care, or zeal. It has nothing to do with the hurry or anxiety that we would usually associate with the term. In the original text, it refers to something that Mary did with great desire and self-application. Mary’s actions are even more significant when we consider that she had just conceived the only Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.

            The early days of pregnancy cannot be an easy time. Many changes are taking place, and the future becomes a much more uncertain place. But none of this appears in the text. All we are made aware of is the eager attitude with which Mary visits her cousin.

Mary is filled with zeal and wishes to share with others her joy at God’s works

During the Annunciation, after the angel informs Mary that she is to bear a son, he goes on to tell that Elizabeth had conceived a child despite the fact that everyone thought she was sterile. Grace gives rise to grace. The first grace is the visit of the angel and Mary’s conception of the Son of God. The second grace is Mary’s visit to her cousin. The beautiful things that God announces to us must be shared with others. This is the origin of Mary’s eagerness to go to Elizabeth – to share together this moment of joy. This, in fact, is a text that is full of joy. The child in Elizabeth’s womb leaps for joy when Mary’s greeting fills the house. Heaven never gives private graces to anyone. Any grace we receive is to be shared with everyone. The Lord visits us so that we may visit our neighbour. The nature of faith is that it involves interaction, the recounting of stories, the giving of testimony of what we have experienced. Mary’s visit, in fact, coincides with her incantation of the Magnificat, praising the Lord for his great works. How do I encounter the faith-story of others? By recounting the story of my own faith. This is how it is in the story of the visitation. Elizabeth begins by recounting the joyous effect that the salutation of Mary has had on the child within her womb. Mary responds with the Magnificat.

Too often we belittle our faith with the lack of care with which we live it

Let us return however to the theme of the eagerness or zeal with which Mary visits her cousin. Too often our faith is belittled by the mediocrity with which we live it. There is a beauty that does not come ready-made and pre-packaged, but requires cultivation, self-application, commitment, effort. This commitment does not come from a sense of obligation but from desire. When we are in possession of something precious, we do not throw it in a place where it might be damaged. We take care of it with eagerness. Too often, we live a life that lacks zeal, eagerness and commitment. When a visitor comes to our house, we clean the house so that it is presentable; we offer food that is good quality, and we use plates and utensils that are worthy of our guest. There is an attitude of care and eagerness with which we receive people into our home. To do things any other way is to belittle our guest. How do we cultivate and take care of our faith? In the case of the interaction between Mary and Elizabeth, we see the care and zeal that permeates every moment of the encounter. Even the greeting of Mary causes Elizabeth and her child to rejoice. In Greek, the word for “greeting” signifies to open oneself to others. The angel had previously saluted Mary, and in this way the heavens had opened themselves to her. Now she goes to Elizabeth and does the same thing herself. In this encounter, Mary and Elizabeth interact with each other with a spirit of openness in which their true beauty, the story of their faith journey and what the Lord has done for them, is revealed. In the attitudes that characterize this encounter we see the diametric opposite of jealousy, rivalry, and envy that can dominate relationships.

Mary and Elizabeth are full of care and zeal and they produce an incredible abundance of fruit. We too can produce fruit if we zealously care for our faith lives

Mary and Elizabeth share together the joy of their fertility and the life-giving work that the Lord is doing in them. We are all fertile in that all of us have the capacity to do things that are extraordinary. In Mary we have a virgin that becomes fertile, and in Elizabeth we have a sterile elderly woman who generates life. But our Christian existence is characterized by virginity and sterility that have the potential to give life. Our Christian lives have the potential to generate life where there is sterility, to bear fruit where the branches seem old and beyond productiveness. Without care, however, we cannot be life-giving for others. Without zeal and commitment, our lives will not bear fruit. Sometimes our churches seem merely like public places. We sit in church as if we were sitting on the public transport, not interacting with others and not really interested in what is going on around us. But the church is God’s house! We must enter there with an intuition for the beauty that lies beyond the senses, and with a care and zeal that can bring this beauty to life. Mary and Elizabeth are models of what the Christian should be, people who know that life and beauty can be generated from the most unlikely of circumstances, and who zealously cultivate that life.

December 16^th. THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT – GAUDETE SUNDAY
Gospel: Luke 3:10-18
Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio
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John the Baptist announces a Good News that is disconcerting. The one who is to come is going to separate the wheat from the chaff and burn the chaff in an everlasting fire. But this is exactly the news that we need! If we are to fully experience the joy that is being celebrated on this Gaudete Sunday then the redundant and decadent things within us must be cleared away by Jesus. How is this to happen? How do we receive Jesus into our lives? We must start from humble beginnings. John the Baptist gives us practical advice on how to get ready to receive the Lord

What sort of “Good News” does humanity truly need?

What does the term “Good News” mean? Sometimes news can be consoling or comforting, but that is not to say that it is news that has saving power or that can help me to grow. Some “good” news is like a sedative that helps us feel better for the time being, but the human being has desperate need of the sort of good news that can resolve our existential problems comprehensively and permanently. News of this sort is what brings real joy to humanity. This Sunday is known as Gaudete Sunday, a day for rejoicing at the Good News of the Lord’s immanent coming. There are many false joys in the world associated with false “Good News”. We are being told constantly that whatever we feel like doing is acceptable, that the commodities and comforts of the present life are all we need, that everything will be alright if we align ourselves with the drift of contemporary culture. The news that life is simple and requires no serious commitment or self-application is false good news.

The Good News announced by John the Baptist is of the unexpected sort

John the Baptist announces the news of the coming of the one who will “clear the threshing floor” and who will “burn the chaff in a fire that will never go out”. We may be shocked by this announcement and ask ourselves how we are to be comforted by “Good News” of this sort. But the news that John brings is exactly what we need. There is much chaff in our lives, many areas of our existence that do not have life. The parts of ourselves that really count are buried and wrapped up in a superficial outer shell, and we make the superficial outer shell the focal point of our lives. John mentions the winnowing fan, an instrument that was used for lifting the grains of wheat into the air, so that the chaff would be carried away by the wind and the kernel of the grain would fall back on the floor. Jesus is the one who is capable of clearing away these redundant and decadent things from our lives and restoring us to life in the fullest and most essential sense of the term.

The real meaning of the expression “undo the sandal strap”

John says that he is unworthy to undo the strap of Jesus’ sandals. What does this expression mean? When we meet someone greater than ourselves, it wouldn’t occur to us to say “I am unworthy to untie his shoes”. But when John makes this statement, there is a whole cultural context behind the expression that would have made sense to any Jew at the time. In Jewish society there were clear conventions regarding who had the right to marry a particular woman in a given situation. For example, if a woman was widowed, there were rules stipulating which man was first in line to marry the woman if she wished to remarry. Sometimes it happened that a woman ended up marrying a man who was not first in line to marry her. Before this could take place, however, the new husband would have to publicly undo the strap of the sandals of the man who was first in line, and place his foot in the sandal. By undoing the strap and placing his foot in the sandal, the new husband was ritually taking the place of the man who was first in line. The man who was first in line, by allowing his sandal to be undone, was publicly relinquishing his right to marry the woman.

                When John the Baptist says that he is unworthy to undo the strap of Jesus’ sandal, he is not simply trying to find a way of saying that he inferior to Jesus. He is explicitly invoking this ritual, and by doing so he is stating that Jesus, and not himself, is the true spouse that is coming. John cannot undo the strap and take the place of the true spouse. This is the Good News! Jesus is that spouse and he has no intention of relinquishing his right upon us! He intends to clean the chaff away from within us and restore us to our true selves. He wishes to make us live according to a truth that is unimaginably beautiful. As our spouse he gives himself for us completely. We do not simply listen to him and learn from him; we become completely united to him.

John gives us practical advice on how we are to begin living this encounter with the Christ who is coming into our lives

When two people decide to get married, their story does not begin on their wedding day, but much earlier. Before they ever get married, they decide where they are going to live, how they are going to make ends meet. Every genuine relationship begins with small humble beginnings, whether it is a marriage, the living out of a vocation, or the encounter with Jesus Christ. This Sunday, John the Baptist indicates the ways in which we can make the humble beginnings of a real encounter with Christ, and he concentrates on what is practical. Before being given the grace to burn the chaff away from our lives and become united with Christ, we must do less dramatic things that are within our power to do. If we have two tunics, then we can share with the man who has none. We can begin to practice honesty and integrity in all of our dealings with others. To practice the cardinal virtue of justice, we must begin with things that can be done practically, not speak abstractly about great deeds that are outside of our capabilities. Similarly, in the spiritual life it is possible to eventually achieve a state of ecstasy where one feels the presence of the Lord very near. But it is not possible for a person who is new to the spiritual life to attain a state of ecstasy immediately. First of all, one might begin by praying for five minutes every morning; then for ten minutes, and then for half an hour. And then one begins to pray regularly at the most significant moments of the day. Eventually one begins to become more intimate with the word of God, to have a spiritual director, and maybe to join a movement within the church. One begins modestly and then progresses in stages. The Lord cannot come in the door unless there is a door! If I don’t take time to pray, then how can the Lord speak to me? If I don’t listen to the Word of God, then how am I to discover that the Lord Jesus is the fulfilment of the Scriptures? To be able to receive the Good News about the coming of our spouse, we must embark on a journey of what is possible, not impossible. The Christian faith is not an abstraction; it begins from what can be done practically. Instead of speaking abstractly about the church, about high moral principles, maybe it would be better if we focussed on doing what we are able to do in the present moment. When we start to act in the practical ways laid down by John the Baptist, we begin to concretely understand the nature of salvation better, and begin to taste its flavour at first hand.

December 9^th. SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Gospel: Luke 3:1-6
Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio
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Luke gives us a list of the great and influential people at the time of Jesus, but then tells us that the word of God came to a man in the desert, far removed from the corridors of power. If we wish to hear the word of God this Advent, then we must enter into the desert, detaching ourselves from the busy centres of influence and activity that we normally find refuge in. We naturally flee from the silence and emptiness within us, filling our moments with noise and diversion. But God can only speak to us if we are listening, and listening requires detachment from our usual idols of distraction. The Lord is coming and brings salvation. Advent is a time of levelling the obstacles within us that obstruct his saving action.

Luke records the historic individuals who held power at the time of Jesus

Almost half of this week’s Gospel is devoted to a list of names, and one might ask, “What has this to do with the Word of God?” But this passage is extremely important for the story that Luke wishes to tell. The Gospel is not a fable, and neither is it a list of moral principles or abstract values of the sort that sometimes dominates our understanding of the faith. No, the Gospel is a concrete story that unfolds in the lives of historical individuals. As we go through this list of characters, we are being reminded that the Gospel is something tangibly concrete and real.

God’s word is not directed to the great or powerful, but to a man who is an outsider. Similarly, we sometimes expect to hear God’s word in a particular situation, whilst God is trying to speak to us in a different manner altogether.

Luke’s list begins with Tiberius Caesar, the Emperor of Rome, and Pontius Pilate, his governor in Judaea. Other rulers are also listed, whose kingdoms are not altogether pertinent to the story of Jesus. Then the religious leaders, Annas and Caiaphas, are mentioned. The point of the passage is to give a comprehensive chronicle of the structures of power that prevailed at the time. But then, after giving us the names of the great and powerful, we are told that the word of the Lord was making itself heard in another place entirely! None of the influential or powerful people, not even the religious leaders, were chosen by God to receive his word. The elected one in Scripture is often an outsider. John the Baptist was the son of a priest, so he was not exactly the last person in society, but he was completely extraneous to the corridors of religious and political power. It is on God’s initiative that his word is heard. In our daily lives, we sometimes expect to hear God’s word in various fixed places or situations, but we find that God speaks to us in a different, unexpected, manner altogether. This Advent, if we want to hear the voice of God, perhaps we are looking in the wrong place. Our expectations and ways of looking at the world are overly influenced by the idols of power and success. We tend to think that the popular and influential things in life are important. But the word of God is often not heard through the obvious channels of influence, but arises from the creativity of God. And the central issue is whether or not we are disposed towards listening to that word. If God wishes to speak to us, it is not of any consequence whether or not we are in the court of Tiberius Caesar. When God wishes to speak to us, what is important is that we are willing to listen.

In order to receive the word of God, I must detach myself from the distractions of life and enter into the desert

The Gospel speaks of the word of the Lord coming to John in the desert, and then it speaks of a voice crying in the desert, “Prepare a way for the Lord!” There are two phases here: listening to the word and proclaiming the word. If I am to listen to the Word of God then I must be silent. In order to be able to listen, I must be in the desert in this sense. To receive the Word of God, John the Baptist had to live this time of preparation in the desert, cut off from everything else. The meaning of the word “desert” is very interesting. In Latin it means to cut myself off from whatever holds me. One who is in the desert is one who is unfettered by things. For as long as we remain tied to things, it is impossible for Christ to announce to us his coming. To hear the word of God we must turn off the television, i-pod, and mobile phone. We lack the courage to do so because then we feel isolated from the things that we have made the centre of our world. What are those things? They are Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate, Annas and Caiaphas. The call to enter the desert is a call to detach ourselves from the influence of the things that normally command our attention and obedience. That is why, of all these people, it is John alone who hears the word of God.

The Lord is coming and he brings salvation. I raise many obstacles within myself that block the Lord’s path and close the way to salvation. Advent is a time for filling in the valleys and lowering the mountains that obstruct God’s saving action in our lives

If the first phase is the reception of the word of God in the desert, the second phase is the proclamation of the word of God from the desert. The desert is the great metaphor of desolation. The Hebrew word for desert - mibar - means “where no voice is heard.” The human being naturally flees from this emptiness and silence and tries to join himself to the usual centres of power, bustle and activity. Even when we try to go into this interior desert and detach ourselves from things, we discover that we have a “radio” and “mobile phone” inside of ourselves as well, making noise continually, a series of false havens, escape routes, inner refuges, all feverishly working so that we do not experience the emptiness and silence of our lives. These interior valleys and mountains make the way of the Lord difficult. God is coming to us, but we raise a series of obstacles to hinder his progress in our hearts! When all is said and done, it is salvation on his terms that we are unwilling to accept. The Gospel passage ends with the line, “All mankind shall see the salvation of God”. We flee from salvation because we prefer to be completely autonomous and self-sufficient. Our very talents and capacities become obstacles to the work of the Lord in us. Our disappointments and sadness are valleys that prevent us from allowing the Lord to enter in. In the end, the issue is this: God wishes to speak to the “poor one” inside of me. He wishes to speak to me personally, to that desert in me where I am alone and where only he can enter. I flee from this inner desert with many palliatives and distractions that prevent me from coming face to face with myself. God is the only one who knows how to enter the secret room in our hearts and speak authentically to us.