September 24^th 2017. Twenty Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL: Matthew 20, 1-16

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­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: Matthew 20, 1-16

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
"The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire labourers for his vineyard. 
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard. 
Going out about nine o'clock,
the landowner saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
and he said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.'
So they went off. 
And he went out again around noon,
and around three o'clock, and did likewise. 
Going out about five o'clock,
the landowner found others standing around, and said to them,
'Why do you stand here idle all day?'
They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.'
He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.'
When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
'Summon the labourers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last and ending with the first.'
When those who had started about five o'clock came,
each received the usual daily wage. 
So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more,
but each of them also got the usual wage. 
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
'These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day's burden and the heat.'
He said to one of them in reply,
'My friend, I am not cheating you. 
Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 
Take what is yours and go. 
What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? 
Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? 
Are you envious because I am generous?'
Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."

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

Kieran’s summary . . . In the first reading from Isaiah we hear that the Lord’s ways are not our ways. And this becomes all the more apparent once we read the Gospel! A landowner hires labourers at different times of the same working day; some at dawn, others at various hours of the morning and afternoon, and still others just before sunset. But he then pays all of them the same salary! How unfair this seems to us! Do we tend to think the same with regard to salvation? Do we envy those who live life doing what they please and then make a last minute conversion? Great saints spend all of their lives in good works and sacrifice, but the sinner who has an easy life still gets to heaven if he changes his ways in his last hour. Do we resent this sinner? If so, then there is something wrong with our thinking. Do we really think that a life of sin is more enjoyable than a life lived in the service of God? The pleasures that come from sin are fleeting and transient. They become bitter very soon, for, as St Paul says, the wages of sin are death. But the joy of a life lived in the service of the Father is something more profound and authentic. It can never be taken away from us. Why do we persist in thinking that a life of sin is in some way more exciting or fun than a life of grace? On a purely human level, to be without a job is a difficult and painful situation. If we were to ask an unemployed person if they preferred to work all day for a fair wage as opposed to being paid the same wage for not working, then we can be sure that most people would prefer to have the dignity of work. And this is even more true when it comes to working in the Father’s vineyard. The labourers who work only the last hour spend all day hanging around wasting time. But the ones who work from dawn have the joy and privilege of cooperating with the creative work of the Father. How much better it is to work for the Lord from the beginning, rather than just the last hour! If we think that doing God’s work is a chore or an obligation, then we will naturally envy those who do no work but still receive God’s prize. May our hearts be enlightened with grace so that we can appreciate the joy of sharing in the creative work of the Father.

Due to pressures of work, your translator has been unable to provide a full translation of the homily this week. Normal service to resume next week!

September 17^th 2017. Twenty Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL: Matthew 18, 21-35

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­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: Matthew 18, 21-35

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
"Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive?
As many as seven times?" 
Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. 
That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants. 
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. 
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt. 
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.'
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan. 
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount. 
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
'Pay back what you owe.'
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
But he refused. 
Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison
until he paid back the debt. 
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master
and reported the whole affair. 
His master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! 
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. 
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?'
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt. 
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart."

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

Kieran’s summary . . . Sunday’s Gospel is about the servant who was shown great mercy by his master but who in turn had no compassion on his fellow servant. How hard it is to pardon others! The crucial issue in pardoning others is that I be aware of how much God has pardoned me. But so often there is a disconnection within me. I feel anger towards those who have offended me, but have little awareness of how much I have offended God and still been forgiven. Once I become aware of how much I am in debt to God, then it becomes possible for me – with the help of the Holy Spirit – to show similar mercy towards others. Anger and rancour towards others is a sure sign that I have not assimilated the mercy of God towards me. It is a sure sign that I have not reflected sufficiently on how miserable I am, how sinful I am, how many gifts God has given me without my merit. We like to think that we are worthy of life. We like to deserve the good things that we have received. But all of us are debtors at the deepest level. Once we assimilate this fact, then it becomes possible for us to be merciful towards the debts and offences of others.

When it comes to pardoning others, the crucial issue is that I be aware of how much God has forgiven me

The first reading from the book of Sirach gives us the key for interpreting the Gospel in this Sunday’s liturgy. “Forgive your neighbour’s offence and your sins will also be forgiven”. The point here is that we must not separate the issue of our own imperfection from that of the imperfection of others. We see this more clearly in the Gospel. A man who has enormous borrowings has all of his debts cancelled, but when he later meets someone who is in debt to him, he demands full repayment without showing any mercy. When the original creditor hears of this behaviour, the wicked servant is hauled before him and he says, “I had compassion on you. Should you not have shown similar compassion towards your fellow servant?” We are used to the scientific approach to truth, where the tendency is to separate things from each other in order to understand better. But Jesus is asking that we unite things in order to come to a fuller understanding. There is an urgent need to reflect on my own position before God whenever I find myself considering the position of others relative to me. Jesus tells us that the first commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart. The second commandment – to love your neighbour as yourself – is “similar” to the first, but the word used for “similar” actually indicates that this second commandment is one and the same with the first. There is a connection between our relationship with God and our relationship with others. This might seem obvious, but we have a tendency – very pharisaic and hypocritical – to keep these two relations separated. I think that my sins against God are not relevant to the question of the sins of others against me. But this is not true. He who is forgiven by God forgives others. He who does not pardon others has not assimilated the pardon of God towards himself.

Pardon is hard for us to accept because we would prefer if we could earn our salvation on merit.

This debtor is merciless towards the sins of others, and he represents all of us without exception. Such behaviour reveals the failure to interiorise the scandalous pardon that has been bestowed upon us. There is something embarrassing about pardon. Before it we are left naked, so to speak. We can do nothing in return, except return gratitude – which of course is important. But the account is imbalanced, as far as we are concerned. And that is difficult for us because we like to feel worthy, deserving, accomplished. In the face of pardon we are simply poor and undeserving. Normally when we are in the presence of others we like to feel that we are as good as they are. But with God we are simply not at his level, and that might seem obvious. It should prompt us to have tenderness and compassion towards the offences of others against us. This magnanimity can only be put in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. The creditor in the Gospel parable is a madman of sorts. He cancels a debt of ten thousand talents which is an enormous sum, the equivalent of the public debt of an entire country. The compassion this man shows towards his servant is a sentiment characteristic of God. The Lord stands before us with this kind of compassion. He knows the stuff of which we are made. He knows how weak and fragile we are. Life involves being forgiven a thousand times, to be welcomed home a thousand times. A child cannot grow if he is not welcomed and forgiven on a continuous basis. Life is the surprising discovery that we have again been given a chance to pick ourselves up and continue. He who does not want to live according to this logic is someone who, out of fear, or out of the emptiness which all of us carry inside, wishes to show at all costs that he is good, worthy and deserving. Such a person does not want to be pardoned but wants to tell himself that he is already at rights with the world. The truth is that none of us deserves to live. We have life only because we are loved unconditionally. The question of our merits is of no interest here. What is important is how God is and how our condition is.

Anger and unforgiveness towards others is a sure sign that we have not assimilated and comprehended the extent of God’s pardon towards ourselves

Our condition is that of a debtor towards the Lord and towards life. Any focus on our own merit is a pathway to bitterness, anger and unhappiness. If I look at life and consider the things that I think I ought to have but do not, then I am in a state of illusion and deception. Instead it is important to acknowledge the countless thanks that have been given to me despite my lack of merit. How many times have graces been given and given again even though I do not deserve them. To live as a creditor is to live as a bitter and angry man. To live as a debtor before God is to live as someone who has been visited by grace and tenderness. How do we manage to preserve rancour towards others? To do that we have to have a disconnection inside which makes us look only at the faults of others. With the help of the Holy Spirit we can be united inside and look at the offences of others – even those who have offended us grievously – and still be aware that the account is far from even: from God we have received life and so much else. No matter how badly we are treated by others, the Lord does not abandon us. God does not wish for the offences of others against me, but through these offences we can grow, develop, and mature and receive consolation. In summary, with God we are always debtors. We can accept this fact humbly and this is the gate to peace.

September 10th 2017. Twenty Third Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL: Matthew:18, 15-20

_____________________________________________________________

From a homily by Don Fabio Rosini broadcast of Vatican Radio

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GOSPEL: Matthew:18, 15-20

Jesus said to his disciples: 

"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. 
If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.
If he does not listen,
take one or two others along with you,
so that 'every fact may be established
on the testimony of two or three witnesses.'
If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. 
If he refuses to listen even to the church,
then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.
Amen, I say to you,
whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again, amen, I say to you,
if two of you agree on earth
about anything for which they are to pray,
it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. 
For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them."

Kieran’s summary . . . The Gospel this Sunday speaks of fraternal correction. Why does Jesus ask us to correct each other? For the sake of correction? For the sake of a perfect world? No, Jesus asks that we challenge each other solely for the purpose of bringing people to salvation. We need the Holy Spirit in order to be able to correct each other properly because true fraternal correction can only be done with love. It is not authentic if it is done with a fury or preoccupation for doing things correctly for the sake of correctness. I can speak the truth to my brother when I correct him, but if I don’t do it with truth in my heart, namely love in my heart, then my correction is not done in the appropriate manner. But why is this Gospel always read from the point of view of the one who does the correcting? Why don’t we read it from the point of view of the one in need of correction? How many times have I been spoken to by my brother or sister, or others, and refused to accept that I needed to change? This Sunday let us open ourselves to being favourably disposed towards the challenges and criticisms of others. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to operate through their challenges so that we may change and end some of our self-destructive behaviour.

We are called to speak the truth to others. This is difficult. Sometimes we are more preoccupied with preserving our faces than with preserving the truth. It is only the Holy Spirit that can enable us to correct others in fraternal love

The first reading from Isaiah refers to a very import aspect of the prophetic mission: that of speaking the truth clearly and directly. When Isaiah hears a word from the mouth of the Lord, he must speak it. “If I say to you to tell the wicked person that he will die, then you must tell the wicked person that he will die”. We find it difficult to speak openly like this, but sometimes it is needed for the salvation of a person. If someone does not convert because of the fact that I have not spoken openly, then the fault is mine. So many of our problems derive from the fact that we do not speak openly, that important things are left unsaid. How often we fail to save the truth because we are too preoccupied with saving our own faces! What do we love more, our brother who needs correction, or own own images? But correction of another is very difficult, especially if we do not have a genuine relationship of love with that person. Without love we end up either accusing the other person or deceiving them with flattery. The power of the Holy Spirit enables us to correct or console each other in appropriate ways, always in a positive manner, but maintaining the truth. To know how to speak the truth without injuring or provoking the other person is an art that comes from the Holy Spirit, of this there can be no doubt. The psalms speak of the encounter between mercy and truth. This synthesis is a sublime act of God in our hearts, enabling men and women in this world to communicate the blessed word of fraternal correction or consolation to others. They do this when they permit themselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit.

We must never correct or reprimand for the sake of correction or the sake of a perfect world. The goal of all correction is the salvation of my brother. Thus it can only be done with love

The theme of the Gospel is that of fraternal correction and all that follows from it. The person who has been offended must first of all speak to the offender. If this doesn’t work, then he must challenge the person again in the presence of others, and finally before the whole community. If none of this is successful, then various extreme courses of action are mentioned. What is the point of all this? The Gospel tells us that the purpose of this entire process is to “win back your brother”. This Gospel is not directed towards correction of other people for the sake of correction. In the name of “fraternal correction” an army of Christians have taken it upon themselves to evaluate the behaviour and destiny of others! The problem is that too often we focus on justice and do not make our corrections out of love. Attempts to set the world aright that are not inspired by the Holy Spirit are lacking in love, tenderness, and true consideration for others. Jesus here is speaking about winning back my brother. Some people earn money, some people earn fame, whilst others are concerned about earning brothers and sisters. Some people rejoice when they see that their brother has embraced salvation. Others rejoice when they see that things have been put in order, at whatever cost, perhaps the conversion of someone. Jesus wants us to be saved, not simply corrected or reprimanded. Certainly, it is often the case that in order to be saved, we need to be reprimanded, but only for the purpose of salvation. If we approach others with a zealous fury that they must put certain things right, in general we do not have truth in our hearts. Perhaps what we are saying is correct, but it is not according to the truth which is love.

This Sunday let us read this text from the point of view of the one being corrected. We need the criticism and challenges of others, and we must learn to accept these challenges with humilty.

It is interesting that this text is usually read from the point of view of the person who does the correcting, but isn’t it true that it is we who are most often in need of correction ourselves? How hard it is to accept correction from others! But it is important that we learn to accept correction, even if it is coming from a source that we find hard to accept, such as a person who seems hypocritical, or a person who is a legalist. When criticism is couched in poor terms, it is very hard for our hearts to welcome it properly. If a person criticizes us for something that we have never done, then we can usually see that this criticism is, in some way, a problem or miscomprehension of the speaker. But if a criticism is warranted or has truth in it, then it hurts me much more. How can I welcome this pain, especially if the criticism has been put in angry or vindictive terms? Ignatius Loyola said that we must try to salvage whatever we can from the criticisms of others. This involves making the effort of attributing to them a good intention, of salvaging whatever benefit I can from their criticism. The most important thing is to develop an attitude of being favourably disposed to being criticized. How hard it is to allow myself to be criticized by others! How hard it is to accept that I am the person mentioned in the Gospel, the one who was corrected but did not listen, the one who was then challenged by two or more, but still didn’t accept what was being said of me. “I have tried to explain my position but you won’t listen!Nobody understands me!” When I utter this phrase - “No one understands me!” - then I need to have a hard look at what is happening. This act of playing the victim is nearly always far from convincing. This Sunday why don’t we read this Gospel from the point of view of the one who is being criticized? Let us allow people to challenge us! He who criticizes me – whether it is with a good heart or a evil heart – can nevertheless help me. One of the worst things in life is not to see our errors and to continue with self-destructive behaviour.

September 3^rd 2017. Twenty-second Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL: Matthew 16:21-27

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­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: Matthew 16:21-27

Jesus began to show his disciples
that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly
from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised. 
Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,
"God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you." 
He turned and said to Peter,
"Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. 
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."
Then Jesus said to his disciples,
"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me. 
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life? 
Or what can one give in exchange for his life? 
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory,
and then he will repay all according to his conduct."

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

Kieran’s summary . . . In the Gospel Jesus tells the disciples that he must suffer and die. Peter rebukes him and says that nothing of this sort must ever happen. In response, Jesus says that Peter is not thinking according to the mind of the Father but rather according to the mind of men. Do you know that, in every single action we make, we have the choice of acting according to the mind of God or according to human logic. Human logic is based on self-preservation, self-promotion, self-aggrandisement. God gives each one of us a mission. He pours love into our hearts and calls on us to live for the truth. But if the criterion for our actions is always ourselves, then we will lose our mission. If we think and act according to the mind of man rather than the mind of God, then we will not make a positive mark on life. Jesus puts the choice starkly before us: live according to God or according to man. How can we live according to the mind of the Lord? "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” In every moment of our lives we have this choice: choose according to the Lord (beautiful, eternal acts that change the world for the better), or choose according to the mind of man (transitory, self-preserving, self-directed acts).

The first reading tells of the struggle of Jeremiah: he does not want to carry out his mission because it only brings rejections and derision. But he cannot stop himself from speaking the truth in the Lord’s name

The first reading speaks of the inner struggle of the prophet Jeremiah. The prophet is complaining of the way the Lord has treated him, but it is a strange complaint. He speaks of the violence that has been done against him by the Lord, and this violence is a form of being duped or seduced – a claim that is rare, if not unique, in all of Scripture. Jeremiah states that he was duped by the Lord into carrying out his mission. And this mission has only brought him derision and rejection. It is the classic experience of the prophet: to proclaim the truth to those who do not wish to listen to the truth. Jeremiah no longer wishes to carry on a task that leads to him being made the object of ridicule by the people. So he resolves to himself that he will no longer mention the Lord’s name. But when he tries to do this, the desire to speak in the Lord’s name becomes a fire burning in his heart. The struggle that appears to be an exterior struggle between the prophet and the people is really an internal struggle between the beauty of God and the desire for ease and tranquillity. This is the typical spiritual battle of the prophet: on the one hand the desire for a quiet life, and on the other hand the love poured into the prophet’s heart for that which is luminous and authentic.

The same conflict appears in the Gospel: the conflict between doing what God wants and doing what preserves ourselves. This time it is Peter who expresses the strategy of self-preservation whilst Christ makes clear that the way of the cross is the only way to follow the Father’s will.

This same battle is explicit in the Gospel for Sunday. The passage we read comes after the confession of Peter and it involves a notable clash between the apostle and Jesus. The Lord has just explained that his own mission resembles the classic mission of the prophet and it involves following the will of his Father onto death. In fact, it is not just a prophetic mission but the mission of the second person of the Trinity, who takes upon himself the condition of humanity and resolves the problem of the forgiveness of sin. Jesus makes this first announcement of his impending passion, but Peter takes him apart to rebuke him – claiming, incidentally, an exclusive relationship with the Lord. Just a few verses earlier Peter had professed Jesus to be the Messiah, and now he tells the Messiah that he is taking the wrong approach to things! Peter thinks he has to defend Jesus from himself. How often we take it upon ourselves to declare what is God’s will! Peter, in fact, says that God will not permit these terrible things to happen to Jesus. This is really a theological statement by Peter, a statement of how (in his view) God does things. And so Peter lays out a strategy for Jesus that fits better with what God wants.

When I have a decision to make, do I think as God thinks or as people do?

This conflict brings to the fore the same dualism that we saw in the prophet Jeremiah. Jesus responds, “You do not think according to God but according to men”. This phrase is a key for understanding the entire Gospel: to think as God thinks, or to think as men do. On the one hand we have the notion of thinking in a way that is in tune with the mind of the Father. On the other hand we have the tendency to think as men do, which is to focus on self-preservation and the promotion of the self. The Father is generous, whereas people are mean-minded. The Father gives his Son, and the Son follows the example of the Father in being ready to give himself for humanity. Humanity, by contrast, bases its plan of action on self-protective strategies. This dualism is the dualism between the one who stands before God and the one who stands solely before men. What is the criterion of my action, God or man? At the end of my life, who do I have to present myself to? God or man? What matters more, what God thinks of me or what people think of me? Jeremiah could have made the choice of being at peace with men but a hypocrite at heart. The Lord Jesus expresses the reality of the choice in a very clear manner: "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

In every action of our lives we have this choice: act according to the mind of the Lord (beautiful, eternal acts), or act according the mind of man (transitory, superficial, self-directed)

We are always in the midst of these two choices; either we give our lives or we hold onto them; either we preserve ourselves or we offer ourselves as a gift. In every single action we are at this crossroads! True, sometimes we are not aware that we are acting out of self-preservation. Equally, we are often not aware of the beautiful choices that lie open to us. But the choices that we make subconsciously are the fruit of earlier actions that we made consciously, of habits formed, habits of self-preservation or habits of self-giving. The issue here is the orientation that we have given to our lives. He who gives his life for the love of Christ will find it again. Jeremiah was a prophet who lost his life for love of the Lord, but in so doing he found eternity, and he still is “the light of the nations”. He became in truth that which he was called to become, and he changed history. Those who seek to preserve themselves generally lose their mission! He who busies himself principally in safeguarding his own life, ends up losing the love which has been poured into his heart, and loses eternity. We accept something that is passing in exchange for the beauty and eternity of God. Each one of us is involved in this battle, in small ways or greater ways, in a manner that is hidden or a manner that is evident. Either we make our decisions on the basis of the glory of the Father, on the basis of that which is eternal, or we direct our actions to that which has no future. It is worth living for the great things, for the things that truly endure.