August 29th 2021. Twenty-second Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

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 Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus, and they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with unclean hands, that is, without washing them. For the Pharisees, and the Jews in general, follow the tradition of the elders and never eat without washing their arms as far as the elbow; and on returning from the market place they never eat without first sprinkling themselves. There are also many other observances which have been handed down to them concerning the washing of cups and pots and bronze dishes. So these Pharisees and scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but eat their food with unclean hands?’ He answered, ‘It was of you hypocrites that Isaiah so rightly prophesied in this passage of scripture:

This people honours me only with lip-service,
while their hearts are far from me.
The worship they offer me is worthless,
the doctrines they teach are only human regulations.

You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions.

He called the people to him again and said, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that goes into a man from outside can make him unclean; it is the things that come out of a man that make him unclean. For it is from within, from men’s hearts, that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within and make a man unclean.”

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

SUMMARY OF HOMILY

1. WHY IS THIS DEBATE RELEVANT? In the Gospel, Jesus is involved in a diatribe against the Jewish leaders regarding their fixation with ritual washing and purification. This might seem like an obsolete debate for us, something that was relevant at the time of Jesus. Why should it be of interest to us today? The fact is that this kind of discussion is relevant in every era of the Church! There is a regular tendency for ritual practices and traditions to take on a greater importance than the truth itself. The early Christians knew that the problem of the Pharisees was not a problem for the Jews but for Christians, who became Pharisees in their hearts, searching for their own righteousness within themselves.

2. WHY ARE WE SO TEMPTED BY RULES? It is easier to keep rules than to be converted at heart! It is much simpler to change outward practices than internal attitudes! People often like to think that the external form of how something is done is what counts, but Jesus tells us that nothing that comes from the outside makes a person impure. It is from the interior, from the heart, that impurity comes. And then Jesus lists all of those sins that issue from within. We can try to change things on the outside, to create a “Christian aesthetic”, but this is a useless project. We can try to make a man perfect on the outside, but this is just a veneer that is covering an interior that still needs to be redeemed.

3. THE HEART IS THE PROBLEM, BUT ALSO THE SOLUTION! If all problems originate in the heart, then it is the heart that is also the solution. The evil acts that we do are not just evil acts. They are the fruit of an inner dynamic, a delusion that resides in our hearts. Behind acts of impurity and malice there is more than simple disobedience of rules; there is a distorted mode of acting. Being healed is not simply a business of learning to keep rules and behave better, but a rebirth from goodness. We don’t need to act like Christians but to be Christians. As the third chapter of John’s Gospel says, we need to be reborn as children of God, not simply act as if we were children of God. It is possible to do many good acts without being changed at heart, and it is our heart that really needs attention. It is essential that we enter into this task of constant purification of our hearts in the presence of the Lord. If we do not, then we will act like Christians but not be Christians at heart; love will be an effort, a mask, a pantomime that we perform. How profound is this Gospel! It demands that we look into our hearts and be profoundly challenged. This opens us to salvation and to the visit of the Holy Spirit.

August 22 2021. Twenty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL John 6:60-69

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 John 6:60-69

After hearing his doctrine many of the followers of Jesus said, ‘This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?’ Jesus was aware that his followers were complaining about it and said, ‘Does this upset you? What if you should see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before?

‘It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer.

The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

‘But there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the outset those who did not believe, and who it was that would betray him. He went on, ‘this is why I told you that no one could come to me unless the Father allows him.’After this, many of his disciples left him and stopped going with him.

Then Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘What about you, do you want to go away too?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘Lord, who shall we go to?

You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.’

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

Summary . . . If we try to understand Jesus’ teaching according to the criteria of the flesh, then we will never comprehend him! The criteria of the flesh stipulate that you only give if you expect to receive something back. We are nervous of Jesus’ offering of himself because we suspect that he is demanding something in return! It is important to comprehend the words of Jesus according to the criteria of the Spirit. Jesus wants us to look at him with the eyes of the Spirit and to follow him in freedom. He does not compel the disciples to follow him, but simply asks, “Will you leave me too?” Peter replies, “To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe that you are the holy one of God”. Like Peter, we must follow Jesus, not out of coercion, but because we see the beauty of Christ, his life-giving love, his generosity, his holiness.

The disciples find it hard to accept Jesus’ teaching because they listen according to the criteria of the flesh rather than the Spirit

This Sunday we hear the last part of the long and vibrant discourse of the Lord in the synagogue of Capernaum. In this discourse, Jesus offers himself to us in sacrifice, as bread, as a gift of the Father. He is not demanding something from us, but offering himself to us. In this gift, which we celebrate in the Eucharist, there is the promise of eternity for the recipient this provokes a reaction of incredulity and rejection. The text tells us that it is certain members of the disciples who reject him, not passers-by or strangers. The disciples begin to grumble, saying, “Who can accept this teaching? It is very difficult”. Why is this particular teaching so difficult? Jesus himself tells us why: “It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh is no good for anything. The words that I gave you are Spirit and life”. The “flesh” refers to our human and horizontally-oriented mode of being. Can the words of the Lord be comprehended within our carnal mode of logic? No, absolutely impossible! Our carnal logic functions according to principles like the conservation of energy: nothing can be created or destroyed. I am reluctant to accept gifts from another person because I fear that this will oblige me to make a repayment of some sort, a repayment that I may not be willing to make. Psychologically we defend ourselves against possible losses or sufferings. Thus, we listen to the words of the Lord according to the criteria of the flesh rather than the Spirit, even though the flesh (as Jesus says) avails nothing.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus invites us to follow him. True adult decision-making requires freedom and motivation on our part

This brings us to the crux of the matter. In the first reading, after the conquest of the Promised Land, Joshua surprisingly proposes that the covenant pledges be renewed. The people have been journeying for forty years in the desert. The Lord has shown his power in the battle for the possession of the land. Finally the people have been installed in the land that was promised to them. We have arrived at the last act in this process that began with the sending of Moses into Egypt. Joshua asks them: “Are you willing to serve the Lord, or will you follow the gods and idols of this land of Canaan, the very things that you were liberated from when you came out of Egypt?” This is an invitation by Joshua, not a command. In the Gospel, many of the disciples do not accept the gift that is being offered to them in Christ. They do not accept the gratuity of the gift; they do not accept the love that is being offered to them; they do not accept the state of their own impoverishment and that they are the object of acts of benevolence, like someone who is proud and will not accept assistance from another. Jesus turns to them and says, “Will you too leave me?” He does not say, “Please don’t abandon me! The marketing plan is going badly! We’re losing our share of the audience!” No, Jesus is not interested in anything that does not flow from human liberty. He does not force his disciples to follow him. Rather, he gives them the opportunity to leave him if they so choose. Jesus wants a motivated free choice on our part. All too often we tend to manage things using force and powers of coercion. Sometimes we ourselves prefer to be constrained in our actions rather than free. The dictators and despots of history did not appear by themselves. They have always been convoked by a part of the people. Freedom is an area of great uncertainty because it requires decision-making. It involves a certain uncertainty. The true foundation of authentic decision making is the free decision to go in an adult - rather than infantile – direction. Here there is the risk of making a mistake. Often we prefer to be led rather than choose to follow. We do not want the responsibility of adult decision-making.

What can motivate us to follow the Lord freely? Like St Peter, we are motivated by the Lord’s holiness, his generosity, his beauty, his love. Jesus does not want to coerce us to follow him. He wants us to know his beauty and his love and to opt for him in liberty.

The foundation of true decision-making is the liberty to choose the beauty of God, not obligation or coercion. Peter says, “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” We are Christians because Christ is beautiful, not because it is demanding to follow him. As Peter goes on to say, “We have believed and known that you are the holy one of God”. We have experienced his holiness and we trust in him. We obey him because he is beautiful and generous; because he is good and treats us well; because he does not disappoint us; because he does not follow our logic; because he follows the Spirit which is the deepest part of our being; because he does not follow our flesh, our banality, our superficiality; because he is something that illuminates our entire lives. We follow the Lord Jesus because there is no-one else who is so beautiful or interesting. “To whom shall we go?” Where else will we find what Christ gives? Where will we find such great love and mercy?

 August 15th 2021 – Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin

GOSPEL: Luke 1, 39-56

 

Translated from a homily on Vatican Radio by Don Fabio Rosini

 

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GOSPEL: Luke 1, 39-56 

Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said,
‘Of all women you are the most blessed,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?
For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy.
Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’

And Mary said:
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit exults in God my saviour;
because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.
Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.
He has shown the power of his arm,
he has routed the proud of heart.
He has pulled down princes from their thrones
and exalted the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things,
the rich sent empty away.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy
according to the promise he made to our ancestors-
of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.

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

 

SUMMARY OF HOMILY . . . This Sunday coincides with the feast of the Assumption and we join with the Blessed Virgin in her expression of joy of the contemplation of the saving work of God. Why is it so important to celebrate Mary’s entry, body and soul, into heaven? The basilica of St Mary Major in Rome has many ancient mosaics depicting the story of salvation. These culminate in the apse with the coronation of Mary. Mary represents the destiny of every man and woman in history. When Christ crowns Mary, he crowns humanity, which in the Blessed Virgin arrives at the fullness of faith and the perfect assent to God’s will. In Mary, the Church contemplates her own body - of which Mary is its purest member – assumed into heaven. By means of Our Lady, human life sees that God can erupt into our existence. In the words of St Ireneaus, “Caro capax salutis” (the flesh is capable of being saved).

Why is this so important? It reaffirms our great dignity and potential. With our genuine “yes” to God, he can enter into our existence, as he did with Mary. By means of this “yes”, the Lord can achieve things in us that go beyond our natural capacities. We can bear in ourselves the life of Jesus, as Mary did when she visited Elizabeth. Christians are called to be, in their bodies, the very place where God enters the world and visits others. With Mary, we are called to exult and rejoice in the power of God. As Mary says in her canticle, the Lord lifts up those who are small and lowly. The expression, “He looks on the humility of his servant” is not a reference to the moral quality of humility. The Greek term for “humility” used in this passage refers to something infinitesimally small, of no importance. The Lord works through our fragility in order to manifest his greatness.

Mary sings of the greatness of God and, at the same time, of her joyful littleness. The mercy of God is the very air that we breathe. It is life-giving. Ironically, when we consider ourselves to be self-sufficient, we become small and mediocre. We are no longer the beautiful creatures that the Lord intends us to be. Woe to us when we make absolute the thoughts, opinions, plans and preoccupations of our heart! As Mary says, the Lord becomes a stumbling block to those who consider themselves great, because then we are deluding ourselves, while he is all-truth. When we search for our own greatness, we become mediocre, but when we allow him to operate in us, then we become instruments of his glory in this world. We are bound for heaven. Our bodies were made for the resurrection. Our lives are destined for glory. We see in Mary that to which all of us are called.

 August 8th 2021. Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL   John 6:41-51

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 John 6:41-51

The Jews were complaining to each other about Jesus, because he had said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ ‘Surely this is Jesus son of Joseph’ they said. ‘We know his father and mother. How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven” ?’

Jesus said in reply, ‘Stop complaining to each other. No  one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise him up at the last day.
It is written in the prophets: They will all be taught by God, and to hear the teaching of the Father, and learn from it, is to come to me. Not that anybody has seen the Father, except the one who comes from God: he has seen the Father. I tell you most solemnly, everybody who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the desert and they are dead, but this is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that a man may eat it and not die. I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.
Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give
is my flesh, for the life of the world.’

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

SHORTER HOMILY . . . On this nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary time, we find that the people are still fixated by the satisfaction of their bodily appetites, not realising that God wanted to give them something greater and more profound. In the first reading, Elijah is being persecuted by the wife of the king and he has become desperate, calling in a somewhat infantile way on the Lord to take his life. The Lord, however, gives him a food that enables him to go beyond his situation. At Mass, we often have great problems on our minds and hearts, but the Lord is saying to us, “Eat and walk onwards”. We are called to undertake a long journey in life, to go beyond where we are now. In the Gospel, the Jews are complaining because they do not understand what Jesus means when he describes himself as their bread. This will finally become clearer at the Last Supper when Jesus becomes our food, but for the moment the people do not understand. There is always something puzzling and incomprehensible in our lives. Jesus asks us explicitly in today’s Gospel not to grumble at what we find difficult. We often have a tendency to grumble, to distrust the Lord, to be attached to negative thoughts. In Eastern Orthodox spirituality, the sin of sadness is added to our seven capital sins. Sadness is an infantile and immature tendency to cultivate an attitude of grumbling and dissatisfaction. The Jews prefer not to trust in the gift the Lord is giving them because they do not understand it. Jesus, in fact, mentions the fact that the people of the Exodus ate the bread in the desert and died. The old man, the one who is too attached to grumbling and distrust, does not enter into the Promised Land. This man must be left behind if we are to enter into the life of freedom. The Jews in the desert ate the bread but didn’t enter into life. We are called to eat the bread and ENTER into life! This is a question of quality not quantity. We accept the gift the Lord is giving us, even if we do not understand it, and then we go beyond where we are now. The power of the Eucharist in our lives will be impeded if we do not enter into it with openness to go beyond our current situation. We do not eat the Eucharist just for the sake of eating but for the sake of journeying with the Lord, going beyond our mentality of sadness, to enter into freedom, joy and praise, with gratitude for all the Lord has done for us.

SUMMARY OF LONGER HOMILY . . . In the first reading Elijah is despondent because he cannot see beyond his own pessimistic perspective. In the Gospel, the Jews grumble because they cannot see beyond what they think they know of Jesus: “This is the son of Joseph. We know everything about him! How dare he claim to be bread that has come down from heaven!” In reply, Jesus asks us to look beyond what we think we know or understand. The Father is drawing us to himself. He is speaking to us in the depths of our hearts, in our everyday experiences, in our intuitions, through our consciences. By means of this internal compass, the Lord attracts us towards the divine, towards authentic life. Let us turn to him in silence. Let us open ourselves to the voice of the Holy Spirit who is moving within us, but we fail to hear him because of the distractions we pursue constantly, because of our preoccupation with satisfying our appetites. The Lord is closer to us than we realise! The Holy Spirit illuminates us, caresses us, invites us to love, opens us to the risen Christ, speaks to us of the Father and of eternity.

Elijah gives in to despair because he cannot move beyond his own perspective on things. He does not allow that God might be acting in this dire situation

On this nineteenth Sunday of the year, we continue reading the discourse of Jesus in the synagogue of Capernaum, as recounted in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of St John. The first reading introduces our theme with the story of Elijah, who is fleeing from the death threat issued by Jezebel. Elijah had just defeated 400 idolatrous priests of Canaan and was forced to escape for his life. But now he can take the persecution no more and wishes he were dead. He sits under a furze bush and says, ‘Lord, I have had enough. Take my life; 1 am no better than my ancestors.’ Even though Elijah is a powerful prophet he too goes through this moment of discouragement – moments of despair which happen to us all. There are times when we all say, “Enough, I can’t go on. I wish everything were finished”. When these things happen, we are making an absolute out of a particular perspective on a situation. Elijah sees only that he is tired and that he is being pursued. He does not see the future nor the powerful action of God. All he sees are his own tired muscles and the enemy gaining ground behind. Elijah’s only method of measuring is whether or not he is better than his ancestors. Then the angel gives him food and encourages him to go on his way. He tells the prophet that he still has a journey to undertake and that there is a road he must follow. All too often we feel anguish because we think we are at a dead end. Elijah is not at a dead end, and, in fact, he will make it all the way to the mountain of the Lord.

Things have a reality that goes beyond their exterior appearance. We ought not to judge things from their superficial characteristics but seek to discover the significance they have in God’s plan

This text is a splendid introduction to the Gospel. Jesus has just announced that he is the bread come down from heaven. The people begin to grumble: “What is he saying! This man is the son of Joseph! We know everything about him! Come down from heaven indeed!” Jesus asks them not to murmur, for the things of God do not fit in with human schemes. Divine things are not limited to the things that we already know. Jesus has a reality that is hidden from the men and women who stand before him. And this is true not only for the humanity and divinity of Jesus, but for all of reality and life. All things have a reality that goes beyond what we know of it and which takes its significance from what God has given it, according to the plan that God has ordained for it. In the Gospel, the people think they know everything and this leads them to grumble. This presumption blocks them from placing themselves in harmony with the action of God.

The Father is drawing him to himself through his action in the depths of our Spirit. This action permits us to glimpse the authentic life of God in our everyday experiences. We feel a natural attraction to the divine. God is drawing us to himself if we would only open ourselves to his action within us

The solution to this is another kind of attitude altogether. Jesus says, “No-one can come to me unless the Father draws him”. We can choose to remain entrapped inside the prisons of our own making, or we can allow ourselves to be drawn outwards by the Father. The Father is working in the depths of our heart and is drawing us to himself. In a marvellous text which reflects on this passage, St Augustine tells us that God places a desire deep in our hearts and sets us on the journey to salvation. Augustine says that if you show a sheep a handful of grass, he will follow you. If you show a child a tasty treat, he will become curious and draw closer. God does the same with us. He wishes to liberate us from the absolutism of our own mentality and our own reason, in order to begin to listen much more profoundly to the way he is moving our spirit. God is drawing us! It might seem curious to say that in this world which is so agnostic regarding profound things, a world that is fixated with practical things, with the satisfaction of our appetites, with the pursuit of entertainment. But artists in general demonstrate the attraction they feel for Jesus Christ. Soon or later they paint or sculpt a crucifix or the blessed Virgin. There is something attractive about Jesus if we would only say yes to this attraction. There is something that the Father places inside each of us which draws us to the truth and authenticity of Christ. It cannot be erased from our hearts. The nostalgia we feel for God remains in the depth of our beings. And St Augustine is not the only one of the fathers that makes this assertion. This profound knowledge of God is not simply intellectual but is an experience of a life that is hidden in everyday reality, an authentic life, a life that we glimpse through our search for what is beautiful.

The Lord is drawing us and speaking to us in our hearts. Let us turn to him in silence so that we can perceive his call, so that we can tune in to the internal compass that is leading us to God.

In this passage, Jesus says: “No-one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father, and I will raise him up on the last day”. Later he says that all will be taught by God. We must allow ourselves to receive instruction from him, allow the good to speak in the depths of our hearts. This voice points out Christ to us. This good that speaks within us is the Holy Spirit who visits us and works through our intuitions. He illuminates us, caresses us, invites us to love, opens us to the risen Christ, speaks to us of the Father and of eternity. We are now in summertime (those of us who live in the northern hemisphere!). There is more time for prayer in the summer, generally speaking. Let us listen to God’s call in moments we give to silence. Let us tune in to the call of acts that are good because they are simple and clear, gestures of reconciliation, gestures of reciprocal care, There is something that draws us in the depths of our souls and leads us to the Father, that internal compass that every human being (thanks to the grace of God) possesses inside.