November 28th 2021.  First Sunday of Advent

GOSPEL Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

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

 

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

 

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GOSPEL Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the clamour of the ocean and its waves; men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.’

‘Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a trap. For it will come down on every living man on the face of the earth. Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of Man.’

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

 

SUMMARY OF HOMILY

1. Is the Gospel about the anguish at the end of the world? It is about the anguish and tumult that is always present whenever we are redeemed and transformed by God

On this first Sunday of Advent, the theme is the coming of the Lord, the day that God will fulfil all of his promises. What sort of day will it be? Disconcertingly, Jesus tells us that it will be a day of great signs, fear and anguish. Why will the day be of this sort? Because Christ comes to bring us to completion, to liberate us from that which holds us back, those things that are not redeemed. This is not a story about the end of the world, but rather the story of every personal salvation, where the real enemy is not what we lose but our lack of openness to what is arriving. In Jesus’ discourse, the mention of the sun, moon and stars represent the points of reference of our lives, and the fact that these points of reference will one day be challenged. The mystery of redemption always involves recognizing in the end of things the beginning of something greater, seeing in the moment of pain the fact of regeneration. All of these signs that make us suffer are actually the labour pains of something greater. In the Our Father, we pray, “thy Kingdom come”. When Jesus becomes our King, he becomes the true point of reference of our lives. All false points of reference disappear.

 

2. The enemy of transformation is attachment to transitory things that do not give life.

What is the enemy of this transformation to which we are called and will be called again, especially at the end of our lives? Jesus tells us to watch out or “your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life”. Our homeland is not here. This is the beginning of a great adventure that will lead us elsewhere. The beauty of this world is just a shadow of the beauty to come. We know, innately, that something is missing that will only be ours in heaven. If we are drunk and taken up with the cares of this world, we will fail to appreciate the true greatness of things. Too often, we give excessive importance to things that are transitory. We absolutize them and become their slaves. We attach ourselves to gratifications and pleasures not realizing that the greatest joys are to come. Let us not be like superficial people who, when the moment of salvation comes, swap salvation for something transitory. When difficulty comes, we fail to see that this difficulty is a call to love, to grow.

 

3. Pain and difficulty are often opportunities for growth, for abandonment to the Lord. This Advent let us not live for small and trivial things, but live in the presence of the Lord.

Jesus tells us to pray for the strength to survive what is about to happen, in other words, to not be taken up with the things of this world. Everything that happens to us is for the purpose of leading us to stand with confidence before the Son of Man. In the end, it is the visit of the Lord into our lives that gives sense and flavour to everything. This Advent, let us be at peace with any suffering, anguish or uncertainty that is in our lives. Such suffering, anguish or uncertainty is the pathway for growing closer to the Lord, for becoming his. It is not essential that we hide from pain but, rather, that we grow through pain, standing upright before the Lord. This is truly what matters in life, to live in the presence of the Lord, not to live according to secondary and trivial things of this world that never bring us to completion.

 

ALTERNATIVE HOMILY

In the first reading we hear wonderful prophecies promising good things for God’s people in the future. But in the gospel, Jesus speaks of a future day of anguish and despair. What is going on here? Does God intend to bless us in the future, or bring about doom? Do these readings contradict each other? No! The fact is that God has wonderful graces and blessings in store for each of us, but these blessings will seem like a curse if we are not prepared to receive them. In fact, Jesus tells us how to prepare ourselves for the dramatic events of the future. We must stand up and renounce debauchery, drunkenness and the cares of this world. Debauchery refers to the way that we squander the good things the Lord has given us. Drunkenness refers to the way each one of us is addicted to the gratification of our senses and our egos. The cares of this world refers to the way we are attached to money, possessions, social status, the admiration of others. If we are living our lives in this self-obsessed manner, then the future coming of Jesus into our lives will be a day of anguish and despair for us! But if we are prepared for the coming of Jesus (by living simple and upright lives of abandonment to Christ), then our future encounter with the Lord will be experienced as a wonderful blessing. Advent is about the future coming of Christ. We must live every day in preparation for his coming. This means “travelling light”, not being weighed down with the cares of this world and with habits of self-indulgence. We must be like athletes focussed on a big event, eliminating everything that distracts us from our goal!

November 21st 2021. Feast of Christ the King

GOSPEL: JN 18,33B-37

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: JN 18, 33B-37

Pilate said to Jesus,
"Are you the King of the Jews?"
Jesus answered, "Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?"
Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?"
Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here."
So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?"
Jesus answered, "You say I am a king.
For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

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

 

SUMMARY OF HOMILY

1. The Kingdom of Christ is not generated by anything from this world

In the Gospel passage from John for the Feast of Christ the King, Pilate asks Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews?” This is a strange question, since religious issues such as whether Jesus was a messianic king would have had no interest for Pilate, but the Jews wanted Jesus sentenced to death for blasphemy, something they did not have the power to do under Roman rule, so they had to get Pilate involved. Jesus’ reply to Pilate is that his Kingdom is not of this world, something that we also hear in the first reading from Daniel, which describes the Son of Man coming on the clouds to receive eternal dominion. When Jesus says my Kingdom is not “of” this world, it is important that we pay attention to the meaning of the participle “of”. It is not simply possessive but means, rather, that the Kingdom is not from this world; it is not produced by this world. In Daniel, in fact, the Son of Man comes from heaven.

 

2. The disciples of Christ must spread the Kingdom, not by violence, but by mercy

When Jesus was arrested, he reacted badly when Peter drew his sword. Later, Peter denied Christ and said he was not his disciple. In fact, he was not a disciple of Jesus at that moment and had abandoned him. True disciples do not defend Christ with the sword, or by defending themselves. The Kingdom of Christ is not an earthly dominion. The faith was not spread by violence but through love and mercy. Christ, when he appears after the resurrection, instructs the disciples to the ministry of forgiveness, not dominion. He tells them to go out and forgive sins, for if they do not, then people will be left bound in their sins.

 

3. Jesus is a King whose throne is the Cross

After Jesus explains to Pilate that his Kingdom is not of this world, Pilate responds, “So you are a king then?” Jesus replies, “It is you who say it”. This is not just a mode of expression of Christ. It is a statement that points to a truth that Pilate now accepts: that Jesus is a king of a particular sort. In fact, Pilate will now accept this all the way to the death of Jesus, for he even adds this inscription, “King of the Jews”, to the cross. Jesus is recognized by the secular power as a king, but not a king of this world. His throne will be the cross. His courtiers will be the Virgin Mary and the beloved disciple, whom he bequeaths, each to the other. Let us live this end of the liturgical year adhering to this Kingdom, rich or poor, in sickness or in health. Even if we live in situations of injustice, we can be free in Christ, for he liberates us, not according to this world, but according to love. This is the truth that the cross bears witness to.

 

ALTERNATIVE HOMILY . . . The feast of Christ the King marks the end of the liturgical year. In the Gospel, we see him before Pilate. What kind of king can he be? He is a condemned prisoner, about to be humiliated and killed. What kind of kingship is that? As history unfolded, however, no man came to have the kind of impact that Jesus of Nazareth did. Even people who don’t believe in him must confess that he has exerted an influence on the world that can be matched by no other individual. But if we look closely at the scene with Pilate, we already begin to see that Jesus has a kingship that is utterly different to the powers of this world. The rulers of this world rule by force and coercion. They themselves are contaminated by the very power they exert. But Jesus shows before Pilate that he has a freedom that is unheard of. His nobility consists in his capacity to be unreachable by mundane powers of this sort. Who has freedom of this sort? Pilate certainly hadn’t. Does true freedom consist of wandering around the streets doing what you like? Or is freedom something that can be possessed wherever you are, even if you are in chains? Who bears true royalty, the one who is possessed by things, or the one who is able to detach himself from things? Who is more powerful, the one who can coerce people into doing what he wants, or the one who loves everyone he meets, even those who do him wrong? Royalty of that sort is not of this world! Jesus of Nazareth reveals to us the kind of people we, deep down, long to be. When we marry, we long to be able to love in the same radical way that he loves. When we begin a friendship, we long to be able to be true in the way that he is true. Jesus has the power of love, and he has the power to plant love in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. This is real power! This is the power of Christ our King!

November 14th 2021. Thirty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL: Mark 13,24-32

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 13,24-32

Jesus said to his disciples: "In those days after that tribulation
the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from the sky,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
"And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds'
with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels
and gather his elect from the four winds,
from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.
"Learn a lesson from the fig tree.
When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves,
you know that summer is near.
In the same way, when you see these things happening,
know that he is near, at the gates.
Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away
until all these things have taken place.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
"But of that day or hour, no one knows,
neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

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

 

1. Certain things stand out as points of reference in our life, but a time will come when all things will be seen in their proper light relative to Christ

On this second last Sunday of the liturgical year, the readings orient us to the end of all things. This description of the end times is more existential than chronological. It does not simply speak of the end of time, but the end of every time when the Lord Jesus comes to us at the completion of our earthly life. We see from Jesus’ words, in fact, that the moment of crisis is actually the moment of the manifestation of God. On the fourth day of creation, the sun, moon and stars became the points of reference of the physical world. Jesus now speaks about them coming to an end. If Christ is to come to us, then our own points of reference must come to an end. Jesus refers to the fruit of the fig tree. At that crucial moment when Christ intervenes, the things that matter, that bear genuine fruit, will remain standing, whilst those that do not will disappear. This is true of the personal end of life for each one of us.

 

2. Jesus is the only light of the world. He has already given light to our hearts by his word. This is the word that will save us.

We read in the Gospel that  the sun became dimmed at the moment Jesus died on the cross. When Jesus becomes the only light of the world, then all other lights become dim as he leads us to the resurrection. We find, in fact, that when our personal life collapse around us, the word of God that we conserve in our hearts comes to the fore. It is not necessary for us to know when all of this will come about. The Father knows when he will come for us. He knows how to save us, and his way of saving us is always going to be different to the way we think he should act! All that matters is the saving word of God in our hearts.

 

3. Let us nourish that in life which alone endures beyond death: love, our relationship with God and others

It is important to nourish that in our lives which goes beyond death. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that only love will endure. Even prophecies and knowledge will pass away. Love lasts longer than the sun, moon and stars and every tribulation. Sometimes we need to experience this tribulation which reduces us to nothing and helps us to grasp that which really counts. Our relationships with God and others go beyond death. As we move towards the feast of Christ the King, the readings on Sunday show us that what matters is Heaven. Heaven is already here in moments of tribulation, for tribulation relativizes everything and can launch us towards the eternal, the absolute, that which truly matters.

 

ALTERNATIVE HOMILY . . . The Gospel passage speaks of cataclysmic events. What are we to make of these dramatic prophecies? Are these referring to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD? Or are they referring to the end of time? Do they speak to us today as we read this Gospel? The events can be interpreted as referring to the natural cataclysms that occurred at the time of the passion of Jesus. And they can also be taken as referring to the tribulations that always precede genuine conversion to Christ in any age. On the fourth day of creation, the sun, moon and stars became the points of reference of the physical world. Jesus speaks about them coming to an end. If Christ is to come to us, then our own points of reference must come to an end. Our own intelligence, our own wisdom, the things that “illuminate” our way, must all collapse. The pantheon of our personal idolatries must be shattered. It is only then that Jesus will be able to come to us and find what is authentic in our hearts. Tribulation becomes a blessed thing if we allow ourselves to be found by the Lord. It becomes a moment of opportunity if it causes our spurious foundations to collapse, leading us to make the Father our principal point of reference.

​

November 7th 2021. Thirty-second Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL: Mark 12,38-44

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 12,38-44

In the course of his teaching Jesus said to the crowds,
"Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes
and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honour in synagogues,
and places of honour at banquets.
They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext recite lengthy prayers.
They will receive a very severe condemnation."
He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury.
Many rich people put in large sums.
A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.
Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury.
For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood."

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

 

SUMMARY OF HOMILY

1. If God is not our Saviour, then we will seek to be filled by something else, causing us to “devour” what is around us.

This account of the widow’s contribution to the Temple treasury is the final story recounted in Mark’s Gospel at the end of public life of Jesus. Following this, Jesus gives his discourse on the destruction of the Temple, and then the Passion narrative begins. The passage presents us with two contrasting figures, one who uses God to promote himself, the other who gives of herself in order to submit to God. The Scribe goes around in flowing robes, looking for attention. He uses religion to advance his own agenda, his own public image. Jesus had just commented that people of this sort “devour” the houses of widows. This expression – to devour – is significant. It shows the desperate anxiety to fill the void within. Our ego gets its energy from the fear of nothingness. We have nothing without God, and this nothingness fills us with terror, causing us to devour everything around us. When our Saviour is not Christ, there are many others, and they are vain.

 

2. The Gospel cannot be reduced to mediocrity. We either rely on God as our Saviour or we try to live by our own works and the esteem of others.

The Scribes live by vanity, to be seen by others. But what does Jesus see? He see the widow, who in contrast to the Scribe, puts her last two coins into the Temple treasury. By so doing, she manifests her radical relationship with God. She could have held one coin back for her own needs, but instead she gives both. There are no half measures here. She empties herself in order to live out her relationship with God, whilst the Scribe uses his relationship with God to try to fill himself. Either our heart rests in God depending on his providence, or we live by our own works and the esteem of others. Today, let us move the centre from ourselves to God. We are called to enter into a true relationship with Christ. What do we really love? The Gospel is radical. It cannot be reduced to mediocrity. Either it is the centre or it is nothing.