April 30th 2023. The Fourth Sunday of Easter

GOSPEL: John 10, 1-10

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

 

Don Fabio’s homily follows the Gospel

GOSPEL: John 10, 1-10

Jesus said: “Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate
but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,
as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has driven out all his own,
he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,
because they recognize his voice.
But they will not follow a stranger;
they will run away from him,
because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”
Although Jesus used this figure of speech,
the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.

So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

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

 

1. Our relationship with our Redeemer cannot be forced. It must develop in freedom, in response to being touched in the heart by the voice of the Good Shepherd.

On this fourth Sunday of Easter, the Gospel is that of the Good Shepherd. What is it to have a relationship with Jesus as Good Shepherd? At first we are told that Christ enters into relationship with us through the door, not through tortuous or forced means. In the spiritual life, the interior clock is very delicate and cannot be forced. Nothing should be subject to coercion in the spiritual life, neither the conscience nor anything else. Our relationship with our Redeemer, our salvation, is a relationship that evolves gradually in freedom. How often we try to force, to manipulate, but we must respect the rhythm of life. What does not enter through this open door used by the Good Shepherd is a deception.

 

2. Evangelisation should not depend on projects and methods. Rather, it is a relationship with Jesus where he calls us by name to follow him.

In the first reading from Acts, Peter is preaching and the people feel pierced in the heart by his words. We have, as it were, an inner guardian of our hearts that opens when it is spoken to in the right way, and receives truth and salvation. When this door opens, the sheep exit from the fold and follow the shepherd, listening to his voice. The shepherd calls each of his sheep by name. How often we forget this in the spiritual life. It must be based on a personal relationship where Christ calls each of us by name, and we each feel known and recognized. Sometimes we try to evangelize with programmes and schemes, whereas what is really needed is a personal encounter. We think that the flock must be driven and forced from behind, but, instead, the relation with Jesus is very refined where he walks ahead of us and the sheep follow him because they rejoice at the sound of his voice. We lose sight of the fact that the authentic formation of conscience is by touching the heart. We tend to think it can be formed by disciple and constriction. As we saw in the first reading, those who crucified Christ are touched in the heart by Peter’s words and this leads them to baptism.

 

3. The Good Shepherd is the door to a new fullness of life. Bring redeemed requires an intentional act on our part whereby we leave sin behind and enter, through the doorway of Christ, into something new.

Jesus tells us that he is the gate for the sheep. In Rome we have the triumphal arches which represent a significant event whereby certain emperors entered into glory through military conquests. When we are enclosed behind our cages of fear, let us recall that Jesus is our gate. He says, “Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” This might sound like a movement of going in and out of the same place, but it is not. To exit from one place is always to enter somewhere else. The goal, in fact, of the sheep is always to find pasture. In the previous chapter of John’s Gospel, the man blind from birth was thrown out of the synagogue for professing Christ. He has left the synagogue but has entered into pasture, has found a new life with his confession of faith. We too must exit something if we are to enter into salvation. Being redeemed always involves an intentional act of entering into something new and leaving the old. These two things always go together. One cannot enter into the new life if one does not make a definitive break with sin. Otherwise one does not really enter into the new and one does not really leave the old. And Jesus is the gate!

 

4. The idols in our lives impoverish us, steal our true beauty, diminish our lives, destroy our relationships. We must abandon these delusions, idolatries and addictions. By listening to the voice of the Good Shepherd may we have the courage to exit from these things and enter into an abundance of life.

The last phrase of the Gospel tells us that the thief comes to kill, steal and destroy, but Jesus comes that we may have abundant life. If we consider the idols that we have in our lives, we will see how they kill and destroy. We must abandon all those things that impoverish us, that sap our life, that destroy our relationships, that take away our true beauty. How many self-destructive behaviours we engage in! To follow Christ is described as a sacrifice but it is actually a more joyful and fulfilled life. We do not follow Christ because we wish to follow an ethical system. To not follow him and to pursue idols is to damage and destroy ourselves. Jesus came that we might have life and have it in abundance, not a superficial and meaningless life, but one that is full, solid, authentic and abundant. That the Lord will give us the courage to enter into him and exit from the world, exit from delusions, idolatries, sin, addictions, by his power, by his voice that calls us, because it we hear ourselves called by name, because it is beautiful to be with him, in freedom, without being forced.

 

ALTERNATIVE HOMILY

In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd. Many of the details in this discourse are very interesting. This shepherd, we are told, is the one who enters the sheepfold by the door. Many of the thoughts and influences that affect us are manipulative and contorted. This is a sign that they do not come from the Holy Spirit. Jesus, by contrast, “enters through the door”. He does not force us, or use manipulation to prompt us to follow him. He will lead us out to good pasture. In other words, he will lead us to life, life in all its fullness. The theme of a door is very important. We humans are better at building walls than doors, because we are driven by our fears and insecurities. We construct a safe world around ourselves, a world in which our objects and our projects are safeguarded, but this system becomes a cage and we try to carry our cage with us everywhere we go. These things that give us security are the “thieves and brigands” that Jesus mentions in the passage. These empty things do not give life. In fact, they suck the life out of us. When we exit from the lockdown, will all of our fears and fixations with our personal cage still be intact? Jesus alone calls us to true life. How does he call us? By speaking in a deeply personal way to the guardian that is our heart. Our hearts are fearful and defensive. Jesus does not deal with us by forcing us or threatening us. A good shepherd leads his sheep, he does not drive them from behind. Love requires freedom and he wants us to respond to him in love. So he invites us to follow him by speaking to our hearts, by calling each of us by name. When a person truly loves us, then he knows us deeply. Jesus touches us by speaking the name written in our hearts that is deeply personal. He does not drive us with fear or coercion. Rather, he stimulates our desires and waits for us to respond to him in freedom and love. How often we have presented God as someone who makes demands! But he is not a thief who wants to steal from us! He only wants to give.

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

FROM IGNATIUS PRESS

Tales of unexpected blessings, hilarious true stories, unique perspectives on the lives of the saints. An original, entertaining and orthodox presentation of the Catholic faith. You won’t be able to put it down!

"Captivating."

— Elizabeth Lev, Professor of Art History, Rome.

“Entertaining.”

— Cardinal Seán Brady, Ireland.

"I laughed out loud many times, and told the stories to others who laughed just as hard."

— Sally Read, Author.

"Enchanting."

— Bishop Brendan Leahy, Diocese of Limerick.

"Unique and insightful."

— Archbishop Kieran O'Reilly, Cashel and Emly.

April 23rd 2023. Third Sunday of Easter

GOSPEL: Luke 24:13-35

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

 

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

 

GOSPEL: Luke 24:13-35

Two of the disciples of Jesus were on their way to a village called Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking together about all that had happened. Now as they talked this over, Jesus himself came up and walked by their side; but something prevented them from recognising him. He said to them, ‘What matters are you discussing as you walk along?’ They stopped short, their faces downcast.

Then one of them, called Cleopas, answered him, ‘You must be the only person staying in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have been happening there these last few days’. ‘What things?’ he asked. ‘All about Jesus of Nazareth’ they answered ‘who proved he was a great prophet by the things he said and did in the sight of God and of the whole people; and how our chief priests and our leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and had him crucified. Our own hope had been that he would be the one to set Israel free. And this is not all: two whole days have gone by since it all happened; and some women from our group have astounded us: they went to the tomb in the early morning, and when they did not find the body, they came back to tell us they had seen a vision of angels who declared he was alive. Some of our friends went to the tomb and found everything exactly as the women had reported, but of him they saw nothing.’

Then he said to them, ‘You foolish men! So slow to believe the full message of the prophets! Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory?’ Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself.

When they drew near to the village to which they were going, he made as if to go on; but they pressed him to stay with them. ‘It is nearly evening’ they said ‘and the day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them.

Now while he was with them at table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognised him; but he had vanished from their sight.

Then they said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?’

They set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven assembled together with their companions, who said to them, ‘Yes, it is true. The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.’ Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised him at the breaking of bread.

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

 

1. The Emmaus story is a paradigm for each of us of how to encounter the risen Lord!

This Gospel passage recounting the experience of the disciples on the road to Emmaus is a paradigm of an encounter with the Risen Lord. The disciples have a negative view on the historical events that have taken place. They abandon Jerusalem, the place of God’s promises, and head to Emmaus, an obscure and unknown town. Jesus is actually walking beside them, but they do not see him because their eyes are obstructed from doing so. In order for them to see properly, Jesus must work on their hearts and on their way of viewing things. It is interesting to note that these disciples already possess all the vital pieces of information that form the basis of the Christian belief in the resurrection! The empty tomb, the narrative of the women who saw the angels, the testimony of the apostles who verified the fact that Jesus was no longer in the tomb. Jesus challenges their interpretation with the word “fools!” This is a pretty strong rebuke from the Lord on their failure to understand the scriptures. The Old Testament does not only speak of the glory of the Messiah but also of his suffering. Jesus shows them that there is another perspective on things. How often we lose sight of the resurrection because we have fallen in love with a mistaken perspective and we end up in delusion and despair. We think the Lord will save us in a particular way, but his way of redeeming us is always different to what we expect.

 

2. Encounter with Jesus is something that changes the direction of our lives

When it comes to evening, they ask Jesus to remain with him. A question we can ask is why is Jesus recognized only at the moment of the breaking of the bread? And why does he disappear at that moment? The disciples are so changed by the encounter with him that they return to Jerusalem. They are enabled to do the exact opposite to what they had been doing previously. Their lives have been changed by the resurrected One and they have become witnesses. “Conversion” in fact means to walk in the other direction. Their hearts have been changed. In the same way, during the Eucharistic liturgy, we first have our hearts touched by the Scriptures and then we meet Christ in the breaking of the bread. The story of Emmaus is the story of every Eucharistic celebration.

 

3. Moments of suffering and crisis are actually moments to abandon ourselves to the resurrection

In every epoch, it is essential that we are liberated from our own illusions, our own interpretations of how Christ ought to save us, our own messianisms. Often, when we think everything has failed, it is really a new beginning, a decisive change. Today we must be ready to welcome the signs of providence in the difficulties we encounter as a Church. Similarly in our personal lives. Every moment of our lives, even moments of suffering, difficulty or crisis, are excellent points of departure. The route to glory is that of total abandonment into the hands of God, especially in the darkest and most incomprehensible times. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, let us allow ourselves to be redirected to Jerusalem, to return to the Church, to return to our own particular vocations. How often we tend to distance ourselves from these goods because we suffer from a negative and delusional interpretation of the events of our lives.

 

ALTERNATIVE HOMILY

The Gospel recounts the story of the disciples who meet Jesus on the road to Emmaus. At first, they do not believe in the resurrection and do not recognize Jesus. During their journey, they are transformed by their encounter with the risen Lord. This involves a transformation of their minds, their hearts and their senses. How does Jesus effect this transformation? First of all he challenges their ideas with a fairly offensive rebuke to the wrong ideas they now possess! He says, “Foolish men, slow to believe!” We must all allow Jesus to challenge our very poor knowledge. Knowledge is not just a collection of facts, but a synthesis of facts. These disciples already know the facts but interpret them in the same foolish way that we interpret most of the facts in our lives. Jesus leads these disciples through the Scriptures and shows them how the facts should really be understood. This leads to an interior transformation in the sentiments of the disciples. Originally their hearts were cold and immobile but now they start to burn within them. They arrive at Emmaus and invite Jesus to break bread with them. It is in concrete acts that our faith crystallizes. Faith can be very airy-fairy if it just exists at the level of our minds. At the breaking of the bread, their eyes are opened and they recognize Jesus. Interestingly, our senses are the last to be transformed. When we start to see things differently and our hearts begin to be changed, then we develop new eyes and see the world differently as well. What is the upshot of all of this transformation? The disciples change direction and head back to Jerusalem as witnesses of the resurrection! Do we think that we can encounter the Lord and keep going in the same old direction we were going in previously? No! If we truly encounter Jesus, then our minds, hearts and senses will be changed! The entire direction of our lives will be transfigured!

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

FROM IGNATIUS PRESS

Tales of unexpected blessings, hilarious true stories, unique perspectives on the lives of the saints. An original, entertaining and orthodox presentation of the Catholic faith. You won’t be able to put it down!

"Captivating."

— Elizabeth Lev, Professor of Art History, Rome.

“Entertaining.”

— Cardinal Seán Brady, Ireland.

"I laughed out loud many times, and told the stories to others who laughed just as hard."

— Sally Read, Author.

"Enchanting."

— Bishop Brendan Leahy, Diocese of Limerick.

"Unique and insightful."

— Archbishop Kieran O'Reilly, Cashel and Emly.

April 16th 2023. Second Sunday of Easter

GOSPEL: John 20:19-31

_____________________________________________________________

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

 

Don Fabio’s homily follows the Gospel

GOSPEL: John 20:19-31

On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nail marks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples
that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

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

 

1. The readings bear witness to a way of life, an inheritance that we possess that is capable of being tested.

According to the wishes of Pope John Paul II, this Sunday we celebrate the mercy of God, and we do so as a fruit of the resurrection. In the first reading, we see the way of life of those who live the new life of Easter, sharing everything they have, not as a political or social strategy, but simply out of love. They live lives centred on prayer and the breaking of bread, in other words the Eucharist. They live with joy and simplicity of heart. This way of life stunned the world and it has been passed down to us through the beautiful and marvellous lives of the faithful, diffusing itself from generation to generation. This new life is also testified to in the second reading from the letter of Peter which speaks of an inheritance that does not become corrupted, conserved for us in heaven, that no-one can steal from us, an inheritance that can be put to the test and proven for its authenticity, that gives a joy that bears us towards our goal, the fullness of life.

 

2. The apostles witnessed the effects of sin in the crucifixion of Christ. Now they witness the mercy of God in the fact that Jesus has been raised to life

In the Gospel, we hear of a life that enters through closed doors, that breaks down the defences of the apostles who have closed themselves behind barriers of fear. The Lord breaks down their fears and touches them with peace. Just as Christ was sent by the Father, so we too are now sent. We are gifted with something beautiful to do, the sacred will of the Lord, a mission. And this life that has erupted into this closed place of fear is a life of pardon, of mercy. If these disciples do not bear the mercy of God, who will? They have seen in the crucified Lord the documentation of the sin of humanity, the results of that sin, and now they see him risen. The resurrection of Christ shows us that the mercy of God goes beyond the errors of man.

 

3. Thomas meets Jesus fraternally. Christianity is always fraternal

The fact that Thomas is missing is important, because all of us too were missing that day, and Thomas shows us how to witness the risen Lord “afterwards”. How does he do that afterwards? Eight days later – the Hebrew way of expressing the passage of time of exactly one week – it is again Sunday, the central day of Christian assembly and worship, and now Thomas is present. Thomas is a twin, we are told, and a twin is a brother by definition and always. This Gospel tells us that it is with our brothers that we meet the Lord. What is Christian is fraternal, and what is not fraternal cannot be Christian.

 

4.  When Jesus says, blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe, it is not a reproof to Thomas. All of us believe at first because of what we have experienced, but the day will come for each of us when we are called to believe even in times of darkness and doubt.

Jesus appears and invites Thomas to experience physically the wounds of Christ, marks of torture onto death. The wound in the side, in particular, is a wound that bears witness to the death of Christ as it was a wound given to those being executed to make sure that they were dead. Thomas is invited to experience this wound of a person who should no longer be alive, and is asked to no longer be incredulous but to believe. Thomas responds with the highest testimony of faith in the New Testament, “My Lord and my God”, the proclamation of the divinity and lordship of Jesus. Jesus says, “You have believed because you have seen, blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed”. We sometimes take this as a reproof of Thomas, but in reality there are always these two phases to faith. First we believe because of what we have seen, but there always comes a time when we are called to believe even when we no longer see. There are the higher trials of faith when we are called to believe in times of darkness. These are the trials that Thomas and the saints are called to. He will eventually preach the Gospel as far away as India. The other apostles were all martyred for the faith. We have faith because of what we experience, and this faith becomes a practice, and one day we will be called to believe when all is in darkness, just as Abraham continued to do.

 

5. John’s Gospel presents us with these “signs” so that we will have life in Jesus’ name, not in our own name! How often we try to rely on ourselves, instead of leaning on him!

The Gospel tells us that we are told about these signs so that we will have life in his name, not in our own name. We tend to live life based on our own capacities, but we are called to live according to Christ, to believe when we cannot see, to lean completely on him. All the signs in the Gospel of John that we read during Lent – the wedding at Cana, the healing of the servant of the official, the healing of the paralytic, the multiplication of the loaves, the healing of the man born blind, the raising of Lazarus – all of these signs have a hidden interior that we are asked to contemplate so that we go beyond what we see, transcending the visible, until each one of us comes to have life in his name.