December 22 2024.  Fourth Sunday of Advent

GOSPEL: Luke 1, 39-45

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

 

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

 
GOSPEL: Luke 1, 39-45

Mary set out
and travelled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah, 
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb, 
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, 
cried out in a loud voice and said, 
"Blessed are you among women, 
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me, 
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, 
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled."

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

 

SUMMARY OF HOMILY

1. When we have authentic faith, we are filled with zeal to do the good things the Spirit prompts is to do. We act with joy because we are motivated by something beautiful and illuminating.

On this fourth Sunday of Advent, we have the description of the encounter between Mary and Elizabeth, two women who are pregnant by the extraordinary grace of God, one who was too old to conceive, the other a virgin. How is this passage relevant to our preparation for Christmas? At the Annunciation, the angel had told Mary about the pregnancy of Elizabeth, thus giving her a sign of the course of action she must follow. Mary responds by leaving “in haste”. The original Greek term means to do something with zeal, with zealous attention to doing something well. This is a characteristic of authentic faith, which expresses itself in joy at doing what needs to be done. One rejoices at what one is doing when one is motivated by something beautiful and illuminating.

 

2. Heaven salutes Mary and Mary salutes Elizabeth. It is like a wave of greeting initiated by God. Before we can say something worthwhile to the world, we must listen to God. Otherwise what we say is mediocre and barren. It is more urgent to improve our listening ability than our communication ability.

Mary enters Elizabeth’s house and salutes her cousin. In response, the infant leaps in Elizabeth’s womb. The Greek word for “salute” indicates to open oneself to the other; it refers to the initiating of the encounter, the onset of the relationship. Interestingly, the angel Gabriel had saluted Mary with the words, “Hail, full of grace!” Heaven had saluted Mary, and now Mary salutes Elizabeth. It is like a progressive wave of greeting initiated in heaven. Heaven salutes us and we in turn salute the world. If we do not open ourselves to heaven’s communication, if we do not say yes, then we remain mediocre and barren in our relationship with the world. But when we welcome what heaven is communicating to us, we can say marvellous things to the world. Often, what we as Christians say to others is based at efforts to improve our communication skills, but what we really need to do is receive better what heaven is saying to us. Before saluting others, we must first listen and allow ourselves to be saluted by heaven.

 

3. We have all been visited by grace. Let us contemplate it and recognize it. Let us allow ourselves to be filled with joy at the way God has manifested his love by coming among us and touching me personally.

This salutation that comes from Mary – who has opened herself to the word of God – becomes in turn the leap of John the Baptist in Elizabeth’s womb. What has just happened to John the Baptist in the womb is something we have all experienced to some degree. When the Gospel is preached to us in the right way, our hearts are moved within us. Like John the Baptist, we too have the Holy Spirit. We must seek to remember the joy we experienced on those occasions when we heard the Gospel being announced to us properly. Just as Elizabeth, simply upon hearing the voice of Mary, was conscious of the presence of God, so each one of us innately perceives the operation of God in our lives. Each one of us has been touched by grace and experienced the beauty of God at some point. Elizabeth says, “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled”. To that we can add that we are blessed if we welcome the joy that comes with belief that the Lord is fulfilling his promises. This Advent may we welcome the Good News, welcome with joy the visit of the Lord, nurture that joy in our hearts so that it becomes a song of exultation. At the visitation we have two women who sing with joy at the life that is being born. In all of us, new life can be born, if only we welcome it and recognize it. Let us not repress our joy before the Good News, the love of God that presents itself through grace in our lives.

 

ALTERNATIVE HOMILY

On this fourth Sunday of Advent, Don Fabio gives a beautiful reflection on the exchange between Elizabeth and Mary. Elizabeth says, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. . . For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." These words are also for each one of us. The Lord has spoken to us all in many and various ways throughout our lives. There are moments for all of us when we felt the presence of God, his mercy, his patience. We have all felt wonder at his creation and his being. There is a room in our hearts that has been visited by God alone at some point in our lives, perhaps very often. Like Mary, we must believe in this word that the Lord has spoken to our hearts! And like Mary, if we believe in the word that the Lord has spoken to us, then our lives will become fruitful! It is important that our lives be fruitful, be of service. Otherwise we feel empty. The Lord has created each one of us to be fruitful. He has spoken a word to our hearts. If we can believe in this word, then we will give rise to a blessed, life-giving fruit, as Mary did.

“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.

December 15th 2024.  Gaudete Sunday - Third Sunday of Advent

GOSPEL: Luke 3, 10-18

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

 

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

 
GOSPEL: Luke 3, 10-18

The crowds asked John the Baptist, “What should we do?”
He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two cloaks
should share with the person who has none.
And whoever has food should do likewise.”
Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him,
“Teacher, what should we do?”
He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.”
Soldiers also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?”
He told them, “Do not practice extortion,
do not falsely accuse anyone,
and be satisfied with your wages.”
Now the people were filled with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor
and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people.

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

 

SUMMARIZED HOMILY

1. John the Baptist shows us how to place ourselves in the right condition to receive the Lord, but good actions do not redeem us. The Gospel is the announcement of what God does, not what we have done.

This third Sunday of Advent – Gaudete Sunday – recalls that authentic faith leads to the joy of salvation. In the first reading from Zephaniah we are told to rejoice because we have been liberated from our condemnation: “Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! The LORD has removed the judgment against you”. In last week’s Gospel, John the Baptist spoke about levelling the mountains and valleys, but this week’s passage contains practical advice for doing good, acts of kindness, generosity and fraternity. Even the soldiers and tax-collectors – the latter were considered irredeemable – are given concrete instructions for placing themselves on the path of salvation. All of these instructions represent what a human being can do to better himself. The people start to believe that John is the Messiah, but he corrects them, for the joy that the real Messiah brings is not something that can be obtained by our actions alone. In another passage from the Gospels, Jesus tells us that John is the greatest man ever born, but is yet the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. In other words, what the Baptist brings is not the salvation of the Messiah. In fact, John himself says that he is only pointing to the one who is coming, the stronger one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.

 

2. Our good actions cannot vanquish the sin that is within us.

The Good News contained here is that the power of God goes beyond our works and can achieve what we cannot manage by ourselves. We are unable to vanquish the ancient evil that is within us, but Jesus is stronger and can overcome it and renew our lives. If the Good News was simply an announcement of what we can achieve, then the Gospel would be nothing more than a code of ethics. The true Gospel involves placing ourselves on the path of the good – as John teaches – and then Goodness himself comes to us, enters into our existence, removing our folly, our stubbornness, the interior burdens that distort us and make us ugly. The Gospel is not an announcement of what humanity does but what God does. Yet, it is essential that we make the effort to do good and to place ourselves in a condition to receive the Lord when he comes.

 

3. Jesus brings the Holy Spirit, a fire that purifies that within us which is immature and unresolved, leading to a life that is joyful and fruitful.

Then we will be baptised – immersed fully and intimately – with the Holy Spirit. The fire mentioned here is, above all, a fire that purifies, eliminates. May this fire arrive in our hearts and burn away that which is immature, infantile, blocked, unresolved, so that the Holy Spirit can thus give us the joy of living, the beauty and joy of salvation. The salvation offered to us by the Lord is much greater than our good intentions or our force of will. It is something that can transform our lives into something beautiful. This is not a theory. Many men and women of history have experienced this eruption of God in their lives, the new life that burns the chaff with inextinguishable flams and yields the good wheat.

 

ALTERNATIVE HOMILY

On this Gaudete Sunday, we hear the preaching of the good news by John the Baptist. But wait a minute – did you say “good news”?  Why then does John preach about being shaken and cleansed and purified by fire? In order to receive the good news of salvation, we must first turn away from sin, selfishness, mediocrity. John the Baptist does not provide the solution for an authentic and full life, but he prepares us for it by presenting us with the first essential step. And this is not easy. We cannot begin to do good until we have stopped doing evil. It is not easy for us to give up those habits and practices that are oriented towards ourselves. We are asked to begin by making this small step, by doing what is possible for us, so that the Lord can then enter our lives and do the impossible!

“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.

December 8th 2024.  Second Sunday of Advent

GOSPEL: Luke 3, 1-6

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

 

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

 
GOSPEL: Luke 3, 1-6

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,
and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee,
and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region
of Ituraea and Trachonitis,
and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,
the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.
John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan,
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

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

 

SUMMARY OF HOMILY

1. Is Advent about preparing a road for the Lord, or for finding the right road for ourselves?

The Gospel for the Second Sunday of Advent recounts the prophecy of Isaiah fulfilled in John the Baptist. The theme of this passage from Isaiah, and also the first reading from Baruch, is that of return from Babylon after seventy years of purification in exile. The theme of return is fundamental in Scripture. The word “conversion” in Hebrew signifies to return to the good origins, to turn around and go back to the place of truth. Conversion, the forgiveness of sins, the call to change path, are the road by which the Messiah comes. Question: is this road a way that we must follow, or is it the road by which Christ comes? On the one hand, it is the Lord’s way and we must allow him to enter into our lives. However, on the other hand, the way is ours, for we must put ourselves on the right road so that we can receive him.

 

2. Two things distract us from the Lord: our mountains of pride and self-reliance, our valleys of being bogged down in our sins.

John the Baptist says:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low”.

 

The Lord is coming, but we must be on the straight path to receive him, and this requires filling in the valleys and levelling the mountains. This is referring to internal transformations. In the Magnificat, Mary speaks of raising the humble and bringing down those who are proud of heart. Thus, the levelling and raising that John the Baptist speaks of are actually existential or spiritual matters. How do we make sure that we see the Lord when he comes? The problem is that we are distracted by our own things, and there are two aspects to this – the mountains and the valleys. It is essential that we do not absolutize two extreme tendencies. The first is to give two much importance to our sins, forgetting that the Lord has forgiven us. The second is to delude ourselves, thinking that our own ideas are the truth, that our own ways are the best ways, that our own capacities are important. “Lowering the mountains and filling the valleys” is the art of being freed from our own twisted paths, our egocentric ways of thinking that seem straight to us but are distorted in the eyes of the Lord. We follow our own projects, seeking after things and results that the Lord has not given us. Advent is a manual for de-absolutization. When the Lords arrives, he must find us, not our projects and ideas, not our sins or our self-exaltation.

 

3. In the end, we are the ground that the Lord wishes to visit and plant his seed. Let us be that ground, let us be ourselves, instead of thinking that we are those mountains or valleys.

“All flesh shall see the salvation of God”. When a person is himself, he is ready to be saved. When he is neither in the valley of discouragement nor the mountain of self-pride, the Lord can touch him. This week, let us forget our exaggerations and fixations, and become like unleavened bread. God did not make a mistake when he created us as we are. By means of those mountains and valleys we seek to be different to who we really are. In reality we are simple and poor, but also noble and important as the Lord has made us. The beginning of the Gospel mentions Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate, Herod, Philip and other kings, and the high priests Annas and Caiaphas. After all these great figures, we are told that the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert, in a place far from any seat of power, a place nobody considered important. We are the place, we are the ground that the Lord wishes to visit.

 

ALTERNATIVE HOMILY

The word of the Lord comes to a strange man living in the desert, a place where there is no-one around to listen to him! The word does not come to the great and the mighty political and religious leaders mentioned in the Gospel passage. Maybe it is only in the desert that there is enough silence to hear the word of God? We are told then that John’s message is to prepare the way of the Lord, filling in the valleys and levelling the mountains. Is this our task? Are we to fill in valleys and level mountains? No, our task is to “prepare” the way of the Lord, which means to place ourselves in front of the Lord and his ways. Our task is to cease following our own ways and open ourselves in humility to his ways. Once we do that, then the Lord will fill in our valleys and level our mountains. Our valleys are the dead-ends and blind alleys that we follow, in which we debase ourselves and forget our human dignity. Our mountains are the ways in which we exalt ourselves and consider ourselves and our projects to be all-important. The path of the Lord is different to these two paths. It is straight and is the only path grounded in reality. When we place ourselves before the ways of the Lord, then he will lead us out of our arrogance and false autonomy into humility, and he will draw us out of the blind alleys and help us to realize our true dignity.

“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.

December 1 2024.  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 ...

 
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!

“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.