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Eleventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (June 17^th 2012)   

Gospel: Mark 4:26-34

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

Don Fabio finds in these two parables of the Kingdom of God a meditation on the nature of God's action in our lives. The Kingdom comes to maturity in our lives in unexpected ways that defy human reasoning. Our job is to provide the ground in which the seed of the Kingdom can grow. "Providing the ground" involves trusting in God at times when it seems absurd to trust in him. If we provide the ground, the seed of the Kingdom will come to fruition in our lives in dramatic ways

The parables of the Kingdom defy common-sense interpretation

These two short parables (regarding the seed that produces fruit spontaneously, and the tiny mustard seed that yields a great harvest) cannot be understood fully unless we examine the end of the Gospel passage. We are told here that Jesus only spoke to the people in parables, but when he was alone with his disciples he would explain the parables to them. This indicates that there is an aspect of the parables that is straightforward, and there is another aspect that requires explanation.

The Kingdom of Heaven comes to maturity in our lives in ways that we do not understand or expect

The first parable tells how a seed has its own inner dynamism and power. In the same way, the Kingdom of Heaven is something that has its own logic and that must be allowed to come to fruition according to its own internal dynamic. Welcoming the Kingdom of God requires being open to something that does not square with our way of thinking. It doesn't matter whether the farmer is awake or asleep. All he must do is simply provide the ground, and then the seed will grow according to principles that he cannot understand. In the same way, the power of God is working in our lives in ways that cannot be appreciated by our limited framework of understanding.

In Jesus, the Kingdom comes to maturity at the moment when all seems lost

Then we have the parable of the smallest seed that grows to become the largest plant of its type. This story illustrates that the relationship between cause and effect is not accessible to human understanding. Once we open our hearts to the Kingdom of God, it is no longer a question of judging things according to our logic, or according to human principles of measurement. We must refrain from making judgements based on our principles of what is small or great, and instead trust in the power of God. God makes use of the things that are small and despised, things that are considered the least in human terms. Jesus himself became the smallest of seeds, condemned to death by the crowd, and discarded by everyone. As a consequence of making himself the least, he becomes Lord of all, capable of saving those who obey him. Jesus follows a logic that is incomprehensible to us. At the moment when we think he is going nowhere, he is on the point of resurrection. The crucifixion seems an insurmountable scandal, an event that can bring no good, but what seems like a never-ending moment of tragedy comes to maturity when the time is right.

Genuine love involves becoming the despised seed that yields fruit in God's time

In today's scientific, rationalistic, culture there is a tendency to accept everything that makes sense to us, and to dismiss everything that is incomprehensible. Anything that does not fit in with our preconceived notion of life is considered mistaken. The cross never fits in with our approach to life, but the cross is an absolutely essential part of the experience of love. It is not possible to love someone unless we are willing to stand beside that person and serve them at times when it seems absurd. The little thing that Jesus has done explodes into the great tree where all the birds find rest and everyone comes to find shelter. Whoever has faith finds shelter in this great tree; whoever is willing to wait until God brings his designs to maturity, refraining from making judgements according to the size or greatness of what the eyes can see, trusting only in the action of God.

Our plans, no matter how well-worked out, will one day founder. The Kingdom of Heaven will come to maturity in ways that defy human principles and planning

The seed that is planted and grows by itself, and the spectacular flowering of the mustard seed, are examples of the laws of nature in operation. The Kingdom of Heaven operates according to the laws and ways of God, and these are not our ways. Our projects and schemes, no matter how carefully worked out, will eventually founder. One of the Psalms tells us that the Lord brings to nothing the designs of the nations. Saints like Francis of Assisi and Philip Neri give us a model of how to live according to God's times and seasons, and this way of life is none other than to enter into the mystery of Easter. Blessed John Paul II did wonderful things during his life, but that which wounded the heart of countless people was the helplessness of his last days. John Paul II was truly great when he became a tiny grain of suffering in the sight of the entire world, and this grain became a flowering of faith for many people at the very moment when he died.

The life of faith consists in PROVIDING THE GROUND in which the seed of the Kingdom can grow. "Providing the ground" involves trusting in God despite all obstacles

This is how the life of faith is. It does not follow obvious routes that make perfect sense to us. Instead it leads us in ways where we are confronted with obstacles that prevent us from going any further. There are times when we find ourselves powerless, and the only thing that remains is to trust in God. At these times, what is essential is that we continue to provide the ground in which the seed can grow. In this way, something small and despised can become in our lives the great work of God.

The Body and Blood of the Lord (June 10^th 2012)       

Gospel: Mark 14:12-16; 22-26

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

On this feast of Corpus Christi, Don Fabio tells us that our preparation for the Eucharist should mirror the disciples' preparation for the Passover as described in the Gospel of Mark. The Sabbath should not simply be a day when activity ceases: it is a day of blessing that should be prepared for all week long. Don Fabio asks three principal questions of us: When do we encounter the body and blood of the Lord? In what state should we be before embarking on that encounter? In what kind of place does this encounter occur?

The Sabbath is not just a day of inactivity. It must become the fulcrum of the week.

This Sunday we hear the account of the institution of the Eucharist as it is presented by St Mark in the oldest of the Gospels. First of all we have a description of the preparations that preceded the celebration. In the Old Testament Law, the Jews were asked to "remember" the Sabbath day. This "remembering" involved not just the observance of the Sabbath, but required preparation for it all the week long. After all, if one is to rest completely on the Sabbath, then one needs to get the food and other supplies necessary for that day ready in advance. The Sabbath, then, is not just a day where activity ceases. The Sabbath is a day of blessing, and the activities of the rest of the week should revolve around it. In the same way, the Passover that Jesus celebrated was something that was prepared for in advance. In fact, the text from the Gospel of Mark can be used as a model upon which to base our preparations for the Eucharist.

When do we encounter the body and blood of Jesus? At our weekly parish Eucharist

At the beginning of the passage, the disciples ask Jesus where he would like to eat the Passover. This is an important question. When? Can the Lord's body be encountered in this special way anytime and anywhere? No. Jesus gives us precise instructions on when to meet him. Our parish celebration of the Eucharist is the principal occasion when the Lord wishes to meet us. Recall the story of Thomas. He was not present the first time that Jesus appeared to the other apostles. Exactly one week later, he made sure he was present at the gathering when Jesus appeared again. In other words, we all have a weekly appointment where we can meet the Lord. It is important that, like Thomas, we make ourselves present at that gathering.

In what state should we be in order to encounter the body and blood of Jesus? In the state of actively following our baptismal commitment.

So Jesus gives us an appointment when we can meet him. The text from this week's Gospel gives us other indications too. In order to encounter the body and blood of Jesus we must follow him in obedience, laying to one side our own projects and interests, and seeking instead to do what the Lord wants. The text says, "You will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him". Who is this enigmatic figure? The Fathers of the Church have a common-sense interpretation of this text. We must pass through water before entering into the Eucharist. We must pass through baptism before entering into full communion with the Lord. In following John the Baptist we are led to water and to redemption. It is interesting to note that the penitential rite at the beginning of Mass can be replaced with the ritual of sprinkling holy water from the baptismal font on the congregation. This all makes perfect sense. In the first place, as a result of baptism, we are children of God, and we need regular nutrition in order to remain so. To follow the man carrying water signifies living a life in accordance with our baptismal promises before celebrating the Eucharist.

Where do we encounter the body and blood of the Lord? In shrines and holy places?

So we have an appointment with Jesus, and we must live our baptismal commitment before encountering him. But in what kind of place will we meet him? In the text, Jesus instructs the disciples to seek out the "room" where the Master can eat the Passover with them. In the Old Testament, the Temple is described as a place that had a secret room, the Holy of Holies in which God was present. During the crucifixion of Jesus, the veil of the Temple was torn in two, and that room was no longer a secret place. Jesus had already told the Samaritan woman that people would no longer seek to worship the Lord in Jerusalem or in any other place, but instead would worship him in spirit and in truth. The room in which we meet the Lord thus ceases to be a particular historical place. Jesus, in reality, wishes to enter into our spaces, our Eucharistic assemblies, and make them his room, the place where we encounter him.

           

How should we view the adornment of the places where we celebrate the Eucharist?

The room, we are told in the Gospel, is an upper room. This signifies the house of a wealthy family, since only the well-off had a two-storey house in those days. The upper room would be large, well-furnished, with everything ready for the celebration. This mirrors our experience on Sundays when we go to beautiful churches and find everything ready for the celebration. When we enter a church, we should not consider the human effort that has gone into the church or the preparations. We should instead consider the work that the Lord has inspired people to do in these places. Why are our churches beautiful? Why do we surround the celebration of the Eucharist with great beauty? Saint Francis had a vocation to live a life of poverty, but wished that the sacred vessels be of gold. In the Catholic tradition, we have a lot of art that is associated with the Eucharistic celebration. Why so? Because we are aware that no matter how much we adorn the celebration, it is only a shadow of the true beauty of the Eucharist. The beauty of the Eucharist derives from the love of the one who loved us so much that he gave us his body and shed his blood for us. Our images and music will always be a shadow of the beauty contained in the reality of the Eucharist itself.

On this Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, we ponder on our need to prepare ourselves for the Eucharist, on our need to follow our baptismal calling in order to be ready for this encounter. We must also be obedient to the instructions and liturgical norms that the church, in her wisdom, has given us for the celebration of the Eucharist. All of these preparations and instructions have the function of making concrete the central treasure of the faith of the church: the weekly encounter with the true body and blood of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ.

Holy Trinity Sunday (June 3^rd 2012)  

Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20

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

Is the feast of the Holy Trinity the celebration of a theological doctrine, or is something urgently important for the life of the Christian? This week Don Fabio challenges us to examine the lethargic, reluctant, duty-ridden, feet-dragging version of Christianity that most of us subscribe to. The antidote to this mediocrity is the full immersion in the life of the Trinity that is the mark of a true disciple

The power of Jesus is the power to change the course of people's lives

On Trinity Sunday we reflect on the last words from the Gospel of St Matthew. The risen Jesus appears to the disciples and says, "All power in heaven and earth has been given to me". What is the power that is being referred to here? Jesus goes on to tell the disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Spirit. The power of Jesus consists in the ability to change the direction of the lives of people, his capacity to make people go towards something which is no longer a chaotic, dissolute, meaningless life, but a life that is ordered according to the plan of God. We can change the composition of society and democracy as much as we like, but if the human person himself does not change direction at a fundamental level, then every structure of power on earth will always lead to the same end: evil and the regression of the human condition.

The human person thinks he is a master of his own destiny, but he is really a slave of the idols of this world. To be truly autonomous one must become a disciple of Jesus Christ

The Lord asks us to go and make disciples of all nations. What a wonderful mission! That the people of earth who do not know God might all become his disciples! To have this mission is to have the direction of one's life changed. To have this mission is to refrain from pretending to be masters of one's own existence. From the word "disciple" comes the word "discipline". The fact is that the human being is always a disciple of something or someone. He is a disciple of deceit, a disciple of the idols of this world, a disciple of vanity or evil. The human being is always a follower of something, even though he might be under the illusion that he is the master of his own destiny. With Jesus, all of this is turned upside down. When we become his disciples, we become a follower of his but this makes us autonomous. We become bearers of a dignity and nobility that is part and parcel of being his disciples.

We become disciples by being immersed in the life of the Trinity

How is one to become a disciple of Jesus? By being baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Greek work "baptize" means to be immersed. Of course this refers to the physical ritual of baptism, but it also refers to the spiritual immersion in the Father, Son and Spirit, to the act of "remaining" in them, as the Gospel of St John exhorts. To enter into the name of the Father, is to enter into his truth, into that which he truly is. It is only when a person is immersed in this way that he is capable of fully observing that which the Father says. I obey the Father only when I know who he is, when I appreciate that he is truly my father.

The Christian life is defective to the extent that we refrain from immersing ourselves in the life of the Trinity

The Christian life is defective until we are immersed in the name of the Trinity. In the Church, we have an army of tired Christians who observe their faith with a lethargic sense of duty. The faithful come into church, dragging their feet, and hoping that the words "The Mass is ended, go in peace" will come as quickly as possible. Believers reluctantly give time to God as if it were an onerous duty. The root of this mediocrity is that we do not truly know the Father. No-one willingly obeys a stranger that they neither know nor love. Sometimes our observance of faith arises from fear of damnation, or from habit, or from social pressure. This kind of dull Christianity is grossly defective. If one is not immersed in the Father, if one has not become a disciple, if one has not had the direction of their lives changed, then a "believer" is like an old wineskin that is incapable of holding the fresh new wine that is waiting to be poured in.

God is not a detached centre of power but a relational entity whose name is "Father"

On this Solemnity, we must take our faith in hand and ask ourselves why the Church wishes us to reflect on the Holy Trinity. Is the Trinity an abstract concept that defies understanding? Is this Sunday a feast for theologians only? No, this is the feast of the experience of apostles, saints, martyrs, doctors of the church, popes, and those who have handed the faith on to us. These people were immersed in God and knew that God's name was "Father". God is not an abstract creator figure but a relational entity. "Father" is a relational term. "Son" is a relational term. The Holy Spirit is love, self-giving, the essence of relationship itself.

            In today's Gospel reading, we have many elements that testify to the beauty of our faith and that challenge us. Am I going where this Gospel challenges me to go? Has the direction of my life been changed so that I live as a disciple, immersed in Father, Son and Spirit?          At the end of the passage, Jesus says, "I am with you always, even to the end of the world". The nature of God is relational. It is not conceptual or abstract. God is the one who is with us, who wants what is good for us, and who wants a relationship with us. God is not a detached centre of power who stands isolated from us. God is father, and he approaches me with the tenderness of the only truly good father in existence. 

Pentecost Sunday (May 27^th 2012)   

Gospel: John 15:26-27; 16:12-15

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

Questions raised by this passage from the Gospel

1 A "paraclete" is someone who whispers to us whilst we are engaged in some activity. In what way would my behaviour be transformed if I had someone whispering to me of Christ's love for me while I went about my daily activities?

2. Can I bear witness to the love of Christ if I have not felt that love myself? Can I feel that love if I have not become aware of my own poverty and God's response to that poverty?

3. The Holy Spirit inspires us to focus on the other and not on ourselves. In what ways does the spirit of this world encourage us to become bottomless pits of selfish needs?

4. In what way does the Holy Spirit reveal the future to believers?

5. In what sense is a mature Christian faith incompatible with anxiety?

A "paraclete" is not someone who does things for us, but one who counsels us on how to act

In today's Gospel, Jesus uses the beautiful term "Advocate" for the Holy Spirit. This is a translation of the Greek word "Paraclete". In a modern legal proceedings, a lawyer normally speaks on behalf of the defendant. In fact, the defendant is required to remain silent during much of the trial, to avoid him saying something that could potentially damage his case. But things were very different in the ancient world. According to ancient legal custom, a defendant was obliged to speak on his own behalf. But by his side he had the right to have a "paraclete", or advocate, who could advise him on how to proceed. The paraclete did not do the talking for the defendant, but spoke in the defendant's ear and gave him counsel.

What does the Paraclete whisper to us? Of the love that Christ has shown us

What kind of things does the Paraclete whisper to us? According to today's Gospel, the Holy Spirit "bears witness" to Christ. How often in life do we need someone to speak to us of Christ! How the things we do and the way that we do them would be transformed if someone whispered to us of Christ whilst we engaged in our activities! The Holy Spirit reminds us of the love that Christ has shown for us and in this way transforms us into witnesses of that love. To bear witness to something is not a moral obligation. We bear witness to what we have experienced, and if we have not experienced something then we cannot bear witness to it. The Holy Spirit does not give us concepts or ideas that we have not experienced at first hand ourselves. The Holy Spirit speaks of Christ and transforms us into people who are capable of bearing witness to what we have experienced.

We must be aware of our own poverty and of God's response to that poverty before we can bear witness to the love of Christ

How do we become witnesses of Christ? The Gospel goes on: "I still have many things to say to you, but they would be too much for you now". Why are the disciples not capable of bearing the weight of what Jesus wishes to say to them? When will they be capable? After they have experienced the dramatic and glorious events of Easter; after Peter has become aware of his own poverty and has opened himself completely to the light of Christ. It is a curious fact that when we are strong we are unable to witness to the love of Christ. It is only when we become aware of our own weakness and have experienced the response of God to that weakness that we are able to bear the weight of that which Jesus wishes to entrust to us.

The Holy Spirit inspires us place the focus completely on the other. The spirit of evil, by contrast, encourages us to focus on ourselves, transforming us into bottomless pits of selfish needs and wants

"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking from himself, and he will tell you of the things that are to come". It is interesting that the complete truth is learned by following someone who does not speak of himself. He who speaks of himself has a different kind of spirit, the spirit of pride and self-conceit. The spirit of love, the spirit of God, speaks of Christ and speaks of the Father. He who is truly free is able to give the gift of life to others, but the spirit of evil is a consumer of life, who wishes us all to become consumers as well, bottomless pits that seek affirmation, reward, compensation, material possessions. The Holy Spirit, by contrast, teaches us to speak of the other, to speak of Christ and to speak of God.

            Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as the one who "will say only what he has learnt". Christ, too, said only what he had heard from the Father. He who does real good is not himself a fount of life, but finds his point of reference in the Father. Real love does not consist in an individual summoning up all of his powers of discipline and concentration and trying to carry out altruistic acts towards others. Only if I am rooted in the Father, immersed in the knowledge of his love for me, and aware of what he is saying to my heart, am I capable of acts of genuine love.

In what way does the Holy Spirit reveal the future to believers?

The Holy Spirit, we are told, "will announce to us the things of the future". Here the Paraclete assists us in responding in the best way possible to the vicissitudes of life. We must admit that many people, even in the Church, are not well assimilated to Christ. Many so-called Christians, who are active in the church, have not been truly washed clean and redeemed. This is something that must be acknowledged. How many people must still learn to read their future in the light of the Holy Spirit! We can pose the question: "What does the future hold?  Who can reveal your future for you? Can the means of mass communication uncover what is in store for you? Can instinct, or public opinion, disclose what is to come?" The various means that this world uses to forecast the future all reveal a world that is chaotic, uncertain, something to be fearful of. He who possesses the gift of the Holy Spirit, he who follows the counsel of the Holy Spirit, knows that his future is guided by Divine Providence. The Holy Spirit permits us to interpret everything with the sure conviction that God's plan is at work. A mature Christian faith is incompatible with anxiety. An anxious person, who worries about everything, and goes to pieces as soon as difficulties arise, cannot be in the possession of a well-formed faith. A mature Christian relies on the Holy Spirit for his conviction about the providential outcome of all things. The Holy Spirit at Pentecost transformed the future of the apostles. They became capable of bearing the weight of their mission. They were no longer filled with fear of a future without God.

            What is the future when it is described by someone who is not instructed by the Holy Spirit? It is something threatening, something which must be overseen by our mechanisms of insurance and self-protection. But reality never obeys our pathetic efforts to control and tame it! On this Pentecost Sunday, let us rid ourselves of the standard forecasts of the future! Let us be freed of our anxieties, which are nothing more than inadequacies of our faith. Let us do as Padre Pio advised and leave the future to providence. If we consign the future to providence, and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us of God, then we will be filled with the sure conviction that the only thing the future holds is the fatherly love of God.

The Ascension of the Lord (May 20^th 2012)        

Gospel: Mark 16:15-20

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

Questions raised by this passage from the Gospel

1 Does the Ascension mean that Jesus is now detached from the earth?

2. What does it mean to sit at "God's right hand"?

3. The reading says that whoever rejects the Gospel will be condemned. But isn't God supposed to be all-merciful? In what sense will I be condemned if I reject the good news?

4. Those who believe in the good news will be able to cast out devils. In what sense can I cast out evil from my life?

5. The Gospel passage tells us that those who receive the good news will have the gift of new tongues. In what sense can I as a believer speak a new language?

6. The text also speaks of the ability of believers to take serpents in their hands. In what way should I be able to take serpents in my hands, and why is this ability such an important mark of a mature Christian?

The Ascension is not detachment from the earth but the taking up of a position of power over the things on earth

This text at the end of Mark's Gospel describes the Ascension of the Lord and the first work of evangelisation of the apostles. We are told that Jesus takes his place at God's right hand while the disciples go all over the world, preaching the good news.  We might get the impression that Jesus has now become static or immobile, and it is the task of his disciples to preach the Gospel. But what is the real significance of this expression, "to sit at the right hand of God"? Often a journey is defined by its destination. At the end of Jesus' earthly journey, during which he overcame the power of sin and death, he ascends into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. But this should not be understood as some kind of detachment from earthly affairs. The "right hand" of the Father refers to the power of God. To be seated at God's right hand means to be the one who exercises the power of God. The throne on which Jesus sits is not a place of rest but the place from which he accomplishes the saving work of God. Jesus ascends therefore, not to rest, but to become Lord, invested in power, working through history and guiding history. With this authority, and through the Church, Jesus confirms with signs the word that is preached by the apostles. That which we celebrate in the Ascension of the Lord is fundamentally the power of Jesus Christ. We celebrate the official presentation of him as true saviour of our lives. In the name of the Lord Jesus, from now on, the Church will be able to perform marvellous acts.

The Ascension proclaims the kingship of Jesus over our lives

In the name of Jesus the good news is to be announced. Every creature is to be told of this beautiful revelation. The good news that is to be preached is inextricably linked to the person of Jesus. It is not just a generic message of hope, or a vague doctrine of physical or spiritual wellbeing. The good news is the revelation of the kingship of Jesus over our lives. This kingship rids us of the tyrannical things that dominate us, and frees us from our slavery to false masters.

Will we really be condemned if we reject the good news?

The Gospel tells us that anyone who does not welcome the good news will be condemned. This refers to someone who has explicitly heard the good news, has had the opportunity to accept it, but who willingly rejects it. It is a fact worth contemplating that the more we are exposed to the good news, the more we open ourselves to the possibility of being judged. And this makes good sense. The more we hear the good news, the more urgent is our responsibility to act upon it. That is why the text speaks of the condemnation that goes along with rejecting the good news once it has been properly heard. Life is not a joke or some kind of animated film. It is a serious business that can be used to wonderful purpose or be destroyed. Does it matter how we live our lives? Is it possible to make a mess of our existence, or does it make little difference how we use it? Yes, it does make a difference! Life can be lived badly! The good news is something that must be taken seriously and must not be discarded with indifference.

How well have I received the good news? Do I confuse freedom with licence?

We know that there is great goodness and benevolence in God. He understands that people sometimes reject him because they have not understood him properly, or because they are exasperated or frustrated by life. God is goodness and mercy and comprehends the motives in our hearts. But we must take this text seriously. The rejection of the kingship of Jesus has serious consequences. God sends us his envoys who announce freedom, goodness, and pardon. They do not come to place burdens on people or to announce punishment. But we have a tendency to mix up the freedom that God gives us with licence. God does not give us licence to sin, but pardons our sins, which is a different thing altogether. The performance of acts of evil carries consequences, and we must face up to that fact. In this Gospel passage, the one line that tends to offend us is the statement that whoever rejects the good news will be condemned. But this condemnation makes perfect sense. When Pope John Paul II went to Sicily he condemned the mafia leaders who continued to reject the way of the Gospel. And when I look in my own heart - as a priest of the church who has received enormous exposure to the Gospel - I too must consider honestly the reception I have given to the good news.

Marvellous signs will accompany those who believe in the good news

The Lord sends his disciples and exercises his power so that humanity might be liberated. The Gospel tells us that certain signs accompany those who believe. It is interesting that the signs are associated with the believers, not the proclaimers. The ones who have received the good news will be able to cast out demons in Jesus' name. This is not some kind of mythology, but a concrete reference to the fact that believers will have the power to combat evil. The Gospels affirm very clearly that evil exists. In every "Our Father" that we pray, we ask to be delivered from evil. There is deception and evil in our hearts that seeks to compromise the good news, and it must be cast out. Genuine reception of the good news is incompatible with attachment to vice, impurity, and the perpetuation of hatred that we regularly engage in. These things are not of Christ. In baptism, after all, we definitively rejected Satan and his deceptions. It is not right to declare ourselves to be Christian and to continue to harbour acts and impulses of this sort in our hearts.

           

Those who believe in the good news will be able to speak a new language

The Gospel passage tells us that those who receive the good news will have the gift of new tongues, as happened at Pentecost. This beautiful reference can be understood to refer to the ability to speak the language of love. Love is the language that everyone can understand. When someone shows love, everyone comprehends the significance of his action. There is no ambiguity in the expression of true love.

The text also speaks of the ability of believers to take serpents in their hands. In what way should I be able to take serpents in my hands, and why is this ability such an important mark of a mature Christian?

The text also speaks of the ability of believers to take serpents in their hands. This statement, surely, might be relevant to performers in a circus, but what has it to do with those who believe in the good news? Clearly the text is referring to the ability to resist temptation, the capacity to struggle against the Tempter. Believers must be able to take their weaknesses in hand, instead of fleeing from them continually. This is one of the signs of the indwelling of God's love in our hearts. Salvation does not depend on externals, but on one's inner health. It might be the case that I am in an environment that is full of dangerous temptation, but if I am the carrier of something life-giving, then this poisonous environment will not do me any harm. If my "salvation" can really be damaged by the poisons that are carried by others, then my salvation is not sufficiently rooted in Christ.

In summary, let us believe in the kingdom of heaven so that we can combat evil, so that we can say no to temptation, so that we can be autonomous in this poisonous world that seeks to infect us. Let us believe in the good news so that we can learn the new language of love and speak it to others. If one accepts the good news then one will always have something beautiful to say.

Sixth Sunday of Easter (May 13^th 2012)    

Gospel: John 15:9-17

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

Questions raised by this passage from the Gospel

1 Is love an act of the will? Does it arise from instinct? Or is it something else that goes beyond these two alternatives?

2. In what way can love be thought of as a language that can only be learned when we "hear" it first from others?

3. Do I think of love as something that happens between two equals?

4. What does Jesus mean when he tells us to "remain in his love"?

  

Is love a determined act of the will, or does it arise spontaneously from instinct?

The times we live in are filled with misconceptions about love. In centuries past there was a tendency to focus on the effort, self-discipline and resolution that true love requires. Sometimes Christian speakers still talk about love of this kind today. But the greatest tendency nowadays is for people to focus on the spontaneous character of love. Love is not genuine, we are told, unless it is unforced and springs naturally from within us. This discussion takes us onto risky ground. Is love something that requires an act of the will and steely determination? Or is it like a ship on the high seas that effortlessly goes wherever the wind takes it? If love happens to arise within me, then it arises, but if it doesn't, then I cannot force it? These approaches to an understanding of love stand at two poles, and the problem with them is that the human being is more than just free will, and is more than just instinct and emotion.

Authentic love does not come from within us but from somewhere else

The shortcomings of the above attempts to understand love are brought into relief by the Gospel passage that we are considering this week. The text repeatedly proclaims a particular message: "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Remain in my love". The problem with our approaches to love is that we try to understand it as something that comes from within us. Whether it arises from an act of our will, or springs from natural instinct, it is still thought of as something that originates in ourselves. But the human being is not the origin of love! He may well have a natural predisposition in his heart to love, but love, above all things, is something that must enter into him from outside. Just as a new language cannot be learned unless it is first heard, love cannot be expressed unless one has first "heard" it from others.

Love is not a "horizontal" act between equals in which we show favour to those who show favour to us

In the Gospel passage, Jesus says, "Remain in my love". There is only one sure source from which we can learn how to love in an authentic way. "Love each other as I have loved you". The fact of having been loved by him - this is the sure fount from which we learn how to love. Jesus has the capacity to generate love because he is love. We cannot learn how to love as long as we think that love is something that is done on a horizontal level. In other words, love does not consist in the lover and the beloved exchanging love in equal measure. It is easy to love those who love us back or treat us well. But genuine love is that which is present when one finds oneself confronted by a defect in the other, when one encounters opposition, error, poverty, sin. Love is an unconditional response towards someone who is not behaving advantageously towards me. Who have I ever loved in my life in this way? Who have I ever forgiven?

In order to be able to love in a genuine way then we must remain in His love

We are all hoping to stumble upon people who have genuine love in their hearts. Whether it is in a marriage partner, or in our colleagues at work, or in the people we work with in the church, we are all longing to encounter people who are willing to give themselves without asking anything in return. Love of the horizontal sort between equals is not what we are really seeking, so why think that it is sufficient for me to love in this way, giving only in the same measure as I receive? In order to be capable of this non-horizontal love, the ability to love those who have offended us, then we must pass through the Lord Jesus. I need to remain in his love. I need to look constantly at the way that he has loved me, contemplate continually in my heart the way that he has treated me. I can't speak for the readers, but I know that I certainly haven't been treated by God according to merit. If God treated me as I deserve, then I would have been punished severely, something the Lord has not done. He has shown only patience and mercy towards me.

Remaining in His love is a humbling experience

There is something humbling about remaining in God's love and we shouldn't try to overlook this point. To be in the presence of the God who loves us is to be with someone who has given us everything and to whom we have given nothing in return. When we go to the house of a friend, we tend to bring something with us, because we feel we have to give something in return for their hospitality. It is uncomfortable to believe in the unconditional giving of God, to believe that we have been loved in a scandalously unconditional way. To remain in his love, however, requires that we face up to this uncomfortable fact. We tend to be egoistic even in our relationship with God. We want to be on level terms with him. There is a pain involved in being pardoned, because the fact of being pardoned makes us contemplate our misdeeds.

Our ability to love derives from the fact that He loved us first

Whoever is frustrated at their inability to love others must cease thinking that they can ever produce love by themselves. They must adhere firmly to the One who loves them. When a marriage is in crisis, it is often futile to focus on the problem at the level of the relationship between the two spouses. Each spouse should seek out for themselves the source of unconditional love, and it is only then, when they are filled with this love, they are capable of placing themselves before the sins or defects of the other spouse. We are not asked simply to love each other, but to love each other as He has loved us. It is not sufficient for us to love, but to love because we have been loved.

            Will it ever happen that the church will grow into a people of God who love - not because they are so well-adjusted and secure in themselves - but because they have gratitude in their hearts for the way that they have been loved? Will the day ever come when we begin to love because we are responding to love and not because we are trying, grotesquely, to produce it by our own means? The source of our capacity to love must be the constant contemplation of the infinite patience of God and the cross of Christ. We must remain in front of him, with bleeding hearts, contemplating his love. We have been loved in a way that we have not merited, and in a way that we will never pay back. Let us try to do what we can. It will always be precious little, and thank heavens for that!

Fifth Sunday of Easter (May 6^th 2012)      

Gospel: John 15:1-8

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

Questions raised by this passage from the Gospel

1 Is my life grafted onto Jesus, or are there other things that I consider more fundamental in giving meaning and direction to my life?

2. Am I involved in behaviour, activities or projects that seem to be unproductive, or to lead nowhere?

3. Are there relationships, modes of behaviour, or fixations that ought to be "pruned away" from my life, so that I can focus on what is essential?

4. Am I inclined to believe that my own projects are of great importance? Do I tend to rely a lot on my own efforts and abilities?

5. In what way can I make Jesus the fount of life that makes all of my efforts ultimately fruitful?

"We are inclined to think that we have a vital role in the world, and that our activities are of great significance. But we cannot do anything without the Lord! Our life is a series of zeroes, of inconsistent schemes, of vain projects. Only Christ can give significance to our works! Only the Risen One can give eternity to our lives! Without Christ nothing else matters!"

To live productive lives, we must be grafted onto the source of true life

To live a life without bearing fruit of some sort is frustrating. We cannot live for nothing, and one of the most traumatic experiences of life is the feeling of being useless. The Gospel on Sunday addresses this need and tells us how to live productive lives. The first basic requirement is to be grafted onto true life. Often we are grafted onto things that do not give life. Jesus says "I am the true vine and my Father is the vinedresser."  We need to be attached to the true fount of life. In reality we are often grafted to false sources of "life", and as a result our efforts to bear fruit depend completely on our own impoverished resources. But the Gospel also speaks of branches that are attached to Christ but still fail to bear fruit. We must be capable of realizing when something is a waste of time and is unproductive. Honesty with ourselves is of fundamental importance in this regard. At a human, relational and ecclesial level, how often it is the case that simple courage is needed to say "This line of action is a waste of time!" We continue with projects that are of little use. We do things because "that is the way things are always done around here". We organize religious conferences where there are more people on the stage than in the audience. In other words we persist stubbornly with projects that are unproductive, shoots that have already been cut off by the Father.

Life is a journey towards the essential. Constant pruning is needed

The Gospel tells us that the Father cuts away the branch that bears no fruit, and he prunes the branch that does bear fruit. In either case, the Father cuts! Life is a journey towards the essential. It involves a process of stripping away that which is non-essential and becoming more and more simply conformed to the Lord Jesus. Many people suffer from a kind of "spiritual obesity" in which their minds are filled with notions and principles that simply distract from what is fundamental. A good analogy is the world of travel. When we are at the airport we often see people carrying with them books, gadgets, and enormous suitcases, as if they were going to a destination that had nothing of its own. A good traveller has a small suitcase, and the more he travels the smaller it gets, until he can travel with only that which is indispensable. The more we are reduced to what is essential, the more agile we become, and the quicker we pass through the customs of life. The more we focus on our destination, and the less on where we have come from, the more sap that will run though our branches. The sap of the vine will not be wasted in multiple lateral branches that go nowhere.

Without the Lord, we cannot bear genuine fruit

The Gospel goes on: "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing." This is a major blow to the notions we have about ourselves! We are inclined to think that we have a vital role in the world, and that our efforts are of great significance. But we cannot do anything without the Lord. Our life is a series of zeroes, of inconsistent schemes, of vain projects. Only Christ can give significance to our works! Only the Risen One can give eternity to our lives! Without Christ nothing matters.

            Sometimes we are so caught up with the things that we have to get done, and prayer is left till the end of the list, if there is any time for it at all. The proper way to live life is to be attentive to Christ, so that we can become like arrows shot from his bow, instead of embarking on a frenzy of disordered initiatives of our own that cause more chaos than anything else. Christ must be put first, and then everything else must be made to follow. We tend to lament the fact that things are going badly in the church. We bemoan the fact we have few vocations, that we have a shortage of catechists, that marriages are breaking down. But all of these difficulties arise from the fact that we have continued to focus our efforts on things that do not bear fruit. We have failed to put the true vine at the centre of things, and we have not cut away that which is useless. We have not focussed on the essential, eliminating the dross, loving only Him with all of our strength.

            The text goes on to tell us that if we remain in him, then we can ask whatever we want and we will receive it. Incredible! How happy life would be if we could desire beautiful things, ask for them, and receive them! This emphasizes that we are not destined for frustration, but for the production of great fruit. Let us be pruned! Let us be stripped down to what is essential! The futility of our efforts will be transformed into great fruitfulness when we are grafted onto Christ.