February 16^th 2014. SIXTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Gospel: Matthew 5:17-37

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

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

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GOSPEL Matthew 5:17-37

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish them but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.

‘For I tell you, if your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.

‘You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not kill; and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say this to you: anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court; if a man calls his brother “Fool” he will answer for it before the Sanhedrin; and if a man calls him “Renegade” he will answer for it in hell fire. So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering. Come to terms with your opponent in good time while you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. I tell you solemnly, you will not get out till you have paid the last penny.

‘You have learnt how it was said: You must not commit adultery. But I say this to you: if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye should cause you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body thrown into hell. And if your right hand should cause you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body go to hell.

‘It has also been said: Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal. But I say this to you: everyone who divorces his wife, except for the case of fornication, makes her an adulteress; and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

‘Again, you have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not break your oath, but must fulfil your oaths to the Lord. But I say this to you: do not swear at all, either by heaven, since that is God’s throne; or by the earth, since that is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the great king. Do not swear by your own head either, since you cannot turn a single hair white or black. All you need say is “Yes” if you mean yes, “No” if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the evil one.’

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

Kieran’s summary . . . In this passage, Jesus presents us with the Gospel in its most radical form. The Old Testament Law had prohibitions on adultery, murder, deceitfulness, etc. Jesus tells us that he has come not to do away with this law but to fulfil it. And this fulfilment entails that not only is murder illicit, but so is anger towards my brother; not only is adultery illicit, but so is looking at another person with desire - every precept of the old law is transformed by Jesus into a purer and more radical form! But how am I expected to meet such rigorous obligations? There’s the rub! The Gospel that Jesus is presenting is not a list of moral demands or ethical precepts. The capacity to live this type of radical life is not a question of gritting my teeth and getting my act together. If my moral behaviour depended entirely on me, then I would be faithful for as long as it suited me; I would be truthful insofar as the truth didn’t reflect badly on me; I would be kind to others to the extent that it brought benefits for me. If I continue to view the “demands” of Christianity as a code of ethics, then I will never understand what Jesus means in this Sunday’s Gospel, nor in any Sunday’s Gospel! This Gospel can only be understood in the context of that which we celebrate at the Eucharist on Sunday – the death and resurrection of Jesus who calls us into communion with him. Woe to us if we continue to think of Christianity as a doctrine to be understood and put into practice! If that were the case, there would be no need for Jesus to die on the cross for us. The Gospel is not simply ethical action but communion with Christ. What is needed is that we place our hands in the hands of Jesus, allow ourselves to be guided by him, unite ourselves daily with his death and resurrection. When we start living life in this way, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, then we begin to live the kind of life outlined in this Sunday’s Gospel.

The Gospel presents us with a radical perspective on morality. But how can I be expected to live according to such impossible demands?

This lengthy passage presents us with the message of the Gospel at its most radical. Jesus begins by saying that the Law of Moses is not being abolished but fulfilled. The Old Testament law is the external face of a newer, more radical, morality that is implanted in the heart. But how can my heart be made capable of following such radical precepts? How can I cease being angry with others? How can I attain the state of not even looking at another person with desire in my heart? How can I ensure that every word from my mouth is the pure and simple truth? These demands are enormous! To refrain from ever thinking that someone is stupid or crazy! To be filled with such respect for others that we never consider them in any carnal way! If we listen to this Gospel passage and then go out into the world expecting to be able to put it into practice, we are greatly mistaken! That is not how the Gospel works at all.

This Gospel should NOT be read as a series of moral prescriptions

In this passage, Jesus presents us with a vision of life itself, the kind of life that only he can give. Without the Lord Jesus, the best we can do is aspire to live in this way. The most we can achieve is the longing to be able to live with others in complete harmony, communion and purity of heart. Today the indissoluble nature of marriage is something that is completely denied by our culture. The common mentality is that relationships can be disposed of whenever they become inconvenient. In the area of communication, the emphasis on the freedom to say what I like makes a mockery of the notion that everything I say ought to be purely sincere and true. The radical nature of what Jesus is proposing seems so demanding that we risk becoming neurotic if we tried to put it all into practice. And this is the key to understanding the passage. It is not a series of prescriptions that we are expected to follow using our own limited capacities.

Without the life of Jesus within us we are ethical only insofar as it suits us to be ethical

Let us allow ourselves to be guided by the first reading from the Book of Ecclesiasticus. “The Lord sets before you today fire and water, life and death.” In other words, the choice we have before us is not to be just or to be unjust, to act ethically or unethically. The choice before us is the choice between life and death; having an existence that is life-filled, or an existence that plays itself out under the shadow of death. If I live just for myself, for my own survival, for my own wellbeing, then I will be faithful only as long as it suits me to be faithful; I will be kind to others only if there is something in it for me; I will be truthful only if the truth does not reflect badly on me. My priority is myself. This passage, therefore, cannot be read as an abstract ethical or philosophical discourse. It must be read in the context of the Eucharistic liturgy we celebrate on Sunday, which proclaims the resurrection of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!

It is the death and resurrection of Jesus that gives us life and permits us to live the kind of life described in Sunday’s Gospel

Outside of this context we not only fail to understand this Gospel, we fail to understand any Gospel. To understand the Gospel we must open our hearts to the God who wishes to draw us into the life of the resurrection, into a life of complete communion with Jesus. Through this communion and by the power of Jesus we are enabled to live a life that is not simply the life that was bestowed on us by our parents. The life that our parents gave us is a mortal life that we naturally seek to defend in a self-centred way. But the life that enables us to live this Sunday’s Gospel is an immortal life that is bestowed on us by the death and resurrection of Jesus. That is why this passage cannot be read as a series of obligations. Obligations of this sort will never be met by anyone. The only person capable of living this kind of life is someone who has passed from death to life, someone who has scaled the impenetrable barrier of nothingness that surrounds us on account of our mortality.

Christianity must not be reduced to a set of precepts! Christianity is living the life of Jesus by immersing ourselves daily in his death and resurrection

Our introduction to this life of the resurrection comes at Baptism. Baptism is not just a rite that happened to us years ago and no longer has any relevance. It marks the acceptance of our redemption in Christ. We must continue to welcome this redemption daily! If we do not welcome the life of Christ then the sayings of Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel are nothing more than abstract philosophy. Many great saints of the Church, as well as hidden multitudes of Christians, have lived these words of Jesus, not because they were “good” people, but because they passed from death to life by the power of the Holy Spirit, They allowed themselves to be led by the hand of Jesus. This rendered them capable of being faithful to this radical extent, of being truthful to this radical extent, of being respectful to this radical extent. Woe to us if we reduce Christianity to a doctrine that must be understood and put into practice! If Christianity were a series of ethical precepts, then there would be no need for Christ to die on the cross. Jesus died on the cross and rose again so that we might be able to live in the way that is set out in the Gospel. If we examine the Gospel in its entirety, in fact, we will see that it never asks less than that we live the experience of the resurrection.

February 9^th 2014. FIFTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Gospel: Matthew 5:13-16

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

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

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GOSPEL Matthew 5:13-16

Jesus said to his disciples: 'You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, what can make it salty again? It is good for nothing, and can only be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by men.

'You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house.
In the same way your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven
The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . In the Gospel passage from Matthew, Jesus makes clear that each of us has a unique mission to be the light of the world. How do we achieve this? Does our personal mission consist in some kind of amazing individualistic feat? A stunning public performance of some kind? The first reading from the Prophet Isaiah tells us that we become a light to the world if we feed the hungry, shelter the homeless and clothe the naked. The human person is a fundamentally relational being. Our mission consists in entering into relationships of love and service with God and the people I encounter in my daily life. That is how we become a light for the world! If we follow individual, egoistic goals then we fail in our mission and bring darkness to the world. If I am caught up in my own projects, worries and sufferings, then I bring gloom and shadows to the people around me. The more I strive for my own individual light, the darker I become! But if I manage to rise above my sufferings and limits, orientating myself to God and neighbour, then I am a shining light in the obscurity of this world. At the end of the day, God is the origin of all light. He gives us life and wishes to fan us into a flame that will illuminate the world. We will be the light when we cease striving for worldly light and limelight, when we cease pursuing our selfish goals and instead turn towards God and neighbour. Until we shine with this light, we are not truly living at all.

Each of us has a unique mission to illuminate the world

The first reading comes from the latter part of Isaiah which speaks about the things that will take place at the end times. The prophet tells us that true fasting involves feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and sheltering the homeless. If we do these things, we are told, then our light will shine like the dawn and our wounds will be quickly healed. What does this passage of Isaiah refer to? What kind of light does a human being possess? And how can this light heal us? All of this is made clearer when we consider the celebrated Gospel text from Matthew regarding the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Every human being has a unique identity and he is called so that his light will shine. Each of us has a mission, something important to accomplish.

Our mission is not to achieve some wonderful personal feat but to be light for others

This mission is not something for ourselves. It is not some kind of personal achievement or triumph.  It is something that must be done for others, because the human being is fundamentally a relational creature. Each of us has a relationship with God and with our neighbour. To fail in our mission means to become darkness, to become a contributor towards the darkness of the world and the blindness of others. To fail in our mission means to fail to lead others to see God and to see their neighbour. When darkness prevails we cannot see the other. Individualism, the pursuit of one’s own goals, the failure to share with others, is not just a problem of social justice. Individualism is a betrayal of our most authentic identity. We are called to be beautiful human beings and this involves being brilliant emitters of light for others.

What kind of light do we emit?

But what sort of light do we emit? Many people in the world pursue their own success, their own light. They shine with an artificial radiance that soon fades. This light has nothing eternal in it. These people seek to be themselves by taking themselves as their starting point and finishing point. But the first reading from Isaiah speaks of people who shine like the dawn because they have focussed on the welfare of others. We find the same discourse in the Gospel. Jesus says, “You are the light of the world.” The disciple is someone who lights the way for others, not for himself. This is a key point for understanding many aspects of our lives. “No-one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on a lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house.” A lamp is only lit so that someone else may see. We do not light a lamp in an empty room. But who is it that lights the lamp of the human person? It is God who is the origin of this light. It is God who called us to life. God lights each one of us so that we might be light for others.

If we follow egoistic goals then we walk in darkness. Suffering has no meaning if it is understood in egoistic terms

We continue to walk in darkness so long as we continue to pursue the dictates of our own egos. For as long as our ego remains the key by which we interpret the meaning of our lives, we will never be able to understand the things that happen to us! Many difficult and bewildering things happen to us in life. We only begin to accept them when we realize that through these things we can become light for others. If something critical happens to us, then by means of these things we can attain perspective on life and show love to others. The alternative is to view these things in a narrow egoistic way. The events then have no wider redeeming significance beyond themselves. They start from us and finish with us. How different it is to view my sufferings or limits as opportunities for doing good for someone else! This is the perspective we attain when we contemplate Christ crucified. The horrible, unjust and individual suffering of Jesus becomes the light of the world. As Jesus is dying on the Cross, there is an eclipse of the sun. There is no more natural illumination and Jesus becomes the true light of the world. It is the fact of Jesus offering his sufferings for us that makes him the light of the world.

As the Prophet Isaiah says, and as the Gospel says, we become light for the world when all the sufferings and challenges of our lives are transformed into love and service for God and others

We are redeemed when our light becomes something that illuminates others; when all of the events in our lives, its challenges, and its sufferings are oriented towards love, oriented towards making ourselves available for the other – the Other with a capital “O” and the other with a lowercase “o”. When we open ourselves in this way, our lives become salt that gives flavour to the existence of others. It is one thing to be with a friend who has never suffered, another thing to be with a friend who has suffered but become embittered through his sufferings, but it is something else altogether to be with someone who has suffered and who has transformed his sufferings into a greater capacity to love, serve and understand others. There is a light hidden in our lives that we are not showing forth as we should. It is the light of the world, the light of Christ, the light of love.

February 2^nd 2014 FEAST OF THE PRESENTATION OF OUR LORD

Gospel: Luke 2: 22-32

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

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

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GOSPEL Luke 2:22-32

When the day came for them to be purified as laid down by the Law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord- observing what stands written in the Law of the Lord: Every first-born male must be consecrated to the Lord- and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. Now in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to Israel's comforting and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord Prompted by the Spirit he came to the Temple and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the Law required, he took him into his arms and blessed God; and he said:

'Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace, 
just as you promised;

 because my eyes have seen the salvation
 which you have prepared for all the nations to see,
a light to enlighten the pagans 
and the glory of your people Israel'.

As the child's father and mother stood there wondering at the things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, 'You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected -  and a sword will pierce your own soul too - so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare'.

There was a prophetess also, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.

When they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God's favour was with him.

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

Kieran’s summary . . . The first reading from the Prophet Malachi has a certain ambiguity in it. We are told of the wonderful coming of the Lord to his Temple. But then the prophet asks, “Who can bear the day of his coming? Who will remain standing when he appears?” The Lord, we are told, will purify the sons of Levi as a refiner purifies gold. Is the day of salvation a happy day or a terrible day? The Gospel reading has the very same ambiguity. The Lord Jesus is presented by his parents in the Temple. Simeon is overjoyed and declares that he has waited all his life for the day of salvation when the Messiah would come. But then he warns Mary that this child will be a sign of contradiction! The fact is that the wonderful gift of God stands in marked contrast to the deceit and ugliness of our lives. The coming of salvation in the person of Jesus also involves the denouncement of the selfishness and evil that lurks in our hearts. In an environment where everyone is dishonest, the arrival of an upright person can lead others to feel discomfort. It is a great blessing from God that the arrival of Jesus makes us uncomfortable and unveils the contradictions in our hearts! Let us thank him for unmasking us! Let us offer ourselves to him today, confronting his goodness with that which is unacceptable in our lives.

Is the day of the Lord’s coming a happy day or a terrible day?

The key to interpreting the Gospel this Sunday is found in the first reading from the Prophet Malachi. “Look, I am going to send my messenger before you. And the Lord you are seeking will suddenly enter his Temple. And the angel of the covenant that you are longing for, yes he is coming, says the Lord.” This is all very positive and joyous, but then the reading goes on: “Who will be able to bear the day of his coming? Who will remain standing when he appears? For he is like the refiner’s fire, . . .”  Should we really long for this Lord who is coming or should we fear him? Is the Day of the Lord a happy occasion or a terrible occasion?

The significance of offering the first-born son

The Gospel has a tender description of Mary and Jesus making the offering of the poor in the Temple. The first-born son was offered to the Lord because we offer the most precious things to the God who creates us, keeps us, protects us and loves us. In return for his goodness we give him the first and best of what comes from us. In ancient times the first-born son had a special significance. He behaved like a second father to his siblings and had all the hereditary rights. He was seen as a gift from the Lord and so must be offered back to him. The ritual of the presentation in the temple was a way of saying, “This child is yours lord, but we offer you these pigeons in place of the gift you have given us.”

The ambiguity surrounding the day of salvation re-emerges in the Gospel reading

There is great love and mutual oblation in this ritual, but the ambiguity surrounding the Day of the Lord soon emerges in the Gospel. Jesus is the second person of the Blessed Trinity, of the same substance as the Father and completely oriented towards him. But he is also the fist-born in the flesh from Mary and must be offered by her back to the Lord. Simeon then enters the scene. He has been waiting all his life for the Messiah and now he takes Him in his arms. “'Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace, just as you promised; because my eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared for all the nations to see, a light to enlighten the pagans and the glory of your people Israel.” This text is full of happiness and light. But then Simeon blesses Mary and Joseph and says, “You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign of contradiction - and a sword will pierce your own soul too – so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.” This recalls what we have just seen in Malachi. We have this marvellous arrival of the Lord but it is accompanied by an uncomfortable upheaval. The point is that the things of God are beautiful precisely because they have this aspect. The wonderful gifts of God stand in marked contrast to certain objectionable aspects of our existence. To accept and welcome these gifts demands a challenging process of discernment in our hearts. The Lord with all of his beauty denounces the ugliness of our lives. And this is something good.

It is a tremendous gift of God to have the deceit in our hearts unveiled!

The Lord Jesus, offered as the first-born child to God, denounces all of the deceit and darkness that is endemic in our lives. The gift of Jesus stands in stark contrast to the fact that we have not entered wholeheartedly into a tender relationship with God. We live clinging onto material things, our nails digging in desperately to the things that we possess! Our hearts hide the negativity within. In the heart of every human being there is deceit and self-interest. It is a tremendous gift of God to have this deceit unveiled! And how is the evil in the heart of man be unveiled? By the most curious of ways! A little child, offered to the Lord, unmasks the horrors within us. Goodness holds evil up to the light. If everyone is a hypocrite in a certain environment, then the arrival of a sincere person becomes “a sign of contradiction.” If everyone is dishonest, then the presence of a person of righteousness becomes an uncomfortable condemnation of everyone else. The honest person becomes an object of hate because his behaviour denounces the environment implicitly. If we wish our hearts to be honest then we must allow this righteous sword of the Lord to pierce them. Mary is on the side of Jesus and she too must accept this piercing of the heart. Later, in Acts of the Apostles, Peter announces the Gospel and the listeners feel pierced to the heart because they recognize their error in rejecting Jesus.

Let us offer ourselves to the Lord daily, confronting his beauty with the contradictions in our heart

It is the act of offering ourselves to the Lord that liberates us definitively from the deadweight in our hearts. When we offer ourselves to God we become aware of all that there is in our hearts that must be eliminated. Let us ask the Lord that his beauty may illuminate us and help us to banish what is contradictory from the core of our being.

January 26th 2014 SECOND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Gospel: Matthew 4:12-23

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

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

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GOSPEL Matthew 4:12-23

Hearing that John had been arrested Jesus went back to Galilee,  and leaving Nazareth he went and settled in Capernaum, a lakeside town on the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali.  In this way the prophecy of Isaiah was to be fulfilled:

'Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali! 

Way of the sea on the far side of Jordan, 

Galilee of the nations!

The people that lived in darkness 

has seen a great light; 

on those who dwell in the land and shadow of death 

a light has dawned.'

From that moment Jesus began his preaching with the message, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand'.

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew; they were making a cast in the lake with their net, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, 'Follow me and I will make you fishers of men'. And they left their nets at once and followed him.

Going on from there he saw another pair of brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they were in their boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. At once leaving the boat and their father, they followed him.

He went round the whole of Galilee teaching in their synagogue proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds diseases and sickness among the people.

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

Kieran’s summary . . . The first reading from Isaiah recounts how a people who walked in darkness see a great light. In the Gospel we find that Jesus goes to live in the very area spoken of by Isaiah, a crossroads of culture, where Judaism would have been poorly observed. Capernaum was a shabby commercial town on the periphery as far as “pure” Judaism was concerned. It is here that the mission of the Lord begins. Jesus does not choose an area of impressive religious observance in which people live upright lives. He starts out from the most unlikely of places where people seem farthest removed from God. All of us walk in the same darkness and have need of His great light! Where does Jesus call us? While we are in church saying our prayers? When does Jesus call us? At a time when all is secure and going well? No! Just as Jesus called the apostles while they were doing their menial everyday tasks, so he calls us at the very time when God does not seem present in our lives. He comes to us wherever we are to be found saying, “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near!” Who is the Kingdom near to? To those who have their lives sorted out and seem most ready to receive the Lord’s message? The great surprise of the Lord’s incarnation is that the Kingdom is near to each one of us because Jesus is near us in the darkness of the anger, irritability, disappointment and confusion of our everyday lives! It is he who approaches us, not we who approach him!

Jesus fulfils the prophecy of Isaiah by beginning his mission is a dark and peripheral area of Israel

The Gospel contains a citation from the Prophet Isaiah that appears in the first reading on Sunday. Isaiah foretells a time when the people who walk in darkness shall see a great light. The burden weighing on these people shall one day be broken as happened previously in the days of Midian. What is this passage referring to? It is speaking of one of the judges of Israel who defeated thousands of Midianites with an army of merely three hundred men.

            When John the Baptist is arrested, Jesus realizes that the moment for his mission has come. He goes to Galilee and settles in Capernaum on the shores of the lake, the most important town on the so-called “way of the sea” mentioned by Isaiah. Capernaum was a commercial town on an important crossroads. The east-west route led to the Mediterranean sea. Galilee itself was a region of mixed population. This was not an area of pure unadulterated Judaism. The history of salvation does not take its beginning from an untainted part of the world but from a peripheral, shabby location! Here there would have been plenty of paganism and little enough obedience to the Jewish law. In the same area there were towns that were dominated by Greek culture and ideas. This is the “land of darkness” where the mission of the Lord begins. He does not begin from the things that are already in order, but from the things that are broken and in need of repair. He starts out from the darkness that each of us walks in. As soon as the mission of John the Baptist comes to an end, Jesus begins in this chaotic place that would never have been cited in Scripture if it hadn’t been so down at heel. This is the kind of people that Jesus calls to himself, a people who eke out their existence on the edge of life. How Pope Francis must love the theme of this Sunday’s Gospel! And rightly so, because it is to places like these that the Lord’s mission is most urgently directed.

Jesus calls us in the places where we are to be found. He calls us at the times when we seem most distant from God

 It is here that Peter, Andrew, James and John receive their call from Jesus. Were they called while they were in the synagogue praying? No, they were called while they were working, in the very place where it seemed God was not present at all. The Lord hunts us out in these very places. He was preaching the message “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” And who was this message been preached to? To a people who lived far distant from the Temple, to a people who seemed the least receptive to a message of this sort. This is the surprise of the appearance of the Lord. Jesus becomes incarnate but does not assume any position of dignity or power. Instead he appears in the most profane and distant of places. It is to this place that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. But it is not we who are near Him; it is He who is near to us! It is Jesus who descends into Galilee; it is Jesus who appears in Capernaum; it is Jesus who takes the way of the sea; it is Jesus who calls those who are caught up with the tasks of ordinary life. Jesus calls us right here in the place where we are found, in the state of life in which we exist!

No matter how dark our lives, Jesus comes to us and calls us towards the light. How can I be sure that the Lord is calling me? Because of the talents and gifts he has given me? No! We mustn’t look to ourselves for evidence of his call. Let us look only to him!

The message of this Gospel is that there is no place on earth where the Lord cannot find us. No matter how complete the darkness of our lives, the Lord comes to us where we are. Jesus’ appearance in Capernaum is just the beginning of his descent into the darkness of humanity. He will go on to enter even into death itself and there take humanity by the hand and lead it out. If we wish to believe that we have been called by Christ then we mustn’t look at ourselves. We need look only at Him. It is unnecessary to reflect on our own qualities and talents. Let us contemplate only his power. It is He who knows how to transform our darkness into light.

January 19^TH 2014. SECOND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Gospel: John 1:29-34

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

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

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GOSPEL John 1:29-34

Seeing Jesus coming towards him, John said, 'Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. This is the one I spoke of when I said: A man is coming after me who ranks before me because he existed before me. I did not know him myself, and yet it was to reveal him to Israel that I came baptising with water.' John also declared, 'I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove and resting on him. I did not know him myself, but he who sent me to baptise with water had said to me,

"The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is going to baptise with the Holy Spirit".

Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.'

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

Kieran’s summary . . . The first reading from Isaiah speaks of the servant who will be the light of the nations and will bring salvation for everyone. In the Gospel, John the Baptist points out the sacrificial lamb who will bring this salvation about. What kind of salvation is this? Why do we need a sacrificial lamb in order to achieve wholeness? Humanity suffers from an interior emptiness, an internal crisis that yearns for resolution. Just as Israel had the choice of either being annihilated or putting the blood of the Passover lamb on their doorposts, so too we face annihilation if we do not turn to the lamb. Every day we face the annihilation that consists in our being separated from the God of life. Can we achieve salvation by improving our social structures? By bettering out lot in life? No! The more we seek to save ourselves by external means, the more we learn that there is something within eating at our souls that can only be resolved by God. The fundamental crisis of humanity is the fact that we have been cut off from God because of our sin. That is why salvation consists in a person – the Son of God – who loves us unconditionally and takes our burden of sin on himself. This sacrificial lamb bestows on us the gift of the Holy Spirit. What is the Spirit? The power to do wonderful, inspirational things? No! The Holy Spirit is primarily given to wash our sins away and plant in our hearts the firm knowledge that we are loved by God. This is salvation – the personal love of God for each one of us.

The readings this week tell us what salvation is. Salvation is a person! Salvation is a lamb who takes our burdens on himself. Salvation is the forgiveness and love of God!

The key to interpreting the Gospel for Sunday is the Canticle of the Servant found in the first reading from Isaiah. This passage speaks of a person who was formed in the womb to be the Lord’s servant and to manifest his glory. But he is also something more than a servant. “It is not enough for you to be my servant. . . I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation might extend to the ends of the earth.” Just what is this salvation? John the Baptist, the last of the prophets, tells us what salvation consists in when he beholds the Lord Jesus. John refers to Jesus as the “Lamb of God.” The most important Jewish liturgical celebration was the Passover in which the blood of the lamb saved the Israelites from extermination. The extermination of the first-born at the time of the Exodus is symbolic of an extermination that faces all of humanity and each one of us on a daily basis. The real drama of the human being is the fact that we are cut off from God, the fact that we are not in full communion with our maker, the state of loneliness in which we exist. John the Baptist points out the solution to this, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” This translation does not do justice to the phrase. In Latin and in Greek the phrase is translated as saying, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes upon himself the sins of the world.”

What do we need liberation from? Can improved social structures liberate us from that which binds us? No, only God can free us from that which eats at our soul, which is our sinfulness, our state of separation from God.

Who or what is capable of taking on the disastrous situation of humanity? Can the improvement of our social structures achieve this? That is no doubt that humanity has made wonderful progress in many areas. But there is something that we cannot liberate ourselves from. The more we try to develop adequate social structures the more we discover that no structure can ever be sufficiently adequate to resolve the problem of humanity. There is a defect eating at the heart of man and it is sin. When Jesus spoke publicly about the forgiveness of sin, the scribes challenged him by stating that sin can only be pardoned by God, and they were right! Only God has the capacity to touch, illuminate, and resolve the interior tragedy of man, his vices, the irresolution of his being. This entire catastrophe consists simply in the fact of being cut off from God. And lo! Behold the Lamb of God! John the Baptist knew that the one had arrived who knows how to put all things right. Jesus is the one who enters completely into the sadness of humanity. Through the mystery of the cross this lamb will be burdened with our sins and the battle in the heart of humanity will be won. Isaiah foresaw that through this servant humanity would be liberated from its condition of darkness to behold the light of the love of God for each of us.

Jesus bestows on us the gift of the Spirit. Why are we given the Spirit? In order to do spectacular things? No! We are given the Spirit to wash away our sins and implant in our hearts the knowledge that we are loved by God.

John testifies as to how the Spirit of God rested on Jesus. The Spirit is not simply a gift that enables us to do extraordinary things. The Holy Spirit is primarily given for the forgiveness of sins, planting firmly into the heart of people that which we fundamentally lack – the joy of being loved, the joy of being forgiven. John the Baptist announces that which existed from the beginning, the pre-existence of the second person of the Blessed Trinity, who has a mission with respect to each one of us, to love us and forgive us!

January 12th 2014 THE FEAST OF THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD

Gospel: Matthew 3: 13-17

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

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

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GOSPEL Matthew 3:13-17

Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John. John tried to dissuade him. 'It is I who need baptism from you' he said 'and yet you come to me!' But Jesus replied, 'Leave it like this for the time being; it is fitting that we should, in this way, do all that righteousness demands'. At this, John gave in to him.

As soon as Jesus was baptised he came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And a voice spoke from heaven, 'This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him'.

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

Kieran’s summary . . . The first reading from Isaiah is our key for interpreting this Gospel story of the baptism of Jesus. The servant of the Lord in Isaiah’s text has the onerous task of bringing complete justice to the earth. How is he to accomplish this extraordinary undertaking? The foundation of his mission is his radical relationship with God! The servant is someone chosen by God, loved by God, set apart by God, appointed by God, endowed by God. We see the exact same thing in the Gospel account from Matthew. John at first declines to baptize Jesus, saying that such an act would demean Jesus. But Jesus is not interested in being assigned a place in the human table of honour! He submits to the baptism and at this moment the foundation of his extraordinary mission of salvation is revealed. In a manifestation of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit descends on him and the voice of the Father is heard. “This is my son, the beloved, on whom my favour rests”. Woe to us if we do not see in this text the meaning of our own baptism! Our position in the church does not depend on systems of human honour, status or posturing. We belong to God by virtue of the fact that in baptism he has chosen us, he has set us apart so that we can be extraordinary, he has carried us away from our old selves and inserted us into the life of the Trinity. Our Christian life and mission are utterly founded on the fact of his unconditional love for us.

The first reading contains a canticle that illuminates the Gospel story of the baptism of Jesus

Every passage of Scripture is a treasure chest of inspiration that contains many different treads worthy of pursuing. This Sunday, as we reflect on the Gospel passage from St Matthew, we will allow ourselves to be guided by the first reading. The first reading on any Sunday usually contains a key that illuminates the Gospel. Chapter 42 of Isaiah is a beautiful canticle to the servant of the Lord. This canticle is quoted in a very economic fashion by Matthew when he recounts the story of the baptism of Jesus. Matthew, actually, gives a citation from Isaiah 42 which is mixed with a citation from Genesis 22, the story of Abraham being called to sacrifice his son to the Lord. The canticle from Isaiah begins as follows:

Here is my servant whom I uphold, 

my chosen one in whom my soul delights. 

I have endowed him with my spirit 

that he may bring true justice to the nations.

He does not cry out or shout aloud, 

or make his voice heard in the streets.

He does not break the crushed reed, 

nor quench the wavering flame.

Faithfully he brings true justice;

he will neither waver, nor be crushed 

until true justice is established on earth . .

And so it continues. Matthew’s account of the baptism of Jesus quotes just the beginning of this beautiful passage.

John tries to dissuade Jesus from Baptism, but Jesus refuses to be bound by this purely human pattern of reasoning

Jesus goes to the Jordan to request baptism of John. John realizes who he has before him and tries to impede Jesus, saying, “It is I who needs baptism from you!” Jesus insists however and the baptism goes ahead. As Jesus comes up from the water, the heavens open and the Spirit of God descends a dove on him. A voice speaks from heaven, “This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him.” This scene is a complete manifestation of the Blessed Trinity. The terms “beloved” and “son” recalls the text of Genesis 22, but Isaiah reminds us that Jesus is also servant. And Isaiah’s emphasis on “servant” helps us to understand the meaning of the event recounted by Matthew. Isaiah’s servant comes to bring justice on earth. This justice is not some sort of legal accomplishment. It is the will of God coming to fruition. Injustice is brought about by the sin and deceit that are contrary to the will of God. Jesus is about to embark on his mission to bring justice to the world, but John tries to impede him, declining to baptize him. Here John is following perfect human logic, the same logic that all of us use. It seems perfectly right and just that Jesus be given a place of honour above everyone else. Therefore he should not have to submit to the baptism of John. Our lives are constructed using these bricks of human honour and protocol. But Jesus refuses to be allocated a position in this human table of honour. In order to fulfil his mission he must have a different foundation for his existence. And we see what this foundation is when the Holy Spirit descends on him.

The foundation of Jesus’ mission is revealed at the moment of his baptism. That foundation is his relationship with the Father

In the text of Isaiah the servant is called to do something extraordinary – to pursue his mission relentlessly until justice is established on the earth. He is to be the covenant to the peoples and light of the nations. And how will this servant, Jesus, accomplish such marvellous works? His foundation will be his relationship with God, not the respect accorded to him by humanity! Jesus will start from zero as far as human honours are concerned. His only interest is his relation with his father, and that is as beloved son. The text of Isaiah also conveys this intimate relationship between God and his chosen servant. The servant is my servant in whom my soul delights, the one whom I uphold, the one whom I have taken by the hand and formed. The “chosen” one in the original text is one who has been selected and called apart so that he might be extraordinary. All of these characteristics of the servant are the work of God. And we find the same thing in Matthew’s text. Jesus is the “beloved” - a passive term that refers to the action of the Father towards Jesus. He is the “one that my favour rests on”, the “one in whom my soul delights.” Jesus is the one who is held in the embrace of a tender loving Father.

Jesus’ baptism is the key by which we understand our own baptism

These are the foundations of Christian life and action. Woe to us if we do not learn from this feast of the Baptism of Our Lord and through it understand better the meaning of our own baptism! In the first place it is an encounter with the power of God, not with human honour. The church cannot be constructed on the basis of our system of honours that have little value in themselves. Just as Jesus refused to allow John the Baptist to put him in a place of honour, so we too should turn away from all such posturing and instead focus on the challenges we face as women and men, ministers of the Gospel, servants of the Lord, spouses, parents, friends and colleagues. We have serious need to begin our lives again from the basis of who we are in the eyes of God. This is more important than our talents, our capacities, the things we “do” for the Lord. In baptism, he has called us, elected us, set us apart, taken us away from our old selves and carried us to a new state of life, a life that is completely founded on his love for us.

January 5^th 2014. SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

Gospel: John 1:1-5; 9-14

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

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

GOSPEL:                                John 1:1-5; 9-14

 In the beginning was the Word: 
and the Word was with God 
and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things came to be, 
not one thing had its being but through him.
All that came to be had life in him 
and that life was the light of men,
a light that shines in the dark, 
a light that darkness could not overpower

The Word was the true light 
that enlightens all men; 
and he was coming into the world.
He was in the world 
that had its being through him, 
and the world did not know him.
He came to his own domain 
and his own people did not accept him.
But to all who did accept him 
he gave power to become children of God, 
to all who believe in the name of him
who was born not out of human stock 
or urge of the flesh 
or will of man 
but of God himself.
The Word was made flesh, he lived among us, 
and we saw his glory, 
the glory that is his 
as the only Son of the Father, 
full of grace and truth.

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

Kieran’s summary  . . . . This passage places in front of us the meaning and fulcrum of history - Jesus. He is the true light and he has appeared in the darkness of my loneliness, my poverty, my doubt. I have been busy celebrating Christmas and the New Year, but have I really welcomed the appearance of this light in my life? Have I made him the beginning, the end, the fulcrum of my existence? Since the time of the fall, humanity has made itself the measure of reality. When we are confronted by problems we try to sort them out on our own terms and are always quick to fall into despair. All of humanity’s problems are traceable to the fact that the core relationship in our lives – our relationship with God – is amiss. If we are really to welcome Jesus this Christmas, then we must make this passage of the Gospel come true in our lives: we must make Jesus the principle and beginning of everything we do and are. The gift of God’s tender love to us is a pure gift. It does not depend on us. That is just how God is. He considers us to be so important that he becomes flesh and dies on the cross from us. But if God’s love is pure gift, it is still up to me to welcome it! No-one else can welcome this light in my place. Jesus is shining in the darkness of my existence and invites me to welcome him so that the darkness can be eliminated.

This Gospel presents us with the One who is the fulcrum of history. But is he the fulcrum of MY history?

Once again we consider this profound passage of John’s Gospel that animates the liturgy of the Christmas period. The text speaks about the beginning of all things, and it uses language that evokes the first words of the Book of Genesis - “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The solution to the central problem of our lives is described by St Paul as the “recapitulation of all things in Christ”. What does this mean? It refers to the process by which all things are restored to their original state of being. It is essential that proper order is restored in our lives. What is at the core of my life? Where do the things that dominate my life originate from? If I do not place my relationship with God at the centre of my being, then the things that happen in my life have a defective point of departure. If a cannon is set up at even the slightest defective angle, then its shot will go in the wrong direction and miss the target completely. We too must have the fundamental direction of our lives in order from the beginning. What appear to be small “defects” in our fundamental relationship with God will have large consequences for our actions.

From the moment of the fall, humanity has made itself the fulcrum of its existence. But we will never sort out our problems unless we get the fundamental relationship in our life sorted out first – our relationship with God

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God . .  . All that came to be had life in him, and that life was the light of humankind.” What is the light of my life? Where does my life’s activities take its origin from? The third chapter of the Book of Genesis tells about the fall. From this moment on the human being behaves as if his existence depended only on himself. When Jesus is tempted in the desert, Satan takes him to the pinnacle of the temple and tells him to take the initiative and throw himself off so that God is forced to reveal himself. In the same way we are repeatedly confronted by situations of difficulty and we are tempted to think that the solution to the problem depends on us. We take it upon ourselves to be the fulcrum of reality, the principal mover in the world. Often when we see other people in difficulty we chastise them, thinking that they ought to sort out their problems by themselves. We expect other people to change in response to the scolding that we give them! But the real issue is that these problems arise from an origin that we have not recognized. The solution does not just consist in making cosmetic changes in our lives. The true origin of all things is in the love of God. The human being is capable of doing horrible things, but even the most hateful situations can be resolved if we rediscover the Lord at the centre of our being, our lives, our relationships. The shame and doubt that plague us arise from the fact that we have not recognized that in the beginning, at the core of all things, is the Lord.

The true light that enlightens human existence is the unwavering love of God for us. We celebrate Christmas, but do we truly welcome this light into our lives?

Before everything else, the fundamental reality is the love of God. This is the light that enlightens the world! My entire existence must revolve around the one who has given himself for me, around the one who considers me worthy of his total sacrifice and commitment, to the extent of shedding his blood on the cross! If I do not have him as my starting point, then my life is distorted and compressed. I will go through all my days seeking in vain to make sense of my existence. Let us welcome this light! We celebrate Christmas, the new year, the Epiphany, but do we really welcome this light into our lives? This light is the love and welcome that the Lord has shown towards us; the absolute priority that he has given us. We must learn to live in the light of the fact that he loves us. Instead I look at the world as if I were alone in it. I look at the difficulties of life in relation to my impoverished capacities to deal with them. But this is mistaken. The true light is coming into the world and it is shining in the darkness, the darkness of my loneliness, my poverty, my doubt. This darkness is illuminated only by the tenderness of God.

God’s gift of himself is pure gift. It does not depend on us, but it is up to me to welcome it. No-one can welcome this light in my place.

As the Gospel tells us, it is not from the will of man, nor from human stock, nor from the flesh that a child of God can be generated. It is not something that can simply be learned from our parents. Even if my mother and father are saints, it is still up to me to welcome the light. No-one can do it in my place. And it is not simply a business of me trying with my own efforts to live in a certain way. No matter how much I apply my flesh, my character, my talents to the task, I am not capable of producing something eternal. And no other person apart from the Lord can make me whole. Only God can generate genuine transformation in the heart of people. Certainly, there are a lot of good qualities in humanity. People are capable of doing wonderful things. But the life that shines in the darkness, the light that is greater than the light of the sun, the light that illuminates every person, comes only as a gift from God. It is pure grace, entire gift. The fact is that we give a poor welcome to the grace of the incarnation, the gift of Christmas, the tender mercy of Jesus! And our welcome is poor because we are constantly trying to make ourselves the measure and justification of our lives. But in the beginning there was something else, something more important than us! This true beginning is our rest, the source of our life and the source of salvation.

Don Fabio takes the occasion to wish everyone a new year full of grace! He encourages us all not to give in to sadness but to open our hearts to gratitude, to peace and to light, contemplating the eternal patience that the Lord has shown towards us.