April 17^th 2016.  Fourth Sunday of Easter

GOSPEL  John 10:27-30

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­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  John 10:27-30

I give eternal life to the sheep that belong to me.

Jesus said:

‘The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice;
I know them and they follow me.
I give them eternal life;
they will never be lost
and no one will ever steal them from me.
The Father who gave them to me is greater than anyone,
and no one can steal from the Father.
The Father and I are one.’

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

Kieran’s summary . . . How does the Good Shepherd tend to his sheep? By driving them on with blows of the stick? By shouting at them? By threatening them? No! The Good Shepherd speaks to our hearts. We follow him because we know his voice and we realize that he loves us. God does not simply communicate a system of values to us, nor a logical set of principles. What the Lord wants from us is a real relationship. Okay then, so we have this Good Shepherd who wants to lead us by speaking to our hearts. How are we going to hear what he wishes to speak to our hearts? His word can only penetrate to our deepest being if we give time to prayer, to peeling away the layers and exposing our hearts to him! Any other technique, or structure, or complicated discipline we try to use to follow Jesus is a useless imposition. The basic thing is to give time to him so that he can speak to us personally. When a man is in love he has no problem being motivated to do whatever is necessary to cultivate that relationship of love. And we will have no problem in being motivated to follow the Good Shepherd if we allow him to speak to our hearts.

God communicates with us, not through moral systems of values, nor through logical principles, but through a word that speaks to our hearts and establishes a relationship with us

The Gospel this week presents us with the Good Shepherd. Jesus says, “The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me”. The channel of the relationship between the shepherd and the flock is his voice. In the first reading, we hear of the struggle in the early Church to make the word of the Lord heard. Paul and Barnabas preach the word of God and the pagans rejoice, whilst the Jews find it difficult to accept it. The word of God that is being diffused by the disciples is not simply some sort of ritual, even though ritual is important; it is not some sort of institutional structure, even though such a structure is also necessary; nor is it some sort of wisdom that gives rise to a logical or rational framework. We become members of the Lord’s flock not by accepting some system of values but because the word of the Lord has entered into our hearts. As the psalm says, “If you do not speak to me, Lord, it is as if I descend into the pit”. Or as Jesus says at the first temptation, “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”. The Father sends his Son to save us, and he sends him as his word. This word becomes flesh and we see his glory. It is the word of the Father that we receive. An image provides us only with the external skin of reality. The aesthetic is only aesthetic and does not save. Content is something different altogether. We can establish a relationship with a blind person very easily because we can still communicate with words. It is very difficult, by contrast, to establish a relationship with someone who has a serious hearing defect. The communication of conceptual content is what makes human beings different. It is the extraordinary distinctive capacity of humanity.

How can Jesus speak to our hearts if we do not take the time to expose our hearts and have his word penetrate within us?

The sheep of Jesus hear his voice. How important it is for us to give time so that the voice of the Lord becomes clear in our soul, to devote ourselves to prayer so that the layers fall away and we expose the true kernel of our hearts, that part of us where the word of the Lord can strike, console us, help us to change direction. How crucial it is to listen to the word of God, be known by him, and follow him. We do not follow him because of some logical conviction we possess; we follow him because of a word that has entered into our hearts. We attain eternal life through the faith, and our faith is built up through listening to the word. Both St John and St Paul speak of these stages towards attaining eternal life. To be united to the Father we must follow the Son. We follow him and are known by him because he has spoken to our hearts. Instead of abstract understanding, what we need to engage in is dialogue. We tend to search for and accumulate information about the faith, but what is needed is contact and relationship. The shepherd unites himself to us through a word that penetrates deep into our hearts.

Jesus does not move us with blows or with threats. He leads us on by communicating his word, his love to our hearts. This gives us all the motivation we need to follow him to the end.

Our shepherd does not drive us on with blows of the stick, fear or constriction. He leads us on by speaking to our hearts. It is sacrosanct that we keep this in mind. Often we try to set up educational structures that focus on external parameters, but what is essential is to move the heart. Of course it is also important that we speak the truth, but, in speaking the truth, it is vital that we make ourselves understood by the other. An important theme of the faith is that of inculturation. I must speak to you in your language; not seek to impose my language upon you. The Lord Jesus did not communicate to us in forceful terms; he did not shout at us or force us to concede to him by the logical power of argument; rather, he speaks to us with words that value our capacities for comprehension.  The shepherd governs us from our hearts, from the fact of being known by him. We hear him, we appreciate that we are known by him, and we follow him. We have no wish to go anywhere else because we realize that we are loved. This is what we must search for in our faith! There is no need to construct other disciplines, other techniques, other impositions for following Jesus! The only thing that matters is to be touched by his word. Everything else will follow. When a man is in love he knows what he must do. When a woman has a child, she knows how to take care of him because he is her life. Whenever I share true friendship with another, I find a way to cultivate that friendship. When we feel love, we know how to love in return. When a word touches our heart we feel impelled to respond.

April 10^th 2016.  Third Sunday of Easter

GOSPEL John 21:1-19­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

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 John 21:1-19

Jesus showed himself again to the disciples. It was by the Sea of Tiberias, and it happened like this: Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee and two more of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said, ‘I’m going fishing.’ They replied, ‘We’ll come with you.’ They went out and got into the boat but caught nothing that night.

It was light by now and there stood Jesus on the shore, though the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus. Jesus called out, ‘Have you caught anything, friends?’ And when they answered, ‘No’, he said, ‘Throw the net out to starboard and you’ll find something.’ So they dropped the net, and there were so many fish that they could not haul it in. The disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord.’ At these words ‘It is the Lord’, Simon Peter, who had practically nothing on, wrapped his cloak round him and jumped into the water. The other disciples came on in the boat, towing the net and the fish; they were only about a hundred yards from land.

As soon as they came ashore they saw that there was some bread there, and a charcoal fire with fish cooking on it. Jesus said, ‘Bring some of the fish you have just caught.’ Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore, full of big fish, one hundred and fifty-three of them; and in spite of there being so many the net was not broken. Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ None of the disciples was bold enough to ask, ‘Who are you?’ they knew quite well it was the Lord. Jesus then stepped forward, took the bread and gave it to them, and the same with the fish. This was the third time that Jesus showed himself to the disciples after rising from the dead.

After the meal Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?’ He answered, ‘Yes Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He replied, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Look after my sheep.’ Then he said to him a third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was upset that he asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and said, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know I love you,’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.

‘I tell you most solemnly,
when you were young
you put on your own belt
and walked where you liked;
but when you grow old
you will stretch out your hands,
and somebody else will put a belt round you
and take you where you would rather not go.’

In these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God. After this he said, ‘Follow me.’

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

Kieran’s summary . . . What a beautiful Gospel for Sunday! It is all about recognition. The apostles fail to recognize Jesus standing on the shore. Then they obey what he says and cast out their nets on the other side. When they see the miraculous catch of fish, they realize who Jesus is. Then Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him. This threefold asking reminds Peter of his threefold denial and makes us see how much God knows us to the depths of our hearts and yet forgives us. And this loving forgiveness – the fruit of the resurrection – empowers Peter to go and preach the Gospel fearlessly. In fact, in the first reading we see that the man who once denied Jesus now rejoices when he is flogged in Jesus’ name. Peter has come to the point of full development! More generally, we all consider ourselves fishers of men but we catch little or nothing because we fish according to our own designs. If we do things in our own way then we end up having to rely on our own power, but if we do things in God’s way then we act with his power. When we are obedient to the Lord and stop listening to ourselves, then we rediscover him - and we find ourselves too in the process! God is the stranger in our midst that we fail to recognize and comprehend. But it is he who recognizes and comprehends us. We must all follow the pattern of Peter. We must be led to recognize our own poverty so that we can experience the forgiveness of our sins and begin to respond to Jesus with authentic love. In the beginning our love is imperfect and we are ever ready to deny Jesus. At the end we can become like Peter and rejoice to suffer for the Lord’s name.

We consider ourselves fishers of men but we catch nothing because we fish according to our own designs. If we do things in our own way then we end up having to make do with our own power, but if we do things in God’s way then we act with his power

The reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells how Peter and John rejoiced when they were flogged for preaching the Gospel. What a remarkable kind of joy that accepts rejection because it means they were considered worthy to suffer for the Lord’s name! The Gospel contains a story about a miraculous catch of fish. This is a post-Easter event and is not to be confused with the miraculous catch of fish recounted by Luke at the calling of Peter. It is a story about recognition, about being caught up in one’s own failures and being unable to recognize the stranger in their midst. The stranger gives a new indication of how to catch fish, a new way of casting their nets to these men who had failed in their night time mission – all very symbolic of the mission of the Church. How often we undertake the mission of being fishers of men and we catch nothing! We continue with our projects, fixated with our own way of doing things, and we get nowhere. We need to listen to the stranger who appears in our midst and points out a different way of doing things, God’s way of doing things. To fish out of the “right” side of the boat signifies to fish from the side of faith, the side of the power of God.

When we are obedient to the Lord and stop listening to ourselves, then we rediscover him and find ourselves too in the process.

This post-Paschal story is highly relevant to the Church in all ages. Jesus has already risen but we continually lose him, continually fail to recognize him, though he is in our midst and speaking to us. We continue to fish in our own way, and continue to catch nothing. Just like Peter, we began our Christian life with Jesus but now we fail to recognize him. Then we experience the power of God, represented by the miraculous catch of 153 fish. The satisfaction and the completeness associated with this catch (there were 153 different types of fish known in that part of the world at that time!) are all the fruit of being obedient to the command of the Lord. But the fish are not of primary importance in themselves – rather they are a means of rediscovering the Lord. And we also end up finding ourselves, for we had become lost in the meantime.

God is the stranger in our midst that we fail to recognize and comprehend. But it is he who recognizes and comprehends us.

And Peter is truly led to rediscover himself in the dialogue in which Jesus asks him the same question three times using his old name – Simon son of John, the name he had before Jesus changed his name to Peter. In this dialogue there is much wordplay using verbs, but we don’t have time to discuss that here. When Jesus asks Peter the third time, “Do you love me?” this reawakens in Peter a holy and blessed sadness – for he has been prompted by Jesus to recollect the threefold denial. Peter remembers his sin and recognizes his own poverty. The Lord wished to awaken that sadness and it causes Peter to exclaim, “Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you!” We try to understand God by fitting him into our own limited categories but at some point we must recognize that it is he who comprehends us. This whole Gospel is about recognition. The stranger who is originally not recognized is finally rediscovered, but in the end it is he who recognizes who we are. There are few joys that exceed that of being understood by others, to feel known and comprehended. Peter feel that joy but also the sadness that his errors have been uncovered in full. The important point however, is that Peter can move on from that experience of sadness and is now ready to live as an adult. Jesus says to him, “When you were young you dressed as you wished and went were you wished. But when you are old someone else will dress you and take you where you do not want to go”. In order words, Peter will no longer do his own will but become obedient to the will of someone else. He takes on a new role and becomes a new person.

We must all follow the pattern of Peter. We must be led to recognize our own poverty so that we can experience the forgiveness of our sins and begin to respond to Jesus with authentic love. In the beginning our love is imperfect and we are ever ready to deny Jesus. At the end we can become like Peter and rejoice to suffer for the Lord’s name

Peter originally denied Jesus, but, as the first reading tells us, he is transformed into someone who rejoices to suffer for the name of Jesus. He is considered worthy to suffer for the one he loves. Now his relationship with Jesus is one of authentic love. Is the mark of true love the reward that comes with it? Is the mark of love the recognition and comprehension we experience? No, the mark of true love is when we rejoice to give our life for another. And Peter, for all his faults, has arrived at this stage of development. The Christian life must follow the pattern of Peter. It must go through the experience of annihilation, the discovery of one’s own poverty, to experience the true resurrection, the forgiveness of one’s sins, to feel oneself understood and not judged. From this springs true love, the joy of being considered worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus.

April 2^nd 2016. SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER

Gospel: John 20:19-31

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­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: John 20:19-31

In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you,’ and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.

‘As the Father sent me,
so am I sending you,’

After saying this he breathed on them and said:

‘Receive the Holy Spirit.
For those whose sins you forgive,
they are forgiven;
for those whose sins you retain,
they are retained.’

Thomas, called the Twin, who was one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. When the disciples said, ‘We have seen the Lord,’ he answered, ‘Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe.’ Eight days later the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. The doors were closed, but Jesus came in and stood among them. ‘Peace be with you,’ he said. Then he spoke to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Doubt no longer but believe.’ Thomas replied, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him:

‘You believe because you can see me.
Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’

There were many other signs that Jesus worked and the disciples saw, but they are not recorded in this book. These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name.

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

Kieran’s summary . . . Sometimes we are inclined to think that we can live the faith in a private, individualistic way. Read the readings on Sunday and think again! The first reading tell of the wonderful communion of the early church. Their experience of the risen Lord (through the testimony of the apostles) led them to share everything, living completely in the service of others. When we live as a community of faith we testify to the power of the risen Lord and experience his presence. In other words, the way of life of our community is the most powerful way of bringing the message of Christ and his pardon to others. Faith arises from a community and causes people to live as a community. The Gospel tells us that Thomas was not with the others when Jesus appeared and he refused to believe in the risen Lord. Exactly a week later, Thomas was present when Jesus appeared again. The Christian assembly gathered every week then, as it does now. Thomas was brought to faith in the resurrection only when he participated in the weekly assembly, and that is how it is with us. We must enter into the life of the Church if we are to be brought to a deeper faith in the risen Lord. The resurrection is not about improving my private moral virtues! It is not about individual perfectionism! Rather, it is about breaking down the barriers of my ego and enabling me to relate selflessly with others. Of course, in the end, this will lead to a transformation of my being and a moral perfection of a higher sort.

What does the resurrection bring? Individual moral virtues in the believer? Physical wellbeing? No! The resurrection breaks down the barriers between ourselves and others

Every year on the second Sunday of Easter we read the account of the doubting Thomas. The first reading provides a key for interpreting this story. The passage from Acts describes the unity and communion of the early Christian Church in Jerusalem. This leads to the question: what do we celebrate when we rejoice in the resurrection? A moral improvement? Greater physical wellbeing? Just what does the resurrection bring? Does the Spirit of the risen Christ make me more cheerful? Does it help my projects to run more smoothly? No! The sign of the resurrection given in the Acts of the Apostles is the birth of communion, the birth of the Church. The effect of the resurrection in me is that it enables me to live in true communion with others. Let us use this as a key to read the wonderful Gospel of John.

How do we find the Lord? Through an individualistic search? No! Through communion with others, a communion in which the Lord makes himself present.

Thomas is not present when Jesus appears. What must he now do to meet the Lord? Go on a search through the streets? Shout aloud for him? Pray that the Lord might appear? No! The only way to meet the risen Lord is to remain with the others. Eight days later (which means on the following Sunday), Thomas is with the others when Jesus returns. He meets the Lord through communion. The resurrection is a victory over our individualism. It transforms the human being from a creature trapped inside his individual needs and cravings - a being who exists in a state of mortal fear of losing himself - and it turns him into a being who no longer has that fear. The resurrection teaches us that there is life beyond death and frees us from entrapment within our own egos. The result is that we are free to become one with others. We emerge from our constant strategies of self-preservation and develop the capacity to love truly.

We do not find God as individuals. The resurrection is not only about the victory over biological death. It involves the victory over egoism and individualism

The fruit of the resurrection is love. It is not only the victory over the biological reality of death. Victory over biological death would only be temporary and would lead again to death at some future time. What the resurrection brings is new life – the capacity to live in true communion with others. Thomas cannot encounter the Lord any other way except through his communion with others. Is it not possible to encounter the Lord as an individual? No! Let us take St Paul as an example. Did he meet the Lord as an individual? He is thrown from the horse, and the Lord says, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Paul, of course, had been persecuting the Church. And now Jesus calls him to enter into a different kind of relationship with the Church. It is Ananias, the local leader of the Christian community, who heals Saul from his blindness and brings him into union with the Church. The encounter with Christ, thus, is only completed when Saul is brought into communion with the others. It was never about a private relationship between Paul and Jesus.

The resurrection is not geared towards private perfectionism, but is directed to forming us into a community of believers.

What have we done with Christianity? We have transformed it into a private instrument for perfection. This is an evil feature of a contemporary brand of Christianity. We are often more concerned with our private virtues than with the integrity of our relationships with others. But what is more important: who I am to myself or how I treat you? This focus on individual perfectionism is stagnant and doesn’t result in real progress in the Christian life. The individualistic brand of the faith tranquilizes the ego because all seems well with our own private consciences. Christianity is not something designed to effect individual fulfilment. It is something rather that opens the door to relationship with others. It destroys the wall between myself and others. The Lord does not wish that we meet him just for the sake of meeting him. He who thinks he can meet God without also meeting the Church, his neighbours, the people in his life that need to be loved, is mistaken! The God that he thinks he is meeting is an egocentric delusion. In order for Thomas to meet the Lord he must remain with the community. He touches the Lord’s body and he makes a leap of faith. Jesus appears to a community of believers, dissolving the barriers that exist between them, enabling them to become one, giving them the capacity for reciprocal love. This unity is a manifestation of Christ. The resurrection, in short, is not geared towards private perfectionism, but is directed to forming us into a community of believers. Of course, in the end, this touches all of our being and ultimately makes us perfect. Like Thomas, we discover Christ inside the Church.

March 27^th 2016.  Easter Sunday – The Resurrection of Our Lord

GOSPEL: John 20:1-9

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­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: John 20:1-9

It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’

So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter who was following now came up, went right into the tomb, saw the linen cloths on the ground, and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed. Till this moment they had failed to understand the teaching of scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

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

Kieran’s summary . . . Easter challenges us to reflect on the meaning of the empty tomb. The tomb points beyond the suffering and death that preceded the burial. Suffering and death do not have the final say. In our everyday lives, whenever we are confronted by sin, failure, or disappointment, let us look to the empty tomb and open ourselves to what God can bring out of the tomb of our existence. If God is to bring new life to the tomb of my existence, then I must reflect on the empty tomb of Jesus and contemplate what it signifies, opening myself to the power of the resurrection in my life! The Christian life is not a moral or rational system. I cannot live as a Christian simply by getting my life in order and following moral principles. We are called to live the life of the child of God, and only the Father can nourish that life in me, just as he brought Jesus out of the tomb. When I try to rely on myself, my existence is like a tomb. Only the action of God can empty the tomb and bring me to new life.

Easter challenges us to reflect on the empty tomb. The tomb points beyond the suffering and death that preceded the burial. In our everyday lives, whenever we are confronted by sin, failure, disappointment, let us look to the tomb and open ourselves to what God can bring out of the tomb of our existence.

The Gospel recounts the discovery of the empty tomb. Let us consider this passage in the light of the first reading for Sunday, in which St Peter describes the resurrection of Christ to the centurion, Cornelius. The structure of Peter’s discourse is very simple: he first describes the events from the life of Jesus up to his crucifixion and death – this is the part of the story that everyone knows. But then Peter goes on to say that the story does not end here. In the Gospel, we have a similar situation. The disciples are immersed in what they have experienced – the death of Jesus and his placing in the tomb. But the Easter announcement also includes what happened afterwards, that which goes beyond what we know or can experience. The beautiful story of Jesus, like all human stories, seems to have come to an end, like all human stories. However, Peter is announcing that beyond this purely human aspect there is something else. The proclamation of the resurrection becomes the key for understanding the Christian faith, and it cannot be otherwise. The Christian experience is that of being subject to suffering and death, but also being subject to that which God accomplishes through it all. The empty tomb testifies to this wonderful fact.

The Christian life is not a moral or rational system. I cannot live as a Christian simply by following moral principles. It is the life of the child of God that I must lead, and only the Father can nourish that life in me. By myself I am a tomb. Only the action of God can empty the tomb and bring new life

It is not possible to construct a Christianity based solely on rationality, or on the purely biological or moral aspects of life. Christianity is based on the resurrection, on that which goes beyond our immediate experience. Christianity, after all, is based on faith in the work of God, a work that goes beyond human works. Certainly, we ought to use our rational faculties to explain that which can be explained. But the Christian life goes beyond rationality or mere plausibility. Christianity, ultimately, is based on the power of God. It is not merely a moral system that sets down rational principles for action: it is the power of God at work in our lives. The Son of Man unites his divine nature with our human nature, rendering it possible for us to become children of God. To become God’s child presupposes the action of God in us. I cannot live the Christian life by simply getting my act together and ordering my existence according to certain principles. The Christian life is something that I simply cannot live using my own capacities. It is a life that only the heavenly Father can bestow on me. When we are confronted with illness, crises, or marital breakdown, our responses will only produce mediocre solutions if we attempt them on our own terms. Only the work of God can uncover the resurrection in our lives. When we are destroyed by our own sins, the pardon and mercy of God is capable of bringing new and dramatic life to us. In fact, after the resurrection, the disciples proclaim the forgiveness of sins, the true resolution of the black hole of human absurdity.

If God is to bring new life to the tomb of my existence, then I must reflect on the empty tomb of Jesus and contemplate what it signifies, opening myself to the power of the resurrection in my life

This Sunday, and every Sunday of the year, the power of God is proclaimed. What God can do with our sins, our sufferings, our death! God is the one who goes beyond. Death is not a full stop but a comma – and beyond there is God. We must be open to this fact of the resurrection and adhere to it with our consent. We must have faith in what the empty tomb signifies – the manner in which God can transcend what seems negative and final. All these things – the failures, the limits, the dead ends – must be consigned over to God. The Lord knows how to bring life from death. He can lead us out of every tomb that we find ourselves in. This is what we proclaim at Easter: God goes beyond what we can accomplish or attain.

March 20^th 2016. PALM SUNDAY

PROCESSIONAL GOSPEL Luke 19:28-40

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

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

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PROCESSIONAL GOSPEL Luke 19:28-40

Jesus went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. Now when he was near Bethphage and Bethany, close by the Mount of Olives as it is called, he sent two of the disciples, telling them, ‘Go off to the village opposite, and as you enter it you will find a tethered colt that no one has yet ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, “Why are you untying it?” you are to say this, “The Master needs it”.’ The messengers went off and found everything just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owner said, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ and they answered, ‘The Master needs it’.

So they took the colt to Jesus, and throwing their garments over its back they helped Jesus on to it. As he moved off, people spread their cloaks in the road, and now, as he was approaching the downward slope of the Mount of Olives, the whole group of disciples joyfully began to praise God at the top of their voices for all the miracles they had seen. They cried out:

‘Blessings on the King who comes,
in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven
and glory in the highest heavens!’

Some Pharisees in the crowd said to him, ‘Master, check your disciples’, but he answered, ‘I tell you, if these keep silence the stones will cry out’.

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

Kieran’s summary . . . The first reading gives a wonderful key for approaching the Gospel of the Passion of Jesus. The Prophet Isaiah recounts the story of the Suffering Servant. How does this servant manage to endure the incredible torment and abuse that he receives? Because every morning “he opens his ear to listen like a disciple”. Jesus does not enter the Passion like a superhero who overcomes everything with his own power! Rather, he enters as one in communion with his Father, one who trusts and is ever attentive to the Father, one who is absolutely convinced that the Father will come to his aid. For this reason, he can “set his face like flint for he knows that he will not be ashamed”. And this is the key for our own lives too. Even if we find ourselves in the greatest of difficulty and anguish, even then, especially then, we must remain in communion with the Father, trusting that “he will come to our aid”. We can “set our faces like flint for we know that we will not be put to shame”. Jesus empowers us to maintain this relationship with the Father. He has shown us how and he bestows his Spirit upon us to enable us to do it.

Jesus is one who listens to the Father with a disciple’s ear. By doing so, he is perfectly enabled to comfort and illuminate the downhearted
This Palm Sunday presents us with a complicated liturgy with much to reflect on. The processional Gospel recounts the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, whilst the readings during the Mass culminate in the wonderful, merciful account of the Passion from Luke. At the heart of this Gospel, Jesus says, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”, and to the Good Thief, “This day you will be with me in Paradise”. How can we approach our task of commenting on this Gospel? The first reading provides an interpretative key for the liturgy and is of extraordinary power. It consists in one of the hymns of the Suffering Servant found in the prophet Isaiah (chapter 50 in this case). The servant has a mission, and this mission is fulfilled perfectly and completely by the Lord Jesus in his Passion. “The Lord has given me a disciple’s tongue so that I may know how to speak to the downhearted”. But just what is a “disciple’s tongue”? A master’s tongue, presumably, is that of one who speaks with authority. But a disciple is one who is continually in the process of listening and absorbing. How wonderful it is to listen to one who speaks with humility, one who is aware even when they speak that they have still much to discover! The downhearted is the one who needs to be spoken to by one who has a disciple’s tongue. In other words, the downhearted has lost faith in the future and thinks that all is lost. But the disciple, by contrast, can say, “Look, there is much that we do not yet understand! Much that we have not yet seen!” Thus the disciple speaks as one who is filled with wonder and who is still learning. How hard it is to speak to the downhearted and instil in them hope and confidence! How does the Suffering Servant do it? The reading from Isaiah tells us: “Every morning I open my ear and listen as a disciple” (the phrase is repeated here again!) The Servant remains in a constant state of receptivity, he opens his ear and does not turn back, does not offer resistance: he offers his back to those who struck him and his face to those who tear at his beard. Because his ear is open, he can live in a state of tranquillity, without fleeing maltreatment. This passage truly describes what the Lord Jesus has done when he was rejected.

Even is his torment, Jesus remains in communion with the Father. This is the source of his life

When we are suffering and being maltreated by others, it is one thing to listen to the things that our tormentors are saying to us, and an entirely different thing to have our ears open to what the Lord wishes to say to us. Even in my torment, especially in my torment, God has something that he wishes to say to me. There is a narrative that he wishes to continue with me, even in this devastating moment. In fact, at the end of the reading we hear: “The Lord comes to my aid. For this reason I am untouched by the insults. I set my face like flint and I will not be ashamed”. The message for us is that we must live the negative and dramatic events of our lives together with the Lord. As the reading says, the Lord will come to our aid. In the Passion of our Lord this Sunday we will see how Jesus can endure the evil of humanity, the horror that is in our hearts, and he does so because he is not alone: he enters the Passion united to the Father. He does not play the hero who proclaims himself to be the strongest. No, he is the Servant who manages to set his face like flint only because the Lord God comes to his aid. In all of the terrible things that may happen to us, what counts is whether or not we remain united to God. How different it is to live as sons! To live united to the heavenly Father who will not allow us to be confused. He is the Father of light who illuminates all things. This capacity to live in union with the Father is not something that we are able to do by ourselves. Jesus has come to enable us to do it, to illuminate us, to give us his heart, to bestow his Spirit on the one who desires it. This Sunday of the Passion let us look to the heart of God, a heart of communion that does not cause division but prays for the very one who kills him. During the crucifixion, Jesus asks the Father to forgive his assailants. This demonstrates how he remains in communion with the Father throughout his agony. He does not allow that relationship to be broken, and this is the key to life.

March 13^th 2016.  Fifth Sunday of Lent

GOSPEL: John 8:1-11

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­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: John 8:1-11

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At daybreak he appeared in the Temple again; and as all the people came to him, he sat down and began to teach them.

The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman along who had been caught committing adultery; and making her stand there in full view of everybody, they said to Jesus, ‘Master, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery, and Moses has ordered us in the Law to condemn women like this to death by stoning. What have you to say?’ They asked him this as a test, looking for something to use against him. But Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with his finger. As they persisted with their question, he looked up and said, ‘If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Then be bent down and wrote on the ground again. When they heard this they went away one by one, beginning with the eldest, until Jesus was left alone with the woman, who remained standing there. He looked up and said, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’

‘No one, Sir’ she replied.

‘Neither do I condemn you,’ said Jesus ‘Go away, and don’t sin any more.’

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

Kieran’s summary . . . In the first reading, the Lord tells us not to look to the events of the past but to reflect on the marvellous novelty that he is bringing about in our lives right now. In the Gospel, a woman caught in adultery is hauled before Jesus. The people want to stone her to death, according to the stipulations of the law. But Jesus says, “Whoever among you has no sin, cast the first stone”. Everyone soon disperses and Jesus is left alone with the woman. He tells her to go on her way and sin no more. As in the first reading, Jesus is telling the woman that what is important is not the saga of the past but the new life that God is calling us to live from this moment onwards. Jesus did not come to make an exhaustive list of our sins and focus on the evil that is in our hearts! He came so that we might leave our sinfulness behind us and begin to walk in communion with him. What must we do if a relationship is broken? Analyse in a tortuous fashion all the wrongs that were done in that relationship? Or mend the relationship and walk together in unity? Sure, if we sin, then we must ask forgiveness and seek to remedy the wrongs we have done to others. But the point is that it is useless to torment ourselves about the errors of the past. Jesus wants us to move forward, living from this moment onwards in a new manner.

The pardon of Jesus is not simply directed to our past sins. It gives us new life and directs us towards something new.

The Gospel this Sunday tells of the adulteress who is saved from recrimination by Jesus. His defence of the woman consists simply in the words, “Whoever among you is without sin, cast the first stone”. Let us consider the Gospel story in the light of the first reading. The prophet Isaiah speaks of the flight from Egypt across the Red Sea. In speaking of this liberation, the prophet says, “Consider no longer the things of the past. There is no need to think about what was done before”. These things of the past are the beautiful epic events of the Passover. They are at the core of the identity of the Jewish people – their liberation from slavery and oppression. But the prophet exhorts the people not to think back on the events of long ago. “Look,” the Lord says. “I am doing a new thing”. Then we hear the description of the novel things that the Lord is working among them. At the end of the Gospel, there is a similar phrase that Jesus utters to the woman caught in adultery: “From now on . . .” With the Lord, there is a new beginning. This is true whether the past is filled with glorious things, as was the case with the history of Israel, or even if we are speaking about a negative event, such as this fact of the woman being caught in sin, leading to a complete loss of honour and social status. With the Lord we call always say, “From this moment on . .” This is at the heart of the message from this Sunday’s Gospel.

What is more important: to analyse and chronicle the wrongs that have been done? Or to remedy those wrongs, mend broken relationships and walk together in communion?

The story recounts a woman caught in sin, but also tells of those bystanders who ferociously call for justice. There are two options open to humanity in the effort to confront sin. We can either go down the road of punishment, expiation and working out the consequences of deviant behaviour; or we can seek to begin again, to be born again. Which is more important, to point out the errors of others, or to begin again to walk together in real unity? We can focus on punishment or focus on restoring communion and broken relationships, rediscovering what really matters. Jesus did not come to make a list of the ways in which we go wrong; he came to help us to start anew, to wipe the slate clean and assist us in living “from this moment onwards”. Conversion is a movement towards something good, not simply a movement away from something. Lent is the time of conversion and beginning again. Let us not torture ourselves with our past errors! What is important is not to err again and to pick up the thread of the good in our lives. It is a useless practice to torment ourselves with analysis of our wrongs. Certainly, we must ask for forgiveness and seek to remedy the wrongs we have done, but this is all part of the process of making a new beginning, the process of “from this moment onwards”. We are talking about looking forward and doing new things.

In the story, Jesus begins writing on the ground. His hand, the hand of God, is always active; he is always seeking to rewrite our lives, renewing us and enabling us to life in the fullest sense

In the Gospel story, Jesus begins writing on the ground. It is a remarkable description, for when do we hear of God writing on the ground in Scripture? The finger of God refers to his action in the world, especially in creation. The Ten Commandments were written by the hand of God in stone. This act of Jesus writing in the dust evokes many different things, but we think also of the action of God in history, making all things new. Jesus is enabling this woman to begin a new life. The power of God in Jesus is not directed towards exacting severe punishment for the woman’s undoubted crimes. Rather, Jesus’ action is directed towards her rebirth. The only thing that matters is to begin to live again, to build up, not to recriminate. How many people are weighed down by sin but are uninterested in the real solution to sin. How good we are at pointing out the evils in the world, but how illiterate we are when it comes to beginning again! What is essential is to walk once more with Christ, turn the page and live in an authentic manner.

March 6^th 2016.  FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT

GOSPEL: Luke 13: 1-9

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­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 13: 1-9

The tax collectors and the sinners, meanwhile, were all seeking his company to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them’. So he spoke this parable to them:

‘A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.

‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.” So he left the place and went back to his father.

‘While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.

‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. “Your brother has come” replied the servant “and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound.” He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, “Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening.”

The father said,

“My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life;
he was lost and is found.”

THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . To understand the story of the prodigal son, we must look at the opening verses. Jesus tells the story because the Pharisees and Scribes – the ones who keep the Law but who do not really treat God as a Father – complain that Jesus is rejoicing with sinners. The parable is about the merciful Father who freely pardons his son, and also about the elder brother who thinks he is doing the Father’s will, but in reality is only acting out of obligation, and secretly begrudges the little that he does. How many of us Christians are like that elder brother! We think that living a life of sin would be fun, and we feel that our Christian faith is really an obstacle to us fully enjoying ourselves. We envy those who live a life of debauchery and then convert at the last minute, like the prodigal son. But this view is completely wrong! It is a joy and a wonder to live the Christian life close to the embrace of the Father, a Father who embraces us and bestows on us the most wonderful of blessings! Let us not be like the elder son, who lives “close” to the Father but doesn’t really live in union with the Father. He would obviously prefer to be somewhere else, but stays at home out of scruples. But let us also not be like the younger brother! You know, his story is the story of the human race. Historically, humankind has not wished to be close to the Father. We would prefer to follow our own designs. So we take the inheritance that God has given us and distance ourselves more and more from the Father. We use the gifts God has bestowed on us to satisfy ourselves. An authentic relationship with God would only hinder the pursuance of our own selfish goals. In the end, both sons did not want to live in close union with the Father. One took everything and left, the other stayed at home begrudgingly. Eventually, the prodigal returned to the Father, whilst the elder son remained estranged from him, though he lived in the same home! And let us not envy the prodigal! Don’t think that he had his fun and then got an undeserved reward. He lived a life of misery and selfishness and then got an undeserved pardon. Instead, let us be like a third child of the Lord, a child that remains with the Father and does so willingly and joyfully, living a life of true union with God.

 To understand the story of the prodigal son, we must look at the opening verses. Jesus tells the story because the Pharisees and Scribes – the ones who keep the Law but who do not really treat God as a Father – complain that Jesus is rejoicing with sinners

In this Jubilee of Mercy, we encounter the celebrated passage describing the Prodigal Son. The introductory verses are the key for interpreting the entire story. “At that time all the publicans and sinners came to Jesus to listen to him. The Pharisees and Scribes began to grumble. ‘Look, he welcomes sinners and eats with them’. Then Jesus recounted this parable. . .” On Sunday the austere tone of Lent is softened with the tender story of the Prodigal Son. The first reading tells of the first celebration of the Passover after the Jews enter the Promised Land. After forty years of journeying, the people are finally able to enter into this joyful feast. The Lord says to Joshua, “Look, I have removed from you the shame of Egypt”. And so the celebration is greater because they have been liberated from shame. In the Gospel, the Pharisees and Scribes are upset because Jesus and his disciples are celebrating with sinners. Let us consider the situation in more detail.

The story of humanity is the story of a people who have the inheritance that God has given them and used it for their own purposes

The story of the Prodigal Son is the story of the merciful Father who welcomes his errant younger son unconditionally, but it is also the story of the elder son who does not enter into the feast of the Father’s mercy. There are two ways to enter the feast, but it seems from this story that one of the ways doesn’t reach a happy conclusion. The younger son takes the path of failure, emptiness, loss. This is the way of sin. In fact, the Father says, “This son was dead but now he is alive”. The story of sin is not the story of something enjoyable that we are not permitted to do, but the story of death. It is the story of a man of dignity, a prince, a son of a great family, who becomes a steward of pigs. He has become someone taken with trivial things, someone who thinks little of his Father and demands his inheritance so that he can dispose of it as he sees fit. And you know, this is the story of humanity. We want to take what God has given us and use it for our own purposes, dispose of it as we wish, independently of what God wishes for us. Historically, this is our condition. We have distanced ourselves more and more from God so that we can do as we please. God is an inconvenient hindrance in the way of us pursuing our own ends. And while we do our own thing, we believe that this will permit us to enjoy ourselves and have a party.

 The prodigal son represents the bitter Christian who thinks he is doing the Father’s will but actually does not accept God as a Father

The story of the Prodigal Son is the story of a man who left his Father in order to have a party but then realised that the real party was happening at home. He went in search of pleasure, ease, comfort, but found that the things he was pursuing were of little import. He loses himself in this process but one day he comes back to himself and becomes conscious of what he has left behind. And so, in the end, after a tortuous journey, having failed and behaved in an immature and selfish fashion, he nevertheless manages to arrive at the joy of the Father. The ironic thing is that the older brother, who never left home at all, does not enter into the feast. This bitter strain of Christianity, with its sour spirituality, unfortunately is not uncommon in our parishes. God the Father is not perceived as a Father but as a master. It is interesting that the elder brother speaks in exactly the same way as the Pharisee who complained that Jesus was eating with sinners. “I have served you for many years and never disobeyed one of your commandments. But you have never allowed me to celebrate with my friends”. There is a whole theology contained here! God is someone who simply must be obeyed. And in return he must give us things. But the Father says, “Son, you have always been with me. Why do you speak as if you were a slave? Why do you behave as someone who has no intimacy with me? Everything I have is yours”. The problem is that this son has not entered into the love of the Father. He performs his actions out of obligation.

We tend to think that sin is enjoyable. We do not appreciate the joy of living in union with the Father!

This older brother represents the unresolved problem highlighted by the parable: the bitter “disciple” who has not understood the mercy of God. We inhabit the house of the Father as slaves, servants, squatters, looking with jealous eyes at the blessings God bestows on others. We do not embrace the Father and do not rejoice in the fact of being children of such a wonderful and beautiful Father. We look at sinners with envy. If we manage to avoid sin, it is not because we have understood how empty and poisoned it is. Listen to the words of the elder brother: “This son of yours has devoured your wealth with his prostitutes and you kill for him the fatted calf!” In other words, the younger son enjoyed himself and you reward him! But the Father knows that this description is not accurate. He says, “Look, your brother was dead. He took a path that led to emptiness and pain. Don’t you realize the darkness of the path that he took?” How many Christians share the attitude of the elder brother! They look at the Church as an imposition and think that life would be much more enjoyable otherwise. Being a Christian is such a sacrifice, they think! But being a Christian is actually to be a participant in a great feast! Being with the Father, serving him is not a form of slavery but a way of being united to him. It is the service you render to someone you love, the person that you long to be with, that you want to please. Whatever you do for him will always feel like little!  This Sunday is truly the day for entering into the feast, for embracing Easter, for leaving behind the frustrated form of Christianity, from a vision that focuses on my rights, what I can get for myself. As the psalm says, it is better to live on the threshold of the house of the Father than in the tents of the powerful. What God calls us to do is marvellous: to be with him, to be embraced by his mercy, his patience and his pardon. If we reflect on how he treats us, then we realize that anything we do for him is always little!