Today’s Gospel and the First Reading both talk about Jesus’ coming. But while the First Reading pushes it back to the end of time, the Gospel sees Him coming in a near future. Good news for all those who hear about it. For it implies that the Lord is always with us, now and forever. But that good news has a reverse side: when someone is always there, we end up forgetting about Him; that is the sad part of it. He becomes part of the furniture as we say.
To avoid this, Paul invites us to “keep awake”. That way, even if He comes unexpectedly, there will be no bad surprise: whenever He comes, we will be ready.
In a Christian perspective, these unexpected events may be considered as calls to examine one’s own priorities. “It is time” says St. Paul in the Second Reading “to wake up from sleep”. In other words, Paul invites us to act responsibly. We always knew that we had to act as responsible people, but it was enough to be responsible for our own business. Now the situation has changed: from now on, we are responsible for the welfare of the whole planet and for all of humanity. Not that we would have to live in permanent fright and fear of the future. But we are invited to take advantage of every moment of our life to grow in mind and heart. Life is never dull or sad when we take it in to our own hands. The Psalm lauds God for having created a man “so wonderfully made”. Let us then “keep awake” as Paul invites us to and live up to what God expects from us. Amen.
Homily November 20,
2022 Lk 23:35-43
We are familiar with today’s Gospel: the image of our crucified Lord has been imprinted in our minds since our early youth. Its mention in today’s liturgy surprises us no more, for we are used to it. But what we are not used to is the daily image on our TV screen of civilians, especially children, innocent victims of political and economical games between leaders eager to extend their power and their puppets, staying in the shade, waiting for their chance to grab the crumbs falling from their table.
All year round, in the world, influential people with impressive political and military power organize worldwide publicised summit meetings to solve their political differences. And at the end of their meetings, they unanimously pledge to work for the freedom and welfare of their people. But this never stops the killing of civilians and children, not only right after the meeting but already during the meeting, which they call collateral damage.
This is what happened to many innocent people along the course of history and namely to Jesus. Roman and Jewish authorities of the time, traditional enemies at the time, suddenly found common ground to condemn a man whose words were challenging their power. And all this for the good of the nation.
Can we do something about that? On the international level, no. But on the local level, yes. For there are words which kill and words which save, looks which condemn and looks which forgive, handshakes which lie and handshakes which reassure. And this we can do. It won’t show, nobody will witness it, but it will clear the atmosphere. Nobody knows from where the breeze comes when it rises but it soothes everything when it does. Amen.
Homily November 13,
2022 Lk 21:5-19
In every culture since the beginning of humanity, men have been fascinated by the end of the world. Hence, our craving for sophisticated calculations about the date and for the catastrophic scenarios which go with it. In today’s Gospel, Jesus assumes those traditional images of doom which were customary in the mind of His people: natural disasters, wars, plagues, earthquakes and even betrayal of one’s own family. More than enough to be frightened of and lose faith!
But in His usual way, Jesus reacts with down to earth advice: “Do not go after those doomsayers” He says, “for they are not God.” What is from God then? That question asks for a double answer: on the part of God and on the part of man.
First on the part of God. “Not a hair of your head will perish without God’s permission”. Meaning that God cares for us. Whatever happens to me and wherever I may be, He watches over me. He will be there when needed. This is what we call faith, this attitude of spontaneous trust that a child develops towards his parents.
This Godlike care though has a counterpart. The part of man. For God knows that without responsibility, no one can reach his full stature. This is what Paul says in the second reading: toil, labour and sweat are part of the human condition, he says. Hard work has always been, in faith as in daily life, the trademark of a responsible person. This is what God expects from us. He entrusted us with the world and expects us to make it fit for humanity. This is what our ancestors and our parents did: to work hard was an ideal. It is time that work be considered not as a painful obligation but rather as a noble ideal. Amen
Homily November 6,
2022 Lk 20:27-38
Luke’s chapter 20 deals with the never-ending discussions between Jesus and the Pharisees. That kind of discussion where winning the argument is more important than finding the truth. After having doubted Jesus’ credentials as a religion teacher, his opponents move to the touchy issue of resurrection which divided the two powerful political powers of the time: Pharisees and Sadducees. And the atmosphere of the discussion is not good: Jesus’ opponents do not care about the truth; they want to corner Jesus and ridicule him. Beyond these outdated discussions, the question at stake here is a question of vital importance for each one of us. What Jesus tries to make understood here is that , despite appearances, human life is not limited to this short span of life of 70 or 80 years during which we try to manage the best we can before being forgotten. In Jesus’ approach, to live is not to go down towards an unavoidable disappearance. It is to walk up towards someone who has been waiting for us since the very beginning. In this perspective, everything we do on this side of life has something to do with the quality of our afterlife. In that sense, our fellow countrymen who gave their lives for peace in the twentieth and twenty first century wars of our time deserve the homage that we pay them. Our faith is not restraining, mortifying or forbidding. It is neither about carelessness, thoughtlessness or recklessness. It is about responsibility, seriousness and joy. God wants to use the talents and gifts that life has given us to help people, not to ignore them or abuse them. Let us ask Him to help us to see the difference. Amen.
Homily October 30,
2022 Lk 19:1-10
Today’s Gospel is well known for many reasons. First, because it is easy to remember: it revolves around a crowd, a tree and a man. Also, because the man this story is about is rich and that richness, in our minds, always has something unfair attached to it. In that sense, we are not sorry to see that little man obliged to climb a tree to see what everybody else can easily see standing on his or her own two feet. But as usual, this story had a few truths as a reminder. First, Zacchaeus is what is called in his time a place, a tax collector, that is a civil servant of the Romans who have conquered the land. As such he is considered a sinner because he takes the money of the people of God to give it to the hated pagan rulers. He is then someone to avoid. As if he were short not only physically but also spiritually and morally. To use the language of the time, he is “impure” and dangerous like the “bad companions” we were strongly advised to avoid in our youth. And yet, and this is the focus of the story, not only does he want to see Jesus, which is a good sign of what we might call his “conversion” but it is Jesus who wants to see him. And since Jesus is God, it means that it is God Himself who wants to see him. God Almighty, the all-powerful creator of heaven and earth, wants to meet a despised tax collector during a dirty job in a small village of a small country on a dull and ordinary weekday. Our God cares about every human being whoever he or she may be. If our God is like this, then we too have to become like Him, that is to act in the same way that He does. Let us try more and more to be God for those around us. Amen.
Homily October 23,
2022 Lk 18:9-14
Every religion has its own rules to get in touch with God and obtain from Him favours and rewards. To go by the rules is the road to God, while to put the rules away is the road to hell. This is the notion that our Lord addresses in today’s parable. He presents to us a Pharisee and a Publican who, in the Palestine of the time, were the opposite faces of religion. The Pharisee was doing everything a good Jew had to do, so consequently could rightly boast about his own righteousness and be sure to go to heaven. The Publican did nothing of what he was supposed to do, had every reason to disparage himself and was undoubtably destined to undergo the wrath of God. But in the eyes of God, which is the focus of the whole story, it is the Publican who is right and not the Pharisee. And why is that? Because, says the Lord, he humbled himself while the other exalted himself. And what does that mean? It seems to me that the point here is not about the deeds done or undone but about the attitude behind them. In regard to our relationship with other people, there are two approaches: the business one and the friendly one. The business one asks for nothing more than the respect of established rules while the second one asks for personal involvement. A full bank account and a well-kept house may give the impression of a successful marriage but without the personal commitment of the people involved, it is just a front. The same with God. With Him, it is not enough to fulfill the obligations of religion. For He does not want to be our accountant but rather our friend. And what we expect from a friend is not that he gives us things but that he be there when we need him. Our God does not want to be addressed as a purveyor but as a Father and a friend. This is the kind of God that Jesus came to reveal to us. And this is the first reason why we come to Church: not to fulfill an obligation but to meet a Father and a friend. Amen
Homily October 16,
2022 Lk 18:1-8
Today’s Gospel is clear: it is a call to personal responsibility. The widow of the story addresses successively the judge and the lawyers, who are the symbols of human justice, and God, who represents divine justice. She tried everything but nothing worked. The lawyer, the judge, even God won’t do in her stead what she has to do. There is the same teaching in the first reading: Israel had to face the enemy. On the mountain, Moses, Aaron and Hur were praying but Joshua had to fight on dry land to succeed. The meaning is clear: you get only what you are ready to fight for. Hence the question: does it meant that it is no use praying and asking God to help us? No, says Paul in the second reading. For every scripture is inspired by God and consequently useful for whatever situation. Every day we have challenges to meet and decisions to take. And for most of them, there is no easy answer. We ask for advice, look into books, even watch Dr. Phil. And yet, no easy answer. So that the only thing which is left is to take our own decision, hoping it is the best one. Does that mean that all those efforts were useless? No, because in the process, we got closer to God, we learned things, grabbed some new insights on things and people, so much so that, when the next difficult decision to take shows up, we are better equipped to face it. The same with God. We pray to Him; we also ask other people to pray. They do. But no easy nor clear answer comes. Does that mean that praying is useless? No, because in praying to God, we assert that He is alive, that He is there when needed, that He listens when we talk, that He puts people on our way. More over we would not like God to be more than that. For we want to take our own decisions even if they are risky and uncertain. This is what came to my mind in the story of the miners’ rescue in Chile. Here is a Christian population who for days prayed for the rescue of their miners. But at the same time, amazing and wonderful efforts were made to save the miners, efforts which turned out successfully. Let us thank our God for being so close and yet at the same time, so respectful of our freedom and for having gifted humanity with such wonderful talents and good will. Amen
Homily October 9, 2022
Lk 17:11-19
Every day, whether we drive or walk, we happen to have to stop to let the other car go by or to let the pedestrian cross the street. Usually, both of them wave their hand to show that they appreciate this. Sometimes though, and it seems to me more than before, many people do not even look at you. They go by as if you had trespassed on their territory or done something wrong for being there at the same time as them. Gratitude seems to run away. Similarly, the beautiful weather we enjoyed last summer and still are enjoying, brought me to look for someone to thank for this amazing and enduring wonderful weather. Those two examples, although opposite, tend in the same direction: we have to be thankful for the life that we enjoy and at the same time to be acknowledged for what we do. That is what today’s Gospel is about: Gratitude, given and received, should be an essential part of our lives, for it is the acknowledgement of one’s true place in the world. We all depend on one another not only to survive but to live fully and happily. To eat bread is necessary to survive: but to give thanks to the one who shaped it is necessary to live. The gift that I receive may be beautiful, but the hand who gives it is immensely more beautiful for the gift refers to the wallet while the hand refers to the heart. That is what today’s Gospel story refers to. For ultimately, the world and the life that we enjoy are gifts from God. To be grateful for my own existence, for the existence of my fellow humans and for the beautiful world our God gave us is necessary no only to survive but to lead a full and happy life. Amen.
Homily October 2, 2022
Lk 17:5-10
“We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done”. This reflection of Jesus at the end of today’s Gospel has left me thinking. As if Jesus was telling us that the only thing to do to be His disciple was to accomplish carefully the too often dull, boring, wearisome tedious daily routine. As if He were telling us: You have a job to do? Do it. For it is on this that you will be judged. And if we would ask God: Why this? Isn’t it more important to pray? To make sacrifices? To go to St. Joseph’s Oratory? ? To go on pilgrimage? To make donations to the poor or to the Church? Then God would probably answer: to pray, to make sacrifices, to give to the poor, to go to St. Joseph’s Oratory is good and even recommended. But it is in your daily work, with those thousands of repeated gestures, always the same, and in our relationship with your neighbours that you can show yourself as a responsible adult and a Christian. Mary and Joseph never did otherwise and yet were chosen by God as our Lord’s parents instead of those pious Pharisees with their daily never-ending prayers and preaching. We have become very impatient people. We want everything and we want it now. The Lotto ticket that we buy is a perfect example of this. We want at once an amount which is normally the reward of a whole life of work and, what is worse, forget that to work is necessary to grow and become an adult. We have become impatient with life and with God, like the prophet of the first reading who asks: “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help and you will not listen?” To all those who, in the course of history, have dreamt of fast and painless reforms, Paul answers, in the second reading, by inviting us to live accordingly to the “spirit of power and love and self discipline”. In other words, to develop an attitude of calmness and balance in our judgements towards the slow progress of the ever-changing events and people, an attitude which invites without pulling and sustains without pushing. For God is found not in thunder or lightening but in the sweet breeze. Amen.