Peace and blessing: from where?

Dec 31-Jan 1 - Mary, Mother of God - Readings of the Day -


It's the last day of the year. The liturgy is filled with images and thoughts: end of the year, day of peace and the solemnity of Mary, the mother of God. Is it too much? How can I focus when all these things, apparently competing with each other, fill my mind and take all my attention?

Actually, when I let the Spirit guide me through the readings I can see that everything is there. Mary takes the prominent place even though she does and says nothing: she is the background against which all the characters in the Gospel act and make the Good News of Christmas a new reality for all of us.

Because of her Yes to God's Will, we have now received not just "a" Blessing from God; we have now the source of all Blessings living in our midst as we let Him be born and re-born in us. In the First Reading, we hear that God keeps His face shining before us, and He is gracious to us.

What does that mean? Before the coming of Jesus,  God's people were afraid to see His face because they knew they would die. Now His face is a human face: it's Jesus' face. We can gaze upon Him and see God's own; more surprisingly, we can see it reflected upon each other's face. It seems natural, when we see a newborn baby, to see if the baby looks more like the mother or the father. Now that we have all made God's children, we all have something of our Father in heaven impressed on our face. Each person I meet looks a bit like Jesus (or viceversa). Every time I see myself in the mirror I can courageously say that I look a bit like God and when I talk to whomever is before me, I have to develop and keep a sense of awe because I am talking to someone who is related to God.


The Lord be gracious to you. It's a way of saying that now the Lord has turned His face towards you, looking at you. It's the beginning of a new type of relationship with God, one that begins by looking at Him and call Him "father." What a privilege we have to call Him this way. How can I grow in this awareness this upcoming year? How can I make a new year resolution to grow in this intimacy that is proper of a child with the Father?

Beginnings are hard... but possible

December 29 - Fifth day of Christmas - Readings of the Day.

Christmas time is almost overwhelming. Since the celebration of Christmas Masses, I have been taken - once again - but the maddening Love that God has for us: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." For me, this is truly the most scandalous verse in the Bible. This is the verse that motivates me and urges me to do whatever it takes so the reality of "Jesus living in our midst" can be experienced by many.

As a Church we are meditating on the stories of the Birth of Christ and we have as a background the First Letter of John. We hear powerful words: fellowship, light/darkness, love/hate.

If we believe that Christ is truly born, then we can live a new type of lifestyle: we are in fellowship with God and with one another; if we believe that Christ is truly born, then we see the world differently because He is the light that pierces through the darkness; if we believe that Christ is born, then we see each other differently and we realize that the Fellowship we have with God is lived out by loving each other.

How often I see Christianity reduced to some form of devotionalism ("I say my prayers, I go to a prayer meeting or adoration... I am fine with God"), or a form of activism ("I do a lot of charity work, so I am doing fine") or a form of Gnosticism ("I read a lot/know a lot about God... so I am fine"). But John the Evangelist tells us that our life as Christian is based on a Fellowship: all these things, prayer, works of Charity and learning about God, sustain our fellowship but do take its place. But fellowships point to a relationship and these are "lived out" every day, concretely. And this is the hardest part of Christianity: living out a coherent lifestyle.

Today we take a further step. I read somewhere "Beginnings are hard." How true is that! Every time I start something new I always feel mixed emotions: enthusiasm and excitement but also anxiety that comes from knowing that I am about to do something new. How appropriate that we read this Gospel passage today: in the Presentation of the Lord to the Temple we see the "old and the new" meeting each other. While I see "Prophecy" and "Fulfillment" dialoguing together, I can't help thinking of my old year and the new one. These two dimensions do not take each other out but complement and must be integrated.

Our life of Fellowship with God and Neighbor is hard. The reading given to us today makes us aware that this Fellowship must be concrete. John helps us by making us aware of two things: 1) we must live the Word (this will help up to avoid turning Christianity into something made in our own image); 2) we must focus on Reciprocal Love. This last point seems to be the obsession of John. I understand who important Reciprocal Love is. Only when we love we can experience and understand Christianity fully.

Then I know how we can continue to live these days of Christmas: clothing ourselves with the Word and let the Word of God shapes every gesture of ours so that by the way we Love one another we can let Jesus be born everywhere and in everyone we meet today.

This Christmas leads us to new beginnings. They are hard, but with Christ with us they can be possible.

Lowliness

22 December - Readings of the Day

"He has looked upon his lowly servant."

"My only ideal in life is to be the servant to whom the Lord gives the place He wants in His own heart and who desires only that I be faithful" (Teilhard de Chardin, my translation)

As the Advent season gets closer to its end, I am given the image of two mothers who able to see past beyond the life-changing events of their lives and are able to praise the Lord with a song. Certainly the situations are quite different: Hannah and Mary are on the opposite spectrum of life but it is what they have in common that seems to strike my attention today: they are both "lowly."

What does it mean? Who is the lowly? The dictionary based definition refers to the lowly as the "one who is humble, low in a position of honor before another who is greater." In Scripture the lowly is the one who before God is able to claim dependence and total reliance for everything. God always seems to prefer this claim so that He can do "great things."

Preparing for Christmas, therefore, requires a sense of lowliness, a sense of openness to one who is able to accomplish what we can't. How paradoxical that the image of the Greater One who comes to save is that of a vulnerable Child. Maybe this is also given to us a way of breaking away from our belief that only the strong can face battle. Mary's Magnificat seem to agree: those ones, those who rely upoin their strength, their possessions, their talents and gifts are diplaced and replaced by those who can't do a thing but they rely on God to finish up what they started.

What happens when we embrace lowliness ? We are able to see the "great riches" that God wants us to have and enjoy. Certainly not the kind of riches that allows us be stronger and more separated from Him, but that sense of fulfillment and meaning that our lives need in order to thrive, in order to be ourselves.

When we realize that lowliness leads to "new and great riches" we understand why people choose to rely on God and are willing to do His will: it brings out the best of ourselves, the best IN ourselves. Doing the will of God is truly the smartest and healthiest thing we do for ourselves.

Then, like Mary and Hannah, I want to sing a song today, a song thankfulness because He's allowing me to grow in the image of His Son which will lead me to be truly who I am.

I say Yes again; I say Yes and I commit myself to rely on His today... in all that I do, no matter how big or insignificant this might be. I know that He will do great things and in them and through them I will be greatly enriched.

Visited and Visiting.

December 21  - Readings of the Day

Today is the shortest day of the year. The theme of the increment of light seems to be present in the Word as well. The light of the world is coming to bring us out of darkness, to put an end to the trials of this age. The blinking lights I see all around me seem to tell me about Him, too. Immediately I think, do I let His light shine through me? Do I rejoice at His arrival? Can I imagine a world without light? What difference does Light make?

These last days of preparation are becoming quite challenging for me. Yesterday, I thought that the "favored by God" lifestyle would be easier to achieve. Yet, I found it at times hard to focus and really consider myself and my neighbor as God's favorite. But I tried harder than ever to live this reality and I kept saying "Fiat," let it be done to me according to your Word.

Today, as I meditate on the Word I asked myself a question: while we are all preparing for the Coming of the Lord, what is God doing? I realized that He is preparing as well, for our coming to Him. Like the husband in the first reading, He looks forward to His coming home where He and His Bride can live in love and in intimate union. He, who created the world, longs to live in us.

I can see this longing even in the Gospel reading. The arrival, quite unexpected, of the Lord marks the newness of times. Ancient Israel experienced God's presence in the Ark which they will carry with them everywhere they went. Now the place of God's presence has been changed: no long a thing but people carry the Lord's presence. Just like Mary brought Jesus to Elizabeth, each one of us who have said Yes to God and let Jesus be born in us have the responsibility to bring Him out into the world. The Angel didn't tell Mary to go visit Elizabeth but the Lover cannot wait to encounter the Beloved and so she takes the journey to bring Jesus to her cousin. Love is dynamic, can't be stopped

Do I wait for His coming like the Bride waits for her shepherd-husband coming after a long time away? Do I long for the love and intimacy that He brings to me? Do I bring Jesus-in-me to others? How do other people react when I am present: do they feel blessed by the presence of Jesus in me? or threatened? or indifferent?

What a responsibility! In the story of the Visitation, I enter into the reality of God coming to me through another person; also, as someone who believes in God and wants to live the Gospel, I also see myself like Mary who brings Him into everywhere I go. 

How can I become aware that He has changed me into a living and movable "Ark" of the covenant? How can I protect and defend the new born King so that nothing in the world can damage Him?

Creating a "Favored by God" lifestyle

December 20 - (readings of the day)

The story of the Annunciation has come up quite a lot this month. And it's a familiar story which may lead to the temptation to skip it, assuming that there is nothing new for me today. It's always a mistake!

The words of the angel touch me today. "Full of Grace." Again, having already meditated on these words I was trying to focus elsewhere but my attention kept going there. These words are so filled with Good News!

I remembered that another way of translating these words is: "you have found favor." She was "favored" by God in order to be part of the new story that God wants to write with us, as one of us.

Elsewhere Jesus talks about this also: "It was not you who chose me but I who chose you..." Once again, the words speak of a favored gaze that Jesus places on each one of us. Yet, another word reminds me that "God plays no favorite." Which means that those words are not spoken only to me but to everyone. 

Not only by baptism I am "full of Grace," but I am also "favored." This means that God looks at each one of us in a particular way and this way makes us "favored" by Him.

What does it mean? The dictionary says that this adjective means "to be regarded or treated with preference or partiality: or  2. enjoying special advantages; privileged: (to be born into the favored classes)." Then, when I take the Words of the Angel I understand that God regards me and treats me with preference and that I enjoy a special privilege. The best part of this is that God thinks that everybody is now "favored," and therefore there is no competition among ourselves.

What is this special privilege that God bestows on me? It's His presence. "The Lord be with you." Indeed, this is the greatest gift one can have - God who moves from the heavens now into one's heart. It's a privilege that I have received as a gift. Nothing I did or that I am doing can make me worthy of such a presence. Sadly enough, I can reject it and void the privilege.

This happens because I have found "favor" with God. Do I believe that these words are now addressed to me? Do I even grasp the real meaning of these words? I find myself catapulted again in the great mystery of God's maddening Love for us and realize that if I believe that Christmas is real, it's the feast of the Impossible things made real, then I have to believe that I have found favor with Him and that He's now willing to live in me.

If this doesn't change one's life, I don't know what does. And how beautiful it is that this reality is given to us as a premise to the whole Gospel story. The Words of Jesus make sense if they can be lived "from within." Knowing that it is Jesus who lives in us, it is He who lives the Gospel in me. And I with Him, so that the day will come when I can say "it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me."

I want to enjoy this reality: I found favor with God. But enjoyment is not sufficient: I have to live accordingly so not to waste this gift.

How can my life change and reflect what God has done? How can I see my neighbor and remind myself that even he or she has found favor with God? How can I, then, treat my neighbor as "favored" by Jesus who lives in me?

I think this is going to start a new revolution! I can't wait to go out there and start living this new lifestyle - I am "Favored." This will be my new name today.

Impossile things are possible as we say "Yes"

December 19 - Readings:  1: Judg 13:2-7,24-25 R: Ps 71:3-6,16-17 G: Lk 1:5-25

It's time to change gear. The liturgy invites me to increase my attention to the Good News. The time is nearer: Christ's coming is closer than I think.

One part of my brain just panicked: Christmas is so close and I still have cards to mail and gifts to buy. Yet, the other part seems to be rejoicing because I have been trodding the Advent path for a month and now I am ready to say Yes to the "Word-Made-Flesh," Immanuel who comes to me.

The liturgy today invites me to enter into the "impossible things" that God can do, things that the angel told Mary in yesterday's liturgy. Both readings highlight this reality: God uses my own limitations and shortcomings and transforms them into something new. I see the pattern: Both Samson's and John's parents cannot have a child: barren, old age... impossible! Yet, God uses what seems impossible and unusable by our own earthly standards and lifts them up as instruments of Christ's coming.

How many times I have said that something was impossible to be done because the "structures" (manpower, money, lack of volunteers, etc.) were not up to the task? And how many times I have been blown away by the results? The difference? One group relied completely on God and He used their "Yes" to make something beautiful. I want and I need to keep this in mind: if I believe that God is with me then I ought to remain focused on the fact that only He can do the impossible; all that is required of me is to say "Yes, let it be done to me according to your word."

I can't help noticing that the story of Zachariah happens in the Temple. Yesterday I meditated on the fact that Mary was visited by the angel in her own home. This story seems to be going in the opposite direction than that of Mary. Why? Both Mary and Zachariah expressed doubt at what the angel was telling them. But it is Mary that takes the further step and moves forward in faith, putting all her trust in the Word of God.

When I fail to take that step, I too experience a sort of spiritual "mutism." I focus on what I think it's the right thing to do, on what I think it's the right thing to say and I get dry, I realize there is nothing to say and nothing I do or say seem to bring fruit. It's the Zachariah's syndrome. Unlike him, I don't have to wait nine month to shake this off - I can ask God for forgiveness and start again by making Mary's "fiat" ("Yes, let it be done....") as my own.

But I feel Zachariah's words: How can I know this? I want to know what is ahead, I want to plan and be ready. I understand this is not always possible and I am learning, formed by the Gospel, to say Yes. I found this quote of Teillhard de Chardin: "What really matters is to adhere to the divine action that can be found everywhere; the more we submit to Him our destiny, by subtracting our planning and our control, the worthier it is of adoration." (my translation)

Christmas is a home-based reality

Fourth Sunday of Advent/B (1: 2 Sam 7:1-5,8-12,14,16; R: Ps 89:2-5,27,29; 2: Rom 16:25-27; G: Lk 1:26-38)

The Advent wreath is fully lit. Its bright light allows us to see further: He comes to us in unexpected way. He comes on His own terms which challenge me to enter into the reality of God-with-us a bit more deeply.

There is a human tendency that I must become aware and do the best I can to avoid. Like King David, at times in order to make sense of God I try to put Him into a "house," into a box. In so doing, I fool myself in thinking that I can control the divine presence, I can, therefore, manipulate Him to behave as I wish. I know this because often I have been disappointed by God: He didn't behave according to my expectations; He didn't do what I wanted Him to do. God reminds me that He's coming and while He is going to stay in my box, He's also inviting me to see Him acting creatively and majestically outside of my expectations. I think it's normal for us wanting to control things and people and we do this in so many ways. But we must reach a point in our lives when we must  trade these boxes for truer relatinship with people, where everybody can be more than we expect them to be. I know I don't want to be placed in a box and stereotyped.

What happens when we let God be who He is? We are going to see the unexpected. This week we are going to have Mary as our model and guide to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord. She is visited by an angel who brings to her the Good News. I am touched by the fact that the Incarnation, this incredible and awesome event doesn't have the Temple as a background but a simple house. The Gospel passage is filled with proper names - of people and of places - almost to underline the reality of God coming into our own history, into our own hometown, into our own house. And the angel is not bringing the Good News to a group of priests, or scholars but to a girl.

Christmas is lived in this way; God comes to us in the reality of our own life, in the messiness of our own homes. And this new story begins with a simple but life-changing reality: "You're full of Grace because the Lord is with you." If I believe that Christmas is real then I have to believe that God is with me, with us, all the time. This presence must generate in us and around us "Grace," His presence must make a difference. Grace is a wonderful, free gift that God gives us when we open ourselves to Him - it fills our hearts and fulfills our desires. How often do I live my life forgetting that He is with me? How often I act as though I have never been touched by Grace? This is the time when I, with the help of everybody I meet, can change it all, and I become more aware of this Good News: God is with me and my life has changed because of this.

I understand why Mary argues with the angel. "How can this be...?" I do the same: "Doesn't God know who I am? Are you really sure that He picked me? Shouldn't He go and ask that person over there who seems to be holier than I?" But the angel brought her attention to another level, making her aware that if God is with us, then it is God who creates this newness of life: "The Holy Spirit will overshadow you..."Yes, God knows very well what He's getting into when He comes to live with me. He chose me and overshadowed me with His Spirit. Christianity is something that He does in me and asks me to collaborate, to correspond to grace so that this process of transformation can happen.

I am sure that Mary did not understand it all and, yet, she makes an act of faith: "Let it be done to me according to your word." Ultimately, I am asked to do the same: do I trust His Word more than my own ideas and opinions? Can I let God act outside the box I put Him in? And can I let Him help me to live my life outside the boxes I put myself in? It all begins with a Yes to live "according to His Word," the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us.

I am immersed by the mystery of God's presence. I am going to work extra hard this week to see God not only in the places where I expect Him to be but also, and especially, in the "realities of home." He comes into my ordinary history, into my home, into my life in a concrete way. I am going to welcome Him even thought I might not know what He's going to do.

I know this Christmas will be different.

I Got a "Faith Stimulus" Check

Thursday of the 3rd week of Advent ( 1: Isa 54:1-10; R: Ps 30:2,4-6,11-13;  G: Lk 7:24-3)

 He comes and His coming creates a new reality in my life. Today He comes in Love.

"My love shall never leave you
nor my covenant of peace be shaken"

A couple of years ago, I remeber receiving a check in the mail from the goverment: it was my economic stimuls check - a bizzare move to invite me to spend more money in order to change the economic situation of this country. Today I feel I am getting a Faith Stimulus from the Word of God, something that God is giving me in order to change my faith situation.

The first reading brings me back to the reason that motivates God to incarnate Himself - He wants me back. He has come so that each one of us can be called back to the "original love" and live a life renewed. The images received a couple of days ago - that of unfaithfulness and prostitution - are completely reversed today: He knows very well my infidelities and yet He calls me back and invites me to enter into an intimate, spousal relatinship with Him.

This is a God who is mad. Completely mad. Totally committed to His "enduring love" that doesn't the unthinkable and reaches out to me in such a way ... becoming like me so that I can become like Him.

He looks at me as married to Him. His love shall never leave me. Yet, this love is so transforming that He says that He won't remember my sins, my infidelities, my "prostitution."

This image is very difficult to comprehend. As a human being I don't forget easily but He does. Quite arrogantly, I immediately thought that my sins are really not that big (really?). And yet, as a "coincidence" I stumbled upon a note written long ago about "invisible" sins.... those little acts of cowardice that fill my everyday life:

• Pride camouflaged as caring and attention to other
• ostentatious piety lived to snatch a word of praise from someone
• fraudulent irritability justified for a holy cause
• calculated avarice justified by hypothetical calculations to defend the common good
• lavish suppers motivated by perceived social conventions
• laziness before our duty motivated by assumed health reason

God has healed and forgotten them all but I have to forget them, too and start living my life as one who is married to God, the Maker (who said that priests don't get married?)

Today, God's word come to me as a faith stimulus. Another invitation to be faithful and live my life concretely with Emmanuel, He-who-comes.

I want to bask and revel in His love today. I want to say Yes and start again.

On His Own Terms

Wed of Third Week of Advent (1: Isa 45:6-8,18,21-25 R: Ps 85:9-14 G: Lk 7:18-23 ) 

The coming of the Lord is a cosmic event. And it happens, as it did two thousands years ago, in a way that goes beyond our expectations.  Yes: He comes on His own terms. Am I willing to accept them? or do I continue to put Him under my own expectations? I have to be honest with myself: His coming is not as clear as I would like it to be.

I understand why John the Baptist sent the delegation to Jesus. He had been working so hard to prepare the way of the Lord, to preach the baptism of repentance, and now he hears that Jesus is nothing like he had imagined. What happened? Like I usually do, the first to question is not me but the other. The delegation brings up the question to Jesus: Are you the one? Jesus doesn't answer directly (what else is new! He never does) but He invites them to be more attentive, more "contemplative" and see what was happening around them: He is the One because new things are happening - people are experiencing the Messiah's presence. The coming of the Lord is not something that satisfies the mind or the intellectual curiosity but it is experienced in our lives.

How can I proclaim to the nations that He is coming? I wish i could tell everyone "look at what He has done for me, to me, through me... " but that makes me think: "Have I really let Him transform me as He wants?" Can people read the Gospel by the way I live? Hmmm... lots of more work needs to be done here. Once again, I sing: "O Come, O Come Immanuel..."

He comes! He comes on His own terms, using whatever and whomever He can to reach out to me, to us. Isaiah underlines this reality: His coming is something that involves both heaven and earth. It's interesting that at the time of the prophet, Cyrus a pagan emperor was called Messiah because he brought freedom to the Israelites. Am I opened to the work of God done "outside" of the box in which I comfortably place Him? Do I consider every kind of good work worthy of praise? or do I think that they are not as good because they are not done by "us?"

What happens to us when we open ourselves to the creativity of God? What happens when we open or eyes and start looking for His coming all around us? I believe that we will be able to live out a true aspect of Christianity: the believe that it is a religious based on revelation, on the fact that it is God who reveals Himself to us, and not a religion when we decide what God can or cannot do.

I enter into the Word today with opennes of mind and heart. I pray that I can let the Spirit to help me re-focus on Him-who-is-to-come and I pray that I can recognize His coming today in all the creative ways He decides to use.

He comes on His own terms; I say Yes to Him  and start again.

Faithfulness and Prostitution

I don't usually see the link between Faithfulness and prostitution but somehow it became clear today as I meditated on the Word. I see it as clear opposite - spiritually, being faithful means to be exclusively fixed on the love relationship one has with God in faith; the opposite, then, is the tendency of finding elsewhere - in the likenesses and images of gods - the comfort, ease, consolation that God promises us.

Clear opposite! The difference is even more evident when I call "unfaithfulness" by the real name, "prostitution." I need to handle this and resist the temptation of making it sound more polite or even politically correct. It is what it is: when someone claims a relationship with God and then finds what God gives in the embrace of someone or something else and pay for what God gives us for free ... well, it's a type of prostitution.

In the first reading (zep 3:1-2,9-13) I see the consequences of this infidelity. One kingdom has already been destroyed and the other is close to share the same fate. Yet the prophet doesn't seem to be concerned with that but with the internal divisions - within the People of God there is a group of people who think that they do not need to repent because they are "good enough." Because of this arrogant attitude they are not able to see what is about to happen: destruction. But this destruction is not total; there is a group of anawim, the poor of God, who remain faithful. They function as a seed of hope. They are dependent on God and struggle to remain faithful. The secret? The consider doing His will, acting on His Word more important than what they feel or think.

I can see this lesson in the Gospel as well (Mt 21:28-32). Two sons, both having a deep and intimate relationship with the father (or at the least in words). Both are given the same opportunity to do the Will of the father and act on his word but there are two different attitudes with two different results: the difference is faithfulness.

What about me? Am I willing to sign up for the anawim or do I continue on my  own thinking that I am good enough for God (which means, that I really don't need a savior and messiah in the first place...)?

I am called to be faithful. It's a struggle but God seems to be more concerned with my struggle to be faithful than with the results of this struggle. As matter of fact, the more I fail the more I become dependent on Him. The more I become dependent on Him the more I discover that... I am a anawim.

Let it be done according to your Word, then. I am going to say Yes again today.

He comes for our Joy

The third Sunday of Advent seems to have a special place: it's the day when we light up the "rose" candle on the Advent wreath. The pink / rose candle reminds us to focus on a particular aspect of this week's liturgy: the call to rejoice and be glad. Why? Because the Lord comes for our Joy. Especially the joy of those who are poor. We are invited to rejoice greatly and completely in the Lord.

John the Baptist becomes the guiding figure this week; he shows us how to prepare the way of the Lord. How do we do this?

John was a witness to the messiah; we are called to be witnesses as well. If we are preparing for his coming, then we have to make sure we don't fall (too much) into what the world out there believes: that Christmas is only about music, lights and shopping. How can I be a witness to the Light in the midst of all these competing blinking lights? 

John teaches me two lessons this week: 1. I have to make straight the paths. If my life could be placed on a map it would most certainly be drawn as a series of curves and u-turns. These turns mostly represent the times when I deliebrately have chosen to do it my way thinking that it would be the best way for me. Ironically, these turns make the journey longer. following the straight path is the shortest way to reach the destination. Following the Will of God, tehrefore, is the smartest thing that I can do for myself. I pray that I will keep this lesson in mind. But in order to make the road straight I have to fill up the holes and smooth up the hills.

A hole is a place where there is not enough dirt. I ask myself, what is missing in my life, is there something that I don't have enough of? Not enough silence? not enough prayer? no enough....? What am I going to do to fill up these holes? A hill is a place where there is too much accumulated dirt. I ask myself, is there something in my life that I have too much of? too much television? too much drama? distractions? What am I going to do so that I can eliminate some of these things?

The goal is simple: by filling up the holes and smoothing the hills over, I will bring balance into my life and so straighten the paths, making it easier for Him to come!

2. The other lesson I learn from John comes from the questions he gets: "who are you?" and "what do you say for yourself?" I ask myself, do I think I am the messiah? do I have this complex that leads me to believe that only I can fix all the problems in the world? or that my way is absolutely and uniquely the best way for everyone? I realize that on Christmas day, I will see a manger and this holds the place only for one person: who is it going to be laying there? Jesus or me? Is He the new born King, the savior? or do I think it's going to be me?

I pray that I will have the strength to acknowledge that I need a Messiah and Savior and that I will make room for Him to be born.

This week I want to rejoice as I pray "O come o come Emmanuel..." because I know that His coming will transform my heart. And He will be the source of my joy.

A Trembling Yes that Made the World tremble

It's the feast of the Immaculate Conception. It's difficult for me to understand it fully. I wonder if there is really anyone here on earth who really understands it full. Because of its difficulties, I understand why it is, as it has been, so easy to misunderstand the whole thing. I want to surrender these difficulties today and look at what we are celebrating and enter into this solemnity.

Every feast of the Church has something about me, about each one of us. When we look at Mary, we see ourselves as well: she is what we can be, what we should be, what we will be. After centuries of theological reflections and preparation, we have this feast and I want to take it as an opportunity to enter more deeply into the mystery of Emmanuel, "God-with-us."

The Word brings us to the core of our existence: our story begins in the Garden of Eden. It was not something that just happened. God had a particular project, as Paul tells us in the second reading. Because of the great power of Love, this project "backfired" and turned into a tragedy. But God didn't let death and sin have the last words. His faithfulness is everlasting. His Dream continues.

In Mary we see it all: she is "full of grace," true representation of what we are supposed to be. Of what we can still be. Although she was conceived without orginal sin, she still had to say "Yes." I can hear in her voice some trepidation; rightly so, it's impossible not to wonder what would happen if she agreed with the angel. That's not the problem. Sometimes we let this "wondering" paralyze us, and because we do not know what the future will bring, we never make a decision.

She disrupts the plan that Sin and Death had created since the days of Adam and Eve; with that trembling Yes she manages to make the whole world tremble: now God is truly with us. 

I am enjoying the reality of this feast celebrated in the context of Advent. I can see what happens when I say Yes to the great message: "The Lord is with you." It's a new life, never lived a alone but always with Him.

"Full of Grace." What a gift! Now, God's love and grace has a face, a body: Jesus made flesh because of a yes. I can understand and enter into this mystery as well: in Baptism, God removed original sin. Although I was not conceived in the same way, I can live now the reality of Mary and, when I say Yes to Him-who-comes-to-be-with-me I, too, experience a fullness of Grace. It's the grace that comes from Christ living in me.

With a Yes, I also become pregnant with Jesus. I can be another Mary, and bring Him everywhere I go. But He must be born first within me.

Today, I want to join my Yes to that of Mary. I want to make the trembling louder. The world out there expects me to fill it with His grace.

I, too, have no idea of what the future will bring me. But I say Yes "According to his word." I want to live the Gospel more fully, then so that I can experience Advent more fully.

I wonder... who else will join her today?

A double invitation: celebrate and become

The Word of God is always surprising. Today, I have been touched by the image that is at the heart of the Advent season: "when the messiah will come, the Lord will give His people strength and He will let them rest."

The coming of the Lord creates two things in us today: strength and rest.
Jesus always comes in a particular, historical situation. He comes in my own "Bethlehem," in my own struggles, in my own weariness. And His coming makes a difference: everything is changed; hope is restored and I get a new chance in life.

For Him to come, however, I have to acknowledge first of all that He's not my peer. Isaiah makes it clear: the One who is coming is the Lord of the universe, the creator of heaven and earth. How quickly I can reduce the Lord to something or someone warm and fuzzy, completely lost in the sounds and lights of the season.

When I say, "Come, Lord Jesus," am I aware that I am asking the Lord of Creation to come into my heart? Am I humbled about this coming?

He comes. He comes to change me from within. He is not coming to change my situations or to do my job. He comes to renew me so that whatever I do will be done in a new way. That's how God operates. At times I crash in this mentality: "I have asked God to do something for me, He didn't do it. Then, God either doesn't care or doesn't exist." I recognize this because I was one of these disappointed Christians. It's a very popular way of thinking and today's Word wants to destroy this false sense of religiosity.

Advent teaches us that God does not change others or the situation so that we can be happy. He changes us by giving us a new hope, a new heart, a new way of looking at things.

It's an invitation: Come. How interesting that during the season when we sing "O come, o come Immanuel..." it is He who tells us "Come to me." It's a true Advent, then; two hearts, who long for each other, invite each other to a closer relationship.

It's a double invitation: not only I am asked to celebrate Advent but today I am invited to become Advent as well. , He is asking me, each one of us, to come to Him."

How? How can I respond to His invitation? How can I invite Him closer to me?

Today I remembered the power of saying 'Yes' to God's will. It's the day when a young girl, in 1943, felt that God was asking her to "give herself totally to HIm." She said Yes, without knowing what would happen. But, as she said later, "she had married God, and she was expecting from Him everything." She became one of the most influential person in the today's Church and society. Chiara Lubich, with the Yes she uttered on this day 68 years ago, allowed God to renew her and renew the Church and the World, gifting us with the Charism of Unity. Today, the Focolare Movement (also known as "The Work of Mary") celebrates its existence.

This is how this Advent becomes real life: by saying YES to His Will, to His Word, to His "reality."

"Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will." It's a conscious act. It's a humble word, it's the beginning of a new adventure.

I want to say 'yes' by going into my heart and allow myself to feel what I long to feel. There is something in me that, in spite of weariness and weaknesses, pushes me to move forward because I know there is something "more" in life: desire of new life, desire of love, desire of eternity. By touching these inner desires, I can ask Him to come and renew them so that I can find new strength and new rest.

It is by welcoming Him into my "true" life that I can really begin to prepare the way of the Lord, the One who comes in power, the One who created the whole universe. The one I can call Lord.

In Joyful expectation

Today everything feels new: it's a new liturgical year, a new translation of the Missal, a new opportunity to start again. It's Advent; and this is what this season does: it allows us to re-set ourselves without forgetting what we have done in the past.

Advent: in a way this is the life of every Christian. Living in tension, like in between two fires: Christ who came two thousand years ago and Christ who will come in glory. But, although it seems that I am stretched to embrace the whole of history, I am reminded to be watchful and remain grounded in the present. In every present moment, if I live each as each is supposed to be lived, I experience a new kind of coming: the "third" coming, as some of the spiritual masters used to call it. The coming of the Lord I experience every day, every moment. He is the one who comes to us constantly. What a great gift!

This year, I am reminded that He comes as "Father" and "redeemer" (1st reading.) These are images of family relationships: the father is the source of family life and the redeemer is the one in charge of rescuing or vindicate the family member who has been killed or has been taken as slave. In the touching prayer of Isaiah, I see God's love in action. I know what His Dream is: to take us away from slavery and restore us into His household. St Paul finds the realization of this Dream in the "gift of God," Jesus Christ.

He comes! in the middle of my crisis, in the middle of my "why?" He comes even when I think He's away. The reality Advent points is that He comes but I can run away from Him. I know He is Father but I refuse to be His child. I know He rescues me from slavery but I often enjoy the shackles of slavery. Advent highlights the paradox of my life: I have to make a decision - who do I want to be? This year, am I willing to follow Him? Am I willing to pay the price for singing "O come, o come Immanuel?" "If" He comes, then what?

The prayer of the Psalm, "Turn us to you..." makes me understand. By myself I cannot live Advent, I cannot make myself available to Him. I cry, with the people of Isaiah, and beg Him to return back to me, to us. He longs to have my heaven rip open so that He can come in and do wonders, the total reconstruction of His kingdom in our midst.

Then, I want to be open to His coming. I long to be "turned" by God so that He can be welcomed as Father and Redeemer. I want to be ready for this; I also want to be ready for others to encounter Him. I want to be Advent.

As the season demands, I keep vigil with joyful expectation.

A Side effect of Giving Thanks

Today, all the people in the United States are invited, as much as possible, to gather with their families and friends to raise their voices and offer Thanks. I want to join them and especially this year since I have a lot to be thankful for.

The Word tells me that Giving Thanks is not an option for me. "In all circumstances, give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thes 5:18). Reading this verse I was struck by the fact that Paul considers it as the Will of God. I knew that giving thanks is the polite thing to do, the right thing to do... but the Will of God? If it is the will of God, then, I have to approach the whole thing very differently.

The whole passage from 1 Thess 5 makes me believe that it is possible that there was some tension in the community: with the leaders, with those who are in "psychological" need, with each other. Very common problems in a community. Yet, Paul seems to build up to this verse. Even the command to "rejoice always" and "pray without ceasing" come before this verse.

I got a little insight. I noticed that all these issues, which are still present in today's culture, are caused by something subtle but powerful. I happen to think of it as a tyrant that demands a bit but in the end is capable of taking all that we have.

This is the time we dethrone the tyrant of this age; it whisper to us that we can be happy if we push our own agenda, without regard of others. I can't imagine how this attitude can bring anything but tension and division everywhere. And I see division and tension everywhere because everybody thinks that their own agenda is all that matters.

How can we destroy this tyrant? According to Paul, it is by Giving Thanks. Why? Because when we give tanks we get out of ourselves, we consider the other as "real," as worthy of our attention. The more we do this, the more the tyrant will starve. The more it starves, the more we can live our lives in freedom.

Imagine what will happen to a family where husband and wife are thankful for each other? The children will pick it up, and they will bring it to schools, etc. It's truly the beginning of a network of blessings that is based on the "other" rather than on ourselves.

I discovered a side effect of Giving Thanks: it changes me and changes all the people around me. It makes me open my eyes to the gift that is my neighbor. It's the door to a life of Blessings.

In the Tears of the Lover

Thursday of XXXIII/A

We continue to pray "Lord, let me see." We want to see Jesus and recognize Him as the one who passes by, offering us peace. Both Barthimeus and Zaccheus have taught us that the proper response is to get closer to Jesus in order to "see" Him, "to encounter Him-who-can-change-our lives. In today's Gospel, Jesus cries as He looks at Jerusalem. In His tears there are centuries of history of faithfulness and indifference from His people. History of Love that God has poured out on them.

In His words, filled with the lament of a heartbroken lover, there is a call to shake off indifference, to stop looking only at ourselves and think of the consequences of keeping ourselves locked in the walls of our own lives.

Jesus sheds new light on an old temptation: to think only about ourselves, and build walls around us. Slowly but surely, we keep people out, we become less interested in the events of the world. Eventually, even God doesn't have permission to pass through the walls. Jesus' warning is stern but it's given for our wellbeing: watch it, because someone stronger will come and destroy your walls and you won't survive.

The story of the Maccabees continue to inspire me and I find that their story and their struggles are similar to ours today. After Eliazar the Elder and the Mother and seven sons, we now look at Matthatias and his sons. He is tempted with gold. How often we, too, compromise our faith thinking that "business is business," and therefore whatever happens in the workplace is justified because "it's tough out there." We compromise our faith for our carrier advancement, too. "If I really want that position, who cares if I say something evil or make something up about the other candidate. After all, if I get that job, i will get more more and if i get more money, i will be able to help my family and my kids to go to college ... and doesn't God want me to send my children to college? Then, it's ok if I do what I do." The end justify the means.

No, no it doesn't. Jesus invites us to more active in our faith and make a choice to live our lives as a Christian.

The Maccabees start a revolution that will change their society. We need to start another one. Certainly not by using swords (let's keep in mind that God had not yet commanded us to "keep our swords in the sheath" ) by the most powerful weapon we have: love.

Today, let's bear witness to God even and especially in difficult environments. Who knows, maybe a kind words to a nasty co-worker may change the whole day. Let's start a competition, today: let's see who is the most creative i creating a loving response to hostility. Something tells me that the Maccabees will smile at us today and let's us them to help us to "recognize the time of our visitation" by the Lord.

"Engage!"

Wednesday of XXXIII/A

The parable of the talents comes back again. This time from Luke, who changes it a bit. The command is the same: "Engage in trade with these until I return." No matter how I turn it, He wants me to take a look at whatever He has given me and "engage" it so that the Kingdom may be enriched.

Moved by a false sense of humility, at times I struggle even to admit to myself that God has given me a talent for His kingdom. Ignoring it, or diminishing what He has done, doesn't help me and dishonors God. Then, facing the reality of who I am, I have to do something about it.

"Engage in trade." I found this quote" For the success of the immense work of creation, God needs only one thing: that I do my very best. If you give what you are able to give, you will be united to the greatest degree to the creating action of God. You couldn't be a more useful servant" (Teilhard de Chardin).

All He wants is that I do my best. My very best. The degree of success is not in question - He rewarded both the servant who produced ten and the one who produced five. I am sure if one of them would have said that the gold coins were lost due to a bad investments, the servant would still be rewarded. What matters is to engage the gifts. Engage who I am for the Kingdom.

Why do I experience resistance? I understand Mr One Talent: sometimes playing safe is ... well, safer. Sometimes I experience fear of failure, of judgment. But by playing safe I deprive myself of something that is part of who I am as a person. The talents and the call to "engage" them are part of my DNA. We are all born with this "calling." I know this because when I do engage my gifts and they produce fruits, I experience satisfaction, joy, energy, meaning: this is who I am, someone who has been gifted in order to enrich others. When I stop doing that, I become cynical, depressed, sad.

This is, then, the ultimate call of being faithful to oneself. I want to be faithful to who I am. I have to act in faith, then, believing that by living His Word I will produce fruits that will last.

IT becomes difficult, however, to engage the gifts in a culture that does not support the Kingdom. It creates a clash. The kingdom's values are not popular and there is always the temptation of stepping back, and compromise the whole thing.

I continue to be inspired by the Maccabees. Today, I look at the mother and her seven sons who are forced to make a decision: violate God's law or die. How cruel. I may think it's barbaric and that ours is a more evolved society but I would be fooling myself. We do the same things today, if not worse. I read in a paper that nurses are forced to be involved in abortions or they will lose their jobs. We need new Maccabees who will help us see how ugly things are becoming..
I want to believe that these brothers were inspired by Eleazar, the elder. Never underestimate what the younger ones see.

Do I take a stand? When my "life" all that I hold dear, my values and my ideas) are at stake, do I compromise or am I willing to be put to death so not to betray the Master's call?

It's time for me, for all, to be who we are meant to be. Let's get out and "engage" the gifts and let's be protagonist in the new Civilazation of love.

In the Gaze of God

Tuesday of XXXIII

Like yesterday, the theme of "seeing" comes up again and this challenges me to ask myself: "how do I prepare myself for the coming of the Lord?" when I will "see Him face to face.

Yesterday, the blind man heard that Jesus was passing by. He had to seize that opportunity of a lifetime: he made himself heard. Two challenges: physical and social, he was blind and people wanted him to be quite. Nothing stopped him. He was determined to meet Him-who-could-change-his-life.

"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asks him. What would I have said in his place? But Jesus is not like a genie. This question came after the blind man responded to the coming of the Lord. He asks: "I want to see." What a wonderful prayer!

I want to see, too. I want to see Him, I want to see also what separates me from Him. The readings from Maccabees are terrifying: a foreigner culture slowly creeped in and began to unleash its destructive power: the abomination of desolation, the erection of the statue of Zeus in the temple of God.

If God is disappearing from our culture, our society, our families could it be that it is our fault, who are not keeping guard and compromising our faith?
What to do? "Lord let me see..."

Zaccheus wants to see Jesus, too. He also faces two issues: physical and social, he's too short and there are too many people in between him and Jesus. Zaccheus reacts to the news of Jesus' arrival and takes the initiative. He doesn't know that this would change his life. But what a surprise: he discovers himself as "the one who is being seen." Jesus knows him by name. Jesus has a plan for him, "I must come to your house."

It's a call to renew myself and understand I am the one who is the object of God's search, of God's love. My response to Him is "the second act," He has chosen me first. He comes and changes me: from on an individual who wants to be on the benches to watch the show... to a man of Communion, the protagonist of God-centered civilization of love.

How do I do this? Eleazar teaches me how. Take a stand, don't compromise with what is becoming popular. Remain fixed in God and let His Word renew you constantly by changing and forming your own mind to His likeness.

When society "forces me to eat pork," to comply to what seems popular, I have to ask myself if what is behind it is of God or not. He trusts me with His own Kingdom, with his own possessions.... I have to return the talent received, will it bring fruit?

"Lord, let me see... let me see You. Let me remain in this eternal gaze, within the gaze of the Father and the Son and the Spirit: my true dwelling place. Let me become part of your "vision" so that, as I bring you to the people of the world, and them to you, I can help you to renew the face of the earth until you come again. Lord, let me see you, and this will be enough for me."

Nothing gets you nothing!

XXXIII/A


I am puzzled by this Gospel passage. I have always found it difficult but this week its radical message seems to have become stronger. My attention is taken by the dialogue between the third servant and the master. What went wrong?

From this parable, two opposing views of life come forth: how do I see life, do i see it as an opportunity to be fruitful, to use what the Master has given me in order to give meaning and direction to my life? or do I consider my whole existence as a long trial, something to be lived in fear of failure and rejection?

And who is the master? If he stands for God in the parable, what do I think of Him? Is He the one who is after my well-being or someone harsh and demanding who only wants to use me for His advantage?

These questions, I think, are at the core of this passage. If I answer, I may get the key to understand and live out this page.

I don't buy the third slave response: if he knew that the Master is someone who is powerful enough to turn every opportunity to His own advantage, then his behavior and excuse just doesn't make sense: he believes so deeply that he's doing the right thing that he can't understand it doesn't make sense - he's justifying his sloth on the account of the power of the master: "I didn't do anything because I was afraid of you." Doesn't make sense and yet often it's what I do with God, too. It's very easy to fall into this trap - justify my behavior and blame God. But the Gospel always unveil my stupidity and forces me to be truthful. (I even wonder if this servant actually spent any time thinking about what excuse to give to the Master, or he just said the first thing that came to his mind.) He is paralyzed by his worldview: the Master is powerful, I can fail... why try? Lots of people live their lives using the same worldview.

The other servants seem to have a different attitude. I like the "Immediately" that Matthew puts int he text. There seems to be some kind of energy in what they do. Not only they invest the money but they are totally involved in the work. I can understand why they are so excited about their profit. They live their lives "out there,"taking risks with the gifts they have received. They trust the Master and they know that they are trusted by Him. What difference does this make in my life: I know that I trust God, but am I trustworthy, can He trust me? And, does the fact that He trusts me make any difference in my life? Do I live i fear of failure or do I feel empowered to use my gifts?

These guys don't seem to be concerned about the Master's powerful attitude. What can I conclude? Is the Master really harsh? or was only the way the third slave saw Him? (I noticed that the image of the master has not been discussed in the text: the Master doesn't refute the lazy servant's view of Him. What to make of this?). Obviously they feel different about Him. I know that our image of God shapes our behavior. I need to explore what do I think of God.

I do tend to be closer to the two servants: they seem to have acted moved by a positive worldview. Their mater knows them personally: each of them had a particular gift for administration; the master has been respectful of this and has given to them according to what they could handle. Also, when He comes back He just doesn't take the money and gets rid of the servants: He blesses them with more. Even more surprisingly, the Master praises them publicly (pretty unheard of!). He gives them more and more importantly, allows them to share in the master's "joy." This doesn't seem the behavior of a harsh and demanding Master. He behaves quite differently than I would expect. The servants relate to the Master in an open way and this openness allows them to experience an inner transformation (which has obvious physical consequences - Joy).

There is no tyranny or capitalism, there is no blaming the Master about being after profit. Sorry, third servant, but I still don't see your point of view: you wanted to cover-up your own issues and lack of interest. Didn't work because it never does. In the end, accountability is a very personal issue and we can't blame anybody for your failures. The Master saw through it - if you were really that scared, you could at the least put the money in the banks: that's quite risk-free, and takes little effort on your part. You didn't even do that. Don't buy it. I bet the Master would have been more merciful if you had lost your money in an investment - at the least you tried. But nothing begets nothing.

That's why Jesus closes the parable with those hard words: "for to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." We always bring to God more and more request to get more and more "blessings" (=stuff). Why would He give us more if we don't take car of what we already have? How can we ask for blessings when we are not willing to get rid of sin? Can blessing and sin co-habitate?

The key to understand this passage is to see how the servants behaved: they were given a task, which was based on trust and personal love, and they were asked to be faithful to it.

Called again to Communion

It happened. And I am glad it did.

I am at a workshop for new pastors. I have been trying to prepare myself for this week by putting in order my thoughts and my notes on the identity and role of the pastor. Not knowing what the workshop was really about, I tried to create some kind of background. Last night I was reading some of my notes and I read something that struck me. It's about Communio, the unifying bond that exists among all the baptized. "It is all en-compassing for it embraces every member of the Church."

It sounded so beautiful. I feel a particular calling to create and live Communio and probably that's why I felt it so close to me. I pictured it in my mind, like a mantle that covers every single person bestowing both dignity and equality to all.

I went downstairs for Night Prayer. I went earlier so that I could some time to meditation. I found my seat and I looked up: the icon of the Trinity. I kept looking and looking and suddenly the idea of Communion and the Trinity became one. The Trinity is the source and model of Communion. Everything flows from there and goes back to there.

I wonder: is the reason we experience so much lack of Communion in our world, in your families and in our Church to be found in the lack of understanding of the Trinity? Is it possible that we have forgotten what we are supposed to live - the life of the Trinity in us and in our midst?

A strong desire: I need to deepen myself in the mystery of Baptism, the Sacrament that allows me to be immersed in the Trinity and that allows me to live the life of the Trinity. How can I be successful in my ministry as pastor if I don't help people to live out their own Baptism? This should most certainly be a priority of mine. I know that life has a way of moving priorities around and that the "everyday grind" finds always a way to demand our attention, but our Baptism must shape all we do, at all times.

As JP2 said, the Church must be "home and school of Communion,"the Trinity is the protagonist, and our Baptism the way to realize and live out this Communion.

How can I do that? What can I do to understand and help people understand this great gift?

Live in the light or darkness?

XXXII/A Ordinary Time

(Wisdom 6:12-16/Psalm 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8/1 Thessalonians 4:13-18/Matthew 25:1-13)

We are moving towards the end of the liturgical year and it's only normal that we face the topic of the end of the world and the coming of "Jesus to judge the living and the dead." Contrasting images make this reality more vivid: wedding celebration and a door shut, brightly burning torches and dim lamps. Lifelike, these images reveal to me not only an eternal condition but also a choice I am given: the light does not go out suddenly but as a result of a choice the foolish maiden made. Then, from the start I have to ask myself which group do I want to join, how am I going to live me life? In darkness, with a half-lit lamp or in the brightness of full torch? The dominant image of the Kingdom is found in the maidens. The kingdom is like them....

"Here's the Bridegroom!" I like to think of this image. My life is a response to this cry, the bridegroom, whom I have been waiting, is coming. This is a powerful image for me: life as "going out, moving to encounter Someone who comes for me." Whose voice is it? 

I am surprised, though; I do not associate wedding celebrations with sleeping (what a party!). Yet, the delay of the bridegroom causes everybody to fall asleep. In life I experience the same: sometime the routine or the occupations of life make me "drowsy," dull to the primary duty I have - to keep that lamp burning. I, too, fall asleep. As the song of songs says: "I sleep, but my heart keeps vigil." The problem is not in falling asleep but ignoring my duty completely. The foolish and the wise have been asked to do the same thing and given the same opportunity: why the difference?

Wisdom is a great gift that God has given us. It allows us to see the world and think in a different, practical way. The maidens were wise because they remained focused on the task; the others were foolish because they assumed the Bridegroom would behave according to their expectations. They didn't consider that he could be late. How wrong they were! how many times I also have some expectations of God: I want Him to behave in a certain way at a certain time. The problem is not here, I think; the problem is that I consider my way as the only way and therefore I get caught unprepared. Although I can still let Him know what I think, I must always keep my attention on what He is about to do. After all, it's His party! It's His Wedding. I am only one of the invited. 

A Cry comes in the middle of the night, waking everybody up. Whose voice is it? Why don't we know? Is it the Bride? I wouldn't be surprised. Like the Bride in the Song of Songs, her heart would be vigilant, her eyes sharp to distinguish in the darkness of the night the shape  of her Beloved.

In the reality of His arrival, everything makes sense: our actions are revealed for what they are. Foolish or wise we will all react to His presence. Now the party can really start!!!! 

This parable is about relating to the arrival of the Bridegroom and the fulfillment of the task given. That's why the wise maidens do not respond as I think they ought to. They do not want to share what they have. Isn't that... unchristian? In this case, they are doing the right thing. There are times in our lives when we cannot let anyone else do something for us, or we cannot share in the work of another. Our response to the task has to be fully personal. Nobody goes to heaven (to the party) by proxy. Nobody can be loving in my stead, or be good instead of me, or be honest. These are all things that I have to do on my own, for myself. The invitation I received to participate to the party was not shareable. It's only for me. It's a personal call, lived out communally. But it depends on my constant "Yes."

I noticed something else in the foolish maidens. They leave to get some more oil. They come back and knock at the door. Once again they think the Bridegroom will behave according to their expectations, they still consider themselves as party of the wedding party. But the door is shut. They are left out. 

It's a tragic reality that sometimes I do not want to think about. Sometimes I don't even want to talk about but it's there, in the Gospel. Black and white. I have to keep watch of what I do and how I live my life - I don't want to be left out of the party. 

Then, I want to be vigilant. I want to be prepared for His arrival. How? If He's the bridgegroom, then I will keep constant vigil, like mom used to do when I would come home late: she was up, waiting for me (even though she would pretend she was up for other reasons). He's constantly coming to me. I have to keep my eyes sharp in order to find Him. Like when as a child I would play "hide and seek." 

I will find Him in every person I meet. I will love everyone because He is behind them; and I also learned that He hides in the "least of our brothers."

If I choose to love, I will find Him. If I choose to love, I will be prepared. Love is the oil that will keep my lamp constantly burning until the day when I will be invited in the greatest party ever! I can't wait!

Judging or Rejoicing: Which?

After the big celebrations of "All Saints" and "All Souls," I continue my Journey in the ordinary and I continue to focus on the Gospel of last sunday - the call to authenticity is strong; I do not want to be identified by Jesus as one of those who preach but do not practice.

Today's Word helps me (of course!). The first reading ends with this command: "Then let us no longer judge one another, but rather resolve never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother." Judging the other is the eternal temptation. I realized that the Pharisees were criticizing Jesus no because they were bad people with evil intentions. Behind their accusations there were false ideas and misunderstandings. True: we judge others based on our prejudices. Therefore the challenge begins within me not in the other, it is my heart that needs to be changed not the other.


I think of the past. How many times, in order to make my ideas and thoughts be heard, I disrespected the other or even ridiculed their positions. Never acceptable. And I am so glad that I have been at the school of the Gospel, learning how to live and relate better. But the temptation is always strong and comes at unexpected times. Why? There is the inner desire to be accepted and to be respected and valued for what we think gives meaning to our lives. (But don't I already know that what gives meaning to my life is God's Love?)

This must end. The Gospel teaches me to become more "active" in loving the other and loving him or her as a "whole," not just the parts that are convenient or I like. I have to keep in mind that the other is not going to heaven because I approve his/her ideas or opinions but because God loves him/her immensely.

What to do? How can I get better at this? The parable that Jesus gives me today points to something that seems to be God's favorite activity: rejoicing over us. Then, I want to rejoice in and about what makes God rejoice. If He rejoice because a sinner changes his way, then I will do the same.

I can do this if I remain fixed in the will of God, keep my gaze on His face and my head on His heart. I have to start seeing things and people from His point of view.

Judging the other or rejoicing for the other? I will choose Rejoicing. I know that in living this way "I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living."

Another great day ahead of me!!!!!

"Eternal Rest grant unto them..."

All Souls 

Today, we take another look at the large multitude of people who were presented to us yesterday from the readings from Revelations. Today, we remember all those who died - from our first "parents" to the latest parishioner . They are our grandparents, our friends, family member, neighbors,... we are so connected to them and this bond will never be severed.

It's difficult to meditate on this topic. Culture has a way of "dressing" up death and to make it more acceptable. Why? Do we really gain something by avoiding this reality? I am amazed how respectful and honest the "ancient" were. One of the first rituals that we developed as humans was burial rituals. Death was part of their life. Nothing to be scared of.

How should we, who live the Adventure of Faith, approach this topic? Does it make any difference? Answers can be found in our hearts, in the depth of our faith. Death for us is not the tragic ending of the game of life. We look at death within the reality of the death and resurrection of Christ: yes, it is a bitter cup to drink because it is fruit of the original sin; but it is also part of the Will of God of a loving Father who waits for us on the other side. God is and will be there with open arms, rejoicing because His dream for us is being brought to completion - We will live united with Him forever.

Why celebrating the dead today? It's a wonderful reminder for all of us, living and dead, that life does not end. The bond we have with one another cannot be easily cut. Our love for our beloved allows us to remain united as a family. This should give us hope that, when it will be our time to see God face to face, we will leave behind a community of people who will continue to relate to us in love. Because Love is stronger than death that is why our bond is everlasting.

Just as in life, we can help each other: we can help our beloved dead by praying for them, so that they can continue to feel our presence and make sure that their purification process may be hasten by our love. We want them to be happy, don't we? Let's keep praying for them, then. They will intercede for us as well.

It's beautiful to see how our "family" will remain strong forever. Not too long ago, we meditate on the fact that  nothing can separate us from the Love of God. Neither death nor life... Today we are saying to each other, to our beloved dead and to God, that we have chose to remain united with them. Nothing will separate us from them, nothing... not even our sorrow, our loneliness and our tears.All these things we feel are witnesses of the great love we have for them. They should push us closer to them not way from them.

Love is eternal; therefore, today in love we pray that eternal rest may be granted to them.

Saints and Sainthood: possible today?

Solemnity of All Saints (Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14/Psalm 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6/1 John 3:1-3/Matthew 5:1-12a)

"Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?" If I want to understand and remain faithful to the true meaning of this feast, I have to answer to this question; otherwise, it will be easy to disconnect it from the rest of the Liturgical Calendar and my Adventure of Faith, my life. What we celebrate as a Church is that true Christian life is possible to live! And we have thousands and thousands of witnesses to prove it!

It's easy to misunderstand this solemnity: we tend to look at the Saints in our churches as men and women with the Halo on their heads and we tell  stories of their heroic virtues and supernatural deeds. How easy it is to think that is impossible for me to see myself as (potentially) one of them. Forgetting they are "of this world" and they made it: their earthly passions were real, their struggles were real, their victory is real, too.I remember when I heard the story of St Francis making a deal with the wolf of Gubbio. I could not even manage to get my cat respond to my commands, how could I be like Francis and talk to wolves.... I am glad I didn't give up and continue my Journey.

I got to keep this in mind. I cannot look at them only in their final stage but also, and especially, consider them as a whole person. Then, I can even entertain the idea that I am called to the same life. And, by God's grace, I can make it, too.

What does it mean to be "Saint?" I think about the meaning and development of this idea. God was the only one who was called "Saint," that is, "Other," "Separated from..." God was/is so entirely different than us. But by calling His own people, God began to share His "otherness" with them, asking them to be "other", to be a saintly people. He gave them some means (the Law) to demonstrate daily, in their concrete lives and worship, a different way of living. Eventually, they were called to focus on their "interior otherness" as well and a new understanding of Sainthood began to develop: we can only participate in God's sainthood and we cannot become saints on our own. Yet, this participation was still incomplete and for centuries, the God's people yearned for another way.

In Christ, God's Sainthood is shared fully. This idea was so strong in the early Christians that they called each other Saints and called the Church "a communion of Saints." This sainthood was expressed in a particular way in the Eucharist where Saints partecipate to a saintly reality.

Now I get it: to be a saint is to participate in God's life through the means that God Himself has given us through the Church, especially the Sacraments. It is not the fruit of my effort but a gift that comes from the Love that God has for me. Sainthood is my response to His Love.

Now I also understand why Sainthood is associated with the Beatitudes. It's an invitation to live a life of happiness, of blessedness, a life fully realized. It's to live God's own life.  I long for this life and I know deep within me that I was made for this.

I can be a saint today; we can be saints today. It is still possible because God continues to make it possible. As matter of fact, now more than ever, the world longs for happiness, for true meaning. Now more than ever the message of the Good News needs to be proclaimed. With such a hunger for happiness, I can see the great potential of a new generation of saints.

I must recommit myself to this life and i must do whatever I can to help people understand that in God they can all find all they long for.

I can almost see new saints marching in....

A different point of view

Monday of 31st week, A.

(Romans 11:29-36/Psalm 69:30-31, 33-34, 36/Luke 14:12-14)

This week I have to live my life formed by my encounter with Christ I had yesterday at Mass. The Call is strong: I have to practice what I preach; I cannot say one thing and do another. I am called to honesty as I face the Hidden Deception.

I take my first step today. St Paul helps me. When I look at things from my point of view I realize that when I do something, even something for God, I do it doing my best but then eventually it gets twisted around by my sin. My weakness comes to the fore and I ask God to help me. I know that He takes whatever I have done and turns into a blessing. Knowing this makes my very thankful to Him. So, from my point of view: sin comes first and then God's mercy.

But, thinking about it, I realize that it is not so. In the Garden of Eden, Adam's sin wasn't the first event. The fruit was already there, given to him freely by God. Therefore, God's Grace comes first and than our actions and sin, which leads us to God's Mercy.

The Word has already reminded me about this a couple of days ago. "Everything works together..." that is, everything leads me to Him, not against Him. Events and circumstances are an expression of God's loving will for me, almost like a "sacrament of mercy." All is Grace. The challenge is that I don't always remember this and I don't always act on this concept.

Looking at my sin first may actually work against me. I read in my missal today that "God does not love me because I am good but that I may become good." I like this! It opens me up to God's presence and makes me remain in the freedom that comes from being loved by God.

I got a different point of view: focusing on Grace and Love first generates in me a change in my relationship with God. I want to live this way and if I make this choice today I know I can build and live in a community that reflects God, that imitates Him.

The Gospel brings me deeper into this reality. I cannot see my neighbor as someone from whom I can profit (not only economically but most especially psychologically). Once I see the person who is in front of me as a gift of God to me, I relate to him or her freely without calculations. I know this deep in my heart: I don't like to feel "used" by people so I cannot use them either. Everybody is a gift of God to me: I know, sometimes I want to "return one of the gifts back to the store and settle for a gift card" :) but I have to resist the temptation to dismiss my neighbor as unimportant or as an intrusion. Welcoming everybody as a gift will allow me to live as though it's always Christmas!

What to do then? Doing the Will of God in every present moment allows me to remain focused on God's wisdom which illumines me to see God-in-the-other. By welcoming and loving the other freely and without calculations I can realize that I can build the Civilization of Love. By loving my neighbor freely, I can find Him living with me.

Facing The Hidden Deception

Do we wear a "Church" mask on Sundays?

The Liturgy of the Word address us with rough words. Both Malachi and Jesus are using violent words. But if we look at what is at stake we see that the language is proportionate to what is happening: the distortion of life of faith. When it comes to our Christian life, we should have the same kind of attitude that Jesus has and allow nothing to compromise it. 

I know the setting quite well. At the time of Malachi, they rebuilt the new temple on the vestiges of the old one destroyed by war. Yet, people instead of offering the first-fruits to the Temple's sacrifice were bring leftovers. The priests felt "yucky" about the whole thing and began to change into mere "clerks" of the cult and focused extensively  solely on the rules and regulations, especially those that impacted the liturgy. Yet, for God that is not a good reason to change focus - things, even if they are "sacred things" (like sacrifices) cannot replace God. Today, we still struggle with the same situations: churches are seen by some only as "sacramental service stations" where people go to get their sacraments (and most of the time, asking to do them according to what they think should be done) and focusing only on the externals. We also have groups of people who only focus on the "legalistic" aspects of our christian life - wanting bells, and altar railings, etc. and then they continue to leave God out there in heaven, having no impact on their lives. (Thankfully, there is a new springtime in the church that is creating a whole new people who really want to be committed to live the Gospel and live as children on the Church!!!)

I don't blame the Pharisees and the scribes: they were committed to live their Adventure of Faith fully and, as a group, they made the free choice to renew the religious life of the time. I feel close to them because I made that commitment, too and as part of my ministry I, too, feel the desire to renew people's relationships with God. But as a disciple of Jesus, I need to take these words at heart, too otherwise I may risk to commit the same mistakes they made. I guess, they were afraid of losing their roles and presenting themselves to the people  as "those who know, those who are orthodox." Unable to be humble and acknowledge their shortcomings and sin, instead of presenting to God their empty hands and ask for mercy they reduced faithfulness to God to fulfillment  and mere observance of the practices of the law. If religion, then, means this - only doing religious things, then of course they were better than others, and I understand why they had a superiority complex: they kept more rules and laws than the rest of the people. But Jesus unmasks them and brings to the fore the real issue: at the center of our religious life there is God, who is a person... not a "thing." 

The Pharisaic spirit has been forced out: to lie to one self and to deceive others.  This is what drives Jesus mad. This "new form" of religion only appears to have God at the center but really has human pride as sole motivator. It's all about what I can do for God. Yikes! Jesus tells us that nothing is more foreign and false in Christianity than Legalism ("just keep the rules and all will be fine!"). Legalism ignores the heart completely.

Before I point the finger at them, I better watch out and look into my heart to see if I am not doing the same. Jesus is shedding light to a Hidden Deception that lives in our hearts and in our Church today as well. Why is it that one of the most popular accusations against Christians is to say something and do another, at times exactly the opposite? Hypocrisy is the temptation "par excellence" of all those who make a choice to trod the path of Christian life.  

As a priest, I cannot ignore the words the Jesus is speaking: Do I preach without practicing? Do I help people to live out their Christian life or do I just tell them "the rules"? Do I perform deeds only to be seen, to be honored, to be respected publicly?  Do I use titles, religious or "scholarly" in order to impose my opinions on others? 

The Good News is that God's grace is effective in spite of my sins and shortcomings. Jesus said that the people are not to ignore what the Pharisees and Scribes teach: their words are valid. It's just not imitate their behavior, and therefore remain focused on God. This, instead of depressing me, allows me to live my life in freedom and actually inspires me to commit myself to be servant of all. 

I have to remain totally grounded in the Word. It is like a mirror that Jesus holds up to my face so that I can see myself in a more truthful way and, in His light, escape the Hidden Deception of Hypocrisy. And when I celebrate sacraments, I don't want to say "Here are the rules and my job is done," I want to say, like Paul, "I am ready to give my life for you."

One Strong Foundation, One great Household

Today we celebrate the feast of Saints Simon and Jude, two of the first followers of Jesus. Looking at them, I am reminded that this month - with the Word of Life - I, too, am called to renew my decision to follow Jesus. I find strength and consolation looking at the first group of followers. Jesus chose them! One betrayed Him, another was a traitor, and all of them abandoned Him at the Cross. Yet, He chose them and built the Church on that bunch. 

There is a deep sense of freedom, however, in thinking that Jesus knows very well what He was getting into when He chose me to be His follower. I don't need to pretend to be good in order to follow Him. He knows who I am. This awareness not only makes me feel fully accepted by Him but also allows me to open myself up even more to God's love and grace. I see this in the saints, too. They all reached a point where they became aware of their own weaknesses and they experienced God's grace and allowed God to do great things in them and through them. Does it mean that my desire to become a saint can actually become a reality? Well, I hope so; otherwise why would the Church, echoing Scripture, would call all of us to it? 

What would happen to us as a Church if we would focus our attention more on this reality: to be followers of Jesus? Would our in-fights stop? Would people actually have the opportunity to respond to this basic call and live out their faith rather than get stuck in what they agree or disagree, etc? hmmm.. I have to do something about this, both personally and in my community. We must all recommitt ourselves to be followers of Jesus. And it must begin with me.

Would this also give us an opportunity to reclaim the Oneness that should be typical ours? The Church is so divided. What a shame! And over what? No wonder the world doesn't believe in what we do; if Jesus' call to be One doesn't work for our Church and with all churches, no wonder people won't accept the Gospel message. (somehow John 17:21 always seems to come out!). 

Things need to change and they will never change if we... if I... don't focus on following Him. It is walking on His path that He can do what He wants to do. Jesus didn't write any books or left us with a strategic plan. He just told us to follow Him. Then this must be the plan to follow.

But obviously there is more in this following Him. This path is totally transformative. The first reading launches me into the depth of this mystery: I am transformed into a member of God's household! WOW, from sinner to "member of God's family." Not only this, but I become a little "temple," the place where He dwells. How amazing is God's love for us: not only does He call us to Him but He "moves" in us. Love is always unifying. 

Now God-in-me reaches all the people I encounter today. It is in the way I love them that they will (I tremble as I think of this) feel loved by God. And this means that every person I meet gives me an opportunity to love God-in-them (which is the theme of this week, to love God and neighbour). 

Now I know what to do today: I will love Him in everyone I meet and by choosing to follow Him I will fulfill God's plan for me. This is going to be a great day!