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Pseudo-Homilies 17 – Laborers are Few

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A What could be the common thread of this Sunday? Here’s what connects the promise of God, the Father, to Moses on one side, and the calling to the apostles by Jesus on the other: the existence of a plan of salvation. God chooses a special people; Jesus tells his followers they shouldn’t just go in the world and preach to the entire humanity: they should instead focus on that very same people, the Israelites. But why? We can always play the mystery card, but the explanation we usually give ourselves, which I gave too, and it’s valid, is the one that involves a…

Pseudo-Homilies 12 – The Catholic Paraclete

Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year A) I was a bit undecided about how to comment on this Sunday’s readings, because at first they seemed to lack a common theme, pointing to different directions. Is this Sunday just about tying up a few loose ends? Actually, the main point is brought forth, as usual, by the Gospel: Jesus announces his forthcoming Ascension, but promises to give his followers another Paraclete, the Holy Spirit. But still: how does this story connect with the other two readings? Well, after a brief reflection I believe I got it; today’s theme is: examples of catholicity in action. The common thread, in other words, is: if you make the…

It’s better to live as a Christian hypocrite than as an atheist.

Besides, atheists are hypocrites anyway. Commenting on the umpteenth controversy generated by Pope Francis’ utterances, this time against the hypocrisy of some Catholics. Let’s see. Proposition #1: And how often we see the scandal of those people who go to church and are there all day long, or go every day, and then live by hating others or speaking ill of people. This is a scandal! It is better not to go to church: living this way, as if they were atheists. (Pope Francis) Proposition #2: Hypocrisy is the homage which vice pays to virtue. (François de La Rochefoucauld) But wait. Let’s add a further step. Proposition #3: We…

Shattered Christmas, 20 Years After.

This short story represents the sequel to last year’s Christmas tale, Shattered Christmas; I’d strongly encourage you to read it first. Opening. Searching my folder, trying to make sense of all this mess. Photos of Nicole: remnants of another blue Christmas. Oh, who cares about Nicole. You want to go, then go! No one was holding you back. I’m trashing the photos. Where am I headed? Two years. It’s been two years. Reminiscing about my old self. Look at me, staring at the yellow wall, the flash message blaring “Connection refused”. In a week I’ll be back in Italy, in ***, my hometown. To participate in the funeral ceremony for my father. Crazy…

The Revolution: child’s play

Nice Guy Jesus statue resembling the Pope Francis image used to promote his message prioritizing youngsters as agents of change

Your buddy: the Pope. It’s a bit embarrassing for someone like me, utterly dismayed since the day of Pope Francis’ election, but also not wanting to disrespect the figure of the Pope. I must get to it, though. At last. To give some perspective on the foolish self-destruction course chosen by the progressives who gained control of the Catholic Church. Let’s face it, this Pope is essentially on the side of those that opposed all his predecessors. I must muster the courage to speak, as I was saying, even if it means losing some friends in the process. We’ve had enough of exhortations to be silent! Cry out with…

Shattered Christmas

A small episode from many years ago. I was a little child walking down the street hand in hand with my daddy. We were living in the Italian town of ***. It was during the Christmas vacations, in fact I remember the festive illuminations that were still customary at the time: tinsels, stars, candle shapes made up of tiny leds, that sort of things. We were returning home through a maze of unfamiliar streets (at least unfamiliar to me); we’d just been to pay a visit to a great-aunt. Think of it, ’twas a bit inconsistent with the character of my father, an old-style militant agnostic, to follow the social…

Lent fasting & abstinence: do they make sense?

When I was in nursery school the nuns taught us to make some small sacrifices, which were labeled fioretti (literally: small flowers. This word expresses the idea of a small offer to the Virgin Mary). Good deeds, of course, but typically focusing on the effort itself, not on obtaining tangible results. I have a vivid memory of the small poster on the wall where we glued our tiny paper flowers, regular shapes comprised of a few red petals and a yellow circle in the middle. One flower for each fioretto (sacrifice) made: we felt rewarded for being good. And proud of the accomplishment! I don’t remember instead the specific subject of my…

When even the Pope yelds: Euthanasia for a civilization

We are part of a grand scheme The election of Pope Francis was a shock to me, second only to the death of my closest relatives. When I heard the name “Bergoglio” proclaimed from the balcony, I felt like I had been teleported to a parallel universe, to the other side of the mirror; a place where everything seems slightly out of place. Just slightly. Don’t get me wrong. This event may represent just a step of a wider process: the long and gradual decay of western civilization. But non-Catholics may miss the importance of the Church in Rome as a force capable of halting -or at least slowing down- the fall. The last…

More crowd counting lies, less common sense

Women vs.Trump, NYT vs.Trump In my last article I discussed the crowd sizes for the Presidential Inauguration Ceremonies in Washington DC, offering my rough estimates: O 2009: 500; O 2013: 350; T 2017: 300 (in thousands) while according to the mainstream media you’d have to believe the following baseless reconstruction: O 2009: 1800; O 2013: 1000; T 2017: 250 or some unspecified number in the low 100s (of thousands) Most news outlets chose to contrast Trump’s crowd with the Women’s March against him, where a large number of people gathered to express their anger against the newly elected President, on the Sunday following the Inauguration. My…

What do you think about the Bible?

Scene: Jehova Witnesses trying to convert Muslims (!) I’ve been asked to give a quick answer to the puzzling question of the title, by a friend who happened to witness a bizarre exchange between J.Witnesses and Muslims. I needed to write this down to try and prove to myself that I can be concise… Observation #1: Evangelize/proselytize. Jehova Witnesses represent a case study in naivete. You wonder how could they possibly convert people, since they are found in jokes alongside doorbells, and they rejoice for every piece of news reporting about plagues, deaths, natural disasters and wars: they’re happy because when the world is in ruins it means Armageddon is…

Acts of Mercy from the Monkey Church

Uno dei manifesti di contestazione a papa Francesco e al suo operato comparsi a decine in tutta Roma, appesi sui muri della città, 4 febbraio 2017. La foto a tutto campo riporta l'immagine del Pontefice con un'espressione particolarmente rabbuiata e accigliata. In basso, su fondo violaceo, la scritta con venature romanesche: "A France', hai commissariato Congregazioni, rimosso sacerdoti, decapitato l'Ordine di Malta e i Francescani dell'Immacolata, ignorato Cardinali... ma n'do sta la tua misericordia?". ANSA/ FRANCESCO GERACE

If salt loses its taste There’s a new Catholic Church today. A Church that is behaving like a monkey: aping the majesty and wisdom of God, drifting away from Him. It’s a significant part of the Catholic Church; you’d easily mistake it for the Church itself. But it’s something different. It’s a sort of gooey blob that took over many positions. But it won’t end like this. For all its blabbering about mercy, this reality is far from the true Mercy that comes from Christ; they are watering down the Church teachings in order to appease everyone. “The pitiful mother causes the wound to fester”, an old Italian saying goes. Posing…

Martin Luther a sort of Christian Icon? Not In My Name

What would you say if you were a Lutheran? Today in Catholic countries we celebrate All Saints’ Day. Yesterday the Pope went to Sweden to open this ill-fated year of celebrations for the 500th of the so-called Protestant Reformation. As a Catholic representative, of course. Now, to better grasp how absurd all of this is, try to put yourself in the shoes of a Lutheran (if you are not already a Lutheran, that is). Please appreciate the behavior of the Pope and his entourage of sycophants/commentators/self-appointed-spokespersons, as seen from the perspective of someone who’s coming from a distance. Consider the implications of the photo I put here above. This is not…

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