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Pseudo-Homilies 26 – The Assumption

This celebration is so special that in some countries, including Italy where I live, it’s a public holiday. Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mass during the Day This is to celebrate the concept that, by unique privilege, Our Lady is proclaimed to be already in Heaven in body and soul, anticipating the undeserved destiny of us creatures spoiled by the Original Sin. If we can make it, we’ll have to wait for the end of the world for the resurrection of our body. You may have been brought to believe that the Assumption was a recent Catholic invention, given that the dogma of the…

Pseudo-Homilies 25 – The gentle breeze

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A God revealing Himself. Last time we discussed a shock-and-awe-some sign: like ancient patriarchs, the three apostles were afraid and prostrated themselves to the ground when they heard the voice from heaven, the voice of God; yet initially, faced with the glistening cloud from God, Peter seemed quite excited by the experience, surprisingly confident and in the zone, since he proposed to stay, enjoy the moment, make it last, make three tents. Peter’s exuberance is also found in the Gospel read on this particular Sunday: after initially being taken aback and even scared by the arrival of Jesus who was walking on water, he…

Pseudo-Homilies 24 – The Transfiguration

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord – Year A This is the feast of the revelation of the divine nature of Christ. From the Gospel of Matthew: while on a mountain together with three apostles, the face and clothes of Jesus become very bright; Moses and Elijah also appear next to Jesus, representing the Law and the Prophets respectively: in Jesus the Old Testament finds its fulfillment. Then Peter, James and John are covered by a bright cloud, and a voice from the cloud proclaims that Jesus is the beloved Son. A sign, through the glimmering of this intense light, which overcomes those men, and which we find testified…

Pseudo-Homilies 23 – The Pearl

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A As always, once again I will make an exception to the rule I have given myself, and I won’t focus on a single theme. At least I’d hope to be concise, but even that would be a (desired, unlikely) change. On predestination (reprise) Our first topic comes from the Second Reading, which in a way represents a continuation of our discourse on predestination addressed in the previous article. In fact St. Paul in the Letter to the Romans parallels these two planes, which seem impossible to reconcile: the eternity of the creation, whereby God “already” knew everything “immediately”, and our becoming. Are…

Pseudo-Homilies 22 – The Sower II

Actually I wanted to call it The Sower II – Revenge of the Sower. But then I realized that these stupid jokes were better left unsaid. Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A In this case the readings revolve around a main parable, which once again presents Jesus as the Sower, introduced by short passages which explain how God brings together his perfect justice and his unique mercy, accompanied by the insertion of two very short parables. The Kingdom of God seen as a small mustard seed that grows into a large tree, and again: the Kingdom, or the Church, like leaven, which, despite being a small quantity, makes the…

Pseudo-Homilies 21 – The Sower

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A The First and Second Readings refer us to a grand divine plan, of course hard to grasp with our limited minds. This plan entails Creation in all its manifestations of the physical world as we know it (including the Matterhorn, the Great Barrier Reef, a vulture eating a half-rotten carrion), but it contains, by design, as a crucial element, the painful journey of the Church (with all its limitations and glories). Just as we can appreciate the self-sustained nature of the water cycle that we all studied in elementary school (or whatever these schools are called now), similarly the Word of God doesn’t…

Pseudo-Homilies 20 – Flesh

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A This time I decided to focus on the Second Reading, if only because I wanted to explore an angle, a way of seeing it, which isn’t usually taken into consideration by today’s homilists. I’ll start slightly earlier; from the Letter to the Romans, chapter 8. My passage goes from verse 5 to the verses 8 and 9 which are read in churches on this occasion: For those who live according to the flesh are concerned with the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit with the things of the spirit. The concern of the flesh is death,…

Pseudo-Homilies 19 – a Communion of Love

XIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR A The first theme of the day is hospitality. This family from the First Reading does everything they can to properly host the prophet Elisha. And Jesus in the Gospel praises, among others, those who “receive a prophet because he is a prophet”. In fact, generosity doesn’t come from letting your heart be touched by the most atrociously desperate stories of the most miserable people. Stories that may manage, thanks to their dramatic nature, to win our consciences, which have become numb as a form of selfish defense: desensitized by a thousand requests, we’re accustomed to move on, unfazed. No, generosity is confident,…

Pseudo-Homilies 18 – Enemies

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time– Year A We must give credit to the Jews in general, and specifically to the Old Testament, because sometimes they know how to defend their interests without much pretense, showing us that it is not really required, strictly speaking, to become your enemies’ doormat, to let them crush you. You shouldn’t assume that your adversaries may always be right, hence somehow making the very thought of contradicting them unacceptable. No, the good guys must learn to be confident, bold and assertive. Starting from a clear judgment: it is not pride to defend God’s reasons, just because we have joined those who support them, albeit unworthily. Self-confident,…

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 16 – Corpus Domini

This feast marks the closing of the holiday season. I’ve always appreciated this wholesome, rich experience: a sequence of celebrations that manages to present newer and newer peaks of interest, significant and emotional moments, without tiring. It all begins with Lent, which is appropriately long: a preparation through acts of penance, which helps your faith grow and adds to the eventual enjoyment of the Easter feast itself. You get an appetizer with Palms Sunday. Then there’s the Easter Triduum, intense! And then a long Easter time, which even gets a double ending, with Ascension and Pentecost. And even then we’re not done yet! I understand it wasn’t always like that…

Pseudo-Homilies 15 – The Trinity

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity – Year A On the Sunday of this festivity we celebrate one of the most difficult mysteries of the Christian faith: the Trinity of God. One in three Persons, equal and distinct: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They are not three gods, he is one God. Not sure how to explain this… And the linked Sunday readings unfortunately don’t help much. In order to write this piece, I tried to draw inspiration and get useful teachings from a remarkable book; one of those books that most people may begin to read, only to give up after a few pages, overwhelmed by a sudden headache:…

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