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Pseudo-Homilies From a Layman -4- Holy Thursday

Let’s see if I can pull this off: 4 articles to be published for the Holy Week, possibly somehow being concise. Holy Thursday -Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper Too many interesting topics today! I’ll save any comments on the institution of the Eucharist for another occasion. Deserves a proper dissertation. We’re presented with this unique event, Jesus washing the feet of the Apostles, which I’d describe as quite modern, indeed fashionable. And this episode steals the show a bit from all the rest, especially considering it’s the subject of today’s reading, from the Gospel according to John. A message that evaporates Take a truth that is profound but…

Pseudo-Homilies From a Layman -3- Palm Sunday

In this third article I will dip my foot in the heart of the Holy Week which is about to begin, but only momentarily, then I’ll steer to a different takeaway message. PALM SUNDAY: PASSION OF THE LORD – YEAR A Today I want to focus only on the introductory reading for this festivity, leaving for another day the magnificent account of the Passion, so full of ideas and inspiration. People acclaim Jesus as a great prophet; while he’s entering Jerusalem the crowd prepares the way for him by spreading tree branches on the street (hence our traditional use of palms and olive trees for the celebration). Many…

Pseudo-Homilies From a Layman -2- Lazarus

A second installment of my experiment: a commentary on the Sunday readings from a different perspective. Nonetheless I reiterate my opposition to giving space to the laity in Mass or the possibility to hold a sermon. That’s to be reserved to priests, despite the current state of affairs, where conformism and selling out to the enemy are common sights in homilies. As was the case last Sunday, this fifth of Lent presents us with a detailed and sensational story from the Gospel of John, the last one in chronological order. 5TH SUNDAY OF LENT – YEAR A A most extraordinary miracle: a poor sap who’s been dead for days…

Pseudo-Homilies From a Layman -1- The Blind Born Man

Introduction I came up with this reckless idea: introducing my take on the readings for the Sunday masses, a quasi-homily if you will. Particularly questionable because I’m verbose, while the goal of homilies should be clarity and conciseness. Furthermore I don’t have much time and I’m a procrastinator. We’ll see. Why the Pseudo-Homilies From a Layman? While I am strongly against allowing lay people to preach during Mass, I do hope I have something meaningful to say in these pages, which represent an entirely different context. At any rate, this will be an interesting personal journey. It’s hard to do worse than those priests who regularly inflict some 20-minute tirades…

Abortion and Euthanasia found in the Passion of Christ

A few thoughts on a passage from the Passion (it’s just being read on Palm Sunday); I want to focus on Luke 23, 27-31: Large numbers of people followed him, and women too, who mourned and lamented for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep rather for yourselves and for your children. For look, the days are surely coming when people will say, “Blessed are those who are barren, the wombs that have never borne children, the breasts that have never suckled!” Then they will begin to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”; to the hills, “Cover us!” For…

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…

Why all those Saints?

Let me open with one of the few Oscar Wilde quotes that actually make sense: The Roman Catholic Church is for saints and sinners alone – for respectable people, the Anglican Church will do. Yesterday was All Saints’ Day in the Catholic Church liturgy. Some may consider it an outdated feast; the celebration of a concept almost incomprehensible in today’s dynamic and enlightened world. I’m afraid this just means we desperately need more saints but we don’t know it yet. The modern ordinary man has forsaken heroism, has no use for eccentrics who chose humility and obscurity in service of their brethren. Saints are the true nonconformists. Also, the only…

Pope Francis: today the Eucharist is for pagans too

Catholic missionaries in Papua New Guinea

A Papua New Guinea pilot project in inclusiveness. This is the latest gimmick devised to make Pope Francis’ Church That Goes Forth reach even further: giving the Eucharist to anybody who asks; but only today, by way of exception, to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. It’s not just about the divorced and remarried, or fellow Protestant faithfuls. Even non-Christians and skeptics can now participate and receive the Sacrament. At least if you live in Papua. This morning, during Easter Mass, thousands of people who had never received Jesus in the Eucharist before were greeted in the churches across Papua New Guinea as honored guests who could now experience a direct,…

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…

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