Blumudus

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:…

Pseudo-Homilies 14 – Pentecost and Speaking in Tongues

I wanted to talk about a specific book that I read many years ago and that left a mark in my memory: Stranger in the Forest: On Foot Across Borneo, by Eric Hansen. Please be patient, in due time I’ll explain why and what this holiday has to do with it. Pentecost Sunday. Mass during the Day (Year A) Another Easter season coming to a close; caught up in the routine and focusing on the main theme, we run the risk of losing sight of some usually neglected details of the Pentecost. Luckily I’m here at your service, to cross the T’s and dot the I’s so you don’t have…

Pseudo-Homilies 13 – The Ascension to… the Heavens?

The Ascension of the Lord (Year A) This is when Jesus Christ bids farewell to his people and ascends to Heaven. In this very unique case an anomalous inversion takes place: the First Reading takes the central role, with a narration that features Christ himself; the Gospel is relegated to a supporting role, representing only a sort of minor development. They appear to put forward two contrasting narratives: according to the Gospel of Matthew, the Eleven Apostles are sent to Galilee, where they finally meet their Master again. Instead Luke makes an exception to the internal logic of his book, and opens the Acts of the Apostles with an episode…

Is the Bible clear?

A random exchange on Twitter, sparked by a retweet by Nassim Taleb that I happened to notice. I’m replying here because I think we should reclaim our spaces: if something is exemplary and can be used to make a point, it’s wasteful to push content to a platform that is at best of ephemeral nature, at worst is proactively controlling, censoring, influencing… Here it goes: Uhm, yes and no! Uhm, yes and no! Now, in this reply lies the crux of the problem. Another installation of my renown series: “Everybody’s wrong!” (But in different ways, and this is where the interesting details determine what you should really make…

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…

Pseudo-Homilies 11 – The rejected stone

Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year A) This Sunday’s Readings are once again developing the theme of the complex identity between Jesus and the Father. Here we’re facing the final revelations: teachings that are hard to accept -and even to understand- for the Jews. We could then again, underline the theme of the divinity of Christ. How easily confused are those who, not relying on Tradition, lose sight of the essential and chase after whims and feelings. To reiterate: it’s foolish beyond naive, to pretend to take the naked text as a natural starting point, analyze it superficially, and then dictate conditions to God, so that He reveals Himself in terms…

Pseudo-Homilies From a Layman -10- Peter the Shepherd

Fourth Sunday of Easter – Year A Today’s liturgy, as is often the case, develops two parallel themes: Jesus Christ expressing himself through a metaphor set in the world of sheep farming; Peter who takes center stage, both in the 1st and 2nd reading, as the guide of the Apostles and, as a consequence, of the Church. I found myself wondering: given that talking about sheep and shepherds at the time of Jesus was an effective way to help the audience visualize ideas through familiar themes, does it still make sense for us, as we’re so far removed from the rural world? It’s become difficult to feel at…

Pseudo-Homilies From a Layman -9- Obscure Disciples, Emmaus

The credibility of the Gospel, again. Third Sunday of Easter (Year A) Here’s our famous episode of the disciples going to Emmaus… Needless to say, modern scholars – in general – consider it a fabrication. And yet… Once again there are stylistic details that tell me otherwise; this isn’t how stories are invented, and here’s at least a couple of reasons that easily came to my puny little mind. 1. The trope of not recognizing Jesus, again! At least at first glance (but in this case they spent a lot of time with him before getting it!). This is how a legitimate doubt about a mistaken identity makes its…

Pseudo-Homilies From a Layman -8- Thomas’ finger

Second Sunday of Easter (or Sunday of Divine Mercy, Year A) “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”. If you cut the quotation here you get a different impression, right? I mean: compared to when all the attention of the sermons and meditations on the text falls on Thomas and his “need to put his finger into the nailmarks to check”. I wanted to highlight this passage which in my opinion represents kryptonite for Jehovah’s Witnesses (keep in mind they…