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,…

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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…

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Boy sells teddy bear to get something to eat

Blumudus insisted that I should comment on this piece of news. It’s actually from last summer, but I kept postponing it. Then Christmas Time comes and Blumudus goes: “Now you’ve got no excuses, do it.” In fact it’s a fitting story for the holiday season, when the media keep pushing feel-good stories and/or tear-jerker stuff, possibly with a child as the protagonist. He’s right, of course. Let’s do this.   In the small town of Franklin, Ohio, a police patrol found a 7-year-old boy wandering around alone, trying to sell his teddy bear to be able to buy food. He hadn’t eaten in several days. This episode was reported by Officer Steve…

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