Homilies and Other Writings

  Naaman, after being cured from his leprosy, wants to thank the prophet with generous gifts. The prophet, however, refuses to take anything from him. Naaman insists, but the prophet does not allow him to give anything. Naaman has received the gift of new life, he has been saved from death by God’s prophet, and he cannot do anything to express his joy and gratefulness to the prophet. What does Naaman do? I find it amazing: he asks for another favour. The one who wanted to give something, who felt obliged to give something in return, now asks for more gifts: “ please let two mule-loads of earth be given to your servant; for your servant will no longer offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god except the Lord.” Let me make a few points about thanksgiving. 1. Giving thanks is not paying for what you have received. It is realizing that what you have received is priceless. Giving thanks is giving yourself back to the giver in any way you can. And it is, first of all, acknowledging ...

  The once rich man wants Lazarus to go back to life to warn his brothers, but Abraham replies, “ If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.” It may seem a little extreme. But Jesus’ parable became a reality when a real man, also named Lazarus, rose from the dead… and the Chief priests, instead of believing in Jesus because of the miracle, “made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus.” ( John 12:10-11). How is it possible that a miracle like that would not make the Chief priests re-think their attitude toward Jesus? What can be more powerful than a miracle to convince someone of their mistake? Another question may lead us to the answer: who enjoys being found wrong? Who likes to recognize his or her own error before people? Is it not one of the most difficult things to do, acknowledging our own faults? The problem is pride. Pri...

  1.  There is nothing more beautiful than a truly humble person. False humility disconnects you from people: false humility hides your true gifts to people who could benefit from them. True humility, instead, gives to others what you really have, not what you don’t have. True humility, because it comes from a true awareness of yourself, does not promise things that you cannot do or things that you cannot give. There are some who look humble because they want to stay away from work, or because they want to stay away from people. “I am not good for this or that, leave me alone.” Contrarywise, there are some who look generous because they want to be needed, but they promise more than they can actually give. Humility is a moderate estimation of ourselves coming from truly knowing ourselves. It is not opposed to self-esteem but is the only true self-esteem. When you are truly humble, you know what you have, and how much of it you have. And, if you are generous, you will offer ...

  (Homily for XXIII Sunday in Ordinary Time) [1] First week of September… Some of you may be back to work, some of you back to school... Time of questions. What are your priorities now? More importantly, whose advice are you taking to decide what you should do with your time, what you should “build” in this new year of activities, to what you should devote yourself? Who can know God’s counsel, or who can conceive what the LORD intends?  ( Wisdom 9:13) What are the criteria for discerning when I am hearing God’s “counsel” and when I am hearing either my own, or even the devil’s counsel? How do we find out what is God’s will for us? Unfortunately, for some people, this is not even a question: they think that whatever comes to their minds producing pleasant emotions must come from God. Today the Lord says tough things and very difficult to understand, so that we may realize that the voice of the Lord is not always so sweet. Today the Lord invites us to calculate the cos...

There is nothing wrong with providing for ourselves and those we love, regarding the needs of this present, short, fleeting life. But there is something seriously wrong with not providing for ourselves and for those we love, regarding the needs of the next life, which is eternal and unchanging. This life is not like staying, it is more like walking. Many people have chosen to stay here, not to walk… This is why they try to establish themselves securely. You bury a treasure in a secure place, a place only you know, maybe a place that belongs to you. You save money in a personal account, and banks spend millions in security systems. The money is secure, but our life is not. Storing money gives us a false sense of security. If you have money, the things that help you feel good in this life, the things that help you stay well, they are secure. However, even when you have money, you are worried. First of all, because the money might be secure, but your health is not, life itself is not ...

  1.  Let’s talk about prayer. Prayer is not a vending machine. When a vending machine doesn’t work, we get upset and go somewhere else to find what we want. God is a person, not a machine. A machine is made for us, God is not, rather, we are made by him and for him. Prayer is not like paying God for what we want, as if God were the owner at a nearby convenience store. God is our Father, and prayer is like talking to Him, asking Him for what we want, for what we think we need. It is easy to know when people relate to us, not because they care about us, but because they need something from us. True, we cannot expect everyone to reach out to us out of love, as if they were family; but we do expect it from our own family. God is our Father; we belong to His family. The way we ask things from Him matters to Him. Even when we ask things from God, it has to be personal. For example, if He sees that you approach Him with confidence, knowing that He loves you and wants the best...