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The Music of Happiness in Two Octaves: On the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12)

  Each beatitude, besides the proclamation of “blessed,” includes two other elements: something which is like a condition or means towards blessedness or happiness, and a description of that happiness itself or, as it were, of the reward. So, for example, in saying “blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven,” having the Kingdom is the reward, being poor in Spirit is the condition. 1. The reward is always the same, Heaven. We cannot understand how good Heaven is, and how great the happiness to which we are called. So, the Lord describes it with an ascending tone, through eight notes, so that we may get as close as possible to figure out how beautiful Heaven will be. 1) So, first, the Lord promises that “theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” 2) But having and possessing are not the same: a child has a house, but does not own the house yet. We already are children of God, but have not yet inherited God’s Kingdom in Heaven. And so the Lord increases one more...
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How to Love God, Yourself and Your Neighbour

  “What commandment is great in the law?” Aquinas says that the Pharisee’s question is malicious. “What commandment is great…?”: all of God’s commandments are great! But the Pharisee wants the Lord to pick one. If the Lord says that one of them is great, the Pharisee could object that another is, and who is going to say that something coming from God Himself is not great? Now, there was probably a debate among the Pharisees regarding what salvation was about, whether it was in some exterior practices or somewhere else. And so, the Lord responds that salvation is in something interior, spiritual, which is love, and all the rest depends on it. The Lord, however, not only responds to the question, but He also goes ahead and teaches several things. I will focus on four of them. 1. First, the Lord teaches that this commandment is first : “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Why first? Anything and everything we do, ...
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Do I Speak Up or Avoid Conflict?

  (On Matthew 22:15-21) Insofar as possible, we need to live in peace with those around us: in this way, we create better conditions for the preaching of the Gospel. It’s difficult to know when we have to risk conflict and when conflict should be avoided. Let us reflect on Jesus’ example and teaching. 1. The Pharisees hated Jesus and wanted to have Him arrested, so they set a trap. In their mind, it was the perfect trap. The idea was to catch Jesus saying something against the civil government in the presence of the civil authority or those of their party; in this way, the authorities would arrest Him and maybe even execute Him. In order to “hide” the trap, the Pharisees did not go themselves but sent instead some of their disciples. Now, together with their disciples, they sent some Herodians as well. There are two possible interpretations of who the Herodians were. For some, they were the ministers in charge of collecting the emperor’s tax. Other say, instead, that they wer...
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A Banquet for All… But Not Without the Wedding Robe

 1. Salvation is universal but it is also particular. It is offered to all peoples but in a certain “place”: Jerusalem, the Church, the Christ, that is, “this” Christ. “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food… It will be said on that day, ‘Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain’” ( Isaiah 25). Salvation is for all peoples, but it is connected to this mountain, to Jerusalem. Salvation is for all peoples but they must come to Jerusalem, the Holy City. “He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come… Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’” ( Matthew 22). It is the wedding of his so...
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“Forget what you said to me… Just change your mind!” (The parable of the two sons)

  1. A man had two sons: one who answered, “I will not go to work” but later he changed his mind and went; and another one who answered, “ I am going, sir ” but he did not go (cf. Matthew 21:28-32). In the parable there is not a third son, one who said that he would go and then actually did the father’s will. This parable is for us, and none of us could have been that son. That son is Jesus, the Son of God, who said since his Mother’s womb “ I have come to do Your will ” (cf. Hebrews 10:5-7) and later said from the Cross, “ It is done ” ( John 19:30). 2. So, a man had two sons. We can be like both of them. We even could say that we all have been both of them. In Baptism, by ourselves or through our parents, we committed to go and work in the Lord’s vineyard, the Church. Our baptismal promises, which we renew every year, are our way of saying to the Lord, “ I am going, sir .” We sealed our covenant with the Lord and promised that we would renounce sin and evil for Him. Like the...
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The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant: Let us not waste our opportunity!

(These are just notes, without important explanations sometimes. Video homily is more complete:  https://youtu.be/o-H4k0XExoE?si=SW7oq-bLi5_IxKqO  ) As the Master does not forgive the servant who would not forgive his fellow servant, also God will not forgive us if we do not forgive our brothers and sisters. 1. The Master first forgives, but then he does not. The first time, he forgives the selling of the servant and all his possessions, but then the Master does not forgive the pain of torture. The selling goes towards payment of the debt, but it cannot pay it in full. The torture is until the debt is paid. The selling is an order that follows reasoning: the servant cannot pay the debt, therefore, he himself and his things must be sold, so that somehow justice is made. The second time, the master sends the servant in anger to the torturers. The first time, the servant hurt his master in his possessions: he was not careful with the goods of his master. He dealt with h...
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The Responsibility of the Sinner

  Today’s readings usually lead us to reflect on the responsibility of correcting and warning our neighbour regarding sin. “Jesus spoke to his disciples. ‘ If your brother or sister sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone’” ( Matthew 18:15-20). Today, however, I want to focus on the responsibility of the sinner himself. 1. The Lord says to the prophet Ezekiel: “If I say to the wicked, ‘ O wicked one, you shall surely die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from their ways, the wicked person shall die in their iniquity, but their blood I will require at your hand” ( Ezekiel 33:7-9). The prophet has the responsibility of warning the wicked. However, even if the prophet does not do his job, the wicked will still be punished because of his iniquity. The wicked will not be able to say, “I didn’t know!” or “Sorry, the prophet didn’t say anything!” The prophet will be responsible for not having warned, but the wicked will be responsible...
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