Homilies and Other Writings

  In the first reading, we hear about the redemption of Israel by a child who is to be born. In the Gospel, Elizabeth is redeemed by the Child to be born, as she shouts for joy in the Spirit. How can this unborn Child redeem Elizabeth from Mary’s womb? The letter to the Hebrews tells us what’s going on in Mary’s womb: the Son of God enters to world to do the Father’s will and, in that way, He redeems the world. The Son of God in Mary’s womb says, “Behold, O Lord, I come to do your will.” We are being set free by the obedience of God’s only Son. We tend to consider freedom as something opposed to authority, perhaps because we have experienced authority as something oppressive, something which was not on our best interests, something like slavery. Sometimes, and without realizing, we may transpose our bad feelings about that kind of authority to any authority: we feel oppressed even when a certain particular authority may intend to do good to us. Something similar happens to ch...

(Fr. Andrew’s Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent) I would like to speak today about the Sacrament of Reconciliation, by reflecting upon a few lines from today’s Gospel: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God” ( Luke 3:4-6). 1.   Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths . Advent is a time of preparation, a time to prepare our hearts for the Lord’s coming. The Lord Jesus is coming but, sometimes, He cannot find a way into our hearts. Our yard outside has already the Christmas decorations, and there are lights on the front porch, outside … but Jesus wants to come inside, and all those decorations and lights and music make it difficult for Him to find His way in… What does it mean to prepare the way of the Lord? “John went throughout the whole region of ...

  It could be said that a kingdom is the territory and the people which is subject to a king. The king possesses his kingdom: it belongs to him by inheritance, by conquest, etc. Jesus is king for many reasons: He possesses the universe. Jesus possesses our hearts as well, but in a very particular way. He does not enslave people in order to increase His kingdom: He sets people free. He adds people to His kingdom by preaching the truth, and those who welcome this truth are set free. In fact, those who embrace the truth about themselves, about their happiness and about God Himself are set free: they are empowered to become children of God, they are empowered to become light, beacons of peace. They do not fight for control, but for freedom; they fight to deliver people from their sins, to deliver people from ignorance and error, to deliver people from addictions, from existential angst, from hopelessness and from fear of death. Only Jesus’ truth can set people free from those thing...

https://www.youtube.com/live/Y5SSwiaBHhM?si=72LQTFHU_P7MFVTt&t=978 “The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise.” Did the Lord promise us an easy life? “Pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.” What do we expect from the Lord? What is our hope about? 1.   The disciples of Emmaus were disappointed because they were hoping for the wrong thing: “We had hoped, they said, that Jesus was the one to redeem Israel.” But they were hoping for a temporal, visible liberation, obtained by means of divine “powers.” Not only were the Romans still in power but they also had killed the messiah. The miraculous powers of Jesus and his popular influence had not been enough to liberate the Jewish from the Romans: the Romans had overpowered Jesus, and He was now dead. Jesus was actually speaking to them, alive and kicking. He had liberated them from the power of sin and hell, and from the power of ...

“Thus says the LORD: Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you... then the tongue of the mute will sing” ( Isaiah 35:4.6). We can understand this muteness in a spiritual way. Sometimes, a great fear may leave someone speechless. Other times, we are speechless because we have nothing to say. Other times, because there is no one to talk to... 1.   When God comes to save us, we are told: “Be strong, fear not!” From a spiritual point of view, divine justice can be terrifying, because nothing escapes the eye of God. Everything we do and not do, everything we say and think is known by God. But God knows also our weakness and ignorance. God gives human beings a chance. God comes to save us today, with the opportunity to repent and change life, with an invitation to come back and try again. “Be strong and fear not!” Do not be mute, respond to the invitation! 2.   When...