Homilies and Other Writings

They say that every Holy Communion we receive should be as if it were our First Holy Communion (remember the excitement, the purity of our hearts...!), as if it were our only Holy Communion, and as if it were our last Holy Communion (the one we will receive from the priest, hopefully, the day of our death). How are our Communions? Let me give two suggestions in order to take more advantage of our reception of the Holy Eucharist. 1)   There is a prayer for First Holy Communion which I think is beautiful: it says, Jesus I know That you are in the Host. I cannot see You But I know You are there. Give me faith, Give me love, That I may love You always As I love You today. Faith and love are essential to make good Holy Communions. Faith in the Real Presence and a real love for Jesus and everything He commands. 2)   Holy Communion does not end when we receive it: we then go to our pew and pray and give thanks... How do we pray after Holy Communion? Once I read ...

Reflection on the Gospel of Mark 9:33-37 They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they remained silent. For they had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest.  Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first,  he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child, he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it, he said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.” The apostles had received a gift from Jesus, the gift of authority, but they were using it against each other. They were taking this gift as an occasion for division among them: they were arguing about who was the greatest! Sometimes we use the gifts we have received from God as an occasion to put distance between us and other people. We try to make sur...

  1.  Who is Our Lady of Luján? Our Lady of Lujan is an image of the Immaculate Conception, originally venerated in Argentina. History tells us that in 1630, close to Buenos Aires, a wagon pulled by oxen was going north. They stopped one night on the road, by the Lujan River, and when they wanted to continue the day after, the oxen could not move the wagon. They began to lighten the load, but in vain. After much work, they removed from the wagon one small box, containing a statue of the Immaculate Conception. Immediately, the oxen move the cart. Everybody understood that it was a sign of our Lady, who wanted to remain there. Since then many other miracles were confirmed and are reported by the historians. Nowadays almost 2 million people walk every year to the Shrine of our Lady of Lujan. 2.   Why is she Patroness of the IVE? St. Louis Orione, the founder of the Little Work of Divine Providence in Italy, pupil of St. John Bosco, visited Argentina twice. The first time...

( Fr. Andrew’s homily for May 5th 2024 )   From June 16 to June 29, we will have a popular mission in our parish. What is a popular mission? Why have one? How can I be a part of it? [1] 1.   A popular mission is a mission to Catholics, that is, mostly directed to those who are already Catholic. Thus, it is different from the mission “ad gentes”, that is, to those who do not know about Jesus. A popular mission is a popular and simple way to preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to all the People of God. It includes house visits with prayer, activities for the youth, etc. during the day, and every evening a special activity, including the missionary sermon, music performances, skits, etc. Really, a popular mission is a celebration of faith and life. A popular mission is a call to conversion, that is, a call to return to the truth and to the friendship of God for those who may have lost their faith and grace through sin. A popular mission is also a call to a...

  To love someone as Jesus loves is to share with them all the good we possess, especially the truth. Jesus loves his disciples in that He tells them everything He has heard from the Father. He shared with them the truth which He had received from the Father. This is why He calls “friends” His disciples: “I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father” ( John 15:15). If He had hidden from His disciples the truth, He would have kept part of His good to Himself and would have left the disciples in a lower position, as slaves. When someone wants to control people and manipulate them better, this person needs to hide the truth, spread false ideas and undermine education. This is not what Jesus came to do. He did not come to make us slaves, but to set us free. This is why He told us the truth about ourselves, about His Father, about our final destiny and a...

( Fr. Andrew’s homily for Sunday, April 28th ) Today's gospel ( John 15:1-8) is about how to glorify God by giving fruit, abundant fruit. Jesus says that we need to be pruned. Jesus also says that we need to remain in him. What do these things mean? Don't we all want to be fruitful? Don't we all want to give glory to God with our talents? How does that happen? 1.   We need to be pruned. This “pruning” is usually understood as suffering: suffering purifies our soul from sin and gives us an opportunity to grow in love. But the first pruning happens in our intelligence, in our hearts, when God’s word, as a pruning hook, appears in our lives to challenge the way we live... God’s word offers us the truth, like a sword cutting out from our mind error and falsehood. God’s word requires faith, acceptance, submission... and these are not easy. This is the first pruning of which Jesus is talking today: “ You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you” ( John 15:3) ...

  (Fr. Andrew’s Homily for Sunday, April 21, 2024) The problem of talking about the Good Shepherd is that the mind goes faster than our feet. It is easier to understand how the Good Shepherd must be than to make it happen in ourselves. It is easier to write a poem about Jesus than to become ourselves a living image of the Beautiful Shepherd. Today, Good Shepherd Sunday, is also the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. We need to pray so that more people, especially young people, make it their choice to serve God in their neighbors. And praying will certainly help, but I think that the reason we do not have more vocations is that, sometimes, we shepherds are not able to inspire young people. Not because we do not know how to talk about the Good Shepherd but because we find it difficult to follow his steps in a way that we ourselves may in turn be followed. Our own words are empty when they are not full of love for what we say. Our words are cold when there is no fire in our hearts...