Mar 7, 2019 The Joy of Suffering Saint Conforti is being honored and praised around the world nowadays. But he never expected to receive such treatment. In fact, no saint has wanted…
Mar 7, 2019 Am I My Brother’s Keeper? During World War II the Nazis murdered more than six million Jews and millions of non-Jews. Pastor Martin Neilmoller was a Protestant minister in Ge…
Mar 7, 2019 The Best is for the Lord Right now I am in Italy, participating in the 16th General Chapter of the Xaverian Missionaries. I drink red wine in almost every meal because it is…
Mar 7, 2019 Solemnity of Christ the King We cannot know Jesus apart from the idea of the kingdom of God; we cannot be true Christians today without taking in consideration the kingdom of God…
Mar 7, 2019 The Widow Who is an Image of God The second part of today’s Gospel presents the example of authentic religiosity: a widow, whose heart is free in relation to material goods, gives al…
Mar 7, 2019 Summary of the Commandments: Love In response to the Scribe who asked Jesus about which is the greatest of the commandments Jesus says: "The first is… you shall love the Lord yo…
Mar 7, 2019 Do we follow Christ or our own illusions? Jesus is in Jericho, only 30 km away from his final destination, Jerusalem. Even though he has already announced what’s going to happen in Jeru…
Mar 6, 2019 Why is marriage to be unbreakable? There are “married” couples who ask themselves if it is worthy trying to reconcile a relationship that has actually started wrong and they hopelessly…
Mar 6, 2019 “Ephphatha!” “Be opened!” The Gospel of today narrates the healing of a deaf-mute man. A deaf-mute person is someone unable to relate normally with others due to the incapacit…
Mar 6, 2019 The communion built around Christ and nourished by the one Eucharistic bread The First Reading of today throws light on the prophetic aspect of the person of Jesus by telling a parallel story to that of the Gospel about a…
Mar 6, 2019 As a leader, Jesus guides them to the right path FIRST READING In the first reading, Jeremiah warns the leaders, who are negligent of their duties as shepherds. They scatter their flocks. They h…
Mar 6, 2019 Only the necessary is necessary I read recently a story about a group of young people who ventured to climb a high mountain undergoing a very challenging journey. While preparing fo…
Mar 6, 2019 A prophet is only despised in his own country There is a story about a travelling circus that was in the outskirts of a village. One evening a fire broke out and there was a danger that the fire…
Mar 6, 2019 Talitha cum Beyond the miracles there is a sign. Let us try to see it! The stories are about two women: one was 12 years old and about to die; the other was suff…
Mar 6, 2019 St. John the Baptist This solemnity of the birth of John the Baptist reminds us firstly of the role of prayer in our lives. His birth took place perhaps within stran…
Mar 4, 2019 The testimony of Fr. Salvatore Deiana The Gospel of today gives us two parables, both with agricultural themes. The first one opposes the power and richness of the soil with the wor…
Mar 4, 2019 Why is the Eucharist not like the Baptism? Many people reduce the Sacrament of the Eucharist to a sentimental encounter with Jesus, as way of feeling very close to him and, consequently, prayi…
Mar 4, 2019 Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation The central point of today’s Gospel is the role of the disciples in the world after Jesus’ return to the Father. The text presents three scenes: The…
Mar 4, 2019 Now remain in my love As I read the Gospel of John an imaginary Bible-sharing group comes to my mind. In my imagination I see Ate Linda, a straight forward woman, saying…
Mar 4, 2019 I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener Upon reading this Gospel, some questions come to mind: Jesus is identified as the “true vine.” Is there such a thing as a false vine? What/w…
Mar 4, 2019 In what ways do you feel challenged? The Gospel of today presents the theme of the Good Shepherd according to the vision and understanding of the evangelist John. Shepherd is an image of…
Mar 4, 2019 How to explain that after the resurrected Jesus eats fish? Just few verses before the Gospel passage of today the Disciples are presented as rejoicing telling one another the big news that Jesus is alive. &nb…
Mar 4, 2019 He saw and believed We can perceive, almost touch and breathe the victory over death in the first words of today’s Gospel. Everything was silent on earth, immobility, qu…
Mar 4, 2019 Mark: The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ Let us appreciate some aspects of the way Mark narrates to us the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ! One first detail which is important is the fac…
Mar 4, 2019 We would like to see Jesus Some important people manifested their desire to see Jesus. His answer to their request – unless the grain of wheat falls into the earth and di…
Mar 2, 2019 How can a father give his son to the wolves knowing that he will be devoured? I am writing this few lines while visiting the Xaverian Novitiate in Campinas, Brazil. This afternoon the temperature went as far a 35°C and one of t…
Mar 1, 2019 Stop making my Father’s house a market-place! As Jesus began chasing away vendors and animals from the Temple he said “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a market-place…
Mar 1, 2019 The beginning of Jesus' preaching of the Good News of God in Galilee The arrest of John made Jesus go back and begin his proclamation of the Good News. It was an explosive beginning! Jesus goes throughout Galilee, its…
Mar 1, 2019 Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man Today we find Jesus healing a paralytic. The fame of Jesus grew rapidly. His miracles attract crowds. Therefore, thousands of people g…
Mar 1, 2019 If you are willing, you can make me clean In those days leper was the same as death. To cure a person with leper was equivalent to bringing a dead person back to life. The priests could decla…
Mar 1, 2019 She began to wait on them Since before Christ, people had always tried to find a solution to the problem of pain and suffering, without succeeding. Even the First Reading of t…
Mar 1, 2019 Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit Today Mark presents Jesus performing his first miracle. It is not a fact that happened by chance, but in the intention of the author of this Gospel…
Mar 1, 2019 “Come, follow me,” The Gospel of today includes the call of the first four disciples, two sets of brothers, in two parallel phases, Simon and Andrew, then, James and Jo…
Mar 1, 2019 The Visit of the Magi The Magi have always enjoyed a good degree of popularity. As early as 150 years after the birth of Jesus, their images were already engraved in the C…
Mar 1, 2019 Mary Mother of God After having received the message from heaven, the shepherds went to Bethlehem where they found Joseph, Mary and the baby-Jesus lying on a manger. No…
Feb 28, 2019 What is a word? What is a word? A word is something used for communication. What we have in our minds and in our hearts can reach the minds and hearts of others thro…
Feb 28, 2019 The Birth of Jesus Foretold The Logic of God is different from that we are accustomed with. One of the most impressive things is God’s choice of the most simple, weak and unusua…
Feb 28, 2019 A man came, sent by God I would like to underline two ideas – perhaps two words – presented in today’s Gospel. The first is that John “came to bear witness about the light…
Feb 28, 2019 Prepare the way for the Lord In the whole Judean region the people nourished a hope that the Messiah would arrive. He – it was said – will transform the world: will remove the ri…
Feb 28, 2019 As we listen to the story It is not so difficult to identify the central theme of today’s gospel. It is enough to pay attention to the word that is being repeated several time…
Feb 28, 2019 The Sheep and the Goats Perhaps the main purpose of this parable is not to describe what is going to happen in the final judgment, but to lead the disciples to reflect, op…
Feb 28, 2019 The Parable of the Talents I have listened to preachers who interpret the “talents” mentioned in this parable as personal qualities that each individual has. Such preache…
Feb 28, 2019 The Parable of the Ten Virgins Jesus communicates his teaching through a very common happening that is a wedding feast as it used to be in his time. What is the teaching? Both the…
Feb 28, 2019 How do we know if we are Pharisees or not? In the chapter 23 of Matthew Jesus uses a very harsh language against the Scribes and Pharisees. Thus it is necessary to keep in mind to whom he is t…
Feb 28, 2019 The Most Important Commandment The Rabbis of Jesus’ time while studying the Bible composed a list of all the commandments contained in the scriptures. They reached the conclusion t…
Feb 28, 2019 Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar The question posed by the opponents of Jesus is very tricky and they were undoubtedly confident that Jesus would not find a way out of it. On o…
Feb 3, 2019 The Parable of the Wedding Banquet I would like to begin my reflection with a quiz on today's gospel: Who is the king? Who is the son whose wedding is celebrated? Who is the bride…
Feb 26, 2019 The Parable of the Tenants At the end of this parable Jesus asks for the participation of his listeners: “When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to tho…
Feb 18, 2019 The Parable of the Two Sons Conversion is not only about shifting to another religion or stop living a sinful life, but it is also about changing the way we look at and relate w…
