Xavier Everaert

06/04/2025

6 April: Judge me, O God.

Today, one week before Palm Sunday, two weeks before Easter, we celebrate Judica Sunday, or Passion Sunday. Judica refers to the opening words of Psalm 43: "Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation".

We prepare for the Passion, death and resurrection of Christ and therefore the redemption of Sin. In order to be redeemed, we need to be judged. Not by man, but by God through Christ.

This is why we read today in Scripture about the sinful woman (John 8, 1-11): “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Since Jesus is the One without sin , and since he decided to NOT throw a stone, but rather invites her to convert and sin no more, we contemplate today God's judgement.

Like the sinful women, Jesus invites us CONSTANTLY to convert ourselves. Our sins can be washed away when we wholeheartedly choose for Him, who died for our sins. As we approach Easter, where we renew the vows of our baptism, we are invited today to find renewed strength to fulfill our lifelong conversion. This is the true meaning of life: our constant "turning towards" the LORD.

29/03/2025

29 March: A Tale of Two Sinners.

Today, we read one of my favorite passages from Scripture: the pharisee and the tax collector from Luke 18:9-14.

The pharisee stands very proudly, close to the Altar in the Temple and thanks God that he is not like the sinners. He reminds God how pious he is. He fast twice per week and shares his wealth with the poor.

The tax collector stands in the distance, embarrassed to approach the Altar. He does not raise his face, knowing he is unworthy to look God in the eye. He is truly humble and penitent. He recites the root of the Jesus prayer: "God have mercy on me, a Sinner."

Christ teaches us that the pharisee sins against God in his blatant display of piety, while the tax collector is truly righteous in his penitence.

Luke 18:9-14 (and Hosea 6:6) teaches us an important lesson about how to deal with our faith and how to contemplate our relationship to God. While liturgy and Scripture are important, a profound knowledge of liturgy and Scripture means nothing in the eyes of God. The penitent adolescent, who insecurely sits through Mass in one of the back rows, unsure when he needs to stand, to genuflect or to make the sign of the cross, who struggles with memorizing the words of the Credo, who hasn't been to Mass since his confirmation, stands closer to the God than the boomer who has been coming to Mass every week for the last 60 years, sits in the first row, knows all the prayers and the liturgy and sings the Credo the loudest and clearest, but is convinced that he is God's best friend by doing so.

24/03/2025

25 March: Feast of the Annunciation.

On the 25th of March, 9 months before Christmas, we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation, commemorating Gabriel the Archangel announcing to Mary that God has chosen her to be the Mother of the Son of God (Luke 1:26-35): "Ave gratia plena Dominus tecum, benedicta tu in mulieribus!"

The Annunciation is a very important moment in Scripture. This importance is stressed by its prominence as the first of the five Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. The event even features prominently in the Qur'an (Surah Maryam 19:16-26).

Just like Christmas comes righter after the winter solstice, when the days become longer again instead of shorter, the Feast of the Annuncation comes right after the vernal equinox, when the days become longer than the nights. While Christmastide still reminds us of the fragility of the helpless infant that is our Messiah, the Annunciation reminds us that He is protected by His Mother, who is also Our Mother. The Feast of the Annuncation also falls in the month of March, which is dedicated to Saint-Joseph, the patron saint of families.

In this month, we ask God to help families to grow and to be happy and safe in the Lord. On this day, we pray to Our Lady to ask the Lord to protect mothers who are expecting a child and the children they bear, wanted or unwanted.

23/03/2025

OCULI: the third Sunday of Lent.

Today, we celebrate the third Sunday of Lent, also called Oculi Sunday. The name Oculi, which is Latin for "eyes", refers to the first word of today's introitus (the chant at the beginning of this Mass), from Psalm 25: Oculi mei semper ad Dominum, my eyes are always on the Lord.

During Lent, we fast. Fasting is not just about experiencing hunger and an exercise in the triumph of free will over the flesh. Fasting also strengthens the senses. The purpose of Lent is to bring us closer to God through the suffering of Jesus. Psalm 25 stresses the sense of sight: the world is full of traps to trick us into temptation and sin, but if we keep our eyes on the Lord, he will release our feet from the snare, as we read in Psalm 25.

Lent is about conversion. Conversion is not a definite moment in time. It takes our entire lifetime. This is why we recite the Credo during every Mass. We believe in one baptism, but our baptism is only the beginning of our conversion, our "complete turning" from the world to God, which is only finite when we die. In a world that turns and turns and turns - both literally and figuratively - we keep our eyes on the Cross, the only incorruptible substance in this world, that doesn't change, and is not shaken. Stat crux, dum volvitur orbis.

02/03/2025

2 March: "The mouth speaks what the heart is full of."

Lent is soon upon is. Fasting is a good tool for introspection, but not the only one. Fasting should be combined with other utencils for introspection, like silence.

I am personally very fond of silence. Probably because I was a very chatty child, and said enough for a lifetime before the age of 10. When I make the list of things I regret in my life, it's almost always things I said, rarely things I've done. The sin of sloth, laziness, has more often than not prevented me from doing regrettable things. Therefore sloth is my favorite sin. However, sloth did never prevent me from saying stupid or vexing things. And it are these words that will condemn me to Purgatory. As we read in the Wisdom of Jesus Sirach 27, 4-7, as well as Luke 6:45, this is why we shall be judged by our words, because it is a better indicator of what is in our hearts than our acts.

Silence fascinates me. And who speaks if silence, is drawn to the order of the carthusians. The order who perfected the art of silence. Silence is an important vow in their order. They make their hearts and minds empty, so there is only place for God Almighty, and only speak on Sundays. For the rest of the week, they remain in their individual cells in silent prayer. They only speak to sing during High Mass on Sundays, because their hearts is only full of God.

The British novelist Pico Iyer wrote a great essay called "The Art of Stillness", which I can highly recommend. I also recommend the franco-German documentary "Into Great Silence".

22/02/2025

22 February: Feast of the Chair of of Saint Peter Apostle

Yesterday, we compared Mark 8, 27-33 and Matthew 16, 13-19. Two renditions of the same dialogue between Jesus and Peter. In the former, Jesus reprimands Peter. In the latter, Jesus anoints Peter as the first pope. Two seemingly contradictory accounts of the same conversation that are actually complimentary: Peter, the apostle who struggles the most with accepting the death of Christ, is bestowed with the responsibility to keep Christ alive on Earth by leading the Church.

Today, on 22 February, we celebrate the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, by reflecting on Matthew 16, 13-19. Jesus calls Peter "Son of Jonah", a reference to the biblical figure who tried to flee his responsibilities bestowed on him by God. Like Peter, who wants to keep Jesus alive and therefore on Earth, not accepting His Passion, which is necessary to redeem Mankind.

Peter is bestowed with the keys to Heaven. While Jesus made it possible for Mankind to go to Heaven and be a co-heir of God, Peter is the doorman, who has to make sure souls step through the door that Jesus opened for them.

Peter is bestowed with the power to "bound" and "loose". He binds us with the Gospel and the Creed, with obedience to Rome, but also unbinds us from our pasts, our sins. He unleashes our potential. That is the true power that Christ bestowes Peter with.

Peter and his successors are not the reincarnation of Christ. The Eucharist is the body of Christ. We do not pray to the Pope like we pray to God through Jesus. But the Papacy, or more accurately put, Rome, is a beacon that guides us to heaven. That is the lesson of Matthew 16:13-19 and the reason why we celebrate today. But as we read yesterday, always read Matthew 16:13-19 together with Mark 8, 27-33: the Church leads us towards Christ (super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam), but must always stand behind Him (vade retro). Rome is the route, not the destination.

21/02/2025

21 February: who is Peter?

Yesterday, we asked ourselves: Who is Jesus? To contemplate this question, we were reading Mark 8, 27-33. Tomorrow, we will read almost the exact same passage, but in the version of Matthew 16, 13-19. Mark and Matthew describe the same situation, but in a very different way.

Mark focusses on Christ, who announces His passion, death and resurrection. Peter struggles with the prospect of the Messiah dying. Maybe Peter still believes deep down that Jesus is the reincarnation of Elijah, like many jews expected. In Mark, Jesus reprimands Peter, and teaches us that the passion, the death and the resurrection - in essence: the Cross - is essential to accepting Christ as the Messiah.

Matthew focuces on Peter. Christ doesn't announce His passion, death and resurrection, but lauds Peter, and basically consacrates him as the first Pope. More on that subject tomorrow.

Today, we compare Mark 8, 27-33 and Matthew 16, 13-19. A first reading would make you think they contradict each other. How can they give 2 completely different accounts of the same conversation. A second reading teaches us that they complete each other: Mark teaches us that there is only salvation through Christ and His Cross, and Christ can never be seen seperately from the Cross. Matthew teaches us that there is only Salvation through Peter, who holds the keys to the kingdom of Heaven, handed to him by Christ Himself.

Therefore: Jesus died on the Cross and ascended to heaven, but is also still on earth as the Church, which is headed by Peter and the popes of Rome. Therefore: there is no salvation than through the Cross AND through Rome.

20/02/2025

20 February: who is Christ?

The Bible is, essentially, the run-up to the life of Christ (Old Testament) and the life and acts of Christ and the disciples (New Testament, Acts and Letters). We know WHAT Christ did and WHY He did it, but we have very little Biblical information of WHO He is. Christology, the study of the person and the nature of Christ, only appeared about a century after Christ died.

Mark 8, 27-33 dwells on the idea of the person and the nature of Christ. Who do people think he is? Who think the disciples that he is? The answers are numerous:

Is He John The Baptist? Jesus often got confused with John the Baptist, even by Herod himself (Mark 6, 16).

Elijah? The prophet Elijah announced the coming of Christ and ascended into heaven without dying. The jews believe that Elijah will once come back to earth as Messiah and liberate the jewish people. Even during Pessach, the Jews put an extra cup of wine on the table, to be ready for when he should come. This is why Christ in Mark 8, 27-33 tells the Disciples that he will DIE, and that they can't talk about him being the Messiah. This is to make sure that people DON'T confuse him with Elijah: because the reincarnated Elijah will not die, he will be victorious in battle against the suppressors and he will announce his own coming publically. Christ, at many occasions in the Bible, explictely tells people NOT to tell about His coming and miracles.

Not only the disciples and the jews are confused about His announcement of His own death. For the Jews, who acknowdegde that he lived and died on the cross, it means that He is not the reincarnation of Elijah, and therefore not the Messiah. The Muslims, on the other hand, refuse to accept that Jesus died on the Cross (Qur'an, Soura An-Nisa 4/157-159). His passion and death on the Cross is an essential element of our Belief. It is - literally - something that sets us apart from the other so-called "religions of the Book", which is a bad common denominator. More than the religions of the Book (judaism and Islam), we are very much the religion of the Cross.

19/02/2025

19 february: "Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets."

In times of social media, likes and follows, we are very susceptible to appreciation, compliments, affirmations and acknowledgments. Christ tells us to resist taking pride in compliments, for they are hidden poison arrows.

One method I like to use is that, when people compliment me, to inform them they don't know me well. It kills the vanity that tries to take root in your soul, but at the same time doesn't portray false modesty, which is also bad.

12/02/2025

February 12: The Synaxis (Feast Day) of the Panagia Portaitissa, the holiest and oldest surviving icon in the world, which has been continuously venerated in the Iviron Monastery on Mount Athos since 1004. I had the privilege to venerate this icon in 2017. It was a life-changing experience, and a pivotal moment in my metanoia, "the turning of my mind" towards Christ.

Η εφέστιος θαυματουργή εικόνα της Παναγίας Πορταϊτίσσης, αποτελεί τον πολυτιμότερο θησαυρό της Ιεράς Μονής Ιβήρων του Αγίου Όρους και μία από τις εξέχουσες ι...

11/02/2025

11 february: check your own hypocricy.

Today, we read a rather confronting passage from the New Testament, in which Jesus tells us to confront ourselves and examine our true intentions: Mark 7:1-13.

The jews were - and are - masters of ritual and custom. So much, that it has overgrown their belief in God. Indeed, Judaism is, as Emperor Titus said, the only belief of which the believers have been abandoned by their own God. Their God is absent, but they remember his proximity through rituals. Christianity "solves" and "completes" judaism, because it allows us to KNOW God through Jesus. Therefore, there is no more need for the rituals remembering the days of the Old Covenant.

I find this passage rather confronting and intimidating, because Jesus is not only talking to the pharisees, but also to us directly. When we genuflect during Consecration, when we receive the Host, when we sing the Gloria and the Credo, when we recite the Lord's Prayer or the Hail Mary, do we really BELIEVE what we are doing? I see many babyboomers in church who have been doing all this for decades, but I am never sure if they are doing it out of habit, or out of faith? And then I look at myself: do I come to Church because it makes me feel good about myself, or do I come to glorify Him? I am still not sure, and maybe I will never be. But I think Jesus is already happy that this question preoccupies me.

As Immanuel Kant says: "Hypocricy is the tribute that vice pays to virtue". I may be a hypocrite in my faith, but at least it shows that in vice i strife for virtue.

08/02/2025

8 February: The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing.

Today in Scripture, we read my FAVOURITE Psalm: psalm 23. It helps me a lot in finding guidance, comfort, consolation, but also strength, enthousiasm and joy in life. It releaes me from fear, anxiety and insecurity and fills me with happiness, self-confidence and love. Psalm 23 is the strongest anti-depressant in history and has been under our noses for 3000 years.