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27/10/2025

27 October: A DAUGHTER OF ABRAHAM, NO LESS.

One of the recurrent themes in Scripture is Jesus healing people on the sabbath. In Marc 3:1-6, Jesus heals a man with a withered hand. The withered hand of the cripple stands in contrast to the withered hearts of the Pharisees, who call Him out for breaking the rules on the sabbath.

In Luke 13:10-17, Jesus heals a crippled woman on the sabbath. She is bent over (constantly looking at the temporary world), and can't straighten up (towards heaven, towards God). The Pharisees make a fair point: you have six days a week to heal this person, who has been crippled for 18 years, what is one day extra to her?

Jesus teaches us that he is not abolishing the laws of the prophets, but fulfilling them (Mat 5:17). He is sent by the Father to Earth to lead people to God and to save their souls. ESPECIALLY on the sabbath, foretelling the importance of the weekly Eucharist.

Jesus stipulates that the crippled woman is a daughter of Abraham, not only alluding to her old age, but also her long line of jewish ancestry. The pharisees are too much obsessed with rules and their interpretation, rather than using any opportunity they have to ACT, and to DO good for their own people. But rules and rituals, however important, don't lead to Salvation. Bringing yourself (through sacrifice) and others (through acts) closer to God.

16/09/2025

16 September: the widow at Nain.

Today in Scripture, we read about the story of Jesus and the widow at Nain. Sometimes referred to as Jesus raising the dead man. However, it's more about the dead man's mother than about the dead man.

In Jewish law, a widowed mother of a single son who died was considered as dead as her son. His assets would go to the family of his dead father, and the widow would be completely dependent on charity, which was not common in jewish culture at the time. Associating with the dead was considered to provoke your own demise. The widowed mother is also a symbol of the people of Israel, abonded by her groom (God) and her offspring (future).

Jesus, the new groom, brings the son back to life, meaning he restores the covenant between the jewish people and God, and by doing so, gives them a future. However, the Jews will break the covenant again, killing Him, the Son, making Israel an abandoned widow again.

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.

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