«Lux orta est»

On this Sunday, we start the reading of Matthew’s gospel that will accompany us during the present liturgical year. Since the gospels are four and we read them in pieces, in a discontinuous way, it is difficult for us to have a comprehensive view of them. Today’s passage can help us to assemble the different details we have about Jesus’ movements. We know that Mary and Joseph were from Nazareth in Galilee; but Jesus was born at Bethlehem in Judea, because of a census. After the visit of the magi, his family was forced to take refuge in Egypt, to avoid the persecution of Herod. After Herod’s death, they came back to the land of Israel and settled down in Nazareth, where Jesus grew up and lived until he was thirty (that is why he was known as Jesus of Nazareth or the Nazarene). The baptism, with which he began his public life, and the following temptations in the desert took place in Judea. Today’s gospel tells us that, since John the Baptist had been arrested, Jesus prudently preferred to withdraw to his homeland, Galilee. Then Matthew states that Jesus “left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum.” He does not tell us why; but we know from Luke that he was forced to leave his hometown after visiting the synagogue there, when he said: “No prophet is accepted in his own native place” (Lk 4:16-30). Therefore, he took up his residence in Capernaum, a town on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, around thirty kilometers from Nazareth, and made it his headquarters. There he started his ministry, which was not confined to Capernaum, but covered the whole Galilee.

Ancora sulla FSSPX

Un lettore, che dichiara di trovarsi in genere in sintonia con quanto vado sostenendo in questo blog, mi ha scritto per esprimere il suo dissenso a proposito delle idee da me espresse nel post del 4 gennaio scorso (“Modi diversi di vivere la tradizione”). E mi sottopone una serie di domande piuttosto impegnative:

«Ecce Agnus Dei»

This second Sunday in Ordinary Time still reflects Christmastide that we left behind last week. Today’s gospel is connected with the baptism of Jesus. The protagonist of this liturgy is John the Baptist, who accompanied us through Advent and Christmas up to last Sunday. In today’s gospel, he bears his witness to Jesus. Maybe this is the most important moment in his life. Admittedly, he had started to testify to Jesus even from his mother’s womb: when Mary expecting Jesus visited Elizabeth pregnant with John, this one leaped for joy, feeling the presence of Jesus. One of the prefaces of Advent depicts the scene as follows: “John the Baptist sang of his coming;” and immediately afterwards, referring to his adult testimony, it adds: “and proclaimed his presence when he came.” This is the great merit of John the Baptist: to recognize Jesus and to show his presence in the world.

A proposito di proselitismo

Domenica scorsa, festa del Battesimo del Signore, Papa Francesco, durante l’Angelus, è tornato sul tema del proselitismo. Dopo aver citato alcuni versetti della prima lettura del giorno (il “primo canto del Servo del Signore”) — «Non griderà, né alzerà il tono … non spezzerà una canna incrinata, non spegnerà uno stoppino dalla fiamma smorta; proclamerà il diritto con verità» (Is 42,2-3) — il Santo Padre ha proseguito:

Ecco lo stile di Gesú, e anche lo stile missionario dei discepoli di Cristo: annunciare il Vangelo con mitezza e fermezza, senza gridare, senza sgridare qualcuno, ma con mitezza e fermezza, senza arroganza o imposizione. La vera missione non è mai proselitismo ma attrazione a Cristo. Ma come? Come si fa questa attrazione a Cristo? Con la propria testimonianza, a partire dalla forte unione con Lui nella preghiera, nell’adorazione e nella carità concreta, che è servizio a Gesú presente nel piú piccolo dei fratelli. A imitazione di Gesú, pastore buono e misericordioso, e animati dalla sua grazia, siamo chiamati a fare della nostra vita una testimonianza gioiosa che illumina il cammino, che porta speranza e amore.

«Unxit eum Deus Spiritu Sancto et virtute»

Maybe the oldest testimony to the baptism of Jesus is that of Peter, which we have heard in the second reading. Speaking in the house of Cornelius, Peter said: “You know … what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power (unxit eum Deus Spiritu Sancto et virtute).” This is the point of the event we celebrate today: more than the baptism in itself—Jesus did not need to be baptized—his anointing with the Holy Spirit and power. Jesus is consecrated by God as the Messiah, thus starting his public ministry.

«Quae stella sole pulchrior coruscat?»

We could say that the leading actor of the Epiphany is a star. Not in the figurative sense we give to this term in the show business, but in the literal meaning of the word. Not only in the gospel is a mysterious star mentioned, which leads the magi from the east to Bethlehem; but all today’s liturgy is full of references to that star.

Modi diversi di vivere la tradizione

Questo blog (nato col titolo Senza peli sulla lingua e trasformatosi dal giugno scorso in Antiquo robore) ha avuto tre fasi: la prima, la piú lunga e la piú prolifica (359 post), va dalla sua nascita (gennaio 2009) fino al luglio 2011; la seconda è stata la piú breve (si è limitata a pochi mesi del 2013, tra marzo e maggio, con un occasionale sconfinamento nel mese di ottobre) e la meno feconda (8 post); la terza è quella attuale: iniziata un anno fa (gennaio 2016), ha finora prodotto 100 post (c’è però da dire che piú della metà di essi è costituito dalle mie omelie domenicali).

Theotokos

In the liturgy, as renewed after the Second Vatican Council, there are only two octaves left, for the two main solemnities of the liturgical year, that is, Christmas and Easter. Which means that these two solemnities continue to be celebrated for eight days: it is as if on each day of the octave it were Christmas or Easter. In the liturgy of an octave you can find texts which say that “today” that mystery has been accomplished: for instance, if you check your missal, you will see that one of the entrance antiphons of this Mass precisely begins by saying: “Today a light will shine upon us, for the Lod is born for us…” Even the gospel takes up again the story of the shepherds. It is the same gospel as at the Mass at Christmas dawn. But today’s selection adds a verse, to let us know what happened on the eighth day: “When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” The events we specifically commemorate today are the circumcision of the Lord, according to the law, and the conferral of the Holy Name of Jesus.

Una Curia Romana “semper reformanda”?

Giovedí scorso, 22 dicembre, Papa Francesco ha ricevuto i Prelati della Curia Romana per il tradizionale scambio degli auguri natalizi. Quest’anno il discorso, che il Pontefice è solito rivolgere ai presenti per l’occasione, si è incentrato sulla riforma della Curia Romana. I media si sono praticamente limitati a riportare il passaggio riguardante le resistenze all’opera di riforma, nelle quali si è voluto vedere un riferimento ai quattro Cardinali che hanno sottoposto al Papa alcuni dubia a proposito dell’Esortazione apostolica Amoris laetitia:

In questo percorso risulta normale, anzi salutare, riscontrare delle difficoltà, che, nel caso della riforma, si potrebbero presentare in diverse tipologie di resistenze: le resistenze aperte, che nascono spesso dalla buona volontà e dal dialogo ‎sincero; le resistenze nascoste, che nascono dai cuori impauriti o impietriti che si alimentano delle parole vuote del “gattopardismo” spirituale di chi a parole si dice pronto al cambiamento, ma vuole che tutto resti come prima; ‎esistono anche le resistenze malevole, che germogliano in menti distorte e si presentano quando il demonio ispira intenzioni cattive (spesso “in veste di agnelli”). Questo ultimo tipo di resistenza si nasconde dietro le parole giustificatrici ‎e, in tanti casi, accusatorie, rifugiandosi nelle tradizioni, nelle apparenze, nelle formalità, nel conosciuto, oppure nel voler portare ‎tutto sul personale senza distinguere tra l’atto, l’attore e l’azione.

Papa Francesco ci ha ormai abituati a questo stile e a questo linguaggio, per cui, a mio parere, non mette conto disquisire sull’opportunità per un Pontefice di esprimersi in tali termini: Papa Bergoglio è cosí; dobbiamo farcene una ragione. Mons. Georg Gänswein, nell’intervista rilasciata l’estate scorsa alla Schwäbische Zeitung, aveva giustamente rilevato: «Che nei discorsi, rispetto ai suoi predecessori, di tanto in tanto sia un po’ impreciso, e addirittura irrispettoso, si deve solo accettare. Ogni Papa ha il suo stile personale».

«Et Verbum caro factum est»

Nativity scene, Mission Church, Kabul, 2016

The Mass of Christmas Day, unlike that celebrated during the night, instead of presenting the story of the birth of Jesus, proposes the prologue of John’s gospel, thus inviting us to reflect upon the mystery we celebrate today.

«Orietur stella»

This year I have sent my Christmas greetings with a card saying in Latin: Orietur stella—“A star shall rise.” It is a prophecy we find in the book of Numbers, which reports four oracles of Balaam, a pagan soothsayer, to whom the king of Moab Balak had ordered to curse the Israelites headed for the promised land. But Balaam, instead of cursing the Israelites, inspired by God against his will, was forced to bless them. In his fourth oracle Balaam foretells what is going to happen many years later: “I see him, though not now; I behold him, though not near: A star shall rise out of Jacob, and a scepter shall spring up from Israel” (24:17 NAB/DR). The Jews saw in this oracle a reference to king David, who was a descendant of Jacob; Christians have always understood it as a messianic prophecy: the star and the scepter are symbols of Christ.

“Mother and Teacher”

On August 16, 2016 the website Cooperatores Veritatis published, under the title “The Church has to offer to man the truth, which is Christ,” a large-scale interview of mine about the current events of the Church. An American priest (who wishes to remain anonymous), having found it interesting, decided to translate it, so that it might have a higher spread, not only among the increasingly numerous readers of this blog in his country, but also among other people in the rest of the world, who do not know Italian, but understand English, which has become by now the lingua franca of the present day. We warmly thank the anonymous translator for his hard work, and willingly share the interview with all our readers.

Q

«Ex semine David secundum carnem ... Filius Dei secundum Spiritum»

On the fourth Sunday of Advent we are invited to consider the preliminaries to Christmas, that is to say, what happened before the birth of Christ. The most important event preceding a person’s birth is his conception, which ordinarily comes about nine months before one’s birth. Actually, we celebrate Jesus’ conception exactly nine months before Christmas, namely on March 25, by the solemnity of the Annunciation. But the Church wants us to take up again this event also in the proximity of Christmas, precisely on this last Sunday of Advent, which therefore could be named the “Incarnation Sunday.”

«Et beatus est, qui non fuerit scandalizatus in me»

We are halfway through Advent. This third Sunday is traditionally named Gaudete after the first word of the Entrance Antiphon. It is a quotation from the letter to the Philippians (4:4-5), where Saint Paul invites us to rejoice in the Lord. Why? Because “the Lord is near.” Yes, the coming of the Lord is drawing near; and so, we should be happy. Even the liturgical color the priest wears today is not the gloomy purple used during Advent and Lent, but the more cheerful rose. Our heart should really be overflowing with joy for the imminent coming of the Lord.

Renzi, massoneria e scautismo

Un lettore, facendo riferimento al mio post del 6 dicembre, mi ha segnalato due articoli, uno di Giacinto Butindaro e l’altro di Angela Pellicciari, riguardanti la “propinquità dello scautismo con la massoneria”, chiedendomi: «Non crede che questa sia tutta la verità?».

«In principio dilexit eam»

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, El triunfo de la Inmaculada

We have prepared for this solemnity praying, for twelve days, the “Crown of twelve stars.” It is a chaplet—so named after the crown with which in the book of Revelation the woman clothed with the sun was crowned—whereby we consider the twelve main privileges of the Blessed Virgin Mary. What is a privilege? The dictionary defines it as “a special right or advantage that a particular person or group of people has.” Among human beings, Mary is undoubtedly the most privileged person. Why? Because she had been chosen by God to become the mother of his Son. Therefore, he filled her with a lot of graces, so that she could worthily accomplish the mission she had received.

Referendum e... accompagnamento pastorale

Bisogna riconoscere che La nuova bussola quotidiana costituisce, nell’attuale momento di crisi, uno dei pochi punti di riferimento rimasti — una “bussola”, appunto — per i cattolici italiani. I commenti pubblicati a seguito della vittoria del NO al referendum costituzionale di domenica scorsa ne sono, se mai ce ne fosse stato bisogno, una ulteriore prova: il commento a caldo di Alfredo Mantovano, l’editoriale di Riccardo Cascioli, il “focus” di Marco Berchi.

«Parate viam Domini»

On the second Sunday of Advent one of the leading figures of this liturgical season appears, John the Baptist. The Catechism of the Catholic Church portrays him as follows: “[He] is the Lord’s immediate precursor or forerunner, sent to prepare his way … Going before Jesus ‘in the spirit and power of Elijah,’ John bears witness to Christ in his preaching, by his Baptism of conversion, and through his martyrdom” (#523).

Il “cambio di paradigma”

Si direbbe che Paradigmenwechsel (“cambiamento del paradigma”) sia un’espressione particolarmente cara al Card. Walter Kasper. L’aveva usata nella relazione con cui aveva introdotto i lavori del Concistoro straordinario sulla famiglia il 14 febbraio 2014 (qui il testo completo; qui una sintesi). In quell’occasione, l’aveva cosí illustrata:

Se si pensa all’importanza delle famiglie per il futuro della Chiesa, il numero in rapida crescita delle famiglie disgregate appare una tragedia ancora piú grande. C’è molta sofferenza. Non basta considerare il problema solo dal punto di vista e dalla prospettiva della Chiesa come istituzione sacramentale; abbiamo bisogno di un cambiamento del paradigma e dobbiamo — come lo ha fatto il buon Samaritano (Lc 10:29-37) — considerare la situazione anche dalla prospettiva di chi soffre e chiede aiuto.

Il cambio di paradigma consisterebbe dunque in un mutamento di prospettiva: occorre considerare i problemi della famiglia non piú solo dal punto di vista della Chiesa, intesa come istituzione sacramentale, ma anche da quello “di chi soffre e chiede aiuto”. Viene proposta anche un’icona del nuovo paradigma: la Chiesa deve diventare come il buon Samaritano, deve cioè “farsi prossimo” di chi si trova in una situazione di disagio.

«Vigilate ergo»

Today the Advent Season starts and, with it, the new liturgical year. This year we also resume from the beginning the three-year cycle of readings with the Year A, during which we are going to read the gospel of Matthew.