Feast of St. Luigi Guanella

 Life in the Congregation is like a plant. One day, God planted the seed of your vocation in your heart; that is why you are here. Remember and give thanks to many people who used to water the plant, providing sunlight for you to grow and giving fertilizers so that one day you could become a tree and that your life becomes a part of history in this congregation. 

Three main parts of the plant, for our religious life: 

1. Root: A tree cannot exist without a root even though it is invisible. The tree exists because of its roots. Sometimes after the typhoon, branches fall down.  But still, the plants can continue to grow because they have good roots. If you prune and cut the leaves, the plant grows back still, but if you cut the roots, the plant will die. So, the root is the Charism, not the founder, what the Founder has been called by God for. God revealed at a certain point in his life that God is our Father who can take care of all of us more than our earthly fathers and children. As for the children, he is close to those who are abandoned and fragile. This charism is the root. We need to put our faith in this root. It is God who does! God can change, God will transform. God of Jesus, God of Founder, God of Chiara, and God of Bacciarini.

We need to be ‘Rooted in the Guanellian Charism for the Universal mission’. Therefore, we intend to keep and develop the gifts alive in us, especially the gift of a vocation to the Guanellian consecrated life and the ordained ministry. 

Please take care of your root; since it is not visible, sometimes we may ignore it and not take care of it. How to take care of the roots? By watering and giving some fertilizers.  We need to feed our spiritual life very often through prayer, the word of God and formation.

2. Stem: Stems are usually above ground, although the stems of some plants, such as the potato, also grow underground. One of the functions of the stem is to be supportive and helpful to stand on the ground. Direct connection between the root and stem. Some stems are very strong. They reveal the life span of the tree with the stem. The stem is the spirit that keeps us together as one tree - one family. 

Charism is ancient. The stem is the reality. How do we live the spirit today? The Founder was a man of his time and lived his best according to how Spirit inspired him with his skills and his personal intuition. Our Constitution no.1 affirms, "The Holy Spirit called the Founder, made him fervent in the charity and sent him to relieve the human suffering. Don Guanella responded with the offering of his lifetime”.  But today’s guanellians must imitate him by discerning and applying not necessary in the same way as Guanella. For this reason, we cannot remain in the past, (of course! we are proud of being guanellians, belonging to an international Congregation, which has a history full of graces from the Lord and works in favor of the poor). We cannot look or speak only about the past but have a big future to construct or build. That depends upon our touch with reality. We studied the nine successors of the Congregation. Make a time travel and go and live a day with every one of them. Saints were holy persons before and after death. Other denominations argue with Christians in this aspect, because God is the only saint, while human beings are capable of making mistakes. But they remain as models. Respect them and their opinions, let them to make mistakes and use traditional preventive methods. 

The Spirit asks for a personal and community response appropriate to the time in which we live, in the human, cultural and religious context in which we are immersed and of which we are an integral part. 

3. Fruits/flowers: Humans love only these two parts; Flowers and fruits. Jesus told a parable of the vineyard; the gardener is looking for the fruits. So, he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still, I find none”. Flowers are useful for decoration; fruits are served at the table. We judge the congregation by the quality of its mission. 

The delicacy of our caring: Some plants, such as watermelon and cucumber, need high temperatures for fruiting and flowering. Whereas carrots grow at colder temperatures (available in winter). There are some plants giving flowers throughout the year. Some flowers will bloom only after so many years. The Kurinji flower is one of the rarest flowers that bloom once every 12 years in India. The poor people are the creatures of God; they are different, and everyone is a treasure in our eyes. 

Fr. Guanella was an attentive and passionate educator. He had a passion for improving the fragile, and weakest, the least ones. This needs training, sacrifice, and sometimes investing time and money. 

For Fr. Guanella, the service of charity was not only the place where holiness is expressed but also the place in which holiness comes into being and matures; holiness develops in and with charity. By the quality of our mission, we are being educated, being evangelized. 

Two of Jesus’ instructions for our life: 

1. Jesus says, "Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit" (John 15:2). He told his disciples that in order to bear good fruits, the guanellian must also prune the trees and their branches. It cannot be considered a way of punishment. That is the Spirit of a mountaineer. We cannot think of always having an easy life, of understanding everything immediately. Human life always develops gradually. Only those who have the courage to persevere till the end will be able to realize the plan that the Lord has reserved for each of you. 

2. Jesus chose the disciples because he loved them and wanted to be with them and then sent them for the mission. That is the reason Jesus spend three years with his disciples. Do not use the word “I did” unless you have formed hearts that can generously commit themselves and do together. He knew that his disciples had to bring the Gospel to the whole world and they will shed blood and commit martyrdom. That is why Jesus took time to sow it and grow it in different cultures. This is why the formation and educational work of Jesus was very demanding. He was able to totally change the life of his disciples. I hope it is the same for us too. Much depends on us, even though the Lord will always do the most important part. We thank him on this day for all the graces he has given us and let us be willing to receive the most abundant graces he will still give us.

Homily 2:     Don Guanella - a filial and merciful heart

The Statue of Guanella with his sister, preparing the soup for the poor, in front of the Casa Natale of Founder’s House, Fraciscio, the artwork of Alfredo Vismara, 

The family was the origin of his faith, his parents are the ones who nourished them in faith, the whole, on the left side, the variety of his poor are present, including his priests, sisters, and lay persons, indicating the mission of the Congregation, 

Agostino, the museum's director, explains that everything is the life and spirit of our founder. But where is God, the cross, the Sacred Heart? 

Soup: God was the Food. His main food was the Lord whom he observed from the room in the Como sanctuary. Faith was the rock of this family, His focus was letting himself be educated by God, “Look continuously at your Father, see that He gives you bread to live, and just smile at Him with gentle affection.”

The call of Providence was the criterion that guided him in establishing his works; he was not self-seeking, nor did he wish to make his dreams come true. He declared without hesitation, “If I knew that my work was not wanted by God, I would be the first to destroy it!” Near the end of his life,

Soup for everyone: The soup he was preparing for the poor with his sister Caterina was not only for the poor of his village or diocese, but God blessed that soup so that it could become food for the abandoned nations. That simple soup became bread, and the desire of mission became Lord in his life. In his simplicity, Don Guanella brought bread and the Lord to many. Deepening his call, his dreams became bigger and bigger. Diocese of Como, Mission of Don Bosco, Switzerland, USA, and other parts of the world. Don Guanella received the charism from the Holy Spirit both for the local and for the universal Church.

Together with others: with her sister, who has the same wavelength of mind, later with the persons who challenged him, some of the bishops disagreed with his projects, some of the priests of Servants did not collaborate with him, he is happy just to stay together in the family, 

When someone’s heart is filled with God’s grace, the material world cannot manage to corrupt him. For the first time, the general chapter received the different voices from 26 countries of the world. Twenty-six gifts and problems/concerns, 26 aspects of our charism. 

Today we celebrate the feast of our Founder, his birth into Heaven. Let us reflect upon the charism that imprinted his whole life.

This love was merciful. His model was Jesus himself who pours graces from his Heart on the simple God’s children.

Why is Don Guanella a saint today? Where is his secret of sanctity? We may give many answers, but probably many could be partially covering the subject. One could be that Don Guanella trusted God as a child and trusted his own father. There may be moments of anguish or torment, but not of fear. That filial heart can then accept the neighbor as its brother and sister and be merciful towards them.

Today we live that charism in our communities. Our charism is not the same as Don Guanella’s one. We inspire our actions in the words and deeds of the Founder, but we complete it in our own way, everyone is different here and two priests or two sisters will not do the same thing in the same way.

But that should never scare us as long as we find our strength and inspiration in God and the Founder. We are his children, his heirs. The family is one with many children and many different characters. We should imitate our Founder in his simplicity of a child and total abandonment of God. Then we can carry the love of God to the good children and the whole world as the Founder did. 

"Compromising Promises" - Mark 6:17-29

A year ago, a promise was made during the campaign; Every citizen will buy a kilo of rice for 20 Pesos. Today what happens? During the election, the politicians make unbelievable, unimaginable promises that cannot be even practical. 

The king Herod said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.” He even swore many things to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom.” The king is supposed to educate the child with proper advice, the saints have transmitted and entrusted his style to us; the preventive method.  In this way, he ensured we might have it in our hearts and minds in order to practice it with everyone, anytime and always.

we remember the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, the Messiah's Precursor. All his life moves around Jesus, to the extent that without Him, the very existence would have had no meaning. From his mother's womb, the Baptist already senses the nearness of the Savior; John enthusiastically jumped inside his mother's womb. In his mission as Forerunner John kept this enthusiasm —he announced Jesus’ presence, and pointed Him out as the Messiah: “Behold, the Lamb of God” (Jn 1:36).

In the dusk of his existence, when preaching the messianic freedom to those enslaved by their vices, John is imprisoned: “John had said to Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife’” (Mk 6:18). Thus, the testimony of the martyrdom of John the Baptist is centered upon the Person of Jesus. John the Baptist was Jesus' Forerunner in life, and he preceded Him also in his cruel death.

Encounter of Jesus with the Canaanite woman (Mt 15:21–28)

The Gospel of this Ordinary Sunday invites us to respond to the call of Jesus with extraordinary faith in the poor Canaanite woman. In this Gospel, Jesus encounters a Canaanite woman who begs Him to cure her daughter. Jesus initially refuses her request by saying, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs”. At first sight, Jesus' reply to this needy woman seems to be insulting and humiliating one but if we look at the background of the text, the Lord’s heart for the mission for the Gentiles will become apparent.

Let's look at some background material such as historical and literary context.

The encounter of Jesus with the Canaanite woman occurs only in two of the synoptic Gospels; Matthew and Mark. According to Matthew’s narrative, Jesus left Israel and entered Tyre and Sidon, which was Gentile territory. Jesus went there and he began to curse for the hard heart of less conversion. At that time, the woman meets Jesus both the Gospels affirm that she was a Canaanite woman.

Who are the Canaanites? Canaanites are those who were living in the promised land from the time of Abraham. Their history goes more than 5000 years ago, in the time of prophets, Canaan was also the object of the Lord’s anger as prophets always prophesied, “There is a word of the Lord against You, O Canaan, land of the Philistines” (Zeph 2:5) In this context of the regret and anger over the gentile nations, Jesus meets the woman. The Gospel of Mark says that she was a syro- Phoenician woman Syrophoenician means mixed race of Syrians and Phoenicians or Syrians who lived in Phoenician. (mixed race of Syrians or phonicians). But one thing is clear, she was a woman who was a gentile ignored by the Jews. 

Jesus’ calling woman a dog should not be taken in the literal sense. Jesus did not call her in the singular, but used the plural: “dogs”. Actually, gentiles were considered “dogs.” The book of Leviticus chapter 11 explains that gentiles were not allowed to enter the temple because of their impurity to offer sacrifices at the temple, they were considered unspiritual so to refer to an “unclean” animal. Jesus did not refer to Canaanite woman individually but used a general figure for all Gentiles. 

If we look at the original language of the text, Jesus used a different term to refer to the dogs here, in Greek, was kunarion, meaning “small dog” or “pet dog”. Usually, in the Bible, gentiles were called by the Jews by kuon ‘wild and stray dogs’ (Mt 7:6; Lk 16:21; Phil 3:2). Of course, gentiles are the dogs, but close to the heart of Jesus, they are concerned by Jesus. So, according to both the context and language involved, Jesus wasn’t referring to the Canaanite woman as a “dog,” either directly or indirectly. 

The response of Jesus should not be understood as if Jesus is not willing to heal her. It is not a matter of food; it is not a matter of different people; it is a matter of time; when to feed the children; when to feed the dogs. The v. 24 will identify the children with Israel and the dogs with the Gentiles. Mark gives additional truth, Mark 7: 27 - “Let the children eat first,” the children are fed first; later the dogs receive the scraps. the relativizing πρῶτον. The issue is no longer the leftovers of the children’s food that the dogs receive later. The people are different; the food is the same. In the Gospel, food refers to salvation. Salvation is available for all. Israel are the first-born children, and the Gentiles it is distributed later. 

The faith is the great issue here. In Matthew series of 3 verbal forms are used (came up, bowed down, said), there is also another meaning of prosekynei can mean “worship” the woman perceives Jesus’ divine nature. She is bowing down in a gesture of worship. Matthew is adding one more piece of information, the When the Canaanite woman approached and repeatedly asked for healing, the disciples were annoyed and asked Jesus to send her away. Jesus acknowledged her faith—calling it “great” —and granted her request (Matthew 15:28) which he could not recognize in the disciples whom he rebuked always for their little faith. He wasn’t using in a humiliating way, but rather testing the faith of the woman and teaching an important lesson to His disciples. 

The verse 24 is typical Matthean verse, “I was not sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel” Who are the lost sheep of the House of Israel? In the Gospel of Matthew, They were the sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, and oppressed among the Jewish people. For Jesus said, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mt 9:13). Jesus is sent for this purpose, to welcome the tax collectors, prostitutes, and unclean people. 

I would like to summarize the Gospel: analyzing the Gospel geographically and literally we come to know that Jesus in no way used the words to insult/offend the poor Canaanite woman, but rather to test the faith of the Canaanite woman and by that teaching the disciples who always had little faith in Jesus. Salvation comes to the people of Israel and it does not mean it is close to the Gentiles, Jesus is sent to the lost sheep of Israel the sinners and tax collectors. 

At the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew, “Do not enter in any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of Israel.” (Mt 10:5-6) Canaanite woman’s faith is a reward to all of us that God’s family is about to expand Israel to include ‘all nations. Mt 28:19 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing… Faith can move the mountains. Jesus is expecting the same faith from each one of us at the time of COVID-19, let us not be discouraged like the disciples often showing their little faith, rather let us challenge Jesus with our strong faith and prayer. 

1 Kings 11:4-13 and Mk 7:24-30

During the Academy Awards of Hollywood Movies, Chris Rock, a famous comedian while hosting the show, Will Smith walked onto the stage and slapped Chris in front of the Media. It was because he was joking about the appearance of Will's wife. The amazing thing was, How Chris handled that incident of insult and humiliation.

Today's first reading and the Gospel are teaching us How to react in those situations where there is a confrontation of the Lord with reason. (of insult and humiliation). 

In the First reading, The Lord is angry (only a few times in OT, do we read the Lord takes away his anger when Moses and Aron speak in favor of people). Here the Lord is angry with the reason because Solomon and his family turned behind other gods, idols and dedicated temples for their gods. 

The Lord is confronting a SyroPhonician woman with reason (some may think it might be an insult who reads the text literally) Here the issue is not food or persons, but when to eat? children eat first and the Gentiles eat next. the sacristans/altar servers first and you next. 

In front of the confrontation of the Lord, insults/humiliation, let us not be violent or discouraged, not like Solomon, but let us challenge the issues with our faith like the woman, 'Even the dogs eat under the table"

Every day the Lord is confronting us with reason, and we need to respond with our faith. Our faith has to undergo trials in order to go to the next stage.  

Food is available for everyone on the table. Criteria is sola fidei. One who responds with faith will be saved. 

 

Fr. Rajesh