Posts by Fr Dino Vanin

Are these orders from Jesus (Luke 6: 27-37) a string of exaggerations designed to shock us? NO! We all know very well that Jesus means every single one of these statements, shocking and nearly impossible to implement as they truly are. We know him well enough to realize that these teachings are so “Christ-like,” so incredibly different from conventional wisdom, so radical that they must be divine; they must be filled with Life and designed to fill us with Life…

We are swamped with words. Some poisonous like gossip; some devastating like slander; others unsettling like rumors and criticism. Most of them, though, are empty and meaningless, hot air—precisely. How many millions of words have invaded our being this past week? Printed words, broadcast words, casual words from friends and passerby—words, words, and more words. Almost screaming, we take refuge in our churches and say: “No more words…we need facts!” There we get more words. But we do not mind…

But who will endure the day of his coming? For he is like the refiner’s fire, or like the fuller’s lye. …He will sit refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi… (from the first reading, Malachi 3:1-4) Isn’t it overkill, a pure exaggeration? We are talking about a 40-day-old baby, so cute, so charming. The 2nd reading (Hebrews 2:14-18) sheds light on this obvious discrepancy. It speaks of Jesus’ entire life as spent in obedience to…

The readings for the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time are about freedom.  From the first reading (Neh 8:2-4, 5-6, 8-10) we gather that, after returning from exile, for the first time, in a highly charged atmosphere of deep emotions, the Jews were free to celebrate God’s gift of the Torah (the Law). In the second reading (1 Cor 12:12-30), St. Paul tells us how Jesus freed us from sin through his blood on the cross, and how he has poured his Holy…

The importance of the Solemnity of the Epiphany is all in the contemplation of the mystery, hidden for millennia from past generations, and revealed in the fulness of time in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God in human flesh. It is the desire of God the Father to save every one of his children and, at the end, to welcome all of them into his heavenly home, to share in his endless joy. The fulfillment of this grandiose…

The intensity of the Christmas’ solemnity should not dwarf the significance of the Feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth. And the reason is not an exaggeration but a simple reality check: our future as a Church and as a Nation hangs in the balance. The number of religious institutions that cling to this somber realization is dwindling. It consists of conservative Christian groups and the Catholic Church. That’s about it! For decades, we realized that there were covert efforts…

The most common word we hear during the Advent Season is “the coming of the Lord.” For example: And they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:30) This phrase needs clarification. Since Jesus, the Son of Man, is God, we cannot speak of him as leaving point A (heaven) to get to point B (wherever we happen to be). As God, he is everywhere at the same time, in heaven, in the…

Let me paraphrase the gospel passage for the First Sunday of Advent: This world has ominous sings in the sun, the moon and the stars. There are many nations in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the elements. People are dying of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world. Our world is indeed crisscrossed by heart-wrenching tragedies, by devastating calamities, by deadly, age-long feuds, barbaric, unspeakable acts of violence, deep divisions and prolonged wars. There might even be signs indicating…

Jesus said to his disciples:“In those days after that tribulationthe sun will be darkened,and the moon will not give its light,and the stars will be falling from the sky,and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. “And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’with great power and glory,and then he will send out the angelsand gather his elect from the four winds,from the end of the earth to the end of the sky. “Learn…

Looking back at my priestly ministry spanning over more than 52 years, I lost count of the many people who came and keep coming to me with a very heavy heart. Invariably, they want me, as one of God’s ministers, to assure them that he has been monitoring all their sighs, accompanying them through their tragedies and collecting their tears in his divine bowl: My wanderings you have noted; are my tears not stored in your vial, recorded in your book? (Psalm…

Today’s reflection for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time is all about the law that must guide our every thought, choice, action and reaction. Today’s reflection is about the “rail” on which our life, in all its facets, is supposed to run. The expert of the law double-checked with Jesus about it by asking: “Which is the first of all the commandments?” (cf. Mark 12:28-34) It is called “Shema” because its first word is “hear,” “shema” in Hebrew. It is like saying: “Forget…

This gospel passage (Mark 10:46-52) is the setting in which the promise made by God through the prophet Jeremiah (31:7-9) unfolds. Jericho is an oasis with an abundance of vegetation and water. In it, life goes on easy, without major challenges. However, Jesus is leaving Jericho with his disciples because his destination is Jerusalem. The way to Jerusalem is all uphill and steep and grueling. Furthermore, humanly speaking, Jesus’ decision makes no sense at all. It makes no sense also to…