Homily of H.E. Mons. Claudio Gatti of September 14,2009

Praised be Jesus Christ!

My dear brothers and sisters, today begins the new social year 2009-2010. The year of divine interventions is starting with a sacrifice that is falling on me more than on you. This rain, so copious and unceasing, with a very strong humidity, is forcing me, unfortunately, to give up celebrating the H. Mass for you and with you. But, however, you must know that while you are participating in the Holy Mass celebrated by my substitute, I will celebrate it in this room, which Marisa used to call "The four walls" keeping her as a prisoner, for you, for each of you, for our community.

Unfortunately I was forced - as I told you already - to give up celebrating the H. Mass, but I am not giving up talking to you.

Physically (and it seems absurd, at the beginning of the new year) the Bishop and the Seer are not amongst you. But certainly, while celebrating the H. Mass, Marisa will be at my side in bilocation, along with Our lady, St. Joseph and grandmother Jolanda, and they will also be, as it has been often said and declared, in your midst. And you know that the presence of the soul is much stronger, more qualified than the other presence that is often an appearance and has no purpose whatsoever!

Anyway I have the joy to give each of you my welcome in this thaumaturgic place, a place blessed by God, a place rendered holy and thaumaturgic by God, a place that has seen an awesome sequence of great events.

I want to cite some of them, not because I doubt that you have forgotten them, but simply for the pleasure and joy to remind them.

It is proper to start by reminding you the many exceptional Trinitarian theophanies which took place at the basilica, in the little chapel and in this room, which has seen for so many years Marisa's sorrowful presence. Through these experiences of hers, we have made the first, small, tentative step towards the understanding of the Trinitarian Mystery. She used to describe what was happening before her eyes: the Father, from whom came in sequence, equal and identical to Him, first the Son and then the Holy Spirit. And here we are... the One and Triune God present in our midst!

The apparitions of Our Lady, defined as the most important in the Church history: many, numerous and exceptional!

The Episcopal ordination: a unique event in the Church history since the ordination of the Apostles and Paul's - and I want to emphasize - always done by Jesus.

The gift of the Holy Door, and we still enjoy its benefits to this day.

The letters of God that have accompanied us and are still accompanying us; in this regard I am addressing you a pressing and warm invitation to read them again, for you will see that by reading them again, you will experience a zest and a deeper and better understanding.

The many Eucharistic miracles (185), which also include the many bloodstained hosts, up to that June 11, 2000 during the H. Mass celebrated by the Bishop ordained by God.

And, besides this, all the graces of spiritual and physical nature that we have had for ourselves and for the others by intercession of the Mother of the Eucharist!

Under this tent, now so bombarded by an unrelenting rain, I remind you two great events: the official beginning of my episcopal service (September 14, 1999) and the signing of the decree that God commanded me to draft, with which was given the approval to the apparitions of the Mother of the Eucharist, to the Trinitarian theophanies and to the letters of God.

But certainly there is in the corner of your mind, and above all of your heart, a question: "When the trials that God has continually put us through will be over?" I want to remind you, my dear people, that the Eucharistic Mystery implies the presence and, as a consequence, the implementation of passion, death and resurrection. Passion and death have now occurred, so much so that if you look at that picture in front of you, you will find written in sharp and clear print "Beginning of the implementation of God's promises". In this year, which will ends on 8th December 2010, the promised interventions should begin. Interventions that we may call as Resurrection.

Trials serve the purpose to make faith, hope and charity stronger. God, it is true, tried us, but He also said: "I will not disappoint you. And all that I promised I will fulfil!"

I could quote many examples, but I will just restrict and stop myself at Abraham's classic example who became father of many nations at an old age. While he thought that by now all his property would not pass to a direct heir, by genetic and genealogic succession, but to one of his servant, he was rewarded and exalted by God with a particular action: God caused his wife Sarah, aged and sterile, to be fertile and after nine months she generated Isaac.

And since we see the Crucifix here in front of us, we must remember what is written in John's Gospel: "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life". Jesus, after living a long and bloody passion, did not merely get on the Cross, but He made a gift of Self. He, the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, God and Son of God, as Paul says in a sentence from the Letter to the Philippians: "He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant"; He abandoned, as outwardly appearance, all divine attributes to appear increasingly similar to men. In this condition, we feel Him as brother, we feel Him as friend, we feel Him, above all, as Saviour and Redeemer. It is precisely for this total and complete obedience to His Father's plan that God exalted Him and gave Him a name above every name. So we must seek to imitate Christ: as He did, to obey the Father's plan, accept the Father's plan and to live in a constant and unremitting commitment, therefore from a modest spiritual life we may reach a higher and higher spiritual life and be closer and closer to God.

Jesus is our friend. Do not ever forget it. In times of trials, in times when doubts surface, when uncertainty is capturing our heart and suffering is crushing our souls in a devastating grip, it is in those times that we have to raise our eyes to Heaven and while crying out, repeat the verse that you will be reading when the Responsorial Psalm will be uttered: "You are, Lord, our salvation".

And with that, my dear people, I shall end these words coming from my heart, a heart, believe me, tried hard enough, but it is now raising to God and by raising to God it finds support, backing, aid, comfort and intercession from Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, St. Joseph, Guardian of the Eucharist, grandmother Jolanda and our sister Marisa, victims and silent worshippers, lovers of the Eucharist.

My dear people, one last prayer, if I may: I will remind each of you to God, but you in this Mass do remind God of your Bishop, so he may be back as soon as possible in the efficiency of his strength to serve God, serve you, serve primarily the Church, for which we paid some heavy contributions for the cooperation of its rebirth.

And with that, my dear people, Praised be Jesus Christ!