Homily of H.E. Mons. Claudio Gatti of November 16, 2007

1st Reading: Wis 13:1-9; Psalm 18; Gospel: Lk 17:26-37

The Mother of the Eucharist pointed out that some of you were surprised when they knew the cause that led me to celebrate this day. If you remember, in one of the letters of God, Our Lady revealed that while she was going on the way to Calvary along with her Son, she felt a mixed feeling in her heart: on the one hand the excruciating pain for Jesus' death, on the other, joy because she knew that other children would have been born again with the grace, resurrected because of Christ's death. The idea of celebrating on November 16 (in this day of 2002 came the letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith and the Congregation of Clergy communicating the Bishop's defrocking, editor's note) was with me since several days. Then, almost two days before this celebration, in my mind became clear the thought that so far we have overlooked the importance of this event on which I wrote in the presentation of the book "The last blow of Satan", and after that we talked little or nothing about it. It was an event that was to be set aside, removed from our memory. Later, however, I realized that it is a day that has to be remembered, and I support it without presumption, both by the present generation and also by future generations because starting in November 16, 2002 began the construction, although slow to mature, of God's plan. Since that day the triumph of the Eucharist has become even greater and more visible, the triumph of the Mother of the Eucharist in the Church was great and accepted by an increasing number of people. In our hearts there are feelings of joy and suffering; after five years, we want to give prevalence and priority to joy. The intervention of God has been so often announced and then postponed because He is still waiting for the conversion of the laity, as He pointed out on several occasions in the last two years. Regarding the conversion of priests, I think it is a conversation between God and his ministers, without intermediaries. As far as the conversion of men, however, God is still waiting for many of them, for he said: "I'm a father and I cannot imagine having to get rid of so many children for eternity, who, if not converted, would go to Hell". Even if God has postponed His intervention and is making us pay hard and painfully for the long wait, He will certainly intervene. When the young son of Naim's widow and the daughter of the leader of the synagogue Jairus died, none of the two parents thought that Jesus would resurrect their children, and the same was for Lazarus even though his sisters felt a little hope because they had sent for the Lord. These are three people with no life that have been resurrected by the direct intervention of God. We know that there is not only the physical death, the one that Saint Francis in the Canticle of creatures, called "Sister Death". There is also a moral death and it is the most painful because with the physical death those who have lived in a state of grace and have no sins to atone go in the embrace of God and eternal happiness, with the moral death instead you continue to live physically on earth but a huge pain is continually present in the heart. The same suffering that I, your Bishop, experienced right on November 16, five years ago, when priesthood was taken off from me, the most important thing in my life. Even if this sad event was told in advance, since then the one speaking to you is morally dead. This has allowed the realization of the third secret of Fatima and God himself explained its meaning. The son of Naim's widow, Jairus' daughter, and Lazarus were resurrected a short time after their death. To resurrect those who have been morally killed is a very long undertaking: five years have passed, but we are sure that the Bishop's triumph will come, that he will reach dizzying heights and stunning loftiness, and not to be proud, but because this is the will of God. Our Lord is testing us, He always allows suffering for the sake of his children, including those who He is asking to because to Marisa and me He has asked a great deal during these years. We have not been paid off, as yet, but we know that God keeps his promises. Today, regarding this aspect, the Mother of the Eucharist has hinted with great frankness and sincerity, I do not know if you understood when she said: "The Bishop was turned over by Heaven and Earth" and this is just to show that God could have also intervened to prevent all this, but He did not do so. Sometimes it is difficult for us to understand God's "whys", this creates difficulties to us, but we have to accept His will. Resurrection will occur. That's why I wanted to celebrate this day: in my heart there is hope that our long Calvary, our endless Gethsemane, is finally coming to an end. We all would like that next year to be full of joy, not that I want to absolutely compel God to perform certain works, but we really hope this is the last period of death. I would like to turn on in your hearts similar feelings even if you have no right to expect anything because you were not asked for a commitment so intense, dramatic, and especially for such a long time as it was asked to Marisa and me, a commitment until blood and tears, until the total immolation of our lives. I hope that, just as Christ resurrected the three deceased mentioned above, similarly he will morally resurrect the Bishop, as another manifestation of His power. May this intention be always present in your prayers: may God at last, decide to intervene. It was revealed to us that there are many souls in Hell, and that it is growing, as is the Paradise growing, with the arrival of tens of millions or hundreds of millions souls. Since October 24 of last year more than two hundred million souls have been saved, but it does not represent a number as high as we might think. God wants that many others of His children to be saved because for those who are in Hell we can no longer do anything. For those who live on Earth there is still the possibility of salvation. This is love: the joy is to be shared with your loved ones and the more are the saved souls, the greater the joy. Try to think in what proportion will rejoice those who worked and suffered with God in the salvation of so many souls! This will be the eternal reward but we are men, and, like the apostles, we say: "Behold, we have left everything and followed you". Jesus replied: "Truly I tell you: no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields, along with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life" (Mk 10:28-30). We are waiting for this and God cannot disappoint us, must not disappoint us, must, of course, give us what he promised. Such is the reason why I chose to celebrate the fifth anniversary on November 16. I wrote in the introduction to the book "The last blow of Satan" that if the demons, and it is St. Paul saying it, would have known that, by His death, Christ would have redeemed the world, they would have not cooperated in His killing; if the demons would have known that with the moral death of bishop and seer, conversions would have multiplied, they would not have worked to get where they got. But we will talk about it after the H. Mass. For now, in your heart, in your soul, may be always present the intention to "speed up the Resurrection" because, please remember, we are children of Daddy God, children of the Mother of the Eucharist, children of the Eucharist, children of death and Resurrection. Death is the necessary step to get to Resurrection, which is the last act of the intervention of God.