Assisi, 30 October 2025

Mass at tomb of Carlo Acutis

Homily Notes of Bishop Brendan Leahy

The readings today revolve around the death of Jesus on the Cross.

In the Gospel Jesus presents us with the statement that he is heading towards Jerusalem where he will be condemned to death and die on the Cross. Jesus had already seen what happened to John the Baptist at the hands of Herod. He knew his destiny. The Pharisees try to dissuade him from proceeding towards Jerusalem. But Jesus remained faithful to what God wanted, even if it caused him great anguish that a city he obviously loved very much, Jerusalem, would be the scene of this death.

In the first reading, Paul offers us a reflection on the mystery of Jesus’ death and resurrection, reminding us of the central simple truth – if God allowed his own Son to die on the Cross, there must be a meaning in suffering. All that is negative that can happen us, in some mysterious way fits in because anything that happens us is always going to be less than what happened Jesus, God’s own son. If God is love and his own Son had to die, then we can also believe that even in the difficult moments of suffering in our lives, we are always enveloped within that love between God the Father and Jesus, always. Nothing can separate us from that love. Indeed, we can say that the seed of the resurrection is contained in every situation of trouble, rejection or trial we go through. Jesus is at God’s right-hand pleading for us. He knows that we can triumph through the trials by the power of his love that contains the resurrection out of the Cross.

Let’s listen to the young Carlo Acutis’s insights into Jesus’ death on the Cross:

“The Word of God was made flesh and came down from Heaven to restore the Mercy we lost through original sin and which we continue to lose each time we sin today. Jesus could have easily performed his redemptive act in a less painful manner. He certainly did not lack for the means, systems and methods to reach salvation without having to resort to suffering. But that is not what he chose. He chose Calvary. He chose the Cross, he chose humiliation, he chose the Passion.”

“Even though it [the Cross] cannot be fully understood, it must be welcomed with gratitude and love.” “This mystery [of the Cross] will change and transform our hearts and our lives”.

Carlo liked particularly the words of Jesus when he says: “learn from me”. He believed we can learn from Jesus Crucified. He quoted St. Paul who wrote in his letter to the Philippians: “have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant”. Yes, we are to have Jesus’ mind, and learn his way of thinking, loving and living.

We learn from the Cross Jesus’ way of humility, service and love, both in our relationship towards God, but also towards our neighbour.

Let’s take away from our Mass here today in Assisi this desire to learn from Jesus Crucified who teaches us all the virtues, who shows us how to live, and helps us become teachers who reflect Jesus’ own attitudes and way to love those in our care, our colleagues, especially those we might consider difficult or challenging. With God on our side, who can be against us?