😇Saint Andrew Avellino, born Lancelotto Avellino, was a 16th-century Italian Theatine priest, known for his intense life of prayer and reforming zeal. Initially an ecclesiastical lawyer, a small lie told in court caused him a profound crisis of conscience that led him to abandon his career and dedicate himself entirely to God. Upon entering the Theatine Order, he adopted the name Andrew, in honor of the Apostle's cross, and made a vow to always progress in Christian perfection. His life was marked by rigorous penance, an ardent love for the Eucharist, and powerful preaching that converted many hearts. He became a master of novices and a superior, guiding many souls on the path of holiness and helping to found houses for his order. He died in 1608, at the foot of the altar, as he began Holy Mass, sealing a life of service and constant vigilance.
📖Epistle (Ecclus 31:8-11)
Blessed is the man that is found without blemish: and that hath not gone after gold, nor put his trust in money nor in treasures. Who is he, and we will praise him? for he hath done wonderful things in his life. Who hath been tried and made perfect, he shall have eternal glory. He could have transgressed, and did not transgress: and could do evil things, and did not: Therefore are his goods established in the Lord, and all the assembly of the saints shall declare his alms.
✝️Gospel (Lk 12:35-40)
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: Let your loins be girt, and lamps burning in your hands. And you yourselves like to men who wait for their lord, when he shall return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when he cometh, shall find watching. Amen I say to you, that he will gird himself, and make them sit down to meat, and passing, will minister unto them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. But this know ye, that if the householder knew at what hour the thief would come, he would surely watch, and would not suffer his house to be broken open. Be you then also ready: for at an hour when you think not, the Son of man will come.
🤔Reflections
✨Today's liturgy invites us to a profound meditation on Christian vigilance, the central theme of the Gospel, and its practical manifestation through detachment from earthly things, as praised in the Epistle. Jesus exhorts us: "Let your loins be girt, and lamps burning in your hands." This image evokes the readiness of a pilgrim, of a servant prepared for immediate action. To gird one's loins means to remove everything that hinders movement, that is, to divest oneself of disordered attachments and sins that make us slow in serving God. The burning lamps symbolize the living faith and ardent charity that must illuminate our actions. The Epistle echoes this same truth by praising the man who "hath not gone after gold." Material detachment is not an end in itself but the necessary condition to keep the lamp of charity burning and the loins of the soul girt, free to run to meet the coming Lord. Saint Andrew Avellino embodied this ideal by abandoning a promising worldly career for a life of radical service to God, showing that true wealth lies in having one's "goods established in the Lord."
🕊️Christ's promise to the vigilant servants is of a bewildering beauty: "he will gird himself, and make them sit down to meat, and passing, will minister unto them." Here, the master-servant relationship is inverted, revealing the essence of the Kingdom of God, which is humble and self-giving love. This image prefigures the heavenly banquet, the eternal communion with God, where He Himself gives Himself to us fully. Saint Augustine reminds us that this vigilance is not a state of anxiety, but of loving expectation: "Watch, therefore, with the heart, with faith, with hope, with charity, with good works" (St. Augustine, Sermon 216). The Catechism of the Catholic Church, when speaking of eternal life, describes heaven as the "perfect communion of life and love with the Most Holy Trinity" (CCC 1024), the final fulfillment of this promise of being served by God. The life of Saint Andrew Avellino, dedicated to prayer and service to his brethren, was a continuous preparation for this banquet, a constant watch awaiting the Bridegroom.
🙏The union between vigilance and holiness is perfectly illustrated in the life and death of Saint Andrew Avellino. The Epistle describes him as one who "could have transgressed, and did not transgress: and could do evil things, and did not." This is not mere abstention but a victory of grace, an inner freedom gained through constant cooperation with God. Saint Andrew's vow to always progress in perfection is the ultimate expression of "girt loins." He did not become complacent but tirelessly sought holiness. His death, at the foot of the altar, as he began the celebration of the Eucharist, is the seal of a life found "watching." He was called by the Lord at the very hour he was at his post, with the lamp of his priesthood burning brightly. Thus, his life becomes a powerful example for us that preparation for the coming of the Son of man is not an isolated act, but the sum of an entire life of fidelity, detachment, and service, lived in the certainty that, at any moment, the Lord may knock at our door.
✍️See English version of the critical articles here.
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