Piano di Sorrento, Don Pasquale Irolla on the solemnity of Corpus Domini: “The desire to stop time”

Piano di Sorrento. During this morning’s homily in the Basilica of San Michele Arcangelo, on the occasion of the solemnity of Corpus Domini, Don Pasquale Irolla concentrated his reflection on the importance of stopping time. And he addressed a special wish to Alessandro, a minister who turns 18 today and who already glimpses the light of Jesus in his life. Here are the words of Don Pasquale: «Today is a solemn day, the The body of the Lord. And this Eucharist is solemn and it is beautiful for me to celebrate it with so many altar servers, the very young and adults, to make this Eucharist even more beautiful. And I take the providential coincidence of Alexander’s 18 years for a word to everyone through you. What is Corpus Domini today? Perhaps this coincidence for you minister can be a road to the future. What will be born in the heart of those who invented this day. There was already Holy Thursday. Sister Maria Luisa Maresca of Sopramare, the Dominican nun pressed the Pope to celebrate this day.
What does Corpus Domini mean? It means hallucinate and stop time. Two light points. Corpus Domini was born from the desire to stop time. When you love you want to stop time and this day comes from the desire to stop time first. And which frames to stop? The photogram of Jesus instituting the Eucharist and born from a contemplative gaze. We are used as in love to take immediately and to consume. While, and wives in particular know very well, they would like to be first looked in the eye. Corpus Domini is born from this desire, of look before consuming. And who to watch? First of all look at me who is the priest who presides over the Eucharist. To look at the priest is to have this hallucination: “It is Jesus”. And then stop the frame of the consecration. For you Alexander, who are at the altar spot, turn it on and look at the full moon which is the consecrated host, remain enraptured and say: “It is Jesus”. As well as the photogram while you will come to receive Communion, open your hands and look at your poor and dirty hands like ours and say: “It is Jesus”.
It seems to me that Corpus Domini can be summed up in the desire to stop this frame. And for me while I lift the Host to look at you in filigree, that is to look at you through the consecrated Host, through Jesus, and ask myself who is Jesus, what I have in my hands or you who are in front of me and behind me? And play between these two loves. We can say today that the first love is Jesus and look at him with hallucinated eyes, even in the people around us.
Corpus Domini is having hallucinations and it is stopping time. To you Alessandro I wish to be those stones set, young lives on fire. 18 years are the years in which to set yourself on fire and let yourself be set on fire by Jesus. On the altar it is easier, you feel lucky.
And at the same time stop time and say: “It is Jesus”, stop, look. It is Jesus in my hands, it is Jesus in me, it is Jesus in our eyes. I wish this gift to you, a wish from the altar. You will still have one year to let yourself be carried away by the dream of God that you may already glimpse about you, but the day will come when Jesus will pass by and look at you, he will strike you with a glance, he will call you by name and you will begin a new life.
Best wishes to us. This Eucharist is solemn. All our family members, all friends, the whole community, all the Saints, all the angels, all the priests are present. We smell in the perfume, we catch the sparkle of their eyes, above all we look at Jesus. He is among us, he is for us, he is in us and we are slowly becoming like him ».

Piano di Sorrento, Don Pasquale Irolla transferred to Capri? Ten years ago, the patronage was attempted