Positano, the beautiful homily of Don Adriano on the solemnity of San Vito: “We must make more room for God in our hearts”

Positano today celebrates its patron saint San Vito. The 11.00 Holy Mass was concelebrated by the parish priest Don Danilo and by Don Adriano, parish priest in Piano di Montoro in the parish of Santi Giovanni Battista and San Nicola da Tolentino. The homily of Don Adriano: «It is always a joy for us Christians to find ourselves together to share the great gift of the Eucharist, remembering the death and resurrection of Jesus in this synodal style that we are always called to welcome, to make our own, in communion with the whole Church. Today in a particular way for your community of Positano it is a day of celebration and exultation because we celebrate this extraordinary figure of holiness, St. Vitus the martyr, who has certainly protected this community over the centuries, has prayed for your faith and this is today for all of us also a reason to thank the Lord who never leaves us alone on the journey of life but places alongside us models, friends, saints who are those who can be a call to us, a stimulus to walk always on the path of love. Holiness is the universal call of all the baptized, each of us is called to become a saint. We know that this is possible with our commitment but above all if we are docile to the grace of the Spirit, if we allow the Holy Spirit to be able to work on our heart and to model it on that of Christ. Jesus is the reference for us. So that’s why today we want to learn from Saint Vitus, a young saint, to welcome the Lord more and more into our life.
What prompted this young man to give his life and blood for the Lord? What has Vito done extraordinary in his life? He welcomed the Lord and tried to be truly a witness, a Christian not only in name but in fact. This is why he was not afraid even of suffering suffering and even martyrdom for the love of the Lord. Surely in our days Vito’s testimony can really do us good because we know how many times we fail to be truly witnesses of the Lord, sometimes we struggle to put God’s word into practice and sometimes even our testimony is not always a beautiful, clear and luminous testimony. Sometimes the joy of faith is lacking in our life. This is why today we want to look to San Vito and ask from him not only the strength and perseverance to continue this journey of faith but also the courage to put into play every day all the talents that the Lord has bestowed on us at the service of his Church. , Why we are the Church of Jesus and each of us is important because each of us is loved by God. If we become more aware every day of who we are, children loved by God the Father, saved by Jesus, all this surely helps us to give that witness that every day others disciples of the Lord are expected of us. Precisely for this reason we also want to ask San Vito to continue praying so that our faith can be strengthened more and more and we can enlighten those who meet faith every day on our path.
It is not only a gift that God has given us but it is a gift that we must share to the extent that we value and cherish this gift. So yes we are living as true Christians. This is why the Lord sends us, he sends us, we are all missionaries, we are all called to proclaim the Gospel. Vito was able to announce this to the men of his time and we are called today to continue this work that Vito started. The work of so many Christians to tell the world today, to the brothers and sisters we meet, that Christ lives, that Christ is risen, that Christ is our hope.
Today the feast of San Vito reminds us that we are called to keep the presence of the Lord in our hearts keeping away the evil of sin as far as possible. This is the constant commitment that we must carry out every day, to guard our heart, not to allow the evil one to enter our heart, because if the devil enters our heart he takes possession of it and this certainly does not help us to walk in the streets. of God.
The life of San Vito certainly does not offer us much news. We know that he was educated by some Christians after the death of his mother and was also gradually educated to the life of faith that Vito embraced and made of him. When Vito met the Lord thanks to the testimony of other Christians, he began this personal journey of friendship with Jesus and this strong friendship with Jesus made him strong and courageous, even in the face of the threats and torture to which he was subjected for his faith in Christ, Vito did not have the courage to betray the Lord but even in those particular and dark moments of his life he preferred to remain anchored to the Lord. And this strength has become a testimony. For this reason the Church places him before us as a model from which to learn all those virtues that can strengthen faith in us and friendship with the Lord.
This is why it is always represented also with the sign of our faith, the Croce, which reminds all of us how far God’s love goes. He who died for our salvation, he who came to give us life. This is the banner that for us too every day must represent this horizon towards which we are journeying and the Cross must be not only welcomed into our life but also witnessed, the Glorious Cross of Christ from whom life and salvation came.
We also see the other symbol that Vito carries in his hands, the palm of martyrdom. Sometimes in front of small sufferings or small crosses we immediately begin to complain, indeed many times we rebel and take it out on God as if that cross is not accepted as a blessing but as a curse. What have I done Lord? Why do you ask me for this suffering? Instead we Christians must also accept the hour of suffering and trial because even suffering undoubtedly unites us more to the Lord who before us accepted death and the cross. Vito conquered that palm and every day he also tried in suffering to bless the Lord, to give proof of his faith without ever rebelling but seeking in his simplicity as a young man to do God’s will every day. This is the secret to holiness. It’s not doing miracles, it’s not doing great things, but try every day to put God’s will into practice in our lives. But sometimes we know us we are more attached to our selves than to God and this is the struggle that is continually unleashed in our hearts and at times we do not always choose God. Today let us confess it on the feast of this glorious young saint martyr. Vito knew how to choose God every day, we often fail. This is why we must train more and more because we can truly die to our selves and make more room for God in our hearts. He who does not come and does not want to come into our hearts because he needs us or because he demands something from us, but the Lord wishes to come into our life to enrich us because his presence certainly gives us the strength to live and face our daily existence with greater serenity. So we too on this journey towards eternity, supported by the example of many saints, we continue to trust God and rely on God as Vito did.
Today this reminds us of San Vito. Do not be discouraged, do not lose heart, continue to entrust yourself to God, trust God, he will not betray you and the strength of his love for him will continue to protect you on the path of life. We are still in a time of suffering because of the pandemic but above all of the guerra and in this moment of disturbance we really need to dive even more into God’s love, to throw all those agitations and worries into the Lord that so often torment our hearts, knowing that God never abandons usthat God is always with us, that he continues to walk with the Church.
This is why on this feast day we can say our thanks to the Lord because he continues to love us and through his saints he continues to show us his closeness and tenderness. Let us also ask San Vito for the grace to be able to offer our witness of Christian life every day and to be able to truly be disciples of the Lord by walking with the Lord and towards the Lord who is our salvation with the hope that we too, like Vito , one day we can receive the crown of glory, the crown of eternal life.
We see that crown at his feet. It is not the crown of the world, it is not the crown of success and pleasure, but it is there crown of salvation that Vito deserved for his faith and courageous testimony. We too, following the example of San Vito, hope to be able to cross the threshold of eternity to receive that crown of life that does not wither.
We pray for all our intentions, let us pray for this community of Positano so that it can learn from San Vito to be stronger in faith, more united in charity. May we also in this moment of celebration entrust to the Lord, through the intercession of Saint Vitus, all the sick, all the suffering, the lonely, all those who are going through a difficult moment, all those who need a word of hope and comfort. , how many are far from the faith, how many are in search of the Lord. We also want to entrust all the young people to San Vito, the new generations, because today we know the difficulty especially of our children to open their hearts to God, to trust in God, attracted by other purely worldly realities; sometimes they find it hard to love the Lord. San Vito who was a young man and who in his youth had the strength to choose the Lord can illuminate and also bring the hearts of our children closer to God because today our communities need above all this youthful presence because it is they who must continue this path, we will hand over the torch of our faith to them. This is why it is important that young people too can once again be witnesses of this faith. Today we really want to pray for all the young people but especially for the young people of this community so that, with the example of San Vito, they can truly be a sign of hope and can gradually experience this love of God that fills our own. existence and always sustains us.
We pray for the ministry of your dear parish priest. May San Vito and the Madonna protect Don Danilo’s ministry may it be for this community that the Lord has truly entrusted to him the presence of the good shepherd, the one who knows, the one who loves, the one who gives his life for the good of his sheep. May the Lord help you to walk together with your shepherd and also in this rediscovery of holiness may you become saints, may Don Danilo become a saint, we may all become so as the Lord asks of us. Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect ».

Positano, Don Raffaele Celentano tells us about the devotion to San Vito and the history of the Church of Santa Maria Assunta