I would like to address this column to our young people, especially those in elementary school. When I lived in Italy, pursuing a doctorate in theology, I was in a restaurant one day and ordered linguini and clam sauce. When the waiter brought me the dish, I asked for grated cheese – at which point the waiter corrected me and said: “Non ci va,” (pronounced nohn chee va) an Italian phrase which means “They don’t go together.”
You see, while we are accustomed to putting cheese on our linguini and clam sauce in the United States, the Italians believe that you never mix fish with cheese, so the waiter refused to bring me what I requested.
We can appreciate this non ci va mentality. What would we say if we saw someone putting ketchup on his morning cereal which is floating on milk? What would we say if someone was putting mustard on Jello? How would we react if someone asked for salt for their ice cream? Non ci va!
Sometimes, when we, in American society, try to mix certain things together, most people would say, “Sure, whatever you want is fine by us.” However, there are certain non ci va situations that we, Catholics, on this Feast of All Saints, should keep in mind – here I’m talking about behaviors which just don’t go together. So, after I read each pair of things that don’t mix, I want you to say “non ci va.”
• Going to Church on Sunday – being a bully to one of our classmates on Monday. Non ci va. • Studying religion each day – not showing respect to our teachers. Non ci va. • Learning the Golden Rule – refusing to let your younger brothers or sisters hang out with you and your friend. Non ci va. • Collecting a big bag of candy from Trick or Treating on Halloween and refusing to share it with others when you get home. Non ci va. • Studying the Ten Commandments in class, then you go home, and your parents tell you to do your homework. Later, you lie and say you did it when you really did not. Non ci va. • Wanting to make the honor roll so badly you decide to cheat on a test. Non ci va. • Saying prayers at the beginning of the school day but not thinking about one word of those prayers while you’re reciting them. Non ci va. • You ask your parents’ permission to go to a dance, but you complain when they tell you “Yes, but be home by 10:30.” Non ci va. • When you go to the cafeteria for lunch, you don’t like what you see, so you throw out your whole meal except for the dessert. Non ci va. • Your parents tell you to clean up your room, but you answer them – ”I’ll do it later,” even though you have no intention of cleaning your room. Non ci va.
Boys and girls, there is a thin line between being a saint and a sinner, between being a real Christian and one of those religious hypocrites that Jesus criticizes in the Gospel, between really trying to imitate Jesus so as to become “holy,” which means, being in good standing with God and his Church, and just going through the motions half-heartedly.
We celebrate this feast of All Saints on November 1. Let us be mindful that certain humans have attained the goal for which we were all created, namely, holiness, which is to say, to be in good standing with God.
On this feast of All Saints, let us pledge, then, to do our best to become saints by becoming better Christians, making an effort to be the best students, the best sons and daughters, brothers and sisters that Jesus knows we can be. After all, one day, we’ll meet Jesus face to face and ask for entrance into Heaven, but the last thing we want to hear Jesus say is non ci va because, as you may have guessed, Jesus doesn’t really care if you want cheese on your linguini and clam sauce!
Father Comandini serves as diocesan coordinator of the Office for Ongoing Faith Formation.