Jan 1-6:
Jan 1 Monday (SOLEMNITY OF MARY, THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD): Lk 2:16-21:).
Introduction: Since
we celebrate the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God on New Year’s Day, may I take
this opportunity to wish you all a Happy and Peaceful New Year? I pray that the
Lord Jesus and His Mother Mary may enrich your lives during the New Year with
an abundance of Divine blessings. Today’s Feast of Mary, the Mother of God, is
a very appropriate way to begin a new year, reminding us to rely on the
powerful intercession of our Heavenly Mother. The Church has, since 1968, also
observed a yearly World Day of Peace; this year, 2022, marks the 54th
celebration. On this day, the Church invites us to pray specially for lasting
peace in the world throughout the New Year.
Scripture lessons summarized: Today’s first
reading gives us the beautiful Divine blessing from the book of Numbers for the
New Year, and the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 67) begs for that blessing. In the
second reading, Paul reminds the Galatians and us that God’s Son has become one
of us through Mary, and that it is through Jesus that we have become the children
of God. Today’s Gospel describes how the shepherds spread to all their
neighbors the Good News surrounding the birth of Jesus which the angel had
revealed to them, and how Mary treasured “all these things” in her heart. The
Gospel also tells us that on this day, the eighth day after His Birth, the
Child was circumcised and received the name Jesus that had been chosen by God
Himself.
Traditional belief and Church doctrine: We honor
Mary primarily because God honored her by choosing her to become the mother of
Jesus, the Incarnate Second Person of the Holy Trinity, Who remained God, when
He took on human flesh and became Man, as stated in the Bible. The angel said
to Mary: “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you
shall call His Name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the
Most High…” (Lk 1:31-32a; RSV 2 Catholic). After the angel had appeared to
her and told her that she was to be the mother of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin
Mary visited Elizabeth. At Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth said, “Blessed
are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this
granted me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? (Lk 1:42-43; RSV 2
Catholic). Hence, the Council of Ephesus affirmed in AD 431 that Mary was
truly the Mother of God (Theotokos), and in AD 451, the Council of
Chalcedon affirmed the Divine Motherhood of Mary as a dogma, an official
doctrine of the Holy Catholic Church.
Life messages: 1) Let us strive to be pure and
holy like our Heavenly Mother. All mothers want their children to inherit or
acquire their good qualities. Hence, let us honor Mary, our Heavenly Mother, by
practicing her virtues of trusting Faith, obedience to the word of God, purity,
and humble, selfless, committed service. 2) Let us make the New Year meaningful
by having every day a) some noble thing to dream, b) something good to do, and
c) Someone to love, the first person being Jesus. 3) Let us sanctify every day
of the New Year: a) by offering every morning, all the activities of the day to
God for His glory, thus transforming them into prayers, b) by asking for the
anointing and strengthening of the Holy Spirit to do good to others and to
avoid evil, c) by remaining faithful to our family prayers and Bible reading at
night, d) by asking God’s pardon and forgiveness for our sins committed during
the day, and e) by seeking God’s special protection during sleep. Before we
sleep, let us say, “Good night, Lord,” repeating Jesus’ last words from the
cross, “Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit.”
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
Jan 2 Tuesday (Saints Basil the Great and Gregory
Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church):
The context: The news reached the central Jewish
religious authorities in Jerusalem that one John, the son of a Jewish priest,
was preaching repentance and renewal of life to the Jews and inviting them to
receive the baptism of repentance meant only for Gentiles. Hence, the Sanhedrin
sent a delegation of experts to Bethany on the eastern bank of river Jordan
(different from the Bethany near Jerusalem, where Lazarus lived), to discover
whether John was claiming to be the expected Messiah or his forerunner Elijah,
the prophet, and to ask why he encouraged the Chosen People to receive the
baptism of repentance.
John’s witnessing mission: John frankly declared
in all humility that he was not Elijah nor the expected Messiah nor even one of
the Old Testament prophets reincarnated. Later, Jesus referred to him as “a
lamp “He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for
a while in his light (Jn 5:35). In the spiritual life, the ideal is to
become invisible, and our role as Christians is to become salt, yeast, grain,
and light. But John claimed that he was the forerunner of the real Messiah, and
that his mission was to prepare the lives of the Jews to receive the expected
Messiah and to bear witness to him when he should appear in public. John also
explained to them that he was baptizing the Jews with water because they must
be made holy through repenting of their sins and renewing their lives if they
were to receive the most Holy Messiah in their midst.
Life messages: 1) As Catholic Christians, we
believe in the coming of Jesus our Lord and Savior on our altars during each
Eucharistic celebration. Hence, we, too, need to repent of our sins and ask
God’s pardon and forgiveness on a daily basis if we wish to receive Jesus into
our hearts and lives sacramentally. 2) We, too, need to renew our lives with
the help of our Lord Jesus living within us, together with the Father and the
Holy Spirit, so that He may radiate His love, forgiveness, and mercy to all
around us. 3) We too need to practice the true humility of John the Baptist. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Jan 3 Wednesday:
The context: The central theme of today’s Gospel
is a challenge to live like the Lamb of God and to die like the Lamb of God.
The Gospel passage presents two themes, namely, John’s witness to Jesus and
Jesus’ epiphany and identification by John as the “Lamb of God.” Today’s Gospel
is a personal and corporate call to us to become witnesses to the Lamb of God.
John the Baptist gave testimony to Jesus by pointing out that He was the Lamb
of God (vv. 29, 36); a man who was before me (vs.
30); the one on whom the Holy Spirit remained (v. 33);
and the Son of God (vs. 34). Lamb of God is
the most meaningful title given to Jesus in the Bible. John’s introduction
probably brought five pictures of the “lamb” to the minds of his Jewish
listeners. 1) The Lamb of yearly Atonement (Scapegoat): (Lv 16:20-22). Two
lambs were brought to the Temple on the Day of Atonement. Lots were cast, and
the high priest slowly led one to the altar to be killed as a sin offering for
the people. Then he placed both his hands on the head of the other and
confessed the sins of Israel and transferred them to that scapegoat. It was
then sent into the forest to be killed by some wild animal. 2) The Lamb of
Daily Atonement (Ex. 29:38-42; Nm 28:1-8). This was the lamb sacrificed on the
“Black Altar” of the Temple every morning and evening to atone for the sins of
the Jews. 3) The Paschal Lamb (Ex. 12:11ss.). This was the lamb whose blood
saved the firstborn of the Jewish families in Egypt from the “Angel of
destruction” as well as the Paschal Lamb killed every year on the Passover
Feast. 4) The Lamb of the Prophets. The prophets portrayed one Lamb Who, by His
sacrifice, would redeem His people: “The gentle lamb led to the
slaughterhouse” (Jer 11:19), “like a lamb to the slaughter” (Is
53:7). Both refer to the sufferings and sacrifice of Christ. 5) The Lamb of the
Conquerors. This was the image of the horned lamb on the Jewish flag at the
time of Maccabaean liberation war, used as a sign of conquering majesty and
power.
Life messages: We need to live and die like the Lamb
of God.
(1) Living like a lamb means: a) leading a pure, innocent,
humble, selfless life, obeying Christ’s commandment of love; b) appreciating
the loving providence and protecting care of the Good Shepherd in his Church;
c) eating the Body and drinking the Blood of the Good Shepherd and deriving
spiritual strength from the Holy Spirit through Sacraments and prayers.
(2) Dying like a sacrificial lamb means: a) sacrificially
sharing our blessings of health, wealth, and talents with others in the family,
parish and community; b) bearing witness to Christ in our illness, pain, and
suffering; c) offering our sufferings for the salvation of souls and as
reparation for our sins and those of others(https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Jan 4 Thursday (USA: Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious):
In Mathew’s Gospel, Jesus called the fishermen Andrew and
his brother Simon from their fishing boat. But John the Evangelist gives a
slightly different story. According to him, Andrew and he (John, son of
Zebedee) were disciples of John the Baptist. John the Baptist wanted them to
join the true Messiah, Jesus, as His disciples. So, one day when Andrew and
John (according to tradition) were standing with their master, John the
Baptist, Jesus happened to pass in front of them. John the Baptist promptly
introduced Jesus to them as the Lamb of God. It was natural for Andrew and John
to guess what their master, John the Baptist, wanted them to do. So, they
followed Jesus. Since Sabbath rest was about to begin when travel was
forbidden, Jesus cordially invited them to come and stay with Him and learn
more about his life and mission till the Sabbath was over.
When the Sabbath rest with Jesus was over, Andrew and John
went home. Andrew was so fascinated with Jesus and his contact with him the
previous day that he promptly told his brother Simon about Jesus: “We
have found the Messiah.” Without wasting time Andrew brought his
brother to Jesus. Jesus surprised Simon by calling him by his name, Simon, and
changing that Hebrew name to the Greek name, Cephas (Peter), meaning
rock, and accepting him as His disciple.
Life message: 1) We need to be missionaries like
Andrew. Just as a day’s contact with Jesus transformed Andrew into a
missionary, leading his brother to Jesus, we are expected to experience Jesus
in our lives by Bible reading, personal prayers and sacramental life and acts
of charity. Once we experience Jesus personally, we too must start leading
others to the same experience of Jesus as their Lord and Savior, enabling them
to surrender their lives to Jesus, too. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Jan 5 Friday: (USA: Saint John Neumann, Bishop):
In today’s Gospel of John (John
1:43-51), Nathanael, also called Bartholomew or “son of Tholomay,” is
introduced as a friend of Philip. He is described as initially being skeptical
about the Messiah coming from Nazareth, saying: “Can anything good come out
of Nazareth?” But he accepts Philip’s invitation to meet Jesus. Jesus
welcomes him saying, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no
guile!” Jesus comment “Before Philip called you, when you were
under the fig tree, I saw you” is probably based on a Jewish figure of
speech referring to studying the Torah. Nathanael
immediately recognizes Jesus as “the Son of God” and “the King of
Israel“. Nathanael reappears at the end of John’s Gospel (John
21:2) as one of the disciples to whom Jesus appeared at the Sea
of Tiberius after his resurrection from the tomb. The Gospels
thus present Bartholomew as a man with no malice and lover of Torah with
openness to truth and readiness to accept the truth. Nathanael was the first
Apostle to make an explicit confession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah and as
the Son of God. (Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”.
Life message: Let us pray for the grace to love
the word of God as Bartholomew did and to accept the teaching of the Bible and
the Church with open heart and open mind without pride or prejudice. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Jan 6 Saturday: ([Saint André Bessette, Religious]: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-andre-bessette/Mk
1:7-11 or Lk 3:23-38 or 3:23, 31-34, 36, 3:
The context: Starting with a genealogy was the
Jewish way of beginning a biography, because the Jews gave importance to the
purity of the lineage which made them part of the chosen people. For a noble
Jew, the line must be traceable back through five generations, and for a Jewish
priest traceable back to Aaron. Luke presents Jesus’ human ancestry, working
his way back from Joseph, husband of Mary who became the Mother of Jesus, to
Adam, the son of God,” indicating that salvation history for the whole human
race, which began with God’s promise to Adam and Eve, has reached its climax
with the birth of the Son of God through Mary by the working of the Holy
Spirit.
The genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew’s Gospel, makes the
same point. It begins with Abraham and ends with Joseph, “the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah.” It is carefully arranged into
three groups of fourteen generations each. The three groups are based on 1) the
rise of Israel to a great kingdom under David and Solomon, 2) the fall of the
nation in the Babylonian exile and 3) the resurrection of the nation after the
exile. The three groups symbolically represent the creation of man in God’s
image, the loss of man’s greatness in Adam’s sin and the regaining of greatness
through Christ Jesus.
The Jewish genealogies followed the male line. Hence,
Joseph, as the husband of Mary, was the legal father of Jesus, and the legal
father was on a par with the real father regarding rights and duties. Thus, it
is through Joseph, his legal father, that Jesus became the descendant of David.
Since the Jews generally married within their clan, the early Fathers of the
Church believed that Mary also belonged to David’s family. As a legal son of
David, Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecies.
Life messages: 1) We need to accept and support, lift up and correct the bad members of our family, realizing the truth that every family has some black sheep. But God can bring good out of the worst persons and circumstances. 2) We need to appreciate our membership in the Divine family of God by Baptism and behave as holy children of a holy God. (Fr. Tony)
