Dec 2-7: Dec 2 Monday:
Matthew 8: 5-11: Context: Jesus’ healing of
the centurion’s slave, described in today’s Gospel, shows us how God listens to
our Faith-filled prayers and meets our needs. Centurions were reliable,
commanding, brave captains in charge of 100 soldiers. They were used to giving
and receiving commands. They were the backbone of the Roman army. According to
Luke’s account (Lk 7:1-10), this centurion loved the Jews and respected their
religious customs. He knew that Jews would incur ritual uncleanness on entering
the house of a pagan, and, wanting to save Jesus this inconvenience, said he
was unworthy to have Jesus come into his pagan house. The Centurion loved his
sick servant, trusted in Jesus’ power of healing, and was ready to face the
ridicule of his fellow-centurions by pleading before a Jewish rabbi.
The remote healing: The centurion asked Jesus
just to shout a command as the Centurion did with his soldiers, so that the
illness might leave his servant by the power of that order. Jesus was moved by
his Faith and rewarded the trusting Faith of this Gentile officer by telling
him: “Go; be it done for you as you have believed.”
Life messages: 1) We need to grow to the level
of Faith of the centurion by knowing and personally experiencing Jesus in our
lives. We do so by our meditative daily reading of the Bible, by our daily
personal and family prayers, by frequenting the Sacraments, especially the
Eucharistic celebration, and by surrendering our lives to Jesus in rendering
loving service to others in all humility. 2) Like the centurion we are not
worthy to receive Jesus into our hearts in Holy Communion, and at the same
time, we invite Jesus to come and heal our souls.(https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Dec 3 Tuesday: Lk 10:21-24: The context: When
the seventy-two disciples returned after successfully completing their mission,
Jesus rejoiced with them and thanked his Father, shouting aloud a spontaneous
prayer expressing three great thoughts.
1) The first thought is that God hates intellectual pride
and loves childlike simplicity and humility. Jesus says that only humble people
with open minds can experience him as Lord and Savior.
2) The second thought is about the unique relationship
between Jesus and his Father. The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are
equal in Being, possessing the same Divine Nature, Life, and Knowledge. Since
the Son is no less perfect than the Father, He is uniquely qualified to reveal
the inner life of the Trinity to the world. Jesus was sent to show the world
what God looks like and how God behaves.
3) The third thought is Jesus’ claim that He is the expected
Messiah Whom the prophets have foretold. Hence, Jesus
asserts that his disciples are blessed with the great privilege of seeing,
hearing, and experiencing God in human form.
Life Messages: 1) We need to make use of our
blessings. We are more blessed than many who lived in Jesus’ time because we
accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and have him with us in the Eucharist, in
the Bible, in the worshipping community, and in each one of us as Emmanuel.
2) Hence, let us participate in Jesus’ Divine life by Holy
Communion, hear His words by our meditative reading of the Bible, and worship
Him as a community of believers. Fr. Kadavil (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Dec 4 Wednesday: Matthew 15:29-37 : The
context: The Decapolis was a loose federation of ten cities with a
mixed population of Jews and Gentiles. Jesus took six months to travel to the
Decapolis via Tyre and Sidon and to return to Galilee. The healing and feeding
described in today’s Gospel took place on a hill near the Sea of Galilee after
Jesus’ return from the Decapolis. Jesus healed the lame, the maimed, the blind,
and the dumb, then expressed His pity for the hungry multitude to the apostles.
When they asked Jesus where they were supposed to get enough bread to feed this
enormous crowd, He asked how many loaves they had. They told Him, “Seven,
and a few small fish.” Jesus had the crowd sit, then took the loaves
and fish, gave thanks to God for them, broke them and gave them to the apostles
to give to the people. After the crowd had eaten their fill, the apostles,
again at Jesus’ command, collected the broken pieces; they filled seven baskets
with the fragments.
Life Messages: 1) We need to help Jesus to heal
the blind, the lame, the deaf and the mute today. Jesus desires to open our
blind eyes and to loosen our tongues so that He may see and speak to the
spiritually hungry through us. Jesus asks us for our hearts in order to touch
the lives of people in our day through us, just as Jesus touched the lives of
millions through saintly souls like Francis of Assisi, Fr. Damien, Vincent de
Paul and Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa.).
2) We need to be fed by Jesus. Jesus continues to feed us in
his Church with His own Body and Blood in Holy Communion and with the word of
God through the Holy Bible. Fr. Kadavil (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Dec 5 Thursday: Matthew 17:22-27:
The context: The first part of today’s Gospel
gives Jesus’ second prediction of His sufferings, death, and Resurrection. The
second part is Jesus’ explanation of why He pays the Temple tax. Today’s Gospel
tells us that Jesus’ disciples were “distressed” by their master’s repeated
reminders of a coming shameful death as a heretic and lawbreaker. They were
distressed because the reminders shattered their dream of ruling Israel after
Jesus had conquered the Romans and reestablished the Davidic kingdom. They did
not understand that their master would be dying to liberate the whole of
mankind from the bondage of sin. In the second part of today’s Gospel, Peter
assures the Temple tax officials that the Master, Jesus, is a devout Jew and,
hence, pays the Temple tax. All Jewish males 20 years old or older had to pay a
half-shekel (roughly equivalent to two days’ wages), as Temple tax for the
upkeep of the Temple and its sacrifices. When they reached Peter’s home, Jesus
instructed Peter to go fishing, open the mouth of the first fish he caught and,
with the coin he would find there, pay both Peter’s and his own tax. Jesus’
reason was that they were to give good example to others, even though, as the
Son of God, Jesus was legally exempted from paying any type of tax to anyone.
The Gospel passage foreshadows a dilemma that would be experienced by the first
century Jewish Christians as to whether they should continue to pay the Temple
tax meant for the Jews.
Life messages: 1) Let us express our gratitude
to Jesus our Savior for the price of suffering and death He paid for our sins.
We can do this by avoiding all occasions of sin, by offering our pains and
sufferings as atonement for our sins, and by helping others sacrificially.
2) We should obey the laws of the Church and of our country
as loyal Christians and loyal citizens and contribute to the needs of the
Church and its mission by our tithing, while we help the government by paying
our taxes. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Dec 6 Friday: Mt 9:27-31:
The context: Today’s Gospel describes Jesus’
miraculous healing of two blind men who approached him with trusting Faith.
Blindness was common in Palestine because of the intense glare of the eastern
sun, clouds of unclean flies and people’s ignorance of cleanliness and hygiene.
The two blind men followed Jesus from the street to the house Jesus entered,
loudly expressing their confidence in the “Son of David” and requesting mercy.
Jesus found in these men what was required for receiving a miracle, namely a
strong and expectant Faith, an earnest desire for vision and a sincere prayer
for mercy. Although they were instructed not to tell anyone of their healing,
as soon as they were healed, they immediately expressed their gratitude by
bearing witness to Jesus’ healing power throughout the town.
Life messages: 1) We, too, need light and
eyesight because we are often blind to the needs and expectations of those
around us and even living with us. We are also often blind to the presence of
Jesus living in us and in others, to the blessings God showers on us and to the
protection God gives us every day. Hence, let us pray for the spiritual
eyesight to realize and experience the presence of Jesus in ourselves and
others, and for the good will to do good to and for others. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Dec 7 Saturday: Mt 9: 35-10: 1, 5, 6-8:
The context: Today’s Gospel describes the three
chief activities of Jesus’ mission — heralding, teaching, and healing — and
tells how Jesus selected the twelve apostles as disciples and helpers in his
Messianic mission. Jesus was primarily the Herald of God his Father, bringing
mankind the Good News that God is a loving, forgiving, merciful, and
compassionate Father Who wills that everyone to be saved. Secondly, Jesus was a
Teacher and preacher who taught the Gospel, or the Good News of the Kingdom of
God, by living an exemplary life, demonstrating God’s love, mercy, forgiveness,
and compassion. Thirdly, Jesus was a Healer, spending much time healing people
of their bodily, mental, and spiritual illnesses. The Gospel for today also
mentions that Jesus selected ordinary men of no social status as apostles to
continue this preaching and healing mission, and gave them both healing power
and preaching authority to do so.
Life messages : 1) As Christians, we share
Christ’s mission of preaching and healing. This means that we, too, have to
demonstrate by our exemplary, transparent Christian lives the mercy, the
forgiveness, and the unconditional love of Jesus. 2) We are also called to act
as the agents of healing by praying for the sick, by helping them to get the
necessary medical and nursing help, and by encouraging them, supporting them
and boosting their morale. Fr. Kadavil (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
