Octave of Christmas: Dec 29-Jan 3:
Dec 29 Monday: St. Thomas Becket, Bishop, Martyr:
The context: Today’s Gospel presents the head of
the Holy Family, Joseph, faithfully obeying God’s law given through Moses
concerning the purification of the mother and the redeeming of the child by
presenting Mary and the Baby Jesus in the Temple. The events recounted are
those we traditionally celebrate on February 2nd with the Feast of
Presentation of Jesus. We celebrate them today in order to group all
the events of Christ’s Infancy within the Octave of Christmas. Today (and on
February 2nd), we celebrate a combined feast, commemorating the
Jewish practice of the purification of the mother 40 days after childbirth and
the presentation of the child in the Temple. It is known as the Hypanthe feast or Feast
of the Purification of Mary (by the offering two pigeons in the
Temple), the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (by
prayers and a sacrifice offered in the Temple to redeem or buy back the
firstborn male child from the Lord), and the Feast of Encounter (because
the New Testament, represented by the Baby Jesus, encountered the Old
Testament, represented by Simeon and Anna). On February 2nd we celebrate these
events as a formal ending of the Christmas season. On that day, we also
celebrate the Feast of the Candlemas (because
candles are blessed then for liturgical and personal use).
Purification and redemption ceremonies: The Mosaic Law
taught that, since every Jewish male child belonged to Yahweh, the parents had
to “buy back” the child (“redeem” him), by offering lambs or turtledoves as a
sacrifice in the Temple. In addition (Nm 18:15), every mother had to be
purified after childbirth by prayers and an offering made to God in the Temple.
Joseph kept these laws as an act of obedience to God.
The encounter with Simeon and Anna: By the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit, the old, pious, and Spirit-filled Simeon and Anna had been
waiting in the Temple for the revelation of God’s salvation. Simeon recognized
Jesus as the Lord’s Anointed One, and in his prayer of blessing, he prophesied
that Jesus was meant to be “A light for Revelation to the Gentiles and
for Glory to Your People, Israel” While he blessed Mary, he warned
that her child would be “a sign of contradiction” and that
her own soul would be “pierced with a sword.” Simeon was
prophesying both the universal salvation that would be proclaimed by Jesus and
the necessity of suffering in the mission of the Messiah.
Life message:1) Every Holy Mass in which we
participate is our presentation. Although we were officially presented to God
on the day of our Baptism, we present ourselves and our dear ones on the altar
before God our Father through our Savior Jesus Christ at every Holy Mass.
Hence, we need to live our daily lives with the awareness both that we are
dedicated people consecrated to God and that we are obliged to lead holy lives.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Dec 30 Tuesday: LK 2: 36-40
The context: Today’s Gospel presents Anna the
prophetess who greeted the Baby Jesus as the Redeemer when Joseph presented
Mary and the Infant in the Temple for the purification of the mother and the
“redemption” of the Baby Jesus.
Anna and her testimony: Anna was an
eighty-four-year-old widow who spent her days in the Temple in fasting and
prayer, waiting for the promised Messiah. She was rewarded with the joy of
seeing her Redeemer as a Baby. In her excitement, she praised God and
introduced the Infant to others around her as the expected Messiah.
The Child Jesus’ growth in wisdom and the favor of God:
Commenting on the last sentence of today’s Gospel St. Bede says: “Our
Lord Jesus Christ, as a Child clothed in the fragility of human nature, had to
grow and become stronger. But, as the eternal Word of God, He had no need to
become stronger or to grow. Hence, He is rightly described as full of wisdom
and grace.”
Life messages: 1) The Holy Spirit uses ordinary
men and women with simple Faith as His instruments to bear witness to Christ,
His ideals and teachings. 2) We need praying Annas in all our parishes to offer
prayers for all the members of our parish families. Let us cooperate with the
Spirit in everything. 3) Anna’s prophetic life tells us that we each must live
our life in constant preparation for meeting our Divine Lord in the Temple of
Heaven, remaining alert, as Anna did, to recognize, love, and serve Jesus hidden
in the people we encounter. 4) Like Anna, we must all foster an interior life
of ongoing prayer and penance, and we must direct all our actions in life to
the praise and glory of God and the salvation of our souls. Anna’s life is a
symbolic prophecy of every vocation. (Catholic Daily reflections).
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Dec 31 Wednesday: St. Sylvester I, Pope: John 1:1-18
The context and the content: Bible scholars
generally agree that the Prologue (1:1-18) of John’s Gospel is a hymn, the
overall purpose of which is to highlight the historical and theological
significance of Jesus’ origins as “Word,” “true Light,” and the “Only-begotten
Son,” thus tracing Jesus’ genealogy to God Himself. The Navarre Bible
commentary summarizes the main teachings in the prologue thus: 1) the
Divinity and Eternity of the Word; 2) the Incarnation of the Word and His
manifestation as man; 3) the part played by the Word in creation and in the
salvation of mankind; 4) the different ways in which people react to the coming
of the Lord — some accepting the Word made Flesh with Faith, others rejecting
Jesus; 5) finally, John the Baptist as witness-bearer to the presence of the
Word in the world.
The significance of the text: (Verses 6-9)
introduce John the Baptist in a manner that clearly distinguishes him from
Jesus – “John himself was not the Light, but he came to testify to the
Light. The true Light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world…” Some
scholars maintain that the author of the Gospel may be making such a forceful
differentiation in order to counter a sect claiming that John the Baptist was
the Light and the Messiah, and not simply the one testifying to the Light. In
all he did and said, the Baptist always bore witness to Jesus and Jesus’
messianic identity: “John testified to Him and cried out, saying, ‘The
One Who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because He existed before me'”(Jn
1:15). Jn 1:19-28 is an Advent and Christmas text that calls us
to remember the origins and purposes of Jesus and His coming with the kind of
devotion that challenges us to be witnesses for Jesus. John the Baptist
demonstrates what it means to bear witness to the true Light coming into the
world.
Life messages: 1) We need to bear witness to
Christ the Light: By Baptism we become members of the family of Christ, the
true Light of the world. Jesus said: “You are the light
of the world.” Hence, our mission as brothers and sisters of Christ
and members of His Mystical Body, the Church, is to reflect Christ’s Light to
others, just as the moon reflects the light of the sun.
2) It is especially important during the Christmas season
that we reflect on Christ’s unconditional love and forgiveness. Very many
people live in spiritual darkness and poverty, lacking real freedom. There are
others who are deafened and blinded by the cheap attractions of the world.
Still others feel lonely, unwanted, rejected, useless, and marginalized. All
these people are waiting for us to reflect the light of Christ on them, and to
turn their lives into experiences of joy, wholeness and integrity.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Jan 1, 2026: Thursday: Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother
of God:
NEW YEAR’S GREETINGS & GOD’S BLESSINGS
PRAYERFUL NEW YEAR GREETINGS
Thank you for being God’s instrument of blessing in my
life by your valuable prayers and encouraging support for my E-mail Gospel
ministry in the past years. I assure you of my special prayers every day in the
New Year 2026 during my Holy Masses. May the Holy Spirit of God continue to
empower you and guide you in your ministry and strengthen you in your
weakness. May God bless you every day of the New Year!
Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God & New Year’s
message) Jan 1/2026- One-page summary: Lk 2: 16-21: Solemnity of
Mary, the Mother of God & New Year’s message) Jan 1/2026- One-page summary:
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 secular year, because it reminds us to
rely on the powerful intercession of our Heavenly Mother every day no matter
what happens! The Church also observes the 58th World Day of Peace on this day,
and invites us to pray especially 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 about 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 the day of his circumcision, the Child was
given the name Jesus that had been chosen by God Himself.
Traditional belief and Church doctrine: We honor
Mary primarily because God honoured her when He chose her to become the mother
of Jesus, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. Through Mary, 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
1:32-32a; RSV 2 Catholic]. After the angel had appeared to her and told her
that she was to be the mother of Jesus and she had consented, 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, 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 for God’s glory, thus
transforming them into prayers, b) by asking for the anointing and
strengthening of the Holy Spirit to do good for 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 the faults and sins we have 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.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Jan 2 Friday: St. Basil the Great & St. Gregory
Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church: Mt 23: 8-12:
The context: It was the third day of ‘Holy
Week,’ in Jerusalem, a day of controversy and personal attacks. Jesus was under
fire, and he lashed out at the religious leaders of Israel for rejecting Him as
Messiah.
Three sins of the Scribes and Pharisees: Jesus raises three
objections to the Pharisees: they do not practice what they preach, they adopt
a very narrow and burdensome interpretation of the Torah, and they seek public
acknowledgment. “They do all their deeds to be seen by others” (23: 5). Jesus
accuses the scribes and Pharisees of seeking the glory that rightly belongs to
God. They express their love of honor in several ways, thereby converting
Judaism into a religion of ostentation. (i) “They make their phylacteries broad
and their fringes long” (v. 5). (ii) They “love to have the place of honor at
banquets and the best seats in the synagogues” (v. 6). (iii) They “love to be
greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have people call them rabbi”
(v. 7). 23: 9 “call no man your Father on earth” cannot be used as
a text against calling priests ‘Father,’ because in I Corinthians 4:14-15 Paul
says that he is a father to the Corinthians.
Life messages: 1) We need servant leaders in a
serving community: The Church is intended by Christ to be a servant community
in which those who hunger are to be filled; the ignorant are to be taught; the
homeless to receive shelter; the sick cared for; the distressed consoled; and
the oppressed set free. Hence, leaders should have a spirit of humble service
in thought, word and deed.
2) We need to accept the responsibility which goes with our
titles. Titles and polite forms exist to remind each of us of our specific
responsibilities in society. Hence, let us use everything we are and have in a
way that brings glory to God and His family. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Jan 3 Saturday: Jn 1:29-34:
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 a
single, unending holocaust – the flame burning day and night, day and night –
as one spotless lamb was sacrificed on the “Black Altar” of the Temple every
morning and burned through out the day, then was followed by another as the sun
was setting, every evening, to atone for the sins of the Jews. 3) The Paschal
Lamb (Ex. 12:11ss.). This was both the lamb whose blood saved the firstborn of
the Jewish families in Egypt from the “Angel of destruction” and 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 Maccabean 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 for
the 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 of 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/)
