Weekday homilies
for the Holy Week:
March 29 Monday: Jn 12:1-11: 1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 There they made him a supper; Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at table with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”
6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box he used to take what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Let her alone, let her keep it for the day of my burial. 8 The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.” 9 …10 USCCB video reflections: https://youtu.be/W1soG7QhpU0?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DBazRWSYfhGFvBAEXHvO0CqThe context: The scene depicted in today’s
Gospel reading took place exactly one week before the crucifixion of Jesus.
Jesus was anointed on two different occasions — first, at the start of his
public ministry, in Galilee, as recounted by St. Luke (7:36-50: Jesus was
anointed by a repentant sinful woman in the house of a Pharisee), and, second,
towards the end of his life, in Bethany, as reported here by St. John.
Instead of brooding over the sufferings and death waiting for him, Jesus, along
with his Apostles, enjoyed a party given for his friend, Lazarus by his family
and friends. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem to be crucified. Probably
he halted in Bethany, both because Jerusalem was overcrowded, and because Jesus
wanted to spend time in with his closest friends.
The Gospel summarizes two attitudes: Mary’s and Judas.’ Mary
expressed her love for Jesus and her gratitude to God by an extravagant
action. Before all the Apostles, she anointed Jesus’ feet with nard (a
very costly perfume worth the wages of a laborer for 300 days), then wiped them
with her hair. Her lovely deed shows the extravagance of love. Judas on the
other hand criticized Mary for spending so much on perfume, suggesting that the
money could have been used to help the poor. Mary’s action was extravagant, but
her motive justified it. However, Judas’ motive in suggesting the good action
of helping the poor was selfish and impure, spoiling the action.
Life messages: 1) We need to express our love
and gratitude to Jesus during this Holy Week for what he did for us centuries
ago and for what he continues to do for us now: a) He poured out his
Blood for us and for our salvation. b) He anointed us with his Holy Spirit and
made us the Temple of his Spirit. c) He continues to nourish us with his Body
and Blood through the Holy Eucharist. 2. We can express our love and gratitude
to our Savior Jesus during Holy Week a) by spending more time in prayer and
adoration, especially by participating in the liturgical celebrations b) by
doing acts of penance for our past sins and c) by actively engaging in acts of
loving and humble service. (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/20
March 30 Tuesday: Jn 13: 21-33, 36-38 21 When
Jesus had thus spoken, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly,
I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one
another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved,
was lying close to the breast of Jesus; 24 so Simon Peter beckoned to him and
said, “Tell us who it is of whom he speaks.” 25 So lying thus, close to the
breast of Jesus, he said to him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 … 38. USCCB
video reflections: https://youtu.be/tYJBLE5EeTk?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DBazRWSYfhGFvBAEXHvO0Cq
The context: In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus’
loving appeal to two of his chosen Apostles, Judas and Peter, who represent
hard-heartedness and repentance respectively. Judas was a perfect actor and an
accomplished hypocrite who could hide his motives from all except Jesus. He
deliberately betrayed Jesus for money. Peter on the other hand was simple at heart,
a deeply emotional disciple who really loved Jesus.
(A) Judas – a model of hard-heartedness: Jesus showed
his last act of love for Judas: a) by allowing him to sit at His left so that
Jesus could rest His head on his chest during the Last Supper; b) by giving him
the first piece of bread from Jesus’ plate, as a sign of honor; c) by
making Judas the treasurer of the group and the keeper of money received as an
offering to the rabbi from the people, thus giving everyone a sign of his trust
and confidence in Judas. But Jesus could not save Judas from his
hard-heartedness and greed for money. Judas probably expected the triumphant
Messiah in Jesus and hoped to rule Israel with him as his finance minister. If
so, he must have been totally disillusioned when Jesus predicted his suffering
and shameful death. This might have prompted him to betray Jesus. We, too, can
become hard-hearted like Judas when we have become addicted to evil habits, and
we can refuse Jesus’ call for repentance and conversion even during Holy Week.
(B) Peter – a model of true repentance: Peter showed good
will and generosity in repenting of his sin – denying Jesus out of weakness –
by weeping bitterly and finally by suffering a martyr’s death for his Faith in
Jesus.
Life messages: 1) Let us imitate Peter by
repenting of our choices against Jesus and his ideals in our day-to-day lives.
2) Let us also ask God to liberate us from our evil habits and addictions
before they make us hard-hearted. 3) Just as Jesus considered death on the cross
as his glory, let us consider humble, committed and sacrificial service for
others as our glory and learn to love others as Jesus loves us.(Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/20
March 31 Wednesday: Mt 26: 14-25: 14 Then one
of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15
and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him to you?” And they paid him
thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he sought an opportunity to
betray him. 17 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to
Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” 18
He said, “Go into the city to a certain one, and say to him, `The Teacher says,
My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.'”
19 And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the
Passover. 20 When it was evening, he sat at table with the twelve disciples; 21
and as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray
me.” 22 And they were very sorrowful, and began to say to him one after
another, “Is it I, Lord?” 23 He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the
dish with me, will betray me. 24 The Son of man goes as it is written of him,
but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would have been
better for that man if he had not been born.” 25 Judas, who betrayed him,
said, “Is it I, Master?” He said to him, “You have said so.” USCCB
video reflections: https://youtu.be/364fj5BRdWw?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DBazRWSYfhGFvBAEXHvO0Cq
The context: Today is traditionally known as
“Spy Wednesday,” and was called by Christians as early as AD 250 the “the day
of betrayal.” Today’s Gospel describes how Judas secretly planned to betray
Jesus for thirty silver pieces (the price of a slave), and how he was seeking
an opportunity to betray his master. We also learn how Jesus had his plans for
celebrating his last Passover supper with his disciples carried out in a house
prearranged by him. In Jesus’ time, the Passover supper was celebrated on the
first day of the week of Unleavened Bread. During the meal, Jesus dramatically
declared that one of the disciples was planning to betray Him and hinted that
it was Judas.
Bible scholars suggest three reasons why Judas betrayed
Jesus. The primary reason seems to have been his greed for money. John tells us
that Judas used to steal from the common fund. Bitter hatred due to
disillusionment might have been a second reason. As a zealot who hated the
Romans, Judas might have expected that his master would overthrow the Romans
using his Divine power. Instead he preached love and peace. A third reason may
have been that Judas supposed that his betrayal would give Jesus an occasion to
fight back and conquer the Romans. That may be the reason why he committed
suicide when he saw Jesus arrested without any resistance from Him.
Life messages: 1) We, too, can betray Jesus and
his ideals for money, for power and influence or for selfish pleasure. Let us
examine our conscience whether we wrongly think that our God disappoints us by
promoting chastity, poverty, justice and righteousness in the Holy Bible, by not
answering our prayers as and when we want, by allowing suffering and premature
death in our families and communities and by not punishing the wicked. Let us
be on our guard not to betray Jesus as Judas did.
2) Holy Week is the time to assess our life, examine our
conscience, do penance for our infidelity and make practical resolutions to
reform our lives with God’s help. (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/20
April 1 Thursday: Holy Thursday evening Mass (April
1) Introduction: We celebrate three anniversaries on Holy Thursday: 1)
the anniversary of the first Holy Mass, 2) the anniversary of the institution
of ministerial priesthood in order to perpetuate the Holy Mass, to convey God’s
forgiveness to repentant sinners, and to preach the Good News of salvation, 3)
the anniversary of Jesus’ promulgation of his new commandment of love: “Love
one another as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34). First, we remember how
Jesus transformed the Jewish Passover into the New Testament Passover.
The Jewish Passover was, in fact, a joint celebration of two ancient
thanksgiving celebrations. The descendants of Abel, who were shepherds,
used to lead their sheep from the winter pastures to the summer pastures after
the sacrificial offering of a lamb to God. They called this
celebration the “Pass over.” The descendants of Cain,
who were farmers, held a harvest festival called the Massoth in
which they offered unleavened bread to God as an act of thanksgiving. The
Passover feast of the Israelites (Exodus 12:26-37) was a harmonious combination
of these two ancient feasts of thanksgiving, commanded by the Lord God and
celebrated yearly by all Israelites to thank God for His miraculous liberation
of their ancestors from Egyptian slavery, their exodus from Egypt, and their
final arrival in the Promised Land.
Scripture lessons summarized: In the first
reading, God gives the Hebrews two instructions: prepare for the moment of
liberation by a ritual meal and make a symbolic mark on your homes to
exempt yourselves from the coming slaughter. In the second reading, Paul
teaches that the celebration of the Lord’s Supper was an unbroken
tradition from the very beginning of the Church, by which Christians reminded
themselves of the death and Resurrection of Jesus. Today’s Gospel
describes how Jesus transformed the Jewish Passover into the Eucharistic
celebration. After washing the feet of his apostles and commanding them to
do humble service for each other, Jesus concluded the seder meal ceremony by
giving his apostles his own body and blood under the appearances of bread and
wine as spiritual food and drink, in addition to serving the roasted Paschal
lamb.
Life Messages: 1) A challenge for
humble service. Our celebration of the Eucharist requires that we wash
one another’s feet, i.e., serve one another, and revere Christ’s presence in
other persons. In practical terms, that means we are to consider their needs to
be as important as our own and to serve their needs, without expecting any
reward. 2) A loving invitation for sacrificial sharing and
self-giving love. Let us imitate the self-giving model of Jesus who shares with
us his own Body and Blood and who enriches us with his real presence in
the Holy Eucharist. It is by sharing our blessings – our talents, time, health
and wealth – with others that we become true disciples of Christ and obey his
new commandment: “Love one another as I have loved you.” 3) An
invitation to become Christ-bearers and Christ-conveyers: “Go forth, the
Mass is ended,” really means, “Go in peace to love and serve one another.’’
We are to carry Jesus to our homes and places of work, conveying to others
around us the love, mercy, forgiveness, and the spirit of humble service of
Christ whom we carry with us.
April 2 Good Friday: CHALLENGE TO CARRY OUR
CROSSES: A) The cross and the crucifix are meaningful symbols, as
the dove symbolizes peace and the heart symbolizes love. The crucifix and the
cross are the symbols of the loving and sacrificial offering of self for
others. First, it is only in the cross that we see the face of God’s love.
There is no greater love than that of a person who is willing to die for
another, and the cross tells this love story. Second, the cross is the symbol
of the remission of our sins: The Bible says that when Jesus died he took all
our sins to himself on the cross, and so he conquered sin and the devil’s power
forever. Whenever we see the cross we should realize that Jesus was bruised,
crushed and died for our iniquities. “But he was pierced for our
offenses, crushed for our sins, upon him was the chastisement that makes us
whole, by his stripes we were healed.” (Is 53:5). Third, the cross is
the symbol of humble self-emptying for others. It is the symbol of the
cross-bearing Christ leading us in our life’s journey of pain and suffering,
carrying his heavier cross and still encouraging us, strengthening us and
supporting us. Fourth, the cross is the symbol of the risen Christ who promises
us a crown of glory as a reward for our patient bearing of our daily crosses.
(B) The Cross always means pain. But the pain I
suffer for myself is not Christ’s cross. The true cross of Christ is the pain I
suffer for others. It is the sanctifying pain involved in sharing our blessings
sacrificially with others. It is the pain involved in controlling our evil
tendencies in an attempt to attain a higher degree of holiness. It is the pain
involved in standing with Jesus his ideas and ideals and gladly following him
even if that means scorn and humiliation from the rest of the world.
(C) We have our crosses mainly from four sources.
Some of our crosses like diseases, natural disasters, death are given by Mother
Nature. We face some other crosses when we do our duties faithfully. Our
friends and enemies supply a few of our crosses. Finally we ourselves create
many of our crosses by careless living and evil addictions.
(D) On Good Friday we should ask the question: why
should we carry our crosses? First, cross-bearing is a condition for
Christian discipleship. Jesus said: “Whoever wishes to come after me
must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Second, it is by
carrying our crosses that we make reparation for our sins and for the sins of
others related to us. That is why St. Paul said that he was suffering in his
body what is “lacking” in Christ’s suffering. Third, it is by carrying our
crosses that we become imitators of Christ in his suffering for us. St. Paul
explains it thus: “I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer
I, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2: 19-20).
Life messages: (1) We should carry our crosses
with the right motives: We should carry our crosses like a loving wife who
nurses her paralyzed husband or sick child, with sacrificial love and dedicated
commitment.(2) We should plant the cross of Christ in our daily lives: We have
to begin every day with a sign of the cross, asking the blessing and protection
of the crucified Lord in our lives that day. (3) We should heal our inner
wounds through the cross of Christ: An area where it is very important for us
to apply the cross of Christ in our life concerns the area of inner healing. We
all need healings from those wounds to our character that we sustained early in
life, especially during our first seven years.
April 3 Saturday, 2021: For any morning service:
A day to remember the burial of Jesus. (The early Church commemorated the death
of Jesus on Good Friday, the burial of Jesus on Holy Saturday and the
resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday)
- Good
Friday and Holy Saturday were days of full fasting in the early Church.
- A day
for baptism. After A.D. 313 when the Church got freedom of religious
practice from Emperor Constantine, Holy Saturday was the day to receive
the catechumens to the Church, after three years of preparation. It was
considered as a ceremony reminding them that they become dead to their
former gentile life by immersing themselves in water and that they emerge
in to a new life in Jesus Christ by rising up from the water.
- A day
for blessing baptismal water. The catechumens return the Book of Creed
(catechism book) to the bishop in a morning ceremony. In the evening the
bishop blesses the baptismal water.
- A day
of lighting the Easter candle. The bishop re-ignites the fire extinguished
on Holy Thursday and lights the Easter candle to represent Jesus as the
“light of the world”. Imitating the Jewish custom of the ceremonial
lighting of Sabbath lamps on Friday evenings, the early Christians lighted
and displayed lamps on Saturday evenings to honor Jesus as the “light of
the world”.
- A day
to read I Peter 2:9 reminding the people of their worth and dignity – as
“the “chosen people of God”, sanctified, appropriated by God and honored
with the royal priesthood.
- A day
of renewing the baptismal promises. The people were asked to repeat their
baptismal promises by rejecting Satan and his empty promises, by accepting
Jesus as the Lord and savior and revesting with the “new man” after
removing the vestments of the “old man.”
Messages: 1) Message of expectation, change of
heart and new life.
2) Lead a new life with the Risen Lord by dying to sinful
life.
3) Live a new life recognizing the nobility of Christians as
children of God,
brothers and sisters of Jesus and members of the mystical body of Jesus.
