Easter 2nd Week: April 12-17:
April 12 Monday: The context: Today’s Gospel describes the night visit of Nicodemus made to Jesus. Nicodemus was a rich Jewish rabbi and one of the seventy members of Sanhedrin. Later in his Gospel, John shows us how Nicodemus argued for a fair trial for Jesus (7:51) and how he cooperated with Joseph of Arimathea to bury Jesus (19:38). Nicodemus came to Jesus convinced that obeying the Mosaic Law and offering the prescribed sacrifices were enough for one’s eternal salvation.
Hence, Jesus plainly tells him that in order to be saved he has to be born again of water and the Holy Spirit (through Baptism). Jesus further explains that his disciples have two lives, namely natural and supernatural, and two births, namely a physical birth from one’s mother as her son or daughter, and a supernatural birth from God through Baptism as God’s child, a member of His family in the Church and an heir of Heaven. The supernatural birth is possible only when one is baptized into Christ and receives the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Life message: 1) We need to remember that rebirth by water and the Holy Spirit is a continuous process for Christians. For that process of rebirth to take place, we need, every day, to repent of our sins and try, with His grace, to renew our lives through prayer, our sacramental life, and meditative reading of the Bible, accompanied by corporal and spiritual works of mercy. In addition, we need to ask for God’s guidance. Fr. Tony(http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
April 13 Tuesday (St. Matin I, Pope, Martyr)
The context: Today’s Gospel is the continuation of the visit of Nicodemus with Jesus. Nicodemus was a rich Jewish rabbi and one of the seventy members of Sanhedrin. He wanted to clarify whether the obeying of the Mosaic Law and the offering of prescribed sacrifices were enough for one’s eternal salvation. But Jesus used the occasion as a teachable moment, showing Nicodemus the necessity for a spiritual rebirth through the action of the Holy Spirit by means of the water of Baptism as an essential condition for one’s salvation.
Jesus teaches Nicodemus the effects the Holy Spirit produces in the souls of the baptized. We know the presence, force, and direction of wind by its effects. It is so with the Holy Spirit, the Divine “Breath” (pneuma), given us in Baptism. In Hebrew and Aramaic, the scholars tell us, the same word pneuma means ‘spirit’, ‘breath’, and ‘wind’. We do not know how the Holy Spirit comes to penetrate our heart. But He makes His presence felt by the change in the conduct of the person who receives Him. Jesus further explains that he himself comes from Heaven, and, hence, his teaching is credible. Then, by comparing how God saved the snake-bitten Israelites through the symbol of bronze serpent, Jesus tells Nicodemus that” the Son of Man” is going to save mankind by death on the cross.
Life message: We need to adjust our lives, recognizing and making full use of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives: 1) We need to begin every day by asking for His Divine strength and guidance and end every day by asking His pardon and forgiveness for our sins. 2) We need, as well, to pray for His daily anointing and for His gifts, fruits, and charisms so that we may live as children of God. 3) We also need to throw open the shutters and let the Spirit enter the narrow caves in which we bury ourselves. Fr. Tony(http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
April 14 Wednesday:
The context: Jesus explained God’s plan of salvation to Nicodemus by declaring that the story of Moses and the brazen serpent was a sign pointing to the Good News that God would show His love for mankind by subjecting His own Son to suffering and death in order to save them all: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” This is the summary of the Gospel message of salvation through Christ Jesus. This is the Good News in the Gospels.
Today’s Gospel passage teaches us that our salvation is the free gift of a merciful God, given to us through Jesus, His Son. It explains that Jesus, the Son of God, became the agent of God’s salvation, not just for one sinful nation, but for the sinfulness of the whole world. Through John 3:16, the Gospel teaches us that God has expressed His love, mercy and compassion for us by giving His only Son for our Salvation. This tells us that the initiative in all Salvation is God’s love for man. As St. Augustine puts it: “God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us to love.” Augustine’s example also explains to us the universality of the love of God. God’s motive is Love and God’s objective is Salvation. Those who actually receive eternal life must believe in the Son and express that love in deeds.
Life message: 1) We need to respond to God’s love for us by loving and serving Him in others in whom He dwells. God’s love for us is unconditional, universal, forgiving and merciful. Let us make an earnest attempt to include these qualities in sharing our love with others during this Easter season. “In the evening of life you will be examined in love,” said St. John of the Cross. What he means by “love” is love expressed in deeds. Fr. Tony(http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
April 15 Thursday:
The context: Jesus explained God’s plan of salvation to Nicodemus by declaring that the story of Moses and the brazen serpent was a sign pointing to the Good News that God would show His love for mankind by subjecting His own Son to suffering and death in order to save them all: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). This is the summary of the Gospel message of salvation through Christ Jesus. This is the Good News in the Gospels.
Today’s Gospel passage teaches us that our salvation is the free gift of a merciful God, given to us through Jesus, His Son. It explains that Jesus, the Son of God, became the agent of God’s salvation, not just for one sinful nation, but for the sinfulness of the whole world. Through Jn 3:16, the Gospel teaches us that God has expressed His love, mercy, and compassion for us by giving His only Son for our Salvation. This tells us that the initiative in all Salvation is God’s love for man. St. Augustine of Hippo describes a dream message received by his mother, Monica, who prayed and wept unceasingly, fearing Augustine would be damned because of the life he was leading. This message convinced her that she had to live with him not cut him off as she had been doing for God still loved him even in his present condition. Augustine’s example also explains to us the universality of the love of God. God’s motive is Love and God’s objective is Salvation. Those who actually receive eternal life must believe in the Son and express that love in deeds.
Life message: 1) We need to respond to God’s love for us by loving and serving Him in others in whom He dwells. God’s love for us is unconditional, universal, forgiving and merciful. Let us make an earnest attempt to include these qualities in sharing our love with others during this Easter season. “In the evening of life you will be examined in love,” said St. John of the Cross [Dichos, 64, note 595, CCC 1022; Sayings of Light and Love, #57 in The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, trans. Kieran Kavanaugh OCD and Otilio Rodrigues, OCD Institute of Carmelite Studies, (Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 1979, p,672).] — What he means by “love” is love expressed in deeds. Fr. Tony(http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/21
April 16 Friday:
The context: Today’s Gospel describes one occasion when Jesus tried in vain to withdraw from the crowds at Capernaum. He traveled by boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee to a remote village called Bethsaida Julius, where there was a small grassy plain. But when Jesus stepped ashore, He was faced with a large crowd of people. This was the scene of the miraculous feeding of the five thousand as described in today’s Gospel. This is the only miracle, other than the Resurrection, that is told in all four Gospels, a fact that speaks of its importance to the early Church. Today’s Gospel passage invites us to become humble instruments in God’s hands by sharing our blessings with our brothers and sisters.
We may regard the incident in which Jesus multiplied loaves and fish in order to feed his hungry listeners, both as a miracle of Divine Providence and as a Messianic sign. The lesson for every Christian is that, no matter how impossible his or her assignment may seem, with Divine help it can be done because “nothing is impossible with God.” Jesus used as his starting point for the miraculous meal a young boy’s generous gift of all the food he had, perhaps to remind us that love is the prime requirement for salvation and selfishness blocks the life-giving action of the grace of God in us. The early Christian community especially cherished this story because they saw this event as anticipating the Eucharist.
Life message: 1) As Christians we need to commit ourselves to share all we have and are, and to work with God in communicating His compassion to all. God is a caring Father, but He wants our co-operation. That’s what the early Christians did, generously sharing what they had with the needy.
2) We and others in our time need to ask for the courage to share, even when we think we have nothing to offer. Whatever we offer through Jesus will have a life-giving effect in those who receive it. 3) We are shown two attitudes in the Gospel story: that of Philip and that of Andrew (John 6:7-9). Philip said, in effect: “The situation is hopeless; nothing can be done.” But Andrew’s attitude was: “I’ll see what I can do; and I will trust Jesus to do the rest.” We need to have Andrew’s attitude Fr. Tony(http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/21
April 17 Saturday:
The context: Today’s Gospel describes one occasion when Jesus tried in vain to withdraw from the crowds at Capernaum. He traveled by boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee to a remote village called Bethsaida Julius, where there was a small grassy plain. But when Jesus stepped ashore, He was faced with a large crowd of people. This was the scene of the miraculous feeding of the five thousand as described in today’s Gospel. This is the only miracle, other than the Resurrection, that is told in all four Gospels, a fact that speaks of its importance to the early Church. Today’s Gospel passage invites us to become humble instruments in God’s hands by sharing our blessings with our brothers and sisters.
We may regard the incident in which Jesus multiplied loaves and fish in order to feed his hungry listeners, both as a miracle of Divine Providence and as a Messianic sign. The lesson for every Christian is that no matter how impossible his or her assignment may seem, with Divine help it can be done, “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Lk 1:37). Jesus used as his starting point for the miraculous meal a young boy’s generous gift of all the food he had, perhaps to remind us that love is the prime requirement for salvation and selfishness blocks the life-giving action of the grace of God in us. The early Christian community especially cherished this story because they saw this event as anticipating the Eucharist.
Life message: 1) As Christians we need to commit ourselves to share all we have and are, and to work with God in communicating His compassion to all. God is a caring Father, but He wants our co-operation. That’s what the early Christians did, generously sharing what they had with the needy. 2) We, and others in our time, need to ask for the courage to share, even when we think we have nothing to offer. Whatever we offer through Jesus will have a life-giving effect in those who receive it. 3) We are shown two attitudes in the Gospel story: that of Philip and that of Andrew (Jn 6:7-9). Philip said, in effect: “The situation is hopeless; nothing can be done.” But Andrew’s attitude was: “I’ll see what I can do; and I will trust Jesus to do the rest.” We need to have Andrew’s attitude
Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
