17th Week: July 26-31:
July 26 Monday (St.
Joachim & St. Ann, Parents of B.V. Mary): (Grandparents’
Day): Mt 13: 16-17:
The Bible does not say anything about the parents of Mary.
The traditional belief that they were Joachim, a shepherd from the tribe of Judaah and Ann from the tribe of Levi is taken from the legendary apocryphal source (Protoevangelium Jacobi) written more than a century after Jesus died. According to Protoevangelium Jacobi, Mary was born to her parents in their old age as a gift from God for their fervent and persistent prayer for a child. Mary’s parents offered her to the Temple, and as it was the custom, she was entrusted to the custody of pious widows who assisted the priests in the Temple worship. They taught Mary the prayers, hymns, psalms, and services in the Temple until she became a teenager. Her parents then gave her in marriage to St. Joseph, the carpenter. St. Joachim and St. Anne continued their lives of prayer until God called them home to Heaven. They transmitted to Mary and helped her develop all her good qualities, like trust in God’s providence, humility, love of the Word of God, and a spirit of committed and loving service. They faithfully performed their duties, practiced their Faith and established an atmosphere for the coming of the Messiah, but remained obscure. Veneration of Ann originated in the East in the 6th century as the patroness of childless women and miners. Devotion to Joachim began in the eighth century. France and Canada possess the principal sanctuaries of Saint Anne: in France, at Apt in Provence, and at Auray in Britany; in Canada at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in the Province of Québec.Life message: Let us
remember and pray for our grandparents on this feast of the grandparents of
Jesus, gratefully acknowledging the lessons of Faith they taught us and the
good religious training they imparted to us, directly or through our parents
whom they trained. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/21
July 27 Tuesday: Mt
13:36-43:
The context: Today’s
Gospel text is Jesus’ explanation of the parable of the wheat and weeds.
This parable teaches us that a very patient and compassionate God is hopeful
that the so-called “weeds” among us will be converted, and that we should not
be in a hurry to eliminate such elements from the Church, society, or the
family, on the basis of unwarranted and hasty judgment.
Through the parable of
the wheat and the weeds, Jesus assures us that we are the field of
God. We are the ground Jesus works as well as the seed Jesus plants, and
the seedlings Jesus nurtures. We are the people upon whom He rests His
hopes, and the folk in whom He plants the seeds — the Word of God. We are
the congregation He anoints with the Holy Spirit. In today’s parable, Jesus,
presents a wise and patient God Who allows the good and the evil to coexist in
the world, so that the ones who do evil may come to conversion before their
time ends, and He must punish them. “Let the seed and the darnel
grow together till the harvest time.” In other words, God awaits
repentant sinners, giving them the strength to acknowledge their
weakness. “God’s delays are not God’s denial.” God calmly recognizes that
there is evil in the world but sees that evil as no excuse for the good people
who have God’s grace at their disposal not to do good. Through the
parable of the wheat and the weeds in today’s Gospel, Jesus calls us to be
patient with those who fail to meet the high ethical standard expected of
a Christian. If we don’t spend all our time wondering why there is so much evil
in the world, we may have a little left over for wondering why there is so much
good!
Life message: 1) We
need to practice patience. We need to be patient with ourselves and with
others, especially those who annoy us and those who offend us. 2) Let us
patiently and lovingly treat the “weeds” in our society as our brothers and
sisters and do all in our power to put them back on the right road to Heaven,
especially by our good example and our fervent prayer for their conversion. Fr.
Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/21
July 28 Wednesday: Mt
13:44-46:
The context: Today’s
Gospel passage gives us twin parables with a common message. Both the pearl and
the treasure represent the Kingdom of God, or God’s rule in human hearts, or
our close relationship with God kept intact by our doing God’s will.
Treasure & pearl: Since
Palestine was the most fought-over country in the world in the first century,
people hid their valuables underground when they fled from invading armies. The
owners did not always get a chance to return to their land. Some other farm
workers occasionally found such treasures, and the rabbinic law gave the
ownership of the treasure to the finder. In order to avoid any later legal
problems, the intelligent treasure-finder bought the land containing the
treasure, selling all his other possessions to do so, if he had to. Pearls were
the most valuable of the treasures. A merchant who located a superior pearl
would be wise to sell the rest of his stock and property to acquire it.
Acquiring a treasure or a pearl
of great value means accepting the will of God in our lives and sacrificing
everything to do God’s holy will — in other words, living as God wants us to
live. That is God’s Kingship over us and within us in action. The Kingdom of
God is also a group of people on earth who, with God’s grace, work to do the
will of God as perfectly as it is done in Heaven. Hence, being in God’s Kingdom
also means offering willing obedience to God.
Life message: 1) A
right relationship with God, or a state of Sanctifying Grace, is the most
valuable treasure in the Christian life because it gives us a close
relationship with God during this life and a life of everlasting bliss with God
after our death. The Holy Spirit, the Holy Bible and the Sacraments are the
treasures in the Church which enable us to do the will of God and possess the
Kingdom of God. Hence, we must be ready to make any sacrifice to use these
treasures, to practice self-control and to offer to those we encounter generous
loving service, mercy, and forgiveness, thus keeping a right relationship with
God Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
July 29 Thursday (St.
Martha)
The context: Today we
celebrate the feast of St. Martha, the sister of Mary and Lazarus, who used to
welcome Jesus into her house at Bethany during his Jerusalem journeys. Martha
was a dynamo of action. Jesus loved her and her family. It was during the last
month of Jesus’ public life that Jesus and the apostles visited her house for
the last time. Jesus praised Mary for finding time to listen to Him, while
giving Martha a gentle correction for complaining about Mary’s “laziness” while
Martha was rushing about frantically, preparing a grand meal for Jesus. Today’s
Gospel describes how Jesus later came to Bethany in secret during the seven-day
period of deep mourning for the sudden death of Lazarus. Although Lazarus had
been in the tomb four days, Martha, grieving the premature loss of her brother,
sprang into action and launched her heartfelt complaint that her brother would
have been healed if Jesus had come when notified that he was sick, but she assured
Jesus that she knew that the Father would give Jesus whatever Jesus asked,
“even now.“ Jesus consoled her declaring: “I AM the Resurrection and
the Life; he who believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever
lives and believes in Me shall never die.” Martha’s response was a great
profession of Faith in the Divinity of Jesus: “I have come to believe that
you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the One Who is coming into the world’” (John
11:25-27). With Peter’s, hers is the most explicit confession of Jesus as
Messiah. Mary, coming from the house at Martha’s message that the Lord had come
and wanted to see her, made the same tearful complaint Martha had. Asking where
they had laid Lazarus, Jesus wept at Lazarus’ tomb, then called him forth and
gave him back alive to Martha and Mary by a miraculous resuscitation.
Life messages: 1) We
need both Marthas and Marys in the Church – women of action and women of
contemplation. How would the Church survive if not for the Marthas and Bills
who sing in the choir, teach in the Sunday school, work with the youth, run the
altar guild, work with the homeless, and build the Church? The same is true
with the family. We need responsible people to do the work in the house: to
cook, to clean, to keep the house operating, to pay the bills, to keep the cars
running, not to speak of rearing the children and loving the spouse. Households
can’t survive without Marthas and Bills. Nor can offices, schools or
businesses. 2) But we must find time to listen to God speaking to us through
His word and time to talk to God. Where would we all be without the cloistered
monks and nuns who spend their lives praising God and praying for all of us?
Jesus clearly said: be hearers and doers of the word. Jesus
never reversed that order. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
July 30 Friday (St. Peter
Chrysologus, Bishop, Doctor of the Church)
The context: Today’s
Gospel describes how, on a Sabbath, standing before the fellow-townsmen in the
synagogue of Nazareth, Jesus read and interpreted what Isaiah had
prophesied about the Messiah and the Messianic mission. Jesus claimed to
be the One sent “to bring glad tidings to the poor, liberation to captives,
recovery of sight to the blind, and freedom for the oppressed.” Declaring, to
the great amazement and disbelief of fellow-townsmen, that Isaiah’s prophecy
was being fulfilled at that very moment “in your hearing,” Jesus
announced to them that the prophet was foretelling and describing Jesus’
mission and ministry. Luke reports that the initial reaction of the people was
surprise at the power and eloquence of this son of their soil. They were amazed
that one of their fellow villagers could speak with such grace and eloquence
and with such authority. Luke says they were “amazed at the gracious words
that came from [Jesus’] lips,” because they knew
Jesus only as a carpenter from a poor family, with no formal training in Mosaic
Law. But their amazement turned into displeasure when, during this “Inaugural
Address” or “Mission Statement,” Jesus took on the identity of a prophet,
different from the image of the miracle-worker that people wished to see. Then
their displeasure turned into anger when Jesus claimed that to be the promised
Messiah of Isaiah’s prophecy. They challenged his Messianic claim,
asking, and “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” They could not
understand how a mere carpenter could be the Messiah who
would liberate them from Roman rule and reestablish the Davidic kingdom. Jesus explained
their attitude by saying “No prophet is accepted in his native place.”
Life messages: 1) We
need to face rejection with prophetic courage and optimism. Perhaps we have
experienced the pain of rejection, betrayal, abandonment, violated trust,
neglect, or abuse, even from friends and family members, when we reached out to
them as God’s agents of healing and saving grace. Perhaps we ourselves are guilty
of the same rejection of God in His agents. Perhaps we, too, have been
guilty of ignoring or humiliating people with our arrogance and prejudice. Let
us learn to correct our mistakes and to face rejection from others with
courage. 2) Let us not, like the people in Jesus’ hometown,
reject God in our lives. We reject God when we are unwilling to be helped by
God, or by others. Such unwillingness prevents us from recognizing
God’s directions, help and support in our lives, through His words in the Bible,
through the teaching of the Church, and through the advice and examples of
others. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/21
July 31 Saturday: (St.
Ignatius of Loyola): Ignatius was born in a Spanish noble family. After
his initial studies, he was sent to the royal court to serve as a page boy. As
he grew up as a young Knight, he joined the royal army. At the battle of
Pamplona, a cannon ball hit his leg, making him cripple. During his recovery at
the Loyola Castle hospice, he was given only Life of Christ and Lives
of Saints to read. As a result, he had a conversion experience.
Ignatius asked himself the question, “These were men and women like me, so why
can’t I do what they have done?” Then he had the vision of the Mother of Jesus,
holding child Jesus in her hands, which prompted him to go on a pilgrimage to
the Marian Shrine at Monserrat, near Barcelona where he remained making a
retreat at nearby Manresa, staying sometimes with Dominicans and other times in
a paupers’ hospice, spending most of his time praying in caves, while fighting
against scruples by prayer, fasting, reception of the Sacraments and doing
penance until peace returned to him. It was during this time at Manresa that
Ignatius wrote down his “Spiritual Exercises.”
He then went on a pilgrimage to
the Holy Land. But because of the hostility of the Muslims, he had to return to
Spain. It was there that he planned to start a religious group of men to
support the Pope in his ministry. As preparation, he decided to restart his
studies, learning Latin grammar, by sitting in the class of young boys when he
was thirty-three. Then he went for his college studies. At forty-three, he
graduated from the University of Paris. At Montmartre, with six other student
friends, Ignatius professed religious vows in 1534, founding a new religious
order the “Company of Jesus” or the “Society of Jesus.” They were ordained
priests after five years. Along with the triple vows of poverty, chastity and
obedience they promised to work for God in whatever way the Holy Father thought
best. The new Society of Jesus was approved by Paul III in 1540, and Ignatius
was elected to serve as the first general. The spirituality of Ignatius is
expressed in the Jesuit motto, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam— “for the
greater glory of God.” Ignatius recommended this prayer to penitents: Take
Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire
will, all that I have and possess. Thou hast given all to me. To Thee, O lord,
I return it. All is Thine; dispose of it wholly according to Thy will. Give me
Thy love and thy grace, for this is sufficient for me. Ignatius Loyola
[www.ignatianspirituality.com]
Before Ignatius died, there were
one thousand members of the Society of Jesus or “Jesuits.” Ignatius died in
Rome, on July 31, 1556. Pope Gregory XV proclaimed him a saint in 1622.
Ignatius founded the Roman
College, intended to be the model of all other colleges of the Society. The
Jesuits became the greatest force in the Catholic Counter-Reformation.
They continue to have a tremendous influence on politics and education
throughout the world.
Life messages: 1) Let
us try to do everything AMDG, trying to do it better each time. 2) Let us
consider ourselves as trustees of God, as St. Ignatius did, responsible to and
accountable to Him as our Lord and Master. 3) Let us try to be men and women
for others, caring for their material and spiritual welfare. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/21
July 31 Saturday: Mt 14:1-12:
The context: Today’s
Gospel presents the last scene of a tragic drama with three main characters,
Herod, Herodias, and John the Baptist. Herod Antipas, (4 BC – AD 39), was a
jealous and weak puppet-king with a guilty conscience. He feared the prophet
John because John had publicly scolded him for divorcing his legal wife without
adequate cause and for marrying his sister-in-law, Herodias, thus committing a
double violation of Mosaic Law. Herodias was an immoral, greedy woman, stained
by a triple guilt and publicly criticized by John. 1) She was an unfaithful
woman of loose morals. 2) She was a greedy and vengeful woman. 3) She was an
evil mother who used her teenage daughter for the wicked purposes of murder and
revenge by encouraging her to dance in public in the royal palace against the
royal etiquette of the day. John the Baptist was a fiery preacher and the
herald of the Promised Messiah. He was also a Spirit-filled prophet with the
courage of his convictions who criticized and scolded an Oriental monarch and
his proud wife in public.
God’s punishment: After the
martyrdom of John, Herod was defeated by Aretas, the father of Herod’s first
wife. Later, both Herod and Herodias were sent into exile by Caligula, the
Roman emperor.
Life messages: 1) As Christians we need to have the moral integrity and the courage of our convictions as John had. 2) Let us remember that sins of revenge and cruelty will never go unpunished. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
