23rd Week: Sept 6-11:
Sept 6 Monday: (Labor Day in the U. S. –homily below):
Context: After the sad experience in Nazareth, Jesus used the city of Capernaum on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, the center of the fishing business, as a base for a teaching, healing, and preaching ministery. The people were impressed by the authority with which Jesus taught.
The Old Testament prophets had taught using God’s delegated authority, and the scribes and Pharisees taught quoting Moses, the prophets and the great rabbis. But Jesus, as God Incarnate taught using Divine authority and knowledge. Perfect knowledge of God, perfect obedience to the will of God His Father, and absolute confidence in God were the sources and supports of Jesus’ authority. The second part of today’s Gospel describes a healing by exorcism, which Jesus performed in the synagogue. We are told how Jesus, as God Incarnate, exercised Divine authority to cast out the devil by just one command: “Be silent, and come out of him!” The demon obeyed at once, throwing the man it had possessed to the floor in the midst of the people in the synagogue on its departure. The people were impressed with Jesus’ power and authority that could command even evil spirits. Life messages: 1) Our Faith is based on
the Divinity of Christ, demonstrated by His miracles, which in turn give
authority and validity to His teaching and promises. Hence, let us accept
Jesus’ teachings, even if some of them are mysteries beyond our understanding
2) Let us read the authoritative word of God every day and assimilate it into
our lives. 3) In our illnesses, let us confidently approach Jesus the
Healer with trusting Faith first, then go to the doctors who are the ordinary
instruments of Jesus’ healing ministry in our midst. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/21
Sept first Monday: Labor Day in the U.S.: .:(http://shelbyvillesermons.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ItsLaborDay.pdf)
The first Labor Day was observed on September 5, 1882, to
celebrate the social and economic achievements of American workers and to give
them a day off on the last day of the summer. Today, Labor Day unofficially
signals the beginning of a new “school” year of work and study and the end of
the lazy days of summer. It was President Grover Cleveland who signed a bill
into law on June 28, 1894, declaring Labor Day a national holiday.
1) It is a day to acknowledge the dignity and
necessity of labor and workers. We participate in the creative act of
God by the various forms of work we do, using our God-given talents, a)
The Bible presents God as working six days in the creation of the world and
commanding Adam to work six days and rest on the seventh as He had done. b)
Jesus, God’s Son, was a professional carpenter. c) Most of Jesus’ apostles were
fishermen, and Paul was a tentmaker. d) In an “Inaugural Address” in the
synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus expressed a preferential option for the poor – the
working class and those who cannot work. e) Work is necessary for our own
wellbeing, for health of body, mind, and spirit. It enables us to
support and care for all God has entrusted to us, with His help, and to help
those who are less fortunate and unable to work.
f) Works of charity are the main criteria of our Last
Judgement: “Whatever you did to one of these least brethren you did to Me.”
2) A day to remember the Church’s
teaching on the nobility of work and the necessity of just wages. In
the encyclical, Laborem exercens (September 14, 1981), Pope
St. John Paul II instructs us that all of us are called to work together for a
just society and a just economy which allow us all to share God’s blessings. He
reminds us that governments should see that the greed of a minority does not
make the life of the majority miserable. He advises labor unions to fight for
social and economic justice, better wages and better working conditions. 3) It
is the day to remember and pray for the job-less people: There are
thousands without work and millions more who are underemployed, working at
part-time jobs or jobs that do not pay a decent wage. Society has a moral
obligation to reduce joblessness because it is through work that families are
sustained, children are nurtured, and the future is secured. Joblessness is
also a clear threat to family life. 4) It is an
appropriate time to acknowledge and bless the temporal and spiritual
work that our parishioners do for their families, for their neighbors
and for the parish community. It is also a day to remind ourselves that our
workplace gives us an opportunity to practice what we believe, and to display a
level of integrity that matches our Faith, thus witnessing to Christ. 5) It
is a day to pay attention to a warning: The warning is that we
should be aware of the danger in work. If not properly oriented it can make us
workaholics, we may turn work into our god or may consider it as an escape
mechanism to run away from spouse, children, and neighbors.
Thus, on this Labor Day, let us try to realize the dignity
of work, the necessity for work and the dangers involved in work. Let us thank
the Lord for the talents and work He has given us to do. Let us pray that we
may find joy and satisfaction in our work, realizing that we are co-creators
with God and stewards of His creation. By offering our work for God’s glory,
let us transform our work to prayer. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/21
Sept 7 Tuesday:
The context: Today’s Gospel passage gives a
short account of the call of the Apostles and of the preaching and healing
mission of Jesus. Jesus was the first missionary, sent by His Father with the
“Good News” that God his Father is a loving, merciful, and forgiving Father Who
wants to save everyone through His Son, Jesus. Today’s Gospel describes how
this First Missionary selected and empowered twelve future missionaries as
Apostles to continue the mission.
Special features: Jesus selected very ordinary people, most
of them hard-working fishermen with no social status, learning or political
influence. Jesus was sure that this strange mixture of people would be very
effective instruments in God’s hands. Matthew was a hated tax collector serving
the Roman Empire, while Simon the Cananaean was a Zealot, a fanatical
nationalist or terrorist of those days, determined to destroy Roman rule by any
means. The others were mostly professional fishermen with a lot of good will,
patience and stamina. It was only Jesus‘ love for them and their admiration and
love for Jesus that united them. Jesus selected them after a night of prayer
and gave them His own Divine powers of healing and exorcism and made them a key
part of His own Messianic mission of preaching the “Kingdom of God.”
Life Messages: 1) God wants to show us that a
calling for ministry, or a vocation to priestly or religious life or family
life, is an initiative of God. 2) As Christians we have the same mission that
Jesus entrusted to his Apostles. 3) We fulfill this mission of preaching the
word of God, primarily, by our living out of Jesus’ teachings and by promoting
and helping world-wide missionary activities of the Church. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/21
Sept 8 Wednesday (Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary):https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/nativity-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary Mt
1: 1-16, 18-23: Anecdote: Life magazine estimated that the
prayer “Hail Mary” is said two billion times every day, and each year five to
ten million people make a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico
City. Many others visit Marian sites elsewhere in the world. Mary is
prayed to as advocate and helper, and even in the sports area there is a
reference to her power: the last desperate pass by a losing football team was
once called a “Hail Mary pass.” Mary is also venerated by Muslims. It is
reported that when the Prophet Muhammad cleared the idols out of the Kaaba in
Mecca, he allowed only a fresco of the Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus to
remain. In every Muslim mosque, the “mihrab” or prayer niche in the wall is
dedicated to Mary. In the Qur’an, she is described as having been sent as “a
mercy for the worlds.” (http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/days/features.php?id=15974)
History: As one of the oldest Marian
solemnities, this feast is based on the second century (A.D. 175), apocryphal
book Protoevagelium Jacobi (The Pre-Gospel of James), which
reflects the traditions of the early Church, although it is not considered an
inspired book. According to this book, Mary’s parents were Joachim and
Anna. Mary was born either in Jerusalem or in Sephoris, three miles north of
Bethlehem. The Annunciation is believed to have taken place later in the
house of Mary’s parents. The feast originated in the fifth century in Syria or
Palestine. St. Romanus of Syria is supposed to have brought it to Rome. The
Roman Church adopted it in the 7th century and fixed it on
September 8th. It is found in the 8th and 9th century
Gregorian Sacramentary.
Importance: The feast is the birthday
celebration of the mother of Jesus, our Heavenly Mother and the Mother of the
Church. It is the birthday of an ordinary woman who was chosen to become the
mother of an extraordinary Divine Child. The Church celebrates the death day of
a saint as his/her feast day, considering it his/her “birthday in Heaven.” The
three exceptions are Jesus’ birthday (Christmas), Mary’s birthday (September
8), and John the Baptist’s birthday (June 24). Mary’s birthday is celebrated
because of her Immaculate Conception. John the Baptist, in Elizabeth’s womb,
was filled with the Holy Spirit during Mary’s visitation of Elizabeth. We honor
Mary because God has done great things for her (Luke
1:49), a) by choosing her as the mother of Jesus His Son, b) by filling
her with His Holy Spirit twice, c) by making her the embodiment of all virtues
(“full of grace”), and our Heavenly Mother and d) by allowing her
to become the most active participant with Christ, her son, in our redemption.
The readings: (Mi 5:1-4 or Rom 8:28-30; Mt 1:1-16, 18-23). Romans
1:3 states that Mary was a descendant of David, and Matthew’s genealogy in
today’s Gospel also supports this truth.
Life Messages: 1) Let us, as Mary’s children,
give a suitable birthday gift to our Heavenly Mother. Every mother wants her
children to inherit and acquire all her good qualities. Hence, the best
birthday gift to Mary is for us to become holy children of a Holy Mother.
2) Let us make this day a day to start practicing Mary’s
virtues. Let us practice her virtues of a) trusting Faith in the power of
God (“nothing is impossible for God’), b) perfect obedience to the
will of God (“be it done to me according your will”). c) the spirit
of sacrificial and sharing love and d) the acceptance of suffering with
one hundred percent commitment to her heroic mission. (Fr. Tony) L/21 (Gospel
readings suggested: Matthew 1:16, 18-23, 24a or Mt 1: 18-23)
Sept 9 Thursday (St. Peter Claver, Priest, U. S. A.):https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-peter-claver
The context: Today’s Gospel passage is the
second part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain as given by
Luke. It describes the power of Christian love when
exercised by practicing the golden rule: “Do
to others as you would have them do to you.” This golden rule is
amplified by a string of particular commands: 1) “Love your enemies…Do
good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you and pray for those who
maltreat you.” Jesus orders us to love our enemies. 2)
Show your Christian love to everyone, especially to your enemies by treating
them with mercy and compassion because our
Heavenly Father is merciful and compassionate to all His children. “Be
compassionate, as your Father is compassionate.”3) Stop judging and
start forgiving.
Life messages: 1) We need to answer the invitation
to grace-filled behavior: What makes Christianity distinct from any
other religion is the quality known as grace, i.e., our
ability to treat others, not as we think they deserve, but with love, kindness,
the spirit of forgiveness and mercy. 2) We need to accept the challenges of
day-to-day life. Jesus challenges our willingness to endure unjust suffering
for His sake and the sake of His Gospel. 3) We need to pray
for the strength to forgive. At every Mass we pray the “Our Father,”
asking God to forgive us as we forgive others. We must forgive,
because only forgiveness truly heals our relationships and heals us. If
we remember how God has forgiven us, it will help us forgive
others. 4) We need to live our lives in accordance with “the Golden
Rule.” (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/21
Sept 10 Friday:
The context: In today’s passage, taken from
the Sermon on the Plain given in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus condemns
our careless, malicious and rash judgments about the behavior, feelings,
motives, or actions of others by using the funny examples of one blind man
leading another blind man and one man with a log covering his eyes trying to
remove a tiny speck from another’s eye.
Reasons why we should not judge others: 1) No one
except God is good enough to judge others because only God sees the whole
truth, and only He can read the human heart. Hence, only He has the ability,
right, and authority to judge us. 2) We do not see all the facts or
circumstances or the power of the temptation which has led a person to do
something evil. 3) We are often prejudiced in our judgment of others, and total
fairness cannot be expected from us. 4) We have no right to judge because
we have the same faults as the one we are judging and often to a greater degree
(remember the critical man with a wooden beam in his eye?) St. Philip Neri
commented, watching the misbehavior of a drunkard: “There goes Philip but for
the grace of God.” Abraham Lincoln said that only he has the right to criticize
who has the heart to help (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/21
Sept 11 Saturday:
The context: In today’s passage, taken from
the Sermon on the Plain given in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus teaches
the necessity for cultivating a strong Christian moral character as the
foundation of our Christian life. The teaching: In the first part
of the Gospel, Jesus teaches us that the good fruits of Christian virtues, like
love, mercy, forgiveness, and service, result only from an upright character
trained in and cultivated by the repeated practice of Christian principles.
Jesus compares good works with figs and grapes and reminds us that thorny
shrubs and bramble bushes cannot produce them. In the second part, Jesus
gives us two warnings: that we must match our profession of Faith with actual
obedience to the will of God, and that we must build a life on the firm
foundation of Jesus’ teachings. Jesus emphasizes the truth that we should not
be mere hearers of the word of God but also consistent doers of that word. In
other words, our profession of Faith should match our practice. Jesus compares
mere hearers of the word to a foolish man who built his house on a sandy foundation,
and the doers of the word to a wise man who built his house on strong and solid
rock.
Life messages: 1) We need to be men and women of
character with the courage of our religious convictions, doing what is right at
all times. Such persons are honest and reliable before God, themselves, and
their neighbors. 2) We need to build our family on a strong Christian
foundation. There can be no great marriage and no great family without a solid
foundation, and that foundation begins with the husband and wife doing and
being the love of Christ for each other and for their children. 3) We
need to get ready to face the storms of life: Jesus wants us to follow his
words and to build our lives and our families on these words. He wants us to be
ready for the storms of life, including, among others, the current Covid-19
pandemic, economic downturns, pension defaults, war, depression both mental and
economic, relationships that fade, the deaths of those who love us and whom we
love, devastating illness, and protracted disease. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
