Dec 6 Monday (St. Nicholas, Bishop)
Many kinds of sickness were seen by the Jews as punishment for one’s personal sin or the sins of one’s parents. This man’s paralysis was also seen by the people around him as a punishment for some sin in his own life or in the lives of his parents. It was a common belief that no sickness could be cured until sin was forgiven. For that reason, Jesus had first to convince the paralyzed man that his sins had been forgiven. Once Jesus granted the paralytic the forgiveness of God, the man knew that God was no longer his enemy, and he was ready to receive the cure which followed. It was the manner of the cure which scandalized the Scribes. By forgiving sin, they thought Jesus had blasphemed, insulting God, because forgiving sin is the exclusive prerogative of God. In addition to showing Jesus’ own direct connection to God, this healing demonstrates the fact that we can never be right physically until we are right spiritually, that health in body and peace with God go hand in hand.
Life messages: 1) We need God’s forgiveness to live wholesome lives. The heart of the Christian Faith is the “forgiveness of sins.” In the Creed we say, “I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins.” While we have the power to forgive others, we need to be forgiven ourselves by the One who has the authority to forgive. In Jesus we see this authority, the same authority He gave to his Apostles and so to his Church. 2) Today’s Gospel gives us an invitation to open ourselves to God’s forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and to hear from in the priest’s words the voice of Jesus speaking to the paralytic: “Your sins are forgiven.” 3) The Gospel also instructs us to forgive others their sins against us and to ask God’s forgiveness for our daily sins every day of our lives. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Dec 7 Tuesday (St. Ambrose, Bishop, Doctor of the Church)
The context: Since the self-righteous Pharisees who accused Jesus of befriending publicans and sinners could not believe that God would be delighted at the conversion of sinners, Jesus told them the parable of the lost sheep and the shepherd’s joy on its discovery, the parable of the lost coin and the woman’s joy when she found it, and the parable of the lost and returned son and his Father’s joy on his return. These three parables defended Jesus’ alliance with sinners and responded to the criticism that he was welcoming tax collectors and sinners. The central theme of today’s Gospel is that our God is loving, patient, merciful, and forgiving. This parable reminds us that we have a God who welcomes sinners and forgives their sins when they return to Him with genuine contrition and resolution to amend their lives.
Shepherding in Judaea was a hard and dangerous task. Pasture was scarce; thorny scrub jungles with wild animals, and vast desert areas were common, posing constant threats to the wandering sheep. But the shepherds were famous for their dedicated, sacrificial service, perpetual vigilance and readiness for action. Two or three shepherds might be personally responsible for the sheep owned by several families in a village. If any sheep were missing, one of the shepherds would go in search of it, sending the other shepherds home with the flock of sheep. The whole village would be waiting for the return of the shepherd with the lost sheep and would receive him with shouts of joy and of thanksgiving.
Life messages: 1) We need to confess our sins to regain peace and God’s friendship. We have to be humble enough to recognize that we need God’s forgiveness to be whole. If we have been in sin, our God is ready to receive and welcome us back, just as Jesus welcomed sinners in his time. Let us pray today that we may allow God’s love and forgiveness into our lives.
2) We should also ask God for the courage to extend this forgiveness to others who have offended us. As we continue with the celebration of the Holy Mass, let us pray also for God’s Divine Mercy on those who have fallen away from grace. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/21
Dec 8 Wednesday (Immaculate Conception of BVM): https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/immaculate-conception-of-the-blessed-virgin-maryUSA= Holy Day of Obligation) Lk 1: 26-38: Mary’s prophecy given in her Magnificat, “Behold all generations will call me blessed,” was fulfilled when the Catholic Church declared four dogmas of Faith about her: 1-The Immaculate Conception, 2-The Perpetual Virginity, 3-The Divine Maternity, 4-The Assumption. The Immaculate Conception is a dogma based mainly on Christian tradition and theological reasoning. It was defined in 1854 by Pope Pius IX as a dogma of Faith through Ineffabilis Deus. Definition: From the first moment of her conception, Mary was preserved immune from original sin by the singular grace of God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race. (CCC #491). This means that original sanctity, innocence and justice were conferred upon her, and that she was exempted from all the evil effects of original sin, excluding sorrow, pain, disease and death which are temporal penalties given to Adam. (Catholic Encyclopedia).
Basis in Tradition and Scripture: (A) From tradition: The Immaculate Conception is a dogma originating from sound Christian tradition. Monks in Palestinian monasteries started celebrating the feast of the Conception of Our Lady by the end of 7th century. The feast spread as the Feast of Immaculate Conception in Italy (9th century), England (11th century), and France (12th century). Pope Leo VI propagated the celebration and Pope Sixtus IV approved it as a feast. Finally, in 1854, Pope Pius IX declared the Immaculate Conception to be a Dogma of Faith. Mary herself approved this in 1858 by declaring to Bernadette at Lourdes, “I am the Immaculate Conception”. (B) From Holy Scripture: 1- God purified the prophet Jeremiah in the womb of his mother and anointed John the Baptist with His Holy Spirit before John’s birth. (Jer 1:5 — “Before I formed you in the womb of your mother I knew you and before you were born, I consecrated you”). Hence, it is reasonable that God kept the mother of His Son free from all sins from the first moment of her origin. 2- The angel saluted Mary as “full of grace.” The greeting means that she was never, even for a moment, a slave of sin and the devil. 3- Gen. 3:15– “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and hers; He will strike at your head while you strike at His heel.” The woman stands for Mary, and the promise would not be true if Mary had original sin. (C)-Argument from reason: 1-If we were allowed to select our mother, we would select the most beautiful, healthy and saintly lady. So, did God. 2-The All-Holy God cannot be born from a woman who was a slave of the devil, even for a moment in her life.
Life messages: 1) Every mother wants her children to inherit or acquire all her good qualities. Hence, our Immaculate and holy Heavenly Mother wants us to be holy and pure children. 2) Let us honor her by practicing her virtues of Faith, obedience and total commitment to her mission. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Dec 9 Thursday (St. Juan Diego)
The context: John the Baptizer preached the coming of a fiery Messiah. But what he heard about Jesus from prison was that Jesus was a loving, merciful and forgiving preacher who befriended tax collectors and sinners. Hence, John sent some of his disciples to Jesus to learn whether Jesus was, or was not, the expected Messiah. After sending them back to John to report the actions by which He was fulfilling the Messianic prophecies, Jesus gave the highest compliments to John in today’s Gospel.
Jesus praised John first as a prophet and second as the expected Elijah. As a prophet, John had God-given wisdom in his mind, God’s truth on his lips and God-given courage in his heart. He had been heralding the Messiah with the courage of his prophetic convictions. John had lived like the Prophet Elijah who was expected to come just before the Messiah. He had spoken with the same prophetic authority and had corrected the self-righteous, attracting Jewish followers by the hundreds to receive the baptism of repentance. Jesus, however, stressed the fact that His own followers were greater than John because, while John knew only God’s judgment and punishment, we know God’s love, forgiveness and the salvation, given through Jesus. But Jesus warned his followers that they would be persecuted for their trust in God’s Kingdom, and that they would have to use force on their selfish and evil tendencies to reach God’s Kingdom.
Life message: We need to have the courage of our Christian convictions to profess in public what we believe and to practice what the Church teaches. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/21
Dec 10 Friday:
The context: The message of John the Baptist and the message of Jesus fell on deaf ears and met with stiff resistance from the self-righteous Scribes and the Pharisees because of their jealousy, prejudice and spiritual blindness. Hence, they attributed the austerities of John the Baptist to the devil and Jesus’ table fellowship with sinners as gluttony, evidence contraindicating any messianic possibility. In today’s Gospel, Jesus compares these Scribes and Pharisees to irresponsible street-children.
Dog-in-the-manger attitude: Jesus compares the attitude of the Scribes and the Pharisees to that of street-children who want to entertain themselves by playing wedding and funeral songs. They divide themselves into two groups. But when one group proposes to sing wedding songs and asks the other group to dance, the second group will propose funeral songs and ask the first group to carry one of them on their shoulders as they act out a funeral procession. In the end both groups will be frustrated. Jesus states that the Scribes and Pharisees act exactly like these irresponsible and immature children because of their pride and prejudice. Jesus criticizes the unbelieving Jews for not listening either to John the Baptist, who preached a message of austerity and repentance, or to Jesus, who preached the good news of love, mercy and salvation.
Life messages: 1) Jesus’ parable about disappointed playmates challenges us to examine whether we are buffet Catholics with selective hearing, so that we hear only what we want to hear. Jesus’ message of the kingdom of God is Good News and it produces true joy and spiritual freedom for those who will listen, but it is also a warning for those who refuse to listen and close their minds. 2) Hearing the Gospel implies the total acceptance and assimilation of what we hear and the incorporation of it into our daily lives. Like the generation of Jesus’ time, our age is marked by indifference and contempt, especially in regard to the things of Heaven. Indifference dulls our ears to God’s voice and to the Good News of the Gospel. Only the humble of heart can find joy and favor in God’s grace. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Dec 11 Saturday (St. Damasus I, Pope)
The context: Today’s Gospel describes the warning and instruction given by Jesus to Peter, James and John as they were coming down the mountain after witnessing Jesus’ Transfiguration. Jesus forbade them to give any publicity to what they had seen, because people were expecting a conquering political messiah with Elijah as his forerunner, and a powerful reformer who would destroy evil and restore justice in the land for the messiah to rule.
The Expected Messiah. Then Jesus indicated that he was the expected Messiah, and that John was the Elijah they had been waiting for. John’s mission was to prepare the way for the first coming of the Messiah, as Elijah’s mission would be to prepare the world for the Messiah’s second coming at the end of the world. The scribes misunderstood and taught that Elijah would come before the first coming of Jesus, the Messiah, and Jesus told his disciples that for those who were willing to believe it, John the Baptist had served as Elijah in announcing His own coming and preparing the people to receive Him. Jesus also reminded his disciples that he would fulfill his role as the Messiah not by gaining political power but by his suffering and death.
Life messages:1) Let us accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, who became our Messiah through his death on the cross. 2) We do so by cooperating with our Savior in our eternal salvation, by obeying his commandment of love and by following the instructions given by the Church Jesus founded. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
