April 11 Monday:
The 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) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Aril 12 Tuesday:
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 a
piece of bread dipped in sauce, 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) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22
April 13 Wednesday: 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 when 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 right here, right now. 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.
3) We are little Judases—we fall to small temptations we
can’t seem to overcome. These little things can have a negative impact on our
spiritual life over time. Fr. Tony L/22
April 14, 2022: Holy Thursday: 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 (Ex 12:26-37) harmoniously combined these two
feasts, in a ritual meal instituted by God, to be celebrated yearly, thanking
Him 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 with its roasted Paschal lamb by giving his apostles
his own body and blood under the appearances of bread and wine as spiritual
food and drink.
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
others’ 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
spirit of humble service of Christ whom we carry with us. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
April 15, 2022: 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, death, and the devil’s power
forever. Whenever we see the cross, we should realize that Jesus was bruised,
crushed, and killed 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 we
suffer for our own sake (for example, dieting to lose weight, as “fasting”), is
not Christ’s cross. The true cross of Christ is the pain we 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 arepermitted by God
to draw forth a greater good. We face some other crosses when we do our duties
faithfully. Our friends and enemies supply a few of our crosses. Finally, we
ourselves cause many of our own sufferings as consequences of careless living
and evil addictions and, though not technically “crosses,” these can prompt our
cooperation with the Holy Spirit and motivate us to change our lives and
attitudes.
(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 as members (actual or still potential), of the Mystical
Body of Christ. That is why St. Paul said that he was suffering in his body
what is “lacking” (His Mystical body’s share, so to speak), 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 in the same spirit as a
loving wife does when she nurses her paralyzed husband or sick child, with
sacrificial love and dedicated commitment. The carrying of our crosses becomes
easier when we compare our light crosses with the heavy crosses of terminally
ill patients or patients in emergency wards. We need to draw strength and
inspiration from Jesus Who walks ahead of us carrying his heavier cross while
supporting us in carrying our crosses. (2) We should plant the cross of Christ
in our daily lives: We need to begin every day with a sign of the cross, asking
the blessing and protection of the crucified Lord in our lives that day. A
loving, prayerful touch on the cross we wear on our body will encourage us to
serve others selflessly with real commitment. Such prayer will also open our
hearts to receive immunity from a lot of temptations and an increase of Divine
strength to fight and defeat stronger temptations. (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. USCCB
video reflections: https://youtu.be/sCiviovLwgI?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DBazRWSYfhGFvBAEXHvO0Cq (Fr.
Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22
April 16, 2022: Holy Saturday: 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.
II- Good Friday and Holy Saturday were days of full fasting
in the early Church.
III- 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 into the Church, after their
three years of preparation. The Sacrament of Baptism was celebrated by immersion
of the catechumens in a body of water or in the Baptismal pool. This ceremony
reminded them that they had died to their former Gentile life by their
immersion – had “drowned” so to speak — and that they had emerged into a new
life in Jesus Christ by rising up from the water.
IV- A day for blessing Baptismal water. The catechumens
returned the Book of Creed (catechism book) to the Bishop in a morning
ceremony. In the evening the bishop blessed the Baptismal water.
V- A day for lighting the Easter candle. The Bishop
re-ignited the fire extinguished on Holy Thursday and lit 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”.
VI- A day for reading 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.
VII- A day for 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.”
Life messages: 1) Message of expectation, change
of heart and new life.
2) We need to lead a new life with the
Risen Lord by dying to sinful life.
3) We need to 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.
