May 15-20:
May 15 Monday: St. Isidore:
Context: In his final discourse with the apostles at the Last Supper, Jesus assured them that he would not desert them. Instead, a powerful Divine Helper, the Holy Spirit, would come to them from Jesus and the Father in order to guide them and to strengthen them.
The role of the Holy Spirit as outlined in today’s Gospel: 1) As the Counselor or Paraclete or Advocate, the Holy Spirit would coach, defend, and strengthen the apostles in their sufferings and persecution and would guide them during their trials before the civil authorities. 2) As the Spirit of Truth, He would bear witness to Jesus and enable the apostles to bear witness to Christ heroically before the pagans. The Holy Spirit would give them an experiential knowledge of Jesus and an in-depth knowledge of Jesus’ teachings. "The mission of the Church is carried out by means of that activity through which, in obedience to Christ’s command and moved by the grace and love of the Holy Spirit, the Church makes itself fully present to all men and peoples in order to lead them to the Faith, freedom, and peace of Christ by the example of its life and preaching, by the Sacraments and other means of grace" (Vatican II Decree, Ad Gentes 5). Then Jesus foretells the nature of the persecution: 1) Excommunicating Jesus’ followers from synagogues; 2) Establishing the murder of Jesus’ followers (“heretics”), as a religious duty in defense of Judaism and, so, pleasing to Yahweh.
Life messages: 1) As the Divine Advocate, the Holy Spirit living within us continues to help us bear witness to Christ by assisting us to live transparent Christian lives. 2) He also gives us courage and perseverance when we meet adversities and challenges. 3) As the Divine Teacher, the Holy Spirit, through our daily study of the Bible, helps us to know Jesus thoroughly, to love him personally, and to experience him intimately, so that we may live the ideals of Christ and convey them to others through our genuine Christian lives. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
May 16 Tuesday:
The context: In today’s Gospel, Jesus tries to console his sad and disheartened disciples at the Last Supper, for they are at a loss, hearing the news of their master’s imminent departure. So, he assures them that they will not be left alone. He will send the Holy Spirit upon them as a friend, guide, consoler, and teacher. Then Jesus explains the three different roles of the Holy Spirit in their lives. First, He will convince the world about the seriousness of sin. Thus, the Holy Spirit will lead us to repent of our sins and seek forgiveness from Jesus. The Divine Advocate will demonstrate that not believing in Jesus is the real sin. It is the Holy Spirit Who would prick the hearts of the Jews on the day of Pentecost, convicting them of their sin of crucifying their Messiah. In the same way, He convicts us of wrongdoing and convinces us of God’s truth. Second, the Spirit convinces us of the righteousness of Christ, which means that that Jesus was right in his teachings and promises, as proved by God His Father Who granted him Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven. Although Jesus was condemned to death, it was actually Satan, the ruler of this world, who was condemned through Jesus’ death. Third, the Holy Spirit gives us the inner and unshakable conviction that we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God. When we heed God’s judgments, we find true peace, joy, and reconciliation with God.
Life message: We need to allow the Holy Spirit to do what He wishes in and through our lives so that He may release us from the grip of sin and set us ablaze with the fire of God’s love.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
May 17 Wednesday:
The context: Today’s Gospel passage is taken from the Last Supper discourse in which Jesus instructed his disciples on the role of the Holy Spirit and His relationship with Jesus and God the Father.
1) First, as the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit is the Gift of God Who is the Possessor and the Giver of all truth. It is the Spirit’s role to make the disciples fully understand the truths revealed by Christ. Vatican II teaches that Our Lord "completed and perfected Revelation and confirmed it…finally by sending the Spirit of Truth" (Vatican II, Dei Verbum 4).
2) By bringing to their minds and clarifying everything Jesus has taught them, the Holy Spirit will also enable them to render glory to God by glorifying His Son Jesus.
Relationship of the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son: Jesus also reveals the mystery of the Blessed Trinity in today’s Gospel passage, saying that the Three Divine Persons have the same nature: “everything that the Father has belongs to the Son, and everything the Son has belongs to the Father” (cf. Jn 17:10), and that the Spirit also shares the same Divine Essence with the Father and the Son.
Life message: 1) We need the daily guidance and strengthening of the Holy Spirit in our mission of bearing witness. We should remember that Faith is a gift. Hence, we do not gain converts by argument or eloquence, but by praying for them and by radiating, through our living, the Good News that Jesus has died for our sins, has risen for our justification, and offers us a share in his glory.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
May 18 Thursday: (The Ascension of the Lord): The Ascension of the Lord): Matthew 28:16-20: Introduction: Today’s readings describe the Ascension of the Lord Jesus into his Heavenly glory after promising the Apostles that He would ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit upon them as their source of Heavenly power, and commanding them to bear witness to him by their lives and by preaching the Good News throughout the world. But the ascended Jesus is still with us through the indwelling Holy Spirit as he has promised, "I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.” Today’s feast is a celebration of Jesus’ glory after his suffering and death – a glory in which we also hope to share.
The scripture lessons: The first reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, describes the scene of Jesus’ Ascension, promise of the Holy Spirit, and instruction to the apostles to wait in Jerusalem for the Power from above. In the second reading, St. Paul prays that the Spirit of the ascended Christ may enliven the hope of Christ’s disciples in their future heavenly glory, saying, "May God enlighten the eyes of our heart so that we may know the great hope to which we have been called." Paul also teaches us that God revealed His might in the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ and in exalting Jesus over all angelic forces. Today’s Gospel tells us that, with his return to the Father, Jesus completed his mission on earth. But just before his Ascension, Jesus entrusted to his disciples the mission of preaching and teaching the Good News and evangelizing the whole world by bearing witness to him through their lives. In the descriptions of Christ after his Resurrection, we are given a hint of what life will be like in Heaven. But it is in his Ascension that we see him entering fully into the life and glory of God. The prospect of sharing in that glory should be the driving force of our lives.
Life messages: 1) We need to be proclaimers and evangelizers: To be a Christian is to be an evangelizer — both preaching with words and proclaim with our lives the Good News of Jesus Christ. Let us ask the guidance of the Holy Spirit to bear witness to Jesus by our transparent Christian lives. 2) We have a teaching mission: Jesus taught us lessons of Faith, Hope, Love, forgiveness, mercy, and salvation by his life and preaching and gave us the mission to teach these to others. Hence, let us learn about Jesus and his teachings by our daily study of the Bible and the teachings of the Church, experience Jesus in personal prayer, reception of the Sacraments and works of charity, and, with the help of his Holy Spirit, convey Jesus whom we have experienced to all we encounter. 3) The ascended Jesus is our source of strength and encouragement: We will be able to overcome doubts about our Faith, as well as baseless fears, anxieties and worries by meditating on Jesus’ Ascension and learning the lesson it teaches: that we, too, are called to share Jesus’ glory in Heaven. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
May 18 Easter weekday:
The context: We are still at the Last Supper Table. We pick up from Wednesday’s Gospel in which Jesus has just told the Apostles that the Advocate whom he will send them from the Father will tell them all the things Jesus needs them to know, which they cannot bear to hear at this point.
The little while. The Apostles, grieved because Jesus had already told them that he was going “to the One Who sent me,” are puzzled by his cryptic declaration that for a “little while” they will not see him but that “a little while” after that they will see him again, as they are unable to see how his “going to the Father” fits in. Now, the Apostles are not able to believe that Jesus, who had raised people from the dead and who has successfully evaded every trap those who called him enemy have set to destroy him, can be killed as he had three times told them must happen. So death and resurrection, both of which Jesus had told them would happen, and which would have enlightened them about the “little while” had no reality for them. They talk it over among themselves, growing more troubled. Jesus, who, with this “little while,” has still been trying to prepare them for the shock of the death he will die within the coming 24 hours, seeing that this “little while” has only confused them further, assures them, “you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy,” an excellent description of what will happen on the third day after his death.
Life messages: 1) Like the bewildered Apostles, we sometimes miss the point God is trying to make by the sufferings, injustices, and severe trials He allows to enter our lives. These sorrows have value both in teaching us to love others as He has already loved us, and in giving us something we can offer to Him in love, joining them to His Passion and death for the salvation of the world. 2) God never allows us to be tested beyond our strength but always provides the assistance we need to remain faithful to Him. 3) Always He asks us to trust Him to stay with us in His Mercy, to the end.
May 19 Friday:
The context: After foretelling his imminent departure following the Last Supper, Jesus tried to boost the morale of his sad and dispirited disciples. First, he consoled them, promising them to send his Holy Spirit as their Paraclete — Consoler, Guide and Advocate (Attorney). Then, Jesus assured them that his absence would only be temporary.
Contrast between present sorrows and future glory: Jesus compares the temporary pain, sufferings and persecutions of his disciples to the passing, though intense, labor-pains of a woman giving birth to her child. The moment she hears the cry of her child and sees his or her face she forgets all her pain. In the same way, the "other-worldly" joy waiting for his disciples will transcend all types of earthly joys.
Life message: 1) Let us see our pains and suffering as God’s means to strengthen our will and form our character. The conviction of the temporary nature of our suffering and of the glory waiting for us if we accept pain and suffering graciously, converting them into willing acts of reparation for sins, will help us to face them heroically. (Fr. Tony)
May 20 Saturday: (St. Bernadine of Sienna, Priest:
The context: Jesus used parables and metaphors, both in teaching the general public and in explaining teachings to the apostles. Today’s Gospel passage is taken from Jesus’ last discourse with his disciples at their Last Passover Supper together. Here, too, Jesus uses metaphors of a vine and its branches and the simile of a woman giving birth. Now Jesus tells them that he is going to tell them about God, his Father, in plain language. Jesus explains the mystery of his Incarnation in plain language saying, “I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father." Then Jesus corrects the Jewish misconception of God, his Father, as a judging and punishing God, telling the apostles that God the Father is a loving and forgiving Father, to Whom they can pray directly (“Abba!”) in Jesus’ name, and that their prayers will be granted because the Father knows that they love His Son, Jesus, and believe in His Divinity. To pray in Jesus’ Name is not a magic formula or password. It means that we come to God the Father in the merit and righteousness of His Son, Jesus. In other words, I come to the Father depending on the perfect merit of Jesus which gives me standing before the Father. It also means that I pray to Father as Jesus’ representative, asking that God the Father’s will be done and that His name be glorified. In other words, praying in Jesus’ name means praying with Jesus’ authority and asking God the Father to act upon our prayers because we come in the name of His Son, Jesus. This is the pattern of prayer in the Liturgy. The Eucharistic prayer is invariably addressed to the Father, “through Him (Jesus), with Him and in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit” All our prayer has the pattern of the Trinity stamped on it. This does not mean that we should never pray to anyone but the Father. We are free to pray to Jesus, Mary, and the saints, but always in the full knowledge that the Father is the ultimate Recipient of all prayer – just as the sea receives every stream.
Life message: 1) God our Father is a loving, merciful and providing God who wants His children to approach Him directly and through His Son and our only mediator, Jesus. 2) Hence, let us make our prayers of adoration, praise, thanksgiving, contrition, and petition more effective and fruitful by offering them to God our Father through His Son Jesus Christ, in union with the Holy Spirit.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
