July 24 Monday: St. Sharbel Makhluf, Priest:
The context: Since there had been many false prophets and false messiahs in the past, and since the pride and prejudice of the scribes and the Pharisees did not permit them to see the Messiah in Jesus, a “carpenter-from-Nazareth-turned-wandering-preacher,” these Jewish religious leaders demanded that Jesus show some “Messianic” signs and miracles from their list. They would not believe that Jesus’ numerous miraculous healings were the Messianic signs foretold by their prophets.
Jesus’ negative response: Calling them an apostate generation who refused to believe in their own prophets and who denied the hand of God in the miracles he had worked, Jesus warned them that they would be condemned on the Day of Judgment by the people of Nineveh (in modern Iraq) and by the Queen of Sheba from the South. The pagan Ninevites had heard the voice of the Lord God in the prophet Jonah, had repented and had been spared. The Queen of Sheba had recognized God’s wisdom in King Solomon and had traveled 1400 miles from the south (Yemen or Ethiopia) to Israel and spent six months with him (according to tradition) to receive more of it from the God of Solomon. Nevertheless, Jesus gave the scribes and Pharisees “the sign of Jonah,” who had spent three days and three nights in the belly of the giant fish, the undeniable Messianic sign of Jesus’ own Resurrection from the tomb on the third day after dying and being entombed.
Life messages: 1) Let us recognize the God-given signs in our lives: Let us examine our conscience and see if we are able to see God’s presence in ourselves and in others, His hand behind the small and big events of our lives, and His provident care in our lives and His wisdom in the Holy Bible, the Teachings of the Church and in the liturgy. 2) Let us open our ears to hear God’s message given to us through others and through nature. We should be able read God’s message in the Bible and adjust our lives accordingly. 3) Let us try our best to open our hearts to God and be receptive to His Spirit through our active participation in the liturgy, instead of looking for signs in weeping Madonnas, bleeding crucifixes, and visionaries. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
July 25 Tuesday: St. James, Apostle: The context: Today we celebrate the feast of James, the Apostle. James was the son of Zebedee the fisherman and Salome, the sister/cousin of Jesus’ mother, and the brother of John, the Evangelist and Apostle. James was one of Jesus’ inner circle of three disciples who had the privilege of witnessing the Transfiguration, the raising to life of the daughter of Jairus, and Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane. He is in the first three of every list of the apostles in the four Gospels. Jesus called James and John “boanerges,” or “sons of thunder,” probably because of their volatile character and high ambitions: they once offered to “call down fire from Heaven” — the power he had given them for their mission journeys — on the Samaritan village which had refused Jesus permission to cross through their village because he was going to Jerusalem. Jesus refused the offer. Later, James was known as James the Greater to distinguish him from James the Less (the son of Clopas), who was leader of the Church in Jerusalem and wrote the Epistle that bears his name. James the Greater was probably the first apostle martyred — by Herod in 44 AD, in his attempt to please the Jews (Acts 12:1-3).
The Gospel episode: The incident described in today’s Gospel shows us how ambitious, far-sighted, and power-hungry James and his brother John were in their youth with their impulsive and hot-tempered Galilean blood. They asked their mother to ask Jesus to make them the second and third in command when Jesus established his Messianic Kingdom after ousting the Romans. They must have been shocked when their request prompted Jesus to make a third prediction of his passion and death, promising them a share in his sufferings. Jesus told the apostles that it was only the spirit of service which would make his disciples “great,” because he himself had come “not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” St. James is the patron saint of Spain.
Life messages: 1) The leaders in Jesus’ Church must be the servants of all as Mary was (“Behold the handmaid of the Lord”). That is why Pope is called “the servant of the servants of God” and the priesthood of our pastors is called “ministerial priesthood.” 2) Our vocation as Christians is to serve others sacrificially, with agápe love in all humility, without expecting anything in return, and our spiritual leaders must be humble, loving, selfless, and serviceable, just as Jesus was, for our Lord loved and served us all Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
July 26 Wednesday: St. Joachim & Ann, Parents of Blessed Virgin Mary: The context: Today’s Gospel passage gives us the parable of the sower, the seeds sown, and the yield depending upon the type of soil. It is the first parable of Jesus in the New Testament about the Kingdom of Heaven. It is also a parable Jesus personally interprets for the Apostles. This parable was intended as a warning to the hearers to be attentive, and to the apostles to be hopeful receivers, living out Jesus’ teachings and ideas. The sower is God, while the Church, with the parents in their homes, are the teachers. The seed sown is the high-yielding word of God, which has a cutting edge like “a sharp sword” (Is 49:2), “two-edged sword” (Heb 4:12), and a purifying and strengthening power like “fire and hammer” (Jer 23:29).
Soil type and the yield: The hardened soil on the foot path represents people with minds closed because of laziness, pride, prejudice, or fear. The soil on flat rock pieces represents emotional types of people who go after novelties without sticking to anything and who are unwilling to “put down roots” surrendering their wills to God. The soil filled with weeds represents people addicted to evil habits and evil tendencies and those whose hearts are filled with hatred, jealousy, and greed. They are interested only in acquiring money by any means and in enjoying life in any way possible. The good and fertile soil represents well-intentioned people with open minds and clean hearts, earnest in hearing the word and zealous in putting it into practice. Zacchaeus, the sinful woman, and the thief crucified on Jesus’ right side, St. Augustine, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Francis Xavier, among others, fall into this category of the good soil.
Life message: Let us become the good soil and produce hundred-fold yields by earnestly hearing, faithfully assimilating and daily cultivating the word of God we have received, so that the Holy Spirit may produce His fruits in our lives. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
July 27 Thursday: The context: Jesus’ disciples wanted to know why Jesus spoke in parables to the common people but explained to his disciples the parables’ implicit and hidden meanings.
Reasons: Jesus gives two reasons for using parables. 1) The so-called intellectuals, like the scribes and the Pharisees, were proud, filled with themselves, leaving no space for God’s wordin their hearts. That is one of the reasons why Jesus started speaking to the common people who were humble with receptive hearts, using their simple language and telling them stories and parables based on their lives. 2) The secrets of God’s kingdom are meant for people with open minds and large receptive hearts, not for proud intellectuals who are closed to them.
Blessing: Then Jesus congratulates his apostles and the common people on their good fortune in seeing the long-awaited Messiah, hearing his words and experiencing his company.
Life message: 1) We are more blessed than Jesus’ first-century audience because we have his message in written form, the Holy Spirit through the Magisterium of the Church to interpret it for us, and his Presence in the Holy Eucharist, in the Holy Bible and in the praying community. Hence, let us read the Bible and listen to the teaching of the Church with open minds and welcoming, responsive hearts. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
July 28 Friday: The context: Today’s Gospel passage gives us Jesus’ interpretation of the parable of the sower, seeds sown, and the yield depending upon the type of soil. This parable was intended as a warning to the hearers to be attentive, and to the apostles to be hopeful, about Jesus’ preaching in the face of growing opposition to his teachings and ideas. The sower is God Who sows His word through the Church, parents, friends, and teachers. The seed sown is the high-yielding word of God which is “a sharp sword” (Is 49:2), “two-edged sword” (Heb 4:12), and “fire and hammer” (Jer 23:29).
Soil-type and yield:The hardened soil on the footpath represents people with minds closed because of laziness, pride, prejudice, or fear. So, “the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in his heart.” The soil on flat rock pieces represents emotional types of people who go after novelties without sticking to anything and are unwilling to surrender their wills to God. “I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh” (Ez 11:19). Jesus interprets this to mean a man “who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.” The soil filled with weeds represents people addicted to evil habits and evil tendencies and those whose hearts are filled with hatred, jealousy, or the greed that makes them interested only in acquiring money by any means and in enjoying life in any way possible. Jesus tells us “…this is he who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the delight in riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” The good and fertile soil represents well-intentioned people with open minds and clean hearts, earnest in hearing the word and zealous in putting it into practice. For Jesus, “….this is he who hears the word and understands it; he indeed bears fruit, and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” Zacchaeus, the sinful woman, the thief on Jesus’ right side, St. Augustine, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Francis Xavier, among others, fall into this category of the good soil.
Life message: Let us become the good soil and produce hundred-fold yields by earnestly hearing, faithfully assimilating and daily cultivating the word of God we have received, so that the Holy Spirit may produce His fruits in our lives. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
July 29 Saturday: St. Martha, Mary, Lazarus: July 29th was traditionally celebrated as the feast day of St. Martha, sister of Mary and Lazarus. But on February 2, 2021, Pope Francis expanded this memorial to include Martha’s sister and brother, Mary and Lazarus. They were close friends of Jesus. Since they lived in Bethany, less than two miles from Jerusalem, Jesus visited their home each time he with his disciples participated in a major feast in the Temple of Jerusalem, and Martha prepared meals for them. It was during one of those meals that Jesus praised Mary for finding time to listen to him and lovingly scolded Martha for being too much anxious and busy in the kitchen.
Pope Francis decided in February, 2021 to include all three siblings, Martha, Mary and Lazarus, in today’s feast. Martha is presented as a woman of great dynamism and action who despite her deep sorrow at her brother’s death, believed in Jesus as the Lord of life and death and proclaimed him by her strong profession of Faith as the Messiah and God. Mary is included in the feast as a model of the keen listener of the word of God who was keen on applying the word she heard into her life. Correcting the unbiblical belief that Mary of Magdala and the sinner woman who anointed the feet of Jesus at the house of a Pharisee was Mary the sister of Lazarus, the Pope approves the unanimous opinion of modern Bible scholars that all these three are distinct and different Marys. Lazarus is included in the feast because of his courageous and strong testimony of his resuscitation by Jesus, despite the Pharisees’ threat to arrest him. When this memorial was established, the Congregation for Divine Worship said, “In the household of Bethany, the Lord Jesus experienced the family spirit and friendship of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, and for this reason the Gospel of John states that he loved them.”
Life messages: 1) Let us invite Jesus into our families by consecrating our families to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and by allowing him to rule our lives. 2) 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. 3) But we must all 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 told us to be hearers and doers of the word; he never reversed that order. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
