34th Week: Nov 27-Dec 2:
Nov 27, Monday:The context: There were 13 trumpet-shaped receptacles
that stood up against the wall of the Court of Women. They were intended to
hold the gifts of the faithful for the Temple treasury. As Jesus and his
disciples sat and watched the comings and goings of those offering their gifts
of support, they observed many wealthy worshipers placing significant sums into
the Temple treasury. But it was not until Jesus observed the tiny gift of
two lepta (equivalent to a couple of pennies), given by a poor
widow, that he was moved to comment on the proceedings.
Beginning with chapter 11 of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is seen
confronting the Temple authorities and challenging abuses in the “organized
religion” of his time. Complimenting the poor widow in today’s Gospel, Jesus
contrasted the external signs of honor sought by the scribes with the humble,
sacrificial offering of a poor widow and declared that she had found true honor
in God’s eyes. The Gospel presents a poor widow who sacrificially gave her
whole life and means of livelihood to God, symbolizing the supreme sacrifice
Jesus would offer by giving His life for others. The episode invites us to a
total commitment to God’s service with a humble and generous heart free from
pride and prejudice.
Life messages: # 1: We need to appreciate the
widows of our parish: Their loneliness draws them closer to God and to
stewardship in the parish. They are often the active participants in all the
liturgical celebrations, offering prayers for their families and for their
parish family. Frequently, they are active in parish organizations, as well as
in visiting and serving the sick and the shut-ins. Hence, let us appreciate
them, support them, encourage them, and pray for them.
#2: We need to accept Christ’s criteria for judging people:
We often judge people by what they possess. But Jesus measures us on the basis
of our inner motives and the intentions hidden behind our actions. He evaluates
us on the basis of the sacrifices we make for others and on the degree of our
surrender to His holy will. What is hardest to give is ourselves in love and
concern, because that gift costs us more than reaching for our purses. (Fr.
Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Nov 28 Tuesday: ST. CATHERINE LABOURE:
The context: Today’s Gospel begins with Jesus’
reaction to the comments the disciples had been making about the splendor of
the Temple in Jerusalem. The forty-foot-tall pillars supporting the beams of
the front porch were made of solid marble. Most of the decorations and the
large vine on the front porch with six-foot long grape clusters were made of
solid gold plates, while the dome was gold-plated. But Jesus prophesied this
Temple’s total destruction. In AD 70, the Roman army invaded the city,
plundered everything valuable, set fire to the Temple, pulled down the City’s
walls, killed one million Jews, and took 97,000 healthy Jews as captives. Jesus
also gave the disciples warnings about false military messiahs and their
deceptive doctrines about overthrowing the Romans. Then Jesus listed some signs
of the end of the world, like wars between nations, earthquakes, famines,
plagues, and unnatural movements of the heavenly bodies.
Life message: 1) We need to learn from the signs
of the times, like crises in morality, a culture of death, an increase in
violence and terrorism, the “normalization” of sexual deviations, the breaking
down of families, and the moral degradation of society. We need to prepare
ourselves for the end times by living ideal Christian lives, helping others,
sharing our blessings with others, getting and staying reconciled with God and
our neighbors, and trusting in the living presence of Jesus in the Church.
(Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Nov 29 Wednesday:
The context: Today’s Gospel gives Jesus’
prophetic warning to the apostles and disciples about the sufferings they will
have to bear for their Faith in Him until Jesus’ Second Coming. Jesus
advises them to bear witness to Him in spite of persecutions, for those persecutions
would also encourage the disciples to flee to remote places and to preach the
Gospel among the Jews and the Gentiles. Believers, Jesus warns, will be locked
up in prisons and brought for trial before kings and governors. Jesus assures
them that the Holy Spirit will give them words of defense and witness-bearing.
(In the Acts of the Apostles, we read how Stephen was given the
wisdom to bear splendid witness to Jesus in Jerusalem). Since there will be
divisions in families between believers and non-believers, Jesus declares,
close relatives will betray their Christian family members to the pagan
authorities and cause their martyrdom. But Jesus assures the disciples in
today’s Gospel passage that their suffering for Him will be amply rewarded.
Life messages: 1) Although we may not get a
chance to die for the Faith, we are invited to face “dry martyrdom,” a “living
death” as outcasts in our contemporary materialistic, secular, liberal,
agnostic, and atheistic society. 2) We are called to bear witness to Christ by
loving those who hate us, by showing mercy and compassion to those who hurt and
ill-treat us, by forgiving those who continue to offend us, by accepting our
sufferings without complaint, and by continuing to keep Jesus’ word in our
lives. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Nov 30 Thursday: (Saint Andrew):
Two accounts of Andrew’s call: There are two
accounts of Andrew’s call as an apostle by Jesus in the Gospels. According
to Matthew and Mark, Jesus selected four fishermen, Andrew and his brother
Peter, with James and his brother John, right from their fishing boats. Peter
and Andrew “immediately” left their nets and followed Jesus. Similarly, James
and John “immediately” left the boats and their father and followed Jesus.
According to John’s Gospel, John and Andrew were the disciples of John the
Baptist, and they had been encouraged to follow Jesus by John the Baptist, who
pointed out Jesus as “the Lamb of God” (Jn 1:38-30), suggesting
that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. One apostle leading other to
Christ: First, we find Andrew, after spending a night with Jesus,
leading his brother Peter to Jesus. Next, Andrew appears in the Gospel
scene of the multiplication of the bread and fish with which Jesus
miraculously fed a multitude. While Philip gave a bad report of the situation,
Andrew went among the multitude and found a boy who offered to give his small
food packet of five bread and fish to Jesus to feed the multitude. Andrew, who
saw Jesus miraculously supplying wine at Cana, knew that Jesus could work
another miracle with five barley loaves and two dried fish. We find
Andrew a third time in the Gospel, bringing a few Greek pilgrims to
Jesus. They had first approached Philip for help and Philip had sought the
help of Andrew to bring them to Jesus. The preaching and the martyrdom: According
to Church tradition, Andrew preached the Gospel in Greece and Turkey and was
crucified at Patras on an X-shaped cross to which he was tied. According
another tradition, he also preached in Scotland and Russia. St. Andrew is the
patron saint of Russia, of Scotland, and of fishermen.
Life messages: 1) In order to be effective
instruments in the hands of God and to continue Jesus’ preaching, healing and
saving ministry, we, too, need to repent of our sins on a daily basis and to
renew our lives by relying on the power of God. 2) As the first four apostles,
including Andrew, gave priority to Christ and left behind everything, we, too,
are to give priority to Jesus and Jesus’ ideals in our vocation in life. 3) St.
Andrew’s zeal is a real inspiration to us. Hearing “Behold! The Lamb of God!”
from St. John the Baptist who was pointing to Jesus, John, Zebedee’s son, and
Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, immediately ran after Him with their inquiries. After
talking with Jesus, Andrew wasted no time in bringing his brother, Simon Peter,
to meet Jesus. We can almost picture Andrew, full of excitement, telling
everyone he met about our Lord. Through Andrew’s evangelization, St. Peter, our
first Pope, was brought to Jesus. https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Dec 1 Friday:
The context: Foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem
in AD 70, and the end of the world at an unspecified future time, Jesus warns
the disciples in today’s Gospel that tribulations are inevitable before the
Last Judgment and the coming of Jesus’ Kingdom. Jesus uses the small parable of
the fig tree to explain the point that we must be prepared for the time of
tribulation, Jesus’ Second Coming, and the Last Judgment. Fig trees
in Israel produce fruits twice a year, at Passover time and in autumn. The sign
of the ripening of their fruits is the appearance of fresh leaves on the tree.
The Jews believed that the Messiah would appear during the Passover period,
which coincides with the appearance of fresh leaves on fig trees. The
destruction of Jerusalem would be the end of their world for the Jews. So, the
generation in AD 70 saw the end of the world symbolically. Jesus wants us to understand
that the Kingdom of God will be near when wars, natural calamities,
pestilences, and unnatural movements of heavenly bodies occur. Except for the
last-named, these seem to occur in every age. Hence, we must be ever vigilant
and prepared.
Life messages: 1) We must be able to read the
signs of the times and stay in the kingdom of God by faithfully doing God’s
will every day of our lives. 2) We need to continue serving others in humility
and love and bearing witness to Jesus through the integrity and transparency of
our Christian lives.
(Fr. Tony: https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Dec 2 Saturday: Luke 21:34-36:34 “But take heed to
yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness
and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a snare; 35
for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth. 36 But
watch at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these
things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of man.”
The context: In St. Luke’s version of Jesus’
advice to the disciples before His passion and death, as given in today’s
Gospel, Jesus emphasizes that every Christian needs to be vigilant and prepared
because we cannot be sure of the time of our own death when we will be asked to
give an account of our lives. Vigilance consists in obtaining strength from God
through prayer, so that we may be freed from evil addictions and unnecessary
attachment to worldly pleasures. Jesus also instructs us to be vigilant because
we do not know the time either of our own death or of the end of the world and
Jesus’ Second Coming. St. Paul repeats this advice: “You are
not in darkness, brethren, for that day to surprise you like a thief” (I Thes
5: 4).
Life messages: 1) We need to avoid spiritual
laziness and indifference. 2) We need to be freed from excessive and crippling
anxiety, needless worries, and evil habits. 3) We need to get our strength from
God by prayer, which means listening to God, talking to Him, and doing what He
asks.
(Fr. Tony: https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
