Easter 2nd Week: Apr 8-13
April- 8 Mon THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD:
The Solemnity of the Annunciation is celebrated nine months before the Nativity of the Lord, a feast which came about earlier historically. The Annunciation recalls the day when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary and revealed God’s will that she become the Mother of the Son of God, and she accepted. At that moment, the “Word became Flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1: 14). It is called “Little Christmas” because it commemorates the great day when God entered our world through the incarnation. This is a joyful annunciation because it is aimed towards our salvation. Fulton J Sheen in his book ‘Life of Christ’ says, “Divinity is always where one least expects to find it” (Life of Christ: page 27). It was mother Mary’s humility and sincere heart that made her worthy to be the mother of the creator. Every day, similar annunciations happen. Usually, doctors make an announcement of pregnancy of would be mothers. Then, mothers will announce them to their husbands and other relatives. Usually, it is a moment of joy and excitement.
Historical note: The Eastern Church started celebrating the feast of annunciation in the 5th century, probably about the time of the Council of Ephesus in AD 431. It is mentioned between AD 530 and 533 by Abraham of Ephesus. In the Western Church the first authentic reference is found in the 7th century, fixing it on March 25th, exactly nine months before Christmas.
Today’s readings explain how God began to keep the promise to a send a redeemer He made to Adam and Eve (Gen 3-15) and His promise to King David through prophet Nathan (II Sam 7: 1216) about his descendant ruling the world in an everlasting kingdom and the promise made to King Ahaz through prophet Isaiah (Today’s I reading: Is 7: 10-14, 8:10) about a virgin bearing a son whose name would be Emmanuel. The second reading (Heb 10: 4-10) explains the purpose of incarnation as doing the will of God in the most perfect way by Christ’s perfect obedience to God his Father’s will, leading to his death by crucifixion and to his glory by his resurrection. The gospel explains the annunciation scene and Mary’s obedient “yes” to the will of God.
Life messages: 1) We need to be doers of God’s will as Mary did: This feast is a reminder to us of the importance of following God’s will. It is His will which should prevail more than anyone’s will. God knows the best for us. Just like Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, following of God’s will, we should do the same. St. Augustine reflecting on the annunciation event reminds us that ‘God created us without our permission, but He will save us only with our consent and permission by cooperating with His Holy will.’ 2) We need to be grateful to God as Mary was, for His love and Mercy: As we are created in the image and likeness of God, and further we became his adopted children through Jesus Christ at the time of baptism. So let us be humble enough to thank God for this great privilege and live like the children of God. 3) We need to be humble instruments in the hands of God by allowing Jesus to be reborn in us and radiate him all around us as agape love and by saying a generous and courageous “yes” to God in our everyday choices and by appreciating God’s plan for us in every event of our life.(Revised in 2024)
9 Tue Jn 3:7b-15: Jn 3: 7-15:
The context: Today’s Gospel is the continuation of the night visit of Nicodemus with Jesus. Nicodemus was a rich Jewish rabbi and one of the seventy members of Sanhedrin. He wanted to clarify whether the obeying of the Mosaic Law and the offering of prescribed sacrifices were enough for one’s eternal salvation. But Jesus used the occasion as a teachable moment, showing Nicodemus the necessity for a spiritual rebirth through the action of the Holy Spirit by means of the water of Baptism as an essential condition for one’s salvation.
Jesus teaches Nicodemus the effects the Holy Spirit produces in the souls of the baptized. We know the presence, force, and direction of wind by its effects. It is so with the Holy Spirit, the Divine “Breath” (pneuma), given us in Baptism. In Hebrew and Aramaic, the scholars tell us, the same word pneuma means “spirit,” “breath,” and “wind.” We do not know how the Holy Spirit comes to penetrate one’s heart. But He makes His presence felt by the change in the conduct of one who receives Him. Jesus further explains that he himself comes from Heaven, and, hence, his teaching is credible. Then, by comparing how God saved the snake-bitten Israelites through the symbol of the bronze serpent, Jesus tells Nicodemus that “the Son of Man” is going to save mankind by his death on the cross.
Life message: We need to adjust our lives, recognizing and making full use of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives: 1) We need to begin every day by asking for His Divine strength and guidance and end every day by asking His pardon and forgiveness for our sins. 2) We need, as well, to pray for His daily anointing and for His gifts, fruits, and charisms so that we may live as children of God. 3) We also need to throw open the shutters and let the Spirit enter the narrow caves in which we bury ourselves.
Fr. Tony((https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
10 Wed: Jn 3:16-21:
The context: Jesus explained God’s plan of salvation to Nicodemus by declaring that the story of Moses and the brazen serpent was a sign pointing to the Good News that God would show His love for mankind by subjecting His own Son to suffering and death in order to save them all: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). This is the summary of the Gospel message of salvation through Christ Jesus. This is the Good News in the Gospels.
Today’s Gospel passage teaches us that our salvation is the free gift of a merciful God, given to us through Jesus, His Son. It explains that Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God, became the agent of God’s salvation, not just for one sinful nation, but for the sins of the whole world from the beginning through the end. Through Jn 3:16, the Gospel teaches us that God has expressed His love, mercy, and compassion for us by giving His only Son for our Salvation. This tells us that the initiative in all Salvation is God’s love for man. St. Augustine of Hippo describes a dream message received by his mother, Monica, who prayed and wept unceasingly, fearing Augustine would be damned because of the life he was leading. This message convinced her that she had to live with him, not cut him off as she had been doing, for God still loved him even in his present condition. Augustine’s example also explains to us the universality of the love of God. God’s motive is Love and God’s objective is Salvation. Those who actually receive eternal life must believe in the Son and express that love in deeds.
Life message: 1) We need to respond to God’s love for us by loving and serving Him in others in whom He dwells. God’s love for us is unconditional, universal, forgiving, and merciful. Let us make an earnest attempt to include these qualities in sharing our love with others during this Easter season. “In the evening of life you will be examined on love,” said St. John of the Cross
11 Thu Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr;
The context: In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus explains his Divinity to Nicodemus and his relationship with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. It is Jesus’ Divinity which gives authority and veracity to his teachings and credibility to his promise of eternal life for his followers.
Jesus’ claims: 1) Jesus claims that, as Son of God, he “comes from Heaven.” Hence, he can speak of God and Heaven from his own experience, just as the native of a town can speak authoritatively and reliably about his town. 2) While the Jews believed that prophets were given only a small share in God’s Spirit, Jesus, as God’s only Son, shares the fullness of God’s Spirit and, hence, all his teachings and promises are always reliable. 3) Further, Jesus gives eternal life to his followers: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him” (Jn 3:36).
Life messages: 1) We need to seek the daily guidance and strengthening of the Holy Spirit living within us because it is He Who reveals Divine truths to us and Who gives us a better and clearer understanding of Scriptural truths taught by the Church. 2) Since our destiny depends on our own free daily choices, we need to choose Christ and his teachings and stand for Christ’s ideas and ideals. 3) We need to choose Jesus in order to choose Life. Before his death, Moses challenged Israel: “See I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil…. Therefore, choose life that you may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying His voice, and cleaving to him” (Dt 30:15-20). Joshua repeated the challenge in Jos 24:14-15. We face that challenge every day.
Fr. Tony((https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
12 Fri: Jn 6:1-15: John 6:1-15:
The context: Today’s Gospel describes one occasion when Jesus tried in vain to withdraw from the crowds at Capernaum. He traveled by boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee to a remote village called Bethsaida Julius, where there was a small grassy plain. But when Jesus stepped ashore, He was faced with a large crowd of people. This was the scene of the miraculous feeding of the five thousand as described in today’s Gospel. This is the only miracle, other than the Resurrection, that is told in all four Gospels, a fact that speaks of its importance to the early Church.Today’s Gospel passage invites us to become humble instruments in God’s hands by sharing our blessings with our brothers and sisters. We may regard the incident in which Jesus multiplied loaves and fish in order to feed his hungry listeners, both as a miracle of Divine Providence and as a Messianic sign. The lesson for every Christian is that, no matter how impossible one’s assignment may seem, with Divine help it can be done: “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Lk 1:37). Jesus used as his starting point for the miraculous meal a young boy’s generous gift of all the food he had, perhaps to remind us that love is the prime requirement for salvation, and selfishness blocks the life-giving action of the grace of God in us. The early Christian community especially cherished this story because they saw this event as anticipating the Eucharist.
Life message: 1) As Christians we need to commit ourselves to share all we have and are, and to work with God in communicating His compassion to all. God is a caring Father, but He wants our co-operation. That’s what the early Christians did, generously sharing what they had with the needy. 2) We, and others in our time, need to ask for the courage to share, even when we think we have nothing to offer. Whatever we offer through Jesus will have a life-giving effect in those who receive it. 3) We are shown two attitudes in the Gospel story: that of Philip and that of Andrew (Jn 6:7-9). Philip said, in effect: “The situation is hopeless; nothing can be done.” But Andrew’s attitude was: “I’ll see what I can do; and I will trust Jesus to do the rest.” We need to have Andrew’s attitude. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
13 Sat [Saint Martin I, Pope and Martyr]
The context: The event presented by today’s Gospel is the scene immediately following Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the five thousand with five small loaves of bread and two fish. Sensing the danger of having the people seize him and make him leader of a revolt, Jesus promptly instructed the apostles to leave the place by boat and, after dispersing the crowd, went by himself to the mountain to pray.
A double miracle in the sea: When the apostles in the boat were three to four miles away from the shore, they faced an unexpected storm, caused by the hot wind of the desert rushing into the Sea of Galilee through the gaps in the Golan Heights. Recognizing the danger, Jesus went to the boat, walking on the stormy sea. Jesus calmed the frightened disciples as he approached the boat, and as soon as he got into the boat it “reached land they were heading for.”
Life messages: 1) We need to approach Jesus with strong Faith in his ability and availability to calm the storms in our lives and in the life of the Church. Church history shows us how Jesus saved his Church from the storms of persecution in the first three centuries, from the storms of heresies in the 5th and 6th centuries, from the storms of moral degradation and the Protestant reformation movement in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the storms of ongoing Clerical sex abuse scandals, particularly those beginning in the twentieth century. 2) We need to ask Jesus to protect us when we face storms of strong temptations, storms of doubts about our religious beliefs, and storms of fear, anxiety, and worries in our personal lives. 3) Experiencing Jesus’ presence in our lives, we need to confess our Faith in him and call out for his help and protection. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
