27th Week: Sept 30- Oct 5
Sept 30 Monday: St Jerome, Priest & Doctor of the Church
The context: Today’s Gospel describes Jesus’ criterion for greatness along with advice about the acceptance of others who do good in ways different from ours. Jesus exhorts the spiritual leaders as well as all believers in responsible positions in the Church to be like children, humble, trusting, and innocent. Child-like qualities: Children are basically innocent and honest. They are naturally humble, because they depend on their parents for everything. They trust and obey their parents because they know their parents love them. Hence, Jesus advises his disciples to forget their selfish ambitions and to spend their lives serving others in all humility, with trusting Faith in a loving and providing God. Then they will be great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Next, Jesus tells his disciples that there should not be any rivalry, jealousy, or suspicion among them, as long as all hold the same belief. In today’s passage, the apostles, upset by seeing someone who did not belong to their group using Jesus’ name to cast out demons, complain to Jesus. Since the present-day divisions in Christianity are substantive, rising from differences over the basic tenets of Faith, today’s Gospel passage does not apply to them. But there is no reason for any Christian denomination to be jealous of another denomination because of the greater good they do for people for the glory of God. True love seeks the highest good of our neighbor, while envy results from selfishness and pride, and it is contrary to true Christian love.
Life Messages: 1) We need to practice humility in thoughts, words and actions. “Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart.” 2) We should not seek recognition and recompense for the service we do for Christ and the Church as parents, teachers, pastors, etc. 3) Trusting Faith, both causing and resulting from true humility, is essential for all corporal and spiritual works of mercy. 4) Let us not try to prevent anyone from doing good to others because of envy or jealousy. Envy and jealousy are sinful because they lead us to sadness over what should make us rejoice. True love always seeks the highest good of the neighbor.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Oct 1 Tuesday: Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church:
Marie Therese Martin was born on Jan 2, 1873 as the youngest of nine children of a watch-maker, Louis Martin, and his wife, a lace-maker, Zelie Guerin. Therese lost her mother at 4 and four of her siblings in their early childhood. She was the “little flower” of her father. One of her older sisters joined the Visitation convent and three others became Carmelite nuns. Therese joined the Carmelite convent at Lisieux at 15 with special permission from Pope Leo XIII. She died of tuberculosis when she was 24 years and 9 months old on September 30, 1897. Pope Pius XI declared her a saint on May 17, 1925, just 28 years after her death. Pope St. John Paul II declared her a “Doctor of the Church” in 1997.
Sources of her life history: 1) Autobiography of a Little Flower (The Story of a Soul); 2) 300 letters; 3) 8- One Act Plays; 4) 50 poems.
Secret of her Little Way and short-cut to Heaven: Do ordinary things in an extraordinary way out of love for God, with 100% dedication and child-like trust, being ever ready to undertake any type of sacrifice. Convert suffering into redemptive suffering and use it for the apostolate.
Conditions: 1) Be child-like and innocent with trusting Faith in a loving Heavenly Father. 2) Do everything with 100% dedication as being done for our caring and forgiving God, our Father. 3) Be ready to undertake sacrifice for others. St. Therese offered all her sacrifices a) in reparation for the sins of others and for her own sins b) for missionaries c) for the conversion of sinners.
Life message: Let us follow the shortcut of Little Flower by becoming child-like in our relationship with God by doing His will with 100% sincerity, commitment and love.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Oct 2 Wednesday: The Holy Guardian Angels: The Guardian Angel: Although the doctrine and traditional belief in the Guardian Angel is not a dogma of Faith, it is based on the Bible. Each person’s Guardian Angel is an expression of God’s enduring love and providential care extended to him or her every day. Today’s prayers in the Breviary and in the Roman Missal mention the three-fold function of the angels: a) they praise and worship God, b) they serve as His messengers, and c) they watch over human beings.
Historical note: Devotion to the Guardian Angels began to develop in the monasteries. St. Benedict gave it an additional impetus and St. Bernard of Clairvaux (12th century reformer), spread the devotion in its present form. The feast of the Guardian Angels originated in the 1500s. It was placed on the official liturgical calendar of the Church by Pope Paul V in 1607. "By God's Providence, angels have been entrusted with the office of guarding the human race and of accompanying every human being so as to preserve him from any serious dangers [...]. Our Heavenly Father has placed over each of us an angel under whose protection and vigilance we are" ("St. Pius V Catechism", IV, 9, 4).
Biblical teaching: Today’s Gospel (Mt 16:10), clearly states that even children have their Guardian Angels: "See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in Heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father Who is in Heaven.” Psalm 91:1 teaches: “For He has given His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.”
Life messages: 1) The conviction that we are each protected by an angel is an encouragement against our baseless fears and unnecessary anxieties. 2) The thought that a messenger from God is constantly watching our thoughts, words and deeds is an inspiration for us to lead holy lives and to do good for others and avoid evil. 3) We need to be grateful to God every day, thanking Him for His loving care given us through His angel. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Oct 3 Thursday:
The context: Today’s Gospel describes the sending forth of another group of 70 or 72 paired disciples by Jesus to prepare towns and villages for Jesus’ own arrival there. Sent out with power and authority from Jesus, they exercised their preaching and healing mission according to Jesus’ action plan. Jesus sent out seventy disciples, just as God had Moses commission 70 elders to be prophets in Israel. (Nm 11:24-25). Their ministry anticipates the Church’s mission to the nations. Jesus’ instructions and travel tips. Elisha gave similar instructions when he sent his servant on a pressing mission (2 Kgs 4:29). By these instructions, it is clear that Jesus meant the disciples to take no supplies for the road. They were simply to trust that God, the Provider, would open the hearts of believers to take care of their needs. Jesus’ instructions also suggest that the disciples should not be like the acquisitive priests of the day, who were interested only in gaining riches. They were to be walking examples of God’s love and providence. The Jews supported their rabbis and judged doing so a privilege as well as an obligation, for hospitality was an important religious tradition in Palestine. The Apostles and disciples were to choose temporary accommodation in a reputable household, they were to bless the residents with God’s peace, and they were to be satisfied with the food and accommodation they received, not search for better.
Life messages: 1) We have a witnessing mission: Each Christian is called, not only to be a disciple, but also to be an apostle. As apostles, we are sent out to evangelize the world by sharing with others, not just words, or ideas, or doctrines, but our experiences of God and His Son. We are to make Jesus “visible” through our transparent Christian lives, showing the people around us the love, mercy, and concern of Jesus for them. 2) We also have a liberating mission: There are many demons which can control our lives and the lives of people around us, making us and them helpless slaves —the demon of nicotine, the demon of alcohol, the demon of gambling, the demons of pornography and promiscuous sex, the demons of secularism, materialism, and consumerism. We need the help of Jesus to be liberated from these demons ourselves and to help Him liberate others from these bondages. 3) We have a supporting mission: According to Catholic tradition and Canon Law (Canon 222 #1), Christians are obliged to contribute to the Church from their earnings to help to support the clergy, to provide for the necessities of liturgical worship, and to equip the Church to minister to the needy (CCC #2043, 2122). (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Oct 4 Friday; Saint Francis of Assisi] St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)
(Giovanni Francesco Bernardone) is the best known and the most loved thirteenth century Italian saint. He was born in Assisi, Italy, the son of a rich merchant. His father, Pedro Bernardone, was a rich cloth merchant. As a carefree young man, Francis loved singing, dancing and partying. He joined the local militia (which was defeated in a city-against-city battle), was imprisoned for one year and returned home ill, as a changed man. He marked his conversion by hugging and kissing a leper. While at prayer in the Chapel of St. Damiano, he heard the message: “Francis, repair my Church because it is falling down.” Francis took the command literally, as referring to San Damiano, and got money by selling goods from his father’s warehouse to repair it. His father was furious and publicly disowned and disinherited Francis. Francis promptly gave back to his father everything except his hairshirt1 and started living as a free man, wearing sackcloth and begging for food. Possessing nothing, he started preaching, and living out the Gospel of Jesus literally. Strangely enough, a few youngsters were attracted to Francis’ way of life and joined him.
Pope Innocent III had a vision of a small man in sackcloth supporting on his shoulder the leaning walls of St. Johns Lateran — the Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, built AD 340; this first public Church in Rome was the Pope’s Cathedral Church as Bishop of Rome, and so the visible center of the Roman Catholic Church! When Francis approached the Pope to ask for permission to form a religious order which would live out the Gospel in poverty, the Pope recognized the “little man” in his dream and gave him approval. Subsequently, Pope Innocent approved the Religious Order begun by Francis, namely the Friars Minor [Lesser Brothers] which practiced Charity as a fourth vow along with Poverty, Chastity and Obedience. Soon, the Franciscan Order became very popular, attracting large numbers of committed youngsters. The friars traveled throughout central Italy and beyond, preaching and inviting their listeners to turn from the world to Christ. Francis sent missionaries to preach in other European countries and England. In his life and preaching, Francis emphasized simplicity and poverty, relying on God’s providence rather than worldly goods. The brothers worked, or begged, for what they needed to live, and any surplus was given to the poor. Francis wrote a more detailed Rule, which was further revised by new leaders of the Franciscans in ways that changed Francis’ initial vision, so Francis gave up leadership of the Order and retired to the mountains to live in secluded prayer. There he received the Stigmata (the five wounds of Christ), on September 14th, two years prior to his death. Francis became partially blind and ill during his last years. He died at Portiuncula on October 4th, 1226 at the age of 44 and was canonized in two years. Francis called for simplicity of life, poverty, and humility before God. In all his actions, Francis sought to follow, fully and literally, the way of life demonstrated by Christ in the Gospels. He loved God’s gifts to us of nature, animals, and all natural forces, praising God for these “brothers and sisters.” One of Francis’s most famous sermons is one he gave to a flock of birds during one of his journeys. "From that day on, he solicitously admonished the birds, all animals and reptiles, and even creatures that have no feeling, to praise and love their Creator." Francis is well known for the "Canticle of Brother Sun" written late in the his life, when blindness had limited Francis’ ability to see the beauties of the outside world. The canticle demonstrates Francis’ unfailing appreciation of the beauties of this created world, and reveals his soul, alive with love for God Who created this world and gave it to us for joy.
Life messages:
1) Let us learn to practice St. Francis’ spirit of detachment, that we may be liberated from our sinful attachments, addictions, and evil habits. In poverty, one makes oneself available for the Kingdom. Once the goods are no longer one’s own, they become available for all, for goods are made to be shared. 2) Let us preach the Good News of Jesus’ love, mercy and forgiveness as St. Francis did, by imbuing the true spirit of the Gospel, loving all God’s creation, and leading transparent Christian lives radiating Jesus all around us.
Fr Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Oct 5 Saturday: Saint Faustina Kowalska, Virgin; Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, Priest; The context: Today’s Gospel describes how the seventy disciples, sent by Jesus to prepare people in the towns and villages He was going to visit, returned joyfully to Jesus who rejoiced aloud at the success of their preaching and healing mission. This passage of the Gospel is usually called our Lord's "hymn of joy." Jesus rejoiced to see how humble people understood and accepted the word of God.
The teaching: Jesus declares that the right reason for rejoicing must be the hope of reaching Heaven by doing the will of God at all times, and that this is more important than working miracles. He also gives his disciples a warning against taking pride in the success of their mission. Jesus repeats his claim that he is God, equal in everything with his Father and that only he can reveal God his Father to others. Then he congratulates his disciples at their good fortune in living to see, hear, and experience the Messiah in their midst, a privilege which generations before them would have rejoiced to receive.
Life messages: 1) We have received the same mission as that given to the seventy disciples — to preach Jesus as Lord and Savior. We may have success as well as failure. But we, too, have reason to rejoice even when our attempts at evangelization are not visibly successful because we are assured of a great reward in Heaven. 2) We are more blessed than the apostles and hence we have more reason to rejoice because we have the presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, we can hear him through the Gospels, and we can experience him through prayers and Sacraments. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
