1st Week: Jan 13-18:
Jan 13 Monday: Saint Hilary, bishop and doctor
Mk 1:14-20:
The context: Today’s Gospel describes the
beginning of Jesus’ preaching and healing ministry and the call of his Apostles
who were to continue that ministry. Jesus started his public ministry
immediately after John the Baptist was arrested. Following John’s pattern,
Jesus, too, invited his hearers to repent as a preparation for believing in the
Gospel, or the Good News, of the Kingdom of God. Repentance means
an about-face turn to God resulting in a change of mind, heart, behavior and
life. It also means sorrow for having refused God’s love and a resolution to
make amends. Believing in Jesus and
the Gospel demands from the hearers a resolution to take Jesus’ words
seriously, to translate them into action and to put trust in Jesus’ authority.
Jesus preached the Gospel, or Good News, that God is a
loving, forgiving, caring, merciful Father Who wants to liberate us and save us
from our sins through His son Jesus. According to Mark, Jesus selected four
fishermen, Andrew and his brother Simon (later named Peter by Jesus), with
James and his brother John, right from their fishing boats. Jesus wanted these
ordinary, hard-working people as assistants for his ministry because they would
be very responsive instruments in the hands of God.
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 cooperating with God’s grace and relying on the power of
God.
Fr. Tony(https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Jan 14 Tuesday: Mk 1:21-28:
The context: Jesus made the city of Capernaum on the
shore of the Sea of Galilee (the center of the fishing business), his
headquarters. There he started his preaching, teaching, and healing ministry.
The people were impressed by the authority of his teaching. The Old Testament
prophets had taught using God’s delegated authority, and the scribes and
Pharisees taught quoting Moses, the prophets, and the great rabbis. But Jesus
taught using his own authority and knowledge as God. Perfect knowledge of God,
perfect accomplishment of God’s will, and absolute confidence in God were the
sources of Jesus’ authority.
The second part of today’s Gospel describes a healing by
exorcism which Jesus performed in the synagogue. We are told how Jesus, using
his authority as God, cast out the devil by just one command: “Be silent,
and come out of him!” In first-century Palestine, most sicknesses,
especially mental illness, were considered to be the result of demonic
possession, and both Jewish and pagan exorcists used lengthy procedures and
physical force in their exorcisms. When Jesus commanded the Evil One to depart,
it did so at once, and in its rush to depart, convulsed the man. Thus, Jesus
demonstrated that he is the Messiah, the Savior, more powerful than the demon.
Life messages: 1) Our Faith is based on the
Divinity of Christ, which is proved by his miracles; these, in turn, give
authority and validity to his teaching and promises. Hence, let us accept
Jesus’ teachings even if some of them are mysteries beyond our reach. 2) Let us
read the authoritative word of God every day and assimilate it into our lives.
3) In our illnesses, let us confidently approach Jesus, the healer with
trusting Faith, and then go to the doctors who serve as the current instruments
of Jesus’ healing ministry in our midst.
Fr. Tony(https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Jan 15 Wednesday: Mk 1:29-39:
The context: Today’s Gospel tells us that
preaching the Good News of God’s love, mercy, and salvation and healing the
sick were the means Jesus used to enable his listeners to do the will of God
and thus to build up the Kingdom of God, allowing God to take control of their
lives. We are also told that Jesus recharged his spiritual batteries by talking
with and listening to his Heavenly Father. Thus, preaching, healing, and
recharging spiritual power by prayer were the three key points of Jesus’ public
ministry.
Healing mission: Jesus was never tired of
healing the sick, thus demonstrating the mercy and compassion of his Heavenly
Father to every sick person who approached him with trusting Faith. As soon as
he had finished the day’s preaching in the synagogue on one Sabbath, Jesus went
to Simon’s home and healed Simon’s mother-in-law of a fever. In the evening
when the Sabbath rest was over, the people brought all their sick dear ones to
Jesus for healing and exorcism, and he healed them all. Jesus began the next
day very early, spending time in prayer in a lonely place.
Life messages: 1) We are called to continue
Jesus’ preaching mission primarily by bearing witness to Christ through our
day-to-day lives, as we radiate Christ’s mercy, love, forgiveness, and spirit
of humble service to all around us. 2) We can participate in Jesus’ healing
mission by praying for the sick, by visiting them, and by helping and
encouraging the sick and shut-ins. 3) But in order to continue Jesus’ preaching
and healing mission, we, too, need to have our spiritual batteries recharged
every day by prayer as Jesus did. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Jan 16 Thursday: Mk 1:40-45:
The context: Today’s Gospel describes Jesus
touching a man sick with a severe case of leprosy and healing him instantly. In
this miracle we have all the essentials for any miracle, says, Rev. Dr. L.
Parker. We have a) a leper; b) a disease, leprosy; c) recognition of the
disease by the man who has it; d) the presence of Jesus; e) Faith; f) trust,
and g) humility enough for the sick man to ask for help from Jesus. Biblical
“leprosy” rarely indicated Hansen’s disease (leprosy proper). Mostly, the term refers
to skin diseases like ringworm, psoriasis, leukoderma, skin cancer,
and vitiligo. The suffering of lepers in Biblical times was
chiefly due to the way they were treated by the religious society of the day (Interpreter’s
Bible). They were deemed unclean, unfit to be counted among a people who
considered themselves “a kingdom of priests, a holy nation” (Ex 19:6). In
addition, lepers were treated as sinners who were being punished by God with
this contagious disease. The leprosy given by God as punishment to Miriam, the
complaining sister of Moses (Nm 12: 1-3, 9-13), to Gehazi, the greedy servant
of the prophet Elisha (2 Kgs 5:22-27), and to the proud king Uzziah of Judah,
also called Azariah (2 Kgs 15:3-5), supported the Jewish belief that leprosy
was God’s punishment for sins. Finally, “leprosy” was considered a contagious
disease, and, hence,its victims were separated from their families and society.
The Mosaic Law, as given in Leviticus, demanded that the priest declare the
leper unclean and that the leper a) keep his garments rent and his head bare,
b) muffle his beard, c) cry out, “Unclean, unclean,” and d) dwell apart, making
his abode outside the camp. As a general rule, when a Jewish leper was healed,
he had to go to the local priest for confirmation that he was now clean and was
permitted to mix with the general public. Here the healed leper started evangelizing
everyone he met by sharing the Good News of God’s activity in his life and
allowing the Holy Spirit to touch the lives of others.
Life Messages: 1) The strong Faith of the sick
man prompted him to violate the Mosaic Law prohibiting him from joining a crowd
and approaching Jesus. The sympathy and mercy of Jesus prompted Jesus to
violate the Mosaic Law which forbade anyone to touch an untouchable leper.
Thus, Jesus teaches the lesson that the essence of Christianity is to touch the
untouchable, to love the unlovable, and to forgive the unforgivable. 2) Sins
cause spiritual leprosy in us and hence the need of daily repentance and
reconciliation with God.
Jan 17 Friday: (St. Anthony, abbot): Mk
2:1-12:
The context: Today’s Gospel presents the last in
a series of five healing stories. This one demonstrates the power of Faith, and
in this particular case, we learn what others can do for us if they are persons
of Faith. As soon as Jesus returned to Capernaum after a preaching tour of
Galilee, the crowds gathered in and around the house where he was staying, so there
was no room to get in or out. Four men, carrying their paralyzed friend, tried
in vain to get to the house through the crowd. Here is the wonderful picture of
a man who was saved by the Faith of his friends. His friends were men who had
trusting Faith in the healing power of Jesus, and they were men with
initiative, tenacity, and creativity. So they carried their friend to the flat
roof of the house, removed enough of the roof tiles to open an area wide and
long enough to allow them to lower the man on his mat, and then did so, placing
their friend right in front of Jesus! Luke tells us that there were in the
crowd Pharisees and Doctors of the Law from Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem sent
to check out Jesus, the new preacher, and to report back to the Sanhedrin.
The sick man’s paralysis was seen by the people around as a
punishment for some serious sin in his own life or the lives of his parents. It
was a common belief that no major sickness could be cured until that sin was
forgiven. For that reason, Jesus began the young man’s healing by audibly
forgiving his sins, so that he might feel no longer estranged from God. Then
the young man was able to receive the physical healing he and his friends
desired for him. But the Pharisees judged that, in forgiving sin, Jesus had
insulted God by blasphemy, because forgiving sin is the exclusive prerogative
of God. Jesus insisted that if he healed the man physically, then his enemies
must recognize his authority to forgive sin, and consequently his Divinity. He
then healed the young man with a single command — but we do not know whether
any of the objectors responded by believing in Jesus.
Life message: We are called to intercede for others
and to bring them to Christ. 1) In the Old Testament, it is Moses who
constantly begs God’s mercy and forgiveness for the Israelites’ sins. Later, we
find the prophets interceding for the unfaithful Israelites. 2) In the New
Testament, the dramatic role played by the friends of the paralyzed man in the
healing story reminds us of the continuing need for, and power of, intercession
for/by others. This text gives us encouragement to intercede for those who are
ill or in special need. When we pray and invite God into the situation, healing
takes place.
Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Jan 18 Saturday: Mk 2:13-17:
The context: Today’s Gospel episode, telling of
Matthew’s call as Jesus’ Apostle, reminds us of God’s love and mercy for
sinners and challenges us to practice this same love and mercy in our relations
with others.
The call and the response: Jesus went to the tax collector’s
station to invite Levi, son of Alphaeus, known to us as Matthew, to become his
disciple. Since tax collectors worked for a foreign power and extorted more tax
money from the people than the area owed, they were hated and despised as
traitors by the Jewish people and considered public sinners by the Pharisees.
Jesus could see in Levi/Matthew a person who needed Divine love and grace.
While everyone hated Levi/Matthew, Jesus was ready to offer him undeserved
love, mercy, and forgiveness. Levi/Matthew responded immediately, abandoning
his lucrative job because for Matthew, Christ’s call to follow Him was a
promise of salvation, fellowship, guidance, and protection.
Scandalous partying with sinners. It was altogether natural
for Levi/Matthew to celebrate his new calling by holding a feast for his
friends. But Jesus’ dining with outcasts in the house of a traitor scandalized
the Pharisees for whom ritual purity and table fellowship were important
religious practices. Hence, they asked the disciples, “Why does your master
eat with tax collectors and sinners?” In answer to their question, Jesus
stressed his ministry as healer: “Those who are well do not need a
physician; the sick do.” Then, in Matthew’s own account of his
conversion, Jesus challenged the Pharisees, quoting Hosea, “Go and learn the
meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Hosea 6:6). Finally,
Jesus clarified his position, “I did not come to call the righteous,
but sinners.”
Life messages: 1) Jesus calls you and me for a
purpose: Jesus has called each of us through our Baptism, forgiven our sins,
and welcomed us as members of the Kingdom. 2) Further, He calls us daily
through the Word and through His Church, to be His disciples, and to turn away
from all the things that distract us and draw us away from God. 3) Just as
Jesus did for us and for Matthew, we are to reach out to the unwanted and the
marginalized in society with God’s own love, mercy, and compassion. Fr.
Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
