2nd Week: Jan 20- 25
Jan 20 Monday (St. Fabian, Pope & St. Sebastian, Martyr) Mk 2:18-22:
The context: Today’s Gospel passage gives Jesus’
reply to the question raised, perhaps by some well-meaning Pharisees who were
disciples of John the Baptist, asking why Jesus’ disciples ate and drank and
feasted, while they (John the Baptist’s disciples), and the Pharisees in
general, fasted and prayed. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving were the three
cardinal religious practices — the “good deeds” — of Jewish religious life.
Jesus’ reply: Jesus responded to their sincere
question using three metaphors: the metaphor of the “children of the
bridal chamber,” the metaphor of patching torn clothing, and the
metaphor of wineskins. First, Jesus compared his disciples with the children of
the bridal chamber. These were the selected friends of the bride and groom who
feasted in the company of the bride and groom during a week of honeymoon.
Nobody expected them to fast. Jesus assured the questioners that his disciples
would fast when he, the Bridegroom, was taken away from them. In other words,
fasting is necessary when we sin and our union with Christ begins to fade, as
happens when we get addicted to evil habits and evil tendencies, leading us to
sin. As Catholic Christians, we are uniquely blessed to experience Jesus’
presence in the Eucharist. In the same way, we are to welcome both the joys of
Christian life and the crosses it offers us. But Joy is the chief
characteristic of a Christian – joy even in tribulation. Using the comparisons
of the danger of using new, unshrunken cloth to make a patch for an old
garment, or old wineskins to store new, still-fermenting wine, Jesus told the
questioners that they must have more elastic and open minds and larger hearts
to understand and follow his new ideas which were, in many cases, different
from traditional Jewish teachings. Jesus is challenging us to be open to
radical transformation so that we may receive him and, with his grace, reflect
his love, mercy, and forgiveness to others.
Life message: 1) We need to be adjustable
Christians with open and elastic minds and hearts. The Holy Spirit, working
actively in the Church and guiding the Church’s teaching authority (the
Magisterium), enables the Church to put into practice new visions, new ideas,
new adaptations, and new ways of worship in place of old ones. So, we should
have the generosity and good will to follow the teachings of the Church. At the
same time, we need the Old Testament revelations, the New Testament teachings,
and the Sacred Tradition of the Church as main sources of our Christian Faith.
3) We need to gain spiritual strength by fasting, prayer, and penance,
especially when we separate ourselves from Christ by our sins .Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Jan 21 Tuesday: (St. Agnes, Virgin- martyr) Mk 2:23-28:
his was his response to criticism and a silly accusation
made by Pharisees against his disciples who, on a Sabbath, to satisfy their
hunger, plucked ears of grain from a field and ate the grains after removing
the husks by rubbing the grains between their palms and blowing away the chaff.
The Pharisees accused them of violating Sabbath laws by performing three items
of work forbidden on Sabbath, namely, harvesting, threshing and winnowing.
Counter-arguments: According to Matthew Jesus
gives three counter-arguments from Holy Scripture defending his apostles. (1)
Basic human needs, like hunger, take precedence over Divine worship and Sabbath
observance. Jesus cites from the Scripture the example of the hungry David and
his selected soldiers. They approached Ahimelech, the priest of Nob, who gave
them for food the “offering bread” which only the priests were
allowed to eat (1 Sm 21:1-6). (2) No law can stand against
Divine worship. That is why the priests were not considered as violating
Sabbath laws although they did the work of preparing two rams for sacrifice in
the Temple (Nm 28:9-10). (3) God desires that we practice
mercy: Jesus quotes the prophet Hosea to tell the accusers God’s words: “I
want mercy, not sacrifice” (Hos 6:6).
Life messages: Like the Jewish Sabbath, the
Christian Sunday is to be 1) a day for rest and refreshment with members of the
family; 2) a day for thanksgiving and the recharging of spiritual batteries
through participation in the Eucharistic celebration for Catholics, or through
participation in a worship service for the Non-Catholics; 3) a day parents
should use for teaching religious Faith and Bible lessons to their children; 4)
a day for doing works of charity in the neighborhood and in the parish; 5) a
day for socializing with family members, neighbors, and fellow parishioners. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Jan 22 Wednesday: Saint
Vincent, Deacon and Martyr: Day of Prayer for the Legal
Protection of Unborn Children in the U. S. Mk 3:1-6:
The context: Today’s Gospel describes a
miraculous healing done by Jesus on one Sabbath as a public violation of
Sabbath law to demonstrate that God’s intention for the Sabbath was to “do
good and to save life,” rather than “to do evil or to destroy life.”
The incident and the reaction: Ex 20:8 and Dt 5:12
instructed the Jews to “keep the Sabbath holy.” But the Scribes and
the Pharisees had amplified God’s law on the Sabbath by misinterpreting it and
had made it burdensome for the common people through man-made laws. Jesus
wanted to demonstrate in public the original intention of God in declaring the
Sabbath holy. For Jesus, the Sabbath was a day of rest to be used in adoring
God, learning and teaching His laws, and doing good to/for others. Hence, Jesus
took the liberty of granting healing to a man with a withered hand in the local
synagogue immediately, by means of a simple command, “Stretch out your
hand!” after the worship service, thus infuriating the scribes and the
Pharisees.
Life messages: 1) Our Christian Sabbath, that
is, our Sunday, observance of participating in the Eucharistic celebration is
meant to recharge our spiritual batteries for doing good to/for others and
avoiding evil. 2) Our Sunday observance is also meant to be an offering of our
lives to God on the altar, to ask God’s pardon and forgiveness for our sins, to
present our needs before the Lord and to participate in the Divine Life by Holy
Communion. 3) Sunday is also a day for us to spend time with the members of the
family and to participate in the activities of our parish and
neighborhood. Fr. Tony(https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Jan 23 Thursday: Saint Marianne Cope,
Virgin
MK 3:7-12: THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD: Introduction: The
Baptism of the Lord is the great event celebrated by the Eastern churches on
the feast of Epiphany because it is the occasion of the first public revelation
of all the Three Persons in the Holy Trinity, and the official revelation of
Jesus as the Son of God to the world by God the Father. Hence, it is described
by all the four Gospels. It marks the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.
The turning point: The baptism John administered
was a very important event in the life of Jesus. First, it was a moment of
decision to begin public ministry. Second, it was a moment of identification
with us sinners. Third, it was a moment of affirmation when his heavenly Father
approved Jesus as His “beloved Son“. Fourth, it was a moment of
conviction for Jesus that it was the most opportune time to begin his mission
of preaching the good news of God’s love and salvation and atoning for our sins
by becoming the “suffering servant.” Fifth, it was a moment of
equipment. By descending on Jesus in the form of dove, the Holy Spirit equipped
Jesus with the powers of preaching, teaching, and healing.
Life messages: 1) The baptism of Jesus reminds
us of our identity.It reminds us of who we are and Whose we are. By Baptism we
become sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus, members of his
Church, heirs of heaven and temples of the Holy Spirit.
2) Jesus’ baptism reminds us also of our mission: a) to
experience the presence of God within us, to acknowledge our own dignity as
God’s children, and to appreciate the Divine presence in others by honoring
them, loving them, and serving them in all humility; b) to live as the children
of God in thought, word and action. c) to lead a holy and transparent Christian
life and not to desecrate our bodies (the temples of the Holy Spirit and
members of Jesus’ body) by impurity, injustice, intolerance, jealousy, or
hatred; d) to accept both the good and the bad experiences of life as the gifts
of a loving Heavenly Father for our growth in holiness; e) to grow daily in
intimacy with God by personal and family prayers, by meditative reading of the
Word of God, by participating in the Holy Mass, and by frequenting the
sacrament of reconciliation.
3) It is a day to thank God for the graces we received in
Baptism and to renew our Baptismal vows, first by “rejecting Satan, all
his works and all his empty promises” (which our profane world is
constantly offering us through its mass media of communication). Then we
consecrate ourselves to the Holy Trinity by means of a dialogue with the Priest
or Deacon administering the Sacrament, representing the Church: “Do you
believe…” with the response, “Yes, I believe….”
Jan 24 Friday: (St. Francis de Sales, Bishop & Doctor
of the Church) Mk 3:13-19:
The context: Today’s Gospel passage gives a
short account of the call and mission of the Apostles. Jesus is the first
missionary, sent by his Father with the “Good News” that God,
his Father, is a loving, merciful, and forgiving Father Who wants to save
everyone through His Son Jesus. Today’s Gospel describes how Jesus selects and
empowers twelve future missionaries as apostles, giving them his own mission
along with a share of his power to preach and to heal the sick as proof of the
truth of their message. Then, Jesus sends them in pairs to the Jewish towns and
villages as heralds to prepare the people to receive the Good News.
Special features: Jesus selected very ordinary
people, most of them hard-working fishermen with no social status, learning, or
political influence, because he was sure that they would be very effective
instruments in God’s hands. It was a strange mixture of people. Matthew was a
hated tax-collector for a foreign power, while Simon the Cananaean was a Zealot
and fanatical nationalist who belonged to a militant group determined to
destroy Roman rule by any means. The others were mostly professional fishermen
with a lot of good will, patience, and stamina. At first it was only their
admiration and love for Jesus that united them. Jesus selected them after a
night of prayer and gave them his own powers of healing and exorcism and his
own mission of preaching the “Kingdom of God.”
Life message: 1) As Christians, we have the same
mission that Jesus entrusted to his apostles: to proclaim the word of God to
all the world. We fulfill this mission primarily by living out Jesus’ teachings
and then by promoting and helping the world-wide missionary activities of the
Church with prayer, moral support, and financial aid.
Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/
Jan 25 Saturday: (Conversion of St. Paul the
Apostle) Mk 16:15-18:
Paul, the “Apostle to the Gentiles” and the greatest
missionary of the Apostolic age, was a Roman citizen by his birth in Tarsus (in
Cilicia) a Roman colony, and a Jew born to the tribe of Benjamin. His Hebrew
name was Saul. Since he was a Pharisee, Saul was sent to Jerusalem by his parents
to study the Mosaic Law under the great rabbi Gamaliel. As a student, he also
learned the trade of tent-making. He was present as a consenting observer at
the stoning of Stephen. But Saul was miraculously converted on his way to
Damascus to arrest the Christians. After that, Saul, now called Paul, made
several missionary journeys, converted hundreds of Jews and Gentiles and
established Church communities. He wrote 14 epistles. He was arrested and kept
in prison for two years in Caesarea and spent two more years under house arrest
in Rome. Finally, he was martyred by beheading at Tre Fontane in Rome). Paul’s
spiritual journey was a spiritual experience (Mystica), that produced a
transformation (Metanoia) and impelled him to assume a mission of evangelization
(Missio).
Today we celebrate the feast of the conversion St. Paul
(described thrice in the New Testament: Acts chapters 9, 22, and 26) an event
which revolutionized the history and theology of the early Church. Saul of
Tarsus, because of his zeal for the Jewish law and Jewish traditions, became
the most outrageous enemy of Christ and his teaching, as the apostles started
preaching the Gospel. Saul consented to the martyrdom of the Deacon Stephen,
watching the cloaks of the stoners. After the martyrdom of the holy Deacon, the
priests and magistrates of the Jews raised a violent persecution against the
Christian communities at Jerusalem, and Saul was their fanatical young leader.
By virtue of the authority he had received from the high priest, he dragged the
Christians out of their houses, chained them, and thrust them into prison. In
the fury of his zeal, he applied to the high priest and Sanhedrin for a
commission to take up all Jews at Damascus who confessed Jesus Christ and bring
them bound to Jerusalem to be properly punished. He was almost at the end of
his journey to Damascus, when, at about noon, he and his company were suddenly
surrounded by a great light. As Saul fell to the ground, he heard a Voice
say, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Saul
answered, “Who are you, Sir?” And the Voice said, “I
am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. Now, get up and go into the city, and
you will be told what you must do.” Saul rose and, blind, was led by
his companions into Damascus.The Lord sent a Damascus disciple named Ananias to
heal and instruct Saul. Ananias entered the house and, obeying Jesus’ orders,
laid his hands on Saul and prayed over him so that he might regain his sight
and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately “something like scales
fell” from Saul’s eyes. He regained his sight, got up, was baptized and,
having eaten, recovered his strength. Saul now realized the truth that
Jesus was the mysterious fulfillment of all he had been blindly pursuing. He
could easily identify Jesus with Jesus’ followers. He stayed several days in
Damascus with Christian disciples and started teaching in the synagogues that
Jesus was the promised Messiah and the Son of God.
Life message: Saul’s conversion into Paul
teaches us that we, too, need conversion and the renewal of our lives by a
fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit, which will enable us to bear witness to
Christ, as St. Paul did, by exemplary lives. (Feast Day gospel: Lk
10:1-9) Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
