4th Week: Feb 3-8:
Feb 3 Monday: St. Blaise, bishop and martyr & St Ansgar, bishop (In the U. S.St.Blaise, Bishop & Martyr)and the blessing of throats):
We have only a few legends and no historical documents about
St. Blaise and his martyrdom. But some Eastern Churches observe his feast day
as a day of obligation. The British, German, and Slavic people honor his
memory. The U.S. Catholics seek his intercession for the healing of throat and
all other diseases by the ritual of blessing of throats. According to the Acts
of St. Blaise written in the eighth century, Bishop Blaise was
martyred in his episcopal city of Sebastea, Armenia, in 316. When the governor
of Cappadocia (in Modern Turkey) began to persecute the Christians, St. Blaise
was arrested. The governor of Cappadocia tried in vain to persuade Blaise to
sacrifice to pagan idols. The first time Blaise refused, he was beaten. The
next time he was suspended from a tree and his flesh torn with iron combs or
rakes. Finally, he was beheaded. As he was being led to the place of execution,
a poor mother rushed up to him, begging him to save her child who was choking
to death on a fishbone. The bishop gave him a blessing which enabled the child
to cough up the bone. Later Bishop Blaise was cruelly tortured and beheaded.
His cult spread throughout the entire Church in the Middle Ages because of the
healing of the boy. Details regarding the miraculous healing of the boy vary.
One account relates that the miracle occurred during the journey to take Blaise
to prison when he placed his hand on the boy’s head and prayed; another that
the miracle happened while Blaise was in prison when he picked up two candles
provided to him and formed a cross around the boy’s throat. The use of candles
for the blessing of throats stems from the candles that Blaise used while in
prison. When an old woman’s pig had been miraculously rescued from a wolf by
Saint Blaise, she would visit him in prison, bringing him food and candles to
bring him light in his dark cell. Today, the blessing of throats may be given by
a priest, a deacon, or a lay minister who follows the rites and prayers
designated for a lay minister. The priest or deacon makes the sign of the cross
over the recipient as the blessing is said. If necessary, laypersons are
permitted to give the blessing of the throats but are instructed not to make
the sign of the cross.
Life message: We all need some type of healing
in some parts of our body, mind, or soul. Let us ask the intercession of St.
Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, with repentant hearts, so that Jesus the healer may
place his healing touch on us as we present ourselves for the ritual of the
blessing of the throats. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Feb 3 Monday: Regular Gospel; Mk 5:1-20: The
context: Today’s Gospel episode demonstrates Jesus’ power over the
devil in a Gentile town of the Decapolis, east of the Jordan, called Gadara
(Matthew), or Gerasa (Mark and Luke). A demon-possessed man (two men in
Matthew), came out of a tomb-filled desolate place. He lived on the hillsides
among various caves by the sea, and no one wanted to go near him. The demons,
recognizing Jesus as the Son of God, begged Him to send them into a herd of
swine. The possessed man’s demons named themselves Legion (ca 5000 men), indicating
their number. Jesus did as the evil spirits requested, and the now-possessed
swine ran down the slope and drowned in the sea. The frightened people of the
city asked Jesus to leave their city. The people considered their property, the
swine, more precious than the liberation given to the possessed man. If we have
a selfish or materialistic outlook, we fail to appreciate the value of Divine
things, and we push God out of our lives, begging Him to go away, as these
people did.
Life messages: 1) We need to come out of our
tombs: Jesus is calling us to come out of the tombs. Our tombs are the
closed-in, sealed-off areas of our hearts where Life in the Spirit of God has
died because we haven’t let Jesus minister to us through others. Such godless
persons are lonely. They try to fill their inner emptiness by packing their
lives with money, promiscuity, addictions or workaholism, but nothing works.
2) Jesus the Liberator is ready to free us from the tombs of
our evil addictions and habits. If we will only let go of everything and give
Jesus a chance, he can, and will, help us to experience the joy and freedom of
the children of God.
Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Feb 4 Tuesday: Mk 5:21-43:
The context: Today’s Gospel is a beautiful
presentation of two miracles, a healing, and a revival and restoration of life.
These miracles were worked by Jesus as rewards for the trusting Faith of a
synagogue ruler and of a woman with a hemorrhage (Metrorrhagia). Though
the ruler trusted Jesus out of desperation, and the woman’s Faith was a bit
superstitious, even their defective Faith was amply rewarded.
The ruler and the woman: The ruler of the synagogue
supported Jewish orthodoxy. He could have despised Jesus who befriended
sinners. But he bravely approached Jesus as a last resort when all the doctors
had failed, and his daughter was dying. Since the Jews believed that one was
not actually dead until three days had passed after one stopped breathing, when
word came that the child had died, the ruler showed courage and Faith in
staying with Jesus, ignoring the ridicule of fellow-Jews. In the same way, the
woman with the bleeding disease was ritually unclean, and she was not supposed
to appear in public. She had the courage and Faith to ignore a social and
religious taboo in order to approach and touch the garment of Jesus from
behind. Both the ruler’s child and the sick woman were brought back to life and
to the community.
Life message: 1) Jesus accepts us as we are. Hence,
we need not wait until we have the correct motive and strong Faith to bring our
problems before Jesus. Let us bring before him our bodily and mental wounds and
ask for his healing touch today. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Feb 5 Wednesday: St. Agatha, virgin and
martyr:
The context: Today’s Gospel passage describes
the painful indifference Jesus met in his audience and the jealous, hurtful
comments Jesus heard when, as a carpenter-turned-Rabbi with a band of his disciples,
he started preaching in the synagogue of his hometown, Nazareth. A prophet
without honor: The people of Nazareth jammed the synagogue, eager
to see their familiar carpenter-turned-miracle-working preacher, Jesus, working
miracles as he had done in neighboring towns and villages. But they were
jealous, incredulous, and critical, rather than believing, which prevented
Jesus from doing miraculous healings. They were jealous of the extraordinary
ability of a former carpenter who, without formal education in Mosaic Law had
given such a powerful and authoritative interpretation of their Holy
Scriptures. A carpenter’s profession was considered low in social ranking.
Besides, they could not accept a prophet coming from so low a family background
as Jesus’ was, nor could they accept his “blasphemous” claim to be the promised
Messiah. Jesus’ relatives, known to them, were equally unimportant people. But
the most offensive thing he did, in their judgment, was to point out to them
their own unbelief, citing examples of the famous prophets Elijah and Elisha
favoring Faith-filled Gentiles over unbelieving Jews. Brothers and sisters of
Jesus: “Ancient Hebrew, Aramaic and other languages had no special
words for different degrees of relationship, such as are found in more modern
languages. In general, all those belonging to the same family, clan, and even
tribe, were brethren. Jesus had different kinds of relatives, in two
groups–some on his mother’s side, others on St. Joseph’s. Mt 13:55-56 mentions,
as living in Nazareth, “His brethren” James, Joses, Simon and Judas, and
elsewhere there is reference to Jesus’ sisters (cf. Mt 6:3). But in Mt 27:56 we
are told that James and Joses were sons of a Mary distinct from the Blessed
Virgin, and that Simon and Judas were not brothers of James, or St. Joseph’s
children from a previous marriage. Jesus, on the other hand, was known to
everyone as the son of Mary (Mk 6:3) or the carpenter’s son (Mt 13:55). The
Church has always maintained as absolutely certain that Jesus had no brothers
or sisters in the full meaning of the term: it is a dogma that Mary was
ever-Virgin” (Navarre Bible Commentary).
Life messages: 1) Perhaps we have experienced
the pain of rejection, betrayal, abandonment, violated trust, neglect, or abuse
from our own friends and relatives. On such occasions, let us face rejection
with prophetic courage and optimism. 2) Let us not, like the people in Jesus’
hometown, reject God in our personal lives. 3) Our country needs to hear God’s
Truth from Spirit-filled Christians with the prophetic courage of their
convictions. 4) Trusting Faith in the Divinity and goodness of Christ is
essential, if Jesus is to work miracles in our personal lives. In addition, we
need to be docile to the Holy Spirit living within us, so that He may work
miracles in our lives. When we are challenged by the Gospel and by the Church,
we should be thankful and should not allow the prophetic voice of the Church
die in our hearts. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Feb 6 Thursday: St. Paul Miki and companions,
martyrs:
The context: Today’s Gospel describes the
commissioning of the twelve Apostles. They were sent out in pairs with power
and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. They were to
preach to the people whom Jesus would visit the coming of the Kingdom of God,
or God’s rule in their lives, and show them how to prepare their hearts for
God’s rule by repenting of their sins and asking for God’s forgiveness and
liberation from their evil habits. The Apostles were also expected to follow
Jesus’ detailed action plan. Jesus’ instructions and travel tips. From his
instructions, it is clear that Jesus meant his 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 his disciples should not be like the acquisitive priests of the
day, who were interested only in gaining riches. His disciples should 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, because hospitality was
an important religious tradition in Palestine. The Apostles should choose
temporary accommodation in a reputable household, should bless the residents
with God’s peace, should be satisfied with the food and accommodation they had
received, and should not search for better ones. They were to preach “’the
Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,’ heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,
and cast out demons.”
Life messages: 1) We all have a witnessing
mission: Each Christian is called, not only to be a disciple, but
also to be an apostle, bearing witness to Christ. As apostles, we have to
evangelize the world by sharing with others not just words, or ideas or
doctrines, but our experience of God and His Son, Jesus. It is through our
transparent Christian lives that we must show to others the Jesus we have
experienced as unconditional Love, overflowing Mercy, Infinite forgiveness, and
All-encompassing Concern for the people around us. 2) We also have a liberating
mission. There are many demons which can control the lives of people around us
making them helpless slaves — the demon of nicotine, the demon of alcohol or
drugs, the demon of gambling, the demon of pornography and promiscuous sex, the
demons of power-seeking, self-centeredness, materialism, secularism, and
consumerism. We need the help of Jesus to liberate ourselves and others from
these demons.
Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Feb 7 Friday: Mk 6:14-29
The Gospel today describes how John the Baptist was a victim
of the corruption and arrogance of the Government of Herod. He died without
being judged by a tribunal, because Herod did not want break his rash promise
to Salome who had danced during the course of a banquet given by Herod, and so
shame himself before the great men of the kingdom. The text gives much
information about the time of the life of Jesus and the ways in which the
powerful of the time exercised power. From the beginning of the Gospel of Mark
we perceive or see a situation of suspense. In his Gospel, Mark said: “After
John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God!”
(Mk 1:14). In today’s Gospel, almost suddenly, we know that Herod had
already killed John the Baptist. Therefore, the reader asks himself: “What
will he do now with Jesus? Will he suffer the same destiny?” Rather
than drawing up a survey of the opinions of the people and of Herod on Jesus,
this Gospel another question: “Who is Jesus?” This last
question grows throughout the Gospel until it receives the definitive response
from the centurion at the foot of the Cross: “Truly, this man was the
Son of God!” (Mk 15:39)
Mk 6:4-16. Who is Jesus? The text begins
with a survey among the opinions of the people and of Herod on Jesus. Some
thought Jesus was the risen John the Baptist or the returned Elijah as
precursor of the Messiah. Others identified him with “one of the prophets” that
is, with someone who spoke in the name of God, who had the courage to denounce
the injustices of the powerful and who knew how to animate the hope of the
little ones. Persons tried to understand Jesus starting from the things that
they themselves knew, believed, and hoped. They tried to make him fit into
familiar criteria of the Old Testament with its prophecies and hopes, and of
the Traditions of the Ancients, with their laws. But these criteria were not
sufficient. Jesus did not fit any of those criteria – He transcended
them! •
Mark 6:17-20. The cause for the killing of John. Galilee,
the land of Jesus, was governed as Tetrarch (one of four rulers of the areas of
Israel) by Herod Antipas (son of King Herod, the Great), from the year 4 BC up
to the year 39 after Christ, in all, 43 years. During the whole lifetime of
Jesus, there had been no changes in the government of Galilee. Herod Antipas
was the absolute Lord of everything; he listened to no one and did whatever he
pleased! But the one, who really commanded in Palestine, from the year 63 BC,
was the Roman Empire. Herod, in order not to be removed from office, tried to
please Rome in everything. He insisted above all, in an efficient
administration which would provide income for the Roman Empire. The only thing
that concerned or worried him was his security and promotion. This is why he
repressed any type of subversion. Flavio Giuseppe, a writer of that time, says
that the reason for the imprisonment of John the Baptist was Herod’s fear of a
popular revolt. Herod liked to be called Benefactor of the people, but in
reality he was a tyrant (Lk 22:25). The denouncement of John against him (Mk
6:18), was the drop which filled up the cup, and John was thrown into prison.
Feb 8 Saturday; St. Jerome Emiliani
The context: Today’s Gospel passage presents the
sympathetic and merciful heart of Jesus who lovingly invites his Apostles to a
desolate place for some rest. Jesus realized that the Apostles he had sent on a
preaching and healing mission to the neighboring towns and villages needed some
rest on their return. He was eager to hear about their missionary adventures as
they proudly shared their experiences. In no time, however, they were
surrounded by the crowd, and Jesus resumed his preaching and teaching because
he saw the crowd as sheep without shepherd.
Today’s Gospel describes how Jesus became a Good Shepherd.
The Old Testament describes God as shepherd of His people, Israel. The
Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (Ps 23:1). The prophet Isaiah
prophesied that the Messiah would feed his flock like a shepherd, he
would gather the lambs in his arms (Is 40:11). Jesus told his
disciples that he was the Good Shepherd who was willing to lay down his life
for his sheep. In his epistle, Peter calls Jesus the Shepherd and
Guardian of our souls (1 Pt 2:25).
Life messages: 1) Let us show the mercy, compassion, care, and concern of Jesus the Good Shepherd to those entrusted to our care. 2) Let us become good sheep of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, by leading pure, innocent, humble, selfless lives, obeying Christ’s commandment of love and gaining daily spiritual strength from the Body and Blood of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, in Holy Communion. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
