April 7: Monday: Saint John Baptist de la Salle: John 8:21-30:
The context: Through
his teaching and healing ministry, Jesus tried to convince his listeners that
he was the promised Messiah. But only a few of his followers acknowledged him
as the Messiah. The pride and the prejudice of the scribes and the Pharisees
prevented them from seeing anything Divine in Jesus. Hence, Jesus gave them the
warning that he was going to the place where he had come from, and they would
not be able to go there. They misunderstood Jesus’ statement about his going
home to Heaven as planning suicide. So, Jesus gave the Jews the warning that
they would die in their sins unless they believed in him as the saving Messiah
and accepted his teaching. Then Jesus clarified how he was going to save those
who believed in him by referring to the story of Moses’ bronze serpent, a
symbol of God’s benevolent saving will, exercised toward His wayward, now
repentant, children. Just as the complaining Israelites in the desert were
healed and saved from the serpent bites by looking at the bronze serpent lifted
on the pole, Jesus, too, would be lifted on a cross for the salvation and
freedom from sin of all mankind. Jesus further explained that his cross would
defeat sin and death and that he would give everlasting life to those who
believed in him as the Messiah. Jesus declared his Divinity when he said,
"I am He.
Life messages: 1) We
need to be humble instruments in the hand of God, trusting in His power and
goodness. St. Augustine reminds us that God Who created us without our
permission cannot save us without our active cooperation, for to do so would be
a violation of our free will, His gift to us so that we might love Him and each
other freely, or reject Him and each other in equal freedom. Hence, let us
cooperate in the fulfillment of God’s plan for us with Mary’s trusting Faith
and humility.
2) Like Mary who brought God to
us as Jesus our Savior, we are called to carry Jesus and bring him to the lives
of others around us in love, mercy, forgiveness, and service. “Let the soul of
Mary be in each one of you to magnify the Lord. Let the spirit of Mary be in
each one to exult in Christ." (St. Ambrose). Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
April 8: Tuesday: John
8:21-30:
The context: Through
his teaching and healing ministry, Jesus tried to convince his listeners that
he was the promised Messiah. But only a few of his followers acknowledged him
as the Messiah. The pride and the prejudice of the scribes and the Pharisees
prevented them from seeing anything Divine in Jesus. Hence, Jesus gave them the
warning that he was going to the place where he had come from, and they would
not be able to go there. They misunderstood Jesus’ statement about his going
home to Heaven as planning suicide. So, Jesus gave the Jews the warning that
they would die in their sins unless they believed in him as the saving Messiah
and accepted his teaching. Then Jesus clarified how he was going to save those
who believed in him by referring to the story of Moses’ bronze serpent, a
symbol of God’s benevolent saving will, exercised toward His wayward, now
repentant, children. Just as the complaining Israelites in the desert were
healed and saved from the serpent bites by looking at the bronze serpent lifted
on the pole, Jesus, too, would be lifted on a cross for the salvation and
freedom from sin of all mankind. Jesus further explained that his cross would
defeat sin and death and that he would give everlasting life to those who
believed in him as the Messiah. Jesus declared his Divinity when he said,
"I am He.
Life messages: 1) We
need to be humble instruments in the hand of God, trusting in His power and
goodness. St. Augustine reminds us that God Who created us without our
permission cannot save us without our active cooperation, for to do so would be
a violation of our free will, His gift to us so that we might love Him and each
other freely, or reject Him and each other in equal freedom. Hence, let us
cooperate in the fulfillment of God’s plan for us with Mary’s trusting Faith
and humility. 2) Like Mary who brought God to us as Jesus our Savior, we are
called to carry Jesus and bring him to the lives of others around us in love,
mercy, forgiveness, and service. “Let the soul of Mary be in each one of you to
magnify the Lord. Let the spirit of Mary be in each one to exult in
Christ." (St. Ambrose). Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
April 9; Wednesday: Jn
8:31-42:
The context: Today’s
first reading, taken from the book of the prophet Daniel, tells us how King
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had a 90-foot tall and 3-foot wide, 3-foot thick
golden statue built, then commanded all his subjects to bow down in adoration
before it as a test of loyalty. Many Jews did so, fearing persecution and
death. But three young Jewish men, who were favorites of the king and were
employed by the King in the royal court, refused to worship the statue because
of their religious belief in one God, Yahweh. Hence, they were thrown into a
fiery furnace to die. There, Yahweh, the only God, Whom they worshipped
faithfully, protected them, as they were ready to sacrifice their lives rather
than turn their backs on Him. It was their Faith, their loyal allegiance to God
and their obedience to His will that saved them.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus told
the unbelieving Jews that it was such loyal Faith and obedience to his
teachings that would make them his disciples, enjoying true freedom. Jesus
explained to them that true freedom is freedom from sin, submitting their hearts
and wills to God their Father speaking through His Son Jesus. The Jews argued
that they had never been slaves to foreign gods, although they had been under
Persian, Babylonian, Greek, and Roman rulers. They claimed they had always kept
the Faith of Abraham their father. Jesus plainly told them that they were
slaves of sin and the devil because they not only refused to accept him as the
Son of God and obey his words but were also planning to kill him.
Life messages: 1)
Let us become true disciples of Christ by believing in Christ’s teachings,
studying and mediating on his words in Holy Scripture, and obeying his
commandment of love in our daily lives. 2) Let us seek Jesus’ help and the
guidance of the Holy Spirit that we may be freed from slavery to sins, evil
habits, attachments, and addictions. 3) Let us grow in true Christian
discipleship by freely submitting our heart, mind, and will to an all-merciful,
all-loving, all-wise God. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
April 10: Thursday: Jn
8:51-59:
The context: In
today’s Gospel, Jesus surprises and infuriates the Jews by the blinding
lightning and deafening thunder of his Divine claims. First, Jesus claimed that
one who kept his words would not die because his words were God’s words. The
Jews responded, arguing that even a great man of Faith, like Abraham who kept
God’s words, had died. Next Jesus claimed that he had unique knowledge of God
because he came from God. The Jews believed that God had revealed everything
about Himself through the Torah. Third, Jesus claimed a unique obedience to
God, his Father, because he thought, spoke, and acted as God wished. The Jews
believed that their fathers and prophets had obeyed God perfectly. Fourth,
Jesus claimed that he was not limited by time and, hence, that he was there
with God even before Abraham, and that Abraham had seen Jesus’ “day,
and he was glad.” The Jews believed that Abraham had been given a
vision of the entire history of Israel including the vision of the Messiah. At
this last claim, the Jews attempted to stone Jesus for blasphemy. But Jesus
escaped.
Life message: 1) We
need to put our trust in Jesus because of His claims of Divinity. If we believe
that we will receive eternal life by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we
need to live out our belief by obeying him. As God, Jesus is present in all
areas of our lives, so we need to talk to him about everything and listen to
him always. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
L/24
April 11: Friday: Saint
Stanislaus, Bishop and martyr: Jn 10:31-42: 31
The context: In the first
reading, the prophet Jeremiah laments over the false accusations leveled
against him by his friends and enemies. In the Gospel, Jesus refutes the
accusation of blasphemy and avoids the attempt at stoning him to death (the
Jewish punishment for blasphemy), by giving two proofs of his Divinity and
equality with God as the Son of God. Jesus was called a blasphemer when he
forgave the sins of the paralytic (Mt 9:1-8). Later during his trial before the
Sanhedrin, the High Priest would do the same when Jesus solemnly confessed his
Divinity.
Two arguments supporting Jesus’ Divinity: 1)
The Book of Psalms, a book of Jewish Holy Scripture, reminds the Jewish judges
of their high dignity and consequent responsibility saying: “You are gods,
sons of the Most High” (Ps 82:6) because they are commissioned by God to
act in the place of God in promoting His Justice. (God is reprimanding unjust
judges reminding them of their position and role). If they can be called sons
of God, Jesus argues, his saying, "I am consecrated and sent by God” (meaning,
"Hence, I share the Divinity of God and claim it"), is not blasphemy
but truth. 2) The truth that Jesus is the Son of God is supported also by the
credentials of his miracles. Jesus claims that it is his Father who does these
miracles through him. Hence, Jesus challenges his accusers to accept his deeds
even if they cannot accept his claim.
Life messages: 1) By Baptism we are made
children of God, heirs of Heaven, and members of the Trinitarian family of God.
We, too, are consecrated and commissioned by our Baptism to bear witness to
Jesus and his ideals. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
April 12: Saturday: Jn
11:45-56:
The context: Today’s
Gospel gives the reaction of the High Priest and his associates when the news
about Jesus’ raising of Lazarus reached their ears. They convened a session of
the Council to consider the matter. [Lectio Divina To understand
this reaction of one part of the population, it is necessary to become aware
that half of the population of Jerusalem depended completely on the
Temple
for their lives and survival. Because of this, it would have been difficult for
them to support an unknown prophet from Galilee who criticized the
Temple
and the religious authorities. This also explains why some even were
ready
to inform the authorities. They were
afraid of the Romans, because in the past it had been shown many times, by the
Roman invasions in the year 64 before Christ until the time of Jesus, that
the Romans
repressed with great violence any attempt at popular rebellion. (Cf.
Acts
5:35-37). In the case of Jesus, the Roman reaction could have led to the loss
of everything, even of the Temple and of the privileged position of the
priests]. Caiaphas, who led the Council, had held the High Priesthood from the
year 18 to the year 36 AD. It was the popular belief that when a High Priest
asked for God’s counsel for the nation of Israel, God would speak through him.
God used Caiaphas to prophesy the redemptive death of Jesus for the whole world
when Caiaphas said: “It is expedient for you that One Man should die
instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish." Here,
Caiaphas’ words have two meanings: 1) Caiaphas meant he wanted to put Christ to
death on the pretext that that would ensure the political peace and survival of
Israel. 2) The Holy Spirit meant that the new Israel, the Kingdom of God, the
Church, would be founded through the death of Christ on the Cross, and that
Jesus’ death would save not only Israel but “all the children of God
who are scattered abroad.” The prophets had already announced that the
future assembly of Israelites faithful to God would form the new people of
Israel. These prophecies were fulfilled by the death of Christ, Who, when
raised up on the cross, drew and gathered together the true people of God,
composed of all believers, whether Israelites or not.
Life messages: 1) We are entering Holy Week tomorrow. It is in Holy Week that we gratefully remember how Jesus died for the whole world. 2) These are days given us by God so that we may express our gratitude to Christ who died for our sins, by repentance, by the renewal of our lives, and by our preparation to celebrate resurrection of our Lord. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
