Dec 2 Monday: Mt 8: 5-11: 5 As he
entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him 6 and
saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress.” 7
And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion answered
him, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the
word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, with
soldiers under me; and I say to one, `Go,’ and he goes, and to another, `Come,’
and he comes, and to my slave, `Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard
him, he marveled, and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I say to you, not
even in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east
and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of
heaven. USCCB video reflections: https://youtu.be/-11zPaLsOK8?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9
Context: Jesus’ healing of the centurion’s
slave, described in today’s Gospel, shows us how God listens to our
Faith-filled prayers and meets our needs. Centurions were reliable, commanding,
brave captains in charge of 100 soldiers. They were used to giving and receiving
commands. They were the backbone of Roman army. According to Luke’s
account (Lk 7:1-10), this centurion loved the Jews and respected their
religious customs. He knew that Jews incurred ritual uncleanness on entering
the house of a pagan, and, wanting to save Jesus this inconvenience, said he
was unworthy to have Jesus come into his pagan house. The Centurion loved his
sick servant, trusted in Jesus’ power of healing and was ready to face the
ridicule of his fellow-centurions by pleading before a Jewish rabbi.
The remote healing: The centurion asked Jesus just to shout
a command as he did with his soldiers, so that the illness might leave his
servant by the power of that order. Jesus was moved by his Faith and
rewarded the trusting Faith of this Gentile officer by telling him: “Go;
be it done for you as you have believed.”
Life messages: 1) We need to grow to the level
of Faith of the centurion by knowing and personally experiencing Jesus in our
lives. 2) We do so by our meditative daily reading of the Bible, by our
daily personal and family prayers, by frequenting the Sacraments, especially
the Eucharistic celebration, and by surrendering our lives to Jesus in
rendering loving service to others in all humility. Fr. Kadavil (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
L/19 Word Sunday reflections:http://www.word-sunday.com/Files/DailyReadings/1Advent.html#Monday
Dec 3 Tuesday (St. Francis Xavier, Priest): https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-francis-xavier/ Lk
10: 21-24: 21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and
said, “I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden
these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes;
yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. 22 All things have been delivered
to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who
the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal
him.” 23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes
which see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to
see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not
hear it.” USCCB video reflections: https://youtu.be/E0v-eRmqmGM?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9
The context: When the seventy-two disciples
returned after successfully completing their mission, Jesus rejoiced with them
and thanked his Father saying aloud a spontaneous prayer expressing three great
thoughts.
1) The first thought is that God hates
intellectual pride and loves childlike simplicity and humility. Jesus says that
only humble people with open minds can experience him as Lord and Savior.
2) The second thought is about the unique
relationship between Jesus and his Father. The Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit are equal in being, possessing the same Divine life and knowledge. Since
the Son is no less perfect than the Father, He is uniquely qualified to reveal
the inner life of the Trinity to the world. Jesus was sent to show the world
what God looks like and how God behaves.
3) The third thought is Jesus’ claim that
He is the expected Messiah Whom the prophets have foretold. Hence, Jesus
asserts that his disciples are blessed with the great privilege of seeing,
hearing and experiencing God in human form.
Life messages: 1) We need to make use of our
blessings. We are more blessed than many who lived in Jesus’ time because we
accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and have him with us in the Eucharist, in
the Bible, in the worshipping community and in each one of us as Emmanuel. 2)
Hence, let us participate in Jesus’ Divine life by Holy Communion, hear His
words by meditative reading of the Bible and worship Him as a community of
believers. Fr. Kadavil (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
L/19
Dec 4 Wednesday (St. John Damascene, Priest, Doctor of
the Church) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-john-damascene/ : Mt
15: 29-37: 29 And Jesus went on from there and passed along the Sea
of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 And great
crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the
dumb, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 so
that the throng wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole,
the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.
32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the
crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to
eat; and I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”
33 And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get bread enough in the
desert to feed so great a crowd?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves
have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And commanding the
crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and
having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the
disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied;
and they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. USCCB
video reflections: https://youtu.be/4t-DKmJLrCQ?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9
The context: The Decapolis was a loose
federation of ten cities with a mixed population of Jews and Gentiles. Jesus
took six months to travel to the Decapolis via Tyre and Sidon and to return to
Galilee. The healing and feeding described in today’s Gospel took place on a
hill near the Sea of Galilee after Jesus’ return from the Decapolis. He healed
the lame, the maimed, the blind, and the dumb. Then he felt pity for the hungry
multitude and instructed his Apostles to feed them with what they had, namely,
seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. At Jesus’ command, the
Apostles brought these to Jesus who said a prayer of thanksgiving over them and
instructed the Apostles to distribute them to the people. After the crowd had
eaten their fill, the Apostles, again at Jesus’ command, collected the broken
pieces; they filled seven baskets with the fragments.
Life messages: 1) We need to help Jesus to
heal the blind, the lame, the deaf and the mute today. Jesus desires to
open our blind eyes and to loosen our tongues so that he may see and speak to
the spiritually hungry through us. Jesus invites us to lend him our
hearts so that he may touch the lives of people in our day through us, just as
he touched the lives of millions through saintly souls like Francis of Assisi,
Fr. Damien, Vincent de Paul and Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa.)
2) We need to be fed by Jesus. Jesus continues to feed us in
his Church with His own Body and Blood in Holy Communion and with the word of
God through the Holy Bible. Fr. Kadavil (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
L/19
Dec 5 Thursday: Mt 7:21, 24-27: 21 “Not
everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but
he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 24 “Everyone then who hears
these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house
upon the rock; 25 and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and
beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the
rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will
be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; 27 and the rain fell,
and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it
fell; and great was the fall of it.” USCCB video reflections: https://youtu.be/oUvsLSXaJyQ?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9
The context: In today’s Gospel, the concluding
part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us two warnings: that we must
match our profession of Faith with actual obedience to the will of God and that
we must build a life on the firm foundation of his teachings. Worship of God
without commitment to the word of God is hypocrisy. Sincerity in a
Christian can be demonstrated not by what one says but by what one does.
Fine words can never be a substitute for fine deeds. Thus, today’s Gospel gives
Jesus’ call to authentic discipleship based on the strong foundation of Gospel
teaching. Acting on the words of Christ shows the authenticity of one’s
Christian commitment. Jesus contrasts a wise man who practices what he believes
with a fool who does not practice his religious beliefs, using the images of
one man who built his house on firm rock and another who built his house on
loose sand in summer. Only a house with solid and firm foundation
can resist the storm and flood, and only a person whose life has strong
spiritual foundations can stand the test. Building on loose sand is the
way to destruction. Thus, the two builders sum up two ways – the way of perfect
righteousness and the way of self-righteousness. On the Day of Judgment,
the first will stand; the second will fall.
Life messages: 1) We need to synchronize our
practice of the Faith with our profession of it: The test of our Sunday worship
is the effect it has in our homes and workplaces and the way it influences our
relationships with friends and neighbors. The great test is the care and
consideration we show to our neighbors, many of whom experience the absence of
affection, of words of encouragement and of forgiveness. 2) We need to
build our families on strong foundations: There can be no great
marriage and no great family without a solid foundation. Such
a foundation exists when the husband and wife are the love of Christ for each
other and for their children, in deeds as well as in words. Our culture
and nation also need strong foundations based on the moral law of God and love
of Jesus Christ, and this is possible only if our families are built on these
foundations. Fr. Kadavil (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
L/19
Dec 6 Friday (St. Nicholas, Bishop): https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-nicholas/ Mt
9:27-31: 27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men
followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” 28 When he
entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, “Do you
believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then he
touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” 30 And
their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly charged them, “See that no one knows
it.” 31 But they went away and spread his fame through all that district. USCCB
video reflections: https://youtu.be/0Dq1Dvmn2Zk?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9
The context: Today’s Gospel describes Jesus’
miraculous healing of two blind men who approached him with trusting Faith.
Blindness was common in Palestine because of the intense glare of the eastern
sun, clouds of unclean flies and people’s ignorance of cleanliness and hygiene.
The two blind men followed Jesus from the street up to his place of residence
expressing loudly their confidence in the “Son of David” and requesting his
mercy. Jesus found in these men what was required for receiving a miracle,
namely a strong and expectant Faith, an earnest desire for vision and a sincere
prayer for mercy. Although they were instructed not to tell any one of their
healing, they expressed their gratitude to Jesus by bearing witness to his
healing power in the town as soon as Jesus had healed them.
Life message: 1) We, too, need light and
eyesight because we are often blind to the needs and expectations of others
living with us. We are also often blind to the presence of Jesus living in us
and in others, to the blessings God showers on us and to the protection God
gives us every day. Hence, let us pray for the spiritual eyesight to realize
and experience the presence of Jesus in ourselves and others, and for the good
will to do good to and for others. Fr. Kadavil (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
L/19
Dec 7 Saturday (St. Ambrose, Bishop, Doctor of the
Church) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-ambrose/: Matt 9:
35-10: 1, 5, 6-8: 35 And Jesus went about all the cities and
villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom,
and healing every disease and every infirmity. 10:1 And
he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean
spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity. 5
These twelve Jesus sent out, charging them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and
enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house
of Israel. 7 And preach as you go, saying, `The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received
without paying, give without pay. (Cfr. Mt 9: 35- 10: 1) USCCB
video reflections: https://youtu.be/dkk3B-fOIRU?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9
The context: Today’s Gospel describes the
three chief activities of Jesus’ mission, namely heralding, teaching and
healing, and tells how he selected his twelve apostles to help him to carry out
his action-plan. Jesus was primarily the herald of God his Father. He brought
the Good News that God is a loving, forgiving, merciful and compassionate
Father Who wants everyone to be saved. Secondly, he was a teacher and preacher
who taught his Gospel, or the Good News of the Kingdom of God, by his exemplary
life, demonstrating God’s love, mercy, forgiveness and
compassion. Thirdly, he was a healer, spending much of his
time healing people of their bodily and mental illnesses. The Gospel for today
also mentions that Jesus selected ordinary men of no social status as his
apostles to continue his preaching and healing mission, and that he gave them
both healing power and preaching authority.
Life messages: 1) As Christians, we share
Christ’s mission of preaching and healing. This means that we, too, have to
demonstrate by our exemplary and transparent Christian lives the mercy, the
forgiveness, and the unconditional love of Jesus.
2) We are also called to act as the agents of healing by
praying for the sick, by helping them to get the necessary medical help and
nursing and by encouraging them, supporting them and boosting their morale. Fr.
Kadavil (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
L/19
