Sept 28 Monday (St. Wenceslaus)
(https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-wenceslaus/), Martyr, St. Lawrence Ruiz and Companions, Martyrs) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-lorenzo-ruiz-and-companions/ : Lk 9:46-50: 46 And an argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. 47 But when Jesus perceived the thought of their hearts, he took a child and put him by his side, 48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me; for he who is least among you all is the one who is great.” 49 John answered, “Master, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he does not follow with us.” 50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not forbid him; for he that is not against you is for you.” USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm
The context: Today’s Gospel describes Jesus’ criterion for greatness and his advice to be accepting of others who do good in ways different from ours. He exhorts the spiritual leaders as well as all believers in responsible positions in his Church to be like children, humble, trusting and innocent.
Child-like qualities: Children are basically innocent and
honest. They are naturally humble, because they depend on their parents for
everything. They trust and obey their parents, because they know their parents
love them. Hence, Jesus advises his disciples to forget their selfish
ambitions and to spend their lives serving others in all humility, with
trusting Faith in a loving and providing God. Then they will be great in
the Kingdom of Heaven.
Next, Jesus tells his disciples that there should not be any
rivalry, jealousy or suspicion among them, as long as all hold the same
belief. In today’s passage, the Apostles, upset by seeing someone
who did not belong to their group using Jesus’ name to cast out demons,
complain to Jesus. Since the present-day divisions in Christianity are
substantive, rising from differences over the basic tenets of Faith, today’s
Gospel passage does not apply to them. But there is no reason for any
Christian denomination to be jealous of another denomination because of the
greater good they do for people for the glory of God. True love seeks the
highest good of our neighbor, while envy results from selfishness and pride,
and it is contrary to true Christian love.
Life Messages: 1) We need to practice humility
in thoughts, words and actions. “Learn from me for I am meek and humble
of heart.”
2) We should not seek recognition and recompense for the
service we do for Christ and the Church as parents, teachers, pastors etc. 3)
Trusting Faith resulting from true humility is essential for all corporal and
spiritual works of mercy. 4) Let us not try to prevent anyone
from doing good to others because of envy or jealousy. Envy and jealousy
are sinful because they lead us to sadness over what should make us
rejoice. True love always seeks the highest good of the
neighbor. (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/20
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saints-michael-gabriel-and-raphael/ :
Jn 1: 47-51: Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him, and
said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” 48
Nathaniel said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before
Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathaniel
answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”50…
51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened,
and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” USCCB
video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm
The Archangels: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael: The
angels are spirits created by God before He created man. They are meant to be
extensions of God’s love and provident care for us. Their role is to praise and
worship God, act as God’s messengers, do God’s will and protect human beings. “He
will give His angels charge over you to guard you in all your ways (Psalm
91:1). God sent His angels to destroy the evil cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, and
to save Lot’s family. God gave Moses an angel to support and guide him: “My
angel shall go before you” (Ex 32:34). It was an angel who helped
Jesus in the desert and encouraged Jesus during his agony in Gethsemane. The
Acts of the Apostles (1:14) describes how God sent an angel to
liberate Peter from the prison. The Archangels form one of the nine orders of
angels. The most prominent among them in Scripture are Michael the protector,
Gabriel the messenger of God and Raphael, the healer and guide for humans.
Michael: Michael means “Who is like God?”
from the challenge he flung at the rebel angels led by Lucifer. In Daniel, he
is the great prince who defended Israel. In the Book of
Revelation, he is the mighty prince who fought with
Lucifer and who dragged the serpent into hell.
Gabriel: He is God’s messenger. It was Gabriel
who announced to Elizabeth’s husband, the priest Zechariah, the happy news that
his barren wife would conceive a son, John the Baptist. He announced the “good
news” to Mary, that she was to bear the Son of God. He may have been the angel
sent to Joseph in a dream to tell him that he was to take Mary into his home as
his wife, “for it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived
in her. She will bear a Son, and you are to name Him Jesus because He will save
His people from their sins.” Gabriel also announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds;
he may have been the messenger instructing the Magi to return to their lands by
another route rather than returning to King Herod, and also the messenger who
appeared to Joseph in a dream to instruct him to return to Israel, as, “They
who sought the life of the Child are dead.”
Raphael: He is man’s God-appointed guide
and healer. He guided Tobiah’s journey, did Tobiah’s task of collecting his
father’s money from Gabael of Rhages, arranged Tobiah’s marriage with Sarah,
gave Tobiah the means to heal Tobit’s blindness, and protected Sarah from
the devil.
Life messages: 1) Dependable angelic assistance
is a salutary, encouraging assurance for us to remember in our fears. 2) The
truth that an angel is always watching us is an incentive for us to do good and
to avoid evil. 3) Angelic protection and assistance form a great provision for
which we must be always thankful to God. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
L/20
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-jerome/ : Lk
9:57-62: 57 As they were going along the road, a man said to him,
“I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have
holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay
his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first
go and bury my father.” 60 But he said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their
own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Another said,
“I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”
62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is
fit for the kingdom of God.” USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm
The context: Today’s Gospel passage explains the
cost of Christian discipleship and the wholehearted constancy, commitment, and
sacrificial ministry that the Christian mission requires.
The requests and the challenge: “I will follow you
wherever you go!” was the offer of a would-be follower. But Jesus made him
no false promises. Instead, he told the man: “Foxes have holes, and birds of
the air have nests, but the Son of Man has not whereon to lay His head.” Being
a Christian is not an easy or comfortable affair: It calls for detachment,
self-denial, self-control and putting God before everything else. No earthly
gain is to be expected. Jesus’ answer to the second man whom Jesus himself had
invited to follow him – to be allowed more time before becoming a disciple –
sounds harsh: “Let the dead bury their dead.” But this man’s father was
neither dead nor sick. What the man was asking for was permission to stay with
his father until the father’s death. Jesus knew that later he would find
another reason to delay answering the call; he was agreeing to follow Jesus on
conditions. St. John Chrysostom comments, “it was not to have us neglect the
honor due to our parents, but to make us realize that nothing is more important
than the things of Heaven and that we ought to cleave to these and not to put
them off even for a little while, though our engagements be ever so
indispensable and pressing” (“Hom. on St. Matthew”, 27).]. To the third
volunteer who wanted to “say farewell to those at my home” Jesus said, “No
one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God.”
Jesus wants exclusive service to his cause, giving family commitments only the
second place. So, he did not allow the volunteer to say farewell to the family
as Elijah allowed Elisha to do when he was called.
Life messages: 1) We need to honor our
commitments: Today, more than ever, people make marriage commitments too
easily and then break them. The problem today is that the couples do not
have the courage to make the commitment of marriage work. We
all know there is a tremendous shortage of priests because our young people are
unwilling to make commitments to God by committing themselves to life-long
celibacy, to a diocese or to the vowed life of a religious community.
2) We need to pray for strength to honor our commitments. We are here
this morning because, in one way or another, we have said to Jesus, “I will
follow you.” Sometimes we are faithful to him, but at other times we are not.
Hence, we need to pray for strength to honor our commitments. We need to
ask for forgiveness when we fail, and we need to renew our determination to
walk with Jesus by being loyal to our spouse and family, by earning our
living honestly, and by living, not only peacefully, but lovingly, with our
neighbors. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
L/20
Oct 1 Thursday (St. Teresa of Child Jesus,
Virgin, Doctor of the Church) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-theresa-of-the-child-jesus/ : Lk
10:1-12: — 1 After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and
sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself
was about to come. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the
laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers
into his harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst
of wolves. 4..9 USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm
The context: Today’s Gospel describes the
sending forth of another group of paired disciples by Jesus to prepare towns
and villages for his own arrival there. Sent out with power and authority from
Jesus, they exercised their preaching and healing mission according to the
action plan given by Jesus. Jesus sent out seventy disciples, just as God had
Moses commission 70 elders to be prophets in Israel. (Nm 11:24-25).
Their ministry anticipates the Church’s mission to the nations.
Jesus’ instructions and travel tips. Elisha gave
similar instructions when he sent his servant on a pressing mission (2 Kgs
4:29). By 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.
They were to 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, for hospitality was an important religious tradition in Palestine. The
Apostles and disciples were to choose temporary accommodation in a reputable
household, they were to bless the residents with God’s peace, and they were to
be satisfied with the food and accommodation they received, not search for
better.
Life messages: 1) We have a witnessing
mission: Each Christian is called, not only to be a
disciple, but also to be an apostle. As apostles, we are sent out to evangelize
the world by sharing with others, not just words, or ideas, or doctrines, but
our experiences of God and His Son. We are to make Jesus “visible” through our
transparent Christian lives, showing the love, mercy and concern of Jesus to
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, the demon of
gambling, the demons of pornography and promiscuous sex, the demons of
secularism, materialism and consumerism. We need the help of Jesus to be
liberated from these demons ourselves and to help Him liberate others from
these bondages.
3) We have a supporting mission: According to
Catholic tradition and Canon Law (Canon 222 #1), Christians are obliged to
contribute to the Church from their earnings to help to support the clergy, to
provide for the necessities of liturgical worship and to equip the Church to
minister to the needy (CCC #2043, 2122). (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
L/20
The Guardian Angel: Although the doctrine and
traditional belief in the Guardian Angel is not a dogma of Faith, it is based
on the Bible. Each person’s Guardian Angel is an expression of God’s
enduring love and providential care extended to him or her every day.
Today’s prayers in the Breviary and in the Roman Missal mention the three-fold
function of the angels: a) they praise and worship God, b) they serve as His
messengers, c) they watch over human beings.
Historical note: Devotion to the Guardian Angels
began to develop in the monasteries. St. Benedict gave it an additional impetus
and St. Bernard of Clairvaux (12th century reformer), spread
the devotion in its present form. The feast of the Guardian Angels originated
in the 1500s. It was placed on the official liturgical calendar of the Church
by Pope Paul V in 1607. “By God’s Providence angels have been entrusted
with the office of guarding the human race and of accompanying every human
being so as to preserve him from any serious dangers […]. Our Heavenly Father
has placed over each of us an angel under whose protection and vigilance we
are” (“St. Pius V Catechism”, IV, 9, 4).
Biblical teaching: Today’s Gospel (Mt
16:10), clearly states that even children have their Guardian Angels: “See
that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in Heaven
their angels always behold the face of my Father Who is in Heaven.” Psalm
91:1 teaches: “For He has given His angels charge over you, to keep you in
all your ways.”
Life messages: 1) The conviction that we are
protected by an angel is an encouragement against our baseless fears
and unnecessary anxieties.
2) The thought that a messenger from God is constantly
watching our thoughts, words and deeds is an inspiration for us to
lead holy lives and to do good for others and avoid evil.
3) We need to be grateful to God every day, thanking Him for His loving care given us through His angel. (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/20
The context: Today’s Gospel describes how
the seventy disciples, sent by Jesus to prepare people in the towns and
villages He was going to visit, returned joyfully to Jesus who rejoiced aloud
at the success of their preaching and healing mission. This passage of the
Gospel is usually called our Lord’s “hymn of joy.” Jesus rejoiced
to see how humble people understood and accepted the word of God.
The teaching: Jesus declares that the right reason for
rejoicing must be the hope of reaching Heaven by doing the will of God at all
times, and that that is more important than working miracles. He also gives his
disciples a warning against taking pride in the success of their mission. Jesus
repeats his claim that he is God, equal in everything with his Father and that
only he can reveal God his Father to others. Then he congratulates his
disciples at their good fortune in living to see, hear and experience the
Messiah in their midst, a privilege which generations before them would have
rejoiced to receive.
Life messages: 1) We have received the same mission as that given to the seventy disciples, a mission to preach Jesus as Lord and Savior. We may have success as well as failure. But we, too, have reason to rejoice even when our attempts at evangelization are not visibly successful because we are assured of a great reward in Heaven. We rejoice also because we have the presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, we can hear him through the Gospels, and we can experience him through prayers and Sacraments. (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/20
