June 24: Monday (Nativity of St. John the
Baptist): Luke 1: 57-66, 80: 57 Now the time came for
Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son. 58 And her neighbors
and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they
rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child;
and they would have named him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother
said, “Not so; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your
kindred is called by this name.” 62 And they made signs to his father,
inquiring what he would have him called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet,
and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all marveled. 64 And immediately his
mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear
came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all
the hill country of Judea; 66 and all who heard them laid them up in their
hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was
with him.
The context: Today’s Gospel describes the birth
and naming of St. John the Baptist, the last Old Testament prophet. He
was given the mission of heralding the promised Messiah and of preparing the
Chosen People to welcome that Messiah by preaching to them repentance and the
renewal of life. John was born to the priest, Zechariah and his wife,
Elizabeth in their old age. Today’s Gospel passage describes John’s
birth, Circumcision and Naming ceremony.
A miraculous birth and an event of double joy: His elderly
parents rejoiced in John’s birth, as he was a gift from God in their old
age. Since the child was a boy, all their neighbors rejoiced with them,
and the village musicians celebrated the birth by playing their joyful
music. The Naming followed the baby’s Circumcision, and Elizabeth
insisted that the child should be named John (which means “the Lord is
gracious”). The mute Zechariah approved that name by writing, “His name
is John.” At that action of obedient surrender to the Lord God, his speech was
restored, and he loudly proclaimed the praises of God for blessing him with a
son and Israel with her Deliverer, whose herald his son would be.
Life messages: 1) We need to pray for our
parents and be thankful to them for the gift of life, the training and
discipline they have given us and the love and affection they have lavished on
us. Let us ask God’s pardon if we are, or were, ungrateful to them,
do/did not take proper care of them in their illness or old age or ever
inflicted pain on them. 2) We need to remember and pray for our
godparents who sponsored us in Baptism, which made us children of God, brothers
and sisters of Jesus, heirs of Heaven and members of the Church. 3) We
should have the courage of our Christian convictions as John the Baptist did,
and we should become heralds of Christ as John was, by our transparent
Christian lives. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/19
June 25 Tuesday: Mt 7: 6, 12-14: Do not
give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they
trample them under foot and turn to attack you. 12 So whatever you wish that
men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets. 13
“Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads
to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is
narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
The context: Today’s Gospel passage, taken from
the Sermon on the Mount, speaks about the proper use of holy things, the Golden
Rule we have to obey and the less-traveled narrow way we have to take in our
Christian lives.
Jesus advises his listeners to use holy things in a holy
manner. The Jews had a statement in their Scriptures (“Do not put
a golden ring in the nose of a pig or on the ears of a dog” Prv 11:22),
parallel to Jesus’ statement, “Do not give dogs what is holy; and do
not throw your pearls before swine”(Mt 7:12) The Jews understood the
injunction to mean the exclusiveness of their religion, which meant that they
should not teach the Law to the Gentiles. The early Church interpreted
Jesus’ statement in its earliest catechism, the Didache, to
mean that only the baptized should approach the Eucharistic table. This
view is reflected in the canons of the Oriental Churches, introducing a command
in the text of the Mass before Eucharistic prayer, “Let the catechumens,
hearers and unbelievers quit,” and another command before Holy
Communion, “Holy things are for holy people.” The statement
of the Golden Rule, “Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to
them” (Mt 7:12), is Jesus’ positive contribution to
ancient and negative Jewish principles, meaning that real Christianity consists
in doing good to others by loving service and works of mercy. Supplementing the
instructions given by Moses (Dt 30:15-20), Joshua (Dt 24:15), and Jeremiah
(21:8), Jesus challenges his followers to “enter by the narrow gate and take
the hard way that leads to life.”
Life message: 1) Let us learn to reverence and
respect holy things in a holy manner and do to others what we wish them to do
to us. Let us choose Jesus’ narrow way of sacrificial love and humble
service. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/19
June 26 Wednesday: Mt 7:15-20: “Beware
of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are
ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes
gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every sound tree
bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. 18 A sound tree
cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree
that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20
Thus you will know them by their fruits.
The context: In today’s Gospel passage, taken
from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives his Church a warning against false
prophets and their false doctrines. Jesus compares them to wolves in sheep’s
clothing and tells us we can recognize them by observing the lives they lead
and the doctrines they teach.
False and true prophets: The Old Testament speaks of false
prophets and how they mislead God’s people. Jeremiah 23:9-40 is a classic
example. The prophet condemns the false prophets of Baal. The Old Testament
gives three signs of true prophets: a) they honor God and promote the worship
of the one true God; b) they care for the poor; c) they fight for justice.
Modern false prophets in the Church try to remove the cross from Christianity,
dilute sin, avoid teaching about God’s judgment and teach that morality is
relative, which God abhors: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,
who change darkness into light and light into darkness” (Is 5:20).
They try to separate the people of God from the Magisterium of the Church. But
modern true prophets lead exemplary and righteous lives, obey God’s laws and
the Church laws and demonstrate the virtues of Faith, Hope, Charity, Justice,
Prudence, Fortitude and Temperance. In addition, they produce the fruits of the
Holy Spirit. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians
5:22-23).
Life message: 1) As Christians, we participate
in the prophetic role of Christ. Hence, we have the duty of leading others to
Christ by our exemplary Christian lives. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/19
June 27 Thursday (St. Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop, Doctor
of the Church): Matthew 7:21-29: 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. 22 On that day many will say to me, `Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and
do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, `I
never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.’ 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 ….29
The context: Today’s Gospel is the concluding
part of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus gives us two warnings: 1) that we
must match our profession of Faith with actual obedience to the will of God and
2) that we must build our life on the firm foundation of his teachings.
Jesus warns us against hypocrisy and challenges us to make a radical commitment
to his word by putting it into action.
Criterion for entrance to Heaven: In the first part of the
Gospel for today, Jesus asserts that fidelity, both in Faith and in its
practice, is what gives one admission into the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus
is speaking about the future leaders in his Church who will prophesy, cast out
demons, and accomplish deeds of power in the cause of Christ without stopping
to reflect on whether they are obeying Jesus and living according to his
ideals. Fine words can never be a substitute for fine deeds. We may
deceive men with our words, but we cannot deceive God who reads our hearts.
That is why the Apostle James advises us in his epistle, “Be doers of the
word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1: 22).
The obedient wise man and the non-obedient fool: 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, right in
the rainy season flood-plain of a river.
Life messages: 1) We need to build our family on a
strong foundation: There can be no great marriage and no great
family without a solid foundation, and that foundation begins with the husband
and wife doing and being the love of Christ for each other and for their
children. The members of the family must love one another the way Jesus
wants us to love, to forgive each other as he teaches, and to become servants
of one another the way Jesus was to everyone.
2) We need to synchronize our living with our profession of
Faith: The test of our Sunday worship is the effect it has on us in our homes
and workplaces and the way it influences our relationships with friends and
neighbors. The great test is the care, consideration, and sensitivity we
show to our neighbors, many of whom would otherwise lack affection, words of
encouragement, and forgiveness. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/19
June 28 Friday (The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus): Luke 15:
3-7:
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the second popular
Catholic devotion among Catholics, the first being the Rosary. The infinite
love and mercy of God is shown in many different metaphors and symbols like the
Baby in the manger, the Good Shepherd, the Crucifix, the Sacred Heart, and the
Divine Mercy Picture. The devotion to the Sacred Heart is based on
the apparitions of Our Lord from 1673 to 1675 to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a
nun of the Visitation Convent at Paray-le-Monial in France. The Gospel
passage, “They shall look on him whom they have pierced” (Jn
19:35-37) lies at the foundation of the whole tradition of devotion to the
Divine Heart. The practices of the “Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of
Jesus” in the home and the “Consecration and dedication of the
family to the Sacred Heart” were begun by Fr. Mateo Crawley-Boevey of the
Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and were later approved by
the popes. Official and social recognition of the rule of Jesus over the
Christian family is the purpose of the consecration of the family to the Sacred
Heart of Jesus. The “Holy Hour,” the “Litany of the Sacred Heart,”
“The Act of Consecration of the Family and the Human Race to the Sacred
Heart,” the “First Friday Devotion” and the “Novena to the Sacred
Heart of Jesus” are different forms of this devotion.
Life Messages: 1) An invitation for heart
transplant. Our hearts become stony and insensitive through our daily exposure
to acts of cruelty, terrorism, injustice and impurity. Hence God prescribes a
change of heart through His prophet Ezekiel (Ez 11:19-20) to make
our hearts soft, elastic, large and sensitive:” I will give them a new heart
and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the stony heart from their
bodies and replace it with a natural heart.” The Sacred Heart of Jesus should
be the ideal heart for this medical procedure because Jesus said, “Learn
of me I am meek and humble of heart.” Let us ask to have the heart of
Jesus.
2) An invitation to love. The Sacred Heart of
Jesus challenges us to love others as Jesus loved, selflessly, unconditionally
and sacrificially, and to express this love in humble and loving service done
to others.
c) An invitation to pray:
First, let us continue to pray for the grace of healing for those who have been
the victims of sexual abuse by the clergy as the Church expresses its sorrow
and seeks forgiveness from these victims. Let us also pray that these victims
may, in turn, accept the grace to forgive those who have harmed and betrayed
them. Second, let us pray for the grace of courage for our bishops to be true
shepherds in caring for their flocks; in restoring discipline in clerical and
religious life and in ending the dissent that has undermined the Magisterium.
Third, let us pray for the grace of perseverance, that clergy and laity alike will
keep the Faith and not lose hope in difficult time of purification. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/19
June 29 Saturday (Saints Peter and Paul,
Apostles): (Saints Peter & Paul the Apostles): Mt 16: 13-19: 13
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his
disciples, “Who do men say that the Son of man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say
John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the
prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”16 Simon Peter
replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered
him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed
this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter,
and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not
prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and
whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on
earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Peter and Paul are the
principal pillars of the Church. Today we celebrate the feast of their
martyrdom. Peter was son of Jona and brother of Andrew. He was
a professional fisherman from Bethsaida, a fishing town on the Lake of Galilee
or Gennesaret. He might have been a follower of John the Baptist. It was his
brother, Andrew, who introduced him to Jesus, and Jesus who changed his name
from Simon to Cephas or Peter. Jesus made Peter the leader of his apostles. At
Caesarea Philippi, he promised to make Peter the head of his Church, and the
risen Jesus confirmed Peter’s precedence. It was Peter’s speech on the day of
the Pentecost, which inaugurated the Church. He made missionary journeys to
Lydda, Joppa and Caesarea He also offered the decisive argument settling the
question of Gentile converts and the Jewish Law at the first Council in
Jerusalem. He wrote two epistles to the whole Church and he was martyred in
Rome by crucifixion under the emperor Nero.
Paul, the “Apostle to the Gentiles” and the
greatest apostolic missionary, was a Roman citizen by birth as he had been born
in the Roman colony of Tarsus. His original name was Saul. As a Pharisee, he
was sent to Jerusalem by his parents to study the Mosaic Law under the great
rabbi Gamaliel. As a student, he learned the trade of tent-making. He was
present at the stoning of Stephen and “consented to” this deed
(Acts 8:1). But he was miraculously converted on his way to Damascus to arrest
the Christians. He made several missionary journeys, converted hundreds of Jews
and Gentiles and established Church communities. Paul wrote 14 epistles. He was
arrested and kept in prison for two years in Caesarea and lived under house
arrest for two more years in Rome. Finally, he was martyred by beheading at Tre
Fontane in Rome.
Life Messages: 1) Just as Peter and the other
apostles did, we must open our eyes, ears and hearts wide to see, hear and
experience the Risen Lord coming to our life in various forms, circumstances
and events. 2) We need to love, obey and pray for Pope Francis and the bishops
and priests who are the successors of Peter and the Apostles as they continue
the work of the Risen Lord with and for us. (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
