Dec 9: Monday (Immaculate Conception
of Blessed Virgin Mary) (Transferred to Dec 9th Monday and
hence not a Holy Day of obligation in the U. S. in 2019): USCCB: https://youtu.be/jGQQe-PVimw?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9 Introduction: Mary’s
prophecy given in her Magnificat, “Behold all
generations will call me blessed,” was fulfilled when the Catholic Church
declared four dogmas of Faith about her: 1-The Immaculate Conception, 2-The
Perpetual Virginity, 3-The Divine Maternity, 4-The Assumption. The Immaculate
Conception is a dogma based mainly on Christian tradition and theological
reasoning. It was defined in 1854 by Pope Pius IX as a dogma of Faith
through Ineffabilis Deus. Definition: From the first moment of
her conception, Mary was preserved immune from original sin by the singular
grace of God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human
race. (CCC #491). This means that original sanctity, innocence and justice were
conferred upon her, and that she was exempted from all the evil effects of
original sin, excluding sorrow, pain, disease and death which are temporal
penalties given to Adam. (Catholic Encyclopedia).
Basis in Tradition and Scripture: (A) From
tradition: The Immaculate Conception is a dogma originating from sound
Christian tradition. Monks in Palestinian monasteries started celebrating the
feast of the Conception of Our Lady by the end of 7th century.
The feast spread as the Feast of Immaculate Conception in Italy (9th century),
England (11th century), and France (12th century).
Pope Leo VI propagated the celebration and Pope Sixtus IV approved it as a
feast. Finally, in 1854, Pope Pius IX declared the Immaculate Conception to be
a Dogma of Faith. Mary herself approved this in 1858 by declaring to Bernadette
at Lourdes, “I am the Immaculate Conception”. (B) From Holy Scripture: 1-
God purified the prophet Jeremiah in the womb of his mother and anointed John
the Baptist with His Holy Spirit before John’s birth. (Jer 1:5 — “Before I
formed you in the womb of your mother I knew you and before you were born, I
consecrated you”). Hence, it is reasonable that God kept the mother of His
Son free from all sins from the first moment of her origin. 2- The angel
saluted Mary as “full of grace.” The greeting means that she was never,
even for a moment, a slave of sin and the devil. 3- Gen. 3:15– “I will
put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and hers; He will
strike at your head while you strike at His heel.” The woman stands for
Mary, and the promise would not be true if Mary had original sin. (C)-Argument
from reason: 1-If we were allowed to select our mother, we would select the
most beautiful, healthy and saintly lady. So, did God. 2-The All-Holy God
cannot be born from a woman who was a slave of the devil, even for a moment in
her life.
Life messages: 1) Every mother wants her
children to inherit or acquire all her good qualities. Hence, our Immaculate
and holy Heavenly Mother wants us to be holy and pure children. 2) Let us honor
her by practicing her virtues of Faith, obedience and total commitment to her
mission. https://www.franciscanmedia.org/feast-of-the-immaculate-conception/)
(Fr. Tony) L/19
Dec 10 Tuesday: Mt 18: 12-14: 12 What do you
think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray,
does he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go in search of the one that
went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over
it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not
the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should
perish. USCCB reflections: https://youtu.be/G2TyDfMAyMQ?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9
The context: Since the self-righteous Pharisees
who accused Jesus of befriending publicans and sinners could not believe
that God would be delighted at the conversion of sinners, Jesus told them the
parable of the lost sheep and the shepherd’s joy on its discovery, the parable
of the lost coin and the woman’s joy when she found it, and the parable of the
lost and returned son and his Father’s joy on his return. These three
parables defended Jesus’ alliance with sinners and responded to the
criticism that he was welcoming tax collectors and sinners. The central theme
of today’s Gospel is that our God is loving, patient, merciful, and
forgiving. This parable reminds us that we have a God who
welcomes sinners and forgives their sins when they return to Him with genuine
contrition and resolution to amend their lives.
Shepherding in Judaea was a hard and dangerous task.
Pasture was scarce; thorny scrub jungles with wild animals, and vast desert
areas were common, posing constant threats to the wandering sheep. But
the shepherds were famous for their dedicated, sacrificial service, perpetual
vigilance and readiness for action. Two or three
shepherds might be personally responsible for the sheep owned by several
families in a village. If any sheep were missing, one of the
shepherds would go in search of it, sending the other shepherds home with the
flock of sheep. The whole village would be waiting for the return of the
shepherd with the lost sheep and would receive him with shouts of joy and
of thanksgiving.
Life messages: 1) We need to confess our sins to
regain peace and God’s friendship. We have to be humble enough to
recognize that we need God’s forgiveness to be whole. If we have been in sin,
our God is ready to receive and welcome us back, just as Jesus welcomed sinners
in his time. Let us pray today that we may allow God’s love and
forgiveness into our lives.
2) We should also ask God for the courage to
extend this forgiveness to others who have offended us. As we continue
with the celebration of the Holy Mass, let us pray also for God’s Divine Mercy
on those who have fallen away from grace. (Fr. Tony) (https://www.frtonyshomilies.com/)
L/19
Dec 11 Wednesday (St. Damasus I, Pope) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-damasus-i/ ): Mt
11: 28-30: 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am
gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my
yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”USCCB reflections: https://youtu.be/8LB6HLllk2g?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9
The context: In today’s Gospel, Jesus
offers rest to those who labor and are burdened, if they are
ready to accept his easy yoke and light burden. For the
Orthodox Jew, religion was a matter of burdens, namely, 613 Mosaic
laws and thousands of oral interpretations, which dictated every aspect of
life. Jesus invites the overburdened Israel, and us, to take his yoke upon our
shoulders. In Palestine, ox-yokes were made of wood and were carved
to fit the ox comfortably. The yoke of Christ can be seen as the sum of our
Christian responsibilities and duties. Jesus’ yoke is light because it is given
with love. It is the commandment to love others as Jesus did.
Besides, the yoke of Christ is not just a yoke from Christ
but also a yoke with him. So we are not yoked alone to pull
the plow by our own unaided power. We are yoked together with Christ to work
with him using his strength. By saying that his “yoke is easy,” Jesus
means that whatever God sends us is made to fit our needs and our abilities
exactly.
The second part of Jesus’ claim is: “My burden is
light.” Jesus does not mean that his burden is easy to carry, but
that it is laid on us in love. This burden is meant to be carried in love, and
love makes even the heaviest burden light. By following Jesus,
one will find peace, rest, and real refreshment. We are burdened with many
things: business, concerns about jobs, marriage, money, health, children,
security, old age, and a thousand other things. Jesus is asking
us to give him our burdens and take on his yoke. By telling us, “Take my
yoke . . . and you will find rest,” Christ is asking us to do things the
Christian way. When we are centered in God, when we follow God’s commandments,
we have no heavy burdens.
Life messages: 1) We need to be freed from
unnecessary burdens: Jesus is interested in lifting off our backs the burdens
that drain us and suck the life out of us, so that he can
place around our necks his own yoke and his burden, that bring to us, and to
others through us, new life, new energy, new joy.
2) We need to unload our burdens before the Lord. One of the
functions of worship for many of us is that it gives us a time for rest and
refreshment, when we let the overheated radiators of our hectic lives cool down
before the Lord. This is especially true when we unload the burdens of our sins
and worries and evil addictions on the altar and offer them to God during the
Holy Mass. (Fr. Tony) (https://www.frtonyshomilies.com/) L/19
Dec 12 Thursday USA: Our Lady of Guadalupe (https://blog.franciscanmedia.org/franciscan-spirit/our-lady-of-guadalupe Lk
1: 26-38 or 39-47: USCCB reflections: https://youtu.be/G2TyDfMAyMQ?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9
Most of us know the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe. On
December 9, 1531, an elderly Indian man named Juan Diego had a vision of Mary,
the mother of Jesus, at Tepeyac, a poor Mexican Indian village outside Mexico
City. Mary directed Juan Diego to tell his Bishop to build a Church in Tepeyac.
The Spanish Bishop, however, dismissed the Indian’s tale as mere superstition.
But to humor Juan Diego, the Bishop demanded that the visionary bring some sort
of proof. Three days later, the Virgin Mary appeared again and told Juan Diego
to pick the exquisitely beautiful roses that had miraculously bloomed amidst
December snows, and take them as a sign to the Bishop. When Juan Diego opened
his poncho to present the roses to the Bishop, the flowers poured out from his
poncho to reveal an image of the Virgin Mary painted on the inside of the
poncho. That image hangs today in the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City and
is venerated by thousands of pilgrims from all over the world. This apparition
occasioned the conversion of nine million Indians to Christianity in twenty
years. It is estimated that ten million pilgrims visit the Basilica every year.
The original Church was built in 1533, the second in 1556 and the third in
1709. The Virgin of Guadalupe was declared the Patroness of Latin
America by Pope St. Pius X (1907), Queen of Mexico and Empress
of America by Pope Pius XII (1945), Mother of America by
Pope St. John XXXIII (1961) and Star of Evangelization by Pope
St. John Paul II (1979).
Life messages: 1) The story
of the apparition tells us how Jesus, as Emmanuel, and Mary his mother, want to
be among us, especially among the poor, the downtrodden and the marginalized in
society who have neither voice nor political or social influence. That is why
Our Lady appeared to a poor Indian in a village, not as a white woman but as a
brown-skinned Indian princess, speaking his native Nahuatal language,
and why Mary did not appear to any of the Spanish overlords. God wanted the
Basilica in honor of Jesus’ mother built in the village, not in the city.
2) The vision challenges us to listen to the ordinary people
who do not look or act like important people and to treat them with reverence.
While it is true that God loves each and every one of us, there is a special
place in God’s heart for the poor and the powerless – God’s preferential option
for the poor. So the feast challenges us to see and serve Jesus in the poor and
the broken-hearted in our communities.
Anecdote: About sixteen years ago a priest (Fr. Phil Bloom) received
a very unusual request: A young woman asked him if he would help her get
rid of her unborn child. The priest was obviously surprised, but he tried
not to react negatively. “Why do you want to end your pregnancy?” he
asked. She replied that when she told her boyfriend, he said he was going
to leave her. She loved him and desperately wanted him back. The priest
resisted the temptation to say, “your boyfriend is a rat.” Instead he
asked her to do three things: First, to allow the priest to pray with her and
bless the baby. Second, to see a medical professional that he knew.
And, third, to watch a short video. The video showed the development of
the human embryo. After she left, the priest thought about the young woman and
wondered what she would do. In his room he had a picture of Our Lady of
Guadalupe. He noticed the black ribbon below her folded hands and he
remembered that the ribbon signified pregnancy. The child within her, of
course, is Jesus. The priest asked Our Lady to help that young woman. A
month or so passed. The priest heard a knock on his office door.
When he opened the door, he saw a shy, smiling face. It was the young
woman. she told the priest she had decided to keep her baby. A year later he
saw her again. She was holding a lovely baby girl. After some
conversation, the priest asked her, “Would you give up your baby for
anything?” “No,” she said, “she is my treasure.” The
girl is now a teenager. She lives with her mom and grandmother. In
their home they have a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe that the priest gave to
mom.* (http://www.homilies.net/e/E-10-12-12.asp).
(Fr. Tony) ( https://www.frtonyshomilies.com/) L/19
Dec 13 Friday (St. Lucy, Virgin, Martyr) (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-lucy/ ):
Matt 11: 16-19: 16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is
like children sitting in the market places and calling to their playmates, 17
`We piped to you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ 18
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, `He has a demon’; 19
the Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, `Behold, a glutton and a
drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by
her deeds.” (Cfr. Luke 7: 31-35). USCCB reflections: https://youtu.be/SmoFweBCwUY?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9 cfm
The context: The message of John the Baptist and
the message of Jesus fell on deaf ears and met with stiff resistance from the
self-righteous Scribes and the Pharisees because of their jealousy, prejudice
and spiritual blindness. Hence, they attributed the austerities of John the
Baptist to the devil and Jesus’ table fellowship with sinners as gluttony,
evidence contraindicating any messianic possibility. In today’s Gospel, Jesus
compares these Scribes and Pharisees to irresponsible street-children.
Dog-in-the-manger attitude: Jesus compares the attitude of
the Scribes and the Pharisees to that of street-children who want to entertain
themselves by playing wedding and funeral songs. They divide themselves into
two groups. But when one group proposes to sing wedding songs and asks the
other group to dance, the second group will propose funeral songs and ask the
first group to carry one of them on their shoulders as they act out a funeral
procession. In the end both groups will be frustrated. Jesus states that the
Scribes and Pharisees act exactly like these irresponsible and immature
children because of their pride and prejudice. Jesus criticizes the unbelieving
Jews for not listening either to John the Baptist, who preached a message of
austerity and repentance, or to Jesus, who preached the good news of love,
mercy and salvation.
Life messages: 1) Jesus’ parable about
disappointed playmates challenges us to examine whether we are buffet Catholics
with selective hearing, so that we hear only what we want to hear. Jesus’ message
of the kingdom of God is Good News and it produces true joy
and spiritual freedom for those who will listen, but it is also a warning for
those who refuse to listen and close their minds. 2) Hearing the
Gospel implies the total acceptance and assimilation of what we hear and the
incorporation of it into our daily lives. Like the generation of Jesus’ time,
our age is marked by indifference and contempt, especially in regard to the
things of Heaven. Indifference dulls our ears to God’s voice and to the Good
News of the Gospel. Only the humble of heart can find joy and favor in God’s
grace. ((Fr. Tony) (https://www.frtonyshomilies.com/) L/19
Dec 14 Saturday (St. John of the Cross, Priest, Doctor of
the Church) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-john-of-the-cross/ :
Matthew 17: 9-13: 9 And as they were coming down the
mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of man
is raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the
scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 11 He replied, “Elijah does come, and
he is to restore all things; 12 but I tell you that Elijah has already come,
and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the
Son of man will suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that
he was speaking to them of John the Baptist. USCCB reflections: https://youtu.be/VavUHh6YvpU?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9 cfm
The context: Today’s Gospel describes the
warning and instruction given by Jesus to Peter, James and John as they were
coming down the mountain after witnessing Jesus’ Transfiguration. Jesus forbade
them to give any publicity to what they had seen, because people were expecting
a conquering political messiah with Elijah as his forerunner, and a powerful
reformer who would destroy evil and restore justice in the land for the messiah
to rule.
The Expected Messiah. Then Jesus indicated that he was the
expected Messiah, and that John was the Elijah they had been waiting for.
John’s mission was to prepare the way for the first coming of the Messiah, as
Elijah’s mission would be to prepare the world for the Messiah’s second coming
at the end of the world. The scribes misunderstood and taught that Elijah would
come before the first coming of Jesus, the Messiah, and Jesus told
his disciples that for those who were willing to believe it, John the Baptist
had served as Elijah in announcing His own coming and preparing the people to
receive Him. Jesus also reminded his disciples that he would fulfill his role
as the Messiah not by gaining political power but by his suffering and death.
Life messages: 1) Let us accept Jesus as our
Lord and Savior, who became our Messiah through his death on the cross. 2) We
do so by cooperating with our Savior in our eternal salvation, by obeying his
commandment of love and by following the instructions given by the Church Jesus
founded. (Fr. Tony) (https://www.frtonyshomilies.com/) L/19
