Dec 23 Monday: (St. John of Canty, Priest)
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-john-kanty/ Luke 1:57-66: 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. USCCB video:
https://youtu.be/d12ht3GCNLA?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9
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. Fr. Tony
(http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2019
Dec 24 Tuesday: Lk 1:67-79: 67 And his father
Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, 68 “Blessed
be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people, 69 and
has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be
saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to perform the
mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath
which he swore to our father Abraham, 74 to grant us that we, being delivered
from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and
righteousness before him all the days of our life. 76 And you, child, will be
called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare
his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of
their sins, 78 through the tender mercy of our God, when the day shall dawn
upon us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the
shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” USCCB video:
https://youtu.be/7av1BY15VmQ?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9
The context: Today’s Gospel gives the prophetic hymn which
Zechariah, filled with Holy Spirit, sang on the eighth day after his son John’s
birth when all had assembled for the Naming and Circumcision ceremony. Although
the Jews generally believed that Elijah the prophet would return to earth to
prepare the way for the Messiah, Zechariah prophetically sang here that it was
his son, John, who was going to prepare the way for the Messiah, Jesus.
Zechariah’s prophecy contains four steps of the Christian
way we are supposed to take. 1) Preparation: Our life must be a preparation,
leading us to our eternal salvation, enabling us to walk through/with/in
Christ, the only sure Way.
2) Correct knowledge of the only true God: Jesus Christ is
our Lord and Savior who taught us that God His Father is a loving and forgiving
Father Who saved us through His son Jesus.
3) Forgiveness of sins: This is the restoring of our broken
relationship with God, accomplished through the suffering, death and
Resurrection of Jesus.
4) Walking in the way of peace: Peace is not the absence of
trouble. It is the fullness of everything needed for man’s highest good. Jesus
instituted in his Church all the means necessary for us to attain our highest
good. He gave us the Holy Spirit, the Holy Bible, the Sacraments and the
centralized teaching authority of his Church, with Mary and the saints as role
models and praying companions for our journey. Fr. Tony
(http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2019
Dec 24 Evening Tuesday: Christmas Vigil: Is 62:1-5; Acts
13:16-17, 22-25; Mt 1:1-25 [1:18-25]: Introduction: The Scripture lessons for
today focus on the first Christmas, or the birth of Jesus, which we celebrate
today in all its solemnity. We are celebrating the fulfillment of the
prophecies about our merciful God who sent His own Son to save a sinful world.
Scripture lessons: In the first reading, Isaiah prophesies
how the God of Israel will honor the desolate and forsaken Jerusalem and land
of Israel by espousing her as a man marries a virgin and makes her a mother.
Yahweh does this by sending His long-awaited Messiah into Israel to possess it
and rule over it. The Messiah will vindicate Israel and save her. Through His
prophet Isaiah, the Lord God wished to inspire the hopeless Israelites,
returned from the Babylonian exile, to plant crops and make their desolate land
fertile and prosperous so that she might be able to hold up her head again
among the other nations. In the second
reading, St. Paul recounts the history of God’s mercy to Israel, His chosen
people. God showed His mercy to His chosen people of Israel by fulfilling the
prophecy about His long-awaited Messiah. He sent His Son as the Savior and the
descendant of David. The Gospel reviews the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew
1:1-17), tracing his descent from Abraham through David as foretold by the
prophet, then describies his birth at Bethlehem (1:18-25), as our Savior
through the working of the Holy Spirit.
The Gospel also shows how God resolved the doubts of Joseph by sending
His angel, first to reassure Joseph, then to instruct him to name the child
Jesus. The name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Yehosua, which means
”Yahweh is salvation.” Just as the first Joshua (successor of Moses), saved the
Israelites from their enemies, the second Joshua (Jesus) would save them from
their sins.
Life messages: 1) We need to allow the Savior to be reborn
in our lives. Let us remember the
famous lines of Alexander Pope: “What do I profit if Jesus is born in thousands
of cribs all over the world during this Christmas, but is not born in my
heart?” Let us allow Him to be reborn
in our lives during Christmas 2019 and every day of the New Year 2020. Let us
show the good will and generosity of sharing with others Jesus, our Savior
reborn in our hearts, by love, kindness, mercy, forgiveness and humble service.
2) We need to look for Jesus in unlikely places and
persons. The message of Christmas is
that we can truly find Jesus if we look in the right places –- in the streets, in slums, in asylums, in
orphanages, in nursing homes –- starting in our own homes, workplaces and town.
God challenges us to be like the shepherds who overcame their fear in order to
seek out Jesus, or like the Wise Men who traveled a long distance to find Him.
Then we will have the true experience of Christmas – the joy of the Savior. Fr.
Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2019
Dec 25 Wednesday: Christmas – Thematic homily on why
we rejoice at Christmas:
USCCB video:
https://youtu.be/45XWu2YsWZ0?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9
1: First, Christmas is the Feast of God’s sending us a Savior:
God undertook the Incarnation of Jesus as True God and true man to save us from
the bondage of sin. The Hindus believe in ten incarnations of God. The purpose
of these incarnations is stated in their Holy Scripture, Bagavath Geetha or
Song of God. “God incarnates to restore righteousness in the world whenever
there is a large-scale erosion of moral values.” (“Dharma samstaphanarthe
sambhavami yuge yuge.”). But the Christian Scriptures teach only one
Incarnation, and its purpose is given in John 3:16: “God so loved the world
that He sent His only Son so that everyone who believes in Him may not die but
have eternal life.” We celebrate the
Incarnation of God as a Baby today as Good News because we have a Divine Savior.
As our Savior, Jesus liberated us from slavery to sin and atoned for our sins
by his suffering, death and Resurrection. So, every Christmas reminds us that
we need a Savior every day, to free us from our evil addictions and unjust,
impure and uncharitable tendencies. Christmas 2019 also challenges us to accept
Jesus in the manger as our saving God and personal Savior and to surrender our
lives to him, allowing him to rule our hearts and lives every day in the New
Year.
# 2: Second, Christmas is the Feast of God’s sharing His
love with us: Jesus, as our Savior, brought the “Good News” that our God is a
loving, forgiving, merciful and rewarding God and not a judgmental, cruel and
punishing God. He demonstrated by his life and teaching how God our Heavenly
Father loves us, forgives us, provides for us and rewards us. All his miracles
were signs of this Divine Love. Jesus’ final demonstration of God’s love for us
was his death on the cross to atone for our sins and to make us children of
God. Each Christmas reminds us that sharing love with others is our Christian
privilege and duty, and every time we do that, Jesus is reborn in our lives.
Let us face this question, “What does it profit me if Jesus is born in
thousands of cribs all over the world and He is not born in my heart?” (Alexander Pope). Hence, let us allow Jesus
to be reborn in our hearts and lives, not only during Christmas, but every day,
so that he may radiate the light of his presence from within us as sharing and
selfless love, expressed in compassionate words and deeds, unconditional
forgiveness, the spirit of humble service and overflowing generosity.
# 3: Third, Christmas is the Feast of the Emmanuel (God
living with us and within us): Christmas is the feast of the Emmanuel because
God in the New Testament is a God who continues to live with us in all the
events of our lives as the “Emmanuel” announced by the angel to Mary. As
Emmanuel, Jesus lives in the Sacraments (especially in the Holy Eucharist), in
the Bible, in the praying community and in each believer as the Holy Spirit residing
in us makes us His “Temples.” Christmas reminds us that we are bearers of God
with the missionary privilege and duty of conveying Jesus to those around us by
loving them as Jesus did, through sacrificial, humble and committed service.
Sharing with others Jesus, the Emmanuel living within us, is the best Christmas
gift we can give, or receive, today. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2019
Dec 26 Thursday: (Martyrdom of St. Stephen, First
Martyr) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-stephen/: Acts 6:8-10, 7:54-59,
Mt 10:17-22: 17 Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and
flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and
kings for my sake, to bear testimony before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they
deliver you up, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say;
for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour; 20 for it is not you
who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will
deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise
against parents and have them put to death; 22 and you will be hated by all for
my name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. USCCB video:
https://youtu.be/QtXb3j8-fjo?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9
Life and death of St. Stephen: Today’s first reading, taken
from the Acts of the Apostles, describes the death of Stephen, the first martyr
in the history of the Church. Stephen was a zealous Greek convert from Judaism
to Christianity chosen by the community and accepted by the Apostles to serve
as one of the seven earliest deacons in the Church. He was to help meet the material
needs of Greek Christian widows in Jerusalem who had complained that they were
being slighted in favor of Hebrew Christian widows in the matter of Church
assistance. Stephen was chosen for this ministry of helping the poor because he
had good character and was filled with the Holy Spirit. But he was arrested by
the Sanhedrin because he was converting numerous Jews to Christianity, and the
Jewish leaders could not win against him with arguments. The jealous Jews
arranged false witnesses against Stephen. These men accused him of blaspheming
against Yahweh and Moses. In his final defense speech before his judges in the
Sanhedrin, Stephen, inspired by the Holy Spirit as Jesus had promised all His
disciples they would be when called to bear witness to Him, bravely and
eloquently defended his belief in Jesus as the promised Messiah. He accused the
Jews of unbelief and explained that the sacrifices and sacrificial Laws given
by Moses were temporary. When Stephen suddenly announced that he could see
Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father, the infuriated Jews mobbed him,
dragged him out of the city and stoned him to death. Obeying Jesus, Stephen
prayed loudly for his executioners during the stoning and bore heroic witness
to Jesus by his death.
Life message: St. Stephen teaches us how to bear witness to
Christ bravely in our lives, when our Faith and its practice are questioned or
challenged. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2019
Dec 27 Friday: St. John, Apostle and Evangelist:
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-john-the-apostle/ Jn 20:2-8: 2 So she ran, and went to Simon
Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They
have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid
him.” 3 Peter then came out with the other disciple, and they went toward the
tomb. 4 They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb
first; 5 and stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he
did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb;
he saw the linen cloths lying, 7 and the napkin, which had been on his head,
not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the
other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and
believed. USCCB video:
https://youtu.be/kQYxAoOR4mU?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9
St. John, Apostle and Evangelist: John was the son of Zebedee the fisherman and
Salome, a close relative of Mary. John and his brother, James the Greater, were
fishermen, partners of Peter and Andrew; they were disciples of John the
Baptist before they were called by Jesus as his Apostles. John’s name is
mentioned always after his brother’s name in Matthew, Mark and the Acts of the
Apostles. John was the Apostle beloved by Jesus and one of the three
constituting Jesus’ inner circle of friends who witnessed Jesus’ raising of the
daughter of Jairus from the dead, His Transfiguration on the mountain, and His
agony in the garden of Gethsemane. After fleeing with the others from
Gethsemane, John returned and remained faithful to Jesus at the palace of the
High Priest on the day Jesus was arrested. Further, John had the courage to be
at the foot of the cross, supporting and consoling Mary. He was entrusted by
Jesus with the care of His mother, a charge he would fulfill until her death,
and, after the Resurrection, John was the one who recognized the risen Jesus
first on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
Missionary activities: With Peter, John played a prominent
role in founding and guiding the Church. John was with Peter when the latter
healed the lame man (Acts 3:1), was in prison with him (Acts 4:3) and was with
him when Peter visited the new Christians in Samaria (Acts 8:14). John left for
Asia Minor and Ephesus when King Herod Agrippa I started persecuting
Christians. He returned to Jerusalem in AD 51 to attend the Jerusalem Council.
According to tradition, when the attempt of Emperor Domitian to murder John by
putting him in boiling oil failed, John was exiled to Patmos Island. As an
Evangelist, John wrote five books of the New Testament: The Gospel according to
John, three epistles and the Book of Revelation. He preached always about God’s love in his
old age. Returning to Ephesus, John lived there, dying when he was one hundred
years old. John reminds us of the greatest commandment of love given by Jesus:
“Love one another as I have loved you.” Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2019
Dec 28 Saturday: Feast of the Holy Innocents,
Martyrs: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/holy-innocents/ Mt 2:13-18: 13 Now when they had departed,
behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise,
take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell
you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he
rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, 15 and
remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had
spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt have I called my son.” 16 Then Herod, when
he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he
sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who
were two years old or under, according to the time which he had ascertained
from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet
Jeremiah: 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel
weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they were no
more.” USCCB video:
https://youtu.be/-Kn7aqDe8lA?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9
This Mass commemorates the deaths of all of those innocents
killed by the order of Herod the Great in his fruitless pursuit of the “newborn
king of the Jews,” as well as the deaths of the untold numbers of innocent
babies slaughtered today by abortion.
The context: Herod the Great had been made the king of Judea
by the Roman Empire although he was not even a Jew. His father was an Idumean and his mother was
an Arab. This cruel king was kept in
power mainly by the Roman army. He brutally executed all suspected rivals to
his throne including his wife, brother and two brothers-in-law. No wonder he was terrified at the news that a
rival king, a descendant of King David, had been born somewhere in Bethlehem,
for this child could someday claim to be the legitimate king of Israel and
Judea! Herod’s anger intensified when he realized that the Magi had not
returned to his royal palace to report the whereabouts of the Child Jesus.
Matthew says that the slaughter of the Innocents was in fulfillment of a
prophecy of the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamenting and
weeping bitterly; it is Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be
comforted for her children, because they are no more.” Ramah was a hill near Bethlehem and the
burial place of Rachel, the wife of the patriarch Jacob. The Jews believed that
she wept bitterly from her tomb when the Jews were taken as slaves by the
Assyrians and later when Herod massacred the babies.
Life message: We need to raise our voice against 21st
century massacre of the Innocents: As in other advanced countries, the cruel
massacre of the innocents continues in North America by state-permitted
abortion. While Herod killed at the most
a hundred children, nearly four thousand unborn babies are slaughtered in the
United States every day. They are killed
because, like the infants of Bethlehem, they are inconvenient. Children are sacrificed also for the most
powerful king of the twenty-first century, Science. Babies are killed in their embryo stage to
harvest their “stem cells” for medical experiments intended to heal the
illnesses of their parents and grandparents. Along with prayer, let us do
everything in our power to stop this brutal murder of the helpless babies. Fr.
Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2019
Dec 30-Jan 4: Dec 30 Monday (St. Egwin)
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-egwin : Luke 2: 36-40, of the tribe of
Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from
her virginity, 37 and as a widow till she was eighty-four. She did not depart
from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And
coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God and spoke of him to all who
were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. 39 And when they had performed
everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to
their own city, Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with
wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him. USCCB video:
https://youtu.be/j2NFFlcgSh0?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9
The context: Today’s Gospel presents Anna the prophetess who
greeted the Baby Jesus as the Redeemer when Joseph presented Mary and the
Infant in the Temple for the purification of the mother and for the
“redemption” of the Baby Jesus.
Anna and her testimony: Anna was an eighty-four-year-old
widow who spent her days in the Temple in fasting and prayer, waiting for the
promised Messiah. She was rewarded with the joy of seeing her Redeemer as a
Baby. In her excitement she praised God and introduced the Infant to others
around her as the expected Messiah.
The Child Jesus’ growth in wisdom and the favor of God:
Commenting on the last sentence of today’s Gospel St. Bede says: “Our Lord
Jesus Christ, as a Child clothed in the fragility of human nature, had to grow
and become stronger. But, as the eternal Word of God, he had no need to become
stronger or to grow. Hence, he is rightly described as full of wisdom and
grace.”
Life message: The
Holy Spirit uses ordinary men and women with simple Faith as His instruments to
bear witness to Christ, his ideals and teachings. Let us cooperate with the
Spirit in everything. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2019
Dec 31 Tuesday (St. Sylvester I, Pope)
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-sylvester-i/ : Jn 1:19-28: 19 And this is
the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to
ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed, “I am
not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said,
“I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 They said to him
then, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say
about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness,
`Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” 24 Now they
had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, “Then why are you
baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” 26 John
answered them, “I baptize with water; but among you stands one whom you do not
know, 27 even he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy
to untie.” 28 This took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was
baptizing. USCCB video:
https://youtu.be/ZVm8Q5ZQ7XE?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DAAsw34PxZGDqnI_bBKNWa9
The context: The news reached the central Jewish religious
authorities in Jerusalem that one John, the son of a Jewish priest, was
preaching repentance and renewal of life to the Jews and inviting them to
receive the baptism of repentance meant only for Gentiles. Hence, the Sanhedrin
sent a delegation of experts to Bethany on the eastern bank of river Jordan
(different from the Bethany near Jerusalem, where Lazarus lived), to discover
whether John was claiming to be the expected Messiah or his forerunner Elijah,
the prophet, and to ask why he encouraged the Chosen People to receive the
baptism of repentance.
John’s witnessing mission: John frankly declared in all
humility that he was not Elijah nor the expected Messiah nor even one of the
Old Testament prophets reincarnated. Later, Jesus referred to him as “a lamp“He
was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in
his light (John 5:35). In the spiritual life, the ideal is to become invisible,
and our role as Christians is to become salt, yeast, grain, and light. But John claimed that he was the forerunner
of the real Messiah and that his mission was to prepare the lives of the Jews
to receive the expected Messiah and to bear witness to him when he should
appear in public. John also explained to them that he was baptizing the Jews
with water because they must be made holy through repenting of their sins and
renewing their lives if they were to receive the most Holy Messiah in their
midst.
Life messages: 1) As
Catholic Christians, we believe in the coming of Jesus our Lord and Savior on
our altars during each Eucharistic celebration. Hence, we, too, need to repent
of our sins and ask God’s pardon and forgiveness on a daily basis if we wish to
receive Jesus into our hearts and lives sacramentally.
2) We, too, need to renew our lives with the help of our
Lord Jesus living within us, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, so
that He may radiate His love, forgiveness and mercy to all around us.
(http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2019
