Aug 10 Monday (St. Lawrence, Deacon, Martyr) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-lawrence/ :
Jn 12:24-26: 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of
wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears
much fruit. 25 He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his
life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me,
he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if anyone
serves me, the Father will honor him. USCCB video reflections:
https://youtu.be/LFMSH-WN_P8?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DCsxhgfi2_b_c88OjjSNmW6
https://youtu.be/LFMSH-WN_P8?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DCsxhgfi2_b_c88OjjSNmW6
The context: Jesus tells us a short parable followed
by two amazing paradoxes. The parable is that of a grain of wheat sown into the
muddy field, growing up and yielding a good crop.The parable followed by the
paradoxes teaches us three lessons for Christian life. The first lesson is that
life comes only through death. Only when the grain of wheat dies in the muddy
soil of the field does it become a seedling. In the same way, the Church would
grow up and flourish in the death of its martyrs. “The blood of the martyrs is
the seed of the Church.” When we die to our personal ambitions and desires, we
are born as useful instruments in the hands of God. The second lesson is that
only by spending life we can retain it. The world owes a lot to saintly people
like St. Don Bosco, St. Vincent De Paul, St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother
Teresa), St. Jeanne Jugan, and St. Damien, among others, who spent their energy
for service of the poor and the downtrodden and gave themselves to God. The
third lesson is that greatness comes through selfless and committed service.
This explains why the world still honors and cherishes the memory of great
souls mentioned above.
Life message: Let us surrender our lives to God
in the service of others with agápe love in all humility,
seeing the face of Jesus in each of them. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/20
Aug 11 Tuesday: St. Clare, Virgin: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-clare-of-assisi/v Matthew
18: 1-5, 10, 12-14: 1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus,
saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a
child, he put him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you,
unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of
heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom
of heaven. 5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; 10 “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.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 mountains and go in search of the one that
went astray? 13 ..14 USCCB video reflections: https://youtu.be/gdczEOQoBKw?list=PLpTzvCOJa7DCsxhgfi2_b_c88OjjSNmW6
The context: Chapter 18 of Matthew’s Gospel is a
“discourse on the Church,” giving leaders of the Church instructions for
administration. Jesus’ apostles shared the Jewish hope that the Messiah would
be a political ruler, and that they would hold important portfolios in the
Messianic kingdom. Hence, in today’s passage (vv 1-5), Jesus warned his
apostles and the future hierarchy of his Church against the natural human
tendencies to pride and ambition. He exhorted the spiritual leaders, as well as
all believers in responsible positions, to be humble, trusting and innocent –
that is, to be like children. The additional parable of the shepherd rejoicing
at the recovery of his lost sheep tells us that our Heavenly Father is very
particular that His little ones should not perish due to our negligence.
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, with trusting Faith in a loving and providing God, to spend their lives
serving others in all humility. Then they will be great in the Kingdom of
Heaven.
Life Messages: 1) We need to practice humility in
thoughts, words and actions. “Learn from me for I am meek and humble of
heart.” “What is the essential thing in the religion and discipline of
Jesus Christ?” St. Augustine asks, and then responds, “I shall reply: first
humility, second humility and third humility.” 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) Since children
reflect the innocence, purity, simplicity and tenderness of our Lord, and since
they are each given the protection of a guardian angel, we are to love them,
train them and take care not to give scandal to them. 5) We need to try to
treat everyone with love and respect because, “Beside each believer stands an
angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life,” (St. Basil) CCC #
336. ((http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/20
Aug 12 Wednesday (St. Jane Frances de Chantal) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-jane-frances-de-chantal/ : Mt
18: 15-20: 15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him
his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have
gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along
with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three
witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church;
and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as
a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on
earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed
in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything
they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or
three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” USCCB
video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm
The context: The first part of today’s
Gospel is one of the difficult passages in Matthew’s Gospel to interpret. Many
Bible commentators think that Jesus never said these things, that probably they
were a later addition by the Church because 1) there was no organized Church at
that time, 2) Jesus never considered a sinner as a hopeless case, and 3) Jesus
loved Gentiles and tax collectors.
The real meaning: What Jesus actually meant was, “Do
whatever you can to make the guilty person realize and confess his fault, thus
helping him to repair the damage he or she has done to his or her personal and
communal relationships.” Jesus seems to suggest the following steps to repair a
broken personal relationship: 1) One-on-one encounter: If you are sure that
somebody has wronged you, tell him lovingly and politely that he has hurt you.
2) The group encounter: If the first step does not work, meet him again in the
company of two or three wise and honorable persons and try to make the culprit
realize what he has done wrong. 3) Parish encounter: If steps one and two do
not work, bring his case to the pastor or to the parish council or the
Christian fellowship. 4) Leave him to Lord’s mercy: If the culprit remains
stubborn, like a Gentile or proud tax collector, continue to pray for him and
leave him to God’s mercy.
Life messages: 1) Let us have the good will and
generosity to accept our mistakes and ask pardon and forgiveness from the
offended victim. 2) Let us also learn to forgive and forget the offenses done
against us (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/20
Aug 13 Thursday (St. Pontian, Pope and Hippolytus,
Priest, Martyrs) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saints-pontian-and-hippolytus/ ): Matthew
18:21-19: 1: 21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how
often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven
times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times
seven.23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished
to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began the reckoning, one was
brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; 25 and as he could not pay,
his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he
had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring
him, `Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out
of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.
28 …35 USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm
The lessons taught by the parable: (1) We must
forgive so that we may be forgiven. Jesus explains this truth after teaching
the prayer, “Our Father.” He warns us, “For if you forgive men their
trespasses, your Heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not
forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Mt
6:14-15). As James states it later, “For judgment is without mercy to
the one who has shown no mercy” (Jas 2:13). Clearly, Divine and human
forgiveness work together.
(2) We represent the greater debtor in the parable; that is,
we owe God the ten thousand talents of the parable. We commit sins every day
and, hence, we need God’s forgiveness every day. The sum total of all the
offenses which our brothers and sisters commit against us is equivalent to the
small debt of the second debtor in the parable, namely 100 denarii. Yet,
shockingly and sadly, we are merciless towards our fellow human beings. The
moral of Jesus’ story is that, as members of a community, we must treat one
another as God has treated each of us. Here is a Divine call to throw away the
calculator when it comes to forgiveness. We must choose the more
honorable path and forgive one another “from the heart.” We have been forgiven
a debt beyond all human paying – the sin of man which God forgave through the
willing, sacrificial death of His own Son, Incarnate in human flesh. Since that
is so, we must forgive others as God has forgiven us. Otherwise, we cannot hope
to receive any mercy ourselves.
Life messages: 1) We need to forgive: Having
experienced forgiveness at the hands of God and God’s people, we are then
called to make it possible for others to experience the same forgiveness. Let
us forgive the person who has wronged us before hatred eats away at our ability
to forgive.
2) Forgiveness will not be easy, but God is there to help
us. We can call on God’s help by offering that individual to God, not by
sitting in judgment, but simply by saying, “Help so-and-so and mend our
relationship.” We may never forget the hurt we have experienced, but we can
choose to forgive. 3) We need to remind ourselves that with God’s grace we have
already forgiven the one that hurt us. As life goes on, we may remember the
incident or occasion that was hurtful. Then let us offer the offender to God’s
mercy and pray for God’s blessings on him or her. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/20
Aug 14 Friday (St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest,
Martyr) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-maximilian-mary-kolbe/ : Mt
19:3-12: 3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking,
“Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you
not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, 5
and said, `For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be
joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no
longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man
put asunder.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a
certificate of divorce, and to put her away?” 8 He said to them, “For your
hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the
beginning it was not so. 9.” 10.. 12 USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm
Jesus’ explanation of a Mosaic sanction: Jesus
explains that Moses’ permission for divorce was only a temporary concession
which was meant to control the growing rate of divorce in Moses’ own time by
introducing a law governing divorce. Jesus adds that it was because of
the hard-heartedness of the Jewish men that Moses allowed such a concession.
By denying the man’s right to divorce, Jesus places the husband and
wife on an equal footing in marriage and teaches that no Mosaic regulation
dealing with a temporary situation can alter the permanence and unity of
marriage.
Jesus’ clear teaching on divorce: Jesus reminds
us that his doctrine goes back to the original intention of God.
Citing the book of Genesis, Jesus says that God made us male
and female and commanded that “the two shall become one flesh.” He
then draws the conclusion that “they are no longer two, but one body”
– partners with equal rights – and he declares that
no man is allowed to separate what God has joined together (Mt 19:6).
Catholic teaching: Based on the NT teachings given
in Mk 10:1-12, Mt 5:31-32; Mt 19:3-9; Lk 16:18; and 1 Cor 7:10-11, the Catholic
Church teaches that marriage is a Sacrament involving both a sacred and legal
contract between a man and a woman and, at the same time, a special Covenant
with the Lord. “Divorce is also a grave offense against
the natural law. Besides, it claims to break the contract, to which
the spouses freely consented, to live with each other till death……
Divorce is immoral also because it introduces disorder into the family
and into society” (CCC #2384, #2385).
Life messages: 1) Let us keep all the families
of our parish in our daily prayers, that the spouses may have a mutual
understanding and appreciation of each other, the willingness to ask pardon and
give pardon, the generosity to forgive and forget, and the good will to serve
each other, because all these virtues help to make a marriage permanent.
2) Let us also pray for all the divorced in the parish and
welcome them as active members of the parish, both those who have remained
single and those who have remarried without annulment. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/20
Aug 15 Saturday: Lk 1:39-56: The
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary(Not a holy day of obligation in the
U. S.). Three Questions answered: Q 1: Do Catholics worship
Mary? Fact 1: Catholics don’t worship or adore Mary because we worship
only God and Mary is not God. Fact 2: We venerate her, honor
her and love her as Jesus’ mother and our Heavenly Mother.
Q 2: Why do Catholics venerate Mary? Mary
herself gives the reason in her “Magnificat” recorded in Luke (1: 48-49): 48: “For
he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages
call me blessed. 49: The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is
his name.”
- God
has honored Mary in four ways, and we honor her because God honored her.
- He chose
her as the mother of His Son, Jesus Christ the Messiah.
- In
preparation for this role, God made her “Full of grace.”
- He
anointed her twice with His Holy Spirit: at the Annunciation and at
Pentecost, making her the most Spirit -filled woman.
- God
allowed her to participate actively in Christ’s suffering and death,
suffering in soul all Jesus suffered in body.
- Mary
is our Heavenly Mother, given to us by Jesus from the cross.
- Mary
is our role model of all virtues, particularly, love, fidelity, humility,
obedience, surrender to the will of God, and patience.
Q 3: Why do we believe that Mary was taken to Heaven
after her death and burial? (Assumption” means that after her death, Mary
was taken into Heaven, both body and soul. The word Assumption comes from the
Latin verb “assumere”, meaning “to take to oneself.” Our Lord, Jesus
Christ took Mary home to himself where he is. It was on November 1, 1950, that,
through the Apostolic Constitution Munificentimus Deus, Pope
Pius XII officially declared the Assumption as a Dogma of Catholic Faith,
giving the following reasons).
- Uninterrupted
tradition in the Catholic Church starting from the first century.
(The first trace of belief in the Virgin’s Assumption can be
found in the apocryphal accounts entitled Transitus Mariae [Latin: “The
Crossing Over of Mary”], whose origin dates to the second and third centuries).
- The
feast is found in all the ancient liturgies
- The
belief in the assumption of Mary is taught by all early Fathers of the
Church, e.g., Origen (died AD 253), St. Jerome (died AD 419) and St.
Augustine (died AD 430).
- Negative
evidence: that Mary’s tomb was never reported or venerated.
- Old
Testament evidence of corporal assumption of Enoch ((Gn 5: 24) and Elijah
(2 Kgs 2:1).
- Theological
reasons: her Immaculate Conception and sinless life.
Life messages: 1) We are challenged to keep ourselves
pure and holy children of a Holy Mother.
