Aug 24 Monday (St. Bartholomew/Nathaniel,
Apostle) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-bartholomew/ : Friday Jn
1:43-51: 43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. And he
found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida,
the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, “We
have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of
Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
The context: In today’s Gospel of John (John
1:43-51), Nathanael, also called Bartholomew or “son of Tholomay,” is introduced
as a friend of Philip. He is described as initially being skeptical about the
Messiah coming from Nazareth, saying: “Can anything good come out of
Nazareth?” But he accepts Philip’s invitation to meet Jesus. Jesus
welcomes him saying, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no
guile!” Jesus’ comment, “Before Philip called you, when you
were under the fig tree, I saw you” is probably based on a Jewish
figure of speech referring to studying the Torah because the rabbi used
to give Bible classes for small groups under the shade of fig trees. Nathanael
immediately recognizes Jesus as “the Son of God” and “the King of
Israel.” Nathanael reappears at the end of John’s Gospel (John
21:2), as one of the disciples to whom Jesus appeared at the Sea of Tiberius after
his Resurrection from
the tomb. The Gospels thus present Bartholomew as a man with no malice and
lover of Torah with openness to truth and readiness to accept the truth.
Nathanael was the first Apostle to make an explicit confession of Faith in
Jesus as the Messiah and as the Son of God.
Life messages: 1) Let us pray for the grace to
love the word of God as Bartholomew did. 2) Let us also pray that we may accept
the teaching of the Bible and the Church with open heart and open mind, without
pride or prejudice. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
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Aug 25 Tuesday (St. Louis IX, King of France; https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-louis-of-france/ St.
Joseph Calasanz, Priest) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-joseph-calasanz/ : Scripture: Matthew
22:23-33 : 23 The same day Sadducees came to him, who
say that there is no resurrection; and they asked him a question, 24 saying,
“Teacher, Moses said, `If a man dies, having no children, his brother must
marry the widow, and raise up children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were
seven brothers among us; the first married, and died, and having no children
left his wife to his brother. 26 So too the second and third, down to the
seventh. 27 After them all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore,
to which of the seven will she be wife? For they all had her.” 29 But Jesus
answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the
power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in
marriage but are like angels in heaven. 31 And as for the resurrection of the
dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, 32 `I am the God of
Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the
dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at
his teaching. USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm
The context: Jesus reached Jerusalem for his
final Passover feast. He wept over Jerusalem, cleansed the Temple and started
teaching there. As part of a well-planned plot to trap Jesus, the chief
priests, the scribes, and the Pharisees met him with controversial questions.
When Jesus ingeniously escaped from the first two traps, the Sadducees asked a
question concerning the marital state after the resurrection. The
challenge to Jesus was clear: do you believe in the written Torah
which is silent on the resurrection or do you side with the Pharisees,
accepting their belief in the resurrection based on oral traditions
and interpretations, and thus subjecting Moses to ridicule? The
trap: Sadducees did not believe in resurrection of the dead because they
claimed that Moses wrote nothing about it. If Jesus defended the
concept of the resurrection, he would anger the Sadducees. If he failed
to do so, he would anger the Pharisees. In either case he would alienate
one group. Hence, in their hypothetical question, they asked Jesus who, in
Heaven, would be the husband of the woman who had been married in succession to
seven brothers (levires), and had died childless. Jesus goes on the
offensive as defense: Jesus begins his counterargument by pointing out the
ignorance of the Sadducees about the existence and nature of life after death
with God. Then he goes on the offensive, making two points. First, he provides
positive Biblical proof for the reality of resurrected existence. Jesus is
presuming that Yahweh’s burning bush statement (about being the God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob), was made in the present tense. This would prove these three
patriarchs were still alive at the time of Moses, 600 years after their
deaths. Since God declared Himself to be God of the patriarchs, He
must somehow still be sustaining the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob thus granting them resurrection and eternal life. With this
argument, Jesus uses the Sadducees’ sacred text of the Torah to refute their
anti-resurrection belief, thus proving the resurrection of the body from
the Torah itself. Second, Jesus explains that the afterlife will not be just an
eternal replay of this life. Things will be different after death. Normal human
relations, including marriage, will be transformed. Finally, Jesus tells the
Sadducees that those to whom God has granted resurrection and heavenly life
with Him will be immortal, like the angels and hence “children of God.”
Life messages: 1) We need to live the lives of
“resurrection people”: That is, we are not to lie buried in the tomb
of our sins and evil habits. Instead, we are to live joyful and peaceful lives,
constantly experiencing the Real Presence of the resurrected Lord in the
Eucharist and in our personal lives, who gives us the assurance that our bodies
also will be raised. The salutary thought of our own resurrection
and eternal glory should also inspire us to honor our bodies, keeping them
holy, pure and free from evil habits and to respect those with whom we come in
contact, rendering them loving and humble service(http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
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Aug 26 Wednesday: Matthew 23:27-32: 27
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitewashed
tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men’s
bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to men,
but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29 “Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the
monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, `If we had lived in the days of our
fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the
prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those
who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. USCCB
video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm
The context: Today’s passage, again taken from
chapter 23 of Matthew’s Gospel, gives the seventh and eighth accusations Jesus
made against the Pharisees on the third day of the original “Holy Week” in
Jerusalem, as he addressed them in the Temple precincts. Jesus told them
plainly that they were whitewashed tombs containing rotten stuff inside.
Hypocrisy exposed: Jesus compared the scribes and
Pharisees to the tombs on the sides of the road leading to Jerusalem. In
preparation for the three major Jewish feasts, the Scribes and Pharisees used
to have these tombs whitewashed, so that the pilgrims would not be ritually
defiled by unknowingly walking over one. In this seventh charge, Jesus accused
the Pharisees of moral filth, of hiding injustice and immorality inside themselves
and covering the corruption with “whitewash” — the pretenses of piety and
religious fervor. In his eighth and final indictment, Jesus also criticized
their false zeal in decorating the old monuments and rebuilding new monuments
for the past prophets who had been persecuted and murdered by the forefathers
of the Pharisees because these modern Pharisees had neither learned nor been
changed by the messages of the now-dead prophets.
Life messages: 1) We need to be men and women of
integrity and character without any element of hypocrisy in our Christian life.
2) We should not make a show of holiness and religious fervor when we are not
internally holy. Here is St. John Chrysostom’s (4th century)
comment on the matter: “You have been counted worthy to become temples
of God. But you have instead suddenly become more like sepulchers, having the
same sort of foul smell. This is dreadful. It is extreme wretchedness that one
in whom Christ dwells and in whom the Holy Spirit has worked such great works
should turn out to be a sepulcher, a place for death, carrying a dead soul – a
soul deadened by sins, a soul paralyzed – in a living body.” (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
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Aug 27 Thursday (St. Monica): https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-monica/
Matthew 24: 42-51: 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know on what
day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the householder had known in
what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not
have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready; for the
Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 45 “Who then is the faithful
and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them
their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master when
he comes will find so doing. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all
his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, `My master is
delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with
the drunken, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not
expect him and at an hour he does not know, 51 and will punish him, and put him
with the hypocrites; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. USCCB
video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm
The context: The central theme of today’s Gospel
passage is the necessity for Faith and vigilant preparedness in the lives of
Christ’s followers. The passage contains a pair of short parables in which the
chief characters are a master (representing the risen Jesus), and his servants
(Jesus’ followers, ourselves). Jesus warns his disciples that they must be
prepared at all times because the Son of Man will come at an unexpected hour.
According to the Fathers of the Church, Jesus’ words in this passage have
two senses. In the narrower sense, the words refer to the Second Coming of
Jesus, but in the broader sense they refer to the time
of our own death, when God will call us to meet Him and to give Him
an account of our life on earth. Jesus wants his disciples to be
ready at every moment to do God’s will by loving others through humble,
sacrificial service.
Steadfast Faith and eternal vigilance: In the first part of
this discourse, prior to today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches his followers the
need for constant vigilance, using the mini parable of the thief and the
treasure. We should not lose our treasure of Divine grace or close relationship
with Jesus, like the man who awoke one morning to discover that a thief
had stolen his wealth in the night. In the second part (today’s Gospel),
Jesus exhorts his followers to be steadfast in their Faith and ever vigilant.
When he had to be away from home, a master would make a servant his steward and
entrust to him the management of the household. A trusted steward was expected
to run his master’s house well, to govern the master’s servants, and to
administer the master’s estate. When his master was not at home, a wise and
trustworthy steward was ever vigilant. He prepared himself for his master’s
return at any time of the day or night by always doing his duties
faithfully. Jesus illustrates the same point by using another mini parable of the
foolish and wicked steward who got drunk and was caught red-handed by his
master.
Life message: 1) These parables encouraging
“wakefulness” and “preparedness” are addressed to all believers. Since the time
of our death is quite uncertain, we, too, must be ever ready to meet our Lord
at any moment. Our Master should find us carrying out our tasks
of love, mercy and service, rather than leaving things undone or
half-done or postponed. He should also find us at peace with God, ourselves and
with our fellowmen (Eph 4:26) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
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Aug 28 Friday (St. Augustine, Bishop, Doctor of the
Church) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-augustine-of-hippo/ : Mt
25:1-13: 1 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to
ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of
them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps,
they took no oil with them; 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 But at
midnight there was a cry, `Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then
all those maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the
wise, `Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise
replied, `Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to the
dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom
came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the
door was shut. 11 Afterward the other maidens came also, saying, `Lord, lord,
open to us.’ 12 …13 USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm
The context: Today’s parable, taken from
Matthew’s Gospel, brings the usual warnings about preparation for the end
of our own world, the end of our own times, and our own passage to another
world. The parable tells us that a searching, watching, and growing heart
is essential for a lively, dynamic Faith in God; it also asks us whether
we are ready for these events and how we are preparing for them.
The parable: Since a wedding was a great occasion, the whole
village would line up at the sides of the road to wish God’s blessings on the
bride and groom in procession. The invited ones would join the
procession, which started from the bride’s house, and ended at the groom’s
house to take part in the week-long celebration. Since the bridegroom might
come to the bride’s house unexpectedly, the bridal party had to be
ready at any time, with virgins carrying lighted torches and reserve oil in
jars. The five foolish virgins who could not welcome the groom’s
party lost not only the opportunity of witnessing the marriage ceremony,
but also of participating in the week-long celebration that followed. The
local meaning is that the foolish virgins represent the “Chosen People of God”
who were waiting for the Messiah but were shut out from the Messianic
banquet because they were unprepared. The universal meaning is
that the five foolish virgins represent those who fail to prepare for the end
of their lives and for the Final Judgment. They do not put their Faith in Jesus
and live it out by keeping his Commandment to love others as he did.
Life messages: 1) We must be wise enough
to remain ever prepared: Wise Christians carefully make their daily
choices for God. They are ready to put the commandment of love into
practice by showing kindness and forgiveness. 2) Let us be sure
that our lamps are ready for the end of our lives: Spiritual readiness,
preparation and growth come as a result of intentional habits built into one’s
life. These include taking time for prayer and being alone with God;
reading God’s Word; leading a Sacramental life; cooperating with God’s grace by
offering acts of loving service to others; practicing moral faithfulness, and living
always in loving obedience to Him. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
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Aug 29 Saturday (The Passion of St. John the
Baptist) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/martyrdom-of-john-the-baptist/ https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/august-29the-beheading-of-st-john-the-baptist/ :
Mk 6: 17-29: 14 King Herod heard of it; for Jesus’ name had become
known. Some said, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; that is why
these powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others
said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod
heard of it he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” 17 For Herod had
sent and seized John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his
brother Philip’s wife; because he had married her. 18 For John said to Herod,
“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 And Herodias had a
grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, 20 for Herod
feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe.
When he heard him, he was much perplexed; and yet he heard him gladly. 21 But
an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers
and officers and the leading men of Galilee. 22 For when Herodias’
daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king
said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will grant it.” 23 And
he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my
kingdom.” 24 And she went out, and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?” And
she said, “The head of John the baptizer.” 25 And she came in immediately with
haste to the king, and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head
of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And the king was exceedingly sorry; but
because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to
her….29 USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm
The context: Today’s Gospel presents the last
scene of a tragic drama with three main characters, Herod, Herodias, and John
the Baptist. Herod was a jealous, weak puppet-king with a very guilty
conscience, who answered to Rome for his rule of one section of Israel, at that
time a Roman subject-province. Herod feared the prophet John because John had
publicly scolded him for divorcing his legal wife without adequate cause and
for marrying his sister-in-law Herodias who was his niece, thus committing a
double violation of Mosaic Law. Herodias was an immoral and greedy woman,
stained by a triple guilt. She was enraged by John’s public criticism of her:
1) She was an unfaithful woman of loose morals. 2) She was a greedy and
vengeful woman. 3) She was an evil mother who used her teenage daughter for the
wicked purposes of murder and revenge by encouraging the girl to dance in
public in the royal palace against the royal etiquette of the day. John the
Baptist was a fiery preacher and the herald of the Promised Messiah. He was
also a Spirit-filled prophet with the courage of his prophetic convictions who
dared to criticize and scold an Oriental monarch and his proud wife in public.
God’s punishment: After the martyrdom of John, Herod was
defeated by Aretas, the father of his first wife. Later, both Herod and
Herodias were sent into exile by Caligula, the Roman emperor. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
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