Nov 3 Tuesday: Lk 14:15-24: 15 When one of those who sat at table with him heard this, he said to him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet, and invited many; 17 and at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, `Come; for all is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, `I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it; I pray you, have me excused.’ 19 And another said,
`I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them; I pray you, have me excused.’ 20 And another said, `I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and reported this to his master. Then the householder in anger said to his servant, `Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and maimed and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, `Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, `Go out to the highways and hedges, and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.'” USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfmThe context: Jesus was participating in a
banquet where he advised the host to reserve admission to the “poor, the
maimed, the lame, and the blind” and so to become eligible for God’s
reward at the resurrection. One of Jesus’ fellow-guests commented on the
blessedness of those who are invited to attend the Heavenly banquet hosted by
Yahweh to honor His Chosen People. Jesus used the occasion to highlight the
cost of refusing God’s invitation for the Heavenly banquet with lame excuses by
telling a parable of a banquet hosted by a very rich and influential landowner.
The parable: The invited VIP guests, who had
accepted the first invitation to participate in the banquet, refused the second
invitation sent a few days before the banquet, giving lame excuses like the
inspection of a newly-bought field, the testing of a newly-bought five yoke of
oxen and honeymooning with a newly-married wife. The angry landowner instructed
his servants to invite everyone in the surrounding areas in order to fill the
banquet hall. Jesus directed this parable to the Jewish religious and civic
leaders who had accepted the Covenant but had refused to accept his invitation
for God’s salvation, the endpoint of the first Covenant, and had attacked his
preaching and healing ministry. Jesus explained through this parable why he was
befriending tax collectors and sinners, promising them eternal salvation and
participation in the Heavenly banquet.
Life message: God invites us through Jesus and
his Church to the banquet of the word of God, to the banquet of the Body and
Blood of Jesus, and to the banquet of His grace through His Holy Spirit via the
SacramentsLet us examine ourselves to discover whether we, too, are refusing
God’s invitation and giving lame excuses to show how busy we are because of our
work or career duties, our addictions to games, entertainments and hobbies or
our preoccupation with family matters. We may not get a better chance or more
opportunities to accept God’s invitation to pray deeply, to join the
Eucharistic celebration or to do serious study of and refection on the word of
God or service in the community. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
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Nov 4 Wednesday (St. Charles Borromeo): Lk
14:25-33: 25 Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and He turned
and addressed them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father
and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his
own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and
come after me, cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a
tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to
complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to
finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, `This man began to build, and
was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going to encounter another king in
war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten
thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not,
while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy and asks terms of
peace. 33 So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot
be my disciple.” USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm
The context: Jesus was making his final journey
to Jerusalem, and his apostles, as well as the common people, thought that the
Master was going to overthrow the Roman government by using miraculous powers.
Hence, a big crowd was following him. Jesus thought it was necessary to clarify
for them the real cost involved in following him – the cost of Christian
discipleship.
The teaching: Today’s Gospel passage from Luke challenges us
to make a total commitment to the will of God by putting Him first in our
lives. He reminds us to count the cost of being a Christian, because the
cost is high. Christian discipleship requires one to “renounce” both
possessions of the earth and possessions of the heart (i.e., one’s
relationships). Jesus lays out four “trip wires” challenging true
Christian discipleship: i) attachment to family; ii) attachment to possessions;
iii) the hard consequences of discipleship which may involve even losing one’s
life; and iv) the cost involved. Using the examples of a watch tower in a
vineyard, left uncompleted due to lack of funds, and the example of a foolish
king facing defeat by going to war without assessing the strength of the enemy,
Jesus warns his would-be followers to count the cost and calculate the
consequences before becoming his disciples.
Life message: 1) We need to accept Jesus’
challenge of making a total self-gift to Him in our commitment in true
Christian Discipleship: “A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing and
suffers nothing, is worth nothing.” (Martin Luther). Jesus’ challenge can be
accepted only if, with God’s grace, we practice the spirit of detachment and
renunciation in our daily lives. Real Christian discipleship also demands
a true commitment both to the duties entrusted to us and to loving acts of
selfless, humble and sacrificial love offered to all God’s children around us.
This is possible only if we rely on His grace, on the power of prayer and on
the guidance of the Holy Spirit through a) daily prayer, b) devout
participation in the Sunday Mass c) diligent study of the Bible, d) service in
and beyond the parish, e) spiritual friendships, and f) giving time,
talents, and resources to the Lord’s work. (Fr. (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
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Nov 5 Thursday: Lk 15:1-10: 1 Now the tax
collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.2 And the Pharisees
and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with
them.” 3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred
sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the
wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when
he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes
home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, `Rejoice
with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you,
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over
ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. 8 “Or what woman, having
ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the
house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she
calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, `Rejoice with me, for I have
found the coin which I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before
the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” USCCB video
reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm
The context: Today’s Gospel passage, from
chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel, is known as the “Gospel in the Gospels,” or
the “distilled essence of Christ’s Good News.” In this chapter,
using three parables, Jesus answers two accusations leveled against him by the
Scribes and Pharisees, namely, that he is mingling with the sinners and sharing
their meals. These parables teach us that our God is a loving, patient,
merciful, and forgiving God. He is eager to be merciful toward us, not vengeful
and punishing. He is always in search of His lost and straying children.
The parables: 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 silver coin (a drachma, worth about a denarius, a farm worker’s
“daily wage”), and the woman’s joy when she found it, and the parable of the
lost son and his Father’s joy at His repentant son’s return Besides presenting
a God Who is patiently waiting for the return of sinners, ready to pardon them,
these parables teach us God’s infinite love and mercy. Christianity is not
about man seeking God, but rather about a Holy God seeking a sinful man. In
other words, in salvation, as in forgiveness, the initiative is always God’s.
These three parables defend Jesus’ alliance with sinners and respond
to the criticism leveled by certain Pharisees and scribes at Jesus’ frequent practice
of eating with and welcoming tax collectors and sinners.
Life messages: 1) We need to meet the challenge
for self-evaluation and return to God’s mercy: If we have been in sin, God’s
mercy is seeking us, searching for our souls with a love that is wild
beyond all imagining. God is ready to receive and welcome us back as
Jesus welcomed sinners in his time. 2) Let us get reconciled with God,
through the Sacrament of Reconciliation when we are in mortal sin, and in
asking His forgiveness for our sins every night before we sleep. We also need
to 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
as well for God’s Divine Mercy on those who have fallen away from grace. (Fr.
Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
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Nov 6 Friday: Luke 16:1-8: 1 He also
said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a steward, and charges
were brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. 2 And he called him
and said to him, `What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of
your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’ 3 And the steward said to
himself, `What shall I do, since my master is taking the stewardship away from
me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided
what to do, so that people may receive me into their houses when I am put out
of the stewardship.’ 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said
to the first, `How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, `A hundred measures
of oil.’ And he said to him, `Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write
fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, `And how much do you owe?’ He said, `A
hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, `Take your bill, and write eighty.’
8 The master commended the dishonest steward for his shrewdness; for the sons
of this world are shrewder in dealing with their own generation than the sons
of light. USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm
The context: In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us
the strange parable of a steward who was a rascal to teach us that serving God
is a full-time job, not a part-time job or a spare-time hobby. Jesus also
teaches us that we should use, in matters spiritual and eternal, the same
ingenuity and planning which business people show in the business world. The
parable challenges us to use our blessings — time, talents, health and wealth —
wisely and shrewdly, so that they will count for our reward in
eternity. We are on the right road only if we use our earthly wealth to attain
our Heavenly goal.
The parable: In the parable, Jesus tells us how the
slave-steward of an absentee landlord ingeniously cheated his master by his
unjust manipulation of the master’s business clients when the steward had been
caught red-handed in misappropriating his master’s wealth. His tricks were
intended to make him the friend of his master’s debtors and gave him the
prospect of becoming rich by working for them (or blackmailing them?) when he
was fired by his master from the stewardship.
Life messages: 1) We need to be faithful in the
little things of life: As Saint John Chrysostom said, “Faithfulness in
little things is a big thing.” Our future opportunities in the
eternal service of God largely depend on our stewardship in handling the little
opportunities we have had on earth. As Mother Teresa used to recommend,
“Do little things with great love.” 2) We have to act shrewdly, trusting in the
power and assistance of God. Let us make use of our resources — like Hope in
God’s justice, Faith in God’s assistance, and Trust in God’s grace, the Mass
and the Sacraments as sources of Divine grace and the Holy Bible as the word of
God for daily meditation. 3) Let us remember that as God’s stewards we need to
be prepared to give an account of our lives at any time (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
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Nov 7 Saturday: Lk 16:9-15: 9 And I tell
you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when
it fails they may receive you into the eternal habitations. 10 “He who is
faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and he who is dishonest in
a very little is dishonest also in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful
in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if
you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that
which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate
the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” 14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of
money, heard all this, and they scoffed at him. 15 But he said to them, “You
are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts; for
what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. USCCB
video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm
The context: After telling the parable of the
rascally steward as an example of shrewdness and as a warning against using
unjust means for gain, Jesus advises his listeners to make friends with the
poor by almsgiving and to be faithful and honest in the little things entrusted
to them by God.
The teaching: Jesus advises his followers to imitate the
shrewd steward who used money generously to make friends for himself. Jesus
suggests that his disciples should show their generosity and mercy by
almsgiving: “sell your possessions and give alms” (Luke 12:33). The
recipients immediately become friends of the kind donor. It is God’s generosity
which makes one rich, and, hence, the money we have is unrighteous in
the sense that it is unearned and undeserved. So, God expects us to be generous
stewards of His generous blessings. Generosity curtails our natural greed, making
almsgiving an act of thanksgiving to God for His generosity. Then Jesus tells
us that what we get in Heaven will depend on how we have used the things of the
earth and on how faithful we have been in the little things entrusted to us. A
slave is the exclusive property of his master, and our Master, God, is the most
exclusive of masters. So, serving Him cannot be a part-time job or spare-time
hobby; it is full-time job. Finally, Jesus warns the Pharisees that material
prosperity is not a sure sign of one’s goodness and God’s blessing, but a sign
of God’s mercy and generosity.
Life messages: 1) We need to share our blessings
with others. Since all our blessings are God’s generous loans to us, we need to
be equally generous with others. 2) We need to serve God full-time: Since God
owns us totally, we are expected to be at His service doing His holy will all
the time. Hence, there is no such thing as a part-time Christian. (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
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