6th Week Feb 15-20:
Feb 15 Monday: Mk 8:11-13: The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, to test him. 12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.” 13 And he left them and getting into the boat again he departed to the other side. USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/
The context: The Pharisees of Jesus’ time had a long list of
fifty extraordinary signs which they expected from the real Messiah, to
distinguish the promised Messiah from false messiahs. Some of the false
messiahs in the past had claimed that they could divide the Jordan River into
two sections or cause the huge stony walls of Jerusalem to fall by a single
word. Hence, the Pharisees demanded that Jesus show some miracles from
their list of Messianic signs.
Jesus’ reply: Jesus knew that the proud,
hard-hearted, prejudiced Pharisees were unwilling to accept the signs he had
been working as the Messianic signs foretold by the prophets. Others of
them, he knew were not interested in his message but only in seeing signs and
wonders. Hence, according to Mark, Jesus unequivocally denied the demand
for an additional Messianic sign. But according to Matthew 12:38-42 and
Luke 11:29-32, Jesus offered them another sign–the miracle of Jonah, the sign
of the death and Resurrection of Christ, knowing well that not even this
remarkable proof would lead the Pharisees to shed their pride.
Life messages: 1) It is very sad to see
superstitious Christians travelling miles to see a miraculous statue of a
Madonna shedding tears of blood or oil. At the same time, they fail to
see the presence of Jesus as he promised, in the Bible, in the Holy Eucharist,
in a worshipping community or in the fellow Christians.
2) Let us pray for the grace of increased Faith in the
genuine teachings of Jesus. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/21
Feb 16 Tuesday: Mk 8:14-21: 14 Now they had
forgotten to bring bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15
And he cautioned them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the
Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” 16 And they discussed it with one another,
saying, “We have no bread.” 17 And being aware of it, Jesus said to them, “Why
do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or
understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Having eyes do you not see, and having
ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves
for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?”
They said to him, “Twelve.” 20 “And the seven for the four thousand, how many
baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.”
21 And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?” USCCB video
reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm ; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/
The context: The Jews considered fermentation by yeast as
equivalent to putrefaction and, hence, something evil. That is why Jesus
equated evil influence with leaven. Jesus considered the hypocrisy of the
Pharisees and the immoral life of the king Herod as leaven corrupting the dough
of Israel. Hence, he gave the warning against their evil influence to his
disciples while they were crossing the Lake in a boat.
The misunderstanding and correction: The Apostles in the
boat misunderstood Jesus’ warning as a scolding for their having forgotten to
bring enough bread for all of them. Hence, Jesus reminded them of his
miraculous provision of bread in the feedings of the four thousand and of the
five thousand people as evidence that they did not have to worry about food
they had forgotten to bring for their supper. Twelve baskets full of left over
after miraculously feeding four thousand people represent the twelve tribes of
Israel whom God first established as his chosen people to preserve the belief
in the one true God. The seven baskets left over after feeding the five
thousand people represent the seven nations of the Gentiles to whom salvation
is extended. Jesus clarifies by these miracles that while salvation is
universal, the way to salvation is through him the Messiah. He warns his
disciples to beware of the false way of salvation offered by the two extreme
philosophies of the Pharisees and the King Herod and the Herodians.
Life messages: 1) With trusting Faith, let us rely on
the miraculous provision God has in store for us in our daily life (as the word
of God and the Holy Eucharist), when we do our share of work sincerely. 2) Let
us take Jesus’ warning against allowing the evil influence of the society
around us to define and defile us but let us rely on
the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us and guiding, protecting and
enlightening the Church. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/21
Feb 17 Wednesday (Ash Wednesday) Mt 6: 1-6,
16-18:
USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/reflections.com/daily-reflections/
Introduction: Ash Wednesday (dies cinerum), is the Church’s Yom Kippur or the
“Day of Atonement.” Its very name comes from the Jewish practice of doing
penance wearing “sackcloth and ashes.” The Old Testament tells us how the people
of Nineveh, King Ben Hadad of Syria, and Queen Esther fasted, wearing sackcloth
and ashes. In the early Church, Christians who had committed serious sins were
instructed to do public penance wearing sackcloth and ashes. The Church
instructs us to observe Ash Wednesday and all Fridays of Lent, including Good
Friday, as days of full fast and abstinence. Fasting is prescribed to reinforce
our penitential prayer during the Lenten season.
Scripture lessons summarized: The prophet Joel, in the first
reading, insists that we should experience a complete conversion of heart and
not simply regret for our sins. Today’s Responsorial Psalm, (Ps 51), offers us
an act of contrition with a plea for mercy and a prayer for a “clean heart”
with which to live holy lives. Saint Paul, in the second reading, advises us
“to become reconciled to God.” Today’s Gospel instructs us to assimilate
the true spirit of fasting and prayer.
The Blessing of the Ashes and the Significance of the Day:
The priest dipping his thumb into ashes (collected from burnt palms of the
previous year’s Palm Sunday), marks the forehead of each of us with the sign of
the cross saying the words, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you will
return,” or “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” By marking the sign of the
cross with ashes on the foreheads of her children, the Church gives us: 1- a
firm conviction that a) we are mortal beings, b) our bodies will become
dust when buried and ashes if cremated, and c) our life-span is very brief
and unpredictable; 2- a strong warning that we will suffer eternal misery if we
do not repent of our sins, become reconciled with God, asking His pardon and
forgiveness, and do penance; and 3- a loving invitation to realize and
acknowledge our sinful condition and return to our loving and forgiving
God with true repentance and a renewal of our life as the prodigal son
did.
Ash Wednesday messages: # 1: We need to purify and renew our
lives during the period of Lent by repentance, which means expressing sorrow
for sins by turning away from occasions of sins and making a right turn to God.
We need to express our repentance by becoming reconciled with God daily, by
asking for forgiveness from those whom we have offended and by giving
unconditional forgiveness to those who have offended us.
# 2: We need to do prayerful fasting and acts of penance for
our sins, following the example of Jesus before his public ministry. Fasting
reduces our “spiritual obesity” or the excessive accumulation of “fat” in our
soul in the form of evil tendencies, evil habits and evil addictions. It also
gives us additional moral and spiritual strength and encourages us to share our
blessings with the needy. It offers us more time to be with God in prayer. It
encourages us to share our food and goods with the needy. Fasting also makes
our minds clearer and more receptive to receive the sacred nourishment of
God’s word and Holy Eucharist. (Thomas Merton, OCSO). (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/21 (Ashes
on the head, not on forehead this year- see the pages 7 &8)
GETTING READY FOR A DIFFERENT KIND OF ASH WEDNESDAY
HOME/COVID-19, LITURGY/GETTING READY
FOR A DIFFERENT KIND OF ASH WEDNESDAY
https://thedeaconsbench.com/getting-ready-for-a-different-kind-of-ash-wednesday/ 
The Vatican issued new guidelines for the distribution of
ashes during the pandemic — you can read about them here —
and now different corners of the United States are getting ready to put them
into practice.
It said priests should bless the ashes with holy water at
the altar and then address the entire congregation with the words in the Roman
Missal that are used when marking individual’s foreheads with ashes: Either
“Repent and believe in the Gospel” or “Remember that you are dust and to dust
you shall return.”
The sprinkling of ashes on individual heads would take
place without any words said to each person.
Dioceses will respond to this adaptation based on how the
effects of the pandemic in their respective regions, said Father Andrew Menke,
executive director of the Secretariat of Divine Worship at the U.S. Conference
of Catholic Bishops in Washington.
Some dioceses have announced their plans to follow this
step.
Father Tom Kunz, associate general secretary and vicar
for canonical services in the Pittsburgh Diocese, said the different approach
with ashes “will help the priest or deacon to avoid having direct contact with
a large amount of people.” He also said this method is common in other
countries.
“Even in a pandemic, Lent is a season of grace and an
important moment in the church’s penitential practice,” he told The Pittsburgh
Catholic, online diocesan news site.
The website of the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas, posted
videos in English and Spanish reviewing the practice of sprinkling of ashes on
people’s heads explained by Father Thu Nguyen, diocesan director of liturgy and
worship.
The Diocese of St. Petersburg, Florida, in its online
guidelines for parishes during Lent, said if parishes “choose to distribute
ashes during the current health crisis” the ashes cannot be self-imposed but
must be given by a minister wearing a face
mask.
It gave parishes a few options, including the sprinkling
of ashes on the head. It also said ashes could be imposed individually with a
moistened swab or cotton ball “out of an abundance of caution”; or ministers
could place ashes on foreheads with their thumbs as usual, making sure to
sanitize after every two or three people.
The description on the diocesan website also stressed the
“reception of ashes is not mandatory nor required.” It also said parishioners
should know “their own internal disposition and intention to repent and start
over” is the key to Ash Wednesday and that ashes are “an external
sign of that internal reality. They may enter into Lent with a repentant heart
even if they decide that receiving ashes is not the right thing for them this
year.”
We’re doing sprinkling in my diocese; I’ve heard of other
places where priests and deacons will be trying to apply ashes with swabs or
Q-tips, which seems to me time-consuming and difficult, especially if you have
a large crowd.
But the pandemic may keep people away from churches this
year. We’ll see.
Below is the video from the Diocese of Fort Worth,
explaining how they’re going to do it.
Visit this YouTube website or Click here: https://youtu.be/ABna0mryEnU
Feb 18 Thursday: Lk 9:22-25: 22 Jesus said
to his disciples, “The `Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the
elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and on the third day
raised. 23 And he said to all, “If any man would come after me, let him deny
himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save
his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it.
25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or
forfeits himself? USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/
The context: After Peter had made his famous declaration of
Faith in Jesus as God and the Messiah, Jesus plainly warned his disciples about
his suffering death and Resurrection. But the Apostles were unwilling to
accept such a fate for their master. Hence, Jesus declared the three
conditions of discipleship which he expected from his followers, as given in
today’s Gospel.
The Three Conditions: 1) Deny yourself. 2) Take up your
cross. 3) Follow Me.
1) Denying oneself involves a) cleansing of the heart by the
eviction of self from the heart and the removal of all evil tendencies and
addictions from the heart, with the help of the Holy Spirit, b) the
enthronement of God in the heart and the dedication of oneself to Him, and c)
the surrendering of one’s life to the enthroned God through the loving,
selfless service of others for God’s glory.
2) Taking up one’s cross means, not only accepting
gracefully from God our pains and suffering, but also accepting the pain
involved in serving others, in sharing our blessings with them, and in
controlling our evil tendencies. Carrying one’s cross becomes easier when
we compare our light crosses with the heavier ones given to terminally ill
patients and to exploited people living under subhuman conditions. The
realization that Jesus carries with us the heavier part of our cross also makes
our cross-bearing easier and more salvific.
3) Follow Me means to follow Jesus by obeying the word of
God and adjusting one’s life accordingly. The disciple should be ever
ready to obey as Jesus directs him or her through His words in the Bible and
through the teaching authority He has instituted in the Church.
The paradox of saving/losing and losing/saving life:
According to Bible commentators, the word “life” is here used, clearly, in a
double sense: the earthly life of man in flesh and time and his eternal Life of
happiness in Heaven. Hence, what Jesus means is that whoever wishes to
save his (earthly), life will lose his (eternal), Life. But whoever loses
his (earthly), life by spending it for Jesus and the Gospel, will save his
(eternal), Life.
Life message: We need to love the cross, wear the cross, carry
the crosses we are given, and transform these God-given crosses of our life
into the instruments of our salvation by working with the Holy Spirit. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/21
Feb 19 Friday: Mt 9:14-15: 14 Then the
disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but
your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests
mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the
bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” USCCB
video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/
The context: Today’s Gospel passage gives Jesus’ reply to
the question asked by a few disciples of John the Baptist about fasting and
feasting. Prayer, fasting and almsgiving were the three-cardinal works of
Jewish religious life. Hence, John’s disciples wanted to know why they
and the Pharisees fasted, while Jesus’ disciples were seen feasting with him
and never fasting.
Jesus’ reply: Jesus responded to their sincere question
using three metaphors: the metaphor of the “children of the bridal chamber,”
the metaphor of patching torn cloth and the metaphor of wineskins (Mark
2:18-20; Luke 5:33-35). In today’s Gospel passage taken from Matthew,
Jesus compares his disciples with the children of the bridal chamber.
These people were selected friends of the bridegroom who feasted in the company
of the bride and groom during a week of honeymoon. Nobody expected them
to fast. Jesus declares that his disciples will fast when he, the
Bridegroom, is taken away from them. One of the fruits of the Spirit is joy,
and it is mentioned next after love in St Paul’s list, “love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal.
5:22). Hence, we are to welcome the joys of Christian life as well
as the crosses it offers us. The Fathers of the Church interpret the image of
the bridegroom and bride as referring to Christ and his Church. Some explain it
tropologically: as long as the Spouse is with us, we are not able to mourn; but
when by our sin we turn from Jesus, then is the time
for tears and fasting. Yet others apply the words of Christ to the Holy
Eucharist. The parable does not condemn the strictness of John nor does
it condemn fasting. The disciples of Christ kept the fasts prescribed by the
Law, but they did ignore those imposed by the Pharisees.
Life messages: 1) Fasting reduces the excessive
accumulation of fat in our soul in the form of evil tendencies and evil habits
(= spiritual obesity). In addition, fasting gives us additional moral and
spiritual strength. It offers us more time to be with God in
prayer. It encourages us to share our food and goods with the needy. We
fast so as to share in the sufferings of the Body of Christ (Col 1:24).
2) We need to be adjustable Christians with open and elastic
minds and hearts: The Holy Spirit, working actively in the Church and guiding
the teaching authority in the Church, enables the Church to have new visions,
new ideas, new adaptations and new ways of worship in the place of old
ones. So, we should have the generosity and good will to follow the
teachings of the Church (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/21
Feb 20 Saturday: Lk 5: 27-32: 27 After this he
went out, and saw a tax collector, named Levi, sitting at the customs post; and
he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And he left everything, and rose and followed
him. 29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house; and there was a large
company of tax collectors and others sitting at table with them. 30 And the
Pharisees and their scribes murmured against his disciples, saying, “Why do you
eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them,
“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; 32 I
have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” USCCB video
reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/
The context: Today’s Gospel episode of Matthew’s call as
Jesus’ Apostle reminds us of God’s love and mercy for sinners and challenges
us to practice this same love and mercy in our relations with others.
The call and the response: Jesus went to the tax collector’s
post to invite Matthew to become his disciple. Since tax collectors
worked for a foreign power and extorted more tax money from the people than the
area owed, and thus made themselves rich by extortion, they were hated and
despised as traitors by the Jewish people, and considered public sinners by the
Pharisees. But Jesus could see in Matthew a person who needed Divine love
and grace. While everyone hated Matthew, Jesus was ready to offer him
undeserved love, mercy and forgiveness. Hence, Matthew abandoned his
lucrative job, because for him, Christ’s call to follow him was a promise of
salvation, fellowship, guidance and protection.
Scandalous partying with sinners: It was altogether natural
for Matthew to rejoice in his new calling by celebrating with his friends.
Jesus’ dining with outcasts in the house of a traitor scandalized the Pharisees
for whom ritual purity and table fellowship were important religious practices.
Hence, they asked the disciples, “Why does your master eat with tax
collectors and sinners?” Jesus Himself answered their question, stressing
his ministry as healer: “Those who are well do not need a physician; the sick
do.” Then, in Matthew’s account, quoting Hosea, Jesus challenged the
Pharisees, “Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not
sacrifice’ (Hos 6:6)” Finally, Jesus clarified his position, “I did not come to
call the righteous, but sinners.”
Life messages: 1) Jesus calls you and me for a purpose:
Jesus has called us, through our Baptism, has forgiven our sins and has
welcomed us as members of the Kingdom. He calls us through the Word and through
his Church to be his disciples and to turn away from all the things that
distract us and draw us away from God.
2) Just as Jesus did, and Matthew did, we, too, are expected to preach Christ through our lives, by reaching out to the unwanted and the marginalized in society with Christ’s love, mercy and compassion. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
