Dec 6 Monday (St. Nicholas, Bishop)
Many kinds of sickness were seen by the Jews as punishment
for one’s personal sin or the sins of one’s parents. This man’s paralysis was
also seen by the people around him as a punishment for some sin in his own life
or in the lives of his parents. It was a common belief that no sickness could
be cured until sin was forgiven. For that reason, Jesus had first to convince
the paralyzed man that his sins had been forgiven. Once Jesus granted the
paralytic the forgiveness of God, the man knew that God was no longer his
enemy, and he was ready to receive the cure which followed. It was the manner
of the cure which scandalized the Scribes. By forgiving sin, they thought Jesus
had blasphemed, insulting God, because forgiving sin is the exclusive
prerogative of God. In addition to showing Jesus’ own direct connection to God,
this healing demonstrates the fact that we can never be right physically until
we are right spiritually, that health in body and peace with God go hand in
hand.
Life messages: 1) We need God’s forgiveness to
live wholesome lives. The heart of the Christian Faith is the “forgiveness of
sins.” In the Creed we say, “I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of
sins.” While we have the power to forgive others, we need to be forgiven
ourselves by the One who has the authority to forgive. In Jesus we see this
authority, the same authority He gave to his Apostles and so to his Church. 2)
Today’s Gospel gives us an invitation to open ourselves to God’s forgiveness in
the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and to hear from in the priest’s words the
voice of Jesus speaking to the paralytic: “Your sins are forgiven.” 3)
The Gospel also instructs us to forgive others their sins against us and to ask
God’s forgiveness for our daily sins every day of our lives. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Dec 7 Tuesday (St. Ambrose, Bishop, Doctor of the
Church)
The context: 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 coin and the woman’s joy when she found it, and the parable of the
lost and returned son and his Father’s joy on his return. These three parables
defended Jesus’ alliance with sinners and responded to the criticism that he
was welcoming tax collectors and sinners. The central theme of today’s Gospel
is that our God is loving, patient, merciful, and forgiving. This parable
reminds us that we have a God who welcomes sinners and forgives their sins when
they return to Him with genuine contrition and resolution to amend their lives.
Shepherding in Judaea was a hard and dangerous task. Pasture
was scarce; thorny scrub jungles with wild animals, and vast desert areas were
common, posing constant threats to the wandering sheep. But the shepherds were
famous for their dedicated, sacrificial service, perpetual vigilance and
readiness for action. Two or three shepherds might be personally responsible
for the sheep owned by several families in a village. If any sheep were
missing, one of the shepherds would go in search of it, sending the other
shepherds home with the flock of sheep. The whole village would be waiting for
the return of the shepherd with the lost sheep and would receive him with
shouts of joy and of thanksgiving.
Life messages: 1) We need to confess our sins to
regain peace and God’s friendship. We have to be humble enough to recognize
that we need God’s forgiveness to be whole. If we have been in sin, our God is
ready to receive and welcome us back, just as Jesus welcomed sinners in his
time. Let us pray today that we may allow God’s love and forgiveness into our
lives.
2) We should also 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 also for God’s Divine Mercy on those who have
fallen away from grace. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
L/21
Dec 8 Wednesday (Immaculate Conception of BVM): https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/immaculate-conception-of-the-blessed-virgin-maryUSA=
Holy Day of Obligation) Lk 1: 26-38: Mary’s prophecy given in
her Magnificat, “Behold all generations will call me
blessed,” was fulfilled when the Catholic Church declared four dogmas of Faith
about her: 1-The Immaculate Conception, 2-The Perpetual Virginity, 3-The Divine
Maternity, 4-The Assumption. The Immaculate Conception is a dogma based mainly
on Christian tradition and theological reasoning. It was defined in 1854 by
Pope Pius IX as a dogma of Faith through Ineffabilis Deus. Definition:
From the first moment of her conception, Mary was preserved immune from
original sin by the singular grace of God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus
Christ, Savior of the human race. (CCC #491). This means that original
sanctity, innocence and justice were conferred upon her, and that she was
exempted from all the evil effects of original sin, excluding sorrow, pain,
disease and death which are temporal penalties given to Adam. (Catholic
Encyclopedia).
Basis in Tradition and Scripture: (A) From
tradition: The Immaculate Conception is a dogma originating from sound
Christian tradition. Monks in Palestinian monasteries started celebrating the
feast of the Conception of Our Lady by the end of 7th century. The feast spread
as the Feast of Immaculate Conception in Italy (9th century), England (11th
century), and France (12th century). Pope Leo VI propagated the celebration and
Pope Sixtus IV approved it as a feast. Finally, in 1854, Pope Pius IX declared
the Immaculate Conception to be a Dogma of Faith. Mary herself approved this in
1858 by declaring to Bernadette at Lourdes, “I am the Immaculate
Conception”. (B) From Holy Scripture: 1- God purified the
prophet Jeremiah in the womb of his mother and anointed John the Baptist with
His Holy Spirit before John’s birth. (Jer 1:5 — “Before I formed you in the
womb of your mother I knew you and before you were born, I consecrated you”).
Hence, it is reasonable that God kept the mother of His Son free from all sins
from the first moment of her origin. 2- The angel saluted Mary as “full of
grace.” The greeting means that she was never, even for a moment, a slave
of sin and the devil. 3- Gen. 3:15– “I will put enmity between you and
the woman and between your seed and hers; He will strike at your head while you
strike at His heel.” The woman stands for Mary, and the promise would not
be true if Mary had original sin. (C)-Argument from reason: 1-If we were
allowed to select our mother, we would select the most beautiful, healthy and
saintly lady. So, did God. 2-The All-Holy God cannot be born from a woman who
was a slave of the devil, even for a moment in her life.
Life messages: 1) Every mother wants her
children to inherit or acquire all her good qualities. Hence, our Immaculate
and holy Heavenly Mother wants us to be holy and pure children. 2) Let us honor
her by practicing her virtues of Faith, obedience and total commitment to her
mission. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Dec 9 Thursday (St. Juan Diego)
The context: John the Baptizer preached the
coming of a fiery Messiah. But what he heard about Jesus from prison was that
Jesus was a loving, merciful and forgiving preacher who befriended tax collectors
and sinners. Hence, John sent some of his disciples to Jesus to learn whether
Jesus was, or was not, the expected Messiah. After sending them back to John to
report the actions by which He was fulfilling the Messianic prophecies, Jesus
gave the highest compliments to John in today’s Gospel.
Jesus praised John first as a prophet and second as the
expected Elijah. As a prophet, John had God-given wisdom in his mind, God’s
truth on his lips and God-given courage in his heart. He had been heralding the
Messiah with the courage of his prophetic convictions. John had lived like the
Prophet Elijah who was expected to come just before the Messiah. He had spoken
with the same prophetic authority and had corrected the self-righteous,
attracting Jewish followers by the hundreds to receive the baptism of
repentance. Jesus, however, stressed the fact that His own followers were
greater than John because, while John knew only God’s judgment and punishment,
we know God’s love, forgiveness and the salvation, given through Jesus. But
Jesus warned his followers that they would be persecuted for their trust in
God’s Kingdom, and that they would have to use force on their selfish and evil
tendencies to reach God’s Kingdom.
Life message: We need to have the courage of our
Christian convictions to profess in public what we believe and to practice what
the Church teaches. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
L/21
Dec 10 Friday:
The context: The message of John the Baptist and
the message of Jesus fell on deaf ears and met with stiff resistance from the
self-righteous Scribes and the Pharisees because of their jealousy, prejudice
and spiritual blindness. Hence, they attributed the austerities of John the
Baptist to the devil and Jesus’ table fellowship with sinners as gluttony,
evidence contraindicating any messianic possibility. In today’s Gospel, Jesus
compares these Scribes and Pharisees to irresponsible street-children.
Dog-in-the-manger attitude: Jesus compares the attitude of
the Scribes and the Pharisees to that of street-children who want to entertain
themselves by playing wedding and funeral songs. They divide themselves into
two groups. But when one group proposes to sing wedding songs and asks the
other group to dance, the second group will propose funeral songs and ask the
first group to carry one of them on their shoulders as they act out a funeral
procession. In the end both groups will be frustrated. Jesus states that the
Scribes and Pharisees act exactly like these irresponsible and immature
children because of their pride and prejudice. Jesus criticizes the unbelieving
Jews for not listening either to John the Baptist, who preached a message of
austerity and repentance, or to Jesus, who preached the good news of love,
mercy and salvation.
Life messages: 1) Jesus’ parable about
disappointed playmates challenges us to examine whether we are buffet Catholics
with selective hearing, so that we hear only what we want to hear. Jesus’
message of the kingdom of God is Good News and it produces
true joy and spiritual freedom for those who will listen, but it is also a
warning for those who refuse to listen and close their minds. 2) Hearing the
Gospel implies the total acceptance and assimilation of what we hear and the
incorporation of it into our daily lives. Like the generation of Jesus’ time,
our age is marked by indifference and contempt, especially in regard to the
things of Heaven. Indifference dulls our ears to God’s voice and to the Good
News of the Gospel. Only the humble of heart can find joy and favor in God’s
grace. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Dec 11 Saturday (St. Damasus I, Pope)
The context: Today’s Gospel describes the
warning and instruction given by Jesus to Peter, James and John as they were
coming down the mountain after witnessing Jesus’ Transfiguration. Jesus forbade
them to give any publicity to what they had seen, because people were expecting
a conquering political messiah with Elijah as his forerunner, and a powerful
reformer who would destroy evil and restore justice in the land for the messiah
to rule.
The Expected Messiah. Then Jesus indicated that he was the
expected Messiah, and that John was the Elijah they had been waiting for.
John’s mission was to prepare the way for the first coming of the Messiah, as
Elijah’s mission would be to prepare the world for the Messiah’s second coming
at the end of the world. The scribes misunderstood and taught that Elijah would
come before the first coming of Jesus, the Messiah, and Jesus told his
disciples that for those who were willing to believe it, John the Baptist had
served as Elijah in announcing His own coming and preparing the people to
receive Him. Jesus also reminded his disciples that he would fulfill his role
as the Messiah not by gaining political power but by his suffering and death.
Life messages:1) Let us accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, who became our Messiah through his death on the cross. 2) We do so by cooperating with our Savior in our eternal salvation, by obeying his commandment of love and by following the instructions given by the Church Jesus founded. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
