May 9 Monday: Through today’s Gospel, the Church reminds us of our call to become good shepherds of God’s flock and good sheep of His parishes and invites us to pray for vocations to the priesthood, the diaconate and the consecrated life.
In today’s Gospel, the two brief parables show us Jesus, first, as a selfless, caring “shepherd” who provides for his sheep protection and life itself, and second, as our unique gateway (“sheep gate”), to eternal salvation. Besides guiding his flock to Eternal Life as the Good Shepherd, Jesus is himself the gateway to Eternal Life. The first parable of today’s Gospel contrasts Jesus, the true Shepherd, with fake shepherds, thieves and robbers. Jesus gives us warning against false shepherds and false teachers in his Church. Jesus’ love and concern for each of us must be accepted with trust and serenity because he alone is our Shepherd, and no one else deserves our undivided commitment. As a true Shepherd, he leads his sheep, giving them the food and protection only Jesus, the Good Shepherd, can provide, and he protects us and leads us to true happiness. In the second parable, Jesus compares himself to the Shepherd and to the Gate. The first title represents His ownership because Shepherd is the true owner of the sheep. The second title represents His leadership. Jesus is the Gate, the only Way in or out. He is the One Mediator between God and mankind. All must go through Him, through His Church, in order to arrive in Heaven.By identifying Himself with the sheep-gate, Jesus gives the assurance that whoever enters the pen through Him will be safe and well cared-for. Jesus is the living Door to His Father’s house and Father’s family, the Door into the Father’s safety and into the fullness of life. It is through Jesus, the Door, that we come into the sheepfold where we are protected from the wolves of life. There is safety and security in being a Christian. There is a spiritual, emotional and psychological security and safety when we live within Jesus and his Church, within the protectiveness of Christ, Christian friends and a Christian family.Life Messages: 1) We need to become good
shepherds and good leaders: Everyone who is entrusted with the care of others
is a shepherd. Hence, pastors, parents, teachers, doctors, nurses, government
officials, and caregivers, among others, are all shepherds. We become good
shepherds by loving those entrusted to us, praying for them, spending our time,
talents and blessings for their welfare, and guarding them from physical and
spiritual dangers. Parents must be especially careful of their duties toward
their children, giving them good example and instruction and training them in
Christian principles. 2) We need to become good sheep in the
fold of Jesus, the Good Shepherd: Our local parish is our sheepfold, and our
pastors are our shepherds. Jesus is the High Priest, the Bishops are the
successors of the Apostles, the Pastors and their Deacons are their helpers,
and the parishioners are the sheep. Hence, as the good sheep of the parish,
parishioners are expected to a) hear and follow the voice of our shepherds
through their homilies, Bible classes, counseling, and advice: b) receive the
spiritual food given by our Pastors through our regular participation in the
Holy Mass, our frequenting of the Sacraments, and our participation in the
prayer services, renewal programs, and missions they offer; c) cooperate with
our Pastors by giving them positive suggestions for the welfare of the parish,
by encouraging them in their duties, by offering them loving, constructive
correction when they are found misbehaving or failing in their duties, and
always by praying for them;andd) actively participate in the activities of
various councils, ministries and parish associations. 3) We
need to pray for vocations. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
May 10 Tuesday: St. John of Avila, Priest, Doctor of
the Church;
The context: It was December during the week of
the Jewish Feast of the Dedication of the Temple or Hanukkah, a
week with the year’s shortest days and longest nights. The feast was also known
as the Festival of Lights because during this feast the Jews
lighted lamps representing the Mosaic Law and put them in the windows of the
houses. Hanukkah served as a remembrance ofthe cleansing and
rededicating of the Temple and its altar by the Jewish military commander Judas
Maccabaeus in the year 165 B.C., after he had liberated Jerusalem from the
control of the Seleucid Kings of Syria. The Syrian King Antiochus IV Epiphanes
had profaned the Temple and its altar. It was during Hanukkah, when
Jesus was teaching in Solomon’s portico, that the Jews plotted to trap Jesus by
asking him to declare whether or not he was the promised Messiah.
Jesus’ reply: 1) Jesus accuses the Jews of
unbelief and challenges them to believe in his Messianic and Divine claims by
truthfully assessing his miracles instead of holding to their own personal
ideas about the promised Messiah as a political liberator. 2) Then Jesus gives
the reason why the Jews cannot believe in him. They are not among his sheep.
Faith and eternal life cannot be merited by man’s own efforts: they are a gift
of God, and the Jews are refusing to accept this gift from God. 3) Jesus gives
the assurance that his sheep – his followers – will have eternal life and will
not perish because they are protected by God his Father Who is stronger than
the Evil One. 4) Finally, Jesus declares that he and God the Father are one. In
other words, Jesus reveals that He is one in substance with the Father as far
as Divine Essence or Nature is concerned, but He also reveals that the Father
and the Son are distinct Persons.
Life messages: 1) When doubts about our Faith
haunt us, let us try to read more about our Faith, to consult Catholic experts
in our locality or reliable Catholic sources on the Internet, and to pray for
the light of the Holy Spirit. 2) Let us find protection from the temptations of
the Evil One in the sheepfold of the Church by frequenting the Sacraments of
Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist, by meditative reading of the Bible, by
personal prayers, and by works of charity. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
May 11 Wednesday:
The context: Today’s Gospel text, taken from
John’s Gospel, is a passage from the last public discourse of Jesus before his
arrest and crucifixion.
The main ideas in the passage are 1) Jesus’ relationship
with the Father; 2) Jesus’ role as the Light and Life of the world; and 3) the
criteria for His final judgment of us – Heaven or Hell. First, Jesus teaches us
that he is one with the Father and he is the image of his invisible Father. He
is one with the Father, so that Father speaks through him and operates through
him. Hence, those who accept Jesus and his message accept God the Father’s
message. Second, Jesus claims that he is the Light and Life of the world. Psalm
27 exclaims, “The Lord is my Light and my salvation!” As Light,
Jesus removes the darkness of evil from the world and from our souls, shows us
the correct way to go in life, and gives us the warmth of his sharing,
sacrificial love. As Light, God’s word enables those with eyes of Faith to
perceive the hidden truths of God’s Kingdom. As the Life of the world, Jesus,
by his words, produces the very Life of God within those who
receive these words with Faith. Third, we are rewarded or punished eternally
based on whether or not we accept Jesus and his teachings and whether or not we
live our lives accordingly.
Life messages: 1) As Christians our duty is to
reflect and radiate the light of Jesus in the darkness of evil around us by
acts of sharing love, kindness, forgiveness, and humble service. 2) Let us ask
for the strength of the Holy Spirit to choose Christ and his ideals every day
and to reject everything contrary to Christ’s teachings. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Mark Link S.J. story: W.C. Fields was a film
comedian. A story–maybe apocryphal–says that near the end of his life he spent
a lot of time reading the Bible. Someone asked him about this,
Fields replied, “I’m looking for any loopholes I can find.” The implication was
that Fields knew that he had not lived his life in full accord with Jesus’ teaching. Now
he was looking for a way to excuse himself for this failure when he appeared
before God How fully am I living in accord with the teaching of
Jesus? (http://www.staygreat.com/).
May 12 Thursday: Saints Nereus and Achilleus,
Martyrs;
The context: Today’s Gospel is the second part of the
explanation Jesus gave to his disciples after washing their feet before the
Last Supper. He promised his disciples that that whoever listened to them would
be listening to him as well, provided his preaching disciples became the humble
servants of others.
Gospel lessons: In the first part of today’s
Gospel, Jesus emphasizes the fact that the hallmark of his disciples must be
their readiness and generosity in offering humble and sacrificial service to
others, because that was the model Jesus had given them by his life and
especially by washing their feet. It is by serving others that we become great
before God. In the second part of today’s Gospel, Jesus shows his apostles how
to treat people who are unfaithful and disloyal. Jesus hints at the betrayal of
Judas by quoting Psalm 4:9: “He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against
me.” Instead of distancing himself from Judas, Jesus offers him
reconciliation, showing him more affection by washing his feet and by giving
him a morsel of bread dipped in sauce with his own hand. In the third part,
Jesus gives the basis for apostolic succession, stating that one who receives
his apostles and messengers receives him, thereby receiving God the Father who
sent Jesus.
Life messages: 1) Let us prove that we are true
disciples of Jesus by rendering others humble and loving service today. 2) Let
us learn to be reconciled with those who offend us by unconditionally pardoning
them, by wishing them the very best, and by keeping them in our prayers. Fr.
Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
May 13 Friday: Our Lady of Fatima
The three secrets of Fatima: On July 13, around
noon, the Lady is said to have entrusted three secrets to the children. Two of
the secrets were revealed in 1941 in
a document written by Lúcia, at the request of José
da Silva, Bishop
of Leiria, to assist with the publication of a new edition of a book on
Jacinta. The first secret was a vision of hell and its torments. The second
secret was a statement that World War I would end
and supposedly a prediction of the coming of World War II, should God
continue to be offended and if Russia were not converted. The second half
requests that Russia be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart. When asked by the
Bishop of Leiria in 1943 to reveal the third secret, Lúcia struggled for a
short period, being “not yet convinced that God had clearly authorized her to
act.” However, in October of 1943 the bishop of Leiria ordered her to put it in
writing. Lucia then wrote the secret down and sealed it an envelope not to be
opened until 1960, when “it will appear clearer.” Pope John Paul II directed
the Holy See’s Secretary of State to reveal the third secret in 2000. It spoke
of a “bishop in white who was shot by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and
arrows into him.” Many people, including Pope St. John Paul II himself, linked
this secret to the May 13, 1981 assassination attempt against him in St.
Peter’s Square by Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca. Some claim that this was not
the real secret revealed to Lúcia, despite assertions from the Vatican and Sister
Lucia herself to the contrary. According to Cardinal Angelo Sodano, “it
appeared evident to his Holiness that it was a motherly hand which guided the
bullets past, enabling the dying Pope to halt at the threshold of death.”
(BBC). The local bishop approved the feast of Our Lady of Fatima in 1930; and
it was added to the Church’s worldwide calendar in 2002.
Life messages: 1) We need to become holy
children of a holy Mother by leading pure lives. 2) We need to imitate Mary’s
trusting faith in God’s power, her unconditional surrender and obedience to
God’s will, and her spirit of selfless and humble service. 3) We need to obey
the Fatima message of repentance, renewal of life and praying the Rosary.
Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
May 14 Saturday: St. Matthias, Apostle
The context: Today’s Gospel passage is a part of
Jesus’ Last Supper discourse. Jesus reminds his disciples that he has chosen
them as his friends with a triple mission. First, they are to love others as he
has loved them. Second, they are to bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit in their
lives. Third, they are to ask God the Father in Jesus’ Name, for whatever they
need.
First, Jesus modifies the Old Testament command from “love
your neighbor as you love yourselves” (Lv 19:18) to “love others as I
have loved you.” This means that our love for others must be
unconditional, forgiving, and sacrificial. We, too, must be ready to express
our love for others by our readiness to die for them as Jesus died for us.
Jesus reminds the apostles that the ultimate expression of love (and especially
Christian love, agápê) lies in self-sacrifice for others. Second,
Jesus explains that the calling to produce fruits which the Apostles received,
and which every Christian also receives, does not originate in the individual’s
good desires but in Christ’s free choice. Third, Jesus concludes his advice by
referring to the effectiveness of prayer offered in his Name. That is why the
Church usually ends the prayers of the liturgy with the invocation “Through
Jesus Christ our Lord….”
Life messages: 1) Let us cultivate an abiding
and loving friendship with Jesus: a) The qualities we normally expect
from our friends are trust, mutuality, faithfulness, equality, forgiveness,
joy, and self-sacrifice. Jesus offers us all these qualities in our friendship
with him. b) As a friend, Jesus has trusted us by sharing with us everything
that he has heard from his Father. Hence, we have to trust him as a friend by
listening to him through the Bible and talking to him by prayer. c) As our
friend, Jesus will be always faithful to us. Let us return this fidelity by
being faithful to him in doing His will. d) By calling us his friends, Jesus
makes us equal to him. Let us be proud of this and lead lives worthy of our
unique status. e) As an understanding friend, Jesus is ready to forgive us time
and time again. Let us also forgive those who offend us. f) As a friend, Christ
has told us everything so that our joy might be complete in him. Let us enjoy
Jesus’ Divine friendship. g) Jesus declared that there is no greater love than
to lay down one’s life for a friend. He has done it for us. Hence, let us also
love others sacrificially.
#2: Let us be persons for others: Jesus demonstrated the love God, his Father, has for us by living for us and dying for us. Hence, as his disciples, we are to be persons for others, sacrificing our time, talents, and lives for others. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
