13th Week: June 27- July 2:
June 27 Monday (St. Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop, Doctor of the Church)
The context: Today’s Gospel passage explains the cost of Christian discipleship and the total commitment, wholehearted constancy, and sacrificial ministry that the Christian mission requires. It was quite unexpected for a learned scribe to volunteer to become Jesus’ disciple. But Jesus offered him no false promises, telling him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has not whereon to lay his head.” Jesus was simply being honest about the demands and the cost of a commitment the scribe might make too lightly and an arduous journey he might be undertaking too easily. Being a Christian is not an easy or comfortable affair. It calls for a lot of self-control and self-denial, putting God before everything else. Jesus’ response to another would-be disciple who asked for more time before becoming a disciple sounds harsh: “Let the dead bury their dead.” But this man’s father was not dead or sick. The man had simply asked to stay with his father until the father’s death. Jesus knew that later he would find another reason to delay answering the call.
Life messages: 1) We need to honour our
commitments: Today, more than ever, people make marriage commitments too easily
and then break them. The problem today is that the couples do not have the
courage to make the commitment of marriage. We all know there
is a tremendous shortage of priests and religious. Our young people are
unwilling to make commitments to God by committing themselves to life-long
celibacy, obedience to a Bishop or religious superior or to the vowed life of a
religious community.
2) We need to pray for strength to honour our commitments.
We are here this morning because, in one way or another, we have said to Jesus,
“I will follow You.” Sometimes we have been faithful to Jesus, and other times
we have not. Hence, we need to pray for strength to honour our commitments, we
need to ask for forgiveness when we fail, and we need to renew our
determination to walk with Jesus by being loyal to our spouse and family,
earning our living honestly, and living not only peacefully, but lovingly, with
our neighbours. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
June 28 Tuesday: (St. Irenaeus, Bishop, Martyr)
The context: Matthew’s emphasis on Jesus’
wondrous works helps him to reveal Jesus’ true Messianic identity. The role of
God in calming the storms of life is the central theme of today’s Gospel. By
describing the miracle, Matthew also assures his first-century believers that
nothing can harm the Church as long as the risen Lord is with them. The
incident reminds us today to keep Jesus in our life’s boat and to seek his help
in the storms of life.
The storm: The Sea of Galilee is a lake thirteen miles long
from north to south and eight miles broad from east to west at its widest. It
is notorious for its sudden storms. When a cold wind blows from the west, the
valleys, gullies and hills act like gigantic funnels compressing the storms and
letting them rush down to the lake to create violent waves. Unable to control
their fears, the disciples wake Jesus up, accusing him of disregarding their
safety. Jesus’ response is immediate. At once he rises and rebukes the winds
and the sea, and instantly there is total calm. Only then does Jesus gently
chide his terrified and now astonished disciples for the smallness of their
Faith.
Life message: We need to welcome Jesus into the
boat of our life to calm the storms we face. All of us are making a journey
across the sea of time to the shore of eternity, and it is natural that we all
will experience different types of violent storms occasionally in our lives:
physical storms, emotional storms, and spiritual storms. We face storms of
sorrow, doubts, anxiety, worries, temptations, and passion. Only Jesus can give
us real peace in the storm of sorrow or console us for the loss of our dear
ones. When the storms of doubt seek to uproot the very foundations of the
Faith, Jesus is there to still that storm, revealing to us his Divinity and the
authority behind the words of Holy Scripture. He gives us peace in the storms
of anxiety and worries about ourselves, about the unknown future, and about
those we love. Jesus also calms the storms of passion in people who have hot
hearts and blazing tempers. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
June 29 Wednesday (St. Peter & St. Paul,
Apostles):
Peter and Paul are the
principal pillars of the Church. Today we celebrate the feast of their
martyrdom. Peter was son of Jona and brother of Andrew. He was
a professional fisherman from Bethsaida, a fishing town on the Lake of Galilee
or Gennesaret. He might have been a follower of John the Baptist. It was his
brother, Andrew, who introduced him to Jesus, and Jesus who changed his name
from Simon to Cephas or Peter. Jesus made Peter the leader of the apostles. At
Caesarea Philippi, Jesus promised to make Peter the head of the Church, and the
risen Jesus confirmed Peter’s precedence. It was the Holy Spirit through Whose
Presence and Power, Peter’s speech on the day of the Pentecost, inaugurated the
active life of the Church. Peter made missionary journeys to Lydda, Joppa and
Caesarea He also offered the decisive argument settling the question of Gentile
converts and the Jewish Law at the first Council in Jerusalem. He wrote two
epistles to the whole Church, and he was martyred in Rome by crucifixion under
the emperor Nero.
Paul,the “Apostle to the Gentiles” and the greatest
apostolic missionary, was a Roman citizen by birth, as he had been born in the
Roman colony of Tarsus. His original name was Saul. As a Pharisee, he was sent
to Jerusalem by his parents to study the Mosaic Law under the great rabbi
Gamaliel. As a student, he learned the trade of tent-making. He was present at
the stoning of Stephen and “consented to” this deed (Acts
8:1). But he was miraculously converted on his way to Damascus to arrest the
Christians. He made several missionary journeys, converted hundreds of Jews and
Gentiles and established Church communities. Paul wrote 14 epistles. He was
arrested and kept in prison for two years in Caesarea and lived under house
arrest for two more years in Rome. Finally, he was martyred by beheading at Tre
Fontane in Rome.
Life Messages: 1) Just as Peter and the other
apostles did, we must open our eyes, ears, and hearts wide to see, hear and
experience the Risen Lord coming into our life in various disguises,
circumstances, and events, reminding us of our mission to proclaim the Good
News in deed and in word. 2) We need to love, obey, and pray for Pope Francis
and the bishops and priests who are the successors of Peter and the Apostles as
they continue the work of the Risen Lord with and for us. 3) Each one of us has
a unique mission in the church, as a believer, parent etc., and we are
challenged to do it.
(https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
June 30 Thursday (The First Martyrs of the Holy
Roman Church):
The context: Beyond exercising Divine authority
over temptation, over the lives of men, over nature, over demons, and over
sickness, Jesus, as we see in today’s Gospel demonstrates a new form of
authority – the Divine authority to forgive sins. Jesus miraculously restores a
paralyzed man to health as a sign of having this Divine authority. The healing
episode presents Jesus as God Incarnate was sent to save us, restore us, and
make us new. So, we have to look beyond the boundaries of our limited religious
experience to appreciate the healing and forgiving operation of our God in
newer and newer ways.
Many kinds of sickness, like the paralysis of the man in the
story, were seen by the Jews as punishment for the personal sins of the
sufferer or of the sufferer’s parents. It was also 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
had 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 Himself,
Jesus had, they thought, blasphemed, insulted God, because forgiving sin is the
exclusive prerogative of God. This healing demonstrates two facts: that we can
never be right physically until we are right spiritually, and 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 Church. Today’s Gospel gives us an invitation to open
ourselves to God’s forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and to hear
from the priest’s mouth the words of Jesus to the paralytic being spoken to us:
“Your sins are forgiven.”
2) 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. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
July 1 Friday (St. Junipero Serra, Priest (U. S. A. )
The context: Today’s Gospel episode of Matthew’s
call to be 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 they owed, the
Jewish people hated and despised them as traitors. They were also considered
public sinners and ostracized by the Pharisees. But Jesus could see in Matthew
a person who needed Divine love and grace. That is why, 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
invitation promised 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?”
Answering that question and stressing Jesus’ ministry as healer, the Master
said, “Those who are well do not need a physician; the sick do.” Then
Jesus challenged the Pharisees, quoting Hosea, “Go and learn the meaning of
the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’” Finally, Jesus
clarified, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” [After
the Ascension, Saint Matthew remained for over ten years in Judea,
writing his Gospel there in about the year 44. Then he went to preach the Faith
in Egypt and especially in Ethiopia, where he remained for twenty-three years. The
relics of Saint Matthew were for many years in the city of Naddaver in Ethiopia,
where Matthew suffered his martyrdom, but were transferred to Salerno in the
year 954].
Life messages: 1) Jesus calls you and me for a
purpose: Jesus has called us through our Baptism, forgiven our sins and
welcomed us as members of the Kingdom. In fact, Jesus calls us daily through
the Word and through the Church to be disciples and to turn away from all the
things that distract us and draw us away from God. 2) Just as 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. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
July 2 Saturday:
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 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. First, Jesus
compared his disciples with the children of the bridal chamber, the selected
friends of the bride and groom who feasted in the company of bride and groom
during a week of honeymoon. Nobody expected them to fast. Jesus explained that
his disciples would fast when he, the bridegroom, was taken away from them. In
the same way, we are to welcome both the joys of Christian life and the crosses
it offers us. Using comparisons of the danger of using new, unshrunken cloth to
make a patch for an old garment and the danger of using old wineskins to store
freshly fermented wine, Jesus told the questioners that they must have more
elastic and open minds and larger hearts to understand and follow his new ideas
which were in many cases different from the traditional Jewish teachings.
Life message: 1) 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. At the same time, we need the Old Testament revelations, the New Testament teachings and the Sacred Tradition of the Church as main sources of our Christian Faith. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
