33rd Week: Nov 7-12
Nov 7 Monday:
The context: In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus
gives us two warnings: 1) We should not give scandal to anyone. 2) We need to
practice unconditional forgiveness. Jesus also stresses our need for trusting
Faith in God’s power if we are to avoid giving scandal and to practice
forgiveness.
The great sin of scandal: Literally, scandal is a trap or
stumbling block. The catechism defines it as any saying, action, or omission
which causes an occasion of sin for another. Giving scandal to children and
beginners in the Faith is a serious sin because it causes a chain reaction of
sins for years, affecting many, taking away the life of grace from the victims.
That is why Jesus says that it would be better for its perpetrators to have
their necks inserted in heavy circular millstones and to be drowned in the sea
than to suffer God’s punishment for this sin.
The necessity of practicing forgiveness: Jesus commands his
followers to forgive their offending brothers and sisters repeatedly, as often
as they are repentant. Further, we need to offer fraternal correction to the
offender with charity, without humiliating him or offending his feelings. At
the same time, we should not allow the offender to violate our just rights.
Sincere forgiveness leads us to forget the particular offense and to extend the
hand of friendship, which in turn helps the offender to repent. Jesus concludes
his instructions by reminding his followers that avoiding scandals and
forgiving the offenders are possible only if they have the trusting faith in
God which enables Him to work miracles in their lives.
Life messages: 1) We need to avoid giving
scandal to any one because it causes a series of sins and does damage to a
number of innocent victims. 2) We should ask God to enlarge our hearts to
forgive others and to help us to be ready to grant forgiveness to those who
have offended us.
(Fr. Kadavil) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Nov 8 Tuesday:
The context: Today’s Gospel gives Jesus’ warning on
complacency in the spiritual life through a parable about a slave and his
relationship with his master. The slave had the duties of a cook as well as
those of a fieldworker. Jesus says that the master wanted him to do fieldwork
till evening, then prepare the supper and serve him at the table. Since both
were parts of his duty, he need not expect a “thank you” from the master. This
parable was a warning also to the Pharisees, who thought that God was indebted
to them because of their scrupulous observance of the Mosaic Law.
The Teaching: We are God’s servants because God owns
everything, and all our possessions have been loaned to us by a generous God.
Our efforts and accomplishments are nothing in comparison with the blessings of
God which we have received. All our devotions, prayers and works of charity
form only a negligible part of our return to God, and the power to do them is
another of His gifts to us. We can never adequately repay the gifts God has
given to us. The Blessed Virgin Mary was fully aware of this truth, and that is
why she responded to God’s messenger saying: “Behold I am the handmaid of
the Lord” (Lk 1:38). St. Bernadette of Soubirous (1844-1879),
the girl to whom the Blessed Mother appeared in Lourdes, France lived a life in
obscurity as a contemplative nun. A journalist was able to track her down and
eventually got the permission of the Prioress to interview her. One question
that the journalist asked of her was why she opted to live in obscure life when
she was so well known all over the world. In answer Bernadette compared herself
to a house broom which has been put aside in a closet after it had been used to
clean the room.
Life messages: 1) We need to offer our prayers
of thanksgiving and acts of charity to God so that we may grow in God’s grace.
2) We need to consider our service to our neighbors as a sacred duty we owe to
God in return for His innumerable blessings. 3) God’s love and generosity
should compel us to give Him the best that is in us as our acts of
thanksgiving.
(Fr. Tony) https://frtonyshomilies.com/
Nov 9 Wednesday: (Dedication of the Lateran
Basilica): Historical note: Today the Church
celebrates the anniversary of the dedication of the Cathedral Church of Rome by
Pope Sylvester I (AD 314-335), in AD 324. This Church serves as the Episcopal
seat of the Pope as the Bishop of Rome and, hence, is called “the mother and
head of all Churches of Rome and the world.” The basilica and baptistery were
built originally by Emperor Constantine and called Basilica Constantinia. Later
it was renamed the Arch-Basilica of the Most Holy Savior. However, it is now
called St. Johns Lateran Basilica because it was built on property donated to
the Church by the Laterani family, and because the monks from the monastery of
St. John the Baptist and St. John the Divine served it. The name St. Johns
comes, first, from the Baptistery, rebuilt after its hard treatment by the
Visigoths (AD 410), by Pope St. Sixtus II (AD 432-440), and dedicated by him to
St. John the Baptist. Later, Pope St. Hilary (AD 461-468), dedicated it to St.
John the Evangelist, in thanksgiving to that apostle for saving his life. [Richard
P. McBrien, Lives of the Popes (San Francisco, CA:
HarperCollins Publishers,
1997), pp. 58-58, 71-72, 77-78.].
The context: Today’s Gospel gives us the dramatic
account of Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem. He drove out its
merchants and moneychangers with moral indignation at the unjust
commercialization of God’s House of Prayer and the exploitation of the poor
pilgrims in the name of religion. The merchants charged exorbitant prices for
animals for sacrifices, and the moneychangers charged unjust commissions for
the required exchange of pagan coins for Temple coins. Jesus cleansed the
Temple in Jerusalem. Originally built by Solomon in 966 BC and rebuilt by
Zerubbabel in 515 BC after the Babylonians had destroyed it, the Temple was
still being renovated for the last time finishing the work begun in 20 BC by
King Herod the Great. The abuses which infuriated Jesus were 1) the conversion
of a place of prayer to a noisy marketplace and 2) the unjust business
practices of animal merchants and moneychangers, encouraged by the Temple
authorities. Hence, Jesus made a whip of cords and drove away the animals and the
moneychangers, quoting Zechariah the prophet, “Stop making My Father’s house
a marketplace”(Zechariah 14:21).
Life messages: 1) We need to avoid the business
mentality of profit and loss in Divine worship. Our relationship with God must
be that of a child to his parent, one of love, respect and desire for the
common good, with no thought of gain or loss. 2) We need to remember that we
are the temples of the Holy Spirit. Hence, we have no right to desecrate God’s
temple by impurity, injustice, pride, hatred, or jealousy. 3) We need to love
our parish Church and use it. Our Church is the place where we come together as
a community to praise and worship God, to thank Him for His blessings, to ask
pardon and forgiveness for our sins, and to offer our lives and petitions on
the altar. Let us make our Church an even more holy place by adding our prayers
and songs to community worship and by offering our time, talents, and treasure
in the various ministries of our parish.
(Fr. Tony) https://frtonyshomilies.com/
Nov 10 Thursday: (St. Leo the Great, Pope, Doctor of
the Church):
The context: The Jews believed that the sudden
and unexpected arrival of the promised Messiah would be accompanied by special
signs. They also believed that the Messiah would be a politician who would rule
Israel forever after overthrowing all other rulers. Hence, they asked Jesus for
the prophesied signs identifying the Messiah – if Jesus were the Messiah.
Jesus’ reply: Jesus replied that the kingdom of
God was already within them, and that was the greatest
messianic sign. The Greek word we translate as “within” means both within
you and among you. Considering the kingdom of God as within
you, we are to understand that the Messiah is going to rule the hearts and
minds of individuals, creating a revolution in human hearts and converting them
from stony hearts to Spirit-filled loving, merciful, and compassionate hearts.
Considering the kingdom of God as among you, we are to understand
that God Himself is present among His people in the Person of Jesus of
Nazareth, representing the Kingdom of God and doing God’s will in the most
perfect way possible. Jesus also warned the Pharisees not to search for the
Messiah anywhere else. He would appear again in Jesus’ Second Coming, quite
unexpectedly, and as unmistakably as a flash of lightning that “lights up the
sky from one side to the other.”
Life messages: 1) Let us be Kingdom people by
allowing Jesus, the true Messiah, to have complete control of our lives. 2)Let
us allow Jesus, to rule our lives by giving Jesus priority in all our actions.
(Fr. Tony) https://frtonyshomilies.com/
Nov 11 Friday: (St. Martin of Tours, Bishop):
The context: In today’s Gospel, Jesus is
prophesying three endings: 1) the end of his public life, 2) the destruction of
Jerusalem, and 3) the end of the world. Jesus warns his listeners to be ready
and not to think that they can postpone their preparations, because when the
end strikes it will already be too late. Through this prophecy and warning,
Jesus asks us, too, 1) to be ready to meet him as our Judge at his Second
Coming, whenever that may take place, and 2) to be prepared to meet him and to
give him an account of our lives at the moment of our death, which is also
unknown to us.
We need to learn lessons from the past: Jesus gives
the example of the Flood during Noah’s time, when people ate and drank right up
to the moment of disaster. Similarly, he goes on, in the days of Lot, people
were leading their ordinary, sinful lives when fire and brimstone rained down
on the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Only Lot and his family, who had
been previously warned, and directly assisted, by the angels, escaped. The same
events would be repeated at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem (AD 70), and
will be repeated again at the end of the world. Some will be saved and others
destroyed. Some will be prepared to meet their God and will be rewarded, while
the unprepared will be punished. The criterion of selection will be our
intimacy with Jesus in a life of grace. If we really want to see the Kingdom of
God on earth in our times, we need only look at people’s lives. The Kingdom is
there when people are reflecting in their lives the vision of life and the
values that Jesus revealed to us, that is, loving God in offering loving ,
humble service to all they encounter.
Life messages: 1) We need to stay ready always
by living holy and prayerful lives spent in doing good for others. 2) We need
to make reparation for our past sins and to prepare our lives to meet our
Savior as our Judge by living lives of penance and prayer and by doing works of
charity.
(Fr. Tony) https://frtonyshomilies.com/
Nov 12 Saturday: (St. Josaphat, Bishop, Martyr):
The context: Today’s Gospel gives a parable
Jesus told during his last trip to Jerusalem. When Luke recorded this passage,
the Parousia or Second Coming of Jesus had
been delayed beyond the limits the early Church had expected. Further, the
Church was experiencing persecution from both the Jews and the Romans. The
persecuted early Christians were finding it increasingly difficult to maintain
their Faith. Today’s Gospel lesson, addressing the issues of Faith in difficult
times, must have reassured those disciples, as Jesus reassured His own
contemporaries, that God was listening to their persistent prayers and would
grant them justice and vindicate their Faith in the end. Jesus presents the
widow in today’s Gospel as a model of the trust and tenacity with which all his
disciples are to pray.
The parable: This parable is based on the
corrupt Roman legal practices prevalent in Palestine at the time of Jesus. The
judge in the parable was a magistrate appointed either by Herod or by the
Romans. Such judges were avaricious and corrupt, demanding bribes for a
favorable decision, and they had no fear of God or the public. By publicly
badgering the judge every day, the woman was trying to shame this shameless person.
Finally, the unjust judge was forced to yield. Hence, this parable is not only
about the efficacy of persistent prayer, but also shows us how God’s Justice
reaches out to the poor and the weak, enabling them to fight against injustice.
The parable teaches us that the purpose of all our prayers is the augmentation
of our trusting Faith in a loving and caring God Who is our Father.
Life messages: 1) Prayer attunes our minds to God’s, enabling us to do what He wants. The parable teaches us that our prayers do not change God’s will. Instead, they bring our hearts into line with His purposes. Sincere and persistent prayer makes us ready to accept and live out His will in love and trust. 2) We should not expect to get whatever we pray for. We would like to get from God what we want , when and how we want it! God always hears all our prayers, but He knows how and when to grant our prayers. Only God sees time whole, and, therefore, only God knows what is good for us, and when, in the long run. Hence, we have to leave it to God’s decision saying, “Thy will be done,” and to express our trusting Faith in, and dependence on, Him by persevering in our prayers.
(Fr. Tony) https://frtonyshomilies.com/
