Advent 2nd Week: 5-10
Dec 5 Monday:
The context: Beyond showing Divine authority
over temptation, over the lives of men, over nature, over demons and over
sickness, in today’s Gospel we see Jesus demonstrating a new form of Divine
authority – the authority to forgive sins: Jesus offers a miraculously restored
paralyzed man to health as proof. The healing episode presents Jesus as God
Incarnate, sent to save us, restore us, and make us new. So we have to look
beyond the boundaries of our religious experience if we are to appreciate the
healing and forgiving operation of our God in newer and newer ways.
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 able 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, in the priest’s spoken words of
absolution, 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 6 Tuesday: (St. Nicholas, Bishop):
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, 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/)
Dec 7 Wednesday: (St. Ambrose, Bishop, Doctor of the
Church):
The context: In today’s Gospel, Jesus
offers rest to those who labor and are burdened, if they are
ready to accept his easy yoke and light burden. For the
Orthodox Jew, religion was a matter of burdens, namely, 613 Mosaic laws and
thousands of oral interpretations, which dictated every aspect of life. Jesus
invites the overburdened Israel, and us, to take his yoke upon our shoulders.
In Palestine, ox-yokes were made of wood and were carved to fit the ox
comfortably. The yoke of Christ can be seen as the sum of our Christian
responsibilities and duties. Jesus’ yoke is light because it is given with
love. It is the commandment to love others as Jesus did. Besides, the yoke of
Christ is not just a yoke from Christ but also a yoke with him.
So, we are not yoked alone to pull the plow by our own unaided power. We are
yoked together with Christ to work with him using his strength. Jesus is
inviting each one of us to be yoked with him, to unite our life with him, our
will with his will, our heart with his heart. By saying that his “yoke is
easy,” Jesus means that whatever God sends us is made to fit our needs
and our abilities exactly.
The second part of Jesus’ claim is: “My burden is
light.” Jesus does not mean that his burden is easy to carry, but that
it is laid on us in love. This burden is meant to be carried in love, and love
makes even the heaviest burden light. By following Jesus, one will find peace,
rest, and real refreshment. We are burdened with many things: business,
concerns about jobs, marriage, money, health, children, security, old age, and
a thousand other things. Jesus is asking us to give him our burdens and take on
his yoke. By telling us, “Take my yoke . . . and you will find rest,”
Christ is asking us to do things the Christian way. When we are centered in
God, when we follow God’s commandments, we have no heavy burdens.
Life messages: 1) We need to be freed from
unnecessary burdens: Jesus is interested in lifting off our backs the burdens
that drain us and suck the life out of us, so that he can
place around our necks his own yoke and his burden, that bring to us, and to
others through us, new life, new energy, new joy.
2) We need to unload our burdens before the Lord. One of the
functions of worship for many of us is that it gives us a time for rest and
refreshment, when we let the overheated radiators of our hectic lives cool down
before the Lord. This is especially true when we unload the burdens of our sins
and worries and evil addictions on the altar and offer them to God during the
Holy Mass. (Fr. Kadavil) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Dec 8 Thursday: (The Immaculate Conception of Blessed
Virgin Mary)
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 on Tradition and the Bible: (A) Basis
in Church 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 the 7th century. The feast
spread as the Feast of the 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) Basis in Holy Scripture: 1) God
purified the prophet Jeremiah in the womb of his mother (Jer 1:5 –“Before I
formed you in the womb of your mother I knew you and before you were born, I
consecrated you”), and anointed John the Baptist with His Holy Spirit
before John’s birth as John’s mother attests. (Lk 1:43-44 – “And how does
this happen to me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the
moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped
for joy.” 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) Gn 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)-Basis in reasoning: 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. “Deus
potuit, decuit, fecit.” (Don Scotus).
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 and obedience. 3) Let us
respond to God’s grace by using it to do good to others. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Dec 9 Friday: (St. Juan Diego Cuhtlatoatzin):
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 the behavior
of a glutton and a drunkard, 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 preaching the Good News of love, mercy,
and salvation.
Life messages: 1) Jesus’ parable about
disappointed playmates challenges us to examine ourselves to see if 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: (Our Lady of Loretto):
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 had been 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 the Messiah. But Jesus told the disciples
that (for those who were willing to believe it), John the Baptist had served as
Jesus’ Elijah in announcing and preparing the people to receive a Messiah, who
would fulfill the Messianic mission not by political power, but by suffering
and death.
Life messages:1) Let us accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, Who became our Messiah by dying for us on the cross. 2) We do so by cooperating with our Savior in our eternal salvation, by obeying Jesus’ commandment of love and by following the instructions given by the Church Jesus founded. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)