Jan 2 Monday (Saints Basil the Great & Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops)
The context: The news reached the central Jewish
religious authorities in Jerusalem that one John, the son of a Jewish priest,
was preaching repentance and renewal of life to the Jews and inviting them to
receive the baptism of repentance meant only for Gentiles. Hence, the Sanhedrin
sent a delegation of experts to Bethany on the eastern bank of river Jordan (different
from the Bethany near Jerusalem, where Lazarus lived), to discover whether John
was claiming to be the expected Messiah or his forerunner Elijah, the prophet,
and to ask why he encouraged the Chosen People to receive the baptism of
repentance.
John’s witnessing mission: John frankly declared in all
humility that he was not Elijah nor the expected Messiah nor even one of the
Old Testament prophets reincarnated. Later, Jesus referred to him as “a lamp “He
was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in
his light (Jn 5:35). In the spiritual life, the ideal is to become
invisible, and our role as Christians is to become salt, yeast, grain, and
light. But John claimed that he was the forerunner of the real Messiah, and
that his mission was to prepare the lives of the Jews to receive the expected
Messiah and to bear witness to him when he should appear in public. John also
explained to them that he was baptizing the Jews with water because they must
be made holy through repenting of their sins and renewing their lives if they
were to receive the most Holy Messiah in their midst.
Life messages: 1) As Catholic Christians, we
believe in the coming of Jesus our Lord and Savior on our altars during each
Eucharistic celebration. Hence, we, too, need to repent of our sins and ask
God’s pardon and forgiveness on a daily basis if we wish to receive Jesus into
our hearts and lives sacramentally. 2) We, too, need to renew our lives with
the help of our Lord Jesus living within us, together with the Father and the
Holy Spirit, so that He may radiate His love, forgiveness, and mercy to all
around us. 3) We too need to practice the true humility of John the Baptist. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Jan 3 Tuesday: (The Most Holy name of Jesus):
The context: The central theme of today’s Gospel
is a challenge to live like the Lamb of God and to die like the Lamb of God. The
Gospel passage presents two themes, namely, John’s witness to Jesus and Jesus’
epiphany and identification by John as the “Lamb of God.” Today’s Gospel is a
personal and corporate call to us to become witnesses to the Lamb of God. John
the Baptist gave testimony to Jesus by pointing out that He was the Lamb
of God (vv. 29, 36); a man who was before me (vs.
30); the one on whom the Holy Spirit remained (v. 33);
and the Son of God (vs. 34). Lamb of God is
the most meaningful title given to Jesus in the Bible. John’s introduction
probably brought five pictures of the “lamb” to the minds of his Jewish
listeners. 1) The Lamb of yearly Atonement (Scapegoat): (Lv 16:20-22). Two
lambs were brought to the Temple on the Day of Atonement. Lots were cast, and
the high priest slowly led one to the altar to be killed as a sin offering for
the people. Then he placed both his hands on the head of the other and
confessed the sins of Israel and transferred them to that scapegoat. It was
then sent into the forest to be killed by some wild animal. 2) The Lamb of
Daily Atonement (Ex. 29:38-42; Nm 28:1-8). This was the lamb sacrificed on the
“Black Altar” of the Temple every morning and evening to atone for the sins of
the Jews. 3) The Paschal Lamb (Ex. 12:11ss.). This was the lamb whose blood
saved the firstborn of the Jewish families in Egypt from the “Angel of
destruction” as well as the Paschal Lamb killed every year on the Passover
Feast. 4) The Lamb of the Prophets. The prophets portrayed one Lamb Who, by His
sacrifice, would redeem His people: “The gentle lamb led to the
slaughterhouse” (Jer 11:19), “like a lamb to the slaughter” (Is
53:7). Both refer to the sufferings and sacrifice of Christ. 5) The Lamb of the
Conquerors. This was the image of the horned lamb on the Jewish flag at the
time of Maccabaean liberation war, used as a sign of conquering majesty and
power.
Life messages: We need to live and die like the Lamb
of God.
(1) Living like a lamb means: a) leading a pure, innocent,
humble, selfless life, obeying Christ’s commandment of love; b) appreciating
the loving providence and protecting care of the Good Shepherd in his Church;
c) eating the Body and drinking the Blood of the Good Shepherd and deriving
spiritual strength from the Holy Spirit through Sacraments and prayers.
(2) Dying like a sacrificial lamb means: a) sacrificially
sharing our blessings of health, wealth, and talents with others in the family,
parish and community; b) bearing witness to Christ in our illness, pain, and
suffering; c) offering our sufferings for the salvation of souls and as
reparation for our sins and those of others(https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Jan 4 Wednesday (St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious (U.
S. A.) John 1:35-42:
In Mathew’s Gospel, Jesus called the fishermen Andrew and
his brother Simon from their fishing boat. But John the Evangelist gives a
slightly different story. According to him, Andrew and he (John, son of
Zebedee) were disciples of John the Baptist. John the Baptist wanted them to
join the true Messiah, Jesus, as His disciples. So, one day when Andrew and
John (according to tradition) were standing with their master, John the
Baptist, Jesus happened to pass in front of them. John the Baptist promptly introduced
Jesus to them as the Lamb of God. It was natural for Andrew and John to guess
what their master, John the Baptist, wanted them to do. So, they followed
Jesus. Since Sabbath rest was about to begin when travel was forbidden, Jesus
cordially invited them to come and stay with Him and learn more about his life
and mission till the Sabbath was over.
When the Sabbath rest with Jesus was over, Andrew and John
went home. Andrew was so fascinated with Jesus and his contact with him the
previous day that he promptly told his brother Simon about Jesus: “We
have found the Messiah.” Without wasting time Andrew brought his
brother to Jesus. Jesus surprised Simon by calling him by his name, Simon, and
changing that Hebrew name to the Greek name, Cephas (Peter), meaning
rock, and accepting him as His disciple.
Life message: 1) We need to be missionaries like
Andrew. Just as a day’s contact with Jesus transformed Andrew into a
missionary, leading his brother to Jesus, we are expected to experience Jesus
in our lives by Bible reading, personal prayers and sacramental life and acts
of charity. Once we experience Jesus personally, we too must start leading
others to the same experience of Jesus as their Lord and Savior, enabling them
to surrender their lives to Jesus, too. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Jan 5 Thursday: St. Jon Neumann, Bishop (U.S. A):
In today’s Gospel of John (John
1:43-51), Nathanael, also called Bartholomew or “son of Tholomay,” is
introduced as a friend of Philip. He is described as initially being sceptical
about the Messiah coming from Nazareth, saying: “Can anything good come out
of Nazareth?” But he accepts Philip’s invitation to meet Jesus. Jesus
welcomes him saying, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no
guile!” Jesus’ comment, “Before Philip called you, when you
were under the fig tree, I saw you,” is probably based on a Jewish
figure of speech referring to studying the Torah. Nathanael
immediately recognizes Jesus as “the Son of God” and “the King of
Israel.” Nathanael reappears at the end of John’s Gospel (Jn
21:2) as one of the disciples to whom Jesus appeared at the Sea
of Tiberius after his resurrection from the tomb. The Gospels
thus present Bartholomew as a man with no malice and a lover of Torah with
openness to truth and readiness to accept the truth. Nathanael was the first
Apostle to make an explicit confession of Faith in Jesus as the Messiah and as
the Son of God.
Life message: Let us pray for the grace to love the
word of God as Bartholomew did and to accept the teaching of the Bible and the
Church with open heart and open mind without pride or prejudice. (Fr. Tony)
Jan 6 Friday: (St. Andre Bessette, Religious (U.S.A.)
Introduction: The Baptism of the Lord is the
great event celebrated by the Eastern churches on the feast of Epiphany because
it is the occasion of the first public revelation of all the Three Persons in the
Holy Trinity, and the official revelation of Jesus as the Son of God to the
world by God the Father. Hence, it is described by all four Gospels. It marks
the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.
Importance: The baptism from John was a very
important event in the life of Jesus because 1) it was a moment of his
identification with us sinners; 2) it was a moment of conviction about his
identity and mission: that Jesus is the Son of God and his mission is to preach
the Good News of God’s love and salvation and to atone for our sins by becoming
the “suffering servant”; 3) it was a moment of equipment: the Holy
Spirit equipped Jesus by descending on him in the form of dove, giving him the
power of preaching and healing; and 4) it was a moment of decision to begin
public ministry at the most opportune time after receiving the approval of his
Heavenly Father as His beloved Son.
Life messages: (1) The baptism of Jesus reminds
us of our identity. It reminds us of who we are and Whose we are. By our
Baptism we become sons and daughters of God, members of God’s family, brothers
and sisters of Jesus, members of his Church, heirs of Heaven and temples of the
Holy Spirit. (2) Jesus’ baptism reminds us also of our mission: a) to
experience the presence of God within us, to acknowledge our own dignity as
God’s children, and to appreciate the Divine presence in others by honoring
them, loving them and serving them in all humility; b) to live as the children
of God in thought, word, and action; c) to lead a holy and transparent
Christian life, and not to desecrate our bodies (the temples of the Holy Spirit
and members of Jesus’ body) by impurity, injustice, intolerance, jealousy, or
hatred; d) to accept both the good and the bad experiences of life as the gifts
of a loving Heavenly Father for our growth in holiness; e) to grow daily in
intimacy with God by personal and family prayers, by meditative reading of the
Word of God, by participating in the Holy Mass, and by frequenting the Sacrament
of Reconciliation. (3) It is a day to thank God for the graces we have received
in Baptism, to renew our Baptismal promises, and to preach Christ’s “Good News”
by our transparent Christian lives of love, mercy, service, and forgiveness.
(Fr. Tony)
Jan 7 Saturday: (St. Raymond Penyafort,
Priest)
We are at a wedding at Cana where Jesus reveals his Divine
power by his first miracle, transforming water into wine. The Bible begins with
one wedding, that of Adam and Eve in the garden (Gn 2:23-24), and ends with
another, the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rv 19:9, 21:9, 22:17). Throughout the
Bible, marriage is the symbol of the Covenant relationship between God and His
chosen people. God is the faithful Groom and humanity is His beloved bride.
In today’s Gospel, John describes the first of the seven
“signs’ by which Jesus showed forth his divinity. When the wine ran
out, Jesus’ mother told him about it. At first Jesus seemed to refuse to do
anything about it. But later he told the servants to fill six large stone jars
with water and take some to the headwaiter. When they did so, the water had
become wine, better wine than that which had run out.
Life messages: 1) We need to, “Invite Jesus and Mary to remain with us in our homes.” St. John Mary Vianney suggests this as the solution for many of our family problems. He used to encourage parents to create an atmosphere of prayer, Bible reading, mutual love and respect, and sacrificial service at home so that the presence of Jesus and Mary might be perpetually enhanced and experienced in the family. 2) We need to, “Do whatever He tells you.” This is the only command and piece of advice given by Mary recorded in the New Testament, and it is a prerequisite for miracles in our families. The Bible tells us how to do the will of God and effect salvific changes in our daily lives. 3) Just as Jesus filled the water jars with wine, let us fill the hearts around us with love. If our families have lost the savor of mutual love, let us renew them at the altar with the invigorating power of the Holy Spirit. By the miracle of Cana, Jesus challenges us also to enrich the empty lives of those around us with the new wine of love, mercy, concern, and care. 4) We need to learn to appreciate the miracles of God’s providence in our lives. God, often as an uninvited guest in our families, works daily miracles in our lives by protecting us from physical and moral dangers, providing for our needs, inspiring us, and strengthening us with His Holy Spirit. Let us also appreciate the miracle of the Real Presence of the Lord on the altar, where God transforms our offering of bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus. (Fr. Tony)
