March 27 Monday:
The context: The Jewish civil and criminal code
considered three grave sins as punishable by death, namely idolatry, murder,
and adultery. The Law (Lv 18:20; 20:10; Dt 22:22), prescribes death for both
the married woman and her partner if they are caught in adultery. If the guilty
woman is betrothed, and she and her partner are within the City, both are to be
taken outside the City gate and stoned to death (Dt 22-23). In both cases they
have violated God’s sixth commandment and have destroyed the fidelity and unity
of marriage. In today’s Gospel, we find the Pharisees preparing a trap for
Jesus by bringing to him a woman caught in adultery. The trap and the escape:
If Jesus consented to her death by strangulation or stoning, he would be
violating the Roman law which forbade killing by private citizens. In addition,
he would lose his reputation as a merciful rabbi. If Jesus said “no,” he would
violate the Mosaic Law. Hence, Jesus ingeniously escaped from the trap by
leaving the judgment to the conscience of the accusers. St. Augustine puts
Jesus’ stand as follows: “Let this woman be punished, but not by sinners; let
the law be applied, but not by its transgressors.” Jesus condemned sin, but not
the sinner. He gave her a stern warning not to sin anymore, but showed her
mercy, compassion and forgiveness.
Life messages: 1) We too should learn to hate
sin and love the sinners showing them mercy and compassion, sympathy, and
acceptance, and leading them to noble ways by our own exemplary lives. 2) We
should show mercy and compassion to those who sin because we ourselves are
sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. 3) We have no right to judge others
because we often commit the very faults we condemn, we are often partial and
prejudiced in our judgment, and we do not know the circumstances which led
someone to sin.
Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
March 28 Tuesday:
The context: Through his teaching and healing
ministry, Jesus tried to convince his listeners that he was the promised
Messiah. But only a few of his followers acknowledged him as the Messiah. The
pride and the prejudice of the scribes and the Pharisees prevented them from
seeing anything Divine in Jesus. Hence, Jesus gave them the warning that he was
going to the place where he had come from, and they would not be able to go
there. They misunderstood Jesus’ statement about his going home to Heaven as
planning suicide. So, Jesus gave the Jews the warning that they would die in
their sins unless they believed in him as the saving Messiah and accepted his
teaching. Then Jesus clarified how he was going to save those who believed in him
by referring to the story of Moses’ bronze serpent, a symbol of God’s
benevolent saving will, exercised toward His wayward, now repentant, children.
Just as the complaining Israelites in the desert were healed and saved from the
serpent bites by looking at the bronze serpent lifted on the pole, Jesus, too,
would be lifted on a cross for the salvation and freedom from sin of all
mankind. Jesus further explained that his cross would defeat sin and death and
that he would give everlasting life to those who believed in him as the
Messiah. Jesus declared his Divinity when he said, “I am He.
Life messages: 1) We need to be humble
instruments in the hand of God, trusting in His power and goodness. St.
Augustine reminds us that God Who created us without our permission cannot save
us without our active cooperation, for to do so would be a violation of our
free will, His gift to us so that we might love Him and each other freely, or
reject Him and each other in equal freedom. Hence, let us cooperate in the
fulfillment of God’s plan for us with Mary’s trusting Faith and humility.
2) Like Mary who brought God to us as Jesus our Savior, we
are called to carry Jesus and bring him to the lives of others around us in
love, mercy, forgiveness, and service. “Let the soul of Mary be in each one of
you to magnify the Lord. Let the spirit of Mary be in each one to exult in
Christ.” (St. Ambrose).
Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
March 29 Wednesday:
The context: Today’s first reading, taken from
the book of the prophet Daniel, tells us how King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had
a 90-foot tall and 3- foot wide, 3-foot thick golden statue built, then
commanded all his subjects to bow down in adoration before it as a test of
loyalty. Many Jews did so, fearing persecution and death. But three young
Jewish men, who were favorites of the king and were employed by the King in the
royal court, refused to worship the statue because of their religious belief in
one God, Yahweh. Hence, they were thrown into a fiery furnace to die. There,
Yahweh, the only God, Whom they worshipped faithfully, protected them, as they
were ready to sacrifice their lives rather than turn their backs on Him. It was
their Faith, their loyal allegiance to God and their obedience to His will that
saved them.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus told the unbelieving Jews that it
was such loyal Faith and obedience to his teachings that would make them his
disciples, enjoying true freedom. Jesus explained to them that true freedom is
freedom from sin, submitting their hearts and wills to God their Father
speaking through His Son Jesus. The Jews argued that they had never been slaves
to foreign gods, although they had been under Persian, Babylonian, Greek, and
Roman rulers. They claimed they had always kept the Faith of Abraham their
father. Jesus plainly told them that they were slaves of sin and the devil
because they not only refused to accept him as the Son of God and obey his
words but were also planning to kill him.
Life messages: 1) Let us become true disciples
of Christ by believing in Christ’s teachings, studying and mediating on his
words in Holy Scripture, and obeying his commandment of love in our daily
lives. 2) Let us seek Jesus’ help and the guidance of the Holy Spirit that we
may be freed from slavery to sins, evil habits, attachments, and addictions. 3)
Let us grow in true Christian discipleship by freely submitting our heart,
mind, and will to an all-merciful, all-loving, all-wise God.
Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
March 30 Thursday:
The context: In today’s Gospel, Jesus surprises
and infuriates the Jews by the blinding lightning and deafening thunder of his
Divine claims. First, Jesus claimed that one who kept his words would not die
because his words were God’s words. The Jews responded, arguing that even a
great man of Faith, like Abraham who kept God’s words, had died. Next Jesus
claimed that he had unique knowledge of God because he came from God. The Jews
believed that God had revealed everything about Himself through the Torah.
Third, Jesus claimed a unique obedience to God, his Father, because he thought,
spoke, and acted as God wished. The Jews believed that their fathers and
prophets had obeyed God perfectly. Fourth, Jesus claimed that he was not
limited by time and, hence, that he was there with God even before Abraham, and
that Abraham had seen Jesus. The Jews believed that Abraham had been given a
vision of the entire history of Israel including the vision of the Messiah “and
he was glad.” At this last claim, the Jews attempted to stone Jesus for
blasphemy. But Jesus escaped.
Life message: 1) We need to put our trust in
Jesus because of His claims of Divinity. If we believe that we will receive
eternal life by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we need to live out our
belief by obeying him. As God, Jesus is present in all areas of our lives, so
we need to talk to him about everything and listen to him always. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
March 31 Friday:
The context: In the first reading, the prophet
Jeremiah laments over the false accusations leveled against him by his friends
and enemies. In the Gospel, Jesus refutes the accusation of blasphemy and
avoids the attempt at stoning him to death (the Jewish punishment for
blasphemy), by giving two proofs of his Divinity and equality with God as the
Son of God. Jesus was called a blasphemer when he forgave the sins of the
paralytic (Mt 9:1-8). Later during his trial before the Sanhedrin, the High
Priest would do the same when Jesus solemnly confessed his Divinity.
Two arguments supporting Jesus’ Divinity: 1) The Book of
Psalms, a book of Jewish Holy Scripture, reminds the Jewish judges of their
high dignity and consequent responsibility saying: “You are gods, sons
of the Most High” (Ps 82:6) because they are commissioned by God to
act in the place of God in promoting His Justice. (God is reprimanding unjust
judges reminding them of their position and role). If they can be called sons
of God, Jesus argues, his saying, “I am consecrated and sent by God (meaning,
“Hence, I share the Divinity of God and claim it”), is not blasphemy but truth.
2) The truth that Jesus is the Son of God is supported also by the credentials
of his miracles. Jesus claims that it is his Father who does these miracles
through him. Hence, Jesus challenges his accusers to accept his deeds even if
they cannot accept his claim.
Life messages: 1) By Baptism we are made
children of God, heirs of Heaven, and members of the Trinitarian family of God.
2) We, too, are consecrated and commissioned by our Baptism to bear witness to
Jesus and his ideals.
Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
April 1 Saturday: Jn 11: 45-56:
The context: Today’s Gospel gives the reaction
of the High Priest and his associates when the news about Jesus’ raising of
Lazarus reached their ears. They convened a session of the Council to consider
the matter. (Lectio Divina To understand this reaction of one part
of the population, it is necessary to become aware that half of the population
of Jerusalem depended completely on the Temple for their lives and survival.
Because of this, it would have been difficult for them to support an unknown
prophet from Galilee who criticized the Temple and the religious authorities.
This also explains why some even were ready to inform the authorities. They
were afraid of the Romans, because in the past it had been shown many times, by
the Roman invasions in the year 64 before Christ until the time of Jesus, that
the Romans repressed with great violence any attempt at popular rebellion. (Cf.
Acts 5:35-37).In the case of Jesus, the Roman reaction could have led to the
loss of everything, even of the Temple and of the privileged position of the
priests). Caiaphas, who led the Council, had held the High Priesthood from the
year 18 to the year 36 AD. It was the popular belief that when a High Priest
asked for God’s counsel for the nation of Israel, God would speak through him.
God used Caiaphas to prophesy the redemptive death of Jesus for the whole world
when Caiaphas said: “It is expedient for you that One Man should die
instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” Here,
Caiaphas’ words have two meanings: 1) Caiaphas meant he wanted to put Christ to
death on the pretext that that would ensure the political peace and survival of
Israel. 2) The Holy Spirit meant that the new Israel, the Kingdom of God, the
Church, would be founded through the death of Christ on the Cross, and that His
death would save not only Israel but “all the children of God who are scattered
abroad.” The prophets had already announced that the future assembly of
Israelites faithful to God would form the new people of Israel. These
prophecies were fulfilled by the death of Christ, Who, when raised up on the
cross, drew and gathered together the true people of God, composed of all
believers, whether Israelites or not.
Life messages: 1) We are entering Holy Week
tomorrow. It is in Holy Week that we gratefully remember how Jesus died for the
whole world. 2) These are days given us by God so that we may express our
gratitude to Christ who died for our sins, by repentance, by the renewal of our
lives, and by our preparation to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord.
Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
