March 23 Thursday: (St. Turibius of Mongorvejo)
The context: In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus
defends His Messianic claims. The Jews demanded proofs for Jesus’ Messianic
claims, quoting Dt 19:15 which requires two or three witnesses to substantiate
a person’s claims. Here, Jesus presents four witnesses who approved His
Messianic and Divine claims:1) John the Baptist, 2) his own
miracles, 3) his Heavenly Father, and 4) the Hebrew Scriptures (our Old
Testament).1) John the Baptist, whom many Jews considered a prophet, bore
witness to Jesus as the “Lamb of God” and the Holy One whose paths he had come
to prepare. 2) The miracles Jesus worked could only have been done by the power
of God his Father. 3) God the Father attested to the Divinity of Jesus at
Jesus’ Baptism (cfr. Jn 1:31-34); at the Transfiguration (cfr. Mt 17:1-8), and
later, in the presence of the whole crowd (cfr. Jn 12:28-30). 4) The Hebrew
Scriptures, especially, the Law and the Prophets, [Toa
& Nebim] bear testimony to Jesus’ Divine and Messianic claims. It was the
Spirit of God Who prompted the prophets of the Old Testament to record their
Messianic prophecies. Then Jesus identifies four obstacles which prevented the
Jews from recognizing him as the Messiah and Son of God: 1) their lack of love
of God, 2) their striving after human glory, 3) their prejudiced interpretation
of Sacred texts, and 4) their lack of Faith in Moses and the prophets.
Life message: When we have doubts about Faith
and the Church’s teachings we need to 1) read the Bible with trusting Faith; 2)
pray for an increase of Faith; 3) learn the teachings of the Church, starting
with the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the official
documents of the Church; 4) accept the mysteries of our Faith, relying on the
Divine Authority and veracity of Jesus; and 5) examine how strong our own
Christian testimony is. Does our life reflect the light of Christ so much that
it brings light to the darkness in others?
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
March 24 Friday:
The context: Today’s Gospel passage describes
Jesus’ secret journey to Jerusalem to participate in the Feast of Tabernacles
(Booths), amid rumors of his possible arrest. But Jesus courageously made his
public appearance in the crowd in Jerusalem and started teaching in the Temple.
Naturally, people started wondering why the authorities did not arrest him.
Jesus’ Messianic claim and the Jewish reaction: Jesus made
two unique and seemingly blasphemous claims. 1) He claimed that he was the
Messiah, God’s Anointed One. 2) Jesus made the additional claim that only he
knew God as He is because Jesus had come from God. By this claim, Jesus
contradicted the belief of the Jews that they had the perfect and final
revelation of God given through Moses and the prophets. In addition, Jesus’
claim to be the Messiah, and the “Son of Man” prophesied by Daniel, with
exclusive and intimate knowledge of God was, they thought, nothing but
blasphemy. The Jews argued that a mere carpenter-turned-wandering-preacher from
Nazareth could not be the Messiah because nobody was supposed to know where the
Messiah would come from. According to Jewish belief, the Messiah would emerge
quite unexpectedly from Mount Olivet, cross the Kedron Valley, enter the city
of Jerusalem, be anointed by Elijah the prophet, take possession of the City
and the Temple and establish His Messianic kingdom.
Life messages: 1) Like the Jews, we, too, can be
prejudiced and occasionally refuse to accept and follow the teachings of the
Church. We need to have the humility to honor the teaching authority of the
Church and its guidance by the Holy Spirit.
2) We need to accept Jesus as our Lord and personal Savior,
experience him through prayer and the Sacramental life and surrender our lives
to him.
3) Like the Jews who expected the surprise appearance of a
super-human Messiah we, too, show the tendency to seek God only in miraculous
and extraordinary events, ignoring His presence within us and in everyone
around us.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/23
March 25 Saturday: (The Annuciation of the Lord)
The context: Today’s Gospel tells us the story of the
Annunciation, explaining how God began to keep the promise He had made, first
to Adam and Eve that He woud send a redeemer from among their descendants, who
would crush the head of the serpent, the evil one who had tempted them to sin
(Gn 3:15), and next to King David through the prophet Nathan, that David’s
descendant would rule the world in an everlasting Kingdom (II Sm 7:12-16).
Venerable Bede remarks: “Today’s reading of the Gospel calls to mind the
beginning of our redemption, for the passage tells us how God sent an angel
from Heaven to a virgin to proclaim the new birth, the Incarnation of God’s
Son, Who would take away our age-old guilt; through Him it would be possible
for us to be made new and numbered among the children of God.”
Confronting his lack of trust in the Lord, the prophet
Isaiah declares to King Ahaz in the first reading (Is 7:10-14;
8:10): “The Lord Himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.” The
annunciation to Mary is the fulfillment of all three of these prophecies.
The second reading (Heb 10:4-10) explains
the reason for God’s Incarnation, i.e., the Son of God became man
to do God’s will (“Behold I come to do your will) so that he might
replace animal sacrifices and pay the price of our redemption by his death and
resurrection.
The angel’s salutation to Mary: “Hail, full of grace,”
reminds us of God’s words to Moses at the burning bush (Ex 3:12), and the
angel’s salutation to Gideon, (Jgs 6:12). Mary is described as “full of
grace,” filled with God’s favor and graciousness. She is the new Ark,
a tent (Tabernacle), and Temple. God is literally and physically in her, and,
thus, she is the greater House of God promised to David. Mary’s question, “How
can this be, since I am a virgin?” is natural. That is why the angel
reminds Mary, “Nothing is impossible with God.” The Lord God
will “empower” her (“the Spirit will come upon you“), and “protect” her
(“overshadow you“). In Luke’s narrative, Gabriel points out that the
Child would not only be a distant grandson of David — he would be God’s own
Son: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High and
the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.” Mary
does not require confirmation but responds in Faith. She agrees to carry out
the Word Gabriel has addressed to her. Since Mary is really a true hearer and
doer of the Word of God, she immediately makes a response with Faith and trust.
Mary thus became the virgin-mother who fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy (Is 7:14), in
a way that Isaiah could not have imagined. She is united with her son in
carrying out the will of God (Ps 40:8-9; Heb 10:7-9; Lk 1:38). The Annunciation
touches both the Good News that God has become one like us “in every
respect tempted as we are, yet without sinning” (Hb 4:15), so that we
might become as God is, and the greater news that God, in the person of Jesus,
has “paid the price” for achieving this end. When we pray the “Angelus” prayer
three times a day, we gratefully remember the great gift of God’s Incarnation.
When we pray the Rosary, we refer to the Incarnation fifty-three times — each
time we pray the “Hail Mary” — and the first of the “Joyful Mysteries” is the
Annunciation, the Incarnation of Our Lord.
Life message: 1) We need to be humble
instruments in the hand of God, trusting in His power and goodness, and Mary
shows how an ordinary human being can reflect God in the ordinary circumstances
of life. St. Augustine reminds us that God who created us without our
permission can not save us without our active cooperation. Hence, let us
cooperate in the fulfillment of God’s plan for us, by doing His will with
Mary’s trusting Faith and humility, through which she brought Jesus into the
world, giving him flesh and blood. Can we also bring Jesus to others in our
day-to-day lives? Like Mary who brought God to us as Jesus our Savior, it is
our duty 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.”
(attributed to St. Ambrose).
2) We need to say a courageous and generous “yes” to God in
our everyday choices: True obedience comes from a free choice made in the light
of what is true and good. Such a self-surrender often requires a great deal of
courage because it can involve going against the tide of social expectations.
True obedience also aims at putting oneself at the service of Someone/something
that is greater than oneself, accepting what God clearly wants us to do or what
He wants to do through us. It is by saying, with Jesus and Mary, a wholehearted
and totally unconditional “Yes” – “Fiat! May it be done in me,” to
Jesus that he will be re-born in each of us, or maybe even born in me for the
first time. By my saying “Yes,” Jesus will be born or re-born
in others, too.
3) We need to try to learn God’s plan for our lives: The
Good News in today’s Scripture message is not only that God is making provision
for the salvation of His people, but also that He has a plan for each
individual person. In many cases, our work for God seems rather ordinary, but
each ordinary task which we carry out fits into God’s plan in ways that we
cannot yet understand. God desires not only the skill of our hands and talents
but the love of our hearts. The Babe in the Manger reminds us of what God has
done and is still doing for us. What are we doing for Him in return? Let us
show our gratitude to God by living as true followers of Christ: “Behold, here
I am, Lord! I come to do Your will.”
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)