April 3 Monday:
The context: The scene depicted in today’s
Gospel reading took place exactly one week before the crucifixion of Jesus.
Jesus was anointed on two different occasions — first, at the start of his
public ministry, in Galilee, as recounted by St. Luke (7:36-50: Jesus was anointed
by a repentant sinful woman in the house of a Pharisee), and, second, towards
the end of his life, in Bethany, as reported here by St. John. Instead of
brooding over the sufferings and death waiting for him, Jesus, along with his
Apostles, enjoyed a party given for his friend, Lazarus by his family and
friends. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem to be crucified. Probably he halted
in Bethany, both because Jerusalem was overcrowded, and because Jesus wanted to
spend time in with his closest friends.
The Gospel summarizes two attitudes: Mary’s and Judas.’ Mary
expressed her love for Jesus and her gratitude to God by an extravagant action.
Before all the Apostles, she anointed Jesus’ feet with nard (a very costly
perfume worth (said Judas criticaly), the wages of a laborer for 300 days),
then wiped them with her hair. Her lovely deed shows the extravagance of love.
Judas on the other hand criticized Mary for spending so much on perfume,
suggesting that the money could have been used to help the poor. Mary’s action
was extravagant, but her motive justified it. However, Judas’ motive in
suggesting the good action of helping the poor was selfish and impure, spoiling
the action.
Life messages: 1) We need to express our love
and gratitude to Jesus during this Holy Week for what he did for us centuries
ago and for what he continues to do for us now: a) He poured out his Blood for
us and for our salvation. b) He anointed us with his Holy Spirit and made us
the Temple of his Spirit. c) He continues to nourish us with his Body and Blood
through the Holy Eucharist. 2. We can express our love and gratitude to our
Savior Jesus during Holy Week a) by spending more time in prayer and adoration,
especially by participating in the liturgical celebrations b) by doing acts of penance
for our past sins and c) by actively engaging in acts of loving and humble
service.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
April 4 Tuesday:
The context: In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus’
loving appeal to two of his chosen Apostles, Judas and Peter, who represent
hard-heartedness and repentance respectively. Judas was a perfect actor and an
accomplished hypocrite who could hide his motives from all except Jesus. He
deliberately betrayed Jesus for money. Peter on the other hand was simple at
heart, a deeply emotional disciple who really loved Jesus.
(A) Judas – a model of hard-heartedness: Jesus showed his
last act of love for Judas: a) by allowing him to sit at His left so that Jesus
could rest His head on his chest during the Last Supper; b) by giving him a
piece of bread dipped in sauce, from Jesus’ plate, as a sign of honor; c) by
making Judas the treasurer of the group and the keeper of money received as an
offering to the rabbi from the people, thus giving everyone a sign of his trust
and confidence in Judas. But Jesus could not save Judas from his
hard-heartedness and greed for money. Judas probably expected the triumphant
Messiah in Jesus and hoped to rule Israel with him as his finance minister. If
so, he must have been totally disillusioned when Jesus predicted his suffering
and shameful death. This might have prompted him to betray Jesus. We, too, can
become hard-hearted like Judas when we have become addicted to evil habits, and
we can refuse Jesus’ call for repentance and conversion even during Holy Week.
(B) Peter – a model of true repentance: Peter showed good
will and generosity in repenting of his sin – denying Jesus out of weakness –
by weeping bitterly and finally by suffering a martyr’s death for his Faith in
Jesus.
Life messages: 1) Let us imitate Peter by
repenting of our choices against Jesus and his ideals in our day-to-day lives.
2) Let us also ask God to liberate us from our evil habits and addictions
before they make us hard-hearted. 3) Just as Jesus considered death on the
cross as his glory, let us consider humble, committed and sacrificial service
for others as our glory and learn to love others as Jesus loves us.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
April 5 Wednesday:
The context: Today is traditionally known as
“Spy Wednesday,” and was called by Christians as early as AD 250 the “the day
of betrayal.” Today’s Gospel describes how Judas secretly planned to betray
Jesus for thirty silver pieces (the price of a slave), and how he was seeking
an opportunity to betray his master. We also learn how Jesus had his plans for
celebrating his last Passover supper with his disciples carried out in a house
prearranged by him. In Jesus’ time, the Passover supper was celebrated on the
first day of the week of Unleavened Bread. During the meal, Jesus dramatically
declared that one of the disciples was planning to betray Him and hinted that
it was Judas.
Bible scholars suggest three reasons why Judas betrayed
Jesus. The primary reason seems to have been his greed for money — John tells
us that Judas used to steal from the common fund. Bitter hatred due to
disillusionment might have been a second reason. As a zealot who hated the
Romans, Judas might have expected that his master would overthrow the Romans
using his Divine power. Instead, Jesus preached love and peace. A third reason
may have been that Judas supposed that his betrayal would give Jesus an
occasion to fight back and conquer the Romans. That may be the reason why he
committed suicide when he saw Jesus arrested without any resistance from Him.
Life messages: 1) We, too, can betray Jesus and
his ideals for money, for power and influence, or for selfish pleasure. Let us
examine our conscience when we wrongly think that our God disappoints us by
promoting chastity, poverty, justice, and righteousness in the Holy Bible, by
not answering our prayers as and when we want, by allowing suffering and
premature death in our families and communities, and by not punishing the
wicked right here, right now. Let us be on our guard not to betray Jesus as
Judas did.
2) Holy Week is the time to assess our life, examine our
conscience, do penance for our infidelity, and make practical resolutions to
reform our lives with God’s help.
3) We are little Judases—we fall to small temptations we
can’t seem to overcome. These little things can have a negative impact on our
spiritual life over time. Fr. Tony
April 6: Holy Thursday: Introduction: We
celebrate three anniversaries on Holy Thursday: 1) the anniversary of the first
Holy Mass; 2) the anniversary of the institution of ministerial priesthood in
order to perpetuate the Holy Mass, to convey God’s forgiveness to repentant
sinners, and to preach the Good News of salvation; 3) the anniversary of Jesus’
promulgation of his new commandment of love: “Love one another as I have
loved you” (Jn 13:34).
First, we remember how Jesus transformed the Jewish Passover
into the New Testament Passover. The Jewish Passover was, in fact, a joint
celebration of two ancient thanksgiving celebrations. The descendants of Abel,
who were shepherds, used to lead their sheep from the winter pastures to the
summer pastures after the sacrificial offering of a lamb to God. They called
this celebration the “Pass over.” The descendants of Cain, who were
farmers, held a harvest festival called the Massoth in which
they offered unleavened bread to God as an act of thanksgiving. The Passover
feast of the Israelites (Ex 12:26-37) harmoniously combined these two feasts in
a ritual meal instituted by God, to be celebrated yearly, thanking Him for His
miraculous liberation of their ancestors from Egyptian slavery, their exodus
from Egypt, and their final arrival in the Promised Land. (A homily starter
anecdote may be given)
Scripture lessons summarized: In the first
reading, God gives the Hebrews two instructions: prepare for the moment of
liberation by a ritual meal, and make a symbolic mark on
your homes to exempt yourselves from the coming slaughter. In the second
reading, Paul teaches that the celebration of the Lord’s Supper was an unbroken
tradition from the very beginning of the Church, by which Christians
reminded themselves of the death and Resurrection of Jesus.
Today’s Gospel describes how Jesus transformed the
Jewish Passover into the Eucharistic celebration. After washing the feet of his
apostles and commanding them to do humble service for each other, Jesus
concluded the Seder meal with its roasted Paschal lamb by giving his apostles
his own body and blood under the appearances of bread and wine as spiritual
food and drink.
Life Messages: 1) A challenge for
humble service. Our celebration of the Eucharist requires that we wash one
another’s feet, i.e., serve one another, and revere Christ’s
presence in other persons. In practical terms, that means we are to consider
others’ needs to be as important as our own and to serve their needs, without
expecting any reward.
2) A loving invitation for sacrificial
sharing and self-giving love. Let us imitate the self-giving model of Jesus
who shares with us his own Body and Blood and who enriches us with his Real
Presence in the Holy Eucharist. It is by sharing our blessings – our
talents, time, health, and wealth – with others, that we become true disciples
of Christ and obey his new commandment: “Love one another as I have loved
you.”
3) An invitation to become Christ-bearers and
Christ-conveyers: “Go forth, the Mass is ended,” really means, “Go
in peace to love and serve one another.’’ We are to carry Jesus to our homes,
our places of work, our schools, and our communities, conveying to others
around us the love, mercy, forgiveness, and spirit of humble service of Christ
whom we carry with us.
April 7: Good Friday: The challenge to carry our
crosses:
(A)The cross and the crucifix are meaningful symbols, as
the dove symbolizes peace and the heart symbolizes love. The crucifix and the
cross are the symbols of the loving and sacrificial offering of self for
others. First, it is only in the cross that we see the face of God’s love.
There is no greater love than that of a person who is willing to die for
another, and the cross tells this love story. Second, the cross is the symbol
of the remission of our sins: The Bible says that when Jesus died he took all our
sins to himself on the cross, and so he conquered sin and the devil’s power
forever. Whenever we see the cross we should realize that Jesus was bruised,
crushed and died for our iniquities. “But he was pierced for our
offenses, crushed for our sins, upon him was the chastisement that makes us
whole, by his stripes we were healed.” (Is 53:5). Third, the cross is
the symbol of humble self-emptying for others. It is the symbol of the
cross-bearing Christ leading us in our life’s journey of pain and suffering,
carrying his heavier cross and still encouraging us, strengthening us and
supporting us. Fourth, the cross is the symbol of the risen Christ who promises
us a crown of glory as a reward for our patient bearing of our daily crosses.
B) The Cross always means pain. But the pain I
suffer for myself is not Christ’s cross. The true cross of Christ is the pain I
suffer for others. It is the sanctifying pain involved in sharing our blessings
sacrificially with others. It is the pain involved in controlling our evil
tendencies in an attempt to attain a higher degree of holiness. It is the pain
involved in standing with Jesus his ideas and ideals and gladly following him
even if that means scorn and humiliation from the rest of the world.
(C) We have our crosses mainly from four sources.
Some of our crosses like diseases, natural disasters, death are given by Mother
Nature. We face some other crosses when we do our duties faithfully. Our
friends and enemies supply a few of our crosses. Finally we ourselves create many
of our crosses by careless living and evil addictions.
(D) On Good Friday we should ask the question: why
should we carry our crosses? First, cross-bearing is a condition for
Christian discipleship. Jesus said: “Whoever wishes to come after me
must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Second, it is by
carrying our crosses that we make reparation for our sins and for the sins of
others related to us. That is why St. Paul said that he was suffering in his
body what is “lacking” in Christ’s suffering. Third, it is by carrying our
crosses that we become imitators of Christ in his suffering for us. St. Paul
explains it thus: “I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer
I, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2: 19-20).
Life messages: (1)We should carry our crosses
with the right motives: It means that we should not carry our crosses by cursing
our fate as does the donkey carrying its load. Nor should we protest as do the
bulls or horses pulling their carts. Our motive should not be reward by God as
the hired workers work for their wages. We should carry our crosses like a
loving wife who nurses her paralyzed husband or sick child, with sacrificial
love and dedicated commitment. The carrying of our crosses becomes easier when
we compare our light crosses with the heavy crosses of terminally-ill patients
or patients in emergency wards. We need to draw strength and inspiration from
Jesus Who walks ahead of us carrying his heavier cross while supporting us in
carrying our crosses.
(2) We should plant the cross of Christ in our daily lives:
We have to begin every day with a sign of the cross, asking the blessing and
protection of the crucified Lord in our lives that day. Our repeated promise of
sharing the crucified Lord’s love with others around us at home and at our
place of work, will enable us to live dynamic Christian lives. A loving,
prayerful touch on the cross we wear on our body will encourage us to serve
others selflessly with real commitment. Such prayer will also open our hearts
to receive immunity from a lot of temptations and an increase of divine
strength to fight and defeat stronger temptations. At the end of the day, we
can make an examination of conscience by reviewing how much or how little we
have stayed upon the foundation of Christ’s cross.
(3) We should heal our inner wounds through the cross
of Christ. The good news is that the cross of Christ can heal and undo even
these early wounds to our character because every moment of our life is present
to God and hence He can heal the wounds in our past.
April 8: HOLY SATURDAY (Mt 28. 1-10) or see
the Easter homily
I- A day to remember the burial of Jesus. (The early Church
commemorated the death of Jesus on Good Friday, the burial of Jesus on Holy
Saturday and the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday)
II- Good Friday and Holy Saturday were days of full fasting
in the early Church.
III- A day for baptism. After A.D. 313 when the Church got
freedom of religious practice from Emperor Constantine, Holy Saturday was the
day to receive the catechumens to the Church, after three years of preparation.
It was considered as a ceremony reminding them that they become dead to their
former gentile life by immersing themselves in water and that they emerge in to
a new life in Jesus Christ by rising up from the water.
IV- A day for blessing baptismal water. The catechumens
return the Book of Creed (catechism book) to the bishop in a morning ceremony.
In the evening the bishop blesses the baptismal water.
V- A day of lighting the Easter candle. The bishop
re-ignites the fire extinguished on Holy Thursday and lights the Easter candle
to represent Jesus as the “light of the world”. Imitating the Jewish custom of
the ceremonial lighting of Sabbath lamps on Friday evenings, the early
Christians lighted and displayed lamps on Saturday evenings to honor Jesus as
the “light of the world”.
VI- A day to read I Peter 2:9 reminding the people of their
worth and dignity – as “the “chosen people of God”, sanctified, appropriated by
God and honored with the royal priesthood.
VII- A day of renewing the baptismal promises. The people
were asked to repeat their baptismal promises by rejecting Satan and his empty
promises, by accepting Jesus as the Lord and savior and revesting with the “new
man” after removing the vestments of the “old man.”
Messages: 1) Message of expectation, change of
heart and new life.
2) Lead a new life with the Risen Lord by dying to sinful
life.
3) Live a new life recognizing the nobility of Christians as children of God,