22nd Week: Sept 4 Monday:
Today’s Gospel presents the reaction of Jesus’
fellow- townsmen, to the “Inaugural Address” offered them at a
synagogue in Nazareth when Jesus visited the town as a rabbi with a band of
disciples. The reading shows us how Jesus faced scepticism and criticism with
prophetic courage. The incident reminds us that we should have and show the
courage of our Christian convictions daily as we live in our communities,
especially when we face hatred and rejection because of our Christian Faith and
its practice.
Amazement turns to hatred. The first reaction of the people
in the synagogue to Jesus’ words was astonishment. They were amazed that one of
their fellow villagers could speak with such grace, eloquence, and authority.
But their amazement turned into displeasure when Jesus, speaking as a prophet,
(different from the image of the miracle-worker that people wished to see),
claimed identity with the Messiah described by Isaiah. That claim turned Jesus’
fellow-townsmen’s displeasure into anger, then hatred. They challenged Jesus’
Messianic claim, asking, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” They
could not understand how a mere carpenter from their hometown Nazareth, could
be the Messiah, who would liberate them from Roman rule and re-establish
the Davidic kingdom. Jesus’ reaction to His people’s scepticism: Jesus reacted
to their negative attitude with the comment, “No prophet is accepted in his
native place.” Next, he referred to the Biblical stories of how God had
blessed two Gentiles, while rejecting the many Jews in similar situations,
precisely because those Gentiles were more open to the prophets than the Jewish
people. Jesus reminded them of the Gentile widow of Zarephath, in Lebanon (1
Kgs 17:7-24). The Prophet Elijah stayed with her and her son during the
three-and-a-half-year drought, fed them miraculously and, later, raised her son
from death. Then Jesus described how Naaman, the pagan military general of
Syria, was healed of leprosy by Elisha, the prophet.
Life messages: 1) We need to face rejection with
prophetic courage and optimism, when we experience the pain of rejection,
betrayal, abandonment, violated trust, neglect, or abuse from our friends,
families, or childhood companions. 2) Let us not, like the people in Jesus’
hometown, reject God in our lives. Are we unwilling to be helped by God, or by
others? Does our pride prevent us from recognizing God’s direction, help, and
support in our lives through His words in the Bible, through the teachings of
the Church and through the advice and examples of others? 3) We must have the
prophetic courage of our convictions. This passage challenges us to have the
courage of our Christian convictions in our day-to-day lives in our
communities, when we face hatred and rejection because of our Christian
Faith. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Sept 4: Labor Day in the U. S.: Labor Day in the U. S. Labor
Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in
September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and
contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United
States. Labor Day unofficially signals the beginning of a new “school” year of
work and study and the end of the “lazy days of summer.” It was President
Grover Cleveland who signed a bill into law on June 28, 1894,
declaring Labor Day a national holiday.
1) It is a day to acknowledge the dignity and
necessity of labor and workers. We participate in the creative act of
God by the various forms of work we do using our God-given talents: a) The Bible
presents God as working six days in the creation of the world and commanding
Adam to work six days and rest on the seventh. (e.g., the fresco painted by
Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel, showing God touching the
finger of Adam, infusing power to work). God the Father continues to do the
work of providing for His creatures, God the Son does the work of saving, and
God the Holy Spirit does the work of sanctification. b) Jesus, God’s Son, was a
professional carpenter. c) Most of Jesus’ apostles were fishermen, and Paul was
a tentmaker. d) In his inaugural speech in the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus
expressed his preferential option for the poor – the working class and those
who cannot work. Work is necessary for our own well-being, for
health of body, mind, and spirit. It enables us to be independent and to help
those who are less fortunate and unable to work. e) Works of charity are the
main criteria of our Last Judgement: “Whatever you did to one of these
least brethren you did to Me.”
2) A day to remember the Church’s teaching on
the nobility of work and the necessity of just wages. In the
encyclical, Laborem exercens (September 14, 1981), Pope
St. John Paul II teaches that all of us are called to work together for a just
society and a just economy which allow us all to share God’s blessings. He
reminds us that governments should see that the greed of a minority does not
make the life of the majority miserable. He advises labor unions to fight for
social and economic justice, better wages, and better working conditions.
3) It is the day to remember and pray for jobless
people: There are thousands without work and millions more who are underemployed,
working at part-time jobs or jobs that do not pay a decent wage. Society has a
moral obligation to reduce joblessness because it is through work that families
are sustained, children are nurtured, and the future is secured. Joblessness is
also a clear threat to family life.
4) It is an appropriate time to acknowledge and
bless the temporal and spiritual work that our parishioners do for
their families, for their neighbors, and for the parish community. It is also a
day to remind ourselves that our workplace gives us an opportunity to practice
what we believe, and to display a level of integrity that matches our Faith,
thus witnessing to Christ.
5) It is a day to pay attention to a warning:
that we should be aware of the danger in work. If not properly oriented work
can make us workaholics: we may turn work into our God or may use it as an
escape mechanism to run away from spouse, children, and neighbors.
Thus, on this Labor Day, let us try to realize the dignity
of work, the necessity of work, and the danger involved in work. Let us thank
the Lord for the talents and work he has given us to do. Let us pray that we
may find joy and satisfaction in our work, realizing that we are co-creators
with God and stewards of His creation. By offering our work for God’s glory,
let us transform our work to prayer. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Sept 5 Tuesday:
Context: After the sad experience in Nazareth,
Jesus used the city of Capernaum — 30 miles away from Nazareth; planted on the
shore of the Sea of Galilee, serving as the center of the fishing business — as
a base for his teaching, healing, and preaching ministry. The people were
impressed by the authority with which Jesus taught. The Old Testament prophets
had taught using God’s delegated authority, and the scribes and Pharisees
taught quoting Moses, the prophets and the great rabbis. But Jesus, as God
Incarnate, taught using Divine authority and the Perfect knowledge of God,
acting always in perfect obedience to the will of God His Father, and having
absolute confidence in God as the Source and support of his teaching authority.
The second part of today’s Gospel describes a healing by exorcism, which Jesus
performed in the synagogue. We are told how Jesus, as God Incarnate, exercised
Divine authority to cast out the devil by just one compound command: “Be
silent, and come out of him!” The demon obeyed at once, throwing the
man it had possessed to the floor in the midst of the people in the synagogue
on its departure. The people were impressed with Jesus’ power and authority
that could command even evil spirits.
Life messages: 1) Our Faith is based on the
Divinity of Christ, demonstrated by His miracles, which in turn give authority
and validity to His teaching and promises. Hence, let us accept Jesus’
teachings, even if some of them are mysteries beyond our understanding. 2) Let
us read the authoritative word of God every day and assimilate it into our
lives. 3) In our illnesses, let us confidently approach Jesus the Healer with
trusting Faith first, then go to the doctors who are the ordinary instruments
of Jesus’ healing ministry in our midst.
(https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Sept 6 Wednesday:
The context: Today’s Gospel tells us that
preaching the Good News of God’s love, mercy, and salvation, and healing the
sick were the means Jesus used to build up the Kingdom of God. By preaching and
healing, Jesus drew listeners to belief in a loving and providing God and to
loving obedience to His will. We are told that Jesus drew renewed spiritual
strength from God, His Father, every day by talking with and listening to Him,
often in a desolate place at night.
Healing mission: Jesus never tired of healing the sick, thus
demonstrating the mercy and compassion of His Heavenly Father to every sick
person who approached with trusting Faith. Having finished the day’s preaching
in the synagogue on one Sabbath, Jesus went to Simon’s home and healed Simon’s
mother-in-law of a fever. In the evening, when the Sabbath rest was over,
people brought all their sick dear ones to Jesus for healing and exorcism.
Jesus either concluded the day or, as here, began the new day, by spending time
with the Father in prayer in a lonely place.
Life messages: 1) We are called to continue
Jesus’ preaching mission primarily by bearing witness to Christ through our
day-to-day lives, radiating Christ’s mercy, love, forgiveness, and spirit of
humble service to all around us. 2) We can participate in Jesus’ healing
mission by praying for the sick and by visiting, helping, and encouraging the
sick and shut-ins. 3) We, too, need to have our spiritual batteries recharged
by prayer every day, as Jesus did. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Sept 7 Thursday:
The context: The scene is the Sea of Galilee (Gennesaret in
Greek and Tiberius in Latin). The story of the miraculous
catch of fish described in today’s Gospel is similar to the post-Resurrection
appearance of Jesus recounted in Jn 21:4-14. It is one of the “epiphany-call
stories” which direct our attention to the fact that Jesus had distinct
criteria for selecting people to be apostles. The reading challenges us to
examine our own personal calls to conversion and discipleship.
The miraculous catch followed by the call: After teaching
the crowd from a seat in the boat of Simon, Jesus said to him “Put out into
the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we
toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” Simon
and his companions were stunned by the biggest catch of their lives. This event
led Simon to acknowledge his unworthiness, as a sinner, even to stand before
the Divine Presence of Jesus. Recognizing in Simon’s obedience and confession
of unworthiness, the genuineness of their Faith, Jesus immediately invited
Simon, Andrew, James and John to become close disciples and so to “catch men”
instead of fish.
Life Messages: 1) Our encounter with the
holiness of God is meant to lead us to recognize our sinfulness. The Good News
of today’s Gospel is that our sinfulness — our pride and self-centeredness –
does not repel God. That is why we offer this Mass asking God’s pardon and
forgiveness, and why we receive Jesus in Holy Communion only after
acknowledging our unworthiness.
2) With Jesus, the seemingly impossible becomes possible.
Today’s Gospel passage tells us an important truth about how God works in and
through us for His glory. God chooses ordinary people – people like you and me
– as His ambassadors. He uses the ordinary circumstances of our daily lives and
our responses. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Sept 8 Friday: The nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary:
For a short account, click here: (Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary):
Anecdote: Life magazine estimated that the prayer “Hail
Mary” is said two billion times every day, and each year five to ten million
people make a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Many others
visit Marian sites elsewhere in the world. Mary is prayed to as advocate and
helper, and even in the sports arena there is a reference to her power: the
last desperate pass by a losing football team was once called a “Hail Mary
pass.” Mary is also venerated by Muslims. It is reported that when the Prophet
Muhammad cleared the idols out of the Kaaba in Mecca, he allowed only a fresco
of the Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus to remain. In every Muslim mosque,
the “mihrab” or prayer niche in the wall is dedicated to Mary. In the Qur’an,
she is described as having been sent as “a mercy for the worlds.”
History: As one of the oldest Marian
solemnities, this feast is based on the second century (A.D. 175), apocryphal
book Protoevagelium Jacobi (The Pre-Gospel of James), which
reflects the traditions of the early Church, although it is not considered an
inspired book. According to this book, Mary’s parents were Joachim and Anna.
Mary was born either in Jerusalem or in Sephoris, three miles north of
Bethlehem. The Annunciation is believed to have taken place later in the house
of Mary’s parents. The feast originated in the fifth century in Syria or
Palestine. St. Romanus of Syria is supposed to have brought it to Rome. The
Roman Church adopted it in the 7th century and fixed it on September 8th. It is
found in the 8th and 9th century Gregorian Sacramentary.
Importance: The feast is the birthday
celebration of the mother of Jesus, our Heavenly Mother and the Mother of the
Church. It is the birthday of an ordinary woman who was chosen to become the
mother of an extraordinary Divine Child. The Church celebrates the death day of
a saint as his/her feast day, considering it his/her “birthday in Heaven.” The
three exceptions are Jesus’ birthday (Christmas), Mary’s birthday (September
8), and John the Baptist’s birthday (June 24). Mary’s birthday is celebrated
because of her Immaculate Conception. John the Baptist, in Elizabeth’s womb,
was filled with the Holy Spirit during Mary’s visitation of Elizabeth. We honor
Mary because God has done great things for her (Luke 1:49), a)
by choosing her as the mother of Jesus His Son, b) by filling her with His Holy
Spirit twice, c) by making her the embodiment of all virtues (“full of
grace”), and our Heavenly Mother and d) by allowing her to become the
most active participant with Christ, her son, in our redemption.
The readings: (Mi 5:1-4; Rom 8:28-30; Mt 1:1-16,
18-23). Romans 1:3 states that Mary was a descendant of David, and
Matthew’s genealogy in today’s Gospel also supports this truth.
Life Messages: 1) Let us, as Mary’s children,
give a suitable birthday gift to our Heavenly Mother. Every mother wants her
children to inherit and acquire all her good qualities. Hence, the best
birthday gift to Mary is for us to become holy children of a Holy Mother.
Sept 9 Saturday: St. Peter Claver, Priest (U. S. A.)
The context: Today’s Gospel passage gives Jesus’
teaching on the purpose of the Sabbath and on its proper observance. This was
Jesus’ response to a criticism and a silly accusation made by some Pharisees
against the apostles who, to satisfy their hunger on a Sabbath, had plucked
ears of grain from a field for their snack, removed the husks by rubbing the
grain between their palms and blowing away the chaff. The Pharisees accused
them of violating Sabbath laws by performing three items of work forbidden on
Sabbath, namely, harvesting, threshing and winnowing!
Counter-arguments: Jesus gives three counter-arguments from
Holy Scripture defending the apostles. (1) Basic human needs, like hunger, take
precedence over Divine worship and Sabbath observance. Jesus cites from
Scripture the example of the hungry David and his selected soldiers. They
approached Abimelech, the priest of Nob, who gave them for food the “offering
bread” which only the priests were allowed to eat (1 Sm 21:1-6). (2) No law can
stand against Divine worship. That is why the priests were not considered as
violating Sabbath laws, although they did the work of preparing two rams for
sacrifice in the Temple (Nm 28:9-10). (3) Jesus quotes the prophet Hosea to
remind the accusers of God’s words: “I want mercy, not sacrifice” (Hos
6:6). Further augmenting the counter-arguments, Jesus, as Son of Man (a
Messianic title), claims Lordship over the Sabbath itself.
Life messages: Like the Jewish Sabbath, the
Christian Sunday is to be 1) a day of rest and refreshment with members of the
family; 2) a day for thanksgiving and the recharging of spiritual batteries,
(through participation in the Eucharistic celebration, for Catholics); 3) a day
for parents to teach religious Faith and the Bible to their children; 4) a day
to do works of charity in the neighborhood and in the parish and 5) a day for
socializing with family members, neighbors and fellow-parishioners.
