May 6-11:
May 6 Monday:
Context: In his final discourse with the apostles at
the Last Supper, Jesus assured them that he would not desert them. Instead, a
powerful Divine Helper, the Holy Spirit, would come to them from Jesus and the
Father in order to guide them and to strengthen them.
The role of the Holy Spirit as outlined in today’s Gospel:
1) As the Counselor or Paraclete or Advocate, the Holy Spirit would coach,
defend, and strengthen the apostles in their sufferings and persecution and
would guide them during their trials before the civil authorities. 2) As the
Spirit of Truth, He would bear witness to Jesus and enable the apostles to bear
witness to Christ heroically before the pagans. The Holy Spirit would give them
an experiential knowledge of Jesus and an in-depth knowledge of Jesus’
teachings. "The mission of the Church is carried out by means of
that activity through which, in obedience to Christ’s command and moved by the
grace and love of the Holy Spirit, the Church makes itself fully present to all
men and peoples in order to lead them to the Faith, freedom, and peace of
Christ by the example of its life and preaching, by the Sacraments and other
means of grace" (Vatican II Decree, Ad Gentes 5). Then Jesus
foretells the nature of the persecution: 1) Excommunicating Jesus’ followers
from synagogues; 2) Establishing the murder of Jesus’ followers (“heretics”),
as a religious duty in defense of Judaism and, so, pleasing to Yahweh.
Life messages: 1) As the Divine Advocate, the
Holy Spirit living within us continues to help us bear witness to Christ by
assisting us to live transparent Christian lives. 2) He also gives us courage
and perseverance when we meet adversities and challenges. 3) As the Divine
Teacher, the Holy Spirit, through our daily study of the Bible, helps us to
know Jesus thoroughly, to love him personally, and to experience him
intimately, so that we may live the ideals of Christ and convey them to others
through our genuine Christian lives.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
May 7 Tuesday;
The context: In today’s Gospel, Jesus tries to
console his sad, disheartened disciples at the Last Supper, for they are at a
loss, hearing the news of their master’s imminent departure. So, he assures
them that they will not be left alone. He will send the Holy Spirit upon them
as a friend, guide, consoler, and teacher. Then Jesus explains the three
different roles of the Holy Spirit in their lives. First, He will convince the
world about the seriousness of sin. Thus, the Holy Spirit will lead us to
repent of our sins and seek forgiveness from Jesus. The Divine Advocate will
demonstrate that not believing in Jesus is the real sin. It is the Holy Spirit
Who would prick the hearts of the Jews on the day of Pentecost, convicting them
of their sin of crucifying their Messiah. In the same way, He convicts us of
wrongdoing and convinces us of God's truth. Second, He will accuse them of
unrighteousness because He will show that Jesus was the Just One who was never
guilty of sin (cf. John 8:46; Hebrews 4:15) and therefore is in glory beside
His Father. It also means that the Spirit convinces us of the righteousness of
Christ, which means that that Jesus was right in his teachings and promises, as
proved by God His Father Who granted him Resurrection and Ascension into
Heaven. Although Jesus was condemned to death, it was actually Satan, the ruler
of this world, who was condemned through Jesus’ death. (Navarre Bible
Commentary. Third, the Holy Spirit gives us the inner and
unshakable conviction that we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.
When we heed God’s judgments, we find true peace, joy, and reconciliation with
God.
Life message: We need to allow the Holy Spirit to do
what He wishes in and through our lives so that He may release us from the grip
of sin and set us ablaze with the fire of God’s love.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
May 8 Wednesday:
The context: Today’s Gospel passage is taken
from the Last Supper discourse in which Jesus instructed his disciples on the
role of the Holy Spirit and His relationship with Jesus and God the Father.
1) First, as the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit is the
Gift of God Who is the Possessor and the Giver of all truth. It is the Spirit’s
role to make the disciples fully understand the truths revealed by Christ.
Vatican II teaches that Our Lord "completed and perfected
Revelation and confirmed it…finally by sending the Spirit of Truth"
(Vatican II, Dei Verbum 4).
2) By bringing to their minds and clarifying everything
Jesus has taught them, the Holy Spirit will also enable them to render glory to
God by glorifying His Son Jesus.
Relationship of the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son:
Jesus also reveals the mystery of the Blessed Trinity in today’s Gospel
passage, saying that the Three Divine Persons have the same nature: “everything
that the Father has belongs to the Son, and everything the Son has belongs to
the Father” (cf. Jn 17:10), and that the Spirit also shares the same Divine
Essence with the Father and the Son.
Life messages: 1) We need the daily guidance and
strengthening of the Holy Spirit in our mission of bearing witness. We should
remember that Faith is a gift. 2) Hence, we do not gain converts by argument or
eloquence, but by praying for them and by radiating, through our living, the
Good News that Jesus has died for our sins, has risen for our justification,
and offers us a share in his glory. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
May 9 Thursday: When The Ascension of the Lord is
postponed to Sunday:
The context: In the Last Supper discourse, Jesus
tells the Apostles about leaving them in order to return to his Father and
about coming again at the end of time to usher in the new age of God’s kingdom.
When they start asking each other the meaning of these statements, Jesus
explains to them the hardships they will have to face after his departure and
the glorious reward waiting for them in his Second Coming. But as he had
consoled them earlier, promising to send a Paraclete, now Jesus assures them
that his absence is only temporary.
“A little while”: Jesus is speaking about a
three-level disappearance and reappearance. The first level is Jesus’ death and
Resurrection. The apostles will no longer see Jesus when he dies. But they will
see Jesus again in three days as their risen Lord. The second level is the
mystical level: They will lose sight of Jesus physically when he ascends to the
glory of the Father. But they will see Jesus again in many ways by Faith when
the Holy Spirit comes (e.g., in the Holy Eucharist, in the Holy Bible, in the
praying community, and in people we meet). There is also a third level. Jesus
is not now visible physically to the world but will manifest his glory to the
whole world when he comes again in glory for the Last Judgment. In the light of
eternity, a few thousand years are but an instant, a very short while.
Life messages: 1) Let us try to recognize the presence
of the living Lord in our midst here and now. 2) Let us ask Him to help us
adjust our daily lives accordingly, so that we, too, may inherit the eternal
joy prepared for us. Fr. Tony (frtonyshomilies.com)
May 10 Friday: [Saint John of Avila, Priest and Doctor of
the Church;
The context: After foretelling his imminent
departure following the Last Supper, Jesus tried to boost the morale of his
sad, dispirited disciples. First, he consoled them, promising them to send his
Holy Spirit as their Paraclete — Consoler, Guide and Advocate (Attorney). Then,
Jesus assured them that his absence would only be temporary.
Contrast between present sorrows and future glory: Jesus
compares the temporary pain, sufferings, and persecutions of his disciples to
the passing, though intense, labor-pains of a woman giving birth to her child.
The moment she hears the cry of her child and sees his or her face she forgets
all her pain. In the same way, the "other-worldly" joy waiting for
his disciples will transcend all types of earthly joys.
Life messages: 1) Let us see our pains and suffering as
God’s means to strengthen our will and form our character. 2) The conviction of
the temporary nature of our suffering and of the glory waiting for us if we
accept pain and suffering graciously, converting them into willing acts of
reparation for sins, will help us to face them heroically. (Fr. Tony)
May 11 Saturday:
The context: Jesus used parables and metaphors,
both in teaching the general public and in explaining teachings to the
apostles. Today’s Gospel passage is taken from Jesus’ last discourse with his
disciples at their Last Passover Supper together. Here, too, Jesus uses
metaphors of a vine and its branches and the simile of a woman giving birth.
Now Jesus tells them that he is going to tell them about God, his Father, in
plain language. Jesus explains the mystery of his Incarnation in plain language
saying, “I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I
am leaving the world and going to the Father." Then Jesus
corrects the Jewish misconception of God, his Father, as a judging and
punishing God, telling the apostles that God the Father is a loving and
forgiving Father, to Whom they can pray directly (“Abba!”) in
Jesus’ name, and that their prayers will be granted because the Father knows
that they love His Son, Jesus, and believe in his Divinity. To pray in Jesus’
Name is not a magic formula or password. It means that we come to God the
Father in the merit and righteousness of His Son, Jesus. In other words, I come
to the Father depending on the perfect merit of Jesus which gives me standing
before the Father. It also means that I pray to Father as Jesus’
representative, asking that God the Father’s will be done and that His name be
glorified. In other words, praying in Jesus’ name means praying with Jesus’
authority and asking God the Father to act upon our prayers because we come in
the name of His Son, Jesus. This is the pattern of prayer in the Liturgy. The
Eucharistic prayer is invariably addressed to the Father, “through Him
(Jesus), with Him and in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit” All our
prayer has the pattern of the Trinity stamped on it. This does not mean that we
should never pray to anyone but the Father. We are free to pray to Jesus, Mary,
and the saints, but always in the full knowledge that the Father is the
ultimate Recipient of all prayer – just as the sea receives every stream.
Life messages: 1) God our Father is a loving, merciful
and providing God who wants His children to approach Him directly and through
His Son and our only mediator, Jesus. 2) Hence, let us make our prayers of
adoration, praise, thanksgiving, contrition, and petition more effective and
fruitful by offering them to God our Father through His Son Jesus Christ, in
union with the Holy Spirit.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
