25th Week: September 23-28:
Sept 23 Monday: Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest
The context: Today’s Gospel passage is taken
from Luke’s version of Jesus’ teachings following the parable of the sower. We
are reminded that we are the light of the world and that our duty is to receive
and radiate around us Christ’s Light of love, mercy, compassion, and
forgiveness. The image of light and lamp: Lamps help people to see, move, and
work in the dark, and their light prevents us from stumbling and falling down.
For the Jews, light represented the inner beauty, truth, and goodness of God.
God’s Light illumines our lives with spiritual light, celestial joy, and
everlasting peace: the glory of the Lord shone around the shepherds at
Bethlehem (Lk 2:9); Paul experienced the presence of God in a blinding Light
(Acts 9:3; 22:6); God “dwells in inaccessible Light” (1 Tm 6:16).
That is why Jesus claims to be the Light of the world. When the Light of Christ
shines in our hearts, we will be able to recognize who we are, who our
neighbors are, and who God is, and to see clearly how we are related to God and
our neighbors. When we live in Christ’s Light, we will not foolishly try to
hide truths about ourselves from ourselves, from our neighbors, or from God.
Christ’s Light will also remind us of the consequences of our loving the
darkness of sinful ways and bad habits.
The paradox of the rich getting richer: In today’s
Gospel, Jesus makes the comment, “for to him who has, will more be given,”
following the warning "Take heed how you hear…." Jesus is telling us
that if we listen to Him with open minds and open hearts and walk in Jesus’
Light, the tiny bit of wisdom and understanding that we’ve already gained will
grow and grow with God’s help. If, on the other hand, our hearts are closed to
Jesus, even the little bit of wisdom that we think we’ve got will be lost.
Jesus is not talking about money or wealth in any form. When we prayerfully
immerse ourselves in the Scriptures, we are encountering God Himself. Jesus is
talking about the extent and depth of our connectedness to God. If we are
already deeply rooted in God, our spirits will grow larger, richer, and fuller
by the day. But if our connection to the Lord is only superficial, that light certainly
won’t grow, and it may well not last at all.
Life messages: As “light of the world” it
is our duty 1) to remove the darkness from around us and 2) to show others the
true Light of Jesus, His ideas and ideals through our model Christian life.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Sept 24 Tuesday:
The context: As Jesus became a strong critic of
the Jewish religious authorities, his cousins, bringing his Mother with them
(as a wedge in the door, so Jesus would listen to them?) came to take him back
to Nazareth by force, perhaps because they feared that he, and they themselves,
would be arrested and put to death
Jesus’ plain
statement: Today’s Gospel episode seems to suggest that Jesus ignored the
request of his mother and close relatives who had traveled the long distance of
twenty miles, probably on foot, to talk to him. But everyone in the audience
knew how Jesus loved his mother and had taken care of her until he started his
public ministry. Besides, Jesus’ plain answer, "My mother and my
brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it," was indeed a
compliment to his mother who had always listened to the word of God and obeyed
it. It also dismissed, without mentioning them, all claims kindred might make
which would interfere with His Messianic Mission. In other words, Jesus was
declaring, “Blessed are those who heard and kept the word of God as Mary was
faithfully doing" (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, 58). Jesus was
also using the occasion to teach his listeners a new lesson in their
relationship with God. Being a disciple of Jesus, or a Christian, means first
and foremost having a deep, growing, personal relationship of love and unity
with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and with all who belong to
God as His children. Jesus changes the order of relationships and shows us that
true kinship is not just a matter of flesh and blood. God’s gracious gift to us
is His adoption of us as His sons and daughters. This gift enables us to
recognize all those who belong to Christ, actually or potentially, as our
brothers and sisters. Our adoption as sons and daughters of God transforms all
our relationships and requires a new order of loyalty to God and His Kingdom in
absolute, unquestioned, first place. Everyone who does the will of the Father,
that is to say, who obeys Him, is a brother or sister of Christ, because he or
she is like Jesus who always fulfilled the will of his Father.
Life messages: 1) Let us remember that by
Baptism we become the children of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus, and
members of the Heavenly family of the Triune God. Hence, we have a two-fold
obligation to treat others with love and respect and to share our love with
them by corporal and spiritual works of mercy. 2) Let us grow as true disciples
of Jesus by becoming doers as well as hearers of the word of God, for thus we
will be welcomed to God’s Everlasting Family Reunion in Heaven.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Sept 25 Wednesday:
The context: Today’s Gospel describes the
commissioning of the twelve Apostles. Sent out with “power and authority
over all demons and to cure diseases,” they exercised their preaching
and healing mission according to the detailed action-plan given by Jesus.
Jesus’ instructions and travel tips. By these instructions,
it is clear that Jesus meant the apostles to take no supplies for the road.
They were simply to trust that God, the Provider, would open the hearts of
believers to take care of their needs. The Jews supported their rabbis, and
judged doing so a privilege as well as an obligation, because hospitality was
an important religious tradition in Palestine. Jesus’ instructions also suggest
that the apostles should not be like the acquisitive Jewish priests of the day,
who were interested only in gaining riches. They should be walking examples of
God’s Love and Providence in action. They should choose temporary accommodation
in a reputable household, they should bless the residents with God’s peace, and
they should be satisfied with whatever food and accommodation they receive, and
not search for better.
Life messages: 1) We, too, have a
witness-bearing mission: Each Christian is called not only to be a disciple but
also to be an apostle. As apostles, we are sent out to evangelize the world by
sharing with others, not just words, or ideas, or doctrines, but our
experiences of God and His Son, Jesus. It is through our transparent Christian
lives that we are to show the love, mercy and concern of Jesus to the people
around us.
2) We also have a liberating mission: There are many demons
which can control the lives of people around us, making them helpless slaves
—the demon of nicotine, the demon of alcohol, the demon of gambling, the demons
of pornography and promiscuous sex, the demons of materialism and consumerism.
We need the help of Jesus both to be liberated from these demons ourselves, and
to help Jesus to liberate others from their bondage in the chains of
self-centering selfishness and addictive evil habits (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Sept 26 Thursday: [Saints Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs]
The context: Although King Herod respected and
feared John the Baptist as a great prophet, he was not converted, and he was
maneuvered into beheading John by his vengeful, intolerant, immoral, jealous
wife Herodias. When his personal staff started reporting stories to Herod about
the new prophet, Jesus, as the reappearance of Elijah the prophet, Herod
expressed his fear that Jesus was the reincarnation of John the Baptist whom he
had unjustly killed. He wanted to see Jesus — not to hear Jesus preaching of
the Good News, but in order to get rid of his fear and feelings of guilt.
The haunting conscience: Herod Antipas was one of the
several sons of Herod the Great, the King of Israel who had divided his kingdom
among four of his sons. Herod Antipas ruled over Galilee and Perea from 2 BC to
37 AD, when he was exiled by the Roman emperor. (It was his father, Herod the
Great who ordered the massacre of the Holy Innocents). The conscience of this
immoral oriental tyrant, Herod Antipas, started destroying his peace of mind
when he realized the heinousness of his crimes of an illicit and immoral
relationship with his niece and sister-in-law, Herodias, in gross violation of
Mosaic laws, and his cooperation in the murder of John the Baptist. His
discomfort led him, not to repentance, but to the fear that John had come back
from the dead to punish him, a fear that might have prompted Herod’s wish to
see Jesus in person. His wish was finally realized when Jesus was dragged to
him during Jesus’ trial before Pilate. But Jesus did not yield to Herod’s
demand for a miracle and kept silence.
Life messages: 1) We need to keep our conscience
clean by repenting of our sins daily of Reconciliation. Otherwise, our sins
will haunt us, making our lives miserable. 2) It is necessary that we should
have a clear understanding of Who Jesus really IS. We need to see,
experience, and accept Jesus as Son of God and Son of Man, our personal Lord
and Savior. Such an acceptance should lead us to a total adoption of Jesus’
ideas and ideals and way of life. Otherwise, we will be like Herod, who
resembled the people of Jesus’ day, and of our own, who flock to healing
services looking for miracles, but not for Jesus. If our following of Jesus
causes in us no change that transforms our souls and radiates Jesus outward
from us, our attempts to have mountain-top experiences will be meaningless and
vain.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Sept 27 Friday: Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest
The context: Today’s Gospel passage is
the first of the three times when Jesus foretells His Passion, death and
Resurrection. It consists of two sections, the Messianic confession of Peter
and the prediction of the Passion by Jesus.
Jesus as the Christ, our Lord and Savior: Today’s Gospel
explains the basis of our Faith as the acceptance of Jesus as the Christ, our
Lord and Savior. It also tells us that Christ Jesus became our Savior by his
suffering, death and Resurrection. According to Matthew (16:13-19), and Mark
(8:27-30), this famous profession of Faith by Peter took place at Caesarea
Philippi, at present called Banias, twenty-five miles northeast of the Sea of
Galilee. Jesus realized that if the apostles did not know Who He really was,
then the entire Messianic ministry, suffering and death would be useless.
Hence, Jesus decided to ask a question in two parts. 1) “What is the public
opinion about Me? “and 2) “What is your personal opinion? “Their answer to the
first question was: “Some say John the Baptist; but others say, Elijah;
and others, that one of the old prophets has risen." Peter volunteered
to answer the second question, saying: “You are the Christ of
God." But Jesus charged and commanded them to tell this to no one
and predicted His Passion and death.
Life messages: Let us experience Jesus as our Lord: 1) We
experience Jesus as our personal Savior by listening to him through the daily,
meditative reading of the Bible, by talking to him through daily, personal and
family prayers, by offering him our lives on the altar in frequent attendance
at Holy Mass, by being reconciled with him every night, asking pardon and
forgiveness for our sins, and by receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation
whenever we are in mortal sin.
2) The next step is the surrender of our lives to Jesus by rendering humble and loving service to others with the strong conviction that Jesus is present in every person. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Sept 28 Saturday: Saint Wenceslaus, Martyr; Saint
Lawrence Ruiz and
Companions, Martyrs
The context: Coming down from the
mountain after His Transfiguration, Jesus healed an epileptic boy. Today’s
Gospel begins with the reaction of the crowds to this cure: “and all were
astonished at the majesty of God.” But Jesus uses this occasion of
high popularity to explain that, in order to reveal Jesus’ real majesty, “the
Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men."
Jesus’ least understood prediction: His coming suffering and
death: In fact, three times Jesus foretold his coming great suffering through
betrayal, rejection, and the punishment of a cruel death. The Apostles could
not take in the prophecies, partly because they were dreaming of a political
messiah in Jesus. Besides, Jesus had shown His Glory to three of them on the
mountain and had astounded everyone by instantly healing an epileptic boy whom
the Apostles could not heal. so plainly, no simply human force could even
slightly harm, let along kill, Jesus without Divine permission. In addition,
Jesus’ disciples were really frightened by such a prediction, perhaps fearing
the same fate for themselves. They may also have been ignorant of the “Suffering
Servant" prophecy of Isaiah, where the Messiah was pictured as making
atonement for sins through suffering and death. When Jesus called Himself the
"Son of Man," the Apostles probably got the impression of the
Messiah coming in glory as described by Daniel.
Life messages: 1) Jesus paid the ransom for our sins with His blood, dying willingly on the cross, then rising from the dead, freed us from the tyranny of sin and death. Hence, it is our duty to live and die as free children of God, released from all types of slavery to sin, evil habits and addictions. 2) We should ask Jesus for help to carry our daily crosses with Jesus’ same spirit of atonement for our sins and those of others. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
