31st Week: Nov 4-9:
Nov 4 Monday:(St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop):For a brief account, click on: (St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop):
The context: Jesus was invited to a dinner where
he noticed how the invitees were rushing for the best places. So, he used the
occasion as a teachable moment, advising the host on the motives behind one’s
generosity and the criteria to be followed while inviting guests for banquets.
Jesus instructed him to “invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the
blind” in the community and obtain the blessing of God on the day of
the Last Judgment.
Life messages: 1) We need to check
the motives behind all our acts of generosity to assess if they are meritorious
acts or not. If a generous act is done chiefly out of sense of
duty or obligation (as we pay our income tax because it is the state’s law), or
if we pay tithes in the parish mostly because it is God’s law,
we lose most of the merit. If a rationalized self-interest, like a future
reward in Heaven, is the only motive for our good action, we lose the merit of
the action once again. We lose the merit of an act of generosity if vainglory
or a desire for fame or for acknowledgement from others is the only motive
behind our generosity. That is why the Jewish rabbis used to advise their
disciples that in the best kind of giving, the giver should not know to whom he
is giving, and the receiver should not know from whom he is receiving. 2)Pure
altruism with agápe love and overflowing charity are the
motives God shows us in His gifts to us, and He expects from us the same in all
our acts of generosity, charity and service to Him done to others.(Fr. Tony)
Nov 5 Tuesday: Lk 14:15-24: The context: Jesus
was participating in a banquet where he advised the host to reserve admission
to the “poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind” and so to become
eligible for God’s reward at the resurrection. One of Jesus’ fellow-guests
commented on the blessedness of those who are invited to attend the Heavenly
banquet hosted by Yahweh to honor His Chosen People. Jesus used the occasion to
highlight the cost of refusing God’s invitation for the Heavenly banquet with
lame excuses by telling a parable of a banquet hosted by a very rich and
influential landowner.
The parable: The invited VIP guests, who had
accepted the first invitation to participate in the banquet, refused the second
invitation sent a few days before the banquet, giving lame excuses like the
inspection of a newly-bought field, the testing of a newly-bought five yoke of
oxen and honeymooning with a newly-married wife. The angry landowner instructed
his servants to invite everyone in the surrounding areas in order to fill the
banquet hall. Jesus directed this parable to the Jewish religious and civic leaders
who had accepted the Covenant but had refused to accept his invitation for
God’s salvation, the endpoint of the first Covenant and had attacked his
preaching and healing ministry. Jesus explained through this parable why he was
befriending tax collectors and sinners, promising them eternal salvation and
participation in the Heavenly banquet.
Life message: God invites us through Jesus and his
Church to the banquet of the word of God, to the banquet of the Body and Blood
of Jesus and to the banquet of His grace through His Holy Spirit via the
Sacraments. Let us examine ourselves to discover whether we, too, are refusing
God’s invitation and giving lame excuses to show how busy we are because of our
work or career duties, our addictions to games, entertainments and hobbies or
our preoccupation with family matters. We may not get a better chance or more
opportunities to accept God’s invitation to pray deeply, to join the
Eucharistic celebration or to do serious study of and refection on the word of
God or service in the community. (Fr. Tony
Nov 6 Wednesday: Lk 14:25-33: 25
The context: Jesus was making his final journey
to Jerusalem, and his apostles, as well as the common people, thought that the
Master was going to overthrow the Roman government by using miraculous powers.
Hence, a big crowd was following him. Jesus thought it was necessary to clarify
for them the real cost involved in following him – the cost of Christian
discipleship.
The teaching: Today’s Gospel passage from Luke challenges us
to make a total commitment to the will of God by putting Him first in our
lives. He reminds us to count the cost of being a Christian, because the cost
is high. Christian discipleship requires one to "renounce" both
possessions of the earth and possessions of the heart (i.e., one’s
relationships). Jesus lays out four “trip wires" challenging true
Christian discipleship: i) attachment to family; ii) attachment to possessions;
iii) the hard consequences of discipleship which may involve even losing one’s
life; and iv) the cost involved. Using the examples of a watch tower in a
vineyard, left uncompleted due to lack of funds, and the example of a foolish
king facing defeat by going to war without assessing the strength of the enemy,
Jesus warns his would-be followers to count the cost and calculate the
consequences before becoming his disciples.
Life message: 1) We need to accept Jesus’
challenge of making a total self-gift to Him in our commitment in true
Christian Discipleship: “A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing
and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.” (Martin Luther). Jesus’
challenge can be accepted only if, with God’s grace, we practice the spirit of
detachment and renunciation in our daily lives. Real Christian discipleship
also demands a true commitment both to the duties entrusted to us and to loving
acts of selfless, humble, sacrificial love offered to all God’s children around
us. This is possible only if we rely on His grace, on the power of prayer and
on the guidance of the Holy Spirit through a) daily prayer, b) devout
participation in the Sunday Mass c) diligent study of the Bible, d) service in
and beyond the parish, e) spiritual friendships, and f) giving time, talents,
and resources to the Lord’s work. (Fr. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Nov 7 Thursday: Lk 15:1-101
The context: Today’s Gospel passage, from
chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel, is known as the “Gospel in the Gospels,” or
the “distilled essence of Christ’s Good News.” In this chapter,
using three parables, Jesus answers two accusations leveled against him by the
Scribes and Pharisees, namely, that he is mingling with the sinners and sharing
their meals. These parables teach us that our God is a loving, patient, merciful,
and forgiving God. He is eager to be merciful toward us, not vengeful and
punishing. He is always in search of His lost and straying children.
The parables: Since the self-righteous Pharisees
who accused Jesus of befriending publicans and sinners could not believe that
God would be delighted at the conversion of sinners, Jesus told them the
parable of the lost sheep and the shepherd’s joy on its discovery, the parable
of the lost silver coin (a drachma, worth about a denarius, a farm worker’s
“daily wage”), and the woman’s joy when she found it, and the parable of the
lost son and his Father’s joy at His repentant son’s return Besides presenting
a God Who is patiently waiting for the return of sinners, ready to pardon them,
these parables teach us God’s infinite love and mercy. Christianity is not
about man seeking God, but rather about a Holy God seeking a sinful man. In
other words, in salvation, as in forgiveness, the initiative is always God’s.
These three parables defend Jesus’ alliance with sinners and respond to the
criticism leveled by certain Pharisees and scribes at Jesus’ frequent practice
of eating with and welcoming tax collectors and sinners.
Life messages: 1) We need to meet the challenge
for self-evaluation and return to God’s mercy: If we have been in sin, God’s
mercy is seeking us, searching for our souls with a love that is wild beyond
all imagining. God is ready to receive and welcome us back as Jesus welcomed
sinners in his time.
2) Let us get reconciled with God, through the Sacrament of
Reconciliation when we are in mortal sin, and in asking His forgiveness for our
sins every night before we sleep. 3) We also need to ask God for the courage to
extend this forgiveness to others who have offended us. As we continue with the
celebration of the Holy Mass, let us pray as well for God’s Divine Mercy on
those who have fallen away from grace. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Nov 8 Friday: Lk 16:1-8:
The context: In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us
the strange parable of a steward who was a rascal to teach us that serving God
is a full-time job, not a part-time job or a spare-time hobby. Jesus also
teaches us that we should use, in matters spiritual and eternal, the same
ingenuity and planning which business people show in the business world. The
parable challenges us to use our blessings — time, talents, health and wealth —
wisely and shrewdly, so that they will count for our reward in eternity. We are
on the right road only if we use our earthly wealth to attain our Heavenly
goal. The parable: In the parable, Jesus tells us how the slave-steward of an
absentee landlord ingeniously cheated his master by his unjust manipulation of
the master’s business clients when the steward had been caught red-handed in
misappropriating his master’s wealth. His tricks were intended to make him the
friend of his master’s debtors and gave him the prospect of becoming rich by
working for them (or blackmailing them?) when he was fired by his master from
the stewardship.
Life messages: 1) We need to be faithful in the
little things of life: As Saint John Chrysostom said, "Faithfulness in
little things is a big thing." Our future opportunities in the
eternal service of God largely depend on our stewardship in handling the little
opportunities we have had on earth. As Mother Teresa used to recommend, “Do
little things with great love.” 2) We have to act shrewdly, trusting
in the power and assistance of God. Let us make use of our resources — like
Hope in God’s justice, Faith in God’s assistance, and Trust in God’s grace, the
Mass and the Sacraments as sources of Divine grace and the Holy Bible as the
word of God for daily meditation. 3) Let us remember that as God’s stewards we
need to be prepared to give an account of our lives at any time (Fr. Tony)(https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Nov 9 Saturday: Dedication of the Lateran Basilica Jn
2:13-
Historical note: Today the Church celebrates the
anniversary of the dedication of the Cathedral Church of Rome by Pope Sylvester
I (AD 314-335), in AD 324. This Church serves as the Episcopal seat of the Pope
as the Bishop of Rome and, hence, is called “the mother and head of all
Churches of Rome and the world.” The basilica and baptistery were built
originally by the Emperor Constantine and called Basilica Constantinia. Later
it was named the Arch-Basilica of the Most Holy Savior. However, it is now
called St. Johns Lateran Basilica because it was built on property donated to
the Church by the Laterani family, and because the monks from the monastery of
St. John the Baptist and St. John the Divine served it. The name St. Johns
comes, first, from the Baptistery, rebuilt after its hard treatment by the
Visigoths (AD 410), by Pope St. Sixtus II (AD 432-440), and dedicated by him to
St. John the Baptist. Later, Pope St. Hilary (AD 461-468), dedicated it to St.
John the Evangelist, in thanksgiving to that apostle for saving his life.
The context: Today’s Gospel gives us the dramatic
account of Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem. He drove out its
merchants and moneychangers with moral indignation at the unjust
commercialization of a House of Prayer and the exploitation of the poor pilgrims
in the name of religion. The merchants charged exorbitant prices for animals
for sacrifices, and the moneychangers charged unjust commissions for the
required exchange of pagan coins for Temple coins. The Temple Jesus cleansed
was the Temple in Jerusalem. Originally built by Solomon in 966 BC and rebuilt
by Zerubbabel in 515 BC after the Babylonians had destroyed it, the Temple was
renovated for the last time by King Herod the Great starting in 20 BC. The
abuses which infuriated Jesus were 1) the conversion of a place of prayer to a
noisy marketplace and 2) the unjust business practices of animal merchants and
moneychangers, encouraged by the Temple authorities. Hence, Jesus made a whip
of cords and drove away the animals and the moneychangers, quoting Zechariah
the prophet, “Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace"(Zechariah
14:21).
Life messages: 1) We need to avoid the business
mentality of profit and loss in Divine worship. Our relationship with God must
be that of a child to his parent, one of love, respect and desire for the
common good, with no thought of gain or loss. 2) We need to remember that we
are the temples of the Holy Spirit. Hence, we have no right to desecrate God’s
temple by impurity, injustice, pride, hatred, or jealousy.
3) We need to love our parish Church and use it. Our Church is the place where we come together as a community to praise and worship God, to thank Him for His blessings, to ask pardon and forgiveness for our sins, and to offer our lives and petitions on the altar. Let us make our Church an even more holy place by adding our prayers and songs to community worship and by offering our time and talents and treasure in the various ministries of our parish. (Fr. Tony)
