Jan 6-11:
Jan 6 Monday: [USA: Saint Andre Bessette,
Religious]:
Mt 4: 12-17, 23-25: 12 Now when he heard that
John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee; 13 and leaving Nazareth he
went and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulon and
Naphtali, 14 that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 15
The land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, across the
Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles — 16 the people who sat in darkness have seen a
great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has
dawned. 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand. He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their
synagogues, 23 proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease
and illness among the people. 24 12 His fame spread to all of Syria, and they
brought to him all who were sick with various diseases and racked with pain,
those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics, and he cured them. 25 And
great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, 13 Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond
the Jordan followed him.
The context: Today’s Gospel describes the
beginning of Jesus’ mission of preaching and healing in Galilee. He chose that
area as the ideal spot because it was the most fertile land in Palestine. In
addition, it was the most populated area, with 204 villages around the Sea of
Galilee housing Jews and Gentiles. The Jews there belonged to the tribes of
Asher, Naphtali and Zebulon. The people were open to new ideas because they had
been exposed to various religious beliefs and the culture of traders from all
over the known world.
Preaching the Good News: Jesus started preaching
the Good News about God the Father and about God’s Kingdom. Since it was God
the King’s message, it carried God’s authority and certainty. It was “Good
News” because Jesus introduced to his hearers God his Father as a loving,
merciful, providing, forgiving Father Who wants to save everyone from the
bondage of sin. It was also “Good News” of hope and peace. As a continuation of
John’s message, Jesus, too, invited his hearers to repentance and the renewal
of their lives. Matthew identified Jesus’ preaching and healing ministry in
Galilee as the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah.
Life message: As Christians we have been given
Jesus’ mission to continue. Hence, our exemplary, transparent lives must be our
message radiating Christ’s love, mercy, forgiveness and spirit of humble and
committed service. (Fr. Tony)
Jan 7 Tuesday: St. Raymond of Peñafort,
priest; Mk 6: 34-44:
The context: Today’s Gospel describes Jesus’
miraculous feeding of a great multitude. The story is told in all four Gospels
and serves as Jesus’ way of introducing to his hearers a merciful, providing
God. This miraculous feeding was meant to remind people of God’s provision of
manna in the wilderness and to foreshadow the true Heavenly Bread, which Jesus
would offer His followers. Jesus took pity on the growing physical hunger of
his listeners as he preached, and he challenged his Apostles to feed them. But
they had with them only five loaves of bread and two dried fish. Jesus took
these, said a prayer of blessing broke them and asked the Apostles to
distribute them till the hungry people were fully satisfied. Since it was
mid-April, springtime in Israel, the people could sit comfortably on green
grass in their groups of hundreds and fifties as Jesus instructed. After
serving a generous meal, the Apostles collected twelve wicker baskets of
leftover bread and fish pieces, a vivid proof and reminder of God’s generosity
in giving. Life messages: 1) We will not, by ourselves, be able to feed the
hungry illions in the world. But today’s Gospel challenges us to do our humble
share in alleviating hunger and poverty in our neighborhood. 2) God will
amplify our little contributions and reward our good will and generosity. (Fr.
Tony)
Jan 8 Wednesday: Lk 4: 14-22:
The Context
Today’s Gospel passage describes how, on a Sabbath, Jesus
stood before the people in the synagogue of his hometown, Nazareth, reading and
interpreting what Isaiah had prophesied about the Messiah and his mission.
Jesus claimed that he was the One sent to bring glad tidings to the poor,
liberation to captives, recovery of sight to the blind and freedom for the
oppressed language that reflects the Biblical year of Jubilee. To the great
amazement and disbelief of his own townsmen, Jesus declared that Isaiah’s prophecy
was being fulfilled at that very moment “in their hearing because the prophet
was foretelling and describing Jesus’ mission and ministry. Jesus’ mission
would be to give liberation to everyone who would listen to his “Good News,”
accept it and put it into practice. Luke reports that the initial reaction of
the people was surprise at the power and eloquence of this son of their soil.
Life messages: 1) We need to receive Christ’s
freedom, live it and pass it on to others: As members of Christ’s Mystical
Body, we share in the freeing, saving mission of Jesus. But we are captives of
sin. We need Christ to set us free. We are often blinded by our evil habits,
addictions and need for financial security. Once we receive true liberation
from Christ, we have to share it with those we encounter in our daily lives,
families, neighborhoods, parishes and workplaces. 2) We need to let the power
of the Holy Spirit fill us, and to be ready to have miracles done through us.
Today’s Gospel tells us that Jesus performed miracles because he was filled
with the power of the Holy Spirit. Let us be ready to become Spirit-filled
instruments of Christ’s saving freedom. Fr. Tony.
Jan 9 Thursday: Mk 6: 45-52: The context: The
event presented by today’s Gospel is the scene immediately following Jesus’
miraculous feeding of the five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish.
Sensing the danger of being seized by the people and; made King as the leader
of a revolt, Jesus promptly instructed his Apostles to leave the place by boat.
He dismissed the crowd and went to the mountain to pray in solitude. A double
miracle in the sea: When the Apostles in the boat were several furlongs away
from the shore, they faced an unexpected storm on the sea caused by the rush of
hot wind from the desert blowing through the gaps of the Golan Heights onto the
Sea of Galilee. Recognizing His Apostles’ danger, Jesus went toward their boat,
walking on the stormy sea. Jesus calmed the frightened disciples as he
approached the boat. As soon as Jesus got into the boat, the storm ceased
miraculously, to the great astonishment of the Apostles.
Life messages: 1) Let us approach Jesus with
strong Faith in His ability and availability to calm the storms in our lives
and in the life of the Church. Church history shows us how Jesus saved his
Church from the storms of persecution in the first three centuries, from the
storms of heresies in the fifth and sixth centuries, from the storms of moral
degradation and the Protestant reformation movement in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, and from the storms of clergy sex-abuse scandals in the
twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
2) Let us ask Jesus to protect us when we face storms of
strong temptations, storms of doubts about our religious beliefs, and storms of
fear, anxiety and worries in our personal lives. Experiencing Jesus’ presence
in our lives, let us confess our Faith in him and call out for his help and
protection Fr. Tony Jan 10 Friday: Lk 5: 12-16:
The context: Today’s Gospel describes Jesus touching
a man sick with a severe leprosy and healing him instantly. Biblical “leprosy”
rarely indicated Hansen’s disease (leprosy proper); mostly, the term referred
to skin diseases like ringworm, psoriasis, leukoderma, vitiligo and some types
of skin cancer. The suffering of lepers in Biblical times was chiefly due to
the way they were treated by the religious society of the day (Interpreter’s
Bible). They were deemed unclean, unfit to be counted among a people who
considered themselves “a kingdom of priests, a holy nation” (Ex 19:6). “Leprosy”
was also a terrible disease because its victims were separated from their
families and society. Besides, lepers were treated as sinners deserving no
mercy because they were seen as being punished by God with their contagious
disease. The leprosy given by God as a punishment to Miriam, the complaining
sister of Moses, to Gehazi, the greedy servant of the prophet Elijah and to the
proud the King Uzziah, supported the Jewish belief that leprosy was God’s
punishment for sins. Mosaic restrictions on lepers: The Mosaic Law, as given in
Leviticus, demanded that, first, the priest declare the leper unclean, and then
that the leper a) keep his garments rent and his head bare, b) muffle his
beard, c) cry out, Unclean, unclean and d) dwell apart, making his abode
outside the camp. As a general rule, when a Jewish leper was healed, he had to
go to the local priest for confirmation that he was now clean and was permitted
to mix with the general public.
Life Messages: 1) The strong faith of the sick
man prompted him to violate the Mosaic Law prohibiting him from joining a crowd
and approaching Jesus. The sympathy and mercy of Jesus prompted Jesus to
violate the Mosaic Law which forbade anyone to touch an untouchable leper.
Thus, Jesus teaches the lesson that the essence of Christianity is to touch the
untouchable, to love the unlovable, and to forgive the unforgivable.
2) By sending the cured man to the priests to get their
certification of his freedom from disease, Jesus teaches us that we should pray
for healing and, at the same time, go to the doctors who share God’s wisdom in
healing. Healing normally happens when man’s skill combines with God’s grace.
(Fr. Tony)
Jan 11 Saturday: Jn 3: 22-30:
The context: Today’s Gospel passage shows the
loveliness of John the Baptist’s humility. John was responding to his disciples
who complained that many among them were deserting John to join the new
preacher, Jesus, whom John had baptized. John’s explanation: John told them
plainly who he really was and what his mission was. He told them that he was
only a forerunner of the Messiah and that his mission was to prepare a people
for the Messiah by preaching repentance. He was challenging his hearers to
receive the baptism of repentance as their first step in renewing their lives,
so they could welcome Jesus the Messiah into their lives. John explained
further that his role was to be the “friend of the bridegroom” (shoshben),
Jesus. As the shoshben arranges the meeting of the bride and groom, arranges
the details of the wedding, presides over the wedding, guards the bridal
chamber and leaves happily, John prepared the bride, namely, the Jewish nation
for receiving her bridegroom, Jesus the Messiah, by baptizing the people who
were willing to repent and then baptizing Jesus and introducing him to the
people as the “Lamb of God.”
Life messages: 1) Our mission, as St. Francis de Sales puts it, is to “bloom where you are planted.” God has given a unique mission to each one of us, and we are expected to accomplish that unique mission by receiving God’s strength through the various means Jesus has instituted in his Church. No one can receive anything except what has been given from Heaven.” 2) True humility and trusting faith in God are necessary for us to accomplish our life’s mission by using God’s freely given gifts. (Fr. Tony)
