Easter 6th Week: May 26-31:
May 26 Monday: Saint Philip Neri, priest: John 15:26-16:4:
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 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 27 Tuesday: Saint Augustine of Canterbury,
bishop: John 16 :5-11:
The context: In today’s Gospel,
Jesus tries to console his sad and 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. In other words, “
(Navarre Bible commentary). Although Jesus was condemned to
death, it was actually Satan, the ruler of this world, who was condemned
through Jesus’ death. 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 28 Wednesday: John
16:12-15:
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 message: 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. 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 29 Thursday: In USA: Ascension of the Lord –
Solemnity – Holy Day of Obligation: (Luke
24:46-53): Detailed homily on Ascension is given as June 1st Sunday
homily
Introduction: Today’s readings describe the Ascension of the
Lord Jesus, his Heavenly glory after promising to send the Holy Spirit to the
Apostles as the source of Heavenly power and commanding them to bear witness to
Him through their lives and preaching throughout the world. But the ascended
Jesus is still with us because of His promise, “I am with you always;
yes, to the end of time” (Mt 28-20). He is with us at all times and in
all places, releasing a new energy upon the earth, the energy of the Holy
Spirit.
The Scripture lessons summarized: The first
reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, presents the scene of Jesus’
Ascension, the promise of the Holy Spirit, his instructions to the apostles to
wait in Jerusalem for the Power from above, and the missionary command to the
apostles to bear witness to him. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 47) suggests
that, by his Ascension, the risen Lord “mounts his throne” in glory. In
the second reading, Paul teaches us that God revealed His might in the
Resurrection and Ascension of Christ and in exalting Him over all angelic
forces. Jesus remains accessible to us now in the life-giving Holy Spirit,
assuring us that one day we, too, will be ascending to Heavenly glory, provided
that, with His grace, we live out our Faith in Him through the mission of
loving service He entrusts to us. Today’s Gospel tells us that, with his return
to the Father, Jesus completes his mission on earth. But just before his
Ascension, Jesus entrusted to the disciples the mission of preaching the Good
News and evangelizing the whole world by bearing witness to him through their
lives. It is in his Ascension that we see Jesus entering fully into the life
and glory of God. In the descriptions of Christ after his Resurrection, we are
given a hint of what life will be like in Heaven. The prospect of sharing that
glory should be the driving force of our lives.
Life messages: 1) We need to be proclaimers and
evangelizers: To be a Christian is to be a proclaimer and an evangelizer. There
is a difference between preaching and proclaiming. We preach with words, but we
proclaim with our lives. Let us ask the guidance of the Spirit of God to bear
witness to Jesus by our transparent Christian lives.
2) We have a teaching mission: Jesus taught us
lessons of Faith, Hope, Love, forgiveness, mercy, and salvation by his life and
his preaching and gave us the same mission for our brothers and sisters. Hence,
let us learn about Jesus and his teachings through our daily study of the Bible
and the teachings of the Church, experience Jesus in personal prayer, our
reception of the Sacraments and our works of charity, and convey to others
Jesus whom we experience with the help of the Holy Spirit. 3) We
need Jesus as our source of strength and encouragement in doing His will: We
will be able to overcome doubts about our Faith and baseless fears, anxieties,
and worries by meditating on Jesus’ Ascension and the lesson it teaches — that
we, too, are called to share his glory in Heaven.
May 30 Friday: John
16:20-23:
The context: After foretelling his imminent
departure following the Last Supper, Jesus tried to boost the morale of his sad
and 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 message: 1) Let us see our pains and
suffering as God’s means to strengthen our will and form our character. 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 31 Saturday; Visitation of the Virgin Mary to
Elizabeth: Luke
1:39-56: Lk 1:39-56:
The context: The mystery of the Incarnation
comes to ordinary people living ordinary lives, who have the willingness to
respond to God’s call and the openness and generosity to do God’s will. Luke,
in today’s Gospel, tells us how two seemingly insignificant women met to
celebrate the kindness and fidelity of God. In the Gospel, one definition of
discipleship is to listen to God’s word and then carry it out. Mary did both,
to become the most perfect disciple. The incident also shows us how sensitive
Mary was to the needs of Elizabeth, her older cousin, who had miraculously
become pregnant in her old age.
Mary’s visit to Elizabeth. There is a saying, “One who is
on fire cannot sit on a chair.” Mary, carrying Jesus and filled with the
empowering fire of the Holy Spirit, hurried to the mountain country, a distance
of perhaps 100 miles, where Elizabeth lived, thereby conveying the Holy Spirit
to her cousin and her child. Like all good Jews, Mary was prompted in
everything she did by her commitment to God’s word in her life.
The paradox of blessedness. Blessedness confers on a person
both the greatest joy and the greatest task in the world. Nowhere can we see
the paradox better illustrated than in Mary’s life. Mary was granted the
blessedness and privilege of being the mother of the Son of God. Yet, that very
blessedness was to be a sword to pierce her heart: one day she would see her
Son hanging on a cross. So, to be chosen by God is often both a crown of joy
and a cross of sorrow. God does not choose us to give us a life of ease and
comfort, but in order that we may respond to His love by accomplishing His
purposes.
Life messages:1) We should recognize the real
presence of Emmanuel (God Is with Us) and say “yes” to Him: The Visitation of
Mary reminds us that, through his holy ministry, Christ continues to be present
among his people. Let us recognize and appreciate the truth that the same
Christ “dwells among us” in the Bible, in the Sacraments, in the praying
community, and in our souls. 2) We should convey Jesus to others as Mary did to
Elizabeth. We can make a real difference in the lives of others today by
carrying Jesus to them. For that, we must be filled with the spirit of Christ,
allowing his rebirth within us. Then Jesus will enable us to share his love
with all whom we encounter, offering them humble and committed service,
unconditional forgiveness, and compassionate caring service. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
