24th Week: Sept 15-20:
Sept 15 Monday: Our Lady of Sorrows:
Today we remember the spiritual martyrdom of the Mother of
Jesus and her participation in the sufferings of her Divine Son. Mary is the
Queen of martyrs because she suffered in spirit all Jesus suffered during His
Passion and death, her spiritual torments were greater than the bodily agonies
of the martyrs, and Mary offered her sorrows to God for our sake. The principal
Biblical references to Mary’s sorrows are found in Lk 2:35 and Jn 19:26-27.
Many early Church writers interpret the sword prophesied by Simeon as Mary’s
sorrows, especially as she saw Jesus die on the cross. In the past, the Church
celebrated two feasts to commemorate separately 1) the spiritual
martyrdom of the Blessed Virgin Mary throughout her life as the mother
of Jesus and 2) her compassion for her Divine Son during his
suffering and death. The devotion to the Seven Dolors
(sorrows) of Mary honors her for the motherly sufferings she endured during the
whole life of Jesus on earth.This devotion started with a vision given to St.
Bridget of Sweden in the thirteenth century. In 1239 the seven founders of the
Servite Order took up the sorrows of Mary who stood under the Cross as the main
devotion of their religious Order. Originally, this day was kept on the Friday
before Good Friday. It was Pope Pius XII who changed the date of the feast to
the 15th of September immediately after the Feast of the Triumph of the
Cross. (The nineteenth-century German mystic Anne Catherine Emmerich
claimed to have received a vision in which Mary actually kisses the blood of
Jesus in the many sacred places on the way of the cross. In his film, The
Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson, inspired by this vision, pictures
Claudia, Pontius Pilate’s wife, secretly handing Mary cloths to collect the
blood of Jesus from the streets of Jerusalem).
The seven sorrows: There are seven times of great
suffering in Mary’s life. These events remind many parents of their personal
family experiences of sorrow and mourning for their dear children. 1) Hearing
the prophecy of Simeon, 2) Fleeing with Jesus and Joseph into Egypt to escape
Herod’s soldiers sent to kill Jesus, 3) Losing the Child Jesus in Jerusalem, 4)
Meeting Jesus on the road to Calvary, 5) Standing at the foot of Jesus’ Cross,
6) Receiving the Body of Jesus as it is taken down from the Cross, and 7) The
burial of Jesus.
Life message: 1) On this feast day let us pray
for those who continue to endure similar sufferings that they may receive from
God the strength that they desperately need to continue to carry their
spiritual crosses. Let us try to enter into the sorrowing hearts of the mothers
in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Nigeria, and other
terrorist-haunted nations. Let us also remember and pray for all mothers in the
United States and other countries grieving for their children, soldiers and
civilians alike. 2) Let us also remember with repentant hearts that it is our
sins which caused the suffering of Jesus and Mary. ["At the
cross her station keeping, / Stood the mournful
mother weeping, / Close to Jesus to the last. // Through her heart, his sorrow
sharing, / All his bitter anguish bearing, /
Now at length the sword has passed." (Stabat
Mater)] (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Sept 16 Tuesday Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian
Bishop, Martyrs; Lk 7:11-17:
The context: Today’s Gospel presents one of the
three stories in the Gospel where Jesus brings a dead person back to life. The
other stories are those of Lazarus, and of the daughter of Jairus, the
synagogue leader. Today’s story is found only in Luke. Nain is a village six
miles SE of Nazareth, and it is mentioned nowhere else in the Bible. The scene
is particularly sad because the mother in this story, who had already lost her
husband, has now lost her only son and her only means of support.
Jesus’ touch of human kindness: Jesus was visibly moved by
the sight of the weeping widow, perhaps because he could foresee his own mother
in the same position at the foot of his cross. His compassionate heart prompted
him to console the widow saying: "Do not weep." Then Luke
reports, “He touched the bier and when the bearers stood still, he said,
‘Young man, I say to you, arise.’ And the dead man sat up and began
to speak. And he gave him to his mother,” and participated in her
indescribable joy. There were instances in the Old Testament of people being
raised from death, by Elijah (1 Kgs 17:17-24), and Elisha (2 Kgs 4:32-37).
Jesus’ miracle took place near the spot where the prophet Elisha had brought
another mother’s son back to life again (see 2 Kgs 4:18-37). These miracles
were signs of the power of God working through His prophets. In the case of the
widow’s son in today’s Gospel, the miracle showed the people that Jesus, like
Elijah and Elisha, was, at the least, a great prophet.
Life messages: 1) St. Augustine compares the joy
of that widow to the joy of our Mother, the Church, when her sinful children
return to the life of grace: "Our Mother the Church rejoices every
day when people are raised again in spirit." 2) The event also
reminds us to have the same love and compassion for those who suffer that Jesus
had.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Sept 17 Wednesday: Saint Robert Bellarmine,
bishop and doctor of the Church: Lk 7:31-35:
The context: The message of John the Baptist and
the message of Jesus fell on deaf ears and met with stiff resistance from the
scribes and the Pharisees who, listening with pride, envy, jealousy,and
prejudice, suffered from spiritual blindness and deafness. Hence, they
attributed the austerities of John the Baptist to the devil and saw Jesus’
table fellowship with sinners as “evidence” that he was a
glutton and a drunkard – both “testifying” that Jesus’
reputation and silent Messianic claims were patently false.
Dog-in-the-manger attitude: Jesus compares the attitude of
the Scribes and the Pharisees with that of street-children who want to
entertain themselves by acting out wedding and funeral songs. They divide
themselves into two groups. But when one group proposes to sing wedding songs
and asks the other group to dance, the second group will refuse, proposing
funeral songs instead, and asking the first group to act as a funeral
procession, carrying one of them on their shoulders. In the end both groups
will be frustrated. Jesus states that the scribes and Pharisees, because of
their pride and prejudice, act exactly like these immature, irresponsible
children. Jesus criticizes the unbelieving Jews for not listening either to
John the Baptist, who preached a message of austerity, repentance, and God’s
judgement on unrepentant sinners, or to Jesus, who preached the Good News of
God’s love, mercy, forgiveness and salvation.
Life messages: 1) “Ignore and correct”: Some
people will criticize us as they criticized Jesus and John the Baptist, even
when we do good, correct things with the best of intentions. The most effective
response is to ignore the critics, while examining our actions and correcting
anything wrong we may find in them. 2) But hearing the Gospel implies both the
total acceptance and the assimilation of what we hear with the
prompt incorporation of it into our daily lives. We should not be “selective
listeners,” hearing only what we want to hear, and doing only what we like. 3)
Like the generation of Jesus’ time, our age is marked by indifference and
contempt, especially in regard to the things of Heaven. Indifference dulls our
ears to God’s voice and to the Good News of the Gospel. Only the humble of
heart can find joy and favor in God’s grace.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Sept 18 Thursday: Lk 7:36-50:
The context: The central theme of today’s Gospel
is an invitation to repent, do penance, and renew our lives, instead of
continuing to carry the heavy baggage of our sins. This Gospel celebrates the
gift of God’s forgiveness. Our God is a God Who always tries, not to punish,
but to rehabilitate, so that we may be made whole and experience inner peace
and harmony. The sinner at the feet of Jesus: The Gospel story tells of a woman
of the streets who washes Jesus’ feet with her tears, wipes them with her hair,
and perfumes them with costly oil. In sharp contrast, the host, Simon the
Pharisee, has purposely omitted these Jewish customs of welcoming a guest. When
one invited a Rabbi to one’s house, it was normal to place one’s hand on his
shoulder and give him the kiss of peace, to bathe his feet (Palestine is a very
dusty country), and to burn a grain of incense or put a drop of attar of roses
on his head. Jesus contrasts Simon’s rudeness with the prostitute’s public
expression of repentance, and says that the repentant woman’s sins are forgiven
because “she has loved much.” By telling the short parable of the
two debtors, Christ teaches us two things–His own Divinity and His power to
forgive sins. The parable also shows the merit the woman’s love deserves, and
underlines the discourtesy implied in Simeon’s neglecting to receive Jesus in
the conventional way.
Life message: 1) We can accept or reject the
mercy of God: We are challenged to accept or to reject the mercy of God, and we
must make that choice! In action. We often share Simon’s mentality by
displaying an attitude of lovelessness and harshness toward those around us,
and this is a refusal of God’s Mercy. We need to love Jesus because Jesus is
the one and only Savior who has died for our sins, and we need to be
grateful to our forgiving God. Our serious attempts to avoid the near
occasions of sin will be both the proof of our sincere repentance and the
expression of our gratitude to the merciful God who has forgiven our sins. 2)
We need to cultivate a forgiving attitude towards our
neighbor: Although it is not easy, we must learn to forgive those who hurt us
if we want to be able to receive the daily forgiveness we need from a merciful
God
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Sept 19 Friday: St Januarius, bishop and martyr: Lk
8:1-3:
The context: Today’s Gospel describes how Jesus
began his preaching and healing ministry in the company of the twelve Apostles
and a group of women volunteers. Luke’s Gospel pays special attention to women.
The female following of Jesus was out of the ordinary at the time and in the
place where Jesus lived. In those days, strict rabbis would not speak to a
woman in public, and very strict ones would not speak to their own wives in the
streets or public places! In his Gospel, Luke provides the Blessed Virgin Mary’s
recollections of her own history with Jesus whom she outlived, describes
several women around Jesus, like Elizabeth, Mary’s kinswoman, the prophetess
Anna, the sinful woman, Martha and Mary, the crippled woman, the woman with
hemorrhage, the women who supplied the needs of Jesus and his Apostles out of
their own resources, and, in the parables, the woman kneading yeast into the
dough, the woman with the lost coin and the woman who tamed the judge.
The ministry and the associates: Jesus started preaching the
“Good News” that God His Father is not a judging and punishing God, but a
loving and forgiving God Who wants to save mankind through His Son, Jesus. Luke
mentions the names of a few women who helped Jesus’ ministry by their voluntary
service and financial assistance. Some among them were rich and influential
like Joanna, the wife of King Herod's steward, Chuza. We meet Joanna again
among the women who went to the tomb on the morning of the Resurrection (Lk
24:10). Some others like Mary of Magdala followed Jesus to express their
gratitude for his healing of them. This mixture of different types of women
volunteers, all attracted by the person and message of Jesus, supported his
Messianic Mission by providing food and other material assistance to Jesus and
the Apostles, who proclaimed the Gospel by word and deed and by their communal
and shared life. It is nice to know that our Lord availed Himself of their
charity and that they responded to Him with such refined and generous
detachment that Christian women feel filled with a holy and fruitful envy (St.
Josemaria Escriva). At crucial moments, Jesus was better served by the women
disciples than by the men.
Life message: 1) The evangelizing work of the
Church needs the preaching of the missionaries and preachers, feeding and
leading the believers in parishes. This work also needs the active support of
all Christians by their transparent Christian lives, fervent prayers, and
financial assistance.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Sept 20 Saturday: St Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, Paul
Chŏng Ha-sang, martyrs & companions: Lk 8:-4-15
The context: Today’s Gospel passage gives us the
parable of the sower, the seeds sown, and the yield (depending upon the soil
type). This, the first parable of Jesus in the New Testament about the Kingdom
of Heaven, is also a parable interpreted privately for his disciples by Jesus
himself. It was intended as a warning to the hearers to be attentive, and to
the apostles to be hopeful, about Jesus’ preaching in the face of growing
opposition to Jesus and his ideas. The sower is God — through Jesus, the
Church, the parents, and the teachers. The seed sown is the high-yielding word
of God which is also described as “a sharp sword” (Is 49:2), “two-edged
sword” (Heb 4:12), and “fire and hammer” (Jer 23:29).
Soil type and the yield: The hardened soil on
the footpath represents people with minds closed because of laziness, pride,
prejudice, or fear. The soil on flat rock pieces represents emotional types of
people who go after novelties without sticking to anything and are unwilling to
surrender their wills to God. “I will remove the heart of stone from
their flesh and give them a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 11:19).
The soil filled with weeds represents people addicted to evil habits and evil
tendencies, those whose hearts are filled with hatred, jealousy, or the greed
that makes them interested only in acquiring money by any means and in enjoying
life in any way possible. The good and fertile soil represents well-intentioned
people with open minds and clean hearts, earnest in hearing the word and
zealous in putting it into practice. Zacchaeus, the sinful woman, the thief on
Jesus’ right side, St. Augustine, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Francis Xavier,
among others, fall into this category of the good soil.
Life message: Let us become the good soil and
produce hundred-fold harvests by earnestly hearing, faithfully assimilating and
daily cultivating the word of God we have received, so that the Holy Spirit may
produce His fruits in our lives. (Fr. Tony)
