Lent 5th Week: March 23-28:
March 23 Monday: St. Turibius of Mogrovejo, Bishop:
Jn 8:1-11:
The context: The Jewish civil and criminal code
considered three grave sins as punishable by death, namely idolatry, murder,
and adultery. The Law (Lv 18:20; 20:10; Dt 22:22), prescribes death for both
the married woman and her partner if they are caught in adultery. If the guilty
woman is betrothed, and she and her partner are within the City, both are to be
taken outside the City gate and stoned to death (Dt 22-23). In both cases they
have violated God’s sixth commandment and have destroyed the fidelity and unity
of marriage. In today’s Gospel, we find the Pharisees preparing a trap for
Jesus by bringing to him a woman, (but not her partner), caught in adultery.
The trap and the escape: If Jesus consented to her death by strangulation or
stoning, he would be violating the Roman law which forbade killing by private
citizens. In addition, he would lose his reputation as a merciful rabbi. If
Jesus refused, he would violate the Mosaic Law. Hence, Jesus ingeniously
escaped from the trap by leaving the judgment to the conscience of the
accusers. St. Augustine puts Jesus’ stand as follows: “Let this woman
be punished, but not by sinners; let the law be applied, but not by its
transgressors.” Jesus condemned sin, but not the sinner. He gave her a
stern warning not to sin anymore, but showed her mercy, compassion and
forgiveness.
Life messages: 1) We too should learn to hate
sin and love the sinners showing them mercy and compassion, sympathy, and
acceptance, and leading them to noble ways by our own exemplary lives. 2) We
should show mercy and compassion to those who sin because we ourselves are
sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. 3) We have no right to judge others
because we often commit the very faults we condemn, we are often partial and
prejudiced in our judgment, and we do not know the circumstances which led
someone to sin.
Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
March 24 Tuesday: John 8:21-30:
The context: Through his teaching and healing
ministry, Jesus tried to convince his listeners that he was the promised
Messiah. But only a few of his followers acknowledged him as the Messiah. The
pride and the prejudice of the scribes and the Pharisees prevented them from
seeing anything Divine in Jesus. Hence, Jesus gave them the warning that he was
going to the place where he had come from, and they would not be able to go
there. They misunderstood Jesus’ statement about his going home to Heaven as
planning suicide. So, Jesus gave the Jews the warning that they would die in
their sins unless they believed in him as the saving Messiah and accepted his
teaching. Then Jesus clarified how he was going to save those who believed in
him by referring to the story of Moses’ bronze serpent, a symbol of God’s
benevolent saving will, exercised toward His wayward, now repentant, children.
Just as the complaining Israelites in the desert were healed and saved from the
serpent bites by looking at the bronze serpent lifted on the pole, Jesus, too,
would be lifted on a cross for the salvation and freedom from sin of all
mankind. Jesus further explained that his cross would defeat sin and death and
that he would give everlasting life to those who believed in him as the
Messiah. Jesus declared his Divinity when he said, “I am He.”
Life messages:
1) We need to be humble instruments in the hand of God,
trusting in His power and goodness. St. Augustine reminds us that God Who
created us without our permission cannot save us without our active
cooperation, for to do so would be a violation of our free will. He gave us
free will so that we might love Him and each other freely, or, sadly and
foolisly, reject Him and each other in equal freedom. Hence, let us cooperate
in the fulfilment of God’s plan for us with Mary’s trusting Faith and humility.
2) Like Mary who brought God to us as Jesus our Savior, we
are called to carry Jesus and bring him to the lives of others around us in
love, mercy, forgiveness, and service. “Let the soul of Mary be in each
one of you to magnify the Lord. Let the spirit of Mary be in each one to exult
in Christ.” (St. Ambrose).
Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
March 25 Wednesday: The Annunciation of the Lord: (Lk
1:26-38:
The Solemnity of the Annunciation is celebrated
nine months before the Nativity of the Lord, a feast which came about earlier
historically. The Annunciation recalls the day when the Archangel Gabriel
appeared to Mary and revealed God’s will that she become the Mother of the Son
of God, and she consented. At that moment, the “Word became Flesh and
dwelt among us” (John 1:14). This Solemnity is called “Little
Christmas” because it commemorates the great day when God entered our
world through the Incarnation. This is a joyful annunciation because it is
aimed towards our salvation. Ven. Fulton J. Sheen in his book, Life of
Christ, says, “Divinity is always where one least expects to
find it” (Life of Christ, p. 27). It was Mother Mary’s humility and
sincere heart that made her worthy to be the mother of the creator. Every day,
similar annunciations happen. Usually, doctors make an announcement of
pregnancy of would-be mothers. Then, mothers will announce the news to their
husbands and other relatives. Usually, this is a moment of joy and excitement.
Historical note: The Eastern Church started
celebrating the feast of the Annunciation in the 5th century, probably about
the time of the Council of Ephesus in AD 431. It is mentioned between AD 530
and 533 by Abraham of Ephesus. In the Western Church the first authentic
reference is found in the 7th century, fixing it on March 25th, exactly nine
months before Christmas.
Today’s readings explain how God began to keep
His promises: 1) to Adam and Eve, (Gen 3-15), that He would send them a
redeemer, 2) to King David through the prophet Nathan (II Sam 7:12-16) that his
lineal descendant would rule the world in an everlasting kingdom, and 3) to
King Ahaz through the prophet Isaiah (Is 7:10-14, 8:10,; today’s first reading)
that a virgin would bear a son whose name would be Emmanuel God-with-us). The
second reading (Heb 10:4-10) explains the purpose of the Incarnation of the
Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the only-begotten Son of God, as Jesus,
the Christ (Messiah) of God, doing, in the most perfect obedience, the will of
God his Father by suffering the torture and shameful death of the worst
criminals, Roman crucifixion, which would result in the glory of Jesus’
Resurrection. The Gospel shows us the Annunciation scene and Mary’s obedient
“Yes” to the will of God. We need to be doers of the Word, respondint to God
through His messengers as Mary did: This feast is a reminder to us of the importance
of following God’s will. It is His will which should prevail more than our own
or anyone else’s will. God knows what is best for us. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
all lived by following God’s will, and we need to do the same. Reflecting on
the Annunciation event, St. Augustine reminds us, “God created us
without our permission, but He will save us only with our consent and
permission, by co-operating with His Holy will,” through obedient
co-operation in all things.
2) We need to be grateful to God for His love and Mercy as
Mary was. As we are created in the image and likeness of God through His
creative Word speaking us into being, so we have become God’s adopted children
through Jesus Christ through the grace of Baptism and not by our own unaided
efforts. For this reason we, too, step back and recognize God as GOD, and
humbly, gratefully, give Him all our thanks and love for the great privilege of
being, and living as, His adopted childen
3) We need to be humble instruments in the hands of God by
allowing Jesus to be reborn in us, to radiate Jesus goodness and love all
around us as agape love, and to ask for (and use!) the great
grace of always saying a generous and courageous “Yes!” to God
in our everyday choices, and, at the same time, appreciating God’s plan for us
in every event of our life.
March 26 Thursday; Jn 8:51-59:
The context: In today’s Gospel, Jesus surprises
and infuriates the Jews by the blinding lightning and deafening thunder of his
Divine claims. First, Jesus claimed that one who kept his words would not die
because his words were God’s words. But the Jews responded, arguing that even a
great man of Faith, like Abraham who kept God’s words, had died. Next Jesus
claimed that he had unique knowledge of God because he came from God. But the
Jews believed that God had revealed everything about Himself through the Torah.
Third, Jesus claimed a unique obedience to God, his Father, because he thought,
spoke, and acted as God wished. But the Jews believed that their fathers and
prophets had obeyed God perfectly. Fourth, Jesus claimed that he was not
limited by time and, hence, that he was there with God even before Abraham, and
that Abraham had seen Jesus’ “day, and he was glad.” But the
Jews believed that Abraham had been given a vision of the entire history of
Israel including the vision of the Messiah. At this last claim, the Jews
attempted to stone Jesus for blasphemy. But Jesus escaped.
Life message: 1) We need to put our trust in
Jesus because of His claims of Divinity. If we believe that we will receive
eternal life by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we need to live out our
belief by obeying him. 2) As God, Jesus is present in all areas of our lives,
so we need to talk to him about everything and listen to him always. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
March 27 Friday; Jn 10:31-42:
The context: In the first reading, the prophet
Jeremiah laments over the false accusations leveled against him by his friends
and enemies. In the Gospel, Jesus refutes the accusation of blasphemy and
avoids the attempt at stoning him to death (the Jewish punishment for
blasphemy), by giving two proofs of his Divinity and equality with God as the
Son of God. Jesus was called a blasphemer when he forgave the sins of the
paralytic (Mt 9:1-8). Later during his trial before the Sanhedrin, the High
Priest would do the same when Jesus solemnly confessed his Divinity.
Two arguments
supporting Jesus’ Divinity: 1) The Book of Psalms, a book of Jewish Holy
Scripture, reminds the Jewish judges of their high dignity and consequent
responsibility saying: “You are gods, sons of the Most High” (Ps 82:6) because
they are commissioned by God to act in the place of God in promoting His
Justice. (God is reprimanding unjust judges reminding them of their position
and role). If they can be called sons of God, Jesus argues, his saying, "I
am consecrated and sent by God” (meaning, "Hence, I share the
Divinity of God and claim it"), is not blasphemy but truth. 2) The
truth that Jesus is the Son of God is supported also by the credentials of his
miracles. Jesus claims that it is his Father who does these miracles through
him. Hence, Jesus challenges his accusers to accept his deeds as proof that the
Lord God is working through him in his miraculouir actions and accept him as
God’s Man on that account, even if they cannot accept his claim.
Life messages:
1) By Baptism we are made children of God, heirs of Heaven, and members of the
Trinitarian family of God. 2) We, too, are consecrated and commissioned by God,
through our Baptism, to bear witness to Jesus’ Divinity by living out Jesus’
teachings and displaying Jesus’ ideals.
Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
March 28 Saturday: Jn 11:45-56:
The context: Today’s Gospel gives the reaction
of the High Priest and his associates when the news about Jesus’ raising of
Lazarus reached their ears. They convened a session of the Council to consider
the matter.
Life messages: 1) We are entering Holy Week
tomorrow. It is in Holy Week that we gratefully remember how Jesus died for the
whole world. 2) These are days given us by God so that we may express our
gratitude to Christ who died for our sins, by repentance, by the renewal of our
lives, and by our preparation to celebrate resurrection of our Lord.
Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
