Dec 11-16: Dec 11 Monday:St. Damasus I,For a short biography click onhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-damasus-i : Luke 5:17-26: 17 On one of those days, as he was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was with him to heal. 18 And behold, men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they sought to bring him in and lay him before Jesus; 19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. 20 ……. 26 .. (Cfr. Mt 9: 1-8)

The context: Beyond showing Divine authority over temptation, over the lives of men, over nature, over demons, and over sickness, in today’s Gospel we see Jesus demonstrating a new form of Divine authority – the authority to forgive sins: Jesus offers the miraculous restoration of a paralyzed man to health as proof. The healing episode presents Jesus as God Incarnate, sent to save us, restore us, and make us new. So we have to look beyond the boundaries of our religious experience if we are to appreciate the healing and forgiving operation of our God in newer and newer ways.

Many kinds of sickness were seen by the Jews as punishment for one’s personal sin or the sins of one’s parents. This man’s paralysis was also seen by the people around him as a punishment for some sin in his own life or in the lives of his parents. It was a common belief that no sickness could be cured until sin was forgiven. For that reason, Jesus had first to convince the paralyzed man that his sins had been forgiven. Once Jesus granted the paralytic the forgiveness of God, the man knew that God was no longer his enemy, and he was able to receive the cure which followed. It was the manner of the cure which scandalized the Scribes. By forgiving sin, they thought Jesus had blasphemed, claiming to be God, because forgiving sin is the exclusive prerogative of God. In addition to showing Jesus’ own direct connection to God, this healing demonstrates the fact that we can never be right physically until we are right spiritually, that health in body and peace with God go hand in hand.

Life messages: 1) We need God’s forgiveness to live wholesome lives. The heart of the Christian Faith is the “forgiveness of sins.” In the Creed we say, “I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins.” While we have the power to forgive others, we need to be forgiven ourselves by the One who has the authority to forgive. In Jesus we see this authority, the same authority He gave to his Apostles and so to his Church. 2) Today’s Gospel gives us an invitation to open ourselves to God’s forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and to hear, in the priest’s spoken words of absolution, the Voice of Jesus speaking to the paralytic: “Your sins are forgiven.” 3) The Gospel also instructs us to forgive others their sins against us and to ask God’s forgiveness for our daily sins every day of our lives. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/23

For additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 12 Tuesday:USA: Our Lady of Guadalupe: Lk 1: 39-47: 39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” 46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.

Most of us know the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe. On December 9, 1531, an elderly Indian man named Juan Diego had a vision of Mary, the mother of Jesus, at Tepeyac, a poor Mexican-Indian village outside Mexico City. Mary directed Juan Diego to tell his Bishop to build a Church in Tepeyac. The Spanish Bishop, however, dismissed the Indian’s tale as mere superstition. But to humor Juan Diego, the Bishop demanded that the visionary bring some sort of proof. Three days later, the Virgin Mary appeared again and told Juan Diego to pick the exquisitely beautiful roses that had miraculously bloomed amidst December snows, and take them as a sign to the Bishop. When Juan Diego opened his poncho to present the roses to the Bishop, the flowers poured out from his poncho to reveal an image of the Virgin Mary painted on the inside of the poncho. That image hangs today in the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City and is venerated by thousands of pilgrims from all over the world. This apparition occasioned the conversion of nine million Indians to Christianity in twenty years. It is estimated that ten million pilgrims visit the Basilica every year. The original Church was built in 1533, the second in 1556 and the third in 1709. The Virgin of Guadalupe was declared the Patroness of Latin America by Pope St. Pius X (1907), Queen of Mexico and Empress of America by Pope Pius XII (1945), Mother of America by Pope St. John XXXIII (1961) and Star of Evangelization by Pope St. John Paul II (1979).

Life messages: 1) The story of the apparition tells us how Jesus, as Emmanuel, and Mary his mother, want to be among us, especially among the poor, the downtrodden and the marginalized in society who have neither voice nor political or social influence. That is why Our Lady appeared to a poor Indian in a village, not as a white woman but as a brown-skinned Indian princess, speaking his native Nahuatal language, and why Mary did not appear to any of the Spanish overlords. God wanted the Basilica in honor of Jesus’ mother built in the village, not in the city.
2) The vision challenges us to listen to the ordinary people who do not look or act like important people and to treat them with reverence. While it is true that God loves each and every one of us, there is a special place in God’s heart for the poor and the powerless – God’s preferential option for the poor. So the feast challenges us to see and serve Jesus in the poor and the broken-hearted in our communities.

Anecdote: About sixteen years ago a priest (Fr. Phil Bloom) received a very unusual request: A young woman asked him if he would help her get rid of her unborn child. The priest was obviously surprised, but he tried not to react negatively. “Why do you want to end your pregnancy?” he asked. She replied that when she told her boyfriend, he said he was going to leave her. She loved him and desperately wanted him back. The priest resisted the temptation to say, “your boyfriend is a rat.” Instead he asked her to do three things: First, to allow the priest to pray with her and bless the baby. Second, to see a medical professional that he knew. And, third, to watch a short video. The video showed the development of the human embryo. After she left, the priest thought about the young woman and wondered what she would do. In his room he had a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He noticed the black ribbon below her folded hands and he remembered that the ribbon signified pregnancy. The child within her, of course, is Jesus. The priest asked Our Lady to help that young woman. A month or so passed. The priest heard a knock on his office door. When he opened the door, he saw a shy, smiling face. It was the young woman. she told the priest she had decided to keep her baby. A year later he saw her again. She was holding a lovely baby girl. After some conversation, the priest asked her, “Would you give up your baby for anything?” “No,” she said, “she is my treasure.” The girl is now a teenager. She lives with her mom and grandmother. In their home they have a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe that the priest gave to mom.* (http://www.homilies.net/e/E-10-12-12.asp) L/23

For additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 12 Tuesday:Our Lady of Guadalupe:For a short account, click here: Luke 1:26-38 or Luke 1:39-47: Gospel reflections: 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be, since I have no husband?” 35 And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God. 36 And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”38 ….

The context: Today’s Gospel describes the story of the Annunciation, explaining how God began to keep the promise He had made to King David through the prophet Nathan, that David’s descendant would rule over the world as its Messiah. The Archangel Gabriel’s salutation to Mary: “Hail, full of grace,” reminds us of God’s words to Moses at the burning bush (Ex 3:12), and the angel’s salutation to Gideon, (Jgs 6:12). Mary is described as “full of grace,” filled with God’s favor and graciousness. She is to be the new Ark, a tent and temple. God will be in her, literally and physically, and thus she will be the greater House God promised to David. Mary’s believing question, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” is natural. That is why Gabriel reminds Mary, “For with God nothing will be impossible.” God will “empower” her (“the Spirit will come upon you“) and “protect” her (“overshadow you“). Luke’s narrative points out that the Child will not only be a distant grandson of David — He will be God’s own Son. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His ancestor David.”Mary does not require confirmation but responds in Faith. She agrees to carry out the Word Gabriel has addressed to her.

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. Hence, let us cooperate in the fulfillment 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, it is our duty to carry Jesus everywhere and bring Jesus to the lives of others around us through 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). 3) We should treasure these words of the Gospel and use them often, for example, by practicing the Christian custom of saying the Angelus every day and reflecting on the five Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. (Navarre Bible Commentary). (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/23

For additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 13 Wednesday: St. Lucy For a short biography click onhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-lucy:: Mt 11:28-30: 28Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

The context: In today’s Gospel, Jesus offers rest to those who labor and are burdened,if they are ready to accept his easy yoke and light burden. For the Orthodox Jew, religion was a matter of burdens,namely, 613 Mosaic laws and thousands of oral interpretations, which dictated every aspect of life. Jesus invites the overburdened Israel, and us, to take his yoke upon our shoulders. In Palestine, ox-yokes were made of wood and were carved to fit the ox comfortably. The yoke of Christ can be seen as the sum of our Christian responsibilities and duties. Jesus’ yoke is light because it is given with love. It is the commandment to love others as Jesus did. Besides, the yoke of Christ is not just a yoke from Christ but also a yoke with him. So, we are not yoked singly to pull the plow by our own unaided power. We are yoked together with Christ to work with him using his strength. Jesus is inviting each one of us to be yoked with him, to unite our life with him, our will with his will, our heart with his heart. By saying that his “yoke is easy,” Jesus means that whatever God sends us is made to fit our needs and our abilities exactly.

The second part of Jesus’ claim is: “My burden is light.” Jesus does not mean that his burden is easy to carry, but that it is laid on us in love. This burden is meant to be carried in love, and love makes even the heaviest burden light. By following Jesus, one will find peace, rest, and real refreshment. We are burdened with many things: business, concerns about jobs, marriage, money, health, children, security, old age, and a thousand other things. Jesus is asking us to give him our burdens and take on his yoke. By telling us, “Take my yoke . . . and you will find rest,” Christ is asking us to do things the Christian way. When we are centered in God, when we follow God’s commandments, we have no heavy burdens.

Life messages: 1) We need to be freed from unnecessary burdens: Jesus is interested in lifting from our backs the burdens that drain us and suck the life out of us, so that he can place around our necks his own yoke and his burden which bring to us, and to others through us, new life, new energy, and new joy. 2) We need to unload our burdens before the Lord. One of the functions of worship for many of us is that it gives us a time for rest and refreshment, when we let the overheated radiators of our hectic lives cool down before the Lord. This is especially true when we unload the burdens of our sins and worries and evil addictions on the altar and offer them to God during the Holy Mass. (Fr. Kadavil) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/23

For additional reflections: Click on https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video;https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/;

Dec 14 Thursday: St. John of the Cross For a short biography click on https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-john-of-the-cross : Matthew 11:11-15: Jesus said to the crowds: 11 Amen I say to you among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John; 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

The context: John the Baptizer preached the coming of a fiery Messiah. But what he heard about Jesus from prison was that Jesus was a loving, merciful, and forgiving preacher who befriended tax collectors and sinners. Hence, John sent some of his disciples to Jesus to learn whether Jesus was, or was not, the expected Messiah. After sending them back to John to report the actions by which He was fulfilling the Messianic prophecies, Jesus gave the highest compliments to John in today’s Gospel.

Jesus praised John first as a prophet and second as the expected Elijah. As a prophet, John had God-given wisdom in his mind, God’s truth on his lips, and God-given courage in his heart. He had been heralding the Messiah with the courage of his prophetic convictions. John had lived like the Prophet Elijah who was expected to come just before the Messiah. He had spoken with the same prophetic authority and had corrected the self-righteous, attracting Jewish followers by the hundreds to receive the baptism of repentance. Jesus, however, stressed the fact that His own followers were greater than John because, while John knew only God’s judgment and punishment, we know God’s love, forgiveness and the salvation, given through Jesus. But Jesus warned his followers that they would be persecuted for their trust in God’s Kingdom, and that they would have to use force on their selfish and evil tendencies to reach God’s Kingdom.

Life message: We need to have the courage of our Christian convictions to profess in public what we believe and to practice what the Church teaches. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/23

For additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 15 Friday: Matthew 11:16-19:16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places and calling to their playmates, 17 `We piped to you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, `He has a demon’; 19 the Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, `Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.” (Cfr. Luke 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 self-righteous Scribes and the Pharisees because of their jealousy, prejudice, and spiritual blindness. Hence, they attributed the austerities of John the Baptist to the devil, and Jesus’ table fellowship with sinners as the behavior of a glutton and a drunkard, evidence contraindicating any Messianic possibility. In today’s Gospel, Jesus compares these Scribes and Pharisees to irresponsible street-children.

Dog-in-the-manger attitude: Jesus compares the attitude of the Scribes and the Pharisees to that of street-children who want to entertain themselves by acting out weddings and funerals. 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 propose funeral songs and ask the first group to carry one of them on their shoulders as they act out a funeral procession. In the end both groups will be frustrated. Jesus states that the Scribes and Pharisees act exactly like these irresponsible and immature children because of their pride and prejudice. Jesus criticizes the unbelieving Jews for not listening either to John the Baptist, who preached a message of austerity and repentance, or to Jesus preaching the Good News of love, mercy, and salvation.

Life messages: 1) Jesus’ parable about disappointed playmates challenges us to examine ourselves to see if we are “buffet” Catholics with selective hearing, so that we hear only what we want to hear and choose only those practices and laws which appeal to us. Jesus’ message of the kingdom of God is Good News and it produces true joy and spiritual freedom for those who will listen, but it is also a warning for those who refuse to listen and close their minds.

2) Hearing the Gospel implies the total acceptance and assimilation of what we hear and the incorporation of it into our daily lives. 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/) L/23

For additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 16 Saturday: Matthew 17:9-13: 9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of man is raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 11 He replied, “Elijah does come, and he is to restore all things; 12 but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of man will suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

The context: Today’s Gospel describes the warning and instruction given by Jesus to Peter, James, and John as they were coming down the mountain after witnessing Jesus’ Transfiguration. Jesus forbade them to give any publicity to what they had seen, because people were expecting a conquering political messiah with Elijah as his forerunner, and a powerful reformer who would destroy evil and restore justice in the land for the Messiah to rule.

The Expected Messiah. Then Jesus indicated that He was the expected Messiah, and that John was the Elijah they had been waiting for. John’s mission had been to prepare the way for the first coming of the Messiah, as Elijah’s mission would be to prepare the world for the Messiah’s second coming at the end of the world. The scribes misunderstood and taught that Elijah would come before the first coming of the Messiah. But Jesus told the disciples that (for those who were willing to believe it), John the Baptist had served as Jesus’ Elijah in announcing and preparing the people to receive a Messiah, who would fulfill the Messianic mission not by political power, but by suffering and death.

Life message:1) Let us accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, Who became our Messiah by dying for us on the crossWe do so by cooperating with our Savior in our eternal salvation, by obeying Jesus’ commandment of love, and by following the instructions given by the Church Jesus founded and transforming our suffering to redemptive suffering.. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/23

For additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections