Lent I [C] (March 9) Sunday (8-minute homily in 1-page (L-25)

Central theme: Lent begins with a reflection on the Temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. The Church assigns temptation stories to the beginning of Lent because temptations come to everybody, not only to Jesus, and we seem almost genetically programmed to yield to them.

Scripture lessons summarized: The first reading describes the ancient Jewish ritual of presenting the first fruits and gifts to God during the harvest festival in order to thank Him for liberating His people from Egypt and for strengthening them during the years of their trials and temptations in the desert. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 91), points to Satan’s third temptation of Jesus in the desert as recorded in Luke’s Gospel. In the second reading, St. Paul warns the early Christians converted from Judaism not to yield to their constant temptation to return to the observances of the Mosaic Laws. He reminds them that they will be saved only by acknowledging the risen Jesus as Lord and Savior. Bible scholars think that the graphic temptations of Jesus described by Matthew and Luke in their Gospels are the pictorial and dramatic representations of the inner struggle against a temptation that Jesus experienced throughout his public life. The devil was trying to prevent Jesus from accomplishing (with the wiling sacrifice of his own human life), his mission of saving mankind from the bondage of sin. The evil one attacked Jesus through temptations to become the political Messiah of Jewish expectations, and to misuse his Divine power first for his own convenience and then to avoid suffering and death.

Life Messages: 1) We need to confront and conquer temptations as Jesus did, using the means he employed: Like Jesus, every one of us is tempted to seek sinful pleasures, easy wealth, and a position of authority, and is drawn to the use of unjust or sinful means to attain good ends. Jesus is our model for conquering temptations through prayer, penance, and the effective use of the ‘‘Word of God” in Scripture. Temptations make us true warriors of God by strengthening our minds and hearts. We are never tempted beyond the strength God gives us. In his first letter, St. John assures us: “The One Who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Hence duringLent, and the rest of the year as well, let us confront our evil tendencies with prayer (especially by participating in the Holy Mass),with penance, and with the meditative reading of the Holy Bible. Knowledge of the Bible prepares us for the moment of temptation by enabling us “to know Jesus more clearly, to love him more dearly and to follow him more nearly, day by day,”asWilliam Barclay puts it.

2) We need to grow in holiness during Lent by prayer, reconciliation, and sharing. We become resistant and even immune to temptations as we grow healthier in soul by following the traditional Lenten practices: a) by finding time to be with God every day of Lent, speaking to Him, and listening to Him; b) by repenting of our sins and renewing our lives, uniting ourselves with God both by the Sacrament of Reconciliation and by forgiving those who have hurt us while asking forgiveness of those whom we have hurt; and c) by sharing our love with others through our selfless, humble service, our almsgiving, and our helping of those in need.

LENT 1 [C] (March 9): Dt 26:4-10, Rom 10:8-13, Lk 4:1-13 (L-25)

Homily Starter Anecdotes: # 1: From Eve to Buddha, Muhammad and Dr. Faustus: In the Garden of Eden, Satan tempted Eve to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree to become like God. The devil (Mara) came to the Buddha as he sat in contemplation under the Boddhi tree, tempting him to renounce the spiritual enrichment he sought by bombarding his mind with the sensual pleasures of this world. The founder of Islam, prophet Muhammad, says in the Quran that he takes refuge in Allah from evil witches who may cast spells on him (Sura 113:4). Literature and films abound with stories of people who have sold their souls to Satan for temporary earthly pleasures. The classic example is Faustus, as treated by Christopher Marlowe in The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus (1588) and Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe in Faust (Published: Part One, 1808, Part 2, 1833). In Marlow’s stage play, (the early version of the legend), Faust had turned his back on God, and decided not to be called a Doctor of Theology any more, but rather a Doctor of Medicine. He turned to black magic to call the Devil, and the demon Mephistopheles answered his call. Using Mephistopheles as a messenger, Faustus struck a deal with Lucifer: he was to be allotted 24 years of life on Earth, during which time he would have Mephistopheles as his personal servant and the ability to use magic; however, at the end he would give his body and soul over to Lucifer as payment and spend the rest of time as one damned to Hell. This deal was to be sealed in the form of a contract written in Faustus’ own blood.  Mephistopheles, of course, used his tricks and lies to keep Faust from accomplishing much of anything during this time, and Faust tried to revoke his pact. Satan, of course, refused. Eventually, Faust lost his soul to eternal damnation and was dragged from the stage, screaming in terror, “AH, MEPHISTOPHELES!” Goethe, however, has Faust set free by the repentant prayers of the Faust-seduced maiden, Gretchen, (short for Margarete), to the Blessed Mother begging Her to pray for Faust’s salvation. Today’s Gospel passage describes Jesus’ temptations. C. S. Lewis says in the preface of his book, The Screwtape Letters that readers should avoid two extremes in the matter of dark powers. On the one hand, skeptics may believe that all of this talk about the devil is myth or rubbish. They have succumbed to modern rationalistic philosophy or scientific materialism. Satan is delighted that these skeptics no longer believe in him. Now he can ruin their lives without their knowing it. But on the other hand, the religiously inclined may let their curiosity about the dark world run away with them, and dabble in things that are dangerous and forbidden. These extremists have given up too much of their reason. Both positions are wrong.

# 2: The Exorcist: Because of the book and movie, The Exorcist (1973), there was probably more talk about the Devil than ever. The movie earned even more than The Godfather — $180 million in the 1970s.  For blocks, people lined up, waiting to enter the theaters. The movie was so frightening that one theater operator reported that, at each showing, there were four blackouts, six vomiting spells, and many spontaneous departures during the show. Today, we are pre-occupied with the Devil. In New Jersey, a twenty-year old lad persuaded his two best friends to drown him because he believed that upon death, he would be reborn as a leader of forty legions of devils. In San Francisco, there are 10,000 tithe-paying members of a church of Satan. In The Exorcist, we see how terrible it is to be possessed by the Devil and how hard it is to get the Devil out of a person. The film tells the story of how a twelve-year old girl was possessed by the Devil, how unsuccessful every attempt was to cure her, and how two priests were brought in to perform an exorcism in the Name of Jesus and with His power. So horrible is it to be possessed by the Devil that the movie was considered a horror movie, leaving viewers with psychological trauma. — Our real concern today should not be how to get the Devil out of us, but how to keep the Devil out. Even if we get the Devil out of us, we may not be permanently free of the Devil. (Recently, someone asked me what would happen if one did not pay one’s Exorcist. I did not know. He told me, “You will be repossessed!”) In today’s Gospel, Jesus’ challenge was to keep Satan from entering him. We see Jesus confronted by the Devil and watch Jesus refuse to allow the Devil to come into his life and thinking. Today, we need to study the methods of Jesus that we, too, may keep the Devil out! (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

# 3: “Anthony, I was right here, but I wanted to see you in action:” All human beings are subjected to temptations. St. Anthony of Egypt is the saint best equipped to be a patron of those tested by Satan. St. Jerome tells us his story. Anthony, who flourished in the third century, had left his Egyptian village to escape the temptations that arise in civil society. But when he went off to the inhabited desert to live as a hermit, Satan & Co. followed him. To prevent him from becoming holier, they attacked him in every possible way with all sorts of wild visions and even physical violence. When he fasted or prayed more vigorously, they tried to persuade him he was not fasting and praying enough. If he could not be tricked into presumption, they thought they might trick him into despair. Anthony resisted, but it was a lonely fight. One day, however, when the hordes of hell had beaten him up within an inch of his life, a ray of light suddenly fell on him from heaven, and the devils took flight. Panting, but now at peace, Anthony addressed God, whose presence he sensed in the light. “Where were you my Lord and Master?” he asked, a bit impatiently. “Why didn’t you appear at the beginning to stop my pain?” God answered “Anthony, I was right here, but I wanted to see you in action. And now, because you held out and did not surrender, I will ever be your helper, and I will make you renowned everywhere.” St. Paul has given us the same assurance of God’s presence and assistance: “He will not let you be tested beyond your strength.” (1 Cor. 10:13). — We must be on guard against Satan, but not be afraid of him. God is on our side, so long as we are on His. The devil will always prove to be what he really is – a sissy. (Father Robert F. McNamara).

Introduction: Lent begins with a reflection on the Temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. The first reading describes the ancient Jewish ritual of presenting the first fruits of the harvest to God to thank Him for liberating His people from Egypt, and for strengthening them during the years of their trials and temptations in the desert. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 91), gives us the source for Satan’s third temptation as recorded in Luke’s Gospel. The Psalmist sings, “No evil shall befall you, nor affliction come near your tent, for to His angels He has given command about you, that they guard you in all your ways./ Upon their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone!”   In the second reading, St. Paul warns the early Christians converted from Judaism not to yield to their constant temptation to return to the observances of the Mosaic Laws. He reminds them that they will be saved only by acknowledging the risen Jesus as Lord and Savior.  The Church assigns temptation stories to the beginning of Lent because temptations come to everybody, not only to Jesus, and we seem almost genetically programmed to yield to them.  We are surrounded on all sides by temptations, and they have become so familiar to twenty-first century life that we scarcely notice them.

The first reading, (Dt 26:4-10), explained:  The passage from Deuteronomy describes the ancient Jewish ritual of presenting the first fruits to God during the harvest festival to thank Him for liberating His people from Egypt and for strengthening them during the years of their trials and temptations in the desert. After setting forth the first fruits in front of the altar of the Lord, the people  were to bow down in God’s presence and hear the recital of the mighty acts of Yahweh in Jewish history which centered around  three decisive events that shaped Israel’s evolution as a people: (1) the demographic shift from Mesopotamia to Canaan to Egypt motivated by God’s call of Abraham (Genesis); (2) the deliverance from Egypt of the enslaved Israelites, their passage to freedom, and their formation as a people covenanted to God (Exodus); (3) the promise of Canaan and Israel’s eventual possession of it. This ritual was performed annually as part of the Covenant renewal ceremony known as the Feast of Weeks [Pentecost: the fiftieth day after the Passover and the day after the Seventh Sabbath which ended the seventh week after Passover, thus giving it the name Feast of Weeks]. The people formally declared their loyalty to the Covenant with Yahweh. By this ritual of thanksgiving, they thanked God for the gift of the land, the abundance they enjoyed due to God’s provident care, and the gift of freedom. As Christians entering the Lenten season we thank God for  (a) a new exodus, i.e., a new passage from slavery to freedom, from death to life; (b) a new and eternal Covenant sealed with the blood of Jesus on the cross; (c) a new manna in the gift of the Eucharist; (d) a new promised land over which God will reign: and (e) a new people of God, including o all the peoples of the earth.

The Second Reading Romans (10:8-13) explained: Paul counsels the early Christian converts from Judaism not to yield to their temptation to go back to the practices of the Mosaic Law. Many of these early Jewish Christians insisted that the Gentile converts to Christ needed to become Jews first and to keep the whole Jewish law for their “justification.” But in today’s second reading, Paul teaches that one cannot achieve righteousness on one’s own. Hence, Paul argues, God offers us a share in Divine righteousness as grace – a) a free gift to which we contribute nothing except our co-operation with God’s grace; b) our Faith (also His gift) in Christ’s Resurrection; and c) our public acceptance of Jesus (also His Gift), as our Lord and Savior. Our Faith in Jesus Christ must be expressed fully in our words and actions, indeed, by our very lives.  We live out that acceptance through our Baptism and by using His ongoing gifts of grace in our later virtuous thoughts, words and deeds. Salvation, in the final analysis, is God’s gracious gift to undeserving sinners whose sole responsibility it is to call upon God for mercy and by Faith to appropriate that saving mercy as it is extended to us in Jesus.  Thus, Paul answers those who are tempted to dismiss the Resurrection and take from the Gospels only what seems most reasonable. “Christianity is belief plus confession; it involves witness before men. Not only God, but also our fellow men, must know what side we are on.” (William Barclay).

Gospel exegesis: Forty days of fasting and prayer. The phrase “forty days” was the Hebrew way of expressing a long period of time. We find it used in the recounting of various incidents in Jewish history: a) forty days of rain in Noah’s time (Gn 7:1-23); b) forty days which Moses spent on the mountain with God (Ex 34:28); c) forty days during which the prophet Elijah traveled in the wilderness (II Kgs 19:8). The wilderness was probably a desert in Judea, perhaps the great deserts of Horeb or Sinai, where the children of Israel were tried for forty years, and where Moses, and later Elijah, fasted forty days.

The temptations. The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the huge fifteen-by-thirty-five-mile desert between the mountain of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea so that Jesus could prepare by prayer, fasting and penance for the start of the Messianic mission, the public ministry which he was about to commence. Bible scholars interpret the graphic temptations of Jesus described by Matthew and Luke as a pictorial and dramatic representation of the inner struggle against a temptation that Jesus experienced throughout his public life. The devil was not trying to lure Jesus into some particular sin — rather, the evil one was trying to entice Jesus away from the accomplishment of his Messianic mission, mainly through a temptation to become the political Messiah of Jewish expectations, to use his Divine power first for his own convenience, and then to avoid suffering and death. The opposition, hostility, and rejection which Jesus experienced were constant temptations for him to use His power as God’s Son to overcome evil. The temptation story depicts Jesus as obedient to his Father’s will, refusing to be seduced into using his Divine power or authority wrongly. Each of the three temptations, according to the Fathers of the Church, represents an area in which humans regularly fail: the lust of the flesh (stones to bread), the lust of the eye and the heart (ruling over all kingdoms), and the pride of life (a spectacular leap from the Temple, testing the power of God and His promise to save Him). (In other words, the three temptations of Jesus are the three essential weapons that the devil has in his arsenal to destroy humanity: The first is of appetite (pleasure/materialism) – to change stones into bread; the second is of arrogance (pride/boasting) – to worship the devil who can give power and wealth; and the third is of ambition (power/fame) – to jump from the top of the Temple). Note: Jesus overcame these temptations through his knowledge of his identity, his purpose, and God’s plan for human salvation. Satan will tempt each of us to doubt God’s love, providence, and power. Here we are taught to follow Jesus’ example and respond to temptation as he did (CCC #2119). Let us also remember that we are not tempted because we are evil; we are tempted because we are human.

The offensive and the defensive techniques employed:  The temptations to turn stones into bread, to worship Satan and to leap from the pinnacle of the Temple demonstrate three aspects of self-control: material, civil, and spiritual. Likewise, they correspond with three levels of human blessings: 1) material goods, 2) political power, and 3) spiritual powers. These, in turn, correspond to three human seductions: 1) If you worship me, I will make you rich; 2) If you will worship me, I will give you political power; 3) If you will worship me, I will endow you with magical power. Jesus dismisses the temptations by references to Deuteronomy. “One does not live by bread alone” (8:3); “Worship the Lord your God“ (6:13), and “Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (6:16). Jesus used two powerful weapons against the temptations: the Holy Spirit and Holy Scripture. 1), Jesus was “full of the Holy Spirit,” and the Spirit helped him to defeat the evil one’s temptations (Lk 4:1, 4:14, 4:18). 2) Jesus quoted Holy Scripture in response to all three temptations. He quoted from Deuteronomy three times, showing us his total dependence on his Father’s Word and Will. The word of Holy Scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit, was his guide to his Father’s Will

The first temptation: The first temptation was well-timed. Jesus had been fasting for forty days and nights. Since the people of Israel in the Old Testament had been miraculously fed by manna, why not the Son of God? Giving in to the temptation to make bread from a stone (vv. 2b-4), would, therefore, be analogous to Israel’s failure to trust God for sustenance in the wilderness (Ex 16:3, Ex 16:4-5, Ex 16:20). Quoting from Deuteronomy (8:3), Jesus recalled Israel’s longing for the foods they had left behind in Egypt (bread, onions, meat) and their dissatisfaction with the sustenance (manna, quail, water from the rock) which God provided. Unlike the grumbling Israelites, Jesus was pleased to be nourished by the food that God provided for him, viz., “every word that comes forth from the mouth of God” (Dt 8:3) and to do the will of the Father (Jn 4:24) in detail, and in all things. Further, the first temptation was not merely aimed at the urge to use the miraculous power given him for his Messianic mission to satisfy his own physical hunger. It was also a temptation to ignore His real mission as Messiah and to respond to others’ physical needs alone, without, at the same time, showing them that the Kingdom of God is more than mere food and drink. Let us ask ourselves the same question: do we use the powers God has given us – physical, financial, mental, or spiritual – for our own satisfaction, comfort, or enrichment alone, or chiefly for the well-being, spiritual as well as physical, of others in the community?

The second temptation: In the second test, Satan offers Jesus an easy way to establish the Kingdom of God on earth: enter the world of political power. The temptation to gain the kingdoms of the world by worshiping the devil (vv. 5-8) is analogous to Israel’s temptation to worship other gods (Dt 6:13-15, Ex 32:4; Dt 9:16).  The temptation for Jesus was whether he would opt for political power and success or choose the path that would lead to suffering, humiliation and death. Satan said: ““Worship me and it will all be yours.” But this was really an invitation to accomplish His mission by dishonorable means: “If you are going to get along in this world, you need to compromise now and then.” This temptation points to our subtle attraction to doing the right thing by using the wrong means.  Jesus answered Satan: “It is written, ‘Thou shall worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him.'” (Dt 6:13).

The third temptation: Luke ironically presents Jesus’ third temptation as taking place on the pinnacle of the Temple in the Holy City of Jerusalem, the center of Jewish religious life. This is analogous to Israel’s testing of God at Massah and Meribah (Ex 17:3, 17:7, Dt 6:16).  Perhaps the devil was also alluding to the popular expectation that, at his coming, the Messiah would appear suddenly on the pinnacle of the Temple. In this final temptation, Jesus was urged to doubt God. Satan suggested that Jesus should put God to the test: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down,” trusting in Divine protection as promised in Psalm 91:11-12. Jesus responded by quoting another text from Deuteronomy: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (Dt 6:16), which refers to an incident in which “the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?'” (Ex 17:7). Jesus’ reply, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test” (v. 13) silenced the devil, and actually affirmed his identity as both Lord and God without declaring it. Sometimes we become angry with God when He fails to respond to tests we set up for Him. The test may be something like this: “If my husband is healed of cancer, then I’ll know God loves me.” “If my boy comes back safely from Iraq, I’ll know God is on my side.” “If I get the job that I’ve been praying for, I’ll know that God cares about me.” The devil tries repeatedly to tempt us to do something reckless and to persuade us to expect God to rescue us from the consequences every time. Jesus teaches us that the Spirit-filled life requires unconditional surrender to God’s will.

Temptations of Christ representing those of Israel in the desert and the present-day Christians: The temptations presented to Jesus recall the experiences of the Israelite people – they wandered in the desert for forty years; Christ wandered for forty days! The Israelite people grumbled about not having enough food, but Jesus says, “It is not on bread alone that we live but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Israel constantly tended to chase after false gods (e.g., the golden calf), but Jesus recognizes only one God: “You must worship the Lord your God and serve Him alone.” Israel tested God at Massah and Meribah to provide them with water, but Jesus refuses to manipulate God. “You must not put the Lord your God to the test.” These temptations also mirror the most common temptations Christians experience today – the three P‘s viz. Pleasure, Pride & Power OR the three A‘s viz. Appetite, Arrogance & Ambition. The temptation to extreme pleasure (appetite/materialism) is a constant attraction in every one’s life; and so is Christ’s warning -“man does not live on bread alone.” The second temptation to pride (arrogance/boasting) — the “I will not serve” of the rebellious — still merits the response given by Christ: “You must worship the Lord Your God and serve Him alone.“  Finally, the third temptation to power (ambition/fame), is probably the most insidious temptation of all. English Catholic Historian, Lord Acton (John Dalberg-Acton, 10 January, 1834–19 June 1902) has observed – “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Hence Christ’s advice – “Do not put the Lord your God to the test!” remains valid for those who would climb the ladder of ambition.

The devil’s departure for the time being: The devil departed from him for a time. The evil one would continue testing Jesus throughout his entire life, even on the cross. That is why St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, wrote, “In order to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, put on the whole armor of God.” Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving help us to do just that, because they help us to “put on Christ” (Rom 13:14). The Holy Spirit Who brought Jesus safely through the temptation and empowered him for his ministry, would later fill the disciples and empower the Church (Acts 2:4)., However, the temptation story ends with the ominous statement that the devil departed from him until a more opportune time. That “time” came at the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth. It came again whenever people demanded signs from him to prove who he was (Lk 11:16, 29-32; 22:3, 54-62; 23:35-39). Ultimately, it came in Gethsemane with Jesus agony (struggle to affirm the Father’s will for him) and finally on Calvary when Jesus was crucified and died faithful to the Father.

Life Messages: 1) We need to confront and conquer temptations as Jesus did, using the means he employed: Like Jesus, every one of us is tempted to seek sinful pleasures, easy wealth, and positions of authority, and is drawn to the use of unjust or sinful means to attain good ends. Jesus serves as a model for conquering temptations through prayer, penance, and the effective use of the ‘‘word of God.” Temptations make us true warriors of God by strengthening our minds and hearts. We are never tempted beyond the strength God gives us. In his first letter, St. John assures us: “The One Who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 Jn 4:4). Hence during Lent, let us confront our evil tendencies with prayer (especially by participating in the Holy Mass), penance, and the meditative reading of the Bible. Knowledge of the Bible prepares us for the moment of temptation by enabling us “to know Jesus more clearly, to love him more dearly and to follow him more nearly, day by day,” as William Barclay puts it.

2) We need to grow in holiness during Lent by prayer, reconciliation, and sharing. Through God’s unfailing grace, we become resistant, and even immune, to temptations as we grow healthier and holier in soul by following the traditional Lenten practices: a) finding time to be with God every day of Lent, speaking to Him and listening to Him; b) repenting of our sins and renewing our lives, uniting ourselves with God both by the Sacrament of Reconciliation and by forgiving those who have hurt us, while asking forgiveness of those whom we have hurt; and   c) sharing our love with others through our selfless and humble service, our almsgiving, and our helping of those in need.

3) We need to be on guard against veiled temptations: Let us remember that even Spirit-filled, sanctified and vibrant Christians are still subject to the Original Temptation of Eve: “You will be like gods, knowing what is good and what is evil” (Gn 3:5). 1) We are tempted to give ourselves godlike status and treat others as our subordinates. Consequently, 2) we resent every limitation of our freedom and vigorously deny the fact that we are dependent on God and on others. 3) We don’t want to be responsible for the consequences of our choices. 4) We are also tempted to accomplish honorable goals by less-than-honorable means such as the use of lotteries to help schools, or casinos to provide jobs for Native Americans, thus setting traps for the most vulnerable members of our society. These are veiled temptations to accomplish good ends by bad means. We are also tempted to fraternize with people of questionable character. 5) Our temptation to adopt pop culture in liturgical services can ultimately lead to trivialization of the worship service.

JOKES OF THE WEEK

1)“Turn these stones into bread!”
“You mean up to and including the one I’m sitting on?” https://lindavernon.com/tag/john-the-baptist/

2)  Satan or God?   A priest was ministering to a man on his deathbed. “Renounce Satan!” said the priest. ”No,” said the dying man.  “I say, renounce the devil and his works!”                                        “No,” the man repeats.  “And why not, I ask you in the name of all that is holy?”  “Because,” said the dying man, “I want to wait until I see where I’m heading, before I start annoying anybody.”

3) “Get behind me, Satan!” (A) A little boy always went next door to play even though his mom had warned him against doing so. This worried his mom so badly that she asked him why he was so disobedient.      He replied that Satan tempted him so bad and he did not know what to do.       His mom then advised him to say “Get behind me Satan” whenever he was tempted. She then built a fence around the house. This worked for a week, then one sunny afternoon his mom looked out the window and there was her son playing on the neighbor’s lawn having cut a hole in the fence.       “Jeremy”, she yelled, “come here!” She then said, “Did I not tell you to say, ‘Get behind me Satan’ whenever he tempted you?”       “Yes”, the boy replied, “I said, ‘Get behind me Satan’, then he went behind me and pushed me through the hole in the fence.”

3) “Get behind me, Satan!”: (B) I saw a cartoon on this notion recently. “A woman had bought a new dress which was very expensive. Her husband asked why she had been so extravagant. She replied, “The Devil made me do it.” “Well,” the husband asked, “Why didn’t you say, ‘Get thee behind me Satan!'” “I did,” explained the wife, “But he said it looked as good in back as it did in front. So I bought it.”

4) Smarter than Einstein:  At the conclusion of the Church service, the worshipers filed out of the sanctuary to greet the minister. As one of them left, he shook the minister’s hand, thanked him for the sermon and said, “Thanks for the message, Reverend. You know, you must be smarter than Einstein.” Beaming with pride, the minister said, “Thank you, brother, but why do you think so?” The man replied, “Well, Reverend, they say that Einstein was so smart that only ten people in the entire world could understand him. But Reverend, no one can understand you!” 

5) Priestly temptations: Once four priests were spending a couple of days at a cabin. In the evening they decided to tell each other their biggest temptation. The first priest said, “Well, it’s kind of embarrassing, but my big temptation is gluttony.” “My temptation is worse,” said the second priest. “It’s gambling.” “Mine is worse still,” said the third priest. “I sometimes can’t control the urge to drink.” The fourth priest was quiet. “Brothers, I hate to say this,” he said, “but my temptation is worst of all. I love to gossip – and if you guys will excuse me, I’d like to make a few phone calls!”

6) Picking Forbidden Fruit: It is hard to pick forbidden fruit if you are a hundred yards away, but it is easy if you are at an arm’s length. When you flee temptation, be sure you don’t leave a forwarding address. (Rev. Kent Crockett)

7) “Well, make that eighty-five.” A young novice was learning to become a holy hermit. Struggling over lustful thoughts and desire, he came to his old spiritual hermit-director and asked, “At what age do you think all these go?” The eighty-year-old guru confidently replied, “Eighty, son, at age eighty.” “Eighty?” the young aspirant gasped desperately and started to leave. Suddenly, a young voluptuous lady crossed the hut of the old hermit picking dry twigs, and the old man’s eyes were glued to the crossing beauty. Still gazing at the lady, he called back the aspirant and said, “Son, did I say eighty? Well, make that eighty-five.”

Spiritual Training Camp for Lent: Jesus prepared himself for his ministry by a period of fasting, praying, and strengthening himself against temptation.  How will we use the time of Lent for our spiritual training camp?  Lent is a time to practice the use of God’s word as our defensive weapon against temptation.  What spiritual training plans will we put into practice during Lent?  Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are traditional.  Today’s passage from the Gospel might suggest that we spend a few minutes each day in reading Scripture.  Are we trying to live by “bread alone?” We might write a plan for each week of Lent.  Here are some suggestions to get us started:

First Week I will . . . spend some time reading the Gospels or the Psalms.

Second Week I will . . . fast from foods, unhealthy for body and soul.

Third Week I will . . . volunteer at a soup kitchen, thrift shop, or day care center.

Fourth Week I will . . . learn a few lines of Scripture by heart.

Fifth Week I will . . . give clothes, money, or possessions to the poor.

Sixth Week I will . . . participate in Holy Week liturgies.

WEBSITES OF LENTEN RESOURCES

 From: https://sjvomaha.org/lent/121-website-resources

• Pray, Fast, Give – USCCB’s Lent Page has it all:http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/lent/

What Should I Do For Lent? Pope Francis’ 10 Tips –http://www.focus.org/blog/posts/what-should-i-do-for-lent-pope-francis-ten-tips.html

• Got Questions about Lent? Check out the USCCB Q&A Page:http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/lent/questions-and-answers-about-lent.cfm
• Why do we give up something for Lent? http://bustedhalo.com/questionbox/why-do-we-give-up-something-for-lent
• List of Lenten Reflections and videos: http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Seasonal/Default.aspx?id=5
• Living Lent Daily: http://www.loyolapress.com/living-lent-daily.htm
• Creighton University Praying Lent: http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Lent/
• Read MAGNIFICAT online and on iPhone: https://www.magnificat.net/english/iphoneweb.asp
• Great Catholic Apps:http://catholicapptitude.org/lenten-apps/
• CRS Rice Bowl:http://www.crsricebowl.org/ & https://www.facebook.com/CRSRiceBowl
• https://stpatrickyork.org/lenten-resources
• Mathew Kelly’s 2016 Lenten reflections: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w67FFFsqguo

  22 Additional anecdotes: 

(“Stories have power.” They delight, enchant, touch, teach, recall, inspire, motivate, challenge. They help us understand. They imprint a picture on our minds. Consequently, stories often pack more punch than sermons. Want to make a point or raise an issue? Tell a story. Jesus did it. He called his stories ‘parables.'”(Janet Litherland, Storytelling from the Bible). In fact, Mark 4:34 says, “he [Jesus] did not speak to them without a parable…”  Visit the article: Picturing the Kingdom of God by Fr. Brian Cavanaugh,TOR: http://www.appleseeds.org/picture.htm).

 1) The blow you never see coming is the one that can be the most dangerous: Harry Houdini (1874-1926) was an expert at sleight of hand and a skeptic when it came to the spiritualists and other psychic phonies of his day, but he was best known for his ability to escape from what seemed to be impossible situations. Straitjackets, chains, ropes, jail cells, strange devices such as a milk pail filled with water — he managed to escape from one situation after another in full view of his audience. What did him in, however, was the blow he never saw coming. While reclining on a couch backstage after a performance he was asked by a couple of college students if he could withstand a punch to the stomach. When he answered that he could, one of the stu­dents surprised him by actually punching him several times. These blows caught him off guard, and seem to have ruptured an already aggravated appendix. Houdini died a week later.  — The blow you never see coming is the one that can be the most dangerous. The temptation of Jesus might have been the blow Jesus never saw coming. Harry Houdini, after he had been hit by the college student, insisted that if he’d known the punch was coming he would have strengthened his abdominal muscles and received the blow without damage. You know a blow is coming. You know that only rarely are our temptations presented as obviously evil. More often we’re tempted to imagine we might do good if we take a moral shortcut. Don’t kid yourself. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

2) “Always look up to the Master’s face.” Leslie Dunkin once told about a dog he had when he was a boy. This was an unusually obedient dog. Periodically his father would test the dog’s obedience. He would place a tempting piece of meat on the floor. Then he would turn toward the dog and give the command, “No!” The dog, which must have had a strong urge to go for the meat, was placed in a most difficult situation to obey or disobey his master’s command. Dunkin said, “The dog never looked at the meat. He seemed to feel that if he did, the temptation to disobey would be too great. So he looked steadily at my father’s face.” Dunkin then made this spiritual application: “There is a lesson for us all. Always look up to the Master’s face.” (Rev. Adrian Dieleman, http://www.trinitycrc.org/sermons/jam1v13-18.html) As the hymn puts it, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, / look full in his wonderful face; / then the things of earth will grow  strangely dim / in the light of his glory and grace.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

3) “Mom, why the heck are we here in the Toronto zoo?“ A mother camel and her baby are talking one day and the baby camel asks, “Mom, why have we got these huge three-toed feet?” The mother replies, “To enable us trek across the soft sand of the desert without sinking.” “And why have we got these long, heavy eyelashes?” “To keep the sand out of our eyes on the trips through the desert” replies the mother camel. “And Mom, why have we got these big humps on our backs?” The mother, now a little impatient with the boy replies, “They are there to help us store fat for our long treks across the desert, so we can go without water for long periods.” “OK, I get it!” says the baby camel, “We have huge feet to stop us sinking, long eyelashes to keep the sand from our eyes and humps to store water. Then, Mom, why the heck are we here in Canada, freezing in the Toronto Zoo?” — Modern life sometimes makes one feel like a camel in a zoo. And like camels in a zoo, we need sometimes to go into the desert in order to discover who we truly are and how we are expected to live our lives as true followers of a crucified and Risen God. Lent invites us to enter into this kind of desert experience of prayer and penance. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

4) Temptations as ice cream & cake: I recently read a story about a little boy named Bobby who desperately wanted a new bicycle. His plan was to save his nickels, dimes and quarters until he finally had enough to buy a new 10-speed. Each night he asked God to help him save his money. Kneeling beside his bed, he prayed, “Dear Lord, please help me save my money for a new bike, and please, Lord, don’t let the ice cream man come down the street again tomorrow.” Jim Grant in Reader’s Digest a few months back told about an overweight businessman who decided it was time to shed some excess pounds. He took his new diet seriously, even changing his driving route to avoid his favorite bakery. One morning, however, he showed up at work with a gigantic coffee cake. Everyone in the office scolded him, but his smile remained nonetheless. “This is a special coffee cake,” he explained. “I accidentally drove by the bakery this morning and there in the window was a host of goodies. I felt it was no accident, so I prayed, ‘Lord, if you want me to have one of those delicious coffee cakes, let there be a parking spot open right in front.’ And sure enough, the eighth time around the block, there it was!” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

5) “You put on a uniform. You get yourself a rifle and you fight.” During the Revolutionary War, a young man came to George Washington and said, “General Washington, I want you to know that I believe in you and your cause. I fully support you.” General Washington graciously thanked him and asked, “What regiment are you in? Under whose command do you serve? What uniform do you wear?” “Oh,” said the young man, “I’m not in the army, I’m just a civilian.” The General replied, “Young man, if you believe in me and my cause, then you join the army. You put on a uniform. You get yourself a rifle and you fight.” — Jesus issues the same challenge to us today. He’s not interested in sympathizers, but in soldiers. For this is the kind of commitment that leads to a worthwhile and satisfying life. The civilian wanted to be an admirer. The civilian wanted to join SOME DAY. George Washington said: TODAY!  On this first Sunday of Lent Jesus challenges us to join his army today itself and fight the tempter and his temptations using his power and using the means he used. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

6) Tempter snake in The Passion of the Christ: In Mel Gibson’s controversial film, The Passion of the Christ, we see the nature of the Tempter quite vividly. This isn’t a scene from the Bible. It is a fictional account, but it is quite powerful. Jesus is shown at Gethsemane, in agony over his betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion. A shadowy figure appears and says to him, “No one was meant to save so many. No one can. It is too much. You cannot.” The presence whispers these words over and over, trying to split Jesus from his relationship with God. Finally, Jesus gets up, steps on the head of a snake the tempter has dropped near him, and goes off. — The Tempter is unable to turn Jesus from his destiny and calling. There would be other temptations later. But for now, the Tempter had been defeated. But even Jesus was tempted — tempted, but without sinning. (http://www.fortbraggpresbyterian.org/html/sermons/sermon2‑13‑05.html). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

7) “Wake up! Save yourself!” The Greek philosopher Plato once told a story of a carriage drawn by a pair of young and spirited steeds. In the vehicle, the driver held the reins and guided the horses on the straight and smooth road. One day a heavy drowsiness came upon the driver and he fell fast asleep. The horses, not feeling the restraint of the reins, went off the right path, and soon they were bouncing over bush and brush, to the edge of a deep pit, a bottomless abyss. A man standing nearby, seeing the threatened danger, called out to the driver in a loud and mighty voice: “Wake up! Save yourself!” With a start, the driver suddenly awakened. In a moment he realized his peril. Pale and trembling, he hastily grasped the reins, and, exerting almost superhuman effort, he succeeded in turning the horses to one side, thus saving his own life and those of his animals. — Plato says the moral of the story is this: the fiery steeds are the appetites, desires, lusts, and passions to which the heart of the human inclines from youth. The driver is the wisdom, understanding, and intelligence with which God has endowed human beings that we might rule over our appetites and desires and have dominion over our self-destructive impulses. http://www.boydspc.org/sermons/20070304Philippians3,17-4,1.pdf). — Woe to us if we never hear the voice of conscience, the voice of God, telling us to wake up before we destroy our lives! Temptation is universal and potentially deadly. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

8) Six Swans and their determined sister: There is an Irish tale called Six Swans.  In this tale, the young heroine’s six older brothers were turned into swans by their evil stepmother. The only way the spell could be broken was for the girl to make each of her brothers a sweater out of starwort, a pesky nettle that buries its spines in one’s skin. She was told that the way to redeem her brothers would be long and hard. Furthermore, she had to gather this plant herself and spin it into thread by hand. She herself was not allowed to speak out loud until she could redeem her brothers. She was abducted from her land and carried to a new place that was strange to her and where she had few friends. The girl could not speak aloud until she had finished her task. But she kept on with the task even as her hands became disfigured and gnarled. Out of this experience she became a stronger person. (http://www.wpcdurham.org/Sermons/02132005paul.htm) — Jesus was driven out into the wilderness. There he was tested, as you and I are tested in our daily lives. There seems no other way to do it. No pain, no gain. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

 9)  Wrong Reasons: The Becket controversy or Becket dispute was the quarrel (1163 to 1170), between Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and King Henry II of England,. The controversy culminated with Becket’s murder in 1170, and was followed by Becket’s canonization in 1173 and Henry’s public penance at Canterbury in July 1174.  In his play Murder in the Cathedral, playwright T.S. Eliot describes how St. Thomas Becket struggled with the threat of martyrdom. He was not afraid to die because of the sufferings of martyrdom, but because he might not be acting from the proper motives. As he defended the Church of England against King Henry II, Thomas wondered whether or not he was doing this out of pride. “Nothing would be more tragic,” he says, “than to do the right thing for the wrong reason; to do what is noble for reasons of vanity.” — The temptations that faced Thomas Becket are similar to those that confronted Jesus in today’s Gospel. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

10) “I’m already working on a murder case!: ” The local sheriff was looking for a deputy, and one of the applicants, who was not known to be the brightest academically, was called in for an interview. “Okay,” began the sheriff, “What is 1 and 1?” “Eleven,” came the reply. The sheriff thought to himself, “That’s not what I meant, but he’s right.” Then the sheriff asked, “What two days of the week start with the letter ‘T’?” “Today and tomorrow.” replied the applicant. The sheriff was again surprised over the answer, one that he had never thought of himself. “Now, listen carefully: who killed Abraham Lincoln?” asked the sheriff. The job-seeker seemed a little surprised, then thought really hard for a minute and finally admitted, “I don’t know.” The sheriff replied, “Well, why don’t you go home and work on that one for a while?” The applicant left and wandered over to his pals who were waiting to hear the results of the interview. He greeted them with a cheery smile, “The job is mine! The interview went great! First day on the job and I’m already working on a murder case!”  — In our Gospel reading this morning from Luke 4 it is Jesus’ first day on the job. Immediately he is confronted with three major temptations centering on the key question: “Why can’t you take the crown without the cross?” (http://www.esermons.com/) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

11) “I had not given up my habit of eating sugar.” A woman once came to Gandhi and asked him to please tell her son to give up his addiction to sugar. Gandhi asked the woman to bring the boy back in a week. Exactly one week later the woman returned, and Gandhi said to the boy, “Please give up eating sugar.” The woman thanked the Mahatma, and, as she turned to go, asked him why he had not said those words a week ago.” — Gandhi replied, “Because a week ago, I had not given up my habit of eating sugar.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

12) One-half of a pizza for Charles Barkley: Many of you basketball fans are familiar with former all-pro basketball player Charles Barkley. Barkley is now a popular sports commentator, but at one time he played for the Philadelphia 76ers where he was known as “The Round Mound of Rebound.” When Pat Croce became the physical therapist for the Philadelphia 76ers he instituted a new diet and exercise program for the team. At 6’ 5” and 300 pounds, Charles Barkley resisted. He had no desire to pay the price to lose weight and get in shape. After all, he was a phenomenal player, even with the extra flab. Croce is famous as a motivator; it didn’t take him too long to coax Barkley into an exercise program. But Charles’ eating habits were another story! He had been known to eat a one-pound bag of M&Ms in one sitting. He had a serious love affair with pizza. So Pat Croce decided to take some drastic steps to get Charles in shape. He waited outside Charles’ mansion one night and ambushed the pizza delivery man. The delivery man had two pizzas for Charles. Pat took one and one-half of the pizzas away. He also threatened to do serious bodily harm to the delivery man if he ever delivered more than one-half of a pizza to that address in the future. Charles got the message. That season, he lost fifty pounds. [Pat Croce, with Bill Lyon. I Feel Great, and You Will Too! (Philadelphia: Running Press, 2000), pp. 97-98.] — Wouldn’t it be great if all of us had a Pat Croce in our lives, someone who would be there for us each time we are tempted? (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

13) M&M’S Chocolate Candy temptation: There was a 20/20 episode sometime back in which some children of about four years of age were forced to deal with the ancient scourge of temptation. They were left alone in a room. Sitting in front of each of them were two or three M&Ms. They were told they could have a whole package of M&Ms if they would wait five minutes for a bell to ring before devouring the two or three M&Ms in front of them. The struggle of temptation was recorded through a two-way mirror. The result was hilarious, says Jewell, as these poor kids twitched, fidgeted, wiggled and twisted their faces up in knots trying not to grab those M&Ms. About half made it, and half said in effect, “To heck with it, I want what I want when I want it!” (http://www.lectionarysermons.com/zun1l.html).  (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

14) We can begin again: It is reported that Thomas Edison’s laboratory was virtually destroyed by fire in December 1914. Although the damage exceeded $2 million, the buildings were only insured for $ 238,000 because they were made of concrete and were thought to be fireproof. Much of Edison’s work literally went up in smoke on that fateful December night. At the height of the fire, Edison’s 24year-old son, Charles frantically searched for his father among the smoke and debris. He finally found him, calmly watching the scene, his face glowing in the reflection, and his white hair blowing in the wind. Said the sympathetic son, “My heart ached for him. He was 67 –no longer a young man – and everything was going up in flames. When he saw me he shouted, “Charles, where is your mother?” When I told him I didn’t know, he said, “Find her. Bring her here. She will never see anything like this as long as she lives.” The next morning, Edison looked at the ruins and said, “There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.” —  Three weeks after the fire, Edison managed to deliver his first phonograph! (James Valladares in Your Words O Lord, Are Spirit and They Are Life.)

 15) Molting by shrimp: Shrimp wear their skeletons on the outside of their bodies, and have been known to discard their shells as many as twenty-six times during their short life span. They shed their shells to accommo­date their growing bodies. It is known as molting. — Perhaps, we human beings can take a lesson from the shrimp. Do we have some shells that need discarding? It may be a good idea to examine our lives and shed a few shells occasionally to grow further in the right direction. Perhaps, Lent, is a time to shed our shells of envy, pride, anger, hatred, and so on. Perhaps it’s time to shed our shells of selfishness and of narrow, confining self-interest if any. We need to refresh our Faith-living, with active prayer life, reading of the Scriptures, practicing love and charity in a more intensive way. (Fr. Joseph Chirackal C.M.I) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

 16) Leading to temptation: A young boy was forbidden by his father to swim in the canal near their home. One day the boy came home carrying a wet bathing suit and his father asked him where he had been. The boy calmly stated that he had been swimming in the canal. The father was angry and said, “Didn’t I tell you not to swim there?” The boy assured him that he had. The father wanted to know why he had disobeyed him. The boy said, “Well, Dad, I had my swimming suit with me, and I couldn’t resist the temptation.” Furious the father asked the boy why the boy had his bathing suit with him. The boy answered with total honesty, “So I would be prepared to swim, just in case I was tempted.” (James Valladares in Your Words O Lord, are Spirit and They Are Life; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

 17) Open for a Left Hook: On May 21, 2005, Andrew Golota fought Lamon Brewster for the WBO heavyweight boxing title.  Golota, a strong fighter with a powerful punch, had 38 wins, 5 losses, and 31 knockouts.  In preparation for the fight, Brewster had studied tapes of Golota’s boxing, looking for an opening. He noticed that the way Golota held his hands left him open for a left hook. Within seconds after the first round began, Brewster found the opening and threw a left hook.  Golota went down to the mat and got up.  Brewster threw another left hook and Golota went down again.  He stood up and the fight resumed.  Brewster threw another left hook to the same opening, and Golota went down for the 3rd time, which counted as a knockout.  Lamon Brewster won the fight in the first round because he was the smarter fighter.  All he had to do pound on his opponent’s weakness. — In a similar way, Satan is looking to pound on our weakest areas.  When we leave an opening by yielding to temptation, he’ll take advantage and throw a left hook.  But if we’ll not yield to temptation, we’ll close off the area and cut off his opportunity.  The Apostle Paul said it this way: “Do not give the devil an opportunity”   (Eph 4:27 NAS). –Kent Crockett (www.kentcrockett.com). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

18) The temptation of the Sundew trap: In the Australian bush country grows a little plant called the “sundew” (Drosera). It has a slender stem and tiny, round leaves fringed with hairs that glisten with bright drops of liquid as delicate as fine dew. Woe to the insect, however, that dares to dance on it! Although its attractive clusters of red, white, and pink blossoms are harmless, the leaves are deadly. The shiny moisture on each leaf is sticky and will imprison any bug that touches it. As an insect struggles to free itself, the vibration causes the leaves to close tightly around it. This innocent-looking plant then feeds on its victim. — The devil uses the same technique in tempting us. (Our Daily Bread, December 11, 1992). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

19) “I’m trying to prove that the bridge won’t break.” As the Union Pacific Railroad was being constructed, an elaborate trestle bridge was built across a large canyon in the West.  Wanting to test the bridge, the builder loaded a train with enough extra cars and equipment to double its normal payload. The train was then driven to the middle of the bridge, where it stayed an entire day. One worker asked, “Are you trying to break this bridge?” “No,” the builder replied, “I’m trying to prove that the bridge won’t break.” — In the same way, the temptations Jesus faced weren’t designed to see if he would sin, but to prove that he wouldn’t. (Today in the Word, March 14, 1991). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

20) Catching ring-tailed monkey with a melon: Men who trap animals in Africa for zoos in America say that one of the hardest animals to catch is the ring-tailed monkey. For the Zulus of that continent, however, it’s simple. They’ve been catching this agile little animal with ease for years. The method the Zulus use is based on knowledge of the animal. Their trap is nothing more than a melon growing on a vine. The seeds of this melon are a favorite of the monkey. Knowing this, the Zulus simply cut a hole in the hard-skinned melon, just large enough for the monkey to insert his hand to reach the seeds inside. The monkey will stick his hand in, grab as many seeds as he can, then start to withdraw it. This he cannot do. His fist is now larger than the hole. The monkey will pull and tug, screech and fight the melon for hours. But he can’t get free of the trap unless he gives up the seeds, which he refuses to do. Meanwhile, the Zulus sneak up and nab him. — Satan tempts us with similar traps. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

21) When you flee temptations, don’t leave a forwarding address: Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights champion in the United States. He was a pastor who fought for the equality and freedom of the Afro-Americans in the U.S. He was shot dead on the 4^th April 1968. The day before his death, he spoke thus: “We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountain top… Like anybody, I would like to live a long life… But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go to the mountain. And I’ve looked over and I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the Promised Land.” — Confronted with the prospect of his own death, he was unconcerned. All he wanted to do was – to do the will of God. (John Rose in John’s Sunday Homilies; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

 22) Desert Experience:   When winter comes to the South Pole, the so-called Polar night begins. The sun disappears below the horizon and doesn’t show its face again for four and a half months. Every day is the same: 24 hours darkness. Years ago, explorer Richard Byrd spent the winter alone at the South Pole. For four and one-half months he lived in total darkness, buried beneath the snow in a tiny room. The temperature in that room often dipped to 50 degrees below zero. Three times a day, Byrd climbed the stairs to the roof of his room, opened a trapdoor, pushed away the snow, and went out into the cold and darkness to record weather information. Why did Byrd choose to live by himself during these months of total darkness? He answers that question in his book Alone. He says it was because he wanted to get away from everything. He wanted to do some serious thinking. He writes: “And so it occurred to me … that here was the opportunity…I should be able to live exactly as I choose, obedient to no necessities but those imposed by the wind and night and cold, and to no man’s law but my own.” After the first month of solitude, Byrd discovered something “good” happening. He discovered that you can live much more deeply and profoundly if you keep life simple and don’t clutter it with a lot of material things. — Today’s Gospel describes Jesus’ desert experiences after his baptism. (Mark Link in Sunday Homilies; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

 “Scriptural Homilies” Cycle C (No. 15) by Fr. Tony: akadavil@gmail.com

Visit my website by clicking on https://frtonyshomilies.com/ for missed or previous Cycle C homilies, 141 Year of Faith “Adult Faith Formation Lessons” (useful for RCIA classes too) & 197 “Question of the Week.” Contact me only at akadavil@gmail.com. Visit also https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies  under Fr. Tony’s homilies and  under Resources in the CBCI website:  https://www.cbci.in  for other website versions.  (Vatican Radio website: http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html uploaded my Cycle A, B and C homilies in from 2018-2020)  (Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Fr. Anthony Kadavil, C/o Fr. Joseph  M. C. , St. Agatha Church, 1001 Hand Avenue, Bay Minette, Al 36507)

March 3-8:March 3 Monday: Mk 10:17-27:17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19 You know the commandments: `Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth.” 21 And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 At that saying his countenance fell, and he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. 23 ..27

The context: A rich young man comes to Jesus in search of eternal life and expresses his genuine desire to be accepted by Jesus as a disciple. Jesus’ shocking challenge refused: Jesus reminds the rich man of the commandments that deal with his relationships with other people and challenges him to sell what he has and give to the poor. The young man fails to realize that his riches have really built a wall between himself and God. His possessions “possess him.” Jesus’ challenge exposes what is missing in the young man’s life, (a sense of compassion for the poor), and what blocks him from the goodness he seeks (his unwillingness to share his blessings with the needy). Jesus thus makes it clear that a true follower of His who wants to possess eternal life must not only be a respectable person who hurts nobody, but also someone who shares his riches, talents and other blessings with the less fortunate. Unfortunately, the rich man is unwilling to accept Jesus’ idea that wealth is something to be shared with others and not just something to be owned. So, Jesus uses a vivid hyperbole or “word cartoon” to show how riches bar people from Heaven by presenting a big camel trying to pass through the eye of a needle. The disciples are shocked when Jesus challenges the Jewish belief that material wealth and prosperity are signs of God’s blessings by declaring that true religion consists in sharing our blessings with others without getting inordinately attached to them.

Life messages: 1)Jesus uses the premature farewell of the rich young man to teach the lesson that we do not possess in our life anything which we refuse to surrender to the Lord. Instead, that thing often possesses us, and we become the prisoners of our possessions, thereby violating the First Commandment, which demands that we give unconditional priority to God.

2) Our following of Jesus has to be totally and absolutely unconditional. Our attachment may not be to money, but to material goods, to another person, a job, health, or reputation. We must be ready to cut off any such attachment in order to become true Christian disciples, sharing our blessings with others. St. Teresa of Calcutta, (Mother Teresa), gives the message of today’s Gospel thus: “Do something Beautiful for God.” Do it with your life. Do it every day. Do it in your own way. But do it!” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

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

March 4 Tuesday: Mk 10:28-31: 28 Peter began to say to him, “Lo, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many that are first will be last, and the last first.”

The context: A rich young man approached Jesus asking how to gain eternal life. Jesus asked him to sell his possessions share the money with the poor and then become his disciple. But the rich man went away sad, unable to accept Jesus’ terms and conditions. Watching this scene, Peter declares that he and his fellow Apostles, all Jesus’ followers, have left everything and followed Jesus, and he asks what their reward will be.

Jesus’ warning and promise: Jesus wants every Christian to embrace the virtue of poverty of spirit by practicing real and effective austerity in the possession and use of material things. But those who are specially called to Christian ministry, particularly the Apostles and their successors in priestly and religious ministry, should practice absolute detachment from property, time, family, etc. so that they can be fully available to everyone, imitating Jesus himself. Such detachment gives them lordship over all things. They are no longer the slaves of things and the burden things involve. They will be able to share St. Paul’s attitude and live, “As having nothing, and yet possessing everything” (2 Cor 6:10). Jesus also considers persecutions and troubles as rewards because they help us to give powerful witness to the Good News and offer us opportunities to grow in maturity and responsibility. Jesus assures Peter and the Apostles (and us), that anyone who has generously left behind his possessions will be rewarded a hundred times over in this life and will have eternal bliss in the next life. By shedding their selfishness in this way, they will acquire charity, and, having charity, they will gain everything. In place of material wealth, Jesus promises all his disciples the blessing and joy of rich fellowship with the community of believers. These words of our Lord particularly apply to those who by Divine vocation embrace celibacy, giving up their right to form a family. They will become members of every family, and they will have many brothers, sisters and spiritual children.

Life message: 1) Let us try to become true disciples of Jesus by sacrificially sharing our blessings with those around us, thereby inheriting additional blessings from a generous God. Let us not refuse anything to him or hold back anything from him. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

For additional reflections, click on: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video;

https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

ASH WEDNESDAY (3/5/2025)– 8-minute homily in one page ( Jl 2:12-18; 2Cor 5:20—6:2; Mt 6:1-6, 16-18.(L/25)

Introduction: Ash Wednesday (dies cinerum), is the Church’s Yom Kippur or the “Day of Atonement.” The very name of the day comes from the Jewish practice of doing penance wearing “sackcloth and ashes.” The Old Testament tells us how the people of Nineveh, King Ben Hadad of Syria, and Queen Esther fasted, wearing sackcloth and ashes.In the early Church, Christians who had committed serious sins were instructed to do public penance wearing sackcloth and ashes. The Church instructs us to observe Ash Wednesday and Good Friday as days of full fast and abstinence. Fasting is prescribed to reinforce our penitential prayer during the Lenten season.

Scripture lessons summarized:In the first reading, the prophet Joel, insists that we should experience a complete conversion of heart and not simply regret for our sins. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 51) for today, provides us with an excellent prayer of repentance and plea for forgiveness. Saint Paul, in the second reading, advises us “to become reconciled to God.” Today’s Gospel instructs us to assimilate the true spirit of fasting and prayer, not just settle for just the legal externals.

The blessing of the ashes and the significance of the day: The priest, dipping his thumb into ashes (collected from burnt palms from the previous year’s Palm Sunday), marks the forehead of each with the sign of the cross, saying the words, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return” or “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” By marking the sign of the cross with ashes on the foreheads of her children, the Church gives us: 1- a firm conviction that a) we are mortal beings, b) our bodies will become dust when buried and ashes if cremated, and c) our life-span is very brief and unpredictable; 2- a strong warning that we will suffer eternal misery if we do not repent of our sins, become reconciled with God, asking His pardon and forgiveness, and do penance; and 3- a loving invitation to realize and acknowledge our sinful condition and return to our loving and forgiving God with true repentance and a renewal of our life as the prodigal son did.

Ash Wednesday messages: # 1: We need to purify and renew our lives during the period of Lent by repentance, which means expressing sorrow for sins by turning away from occasions of sins and making a right turn to God. We need to express our repentance by becoming reconciled with God daily, by asking for forgiveness from those whom we have offended and by giving unconditional forgiveness to those who have offended us.

# 2: We need to do prayerful fasting and acts of penance for our sins,following the example of Jesus before his public ministry. Fasting reduces our “spiritual obesity” or the excessive accumulation of “fat” in our soul in the form of evil tendencies, evil habits, and evil addictions. It also gives us additional moral and spiritual strength and encourages us to share our blessings with the needy. It offers us more time to be with God in prayer. It encourages us to share our food and goods with the needy. Fasting also makes our minds clearer and more receptive to receiving the sacred nourishment of God’s Word in Scripture and in Holy Eucharist. (Thomas Merton). L/25

March 6 Thursday: Lk 9:22-25:22 Jesus said to his disciples, “The `Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and on the third day raised. 23 And he said to all, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?”:

The contextAfter Peter had made his famous declaration of Faith in Jesus as God and the Messiah, Jesus plainly warned his disciples about his suffering death and Resurrection. But the Apostles were unwilling to accept such a fate for their master. Hence, Jesus declared the three conditions of discipleship which he expected fromhis followers, as given in today’s Gospel.

The Three Conditions: 1) Deny yourself. 2) Take up your cross. 3) Follow Me. 1) Denying oneself involves a) cleansing of the heart by the eviction of self and the removal of all evil tendencies and addictions from the heart with the help of the Holy Spirit, b) the enthronement of God in the heart and the dedication of oneself to Him, and c) the surrendering of one’s life to the enthroned God through loving, selfless service of others for God’s glory. 2) Taking up one’s cross means, not only accepting gracefully from God our pains and suffering, but also accepting the pain involved in serving others, in sharing our blessings with them, and in controlling our evil tendencies. Carrying one’s cross becomes easier when we compare our light crosses with the heavier ones given to terminally-ill patients and to exploited people living under subhuman conditions. The realization that Jesus carries with us the heavier part of our cross also makes our cross-bearing easier and more salvific. 3) Follow Me means one is to follow Jesus by obeying the word of God and adjusting one’s life accordingly. One living as Jesus’ disciple should be ever ready to obey as Jesus directs one — through His words in the Bible and through the teaching authority He has instituted in the Church.

The paradox of saving/losing and losing/saving life: According to Bible commentators, the word “life” is here used, clearly, in a double sense: the earthly life of man in flesh and time and his eternal Life of happiness in Heaven. Hence, what Jesus means is that whoever wishes to save his (earthly), life will lose his (eternal), Life. But whoever loses his (earthly), life by spending it for Jesus and the Gospel, will save his (eternal), Life.

Life message: We need to love the cross, wear the cross, carry the crosses we are given, and transform these God-given crosses of our life into the instruments of our salvation by working with the Holy Spirit. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

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

March 7 Friday:Mt 9:14-15:Saints Perpetua and Felicity:https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saints-perpetua-and-felicity/14 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

The context: Today’s Gospel passage gives Jesus’ reply to the question asked by a few disciples of John the Baptist about fasting and feasting. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving were the three-cardinal works of Jewish religious life. Hence, John’s disciples wanted to know why they and the Pharisees fasted, while Jesus’ disciples were seen feasting with him and never fasting. Jesus’ reply: Jesus responded to their sincere question using three metaphors: the metaphor of the “children of the bridal chamber,” the metaphor of patching torn cloth and the metaphor of wineskins (Mk 2:18-20; Lk 5:33-35). In today’s Gospel passage, taken from Matthew, Jesus compares his disciples with the children of the bridal chamber. These people were selected friends of the bridegroom who feasted in the company of the bride and groom during their week of honeymoon. Nobody expected them to fast. Jesus declares that his disciples will fast when he, the Bridegroom, is taken away from them. One of the fruits of the Spirit is joy, and it is mentioned next after love in St Paul’s list, “…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal 5:22). Hence, we are to welcome the joys of Christian life as well as the crosses it offers us. The Fathers of the Church interpret the image of the bridegroom and bride as referring to Christ and his Church. Some explain it topologically: as long as the Spouse is with us, we are not able to mourn; but when by our sin we turn from Jesus, then is the time for tears and fasting. Yet others apply the words of Christ to the Holy Eucharist. The parable does not condemn the strictness of John nor does it condemn fasting. The disciples of Christ kept the fasts prescribed by the Law, but they did ignore those imposed by the Pharisees.

Life messages: 1) Fasting reduces our soul’s excessive accumulation of fat in the form of evil tendencies and evil habits (= spiritual obesity). In addition, fasting gives us additional moral and spiritual strength: it offers us more time to be with God in prayer and encourages us to share our food and goods with the needy. We fast so as to share in the sufferings of the Body of Christ (Col 1:24). 2) We need to be adjustable Christians with open and elastic minds and hearts: The Holy Spirit, working actively in the Church and guiding the Magisterium

Feb 24- March 1: Monday: Mk 9:14-29: 14 And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd about them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed, and ran up to him and greeted him. 16 And he asked them, “What are you discussing with them?” 17 And one of the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a dumb spirit; 18 and wherever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” 19 And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” 20 And they brought the boy to him; and when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has he had this?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us.” 23 And Jesus said to him, “If you can! All things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” 25 And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again.” 26 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse; so that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”

The context: Today’s Gospel passage describes an exorcism and healing which Jesus performed after coming down from the mountain of Transfiguration.

Why did the Apostles fail to heal the epileptic? The father of the epileptic boy complained to Jesus about the inability of the apostles to cure his son. They failed to heal the boy because: 1) although they had been given the power of healing, they failed to vitalize or activate it by prayer as Jesus did; 2) they did not have strong, trusting and expectant Faith in God’s power; 3) as Jesus remarked, exorcism requires not only healing power but also a life of prayer and penance. Jesus heals the epileptic by a word of Divine command: Jesus demanded strong Faith from the boy’s father as a condition for healing. Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” Then Jesus commanded the evil spirit, using His Divine authority: “You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again.” As the evil spirit left the boy, he was healed of his epilepsy.

Life messages: 1) God will work daily miracles in our lives, provided we pray with trusting Faith. 2) Jesus offers us freedom from bondage to sin, evil habits, and addictions. 3) Let us make full use of the protection and help God offers to those who seek Him with Faith in His power and trust in His mercy. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

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

Feb 25 Tuesday: Mk 9: 30-37: 30 They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he would not have any one know it; 31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask him. 33 And they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest. 35 And he sat down and called the twelve; and he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And he took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

Context: Today’s Gospel outlines the criteria for greatness. Jesus’ Apostles shared the Jewish hope that the Messiah would be a political ruler, and that they would hold important portfolios in the Messianic kingdom. Hence, in today’s passage, Jesus warns his Apostles and the future hierarchy in his Church against the natural human tendency to pride and ambition. He exhorts the spiritual leaders, as well as all believers in responsible positions, to be humble, trusting and innocent, that is, like children.

Child-like qualities: Children are basically innocent and honest. They are naturally humble because they depend on their parents for everything. They trust and obey their parents because they know their parents love them. Hence, Jesus advises his disciples to forget their selfish ambitions and to spend their lives serving others in all humility, with trusting Faith in a loving, providing God. Then they will be great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Life Messages: 1) We need to practice humility in thoughts, words, and actions. “Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart.” “What is the essential thing in the religion and discipline of Jesus Christ?” St. Augustine asks, and then responds, “I shall reply: first humility, second humility, and third humility.” 2) We should not seek recognition and recompense for the service we do for Christ and the Church as parents, teachers, pastors etc. 3) Trusting Faith resulting from true humility is essential for all corporal and spiritual works of mercy. 4) Since children reflect the innocence, purity, simplicity and tenderness of our Lord, and since they are given the protection of a guardian angel, we are to love them, train them and take care not to give scandal to them. 5) We need to try to treat everyone with love and respect because, “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life,” (St. Basil) (CCC #336). Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

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

Feb 26 Wednesday: Mk 9: 38-40: John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw we saw someone driving outdemons in your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me. 40 For he that is not against us is for us.

The context: Ecclesiastical structures and lines of authority were not as clearly defined in the early Church as they are now. There were several Christian communities in big cities, each established by a different evangelist with different preachers, and each with its own practices. Rivalries could develop among them. In such circumstances, perhaps the incident and instruction of Jesus presented in today’s Gospel passage was recalled. In the passage, the Apostles complained about someone using the name of Jesus for healing the sick. They were upset at seeing someone who did not belong to their group using Jesus’ name to cast out demons. They were under the false impression that healing and exorcism in Jesus’ name was their sole right. This was the “closed mentality” which they copied from the teaching habits of the Scribes and the Pharisees who reserved the Torah and it is teaching only to the Jews. They had forgotten the truth that God can use anybody as an instrument of healing.

“Whoever is not against us is for us:” Navarre Bible commentary explains this passage thus: “Our Lord warns the Apostles, and through them all Christians, against exclusivism in the apostolate–the notion that “good is not good unless I am the one who does it.” Jesus gives an ecumenical affirmation, and warning against jealousy and exclusivism or spiritual greed, telling his disciples that there should not be any rivalry, jealousy or suspicion as long as all hold the same belief. (Since the present-day divisions in Christianity are substantive, rising from differences over the basic tenets of Faith, today’s Gospel passage does not apply to them). However, Jesus’ instruction invites all Christians who accept him as Lord and Savior to work together for the common welfare of all, especially the poor, the sick and the marginalized. There is no reason for any Christian denomination to be jealous of another denomination because of the greater good they do for people for God’s glory. True love seeks the highest good of our neighbor while envy results from the selfishness and pride contrary to true Christian love.

Life message: 1) Let us not try to prevent anyone from doing good to others because of envy or jealousy. Envy and jealousy are sinful because they lead us to sadness over what should make us rejoice. True love always seeks the highest good of the neighbor. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

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

Feb 27 Thursday: (St. Gregory of Narek, Abbot & Doctor of the Church) Mark 9: 41-50: 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward. 42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. 49 For every one will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

The context: After cautioning his disciples against jealousy and envy, Jesus explains to them the rewards for good works and warns them of the punishment reserved for scandal-givers. Jesus promises a reward for even the smallest act of charity for two reasons: 1) in performing the action, we are recognizing the truth that the beneficiary belongs to Jesus and that Jesus lives in him or her. 2) We perform the action as an expression of our gratitude for the numerous favors we have received from God.

The seriousness of scandal: Jesus tells scandal-givers that suffering a dire punishment like drowning in the deep sea with a millstone hung around their necks would do them less harm than they will suffer for committing the horror of giving scandal to one of His “little ones.” This is because 1) every scandal causes a chain reaction, resulting in the victims’ abusing and giving scandal to others in turn, adversely affecting the whole community in the process. 2) Scandals, like the sexual abuse of children, lead many to serious sins and lead both victims and scandal-givers away from Faith and religious practices. What does Jesus mean by amputation? Jesus teaches that, just as a doctor might remove an infected hand or leg or some other part of the body in order to preserve the life of the whole body, so we must be ready to part with anything that causes us to sin and which leads us to spiritual death. This means that we should abandon certain evil habits, bad friendships and undue attachments to avoid giving serious bad example and committing grave sins. Jesus does not teach that we should literally cut off hand or foot or pluck out our eye. Rather, using a Semitic idiom, he teaches that the most important aspect of our life is our Faith, and that it is better to suffer any calamity rather than to lose this precious gift.

Life messages: 1) We need to have salt in our lives: Jesus declares that, as the salt of the earth, our duty is to purify, preserve and give flavor to people’s lives by using the blessings given to us instead of leading others to sin by bad example. 2) As salt penetrates what it is placed upon, let us penetrate the society around us, radiating Jesus’ love, mercy, forgiveness and spirit of service. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

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

Feb 28 Friday: Mk 10:1-12: 1 And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again; and again, as his custom was, he taught them. 2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3……………………….12

The context: King Herod had married his brother’s wife, Herodias, violating the Mosaic Law. John the Baptist showed courage in condemning the king in public and lost his head for it. In today’s Gospel, the Pharisees were setting a trap for Jesus asking whether he agreed with his cousin John’s position on divorce. Jesus used the occasion to declare unequivocally that the bond of marriage comes from God, and that it is permanent and indissoluble: “What God has joined, man must not separate.” Today’s Gospel gives Christ’s explicit teaching on marriage and divorce, the Divine origin of marriage, the sacredness of family life and the indissolubility of marriage.

Jesus’ explanation of Mosaic sanction: Jesus explains that Moses’ permission for divorce was only a temporary concession to control the growing rate of divorce in his time, by introducing a law-governed divorce. Jesus adds that it was because of the hard-heartedness of the Jewish men that Moses allowed such a concession. By denying the man’s right to divorce, Jesus places the husband and wife on an equal footing in marriage and teaches that no Mosaic regulation dealing with a temporary situation can alter the permanency and unity of marriage.

Jesus’ clear teaching on divorce: Jesus reminds us that his doctrine goes back to the original intention of God. Citing the book of Genesis, Jesus proves that God made us male and female and commanded that “the two shall become one flesh.” He then draws the conclusion that “they are no longer two, but one body” – partners with equal rights – and declares that no man is allowed to separate what God has joined together (Mt 19:6).

Catholic teaching: Based on the NT teachings given in Mk 10:1-12, Mt 5:31-32; Mt 19:3-9; Lk 16:18; and 1 Cor 7:10-11, the Catholic Church teaches that marriage is a Sacrament involving both a sacred and a legal contract between a man and a woman and, at the same time, a special Covenant with the Lord. “Divorce is also a grave offense against the natural law. In addition, it breaks the contract, to which the spouses freely consented, to live with each other till death…… Divorce is immoral also because it introduces disorder into the family and into society” (CCC #2384, 2385).

Life messages:1) Let us keep all families of our parish in our daily prayers. The mutual understanding and appreciation of the spouses, their openness and frankness, their spirit of sacrifice, adjustment, tolerance, their willingness to ask pardon and give pardon, their generosity in forgiving and forgetting – all these help to make a marriage permanent. 2) Let us also pray for all divorced men and women in the parish and also for those who have married again without an annulment, and welcome them as active members of the parish, although the latter cannot receive Holy Communion. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

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

March 1 Saturday: Mark 10: 13-16:  “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 13 And they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it he was indignant, and said to them, “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them.

The context: Today’s Gospel passage describes one of the loveliest incidents in the Gospel story. Jewish mothers used to bring their children to the great rabbis that they might pray over the children, especially on their first birthday. Naturally, mothers wanted the healing touch and blessing of the most popular rabbi, Jesus. In an attempt to protect their Master from the crowd of mothers and noisy children, the Apostles started rebuking them. The passage describes Jesus’ reaction and teaching.

Childlike qualities for entrance into Heaven: By showing his displeasure at the rough reaction of his apostles, Jesus made it clear that everyone is equally important to him as a child of God. The mothers came to Jesus because he was affable, jovial and approachable. Jesus decided to use the occasion as a teachable moment. He taught his disciples that entry into Heaven demands the childlike qualities of humility, innocence, obedience, total trust in a loving and providing God, confidence in the essential goodness of people, and readiness to forgive and forget. “To be little you have to believe as children believe, to love as children love, to abandon yourself as children do…, to pray as children pray” (St. J. Escriva).

Life messages: 1) Let us live in the awareness that we are the children of a loving and providing Heavenly Father and that by Baptism we are members of God’s family. Hence, we are expected to behave well every day as worthy children of a Holy Father. 2) Let us pray for all children in our families and for all our young parishioners and let us find time to cooperate in the parish ministries meant for children and young people. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

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

O. T. V [C] (Feb 9, 2025) Sunday homily (Eight-minute homily in one page)L/25

Introduction: Today’s Scripture readings challenge us to discern God’s call to each one of us to become His disciple with a mission. We are asked to recognize God’s Holy Presence and acknowledge our sinfulness and unworthiness to become humble instruments in His hands, as did the prophet Isaiah (first reading), St. Paul (second reading), and as St. Peter (today’s Gospel). Today’s readings also teach us that God has His own criteria for selecting people to be His disciples, ministers, and prophets. Presenting the special calls, or vocations, of Isaiah, Paul, and Peter as life-changing events, the readings challenge us to examine our own personal calls by God and our fidelity and commitment to our discipleship.

Scripture lessons: Isaiah, in the first reading, and Peter, in today’s Gospel, express their unworthiness to be in the presence of God’s great Holiness, and both Peter and Isaiah immediately receive reassurance and their Divine calls. Today’s second reading describes the call of another great apostle, Paul, who judges himself to be unworthy of the name or the call, as he was a former persecutor of the Christians and as the last apostle selected by the Risen Lord. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 138) offers a prayer of gratitude for just such a calling. For, it was by giving these three men a strong conviction of their unworthiness, and of their need for total dependence on His grace, that God prepared them for their missions. It was the miraculous catch of fish at Jesus’ command, described in today’s Gospel, which enabled Peter to find God in Jesus and prompted him to surrender his life completely to Jesus’ service as a full-time disciple. The Second Vatican Council teaches that we are all called to Christ’s ministry by virtue of our Baptism into Jesus Christ.

Life Messages: 1) We need to pray that our encounters with the Holiness of God may lead us to recognize our sinfulness and accept His call. God, Who calls us and commissions us for His service, wants us to realize His presence everywhere and in everyone, to repent of our sins, and to remain in readiness to speak and act for Him in our life circumstances, as He shall direct us through His grace and His Holy Spirit. It was their strong awareness of the presence of the Risen Lord in each early Christian, which prompted them to greet each other with the prayer, “Maran atha” [“Come, Our Lord.”] (This greeting is similar to the ancient Indian Hindu greeting, “Namaste” or “I bow to you” acknowledging God’s presence in each person) 2) We need to teach and practice expressions of reverence for the Lord. We need to express our reverence for God through appropriate bodily gestures. For example, when we come into Church, we need to show reverence for Jesus’ presence in the Tabernacle by making a deep bow or by genuflecting and blessing ourselves with sign of the cross. Then we need to honor Him by listening to the word of God and by actively participating in the Liturgy’s prayers and singing. This same sense of reverence can be expressed by keeping God’s living word to us, the Holy Bible, in a prominent place in our homes and by kissing it each time we read from it. 3) True reverence for God naturally leads us to reverent, respectful love of our neighbors, as God dwells in them. We need to remember that each of us has a unique mission in the Church, and so receives a different mission call from God. Because of our uniqueness, no one can fulfill another’s call We accomplish our personal missions as parents, priests, religious, and lay persons only by depending on God, joyful obeying Him joyfully, radiating the love, mercy, and forgiveness of Jesus and participating in the various ministries of our parish.

OT V [C] (Feb 9, 2025):  Is 6:1-2a, 3-8; I Cor 15:1-11; Lk 5:1-11  

Homily starter anecdotes 1: Divine calls answered: People from all age groups and all walks of life have graciously accepted the divine call and become saints. St. Teresa of Child Jesus (the Little Flower) heard God’s call and joined the Carmelite convent when she was only 15. Agnes Bojaxhiu or Mother Teresa heard God’s call and joined the Loretto Sisters when she was 18. St. Jeanne Jugan was 47 when she heard God calling her to devote her life to the care of the sick and the elderly. St. Ignatius of Loyola heard God’s call as a wounded and recovering soldier in his late thirties. St. Francis Xavier and St. Augustine were university professors when they heard God’s call. Saints Cosmos and Damien were physicians and pharmacists. St. Cyrus Alexandrian was a doctor. St.  Louis IX was a French king (1226-76). St. Thomas More held a high positionin the RoyalCourt of Henry VIII in England. St. Isidore and Maria Cabeeza were ordinary farmers. St. Gregory and his wife St. Nona were the ideal husband and wife and parents of three saints, and St. Louis Martin and his wife St. Zelie Guerin were parents of St. Teresa of Child Jesus.   Just like Isiah in the first reading, St. Paul in the second reading and St. Peter in the Gospel, all these saints acknowledged their sinfulness and limitations, and God blessed their good will with His grace and enabled them to transform the lives of many for God.

# 2: “Here I am Lord, send me.” A mother and father were worried about what career their son would choose. A friend told them to place on the dining room table a $20 note, a Bible and a fifth of liquor. Then they were to hide behind the curtains and observe their son’s actions when he came in. If he took the $20 bill, he would grow up to be a banker; if he chose the Bible, a preacher, and if he chose the liquor, a drunkard. The son came in and put the $20 bill in his pocket, held the Bible under one arm and the liquor under the other, and happily walked out of the room. “Great goodness, Martha,” said the husband to his wife, “He is going to be a politician!” (Fr. Lakra).

# 3: “Ours is total commitment!” There was a story about the hen and the pig bragging to each other about their contribution and commitment to humanity. The hen bragged: “We hens supply thousands of eggs for the market every day. Ours is the best selfless gift.” Not satisfied, the pig countered, “And who lay down their lives so that people may eat bacon, lechon, barbecue, ham, and sausages? Pigs. Ours is total commitment of our lives in the service of humanity!”– In all the readings for today, especially the Gospel, the message is one – a Call from God and the Commitment expected from those God has called.

# 4: A call rejected:  Reverend Billy Graham tells of a time early in his ministry when he arrived in a small town to preach a sermon.  Wanting to mail a letter, he asked a young boy where the post office was.  When the boy had told him, Dr. Graham thanked him and said, “If you’ll come to the Baptist church this evening, you can hear me telling everyone how to get to Heaven.” “I don’t think I’ll be there,” the boy said. “Why?” Billy Graham asked him.  “Because you don’t even know your way to the post office! How can you show me the way to Heaven?” –Today’s readings tell us about the calls of the prophet Isaiah, Paul, and Peter to God’s ministry.

# 5:”Pick up the Book and read:” Before his conversion, Augustine was divided. He wanted to live chastely, but he didn’t want to give up sex. He knew the need to change his life, but he couldn’t garner the strength to do it. One day he was in a garden feeling miserable because of his indecision. Through his tears he heard what he later described as the voice of a child. (It was really the voice of God.) The voice exhorted him to pick up the book and read. Augustine looked for the New Testament that he had brought with him. It was open to the Letter to the Romans. He read: “not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.”  Augustine didn’t need any more incentive to decide. With these words he promised to be baptized. Augustine had had an experience of God. Simon Peter had the same in the gospel today. After fishing all night without taking anything, Jesus asked him to let down the nets again. When he did so, Simon and his companions caught an amazing number of fish. Knowing that he was in the presence of a man of God, Simon threw himself at Jesus’ feet. He reacted as did the prophet Isaiah in the first reading: “Depart from me, Lord,” Simon said, “for I am a sinful man!”

Introduction: The central theme of today’s readings is God’s call with people’s response.  The Scripture readings present three of the greatest witnesses in the Bible—Isaiah, Paul, and Peter—expressing their own worthlessness. A Seraph cleanses Isaiah lips with a burning coal, Paul experiences Jesus in  a vision and then is cleansed after three days’ fasting and prayer in physical blindness,  and Jesus has a cleansing word for Peter. When Isaiah had his vision, Paul had his and its aftermath, and Peter had his epiphany, each experienced deep humility, fear, respect, and reverence—in short, awe of God. Today’s readings teach us that Christian spirituality is discipleship, which means living out a positive response to God’s call. Discipleship has three steps: 1) The revelation: The miraculous, catch of fish described in today’s Gospel was a revelation to Peter of Jesus’ identity as the One sent from God. 2) The recognition and confession of one’s unworthiness and inadequacy: Peter responded, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”  3) The word of reassurance from Jesus and a call to share in his life-giving mission, ”From now on, you will be catching men!”  Today’s readings are “epiphany-call stories” which tell us that God has His own criteria for selecting people to be prophets and ministers.  Presenting the special calls, or vocations, of Isaiah, Paul, and Peter as life-changing events, the readings challenge us to examine our own personal calls to conversion and discipleship. When faced with the awesome power of God, Isaiah, Paul, and Peter are all struck dumb by a sense of their own unworthiness.  In short, all the three Scripture Readings of today are unusually well-connected in theme: First, all three of these men – Isaiah, Peter, and Paul – were ordinary men, and their extraordinary encounters with God became life-changing events. Second, all three of these men looked at themselves as ‘unworthy’ in relationship to God or the Christ, and recognized their own sinfulness, lowliness, and inadequacies in the face of a Being who was awe-inspiring to them. Third, all three of these men who were humbled, and felt their sinfulness in the face of their God, were cleansed by God and called to do His work. Fourth, Peter, Paul, and Isaiah,  – were each called to be apostles  [meaning messengers], delegated and sent out to convey a message or carry out a mission on their master’s behalf, not merely to be disciples —  following a master. The Good News today is that God can take one who is a very human, fault-filled person, offer one forgiveness, give one a mission, and call one to holiness. 

Today’s Scripture summarized: Peter in today’s Gospel and Isaiah in the first reading express their unworthiness to be in the presence of God’s great holiness, and Peter and Isaiah both immediately receive their Divine calls. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 138) gives us a prayer —
“The Lord will complete what He has done for me; Your  kindness, O Lord, endures forever…”– that could reflect the gratitude experienced by those who follow God’s call. Today’s  second reading describes the call of another great apostle, Paul, who judges himself to be unworthy of the name or the call as he was a former persecutor of the Christians. It was by giving these three men a strong conviction of their unworthiness and of their need for total dependence on His grace that God prepared them for their missions. The calls of these various ministers of God are set before us so that we can reassess our own call from God and our response to Him. The Second Vatican Council teaches that we are all called to ministry by virtue of our Baptism into Jesus Christ. The same Spirit of God that moved Isaiah, Peter, and Paul to take action in serving God, now dwells within you and me from our Baptism. The Holy Spirit is calling us to Holiness and offering us the means to attain it (the Sacraments). He is also calling us, the baptized, to continue His mission by spreading the Good News. Has our response to the Lord’s call been all that it ought to be?

First reading, Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8, explained: In the late eighth century BC, God’s people in the Promised Land had become divided into a northern kingdom, Israel, and a southern kingdom, Judah. Among outside hostile forces, Assyria was the dominant power in the region. A fourth nation, Syria, was also vying for power, and trying to recruit Israel to support its ambitions.   The kings of Israel and Judah started cooperating in political schemes to ensure their nations’ safety, instead of relying faithfully on the Lord God to sustain them. This was the situation in which Isaiah received God’s mission to speak God’s word to the kings and people of Judah and Israel. Yahweh permitted Isaiah to experience His magnificence in a vision in the Temple of Jerusalem.  Experiencing the glory of God, Isaiah at once confessed his unworthiness, calling out, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips.” In the presence of God’s holiness, Isaiah became painfully aware of his own sinful human nature. However, when cleansed by God, he was ready for His ministry:  “Here I am. Send me!” God gave him the courage to speak His word, interpret His will, and call His people and their leaders to repent and return to God’s ways. Today’s scene from Isaiah is recalled in every Mass. Before reading the Gospel, the priest silently asks God to cleanse his lips that he might worthily proclaim His Word.” (Scott Hahn).  “The Vision of Isaiah” by Jean-Louis Ernest Meissonier (19th Century

Second Reading, 1 Corinthians 15:1-1, explained: Some Corinthian Christians questioned Paul’s authority and disputed the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. Paul silenced them by presenting the evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus. Then he recounted the story of how he had been chosen to be an apostle to the Gentiles by the Risen Lord who appeared to him on his trip to Damascus. But Paul confessed his unworthiness to be an apostle because of his former persecution of Christians and gave the full credit to God for his call to the ministry:  “By the grace of God I am what I am.”  That is, it was only by the grace of God that Paul was claiming the designation of “apostle” and only by that authority that he proclaimed the Gospel, toiling harder than the other apostles. He reminded the Corinthians that he had already passed on to them the traditional confession of Faith about Jesus’ death and Resurrection, which he had received personally from Christ Himself. Hence, the Corinthians should not doubt his teaching about the resurrection, lest they forfeit salvation and wind up having believed in vain. A real Faith not only accepts the content of God’s message but involves a total surrender of oneself and all one has into God’s hands. Our response to God’s grace must   be like that of Paul.

Gospel Exegesis: Epiphany on the sea: The story of the miraculous catch of fish described in today’s Gospel is similar to the post-Resurrection appearance of Jesus recounted in John 21:4-14.   In both accounts, the apostles at first fail to recognize who Jesus is, then receive a revelation of his true identity. This prompts a full confession of Faith from Simon Peter to which Jesus responds by commissioning him as the representative of the disciples.  In this sense, both narratives are Epiphanies in which Jesus reveals himself to the world as the Messiah —for Jesus does what only God can do.  The point of this story lies, not in the miraculous catch, but in the confession of Peter and his commissioning by Jesus.  

 The fishermen and fishing: The scene is the Sea of Galilee (Gennesaret in Greek and Tiberias in Latin). This body of water is thirteen miles long and seven and a half mile wide.  In Jesus’ time, there were ten prosperous towns situated around the lake. Most of the people residing in them made their living from the waters in front of them. Thus, one gets the idea of how rich the lake was in fish. The Sea of Galilee was the site of many manifestations of Jesus’ Divine power.  In the incident in today’s Gospel, Jesus preached from Peter’s boat to a large crowd, jammed together at the edge of the water. When the teaching had ended, Jesus told Peter to pull out into deeper water for a catch of fish.  In matters of fishing, Peter was the expert, while Jesus was only a carpenter.  Hence Peter, perhaps not wanting Jesus to look foolish, explained, “Master, we have worked hard all night long, caught nothing.” Peter might have added that   fish come to the surface in the Sea of Galilee only at night, or that the presence and noise of people would frighten the remaining fish away.   Instead, he said, “Nevertheless, if you wish it, I will lower the nets.”

 Hope against hope:  That declaration of trust was what made the miracle that followed possible. We may assume that Jesus smiled a little, indicating that he understood Peter’s point and still wanted the fisherman to take the boat out into deeper water.  So, Peter obeyed.   This time, however, instead of pulling up an empty net, Peter and Andrew found the net was filled to bursting point, and they had to ask the help of their partners, Zebedee’s sons, James and John, to help them bring in the catch.   Simon Peter understood the message very quickly. Confronted by the size of the catch, he recognized the presence of God before him and became convinced of his own pride and self-centeredness, that is, of his sinfulness. We find the same response in all three readings today. Isaiah, seeing the glory of God in his vision, says, “What a wretched state I am in! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips… and my eyes have looked at the King, the Lord of hosts.” Paul, not particularly known for his modesty, says, “I am the least of the apostles… I hardly deserve the name apostle.” Peter begs Jesus to go away. His simple confession —“Leave me Lord. I am a sinful man.”  In each instance, the recognition of unworthiness marks a turning point in the speaker’s life and becomes the model for  our own response to Jesus. With Peter, Jesus seized this opportunity to proclaim the fisherman’s mission (a mission that included the rest of the disciples). Peter was able to receive this call because he had seen the tremendous power of God.     Thus, Peter became the first person in the Gospel to acknowledge his sinfulness.   He is also the first apostle to be called by Jesus. Today’s Gospel concludes with an inspiring image of commitment which all present: “When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him” (Lk 5:11). 

The abundance miracle: The miraculous catch of fish is a miracle of abundance and resembles other “abundance” miracles — such as the sending of manna to Israel in the wilderness (Ex 16); the widow’s never-empty meal jar and oil jug (1 Kgs 17:8-16); the extension of a one-day supply of oil for the lamps to light them for the full eight-days of the Temple’s rededication ceremony (2 Kgs 4:1-7); and Elisha’s feeding of a hundred men with twenty loaves of bread (2 Kgs 4:42-44).  Later in this same Gospel, we will see Jesus feeding five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish (9:12-17).  The Gospel of John reports another abundance miracle, the wine (160-180 gallons!) Jesus supplied at the wedding in Cana (Jn 2:1-11).     All these “abundance” miracles have two common characteristics: (1) they meet human needs and (2) they demonstrate God’s power.  The spiritual outcome of this particular miracle was that the disciples, “left everything and followed [Jesus]” (v. 11).

 Dimensions of discipleship: The Gospel reading today displays the three dimensions of discipleship: (1) the recognition of the power of Jesus, (2) the response of confession, and (3) the assurance of success when the one called follows God’s word. Peter’s commission is one which is repeated often in the New Testament (Lk 9:20, 22:32; Jn 21:1ff; Mt 16:16ff).   Peter and the other disciples were given the privilege of sharing in Christ’s work of gathering people to God. As they shared in gathering the fish, so now they would share in gathering “lost” human beings. Simon’s response was similar to the responses made in Old Testament human encounters with God. As he stood before the burning bush, Moses confessed his disqualifications for leadership, particularly his inability to speak well.   (Ex 3:11-4:17, esp. 4:10).  Later in the Bible, when God came to Solomon in a dream, Solomon declared that he was not wise enough to govern God’s people and asked for an “understanding heart” (1 Kgs 3:7-9).   Likewise, when God called Jeremiah, the prophet recognized the inadequacy of his youth to take on this mission (Jer 1:6).

Who are called as the fishers of men? It is not true that Christ’s invitation to become “fishers of men” is addressed only to the apostles and their successors (the bishops together with the priests and religious). Every Christian is commissioned to a ministry of love and justice by virtue of his/her Baptism. One of the documents of Vatican II, Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church), in paragraph no. 31, describes all of us very clearly: “the faithful who by Baptism are incorporated into Christ’s Body and are placed in the people of God and in their own way share the priestly, prophetic, and kingly office of Christ and, to the best of their ability, carry on the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the world.” In addition to this, Vatican II’s Apostolicam Actuositatem (The Apostolate of the Laity), no. 3 says, “Incorporated into Christ’s Body through Baptism and strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit through Confirmation, the laity are assigned to the apostolate by the Lord Himself.” It is even stated that where lay involvement is lacking, “the apostolate of the pastors will frequently be unable to obtain its full effect; where lay responsibility is absent, the Church is incomplete,” (Apostolicam Actousitatem nos. 10, 21, PCP II).

Life Messages: 1) We need to pray that our encounters with the holiness of God may lead us to recognize our sinfulness. The Indian poet Tagore wrote this prayer: “I come to take your touch before I begin the day.” The Good News of today’s Gospel is that our sinfulness — our pride and self-centeredness – does not repel God. Our God is a God Who gives sinners a new start.   It is important that we acknowledge our sinfulness.  Our response must be modeled on that of the tax collector in the parable:   “Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Lk 18:13). The recognition of our inadequacy and sin is necessary for us, if we are to be willing and able to receive transformation through God’s grace. Isaiah, Paul, and Peter teach us that even the greatest person among us stands in need of conversion. God, Who calls us and commissions us for His service, wants us to realize His presence everywhere and in everyone, to repent of our sins, and to remain in readiness to speak and act for Him in our life-circumstances as He shall direct. (It is probably, their strong awareness of the presence of the Risen Lord in each Christian, which prompted them to greet each other with “Maran atha” [“Come, our Lord.”] (This greeting is similar to the ancient Indian Hindu greeting, “Namaste” or “I bow to you” acknowledging God’s presence in each person). (USSCCB Bible: It was a prayer for the coming of Christ in glory at the parousia).

2) We need to teach and practice expressions of reverence for the Lord.     Today’s world desperately needs a “revival of reverence.”  We need both to recognize God as God and to express that reverence for God through appropriate bodily gestures.  For example, when we come into Church, we enter the presence of Jesus dwelling in the Tabernacle. We need to remember that this is His house, a part of Heaven, and we need to express that remembrance by making a deep bow toward Jesus, present in the Tabernacle, or, if we are able to kneel, by genuflecting on the right knee before we enter the pew. We should offer Jesus the same reverent recognition when we leave the Church and Jesus’ Sacramental Presence.   We might also remember to give a slight bow of the head whenever we hear, or say, the name of Jesus.  The new regulation of bowing one’s head before receiving Communion is another beautiful act of reverence. This same sense of reverence can be expressed by keeping the Bible, God’s living word to us, in a prominent place in our homes and by kissing it each time we read from it.   True reverence for God naturally leads us to the reverent, respectful love of neighbor. St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) loved people because she saw Jesus in them. That was the same Jesus Whom she reverenced and experienced in the Holy Eucharist. We, too, will have many opportunities for daily experiences of Christ. So the heart of our mission as Christians is really to find Jesus hidden in our neighbors, and to accept his challenge to us – to love him, to have compassion on him, to practice justice toward him, to be kind to him there.   Then it becomes easier for us to forgive injury as Jesus did, and to be reconciled to those with whom we have difficulties.   Thus, our mission as Jesus’ disciples is to seek, to find, and to respond to Jesus in all people and events.

3) Each of us has a unique mission in the Church.   God has a different call for each of us. Because each of us is unique, each of us has a mission which no one else can fulfill.  God will use all of us, and particularly what is unique in us, to bring this mission to fulfillment.  Our response must be like that of Isaiah: “Here I am, Lord…send me.” —   “I’ll do it.  I’ll play my part.  I’ll speak to that neighbor, that coworker, that friend, that relative.  I’ll talk to my daughter about the way she is rearing her children. I’ll keep my mouth shut and refuse to gossip or criticize my co-workers or my bosses. I’ll pray every day. I’ll learn to listen patiently to those in need.  With Your help, I’ll do it.”   

Joke of the week

1) Catching fish from the shop: A man had spent fruitless day fishing. He didn’t want to go home empty-handed. He decided to stop at a local fish market. “I’d like three good sized fish,” he said to the clerk. “But before you wrap them, toss them to me, one by one.” The clerk looked puzzled at his request, “Sir? That’s a strange thing to ask.” Smiling the man said, “This way I’ll be able to tell my wife truthfully that I caught them!”

2) “I am a fisher of men.” The Reverend Dr. McStuffed-Shirt encountered one of his less-than-faithful parishioners returning from a day’s fishing and engaged him in conversation. “Ah, Brother Jones,” he began in his best preaching tone, “You are a fine fisherman, but I am a fisher of men.” Jones, determined to get home after a long day, replied, “So I have heard. But I was passing your Church last Sunday, looked in the window, and noticed you had not caught too many…”

3) Priest Plays Hooky: The pastor was a fisherman, but he hadn’t fished in months. One perfect Sunday morning he couldn’t resist. He called up his associate priest and claimed he had laryngitis. The priest then headed out to his favorite spot. The hook hadn’t been in the water five minutes before he got a strike and landed the biggest fish he had ever caught – although he had seen bigger ones caught by others. A half hour later, he caught the biggest fish he had ever seen. Another forty-five minutes later he landed a fish that broke the world record. All this time St. Peter and God have been watching the priest from Heaven. St. Peter turns to God, and says, “How can you reward this priest? He lied. He doesn’t observe the Sunday obligation.” — God smiled at St. Peter, and replied, “I am punishing him.” St. Peter was confused, so God continued, “Well, after he finishes, to whom can he tell his story?”

4) Walking on water: Three ministers were out in a boat on a lake fishing one fine afternoon, a Protestant minister, an Episcopalian priest and a newly arrived Catholic priest. They were sitting out in the middle of the lake and the Protestant minister said he had to relieve himself, so he got out of the boat and walked across the water to shore, relieved himself behind a tree, then walked back to the boat. The Episcopalian priest did the same thing. The Catholic priest thought to himself, “If they can do it, so can I!” So, he stepped out of the boat and started sinking. After saving him and bringing him back on the boat one minister apologized, “Sorry! We should have told you where the rocks are under the water!”

5) Scared like Isaiah, Paul, and Peter: A man hails a taxi in front of his office building, gives his destination to the driver, and climbs into the back seat. About ten minutes into the drive, he leans forward and taps the driver on the shoulder. At his touch, the cab driver screams, swerves off the road, careens off a lamppost, and comes to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk. The astonished passenger apologizes. “I’m sorry”, he says, “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to ask a question.” “I know”, said the cab driver, “I’m sorry. But this is my first day driving a cab. For the last twenty-five years, I drove a hearse.”

Useful Websites of the week for homilies & Catholic world news and views

(The easiest method  to visit these websites is to copy and paste the web address or URL on the Address bar of any Internet website like Google or MSN and press the Enter button of your Keyboard).

1) Video Sunday-Scripture study by Fr. Geoffrey Plant:

 https://www.youtube.com/user/GeoffreyPlant2066

2) Dr. Brant Pitre’s commentary on Cycle B Sunday Scripture: https://catholicproductions.com/blogs/mass-readings-explained-year-c

3) Fr. Don’ collection of video homilies & blogs: https://sundayprep.org

4)http://www.cwnews.com/   5) http://www.catholic.org/

6) http://www.catholicnews.com/  7) http://www.zenit.org/english/

8) http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/headlines.asp

9) http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/DailyNews/todays.asp

10) Text Week homilies on Lk 5: 1-11: http://www.textweek.com/mtlk/lk5.htm

  31- Additional anecdotes:

1) Call answered as a continuous process:  There is a story about a sophomore who worked in the library at Princeton, New Jersey to earn money to help with his education. One night about closing time, he was walking around the empty halls of the library when he noticed in the very back corner amid an old stack of books, an old man reading and taking notes furiously. The old man was very intent. The librarian became a little curious, so he went back to the old man and said, “My, what are you studying so intently?” The old man looked up long enough to say, “Well, I’m a student of physics.” The young librarian said, “Well, last year I took a course in physics, and I think I have all I need for an understanding of physics.” He then turned and walked back to his desk. You can imagine his chagrin a few minutes later when the old man checked out some books, and on his library-card was the name Albert Einstein. — God’s call is a calling to a process, not to a single task. Today’s Scripture readings about the calls of Isaiah, Peter, and Paul remind us that our calling is a vocation,  a lifelong process of growing in obedience, service, and surrender to God through which we become daily more like Jesus. There is nothing in the world more joyful than that. There is nothing in the world more challenging.

2) Impala problem: One of the few creatures on earth that can out-jump Michael Jordon is the Impala. This is an African deer with a supercharged spring. It has a vertical leap of over 10 feet and can broad-jump over 30 feet. You would think that the zoos of the world would find it impossible to keep such an animal enclosed. Not so! It’s rather easy. The experts discovered something about the Impala. It will not jump unless it can see where it is going to land. Therefore, a solid wall even 6 feet tall is a sufficient enclosure. — Lots of Christians have the Impala problem. They won’t take a leap of Faith unless they have all the answers in advance about where the leap will take them. But God is looking for some bold believers who, even in the face of the unknown, will leap when the Spirit says leap, will fly when the Spirit says fly, will launch out when the Spirit says launch out —  all to the glory of the Lord. Why must we be willing to launch out into the deep with the Lord? Because our Lord was willing to launch out into the deep for us. Today’s Scripture passages present Isaiah, Paul, and Peter who dared to make a leap of Faith.

3) “Hop into my wheelbarrow. I’ll wheel you across!” There’s a wonderful story of a tightrope walker, who was challenged to walk a tightrope across Niagara Falls. Everything was in place. There were huge steel struts on either side of the canyon and a strong, steel tightrope. There were television cameras, reporters and a massive crowd. But there was no safety net. The tightrope walker appeared with a wheelbarrow, which he had decided to push in front of him across the rope. The crowd cheered him on, although some begged him not to make this foolish attempt. One voice in the crowd was more vociferous than the rest: “Go on! You can do it! I know you can! Don’t listen to these pessimists. I have complete faith in you.” The tightrope walker turned to the speaker and asked, “You have faith in me? You’re certain? You know I can do it?” The speaker emerged from the crowd and nodded. “I’m absolutely certain. I have no doubts at all. You can do it!” “OK,” said the tightrope walker. “Hop into my wheelbarrow. I’ll wheel you across!” Amazingly, the speaker climbed into the wheelbarrow. And the tightrope walker wheeled him safely across to the other side. — What incredible, courageous, foolhardy faith! Today’s Gospel describes Peter’s leap to a much deeper and stronger Faith in Jesus and His ministry through Jesus’ response to Peter’s trusting obedience, His gift of a miraculous haul of fish at the Lake of Gennesaret.

4) “Can you balance a ball on the end of your nose?” There was a man who took great pride in being a former Navy Seal. And why not? This is an elite group. It takes a special sailor to qualify as a Navy Seal. This man tells about sharing his military exploits with his grandson’s kindergarten class. This former Seal regaled the children with his war stories. After he finished, hands shot up into the air all over the classroom. The kids were eager to ask questions. “So,” asked one little girl, “can you balance a ball on the end of your nose?”  —– Well, to be sure, a Navy Seal ought to be able to balance a ball on the end of his nose! — Life has a way of humbling us, doesn’t it? We think we are impressing people, and all they want is to see us balance a ball on the end of our nose. Our Scriptures for today all have one thing in common: Isaiah, Paul, and Peter met God and were humbled.

5) Failure of Leonardo da Vinci. Failure is not a dirty word–and yet we sometimes act as if it is. Every great person fails at some time in his or her life. Leonardo da Vinci did. In addition to his incredible talents in painting and sculpting, da Vinci was also a mathematician, philosopher, master chef, architect, athlete, and inventor. But even great geniuses can experience failures, sometimes, great ones. One of da Vinci’s biggest blunders occurred when he was working in the household of an Italian nobleman, Ludovico Sforza. Sforza d hundred guests. Leonardo intended to sculpt all the food into tiny artistic masterpieces. He created a fully automated kitchen in Sforza’s mansion in order to feed that many people. But the night of the banquet, everything fell apart. The conveyor belt da Vinci had installed broke down and started a fire. Next, the sprinkler system he had created kicked in to put the fire out. Soon, the whole kitchen was flooded. The banquet had to be called off. [Michael J. Geb. How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci (New York: Dell Publishing, 1998), p. 79.] — Have you known failure? Have you felt you were a failure? Have you had nights when the fish just don’t bite? I have. I have felt I was a failure. I have been like Simon Peter toiling all night, giving my best, maybe working too hard, yet at the end of the day, my nets felt empty!

6) “Oh God, here am I, send me. Send me!” William Bausch tells the story of a nun who received some extra grant money. She worked as a chaplain in a women’s prison in Chicago. She went to the women and said, “I have some money that I want to spend on you and I’m going to give you some options: 1) I can hire an attorney to come and talk with you on how you can shorten your sentences; 2) I can hire a welder to come in and teach you to weld so that you can have a marketable skill when you leave the prison; or 3) I can hire a dancer and a painter to teach you how to dance and how to paint.” Ninety-five percent chose the dancer and the painter because, as they said, “I always wanted to express myself, but I never had the chance.” — That puts God’s calling where it should be and that is in a positive light. The most fulfilling, the most expressive, the most joyful experience you will ever know in your life is walking in the middle of God’s will for your life. Hear the invitation, and say, “Oh God, here am I, send me. Send me!”

7) “Everything for sale” as Satan is going out of business: There is a legend that tells about the time the devil decided to close up shop in one part of the world and open up in another.  A “going-out-of-business” sale was announced.  One of the first customers, being quite fascinated with the various evil instruments on display, noticed that of all the devil’s tools, the highest priced one was called “discouragement.” “Why is this one so expensive?” he inquired. “Quite simple,” replied the devil.  “It’s my favorite. With the tool of discouragement, I can pry into almost everyone’s life and cause all kinds of damage.” — Today’s Scripture lessons tell us that God calls weak and sinful men like Isaiah, Paul, Peter, and us, to His ministry and fills us with His Spirit to free us from all feelings of discouragement when they attack. All we have to do is to ask for and receive His help. 

8) Legal permanent resident: One hundred three miles of open water separates the most southern tip of Florida from the most northern coast of Cuba. It’s a stretch of water that has claimed hundreds of lives since the Cuban revolution. Flotillas of “boat people,” seeking freedom and family in the US, have created desperate “boats” out of anything that might possibly float long enough to reach US soil. The goal of these “boat people” is simple: hit dry land. As long as these refugees are in the water, they are Cubans. As of 1995 the US has agreed either to return rescued or captured “boat people” to Cuba or transport them to a neutral third country. But once these soggy sailors’ feet hit dry land they are instantly transformed. They have the right to stay in the US for at least a year. That qualifies them to get expedited “legal permanent resident” status and eventually even perhaps US citizenship. The moment a Cuban refugee has “dry feet,” a whole new future welcomes him or her. — The first disciples Jesus calls in Luke’s Gospel are “dry feet” disciples. But they didn’t become dry-feet disciples until they were willing to be “boat people.” They launched into deep water at Jesus’ command. Once out there, they saw and experienced things over which they had no control, things they knew with their hearts and souls were sure evidence of God’s providence and sovereignty.

9) The challenging invitation: Many years ago, the great explorer, Sir Francis Drake, was attempting to recruit a number of young men for an upcoming exploration. He gathered them around and told the group that, if they came with him, they would see some of the most marvelous things their eyes could ever behold – sandy white beaches, juicy fruits, foreign peoples, priceless treasures, and gorgeous landscapes. And he told them that this wild adventure could be theirs if they came with him. Not one of them enlisted for the journey. The next day a different group came out. Drake told them that if they came with him, they would encounter storms that would terrify them to tears. Tiger winds would hammer them and blow them off course for months. Water would frequently be scarce. At times they would be so thirsty that their very souls would cry out for simply one drop of water. In short, danger would always be their constant companion. Drake concluded by declaring that if they could handle these things, the joys of exploration would exceed their wildest dreams. Every single one of them in the group joined Sir Francis Drake that day. Some did not even go home to say goodbye to their families! They just boarded the ship, eager for the journey. — What is it about Jesus’ message that made the disciples eager for the journey? They were made eager because first, Jesus offered them a change and a challenge. The paths that are offered to us must promise to shape us, build our character, change our world-view, if they are to have any appeal to us at all. If we are presented with a challenge that will change us, we will be eager for the journey.

10) Prompt response to God’s call: Dr. Paul Brand was a physician who volunteered in India as the first orthopedic surgeon to work with leprosy patients. He listed as his reference Henri Nouwen, a former professor at Notre Dame, Yale, and Harvard, who ended up devoting his life to the mentally handicapped in institutions in France and Toronto. Neither of these men had a low opinion of his own worth or abilities. In spite of that, and because of their relationship with God, they chose to serve the least and the lowest. (Philip Yancey, “Humility’s Many Faces,” Christianity Today, December 4, 2000). Isaiah writes: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!'” That was Isaiah’s response, “Send me.” Paul’s response was: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me has not been in vain.”

11) “We could change the world.” In James Goldman’s novel, The Lion in Winter, there is a scene where three sons wrestle for the right to succeed King Henry. John tells his mother Eleanor that his brother Richard has a knife. Listen as she captures the base instinct of humanity and then offers a better way: “Of course (your brother) has a knife. We all have knives–we are barbarians–we are the origins of war–we breed war. For the love of God,” she continues, “can’t we love one another–just a little? That’s how peace begins. We have such possibilities, my children. We could change the world” (James Goldman, The Lion in Winter, pp. 55-56). — After Simon and Andrew, James and John had fished all night and failed to catch any fish, Jesus came to them and made life right. Jesus’ order to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch,” is both a challenge and a promise. Challenge: We must never be afraid to try again. Promise: the long night passes into day and we live to put our nets down for another day, expecting the providence of God. We have such possibilities. We could change the world.

12) “I’ll do it myself. I’ll do it myself.” It was just after midnight on November 20, 1988. A 19-year-old Los Angeles woman apparently fell asleep behind the wheel of her car. The car plunged through a guardrail and was left dangling by its left rear wheel. That one wheel was all that prevented the young woman from falling to a certain death. A half dozen passing motorists stopped and attempted to help. One of them had some ropes in his vehicle. They tied the ropes to the back of the young woman’s car and hung on until the fire units arrived. A ladder was extended from below to help stabilize the car while firefighters tied the vehicle to tow trucks with cables and chains. “Every time we would move the car,” said one of the rescuers, “she’d yell and scream. She was in pain.” It took almost 2 and 1/2 hours for the rescuers, about 25 of them in all, to secure the car and pull the woman to safety. “It was kinda funny,” L.A. County Fire Capt. Ross Marshall recalled later. “She kept saying, “I’ll do it myself. I’ll do it myself.” (http://www.holwick.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=679:1-samuel-18-6-12every-crutch-kicked&catid=38:1-a-2-samuel&Itemid=11.)  — People are funny like that: “I’ll do it myself.” Against all evidence to the contrary, we somehow think we don’t need other people. And we think we don’t need God. We are going to meet three men in today’s Scripture, Isaiah, Paul, and Peter, three men who had their lives radically changed by God. We’re going to see how God changed their lives, and, with His help, we are going to ask God to do the same for us.

13) “Atlas complex” You may have heard the expression, “He has an Atlas complex.” This usually refers to an individual who seems to have an exaggerated sense of his or her own importance. Or it may refer to the person who feels that he or she is the only one who can do a certain job, make important decisions, take care of himself/herself or other people. It is helpful for us to remember the Greek legend of Atlas. Atlas is the Titan of Greek mythology, guardian of the Pillars of Heaven who took part in the Titans’ rebellion against Zeus and the gods. The great and powerful Zeus won the battle of course, in part because he was assisted by his famous 100-handed monster. The punishment which Atlas received was the job of replacing the Pillars of Heaven and holding up the sky on his own shoulders [M. C. Howatson and Ian Chilvers, The Concise Oxford companion to Classical Literature (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), p. 72].  — The story of Atlas is, of course, a myth. However, we all know that there are many people who go through life holding the weight of the world on their shoulders. Instead, let us learn to surrender ourselves to God, receive His strength, and do what He commands us to do.

14) “But the fog is not on the maps.” Several years ago, two land surveyors were sent from a large city in Wales to survey the mountains in North Wales. For a week, they stayed in an isolated cabin in shepherd country. Every day they went out with maps, compasses, and charts checking the countryside and the valleys. Several days into the first week, an old shepherd came up to them and said, “Might be best if I go with you tomorrow.” They said, “No, there’s no need for that. We have our maps and charts. We’ll be fine. We have everything we need.” The old shepherd said again, “It might be best if I went with you tomorrow.” “No, we have our maps and charts. We know these hills just like you. We’ll be okay.” And the old shepherd said, “You may have your maps, but the fog is not on the maps.” — There come times in our lives when all the charts, maps, and other resources are insufficient. There come times when we can only do God’s work in His power and in His strength. It is an awesome, humbling, and revealing experience to stand before the Miracle Worker as He reaches out and calls us.

15) “What fish?” A man was stopped by a game-warden in a State Park with two buckets of fish leaving a lake well known for its fishing. The game warden asked, “Do you have a license to catch those fish?” The man replied to the game warden, “No, sir. These are my pet fish.” “Pet fish?” the warden replied. “Yes, sir. Every night I take these here fish down to the lake and let them swim around for a while. I whistle and they jump back into their buckets, and I take ’em home.” “That’s a bunch of hooey! Fish can’t do that!” The man looked at the game warden for a moment, and then said, “Here, I’ll show you. It really works.” “OK. I’ve GOT to see this!” The game warden was curious. The man poured the fish into the river and stood and waited. After several minutes, the game warden turned to the man and said, “Well?” “Well, what?” the man responded. “When are you going to call them back?” the game warden prompted. “Call who back?” the man asked. “The FISH!” “What fish?” the man asked.

16)  “Roo raf roo reep ra rums rrarm.” A cold winter day. An old man walked out onto a frozen lake, cut a hole in the ice, dropped in his fishing line, and waited patiently for a bite. He was there for almost an hour, without even a nibble, when a young boy walked out onto the ice, cut a hole in the ice next to him. The lad dropped his fishing line and minutes later he hooked a Largemouth Bass. The old man could not believe his eyes but chalked it up to plain luck. Shortly thereafter, the young boy pulled in another large catch. He kept catching fish after fish. Finally, the old man could take it no longer. “Son,” he said, “I have been here for over an hour without even a nibble. You have been here only a few minutes and have caught a half dozen fish! How do you do it?” The boy responded, “Roo raf roo reep ra rums rrarm.” “What was that?” the old man asked. Again, the boy responded, “Roo raf roo reep ra rums rrarm.” “Look,” said the old man, “I can’t understand a word you’re saying.” The boy leaned over, brought his hand to his mouth and spat out a mess of bait. He said again, “You have to keep the worms warm!” — You know, there may well be a lesson in that for us too. If we are going to “catch people” as Jesus said, we had better use attractive bait.

17. “Nevertheless!” What a glorious Faith word is “Nevertheless!” Are you willing to say it today whatever your circumstances may be? An 80-year-old man says, “Lord, I have cancer and my chances of beating it are almost nil. I really would like for my doctor to help me overdose so I can just exit as quickly as possible. What possible purpose could I still have on this earth? (But here comes that word) …”NEVERTHELESS, if You want me to model a Faith that not even cancer can touch, if You want me to cast my burden upon You and allow You to sustain me, if You want me to show all these younger people how to die as well as live, with courage and conviction. ..Then Lord, I will launch into the deep with You.”

Consider another example. A middle-aged couple is heartbroken. Their 19-year-old son is hooked on drugs. He even steals items from the home in order to pawn them and buy drugs. These distraught parents cry out to God in all honesty, saying, “Lord, we don’t deserve this misery. We gave the boy every advantage. He grew up in the lap of luxury. Sure, we made some mistakes; perhaps we were overly indulgent. But, who doesn’t make mistakes? We are tempted not only to kick him out of the house, but also to kick him out of our hearts. He no longer deserves to be called our son.” Then here comes that word again! “NEVERTHELESS, if You want us to persevere with that boy, we will try. If You will help us demonstrate tough love, we will. If You can break into his hard, cold, addicted heart, we will keep up our vigil of love and prayer.” — The Scriptural message should be abundantly clear. At crucial living, Jesus calls us to take risks, to launch out with him into the deep. Everything that is prudential, timid, and conservative tells us to play it safe. Dare we step up with Simon Peter and declare boldly, “NEVERTHELESS, I will launch out into the deep with my Lord!”?

18) Best Fantasy Film of the Year.” In the spring of 1978, the film, Oh God! was given an award. It was a film that portrayed the message that God cares about people, that God comes to people, and He wants people to be happy. Do you know the award that film received? “Best Fantasy Film of the Year”! —  To some people, it is a fantasy that God cares for us; that God loves us and comes to us in the ordinary affairs of our life. To some, that is a fantasy! Why? If we truly believe that God comes to us, speaks to us, calls out to us, then we, too, have to place the net where He tells us, in spite of the fact that we think we know better. That is what this Church is trying to do. When Simon saw the miracle and stood face-to-face with the miracle worker, he fell to his knees at Jesus’ feet and said, “Get away from me! I am unclean! Get away from me! I am a sinful man!” Confrontation with Jesus was not a fantasy for him.  ( https://youtu.be/ORgQ-i1eFdw)

19)  Victor not vanquished: Many years ago, a little boy in the U.S.A. was badly burnt in a school fire. So severe was the damage to his limbs and muscles that the doctors predicted that he would never walk again. To his good luck, however, that little boy had a mother, who, though illiterate, was staunch in her Christian faith. Against all odds she believed her son would recover and get well. Day after day, sometimes for hours, that devoted mother would massage the scarred, seemingly lifeless legs of her little boy, even as he cried with pain, and would say to him: “Don’t worry, my boy, you will not only walk someday, but you will run.” To the cynical and the pessimistic, that was mere wishful thinking, in fact absolute nonsense. But that noble mother firmly believed her son was going to be victor and not the vanquished. And he was – in 1934 he set the world’s record for running a mile in 4 minutes 6.7 seconds. His name? Glen Cunningham! –- After spending an entire night fishing without success, the apostle Peter, a seasoned fisherman, was very disappointed and depressed. He was ready to brand himself a failure. Then Jesus who was not a fisherman, stepped in and urged him not to give up but try another strategy. So, Peter could choose between being branded a failure or hailed a success. And Peter decided wisely on the latter – he was going to be a victor and not the vanquished. In the words of a Yiddish saying, ”From success to failure is one step. From failure to success is a long road.” (James Valladares in Your Words O Lord, are Spirit and They Are Life; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

20) Strengths and weaknesses In a certain Church there was a man in the choir who couldn’t sing very well. The choir director suggested that he should leave the choir. Others felt that he should be given more time to improve. The choir director then decided to go to the pastor and complain. “You have got to get that man out of the choir or else I am going to resign.” So the pastor went to the man and said to him, “Perhaps you should leave the choir.” “Why should I leave the choir?” the man asked. “Well” said the pastor, “four or five people have told me you cannot sing.” “That’s nothing,” the man replied, “forty or fifty people have told me you cannot preach!” – Our lives are a mixture of strengths and weaknesses. We certainly try to maximize our strengths, but at the same time we may try to conceal our weaknesses so people can appreciate our strengths. We can even talk about the weaknesses of others, so people are not likely to notice ours. This weekend’s readings talk to us about ‘strengths’ and ‘weaknesses’. (John Pichappilly in The Table of the Word; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

21) Faith is a gift: The famous author of The Song of Bernadette, Franz Werfel, gave an enthusiastic graduation talk at Mundelein College for girls in Chicago about the Blessed Virgin. This was all the more remarkable since the students knew that he was a Jew. During the short question period after the speech, one student asked him, “Mr. Werfel, if I am not getting too personal, could you explain how it is that you seem to know so much about the Catholic Church and its teachings and still you are not a Catholic?” “Yes,” he answered. “I can explain. Faith is a gift, and I have not yet received that gift.” (Frank Michalic in Tonic for the Heart; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

 22) Film: Fisher King: This excellent movie is an exploration of the way in which the central character, a shock-jock radio host, seeks for forgiveness, having unwittingly incited a man to commit a massacre in a restaurant. He meets someone who has suffered a breakdown as a result of witnessing the massacre and tries in all sorts of ways to free himself of his own sense of guilt. The man he has met (played by Robin Williams), is convinced that the DJ has been sent to bring him a silver cup (actually a sporting trophy), which he thinks is the Holy Grail. The Robin Williams character repeatedly calls him to this task, but he dismisses it as ridiculous. Finally, though, when Robin Williams falls into a catatonic state, the repentant DJ realizes that, simply because the man needs the “grail” to get better he will retrieve it. — The film strikes me as relevant to the theme of “call” because of the way in which it is circumstance, which compels the DJ, eventually, to do something only he can do. The act he is called to is ridiculous, but it is the doing of it which is really important. In fulfilling his “call” by doing something out of simple love, the DJ not only heals someone else but finds the freedom he has been seeking for himself. (Anonymous; from Text this Week; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

 23) Called to go forth in his name: Charles Spurgeon was a British preacher who had an experience of sudden conversion to Christianity in 1950 at age 15. On his way to a scheduled appointment, a snowstorm forced him to cut short his intended journey and to turn into a primitive Methodist chapel where God opened his heart to the message of salvation. The text that moved him was Isaiah 45:22 “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God and there is no other.” It is estimated that after his conversion, in his lifetime, Spurgeon preached to 10 million people. By his death in 1892, he had preached nearly 3,600 sermons, and published 49 volumes of commentaries. Today’s Liturgy of the Word invites us to explore our own possibilities. (A.K. in The Sunday Liturgy; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

24) He can transform our weaknesses: There was a king who owned a large perfectly cut diamond. He was very proud of it and made it the national symbol. Unfortunately, the diamond one day got damaged and its beauty was marred by a long hair-like scratch. Its splendor was gone and its sparkle diminished. The king was very saddened. He gathered all the reputed jewelers for consultation. They all said that it had lost its splendor and value. In desperation the king sent our word throughout his kingdom, “Anyone who could repair the damaged diamond would be suitably rewarded.” Finally, just when the king was about to give up the hope of restoring the stone, a poor lapidary gem engraver came forward to restore it. “Sir,” he said to the king, “this same scratch which has diminished the diamond’s worth will become its most beautiful asset.” The king entrusted the man with the stone and many weeks passed before his return. Finally, when the lapidary opened his velvet box to display his craftsmanship, the king gasped in amazement. There was the stone — more beautiful than ever, with a beautiful rose carved on it. Only the king could detect that on the rose’s graceful stem was the scratch that had once so ruined the diamond. — Jesus is the master jeweler, who can transform the scratches, which dim and distort our lives into something that could shine and scintillate. (John Rose in John’s Sunday Homilies; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

25) “Do you know where you’re going?” Years ago, the British agnostic Thomas Huxley had to leave early one morning to go from one speaking assignment to another, so he got into a horse-drawn taxi to go from his hotel to the train station. He assumed that the hotel doorman had told the driver of the carriage that they were to go to the train station. So when he got in, he simply said to the driver, “Drive fast.” Off they went. After a short while, Huxley, who was somewhat familiar with the area, realized that they were actually going in the opposite direction from the train station. He yelled to the driver, “Do you know where you’re going?” Without looking back, the driver replied, “No, sir, but I’m driving very fast.” — Obviously, it doesn’t do much good to go fast if you’re not going in the right direction! Yet, many people, even Christians, are like that. Their lives are busy, they are going full bore, but they haven’t stopped to evaluate which way they ought to be going. In Lk 5:1-11, we see the Lord Jesus helping some fishermen get their lives aimed in the right direction. (Bible.org)

26) Little Transmitters: In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe “Pioneer 10.” Its main mission was to reach Jupiter and send back information about that planet. It was a bold plan because at that time no satellite had gone beyond Mars. Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and so much more. It swung past Jupiter in November 1973, then passed Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. By 1997, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun. Despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to earth. The most remarkable thing was that those signals were powered by an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night light. Not even the most optimistic scientist could have ever imagined what that little 8-watt transmitter could do. — So it is when you and I offer ourselves to God in faithful obedience. It’s just incredible what God can do through little 8-watt transmitters like me and you, when we’re turned on for Him. (Bill Bouknight, Sermons.com).

27) This is What You Believe: On December 8, 1982, the American College in Louvain, Belgium, celebrated the 125th anniversary of its foundation. (This college is a religious residence for U.S. candidates for the diocesan priesthood.) Officials of the college invited many important personages to take part in the special Mass of Thanksgiving. The Vatican accepted the invitation to be represented; so did the U.S. government. Even more exciting was the fact that Belgium itself was to be represented by no less than the King and Queen, King Baudoin I and Queen Fabiola. Careful planning was necessary if all were to go off well – not only the reception and the dinner, but the Mass itself. The faculty planner of the liturgy, an excellent musician who appreciated Church music past as well as present, announced to the students that although the Mass would, of course, be in English, the Congregation would be asked to sing the creed in Latin – the ancient Credo III in Gregorian chant. The students, still too young to have remembered the old Latin Mass, took a dim view of having a Latin Credo. They doubtless knew that recent popes had urged Catholics of all nations to learn at least the basics of the Latin Mass and its chant for special celebrations; but they assumed that liturgical Latin had lost its relevance by 1982. Of course, the faculty won, and all College participants were given copies of the Creed and taught how to sing it. It came surprisingly easy. As it turned out Credo III was a high point in the Mass. Not only the Italian papal delegate and the American staff and students sang it with feeling. Belgian-born King Baudoin and his Spanish-born Queen chimed in with the chant that evoked for them old memories. Furthermore, Mrs. George Schultz, the Catholic wife of the U. S. Secretary of State, also sang out the old familiar tune vigorously without even looking at the music.  — “This is what we preach,” says St. Paul today and “this is what you believe” (2nd reading). The Creed we pronounce at each Sunday Mass is truly a “profession of Faith.” It states the main articles of Catholic belief. We can profess that belief in any language. But it is still nice to recite or sing it in Latin on occasion, especially at international gatherings. Latin remains a truly international tongue. Then are indeed fulfilled the Psalmist’s words, “In the presence of the angels I will sing your praise … All the kings of the earth shall give thanks … when they hear the words of your mouth.” (Father Robert F. McNamara).

28) “You need to keep the worms warm.” Two experienced fishermen decided one day to go ice fishing. They walked out on the frozen lake, cut a hole in the ice, put worms on their hooks, and lowered their lines into the water. After about three hours they had caught nothing. Then a young boy walked by with some fishing gear. He cut a hole in the ice, put a worm on his hook, lowered the line into the water, and immediately pulled out a fish. He repeated this process over and over until a pile of fish lay on the ice. The two fishermen were amazed. One of them walked over to the boy and said, “Young man, we have been sitting here for three hours and have caught nothing, and yet you in a few minutes have caught a dozen fish. What is your secret?” The boy looked up and mumbled something that the man could not hear. The man noticed that there was bulge in the boy’s cheek. So he said to him, “Young man, if you don’t mind, would you spit out that bubble gum so that you could speak clearly and I could understand you.” The young man cupped his hands and spit it out. Then he said, “It’s not bubble gum. It’s my secret. You need to keep the worms warm.” — When we see someone doing something that we cannot do, we presume there is a secret. We presume that they know something we do not know, that they have a talent we do not have. Now this might be true about fishing, but it’s not true about being a disciple of Jesus. For we believe that when Christ calls us, he equips us at the same time. The call and the ability to accomplish the call are given together. (Fr. George M. Smiga).

29) Pick up the book and read: Before his conversion, Augustine was divided. He wanted to live chastely, but he didn’t want to give up sex. He knew the need to change his life, but he couldn’t garner the strength to do it. One day he was in a garden feeling miserable because of his indecision. Through his tears he heard what he later described as the voice of a child. (It was really the voice of God.) The voice exhorted him to pick up the book and read. Augustine looked for the New Testament that he had brought with him. It was open to the Letter to the Romans. He read: “not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.”  Augustine didn’t need any more incentive to decide. With these words he promised to be baptized. (Fr. Carmen Mele).

30)  The sick, crippled girl who invited Jesus into her life’s boat to win triple Olympics gold medals

Wilma Rudolph was born in 1940 in Tennessee. The 20th of 22 children, she arrived prematurely, weighing only four and a half pounds. Many people in her small town in Tennessee didn’t think such a tiny baby would live to see her first birthday, especially in a home with no electricity or running water. But Wilma surprised them all. As soon as she could walk, she was running and jumping. Still, Wilma remained small and was often sick. By the time she was 5, she’d become ill with scarlet fever and polio. Back then, there was no vaccine for polio. Children with the disease often died. Wilma survived, but her left leg was twisted, and she couldn’t walk. She got around by hopping on her right leg. “My doctors told me I would never walk again,” she said. “My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.” Every week, Wilma and her mother or aunt traveled 100 miles round-trip to the closest hospital that treated Black people, so Wilma could receive treatment for her leg. At home, Wilma did exercise every day. She felt lonely and left out. Her leg often ached, but the pain wasn’t as bad as watching her brothers and sisters go to school without her. She was determined to get stronger, so she started wearing a heavy steel brace. She hated the constant reminder that something was wrong with her, but the brace meant she could walk—and that meant she could finally go to school. After several years of treatment, Wilma once again surprised everyone by taking off the brace and walking by herself. She had been diligently practicing with the goal of one day being able to run, jump, and play games like everyone else. And eventually, that’s exactly what she did. Wilma loved playing basketball and running track and field. When she was 14, the women’s track coach from Tennessee State University saw her compete. He told Wilma, the girl once unable to walk, that she had the potential to become an outstanding runner.

Wilma qualified for the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. At 16, she was the youngest member of the track-and-field team. She won bronze in the 400-meter relay. Four years later, she entered the 1960 Olympics, in Rome, Italy. She became the first American woman to win three gold medals in one Olympics. These Games were the first to be broadcast on TV in North America, making Wilma a worldwide sensation. People said she was the fastest woman in the world. — When Wilma got home to Tennessee, her city wanted to hold a segregated celebration in her honor. Wilma said she’d refuse to attend. So her parade and banquet were the first integrated events in Clarksville, Tennessee. After retiring, in 1962, Wilma became a track coach, a goodwill ambassador to French West Africa, and an activist for civil and women’s rights. Wilma published an autobiography in 1977. In the 1980s, she was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, and she established the Wilma Rudolph Foundation, which supports young athletes. (https://www.timeforkids.com/g56/this-is-wilma-rudolph/)

31) Divine call daily executed:  One day, author and educator Howard Hendricks was on a plane that was delayed from takeoff. As passengers became irritated and demanding, Howard noticed how gracious one of the flight attendants continued to be with each passenger. When they were finally in the air he continued to be amazed at her poise and control. When she came by his seat, Howard asked if he could write a letter of commendation to the airline on her behalf. “I don’t work for the airline,” she replied, “I work for Jesus Christ. My husband and I prayed this morning that I would be a good representative of Jesus Christ on this flight.” — Do you have a career or a calling? You see, somewhere out on Lake Galilee, a few fishermen were transformed in such a way that they would eventually change the world, because Christ had come and had given them a mission for eternity. L/25

“Scriptural Homilies” Cycle C (No. 13) by Fr. Tony: akadavil@gmail.com

Visit my website by clicking on https://frtonyshomilies.com/ for missed or previous Cycle C homilies, 141 Year of Faith “Adult Faith Formation Lessons” (useful for RCIA classes too) & 197 “Question of the Week.” Contact me only at akadavil@gmail.com. Visit also https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies  under Fr. Tony’s homilies and  under Resources in the CBCI website:  https://www.cbci.in  for other website versions.  (Vatican Radio website: http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html uploaded my Cycle A, B and C homilies in from 2018-2020)  (Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Fr. Anthony Kadavil, C/o Fr. Joseph  M. C. , St. Agatha Church, 1001 Hand Avenue, Bay Minette, Al 36507)

Feb 3-8: Feb 3 Monday: St. Blaise, bishop and martyr & St Ansgar, bishop (In the U. S.St.Blaise, Bishop & Martyr)and the blessing of throats):https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-blaise/ & Video: https://youtu.be/qoqX63YaJYQ?list=PL58g24NgWPIzvBk2IQVES_xC4WTm6-CDI

We have only a few legends and no historical documents about St. Blaise and his martyrdom. But some Eastern Churches observe his feast day as a day of obligation. The British, German, and Slavic people honor his memory. The U.S. Catholics seek his intercession for the healing of throat and all other diseases by the ritual of blessing of throats. According to the Acts of St. Blaise written in the eighth century, Bishop Blaise was martyred in his episcopal city of Sebastea, Armenia, in 316. When the governor of Cappadocia (in Modern Turkey) began to persecute the Christians, St. Blaise was arrested. The governor of Cappadocia tried in vain to persuade Blaise to sacrifice to pagan idols. The first time Blaise refused, he was beaten. The next time he was suspended from a tree and his flesh torn with iron combs or rakes. Finally, he was beheaded. As he was being led to the place of execution, a poor mother rushed up to him, begging him to save her child who was choking to death on a fishbone. The bishop gave him a blessing which enabled the child to cough up the bone. Later Bishop Blaise was cruelly tortured and beheaded. His cult spread throughout the entire Church in the Middle Ages because of the healing of the boy. Details regarding the miraculous healing of the boy vary. One account relates that the miracle occurred during the journey to take Blaise to prison when he placed his hand on the boy’s head and prayed; another that the miracle happened while Blaise was in prison when he picked up two candles provided to him and formed a cross around the boy’s throat. The use of candles for the blessing of throats stems from the candles that Blaise used while in prison. When an old woman’s pig had been miraculously rescued from a wolf by Saint Blaise, she would visit him in prison, bringing him food and candles to bring him light in his dark cell. Today, the blessing of throats may be given by a priest, a deacon, or a lay minister who follows the rites and prayers designated for a lay minister. The priest or deacon makes the sign of the cross over the recipient as the blessing is said. If necessary, laypersons are permitted to give the blessing of the throats but are instructed not to make the sign of the cross.

Life message: We all need some type of healing in some parts of our body, mind, or soul. Let us ask the intercession of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, with repentant hearts, so that Jesus the healer may place his healing touch on us as we present ourselves for the ritual of the blessing of the throats. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

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

Feb 3 Monday: Regular Gospel; Mk 5:1-20: 1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of Gerasenes. 2 And when he had come out of the boat, there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 who lived among the tombs; and no one could bind him anymore, even with a chain; 4 for he had often been bound with fetters and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the fetters he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains, he was always crying out, and bruising himself with stones. 6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped him; 7 and crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” 10 And he begged him eagerly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; 12 and they begged him, “Send us to the swine, let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them leave. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea. 14 The herdsmen fled, and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus, and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the man who had the legion; and they were afraid. 16 …20.

The context: Today’s Gospel episode demonstrates Jesus’ power over the devil in a Gentile town of the Decapolis, east of the Jordan, called Gadara (Matthew), or Gerasa (Mark and Luke). A demon-possessed man (two men in Matthew), came out of a tomb-filled desolate place. He lived on the hillsides among various caves by the sea, and no one wanted to go near him. The demons, recognizing Jesus as the Son of God, begged Him to send them into a herd of swine. The possessed man’s demons named themselves Legion (ca 5000 men), indicating their number. Jesus did as the evil spirits requested, and the now-possessed swine ran down the slope and drowned in the sea. The frightened people of the city asked Jesus to leave their city. The people considered their property, the swine, more precious than the liberation given to the possessed man. If we have a selfish or materialistic outlook, we fail to appreciate the value of Divine things, and we push God out of our lives, begging Him to go away, as these people did.

Life messages: 1) We need to come out of our tombs: Jesus is calling us to come out of the tombs. Our tombs are the closed-in, sealed-off areas of our hearts where Life in the Spirit of God has died because we haven’t let Jesus minister to us through others. Such godless persons are lonely. They try to fill their inner emptiness by packing their lives with money, promiscuity, addictions or workaholism, but nothing works.

2) Jesus the Liberator is ready to free us from the tombs of our evil addictions and habits. If we will only let go of everything and give Jesus a chance, he can, and will, help us to experience the joy and freedom of the children of God. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25:

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

Feb 4 Tuesday: Mk 5:21-43: about him; and he was beside the sea. 22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and seeing him, he fell at his feet, 23 and besought him, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.” 24 And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. 25 And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I shall be made well.”29 And immediately the hemorrhage ceased; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone forth from him, immediately turned about in the crowd, and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, `Who touched me?'” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had been done to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” 35 While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” 36 But ignoring what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” 37 And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, he saw a tumult, and people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a tumult and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” 40 And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi”; which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”42 And immediately the girl got up and walked (she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. 43 And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

The context: Today’s Gospel is a beautiful presentation of two miracles, a healing, and a revival and restoration of life. These miracles were worked by Jesus as rewards for the trusting Faith of a synagogue ruler and of a woman with a hemorrhage (Metrorrhagia). Though the ruler trusted Jesus out of desperation, and the woman’s Faith was a bit superstitious, even their defective Faith was amply rewarded.

The ruler and the woman: The ruler of the synagogue supported Jewish orthodoxy. He could have despised Jesus who befriended sinners. But he bravely approached Jesus as a last resort when all the doctors had failed, and his daughter was dying. Since the Jews believed that one was not actually dead until three days had passed after one stopped breathing, when word came that the child had died, the ruler showed courage and Faith in staying with Jesus, ignoring the ridicule of fellow-Jews. In the same way, the woman with the bleeding disease was ritually unclean, and she was not supposed to appear in public. She had the courage and Faith to ignore a social and religious taboo in order to approach and touch the garment of Jesus from behind. Both the ruler’s child and the sick woman were brought back to life and to the community.

Life message: 1) Jesus accepts us as we are. Hence, we need not wait until we have the correct motive and strong Faith to bring our problems before Jesus. Let us bring before him our bodily and mental wounds and ask for his healing touch today. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

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

Feb 5 Wednesday: St. Agatha, virgin and martyr: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-agatha: Gospel Mk 6:1-6:Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.

The context: Today’s Gospel passage describes the painful indifference Jesus met in his audience and the jealous, hurtful comments Jesus heard when, as a carpenter-turned-Rabbi with a band of his own disciples, he started preaching in the synagogue of his hometown, Nazareth. A prophet without honor: The people of Nazareth literally jammed the synagogue, eager to see their familiar carpenter-turned-miracle-working preacher, Jesus, working miracles as he had done in neighboring towns and villages. But they were jealous, incredulous, and critical, rather than believing, which prevented Jesus from doing miraculous healings. They were jealous of the extraordinary ability of a former carpenter who, without formal education in Mosaic Law had given such a powerful and authoritative interpretation of their Holy Scriptures. A carpenter’s profession was considered low in social ranking. Besides, they could not accept a prophet coming from so low a family background as Jesus’ was, nor could they accept his “blasphemous” claim to be the promised Messiah. Jesus’ relatives, known to them, were equally unimportant people. But the most offensive thing he did, in their judgment, was to point out to them their own unbelief, citing examples of the famous prophets Elijah and Elisha favoring Faith-filled Gentiles over unbelieving Jews. Brothers and sisters of Jesus: “Ancient Hebrew, Aramaic and other languages had no special words for different degrees of relationship, such as are found in more modern languages. In general, all those belonging to the same family, clan, and even tribe, were brethren. Jesus had different kinds of relatives, in two groups–some on his mother’s side, others on St. Joseph’s. Mt 13:55-56 mentions, as living in Nazareth, “His brethren” James, Joses, Simon and Judas, and elsewhere there is reference to Jesus’ sisters (cf. Mt 6:3). But in Mt 27:56 we are told that James and Joses were sons of a Mary distinct from the Blessed Virgin, and that Simon and Judas were not brothers of James, or St. Joseph’s children from a previous marriage. Jesus, on the other hand, was known to everyone as the son of Mary (Mk 6:3) or the carpenter’s son (Mt 13:55). The Church has always maintained as absolutely certain that Jesus had no brothers or sisters in the full meaning of the term: it is a dogma that Mary was ever-Virgin” (Navarre Bible Commentary).

Life messages: 1) Perhaps we have experienced the pain of rejection, betrayal, abandonment, violated trust, neglect, or abuse from our own friends and relatives. On such occasions, let us face rejection with prophetic courage and optimism. 2) Let us not, like the people in Jesus’ hometown, reject God in our personal lives. 3) Our country needs to hear God’s Truth from Spirit-filled Christians with the prophetic courage of their convictions. 4) Trusting Faith in the Divinity and goodness of Christ is essential, if Jesus is to work miracles in our personal lives. In addition, we need to be docile to the Holy Spirit living within us, so that He may work miracles in our lives. When we are challenged by the Gospel and by the Church, we should be thankful and should not allow the prophetic voice of the Church die in our hearts. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

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

Feb 6 Thursday: St. Paul Miki and companions, martyrs: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-paul-miki-and-companions: Mk 6:7-13: 7 And he called to him the twelve, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. 10 And he said to them, “Where you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they refuse to hear you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet for a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and preached that men should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them.

The context: Today’s Gospel describes the commissioning of the twelve Apostles. They were sent out in pairs with power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. They wereto preach to the people whom Jesus would visit the coming of the Kingdom of God, or God’s rule in their lives, and show them how to prepare their hearts for God’s rule by repenting of their sins and asking for God’s forgiveness and liberation from their evil habits. The Apostles were also expected to follow Jesus’ detailed action plan. Jesus’ instructions and travel tips. From his instructions, it is clear that Jesus meant his disciples to take no supplies for the road. They were simply to trust that God, the Provider, would open the hearts of believers to take care of their needs. Jesus’ instructions also suggest that his disciples should not be like the acquisitive priests of the day, who were interested only in gaining riches. His disciples should be walking examples of God’s love and providence. The Jews supported their rabbis and judged doing so a privilege as well as an obligation, because hospitality was an important religious tradition in Palestine. The Apostles should choose temporary accommodation in a reputable household, should bless the residents with God’s peace, should be satisfied with the food and accommodation they had received, and should not search for better ones. They were to preach “’the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,’ heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and cast out demons.”

Life messages: 1) We all have a witnessing mission: Each Christian is called, not only to be a disciple, but also to be an apostle, bearing witness to Christ. As apostles, we have to evangelize the world by sharing with others not just words, or ideas or doctrines, but our experience of God and His Son, Jesus. It is through our transparent Christian lives that we must show to others the Jesus we have experienced as unconditional Love, overflowing Mercy, Infinite forgiveness, and All-encompassing Concern for the people around us. 2) We also have a liberating mission. There are many demons which can control the lives of people around us making them helpless slaves — the demon of nicotine, the demon of alcohol or drugs, the demon of gambling, the demon of pornography and promiscuous sex, the demons of power-seeking, self-centeredness, materialism, secularism, and consumerism. We need the help of Jesus to liberate ourselves and others from these demons. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

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

Feb 7 Friday: Mk 6:14-29 King Herod had heard about him, since by now his name was well known. Some were saying, ‘John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.’ Others said, ‘He is Elijah,’ others again, ‘He is a prophet, like the prophets we used to have.’ But when Herod heard this, he said, ‘It is John whose head I cut off; he has risen from the dead.’ Now it was this same Herod who had sent to have John arrested and had had him chained up in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife whom he had married. For John had told Herod, ‘It is against the law for you to have your brother’s wife.’ As for Herodias, she was furious with him and wanted to kill him, but she was not able to do so, because Herod was in awe of John, knowing him to be a good and upright man, and gave him his protection. When he had heard him speak, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him. An opportunity came on Herod’s birthday when he gave a banquet for the nobles of his court, for his army officers and for the leading figures in Galilee. When the daughter of this same Herodias came in and danced, she delighted Herod and his guests; so the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me anything you like and I will give it you.’ And he swore her an oath, ‘I will give you anything you ask, even half my kingdom.’ She went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask for?’ She replied, ‘The head of John the Baptist.’ The girl at once rushed back to the king and made her request, ‘I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head, immediately, on a dish.’ The king was deeply distressed but, thinking of the oaths he had sworn and of his guests, he was reluctant to break his word to her. At once the king sent one of the bodyguards with orders to bring John’s head. The man went off and beheaded him in the prison; then he brought the head on a dish and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. The Gospel today describes how John the Baptist was a victim of the corruption and arrogance of the Government of Herod. He died without being judged by a tribunal, because Herod did not want break his rash promise to Salome who had danced during the course of a banquet given by Herod, and so shame himself before the great men of the kingdom. The text gives much information about the time of the life of Jesus and the ways in which the powerful of the time exercised power. From the beginning of the Gospel of Mark we perceive or see a situation of suspense. In his Gospel, Mark said: “After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God!” (Mk 1:14). In today’s Gospel, almost suddenly, we know that Herod had already killed John the Baptist. Therefore, the reader asks himself: “What will he do now with Jesus? Will he suffer the same destiny?” Rather than drawing up a survey of the opinions of the people and of Herod on Jesus, this Gospel another question: “Who is Jesus?” This last question grows throughout the Gospel until it receives the definitive response from the centurion at the foot of the Cross: “Truly, this man was the Son of God!” (Mk 15:39)

Mk 6:4-16. Who is Jesus? The text begins with a survey among the opinions of the people and of Herod on Jesus. Some thought Jesus was the risen John the Baptist or the returned Elijah as precursor of the Messiah. Others identified him with “one of the prophets” that is, with someone who spoke in the name of God, who had the courage to denounce the injustices of the powerful and who knew how to animate the hope of the little ones. Persons tried to understand Jesus starting from the things that they themselves knew, believed, and hoped. They tried to make him fit into familiar criteria of the Old Testament with its prophecies and hopes, and of the Traditions of the Ancients, with their laws. But these criteria were not sufficient. Jesus did not fit any of those criteria – He transcended them! • Mark 6:17-20. The cause for the killing of John. Galilee, the land of Jesus, was governed as Tetrarch (one of four rulers of the areas of Israel) by Herod Antipas (son of King Herod, the Great), from the year 4 BC up to the year 39 after Christ, in all, 43 years. During the whole lifetime of Jesus, there had been no changes in the government of Galilee. Herod Antipas was the absolute Lord of everything; he listened to no one and did whatever he pleased! But the one, who really commanded in Palestine, from the year 63 BC, was the Roman Empire. Herod, in order not to be removed from office, tried to please Rome in everything. He insisted above all, in an efficient administration which would provide income for the Roman Empire. The only thing that concerned or worried him was his security and promotion. This is why he repressed any type of subversion. Flavio Giuseppe, a writer of that time, says that the reason for the imprisonment of John the Baptist was Herod’s fear of a popular revolt. Herod liked to be called Benefactor of the people, but in reality he was a tyrant (Lk 22:25). The denouncement of John against him (Mk 6:18), was the drop which filled up the cup, and John was thrown into prison.

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

Feb 8 Saturday; St. Jerome Emiliani : https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-jerome-emiliani: Mk 6:30-34 : 30 The apostles returned to Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going, and knew them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns, and got there ahead of them. 34 As he went ashore he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things

The context: Today’s Gospel passage presents the sympathetic and merciful heart of Jesus who lovingly invites his Apostles to a desolate place for some rest. Jesus realized that the Apostles he had sent on a preaching and healing mission to the neighboring towns and villages needed some rest on their return. He was eager to hear about their missionary adventures as they proudly shared their experiences. In no time, however, they were surrounded by the crowd, and Jesus resumed his preaching and teaching because he saw the crowd as sheep without shepherd.

Today’s Gospel describes how Jesus became a Good Shepherd. The Old Testament describes God as shepherd of His people, Israel. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (Ps 23:1). The prophet Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would feed his flock like a shepherd, he would gather the lambs in his arms (Is 40:11). Jesus told his disciples that he was the Good Shepherd who was willing to lay down his life for his sheep. In his epistle, Peter calls Jesus the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls (1 Pt 2:25).

Life messages: 1) Let us show the mercy, compassion, care, and concern of Jesus the Good Shepherd to those entrusted to our care. 2) Let us become good sheep of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, by leading pure, innocent, humble, selfless lives, obeying Christ’s commandment of love and gaining daily spiritual strength from the Body and Blood of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, in Holy Communion. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

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

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord:(Feb 2, 2025) L-25

Mal 3:14; Heb 2:14-18; Gospel Lk 2:22-40 or Lk 2: 22-32. for the USA.)

Gospel Lk 2:22-40: When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,” and to offer the sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the Temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to Your word, for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted —and you yourself a sword will pierce—so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem. When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him. (Text from USCCB website)

The context: Today’s Gospel presents the head of the Holy Family, Joseph, faithfully obeying God’s law given through Moses concerning the purification of the mother and the redeeming of the child, by presenting Mary and the Baby Jesus in the Temple. The events recounted appear elsewhere in the liturgical year but are those we traditionally celebrate today, February 2nd, with the Feast of Presentation of Jesus. The creche at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome is left in place until today, marking the end of Christmas season.

Homily starter anecdote: The Story of the Presentation of the Lord: At the end of the fourth century, a woman named Etheria made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Her journal, discovered in 1887, gives an unprecedented glimpse of liturgical life there. Among the celebrations she describes is the Epiphany, the observance of Christ’s birth, and the gala procession in honor of his Presentation in the Temple 40 days later. Under the Mosaic Law, a woman was ritually “unclean” for 40 days after childbirth, when she was to present herself to the priests and offer sacrifice—her “purification.” Contact with anyone who had brushed against mystery—birth or death—excluded a person from Jewish worship. This feast emphasizes Jesus’ first appearance in the Temple more than Mary’s purification. The observance spread throughout the Western Church in the fifth and sixth centuries. Because the Church in the West celebrated Jesus’ birth on December 25, the Presentation was moved to February 2, 40 days after Christmas. At the beginning of the eighth century, Pope Sergius inaugurated a candlelight procession; at the end of the same century the blessing and distribution of candles which continues to this day became part of the celebration, giving the feast its popular name: (Candlemas Day). https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/presentation-of-the-lord/)

The feast: This is a combined feast, commemorating the Jewish practice of the purification of the mother after childbirth and the presentation of the child in the Temple. Pope Benedict XVI affirms that “Jesus enters the ancient temple; he who is the new Temple of God.” In 1997, Pope John Paul II designated the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord as the Annual World Day of Consecrated Life. In his homily, Pope Benedict XVI expressly referred to this intention of his predecessor. So, we invite all our consecrated women and men to return to the beginning, to the very personal early days of the gift of your vocation, recalling, for a moment, the first time you sensed the Lord’s call to you to follow Him with an undivided heart.

This Feast Day is known under four names:

1) The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord(by prayers and the payment of “five shekels to a member of the priestly family” (Nm 3:47-48; NAB Note on Lk 2:22), to redeem or buy the firstborn male child back from the Lord’s service).

2) The Hypanthe feast or Feast of the Purification of Mary (by the offering two pigeons in the Temple).

3) The Feast of Encounter (because the New Testament, represented by the Baby Jesus, encountered the Old Testament, represented by the Holy Spirit’s aged, holy witnesses, Simeon and Anna). On February 2nd, we celebrate these events as a formal ending of the Christmas season. In a sense, this feast celebrates the meeting point of the two “Testaments” for Catholic-Christians: the old and new. Jesus, who is the new Temple of God, enters the ancient temple. Jesus, who ushers in the law of love, comes to visit his people in a place in which the law of sacrifice was fulfilled, thus, bringing to fulfilment obedience to the Law and ushering in the last times of salvation (Pope Benedict XVI).

4) The Feast of Candlemas. This feast is also known as Candlemas because of the tradition of blessing and distributing candles and holding a candlelight procession on this day. These practices are drawn from Simeon’s words in the gospel for this feast, in which he prophesies that the child Jesus will become “a light for revelation to the Gentiles.”

Redemption and Post-childbirth Purification ceremonies: The Mosaic Law taught that, since every Jewish male child belonged to Yahweh, the parents had to “buy back” the child (“redeem” him), (The “Pidyon haBen” Service) with the payment of “five shekels (=15 Denarius= wage for 15 days of work) to a member of the priestly family” (Nm 3:47-48; NAB Note on Lk 2:22). In addition, (Nm 18:15) every mother had to be purified after childbirth by prayers and the sacrificeof alamb (or two turtledoves for the poor) in the Temple. Joseph kept these laws as an act of obedience to God.

The encounter with Simeon and Anna: By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the old, pious, Spirit-filled Simeon and the very old prayerful, fasting widow, Anna, both of whom who had been waiting for the revelation of God’s salvation, were present in the Temple the day Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to Present Him to the Father. Simeon recognized Jesus as the Lord’s Anointed One, and in his prayer of blessing, he prophesied that Jesus was meant to be the glory of Israel and a Light of revelation to the Gentiles. While he blessed Mary, Simeon warned that her child would be “set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign of contradiction” and that “a sword will pierce through your own soul. Simeon was prophesying both the universal salvation that would be proclaimed by Jesus and the necessity of suffering in the mission of the Messiah. (Pope Francis: The Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple is also known as the Feast of the Encounter: the Liturgy says at the beginning that Jesus goes to meet his people. Thus, this is the encounter between Jesus and his people, when Mary and Joseph brought their child to the Temple in Jerusalem; the first encounter between Jesus and his people, represented by Simeon and Anna, took place. It was also the first encounter within the history of the people, a meeting between the young and the old: the young were Mary and Joseph with their infant son and the old were Simeon and Anna, two people who often went to the Temple. St. Luke underlines, more than once, that they were guided by the Holy Spirit. He says Simeon was a righteous and devout man, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and that “the Holy Spirit was upon him” (2:25). He says that “it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit” that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (v. 26); and finally, that he went to the Temple “inspired by the Spirit “(v. 27). He says Anna was a “prophetess” (v. 36); that is, she was inspired by God and that she was always “worshipping with fasting and prayer” in the Temple (v. 37). In short, these two elders are full of life! They are full of life because they are enlivened by the Holy Spirit, obedient to His action, sensitive to His calls. In the light of this Gospel scene, let us look at consecrated life as an encounter with Christ: it is he who comes to us, led by Mary and Joseph, and we go towards him guided by the Holy Spirit. He is at the centre. He moves everything, he draws us to the Temple, to the Church, where we can meet him, recognize him, welcome him, embrace him.).(https://www.popefrancishomilies.com/presentation-of-the-lord).

Life messages: 1) Every Holy Mass in which we participate is our presentation. Although we were officially presented to God on the day of our Baptism, we present ourselves and our dear ones on the altar before God our Father through our Savior Jesus Christ at every Holy Mass. Hence, we need to live our daily lives with the awareness, both that we are dedicated people consecrated to God, and that we are obliged to lead holy lives. Let us also remember and pray for our godparents who presented us to the Lord on the day of our Baptism.

2) Pope Francis: We need to honor the elderly and respect their wisdom earned through experience: It’s good for the elderly to communicate their wisdom to the young; and it’s good for the young people to gather this wealth of experience and wisdom, and to carry it forward, not so as to safeguard it in a museum, but to carry it forward addressing the challenges that life brings, to carry it forward for the sake of the respective religious orders and of the whole Church.

3) Let us put ourselves in God’s presence: Simeon and Anna are an example to those of us of every age that we can rewire our brains and our souls to put ourselves in the presence of God in our everyday lives. In the ordinariness of our everyday temples of work and home and school and church, we can listen to the prompting of God’s Spirit, perceive God afoot in the mundane, and gracefully live in constant expectation of God adventing in our lives. We can daily experience the power of Christ’s presence point Christ out to others. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

Jan 20- 25 Jan 20 Monday (St. Fabian, Pope & St. Sebastian, Martyr)https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-fabian& https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-sebastian) Mk 2:18-22: 18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; if he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but new wine is for fresh skins.”

The context: Today’s Gospel passage gives Jesus’ reply to the question raised, perhaps by some well-meaning Pharisees who were disciples of John the Baptist, asking why Jesus’ disciples ate and drank and feasted, while they (John the Baptist’s disciples), and the Pharisees in general, fasted and prayed. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving were the three cardinal religious practices — the “good deeds” — of Jewish religious life.

Jesus’ reply: Jesus responded to their sincere question using three metaphors: the metaphor of the “children of the bridal chamber,” the metaphor of patching torn clothing, and the metaphor of wineskins. First, Jesus compared his disciples with the children of the bridal chamber. These were the selected friends of the bride and groom who feasted in the company of the bride and groom during a week of honeymoon. Nobody expected them to fast. Jesus assured the questioners that his disciples would fast when he, the Bridegroom, was taken away from them. In other words, fasting is necessary when we sin and our union with Christ begins to fade, as happens when we get addicted to evil habits and evil tendencies, leading us to sin. As Catholic Christians, we are uniquely blessed to experience Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist. In the same way, we are to welcome both the joys of Christian life and the crosses it offers us. But Joy is the chief characteristic of a Christian – joy even in tribulation. Using the comparisons of the danger of using new, unshrunken cloth to make a patch for an old garment, or old wineskins to store new, still-fermenting wine, Jesus told the questioners that they must have more elastic and open minds and larger hearts to understand and follow his new ideas which were, in many cases, different from traditional Jewish teachings. Jesus is challenging us to be open to radical transformation so that we may receive him and, with his grace, reflect his love, mercy, and forgiveness to others.

Life message: 1) We need to be adjustable Christians with open and elastic minds and hearts. The Holy Spirit, working actively in the Church and guiding the Church’s teaching authority (the Magisterium), enables the Church to put into practice new visions, new ideas, new adaptations, and new ways of worship in place of old ones. So, we should have the generosity and good will to follow the teachings of the Church. At the same time, we need the Old Testament revelations, the New Testament teachings, and the Sacred Tradition of the Church as main sources of our Christian Faith. 3) We need to gain spiritual strength by fasting, prayer, and penance, especially when we separate ourselves from Christ by our sins .Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

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

Jan 21 Tuesday: (St. Agnes, Virgin- martyr) (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-agnes) Mk 2:23-28: 23 As he was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath, his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain.24At this the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”25He said to them, “Have you never read what David did* when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry? 26How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat, and shared it with his companions?”27Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man,* not man for the Sabbath. 28* That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.

The context: Today’s Gospel passage gives us Jesus’ teaching on the purpose of the Sabbath and on its proper observance. This was his response to a criticism and a silly accusation made by Pharisees against his disciples who, on a Sabbath, to satisfy their hunger, plucked ears of grain from a field and ate the grains after removing the husks by rubbing the grains between their palms and blowing away the chaff. The Pharisees accused them of violating Sabbath laws by performing three items of work forbidden on Sabbath, namely, harvesting, threshing and winnowing.

Counter-arguments: According to Matthew Jesus gives three counter-arguments from Holy Scripture defending his apostles. (1) Basic human needs, like hunger, take precedence over Divine worship and Sabbath observance. Jesus cites from the Scripture the example of the hungry David and his selected soldiers. They approached Ahimelech, the priest of Nob, who gave them for food the “offering bread” which only the priests were allowed to eat (1 Sm 21:1-6). (2) No law can stand against Divine worship. That is why the priests were not considered as violating Sabbath laws although they did the work of preparing two rams for sacrifice in the Temple (Nm 28:9-10). (3) God desires that we practice mercy: Jesus quotes the prophet Hosea to tell the accusers God’s words: “I want mercy, not sacrifice” (Hos 6:6).

Life messages: Like the Jewish Sabbath, the Christian Sunday is to be 1) a day for rest and refreshment with members of the family; 2) a day for thanksgiving and the recharging of spiritual batteries through participation in the Eucharistic celebration for Catholics, or through participation in a worship service for the Non-Catholics; 3) a day parents should use for teaching religious Faith and Bible lessons to their children; 4) a day for doing works of charity in the neighborhood and in the parish; 5) a day for socializing with family members, neighbors, and fellow parishioners. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

For additional reflections: Click on https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections[ak1]

Jan 22 Wednesday: Saint Vincent, Deacon and Martyr –https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-vincent-of-zaragossa/ & Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children in the U. S. Mk 3:1-6: 1There was a man there with a withered hand. 2And they watched him, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come here.” 4And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6The Pharisees went out, and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

The context: Today’s Gospel describes a miraculous healing done by Jesus on one Sabbath as a public violation of Sabbath law to demonstrate that God’s intention for the Sabbath was to “do good and to save life,” rather than “to do evil or to destroy life.”

The incident and the reaction: Ex 20:8 and Dt 5:12 instructed the Jews to “keep the Sabbath holy.” But the Scribes and the Phariseeshadamplified God’s law on the Sabbath by misinterpreting it and had made it burdensome for the common people through man-made laws. Jesus wanted to demonstrate in public the original intention of God in declaring the Sabbath holy. For Jesus, the Sabbath was a day of rest to be used in adoring God, learning and teaching His laws, and doing good to/for others. Hence, Jesus took the liberty of granting healing to a man with a withered hand in the local synagogue immediately, by means of a simple command, “Stretch out your hand!” after the worship service, thus infuriating the scribes and the Pharisees.

Life messages: 1) Our Christian Sabbath, that is, our Sunday, observance of participating in the Eucharistic celebration is meant to recharge our spiritual batteries for doing good to/for others and avoiding evil. 2) Our Sunday observance is also meant to be an offering of our lives to God on the altar, to ask God’s pardon and forgiveness for our sins, to present our needs before the Lord and to participate in the Divine Life by Holy Communion. 3) Sunday is also a day for us to spend time with the members of the family and to participate in the activities of our parish and neighborhood. Fr. Tony(https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

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

Jan 23 Thursday: Saint Marianne Cope, Virgin (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-marianne-cope/ ) MK 3:7-12: THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD: Introduction: The Baptism of the Lord is the great event celebrated by the Eastern churches on the feast of Epiphany because it is the occasion of the first public revelation of all the Three Persons in the Holy Trinity, and the official revelation of Jesus as the Son of God to the world by God the Father. Hence, it is described by all the four Gospels. It marks the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.

The turning point: The baptism John administered was a very important event in the life of Jesus. First, it was a moment of decision to begin public ministry. Second, it was a moment of identification with us sinners. Third, it was a moment of affirmation when his heavenly Father approved Jesus as His “beloved Son“. Fourth, it was a moment of conviction for Jesus that it was the most opportune time to begin his mission of preaching the good news of God’s love and salvation and atoning for our sins by becoming the “suffering servant.” Fifth, it was a moment of equipment. By descending on Jesus in the form of dove, the Holy Spirit equipped Jesus with the powers of preaching, teaching, and healing.

Life messages: 1) The baptism of Jesus reminds us of our identity.It reminds us of who we are and Whose we are. By Baptism we become sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus, members of his Church, heirs of heaven and temples of the Holy Spirit.

2) Jesus’ baptism reminds us also of our mission: a) to experience the presence of God within us, to acknowledge our own dignity as God’s children, and to appreciate the Divine presence in others by honoring them, loving them, and serving them in all humility; b) to live as the children of God in thought, word and action. c) to lead a holy and transparent Christian life and not to desecrate our bodies (the temples of the Holy Spirit and members of Jesus’ body) by impurity, injustice, intolerance, jealousy, or hatred; d) to accept both the good and the bad experiences of life as the gifts of a loving Heavenly Father for our growth in holiness; e) to grow daily in intimacy with God by personal and family prayers, by meditative reading of the Word of God, by participating in the Holy Mass, and by frequenting the sacrament of reconciliation.

3) It is a day to thank God for the graces we received in Baptism and to renew our Baptismal vows, first by “rejecting Satan, all his works and all his empty promises” (which our profane world is constantly offering us through its mass media of communication). Then we consecrate ourselves to the Holy Trinity by means of a dialogue with the Priest or Deacon administering the Sacrament, representing the Church: “Do you believe…” with the response, “Yes, I believe….”

Jan 24 Friday: (St. Francis de Sales, Bishop & Doctor of the Church) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-francis-de-sales/

Mk 3:13-19: ¹³And he went up on the mountain, and called to him those whom he desired; and they came to him. ¹⁴ And he appointed twelve, to be with him, and to be sent out to preach  ¹⁵and have authority to cast out demons: ¹⁶Simon whom he surnamed Peter; ¹⁷James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, whom he surnamed Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder; ¹⁸Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Cananaean, ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Then he went home. (& Lk 6: 12-16)

The context: Today’s Gospel passage gives a short account of the call and mission of the Apostles. Jesus is the first missionary, sent by his Father with the “Good News” that God, his Father, is a loving, merciful, and forgiving Father Who wants to save everyone through His Son Jesus. Today’s Gospel describes how Jesus selects and empowers twelve future missionaries as apostles, giving them his own mission along with a share of his power to preach and to heal the sick as proof of the truth of their message. Then, Jesus sends them in pairs to the Jewish towns and villages as heralds to prepare the people to receive the Good News. 

Special features: Jesus selected very ordinary people, most of them hard-working fishermen with no social status, learning, or political influence, because he was sure that they would be very effective instruments in God’s hands. It was a strange mixture of people. Matthew was a hated tax-collector for a foreign power, while Simon the Cananaean was a Zealot and fanatical nationalist who belonged to a militant group determined to destroy Roman rule by any means. The others were mostly professional fishermen with a lot of good will, patience, and stamina. At first it was only their admiration and love for Jesus that united them. Jesus selected them after a night of prayer and gave them his own powers of healing and exorcism and his own mission of preaching the “Kingdom of God.”

Life message: 1) As Christians, we have the same mission that Jesus entrusted to his apostles: to proclaim the word of God to all the world. We fulfill this mission primarily by living out Jesus’ teachings and then by promoting and helping the world-wide missionary activities of the Church with prayer, moral support, and financial aid.  Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/ (L/25)

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

Jan 25 Saturday: (Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/conversion-of-saint-paul : Mk 16:15-18: ¹⁵ “He said to them, ’Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. ¹⁶Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷These signs will accompany those who believe:  in My Name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. ¹⁸They will pick up serpents [with their hands], and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.”

Paul, the “Apostle to the Gentiles” and the greatest missionary of the Apostolic age, was a Roman citizen by his birth in Tarsus (in Cilicia) a Roman colony, and a Jew born to the tribe of Benjamin. His Hebrew name was Saul. Since he was a Pharisee, Saul was sent to Jerusalem by his parents to study the Mosaic Law under the great rabbi Gamaliel. As a student, he also learned the trade of tent-making. He was present as a consenting observer at the stoning of Stephen. But Saul was miraculously converted on his way to Damascus to arrest the Christians. After that, Saul, now called Paul, made several missionary journeys, converted hundreds of Jews and Gentiles and established Church communities. He wrote 14 epistles. He was arrested and kept in prison for two years in Caesarea and spent two more years under house arrest in Rome. Finally, he was martyred by beheading at Tre Fontane in Rome). Paul’s spiritual journey was a spiritual experience (Mystica), that produced a transformation (Metanoia) and impelled him to assume a mission of evangelization (Missio).

Today we celebrate the feast of the conversion St. Paul (described thrice in the New Testament: Acts chapters 9, 22, and 26) an event which revolutionized the history and theology of the early Church. Saul of Tarsus, because of his zeal for the Jewish law and Jewish traditions, became the most outrageous enemy of Christ and his teaching, as the apostles started preaching the Gospel. Saul consented to the martyrdom of the Deacon Stephen, watching the cloaks of the stoners. After the martyrdom of the holy Deacon, the priests and magistrates of the Jews raised a violent persecution against the Christian communities at Jerusalem, and Saul was their fanatical young leader. By virtue of the authority he had received from the high priest, he dragged the Christians out of their houses, chained them, and thrust them into prison. In the fury of his zeal, he applied to the high priest and Sanhedrin for a commission to take up all Jews at Damascus who confessed Jesus Christ and bring them bound to Jerusalem to be properly punished. He was almost at the end of his journey to Damascus, when, at about noon, he and his company were suddenly surrounded by a great light. As Saul fell to the ground, he heard a Voice say, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Saul answered, “Who are you, Sir?” And the Voice said, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. Now, get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Saul rose and, blind, was led by his companions into Damascus.The Lord sent a Damascus disciple named Ananias to heal and instruct Saul. Ananias entered the house and, obeying Jesus’ orders, laid his hands on Saul and prayed over him so that he might regain his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately “something like scales fell” from Saul’s eyes. He regained his sight, got up, was baptized and, having eaten, recovered his strength.  Saul now realized the truth that Jesus was the mysterious fulfillment of all he had been blindly pursuing. He could easily identify Jesus with Jesus’ followers. He stayed several days in Damascus with Christian disciples and started teaching in the synagogues that Jesus was the promised Messiah and the Son of God.

Life message: Saul’s conversion into Paul teaches us that we, too, need conversion and the renewal of our lives by a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit, which will enable us to bear witness to Christ, as St. Paul did, by exemplary lives. (Feast Day gospel: Lk 10:1-9)   Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

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

OT III [C] Word of God Sunday (Jan 26) (8-minute homily in 1-page) 

Central theme: Today’s Gospel, presenting Jesus’ “inaugural address” in the synagogue of Nazareth in which he outlines a theology of total liberation, marks a great moment in Jesus’ ministry. The Scripture readings for today focus our attention on the importance and liberating power of the Word of God as “sacramental,” making God present in our midst. The readings challenge us to listen to the Word, accept it into our hearts, then put it into practice as we live out our lives, thus liberating ourselves and others from all types of bondages.

Scripture lessons summarized: Today’s first reading, taken from Nehemiah, and Luke’s Gospel each describe a public reading of Sacred Scripture which challenges the hearers to make a “fresh beginning” with a new outlook. In the first reading, after rebuilding the Temple and restoring the city, Ezra leads the people in a “Covenant renewal” ceremony by reading and interpreting the Law. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 19) sings the praises of the Law of the Lord and its effects on those who accept it. The Second Reading, taken from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, reminds us that “together we are Christ’s Body, but each of us is a different part of it.” This suggests that, as different parts of Christ’s Body, each of us has a share, as instruments in God’s hands, in bringing the freeing and saving mission of Christ to our world in our times.

Today’s Gospel 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 claims that he is 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 declares that Isaiah’s prophecy is being fulfilled at that very moment “in your hearing,” because the prophecy foretells and describes Jesus’ own mission and ministry. Jesus’ mission is still to give liberation to everyone who will listen to his “Good News,” accept it and put it into practice. Luke reports that surprise and admiration were the initial reactions of the people who were astonished 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, schools, and workplaces.

2) We need to let the power of the Holy Spirit fill us, and then 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.

OT III [C] (Jan 26) Neh 8:2-4, 5-6, 8-10; I Cor 12:12-30; Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

Homily starter anecdotes: # 1: Saint Oscar Romero’s “option for the poor”: Speaking in the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus used Isaiah’s prophetic terms, long since seen as referring to the coming Messiah, to describe his own mission “to bring Good News to the poor.” The success of Jesus’ mission, particularly with the poor who had no political power except that conferred by their sheer numbers, made Jesus a “dangerous” person to the religious authorities of Israel and eventually resulted in crucifixion.  — The Christian Gospel is still dangerous when its truth is really put into practice.  This is clearly seen in the case of Archbishop Saint Oscar Romero of El Salvador, who was assassinated while he was celebrating Mass because, like Jesus, he reminded people of the needs of the poor and the oppressed in El Salvador.   The story began in 1979 when a young priest, Father Grande, was shot and killed on the streets of El Salvador.  His “crime” was that he spoke out against the government, which brutally suppressed all forms of protests and executed thousands of innocent people using its notorious “Death Squads.” When Fr. Grande’s great friend, Bishop Oscar Romero, was chosen to be the new Archbishop, the authorities thought he would keep quiet on the question of the oppressed poor in that country. Instead, Archbishop Oscar Romero became an outspoken defender of the poor and a critic of the state-supported “Death Squads.” To honor the memory of his martyred friend, Romero refused to appear in any public ceremonies sponsored by the army or the government. He soon became the voice and conscience of El Salvador.  His words and actions were reported throughout the whole world, so that everybody knew the atrocities happening in El Salvador.   Romero’s fight for human rights led to his nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.  On March 24, 1980, at 6:25 PM, as the Archbishop was offering Mass in a hospital Chapel, a shot from the back of the Church struck him in the chest, killing him instantly.  Thus, Archbishop Oscar Romero died a martyr for the Gospel of Christ. He was beatified May 23, 2015 by Cardinal Angelo Amato representing Pope Francis and canonized by Pope Francis October 14, 2018, with the designation “Bishop and Martyr.” — As we reflect today on Jesus’ words about his mission, let us remember Saint Oscar Romero and continue to strive to live out faithfully in our world and in our daily lives the “dangerous” truths of the “Good News” which is Jesus’ gift to us today. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22   

# 2:  God’s surprise message to three powerful presidents:  There is a story about God calling the world’s three most powerful Presidents for a meeting: Presidents coming from Russia, China, and U.S.A. God told them one thing: “The world will end by the year 2026.” The three Presidents went to their respective countries and told their people about what God had told them. The Russian President said: “My dear people, I have two messages to give, both of them are bad news. First, God is real and second, the world will end by the year 2026.” The President of China announced to his people, “My dear people, I have two important messages for you, one unbelievable and one horrible. The unbelievable message is that God is real. The horrible message is that this God is so fed up with our world that He wants to destroy it.”  The American President appeared in the national television   to speak to the Americans. He said: “My dear people I have three messages to convey to you, all of them are good news. First, God is still in control of the world. Second, He talked to your President directly. And the third is, our world will end by the year 2026, and all our troubles will be over.”-–  In today’s Gospel Jesus stands up in his native synagogue and announces the Good News of a loving, liberating, and saving God. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22   

# 3: Liberation theology of Martin Luther King, Jr: As a Christian pastor, King’s main influence in his fights for the liberation of his people was Jesus Christ and the Christian Gospels, which he would almost always quote in his religious meetings, speeches at Church, and in public discourses. King’s Faith was strongly based in Jesus’ commandment of loving one’s neighbor as oneself, loving God above all, and loving one’s enemies, praying for them and blessing them. His nonviolent thought was also based in Jesus’ injunction to “turn the other cheek” in the Sermon on the Mount, and teaching of putting the sword back into its place (Mt 26:52). In his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail, King urged action consistent with what he describes as Jesus’ “extremist” love, and also quoted numerous other Christian pacifist authors, which was very usual for him. In another sermon, he stated: “Before I was a civil rights leader, I was a preacher of the Gospel. This was my first calling, and it still remains my greatest commitment. You know, actually all that I do in civil rights I do because I consider it a part of my ministry. I have no other ambitions in life but to achieve excellence in the Christian ministry. I don’t plan to run for any political office. I don’t plan to do anything but remain a preacher. And what I’m doing in this struggle, along with many others, grows out of my feeling that the preacher must be concerned about the whole man.”— King, 1967 In his speech “I have been to the Mountain top“, he stated that he just wanted to do God’s will. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22  

Note: In his motu proprio of 30^th September 2019, Aperuiti illis, Pope Francis declared that the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time was to be devoted to the celebration, study, and dissemination of the Word of God,) (ORDO-2021-22 page 45).

Introduction:  The Scriptures for today focus our attention on the importance and power of the Word of God and its challenge for us today.   The Word of God is called “sacramental,” in the sense that, when it is spoken, read, or heard, God becomes present in our midst. For that to happen to us, we must listen to the Word, accept it into our hearts, and then put it into practice as we live out our lives.

Scripture lessons summarized: Both today’s first reading, taken from Nehemiah, and Luke’s Gospel, describe the public reading of Sacred Scripture which challenges the hearers to make a “fresh beginning” with a new outlook.  In the first reading, after rebuilding the Temple and restoring the city, Ezra leads the people in a “Covenant renewal” ceremony.  In this ceremony, with the active assistance of a few Levite helper-priests, Ezra reads and interprets the Law to the Jews gathered  before the Water Gate from early in the morning till mid-day “on the first day of the seventh month”of the Jewish year. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 19) sings the praises of the Law of the Lord and its effects on those who accept it, ending with the prayer, “Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart/find favor before You, O Lord, My Rock and My Redeemer!”  Taken from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, the second reading reminds us, “Together we are Christ’s Body, but each of us is a different part of it,” suggesting that, as different parts of Christ’s Body, we each have a share, as God’s instruments, in bringing the freeing and saving mission of Christ to our world in our times.   Hence, we need to work together like the different parts of a body, offering our time, talents and treasures to each other, as well as to all we encounter in our lives as we fulfill our Baptismal calling and promises. It is in mutual giving and receiving, as one Body, that we assist each other to experience the true freedom which Jesus offers us and wishes us to have, that is, freedom from our common legacy — the effects of Adam’s original choice of himself for god —namely, sin, darkness and the attacking power of the evil one. Today’s Gospel describes how, on a Sabbath, Jesus stood before the people in synagogue of his hometown, Nazareth, reading and interpreting what Isaiah had prophesied about the Messiah. Jesus rooted and grounded his mission and ministry in the written word of Isaiah, particularly in the passage in which the Spirit sends the prophet to “bring glad tidings to the poor, liberation to captives, recovery of sight to the blind and freedom for the oppresse” (Is 61:1-2)—language that reflects the Biblical year of Jubilee. These words had long since been seen as applying to the coming Messiah. To the great amazement and disbelief of his own townsmen, Jesus declared that Isaiah’s prophecy was being fulfilled at that very moment 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.

First reading, Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10, explained: After defeating Babylon, King Cyrus of Persia prompted by the Holy Spirit, decreed that the exiled Jews, who had spent seven decades of exile in Babylon, could return home to Jerusalem.  The Jews who returned rebuilt their ruined Temple (Ezr 6:15-17), and finished rebuilding the city walls under Ezra the priest, their spiritual leader, and Nehemiah, the Governor appointed by Persia (Neh 6:15).  The Lord gave an important mission to both men. They were to teach the Hebrew Scriptures and inspire the people to the high ideals of their ancestral religion. In the process of reconstruction, a book of the law of Moses was discovered. Ezra, a priest and scribe, gathered the entire remnant of the Jewish people together and read aloud the entirety of the book before the assembly. In today’s reading, Ezra is leading the people in a “Covenant renewal” ceremony.  In this ceremony, with the active assistance of a few Levite helper-priests, Ezra reads and interprets the Law for the Jews gathered before the Water Gate, “from early in the morning till mid-day on the first day of the seventh month of the Jewish year” (Neh 8:8).   The Torah, thus, became a living Word of power, grace and forgiveness for these exiles. It evoked from them a dramatic response. They had come to realize the many ways in which they had  failed to keep God’s Commandments in their lives. Hence, with tears of repentance in their eyes and joy in their hearts, the people responded with a great “Amen!”   Israel, as we sing in today’s Psalm, was rededicating itself to God and His Law. The passage describes the birth of preaching: the first homily took place at an assembly of the Chosen People of God during the 5th century BC! In today’s Gospel, Jesus, too, reads from the Scriptures and interprets them by identifying himself with the Messianic figure and mission depicted in the reading — “The spirit of the Lord is upon me…He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and glad tidings to the poor” (Is 61:1-2) —”Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing!” (Lk 4:21)

Second Reading, 1 Corinthians 12:12-30, explained: The Christian community in the Greek seaport of Corinth was a mixture of people of various ethnic groups, a combination which occasionally caused divisions that threatened its unity. Paul was worried that the community might break apart into factions. So, in order to help them build up the Body of Christ in Corinth, he wrote about the need for them to have unity and mutual love. In today’s selection from that letter, Paul addresses a Christian community blessed with diverse manifestations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Prophets, preachers, healers, teachers – you name it, the Spirit had bestowed the job on someone in Corinth! These people often exercised their gifts in spectacular, ecstatic ways that drew a lot of attention, much as they can do today among people who attend revivals and the crusades of some Faith-healers. And that could have caused trouble. So Paul spends chapters 12, 13 and 14 of this letter trying to get the Corinthians to enjoy and express their gifts in ways that will give strength and unity to the community and glory to God rather than cause divisions by competition among themselves. Paul insists that the Corinthians must use their spiritual gifts to glorify God, not themselves. This particular passage tackles the unity-of-the-Church issue with the metaphor of the parts of the body. Each member of the Church is compared to one of the parts of the body, who with God’s special gifts is making a unique contribution to the health of the whole. Hence, Paul urges the Spirit-gifted Corinthian Christians to find Jesus in their community by recognizing Jesus in one another. The same plea is being addressed to us in our day. Even if the Spirit has not granted us the gift of speaking in tongues or that of healing powers, we can always choose to exercise the gift of love, which we have all been given, and which Paul ranks higher than all the rest. Paul, one of the earliest Christian authors, believes that it is essential for all Jesus’ followers to understand and appreciate the necessity of their own presence and of their freeing role in the ongoing life of Body of Christ.

Gospel exegesis: Synagogue worship: The Jews had only one main Temple, located in Jerusalem and used for offering sacrifices to God and celebrating the major feasts.  Throughout the rest of the country, however, there were synagogues, one for every ten families or more, where the community, particularly the men, could offer Sabbath prayers and study the Scriptures.  It was customary for the men to sit in the central part of the synagogue, where the scrolls were kept.  The women and children sat in a separate area on the side of the synagogue.  It was the Jewish custom for the reader to stand while reading, and to sit down while teaching (Mt 13:54; Mk 6:1).  The prayer began with “Shema’’ prayer followed by the recital of the “Eighteen Blessings,“ praising and thanking God. Then seven passages from the “Torah” the book of Law and three passages from the “Prophets” were read and interpreted.  Finally, the prayer was concluded by a priest or the synagogue president blessing the assembly using the blessing from the Book of Numbers (6; 22 ff). (Visit: https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/he-went-to-synagogue   for details).

Jesus’ reading and interpretation: Today’s Gospel describes how Jesus participated in the Sabbath prayer of the synagogue in his native place in Nazareth with a band of his disciples. The synagogue Liturgy of the Word was based on seven readings. The first four were from the Law (the Torah or the Pentateuch) followed by explanations given by the rabbi who was the teacher of the Law. The second set of three readings, taken from the prophets, could be read and interpreted by any circumcised male over thirty years of age.  It was in this second capacity that Jesus read and preached on the passage from Isaiah (61:1-2a).  Since Jesus did not belong to Aaron’s family, he could not be a Jewish priest. But as a popular lay teacher, he was given the chance to read and explain the portion from the Scroll of the Prophet Isiah. Naturally, the people of his native place were curious to hear from this carpenter-turned-prophet who had grown up among them, and had worked miracles throughout Galilee.  Luke reports that Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,” Jesus said, “because He has anointed me…” This “power of the Spirit” was absolutely essential in order for Jesus to complete his mission.

 “Theology of liberation”: The reading from Isaiah describes a kind of Messianic figure. In Isaiah 61:1-2, the prophet explicitly uses the language of “Messiah” (or “Anointing”; “Anointed One”). Jesus identifies himself as that figure and declares that the mission and ministry prophesied are his mission and his ministry.  In other words, Jesus declares that Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in him, and this Scripture, about the Messiah, and the Jubilee, that they had just heard, was  fulfilled.  Jesus claims that his messianic mission is similar to the mission given to Moses in Exodus 3:7-10, and that Jesus has been sent to Israel: (1) to bring glad tidings to the poor; (2) to proclaim liberty to captives; (3) to give recovery of sight to the blind; (4) to free the oppressed, and (5) to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. [“An acceptable year,” in this context, suggested the ancient “Jubilee Year.”] In the book of Leviticus, chapter 25, God says that, at the end of every seven-times-seven-year cycle, [that is, after every 49^th  year,] the 50th year will be kept as a Jubilee year. In that Jubilee year all debts are to be forgiven, all slaves are to be set free, and any land that has been appropriated, (family land which had been lost through debt), is to be returned to the original owners. Isaiah meant that the period of the Messiah’s ministry would bring for all Israel the long-desired restoration of Zion which the Lord God Himself would accomplish, giving Israel His forgiveness and restoring her to His love and favor. In selecting this Messianic passage (“This Scripture has been fulfilled today, in your hearing”), Jesus sums up both the Source of his power and authority and the nature of his freeing and saving ministry.  First, Jesus claims the power of God’s Spirit as the source of his work.  Second, Jesus makes this proclamation in the context of Judaism – on the Sabbath, from the Scriptures, and in the synagogue.  Third, Jesus identifies his work, the work of the Messiah, with that of the Suffering Servant of Yahweh (see Isaiah 42:1-4, in particular), who brings   Good News to the poor, proclaims release to the oppressed and recovery of sight to the blind — figuratively and literally.  Fourth, this agenda begun in Nazareth is to extend to all places where the Word of God will be heard and understood.

Life messages: 1) We need to receive Christ’s freedom, live it out, and pass it on to others:  As members of Christ’s Mystical Body, we share in the freeing, saving mission of Jesus.   However, even after we have chosen to believe in Jesus, to accept his teachings and to live them out in our lives, we are still in bondage.   We are captives of sin, and only Christ can set us free. We are often blinded by our evil habits, addictions, and need for financial security.  Pride and prejudice can make us blind to the needs of the less-fortunate, prompting us to fear and avoid them, rather than to love and help them. We can also be blind to the presence of God within ourselves and others.  We are often not free to listen to a lonely, heart-broken neighbor.  We can be prisoners of materialism and consumerism, chained to pleasure, power, money, and control of everyone and everything in our world. Accordingly, we need to be freed and raised to a higher, richer level of life. Once we receive true liberation from Christ, we need to share it with those we encounter in our daily lives — in our families, communities, 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.  Jesus promised the same Spirit to his disciples: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth….  He lives with you and will be in you” (Jn 14:16-17).  To this very day, the Holy Spirit is available to all believers who sincerely ask Him to dwell in their hearts.  If we fail to receive, and then to use, His power and His gifts, we are left with nothing but our natural abilities, and we will be unable to be used as instruments in His freeing miracles.   Miracles occur every day through weak human instruments, although they may be less spectacular than the ones Jesus performed. People whose minds are ravaged by fear and hatred can be miraculously filled with peace and kindness.   Those whose hearts are crippled with bitterness and anger can be made gentle and peaceful.   Perhaps others, whose relationships with their spouses are strained, can be   miraculously healed by love and faithfulness.  These are true miracles, performed by the power of God, through the Holy Spirit, often making use of human instruments.  Let us be ready to become Spirit-filled instruments of Christ’s saving freedom.

3) We need to make Bible reading and study a part of our daily Christian life.  Bible reading enables us to know Jesus more and to love him better. That is why we should set apart a time in the morning and in the evening to read a part of the Bible, giving priority to the Gospels and the Epistles. This reading should be an integral part of the evening family prayer. Children should be encouraged to read the Bible with the adults explaining to them what they read. We need to read the Scriptures as books inspired by God that teach us about God and how we should live our lives. We also need to ask for God’s grace to interpret what we read. God gives us inspiration so that we may understand the text and apply its lessons fruitfully to our lives. Five or ten minutes each day will make it possible to read the entire New Testament easily at least twice each year.

4) We should make use of the “sharper than the double-edged sword” (Heb 4:12) of the word of God and its action like “fire and hammer” (Jer 23:29) in our lives: As the fire of God, His words in the Holy Bible burn all moral filth and impurities in our hearts and lives. The hammer-like word of God repeatedly hits and powders the rock-like hardness of our hearts. As “double-edged sword” (long Roman gladius), the word of God penetrates deeper into our hearts and help us to separate truth from falsehood, facts from lies.

Jokes of the week: 1) “Liberation theology” of obesity: And God created the earth with broccoli and cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow vegetable of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives. And Satan invented McDonald’s.   And McDonald’s invented the 99-cent double-cheeseburger. And Satan said to Man, “You want fries with that?” And Man said, “Super-size them.” And Man gained pounds. And God created the healthful yogurt, that woman might keep her figure that man found so fair. And Satan discovered chocolate.  And woman gained pounds. And God said, “Try My crispy fresh salad.” And Satan invented ice cream.  And woman gained pounds. And God said, “I have sent you heart-healthy vegetables and olive oil with which to cook them.” And Satan invented a chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man gained pounds and his bad cholesterol went through the roof. ………..And Man went into cardiac arrest. And God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery. And Satan invented HMOs

2) “ I’ve been looking for these for 3 years!” A door-to-door salesman from a publishing house asked a lady if she owned a copy of the Bible. “I certainly do!” she replied with some pride. To his next question, did she read it regularly, she responded, “Oh, yes!” and sent her little daughter to get the Bible from the table drawer. As she showed it to the man, her spectacles fell from between the pages. Without thinking, she exclaimed, “Oh, here are my glasses! I’ve been looking for these for 3 years!”

USEFUL WEBSITES OF THE WEEK 

 (The easiest method  to visit these websites is to copy and paste the web address or URL on the Address bar of any Internet website like Google or MSN and press the Enter button of your Keyboard).

1) Dr. Brant  Pitre’s commentary on Cycle C Sunday Scripture: https://catholicproductions.com/blogs/mass-readings-explained-year-b

2) Video Sunday-Scripture study by Fr. Geoffrey Plant:

https://www.youtube.com/user/GeoffreyPlant2066

3) Fr. Don’ collection of video homilies & blogs: https://sundayprep.org

4) https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2021/12/16/third-sunday-ordinary-time-reading-scripture-242054

5)YouTube video of Jewish prayer: https://youtu.be/zyZ0qQLYr_w

6) Synagogue prayer service: https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/he-went-to-synagogue

7)Catholic Web Internet links: http://www.cin.org/linkoth.html

8)The Navarre Bible Commentary on the Readings: https://thejoecatholic.wordpress.com/category/navarre-bible/

9)William Barclay’s Daily Bible Study https://barclay-s-daily-study-bible.soft112.com/  & https://daily-kjv-study-bible-with-william-barclay-commentary-ios.soft112.com/download.html

    25-Additional anecdotes:

1) U.S. Presidents’ Inaugural Addresses: Every single Inaugural Address from George Washington’s to Joseph Biden’s has been preserved. In these speeches, presidents have laid out for the country their dreams, goals, and aspirations. Here is a part of the speech given by our first president, George Washington (April 30, 1789), when he bravely acknowledged the role of God in his administration: He said, “It would be improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being Who rules over the universe, Who presides in the councils of nations, and Whose providential aids can supply every human defect.” Franklin Roosevelt said on March 4, 1933, “This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly.” Americans remember the role of citizens outlined in President John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address (January 20, 1961), “In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. …. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” More recently we call to mind Ronald Reagan’s American Song theme in 1985: “hopeful, big-hearted, idealistic – daring, decent and fair. That’s our heritage, that’s our song… we raise our voices to the God who is the author of this most tender music.” No doubt you were able to identify several of the presidents by the historical references or by the famous lines, and while all of these Inaugural Addresses are important, some are moving, inspiring and worthy of remembrance. — Today in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 4, we have listened to an “inaugural address” delivered not to a Nation but to a synagogue congregation; not in an American city but in a poor village, Nazareth, in Galilee; and not by a man elected by the power of the people but by the God-man Jesus, anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit; Jesus outlines his mission, vision and dreams in this famous reflection and teaching. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22  

2)  Liberation theology: A woman in Nicaragua gets eleven cents for sewing together a pair of blue jeans that are sold by an American company for $14.95. That company made $566 million in profits on those jeans in one year. One out of every five Ugandan children will not live to age five because they do not have simple, primary health care. –This disparity between rich and poor occurs not just in Nicaragua and not just in Uganda. There are hurts to heal in our cities. There are poor people here. There are homeless people here. There are addicted people here. There are lonely people here. There are oppressed and captive people here. There are hurts that need to be healed! — And you ask, “What can I do? Is there anything I can do? Can I be one who stands in the gap between the way things are and the way things can be? Can I be a bridge over which other people can travel in that journey from the way things are and the way things can be?” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22  

3) “Poverty for us is a freedom“: St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) thinks so. There was a beautiful article about her in Time magazine. She was asked about the materialism of the West. “The more you have, the more you are occupied,” she contends. “But the less you have, the more free you are. Poverty for us is a freedom. It is a joyful freedom. There is no television here, no this, no that. This is the only fan in the whole house…and it is for the guests. But we are happy. I find the rich poorer,” she continues. “Sometimes they are more lonely inside…The hunger for love is much more difficult to fill than the hunger for bread…The real poor know what is joy.” When asked about her plans for the future, she replied, “I just take one day. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not come. We have only today to love Jesus.”—  Is there anyone in this room as rich as Mother Teresa? (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22   

4) The Lake Wobegon effect. A scandal is brewing in the hallowed halls of Academe. It has to do with test scores given to our young people. A West Virginia doctor noticed some time back that all 50 states claim that their students score above average on standardized test scores. That, “for every child to be above average,” is, of course, impossible Someone has even given this scandal a thoughtful name: “the Lake Wobegon effect.” Lake Wobegon is creator-Garrison Keillor’s mythical town where, “All the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.” Obviously, by definition it is impossible for everyone to be “above average.” Average is what most people are. Nobody, though, wants to admit it. — What has Jesus got to do with the Lake Wobegon effect? Just this. How can I look across our congregation, we who have so much, who are so well-fed, so well-clothed, so surrounded by the good things of life, how can I look across our congregation and say that Jesus came to save the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed? That’s not us! We are winners. We are stars. We’re “all above average.” This is one text we can skip over. It’s for someone else. — Still, it’s there. Maybe we ought to listen. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,” says Christ, “because He has anointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” What, if anything, is Christ saying to you and me? (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22  

5) Jesus the prophet: In one of his books, David Buttrick tells about a cartoon in a magazine. The cartoon showed three men sitting in a row behind a long table. A microphone has been placed in front of each of them. One man was pictured in long flowing hair and a draped white robe. Another was battered, a wreath of jagged thorns on his head. The third was swarthy, with dark curly hair and a pointed nose. The caption said, “Will the real Jesus Christ please stand?”
— Everybody sees Jesus from a different angle, including the writers of the New Testament. For Matthew, Jesus is the Teacher of Righteousness. For Mark, Jesus is an exorcist, constantly battling the powers of evil. Even after Evil nails Jesus to a cross, Jesus emerges from the tomb to continue his saving work. But for Luke, the word that best summarizes the person and work of Jesus is the word “prophet.” In the story we heard today, Jesus is a different kind of prophet. The prophet Jesus says, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” When the prophet Jesus says, “Today the Scripture is fulfilled,” he turns memory into mission and transforms a hope into an assignment, claiming the beautiful poetry of Isaiah as his job description. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22   

6) What is the mission of our Church? Rachel Carson, in The Sea Around Us, describes the microscopic vegetable life of the sea, which provides food for many of the ocean’s smallest creatures. She tells how these little plants drift thousands of miles wherever the currents carry them, with no power or will of their own to direct their own destiny. The plants are named plankton, a Greek word that means “wandering” or “drifting.” Plankton describes the wandering plant life of the ocean. [Robert A. Raines, New Life in the Church (San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1961).] — Plankton may also be a good way to define the life of some of us “Church people” today. We are wandering adrift. What is our mission as Church? Why do we exist? From my studies of Jesus’ ministry and teachings, I believe we exist for two reasons: one is to reach individual people with the Good News of God’s love as revealed in Jesus Christ; the second is to influence society to the point that the kingdoms of this earth more closely resemble the Kingdom of God. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22   

7) “The 2% Rule.” I don’t know if you are familiar with the 2% concept or not, but it is based on the findings of sociologist and educator Robert Bellah, author of the best-selling book, Habits of the Heart (1985). Bellah was for a long time a sociologist at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton University. While there, he came to this conclusion: “We should not underestimate the significance of the small group of people who have a vision of a just and gentle world . . . The governing values of a whole culture may be changed when 2% of its people have a new vision.” Think of that! All you need is 2% of the people, according to Bellah, and you can change an entire culture. (http://www.keepbelieving.com/sermon/1996-05-26-A-Few-Good-Men/). — I wonder if we realize just how powerful we potentially could be. But first we need to define our mission. Jesus called his followers salt and light and  spoke of the Kingdom as leaven. What Jesus was saying is that we should be having an impact on our surrounding culture. A vital Church understands its mission. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22   

8) Liberation starts in individuals: In 1835, Elijah Lovejoy saw a man lynched. It changed his life. He cut back on his career as a Presbyterian pastor and as a schoolteacher. He went back to his earlier training as a newspaper editor and began to write anti-slavery tracts. He delivered speeches and aroused hostility. People persecuted him, beat him, and finally burned him out of his home. He was injured in combating the fire, and after only two years, he was killed. Elijah P. Lovejoy lived a life cut short. A young attorney in Elijah’s home state of Illinois read Elijah P. Lovejoy’s materials and was deeply influenced. Twenty-six years later, that young attorney signed the Emancipation Proclamation. — One person! One! Will you be one? (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22   

9) “Don’t you want to be free?” In his book Ghost Soldiers, Hampton Sides tells the story of a dramatic mission during World War II. On January 28th, 1945, 121 hand-selected Army Rangers slipped behind enemy lines in the Philippines in an attempt to rescue 513 American and British POW’s who had spent three years in a hellish prison camp near the city of Cabanatuan. Hampton Sides describes the first effects of liberation as chaos and fear. The prisoners were mentally too brittle to understand what was taking place. Some even scurried away from their liberators. One particular prisoner, Bert Bank, refused to budge, even when a Ranger walked right up to him and tugged his arm. “C’mon, we’re here to save you,” he said. “Run for the gate.” Bank still would not move. The Ranger looked into his eyes and saw they were vacant, registering nothing. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked. “Don’t you want to be free?” Finally, a smile formed on Bank’s lips as the meaning of the words became clear, and he reached up to the outstretched hand of the Ranger. The Rangers searched all the barracks for additional prisoners, then shouted, “The Americans are leaving. Is there anybody here?” Hearing no answer, they left. The freed prisoners marched 25 miles and boarded their ship home. With each step, their stunned disbelief gave way to soaring optimism. — In today’s Gospel, Jesus presents to his fellow-townsmen his mission of bringing them God’s saving freedom, to their great astonishment and, for some, their disbelief. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22   

10) Two Liberation attempts in parishes:  A: One average-sized church in Brooklyn, New York, decided that it would fight a popular clothing company and, in doing so, ended the sweatshops in El Salvador. It was just an average-sized Church that stood up and said, “We are against the exploitation of children.” The Faith Network of Children decided that it would conduct a campaign and close the sweat shop in El Camino, California, where 72 people from Thailand, behind barbed wire, were being paid $1.60 an hour and working eighteen hours a day because somebody stood up and said, “Wait a minute! We are against the exploitation of women.” B: In 1977, both Jews and Christians marched in silence during Holy Week in an effort to protest against the most luxurious hotels of California, and particularly Los Angeles, because they were paying slave-labor wages to the people who were making their guests feel luxurious. Some of them had been working there over twenty years and still had no benefits or any health care. Because they got some people’s attention, fourteen of the most luxurious hotels in Los Angeles banded together and signed a commitment that they would pay their employees a living wage and try to provide for them benefits that would be an example for hotels all over the world to follow. This happened because Christians and Jews marched together, silently, during Holy Week. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22  

11) Princess Diana’s “liberation theology”: Before her tragic death in 1997, Princess Diana was championing the cause of those who had been victims of land-mine explosions. In the weeks following her funeral, the video footage of her last visit to Bosnia ran again and again on televised news programs. Featured in the footage was the Princess, reaching out in compassion to those who had survived the explosion but who would have to live the rest of their lives maimed by the loss of one or more of their limbs. —  Her care for these wounded members of society was a poignant reminder of what Paul teaches in today’s second reading. Just as every part or member of the human body is necessary to the well-being of the whole person, so is every member of the human family necessary to the well-being of the Body of Christ. Therefore, each member must be cherished, valued, respected and protected by all the other members. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22   

12) Let me tell you about a commencement speech that was addressed to Harvard’s Senior Class. On the morning of their graduation, seniors gather in Memorial Church to hear the minister offer words of solace and encouragement as they leave “the Yard” to take their places in the world.
The 1998 senior class heard the unvarnished truth from the Rev. Peter Gomes, minister at Harvard and the author of several books on the Bible. Doctor Gomes took no prisoners that day. He began: “You are going to be sent out of here for good, and most of you aren’t ready to go. The president is about to bid you welcome into the fellowship of educated men and women and,” (and here he paused and spoke each word slowly for emphasis), “you know just – how – dumb – you – really – are.” The senior class cheered in agreement. “And worse than that,” Doctor Gomes continued, “the world – and your parents in particular – are going to expect that you will be among the brightest and best. But you know that you can no longer fool all the people even some of the time. By noontime today, you will be out of here. By tomorrow you will be history. By Saturday, you will be toast. That’s a fact – no exceptions, no extensions.  Nevertheless, there is reason to hope,” Doctor Gomes promised. “The future is God’s gift to you. God will not let you stumble or fall. God has not brought you this far to this place to ABANDON you or leave you here alone and afraid. The God of Israel never stumbles, never sleeps, never goes on sabbatical. Thus, my beloved and bewildered young friends, do not be afraid.” — What Doctor Gomes did for the senior class at Harvard, Isaiah does for Israel. This is the wonderful part of Isaiah’s ministry. It’s true that he told them they would be destroyed. But he also preached a message of restoration. He stood on the steps of the Temple in Jerusalem and told them there was hope. There would be a year of Jubilee. There would come a time when God would forgive. Listen to Isaiah’s words in chapter 14: “The Lord will have compassion on Israel; once again He will choose His people and settle them in their land. And the house of Israel will possess the nations.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22   

13) “You’ll learn more from that than anything I can tell you.” The story is told of Noelene Martin, a Franciscan monk in Australia assigned to be the guide and “gofer” for St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) when she visited New South Wales. Thrilled and excited at the prospect of being so close to this great woman, he dreamed of how much he would learn from her and what they would talk about. But during her visit, he became frustrated. Although he was constantly near her, the friar never had the opportunity to say one word to Mother Teresa. There were always other people for her to meet. Finally, her tour was over, and she was due to fly to New Guinea. In desperation, the Franciscan friar spoke to Mother Teresa: “If I pay my own fare to New Guinea, can I sit next to you on the plane so I can talk to you and learn from you?” Mother Teresa looked at him. “You have enough money to pay airfare to New Guinea?” she asked. “Yes,” he replied eagerly. “Then give that money to the poor,” she said. “You’ll learn more from that than anything I can tell you.” Mother Teresa understood that Jesus’ ministry was to the poor, and she made it hers as well. She knew that they more than anyone else needed Good News.  (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22   

14) Liberation from hate: The Walt Disney TV movie, Ruby Bridges, told the story of Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old African-American girl, who was the first person to integrate the schools in New Orleans. Every day the federal marshals escorted her into the schoolhouse, because both sides of the sidewalk would be lined with people who were screaming threats. Robert Coles, a noted Harvard psychiatrist, volunteered his time to work with young Ruby. Every day he would talk with her, trying to help her weather the crisis. On the news one night, he noticed her walking up the sidewalk and the people were screaming and throwing things, but suddenly she stopped and said something and started backing down the sidewalk. Then the marshals picked her up and took her into the building. That night, Cole asked her what she said to the marshals. She said, “I was not talking to the marshals.” He said, “Yes, you were. I saw you on the news. I saw your lips moving. You were talking to the marshals.” She said, “I was not talking to the marshals.” He said, “Well, what were you doing?” She said, “I was praying for those people who were hollering at me. I had forgotten to pray and I was trying to go back and pray for them as I walked to the school building.” Cole shook his head and said, “You were praying for the people who were screaming at you?” She said, “Yes, my mama taught me that when people speak mean of you, you pray for them just like Jesus prayed for the people who spoke mean of Him.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22   

 15) The “Cult of the Spectator.” Our philosophers of history have pointed out to us that one of the sure signs of the disintegration of a society – the decay of a culture – is the growth of the Cult of the Spectator, the Cult of the Stadium, where most of the people never play the game. They just sit in the stadium and watch it. They also state that the test of a religion is its effect on such a culture. The more we recognize the similarities between our culture and that of decaying Ancient Imperial Rome, the more we can see the significance of one of the great passages in Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago. I thought of his words, as a few months ago, I stood on the highest rim of the Colosseum and allowed my mind to stray back 2,000 years to imagine what it had looked like then. Pasternak said, “Rome is a flea market of borrowed gods and conquered people, a mass of filth convoluted in a triple knot, as in an intestinal obstruction. Heavy wheels with no spokes, eyes sunk in fat, sodomy, double chins, illiterate emperors, fish fed on the flesh of learned slaves, all crammed into the arches of the Colosseum, and all wretched. And then, into this tasteless heap of gold and marble, HE came, Light, clothed in an aura, emphatically human, deliberately provincial, the Galilean, the Christ. And at that moment, gods and – “ Yes, there was vitality in the early Christian culture, so that a handful of slaves and outlaws could easily dump over the whole imperial facade without even raising a weapon. It is the power of the Good News of liberation preached by Jesus, officially starting at Nazareth. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22   

16) Surprise, surprise! A man wrote into Reader’s Digest with an embarrassing story about his former boss. This gentleman was just stepping out of the shower one evening when his wife called and asked him to run down to the basement and turn off the iron she had accidentally left on. Without bothering to grab a towel or robe, the man headed down to the basement. Just as he reached the bottom stair, the lights came on and a dozen friends and colleagues jumped out and shouted, “Surprise!” His wife had planned a secret party for the man’s 40th birthday. [“Life in These United States,” Readers Digest (Mar. 1997), p. 84.] — Not all surprises are good ones, at least at first glance. Jesus had an uncanny ability to take people by surprise–and they weren’t always pleased about it. Take, for instance, the surprise Jesus sprang on the Nazarene congregation in our Bible passage for today. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22   

17) Observing or profaning the Sabbath? Under the blue laws of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Puritans administered religion to unwilling subjects by means of the whipping post, the ducking stool, the stocks, fines, and imprisonment. Mrs. Alice Morse Earle’s history, The Sabbath in Puritan New England has such examples: “Two lovers, John Lewis and Sarah Chapman, were accused and tried for sitting together on the Lord’s Day under an apple tree. A Dunstable soldier, for wetting a piece of old hat to put on his shoe to protect his foot, was fined forty shillings for doing this heavy work. Captain Kemble of Boston in 1656 was put in public stocks for two hours for his ‘lewd and unseemly behavior’ which consisted of kissing his wife in public on the Sabbath on the doorstep of his house after his return from a three-year voyage. A man who had fallen into the water [and so had) absented himself from Church to dry his only suit of clothes was found guilty and publicly whipped.”– In today’s Gospel Jesus offers us his theology of liberation in contrast to the  Puritan Blue laws.   (Anthony Castle in More Quotes and Anecdotes) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22  

 18) The Courage to Change: In November of 1984 on one of his PBS Late Night America Shows, Dennis Wholey confessed that he was an alcoholic. He went on to describe a book he had put together entitled The Courage to Change: Personal Conversations about Alcoholism with Dennis Wholey. The book contains frank and revealing conversations with a wide variety of celebrity alcoholics such as rock singer Grace Slick, baseball player Bob Welch, actor Jason Robards, comedian Shecky Greene and Catholic priest Vaughan Quinn. Also, there are heartfelt conversations with Rod Steiger and Jerry Falwell, who are children of alcoholics; and Sybil Carter, whose husband Billy is an alcoholic. Four years earlier, Dennis Wholey confronted his own problem with alcohol and now is on a mission with his book to help other victims of what is sometimes called “the most treatable untreated disease in this country.” — Dennis Wholey’s message about The Courage to Change matches our Lord’s message of liberation given in today’s Gospel. (Albert Cylwicki in His Word Resounds; quoted by  Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22  

19) Homeland: Edgar Reitz, the German film director, tells the story of how he went home with a friend to visit his mother, and while they were there his mother told a story he had never heard before. The story was of a man from their town who had left his house one day saying he was going up the road to the local inn for a drink. But he never returned home, and no one ever heard of him again. Reitz was intrigued by the story because he was interested in what would make someone leave home without telling anyone, and what would keep him from ever coming back. He was interested in what makes people leave the place they belong to, and what makes some of them come back. Why do some people leave home never to return? What draws some people back – if only to rediscover why they left? Reitz decided to make a film on the theme. He has called it Heimat, which means “homeland”, and it lasts for 15 hours and 36 minutes! The film is a chronicle of one family and one small village in Germany from 1919 until 1982. One of its many appeals is how it depicts the great sense of belonging the people have in the small village of Schabbach when they are born into a place their family have lived for generations. They are born into a particular memory that associates them with people and places and little stories. They are able to call on all this, which gives them a sense of belonging and a hold over their identity. The film shows how, in the passage of time that sense of belonging slowly disappears. But no matter how far people travel from home, perhaps there is always some hope that they can go back. As one character in a poem by Robert Frost says: “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, They have to take you in.” — In today’s Gospel, Jesus returns to Nazareth where he has been brought up, the place which gives him the identity of Jesus of Nazareth. (Dennis McBride in Seasons of the Word”; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22  

20) The 2006 release Amazing Grace. This film tells the moving story of William Wilberforce and his life-long struggle against slavery in the Parliament of England. This young man of unusual ability and noteworthy power relentlessly appealed to the consciences of sophisticated people to stop what no normal person could stand to embrace. He literally gave his life trying to set people free. What the movie does not include is the fact that slavery was finally, fully outlawed in England on July 26, 1833. William Wilberforce died July 29, 1833.  (Lest we think slavery to be a problem of the past, there are eighteen to twenty thousand people trafficked in the U.S. each year for forced labor or prostitution. There are twenty-seven million enslaved people worldwide, eighty percent of them women and over half, children under eighteen). A sub-plot of Amazing Grace is the life of John Newton, the preacher behind Wilberforce. A former slave trader himself, Newton lived out the latter years of his life with the ghosts of twenty thousand slaves haunting him in the night. But as he proclaims in the movie, “I am a great sinner, but I found a Great Savior.” I don’t think I’ll ever sing about the “amazing grace that saved a wretch like me” in the same way again. Jesus Christ can do that for you and me.

— The values of Jesus proclaim the year of God’s favor for all. This kind of talk got Jesus kicked out of town. But let us not be too quick to judge. These Nazarenes liked the idea of a year of Jubilee. Who wouldn’t be in favor of a little Heaven on earth that grants forgiveness of debts and return of land to original owners? It was the sweet dream of all God’s children in Israel. They hoped Jesus would make it happen. So, their hopes rose with this hometown boy. But Jesus led no revolution against Rome. Jesus fit no image of their expected Messiah. Jesus was not elected the Chief Rabbi of Galilee and worst of all, He told the home folks that the Jubilee would be for widows and foreigners and lepers, as well as “people like you and me” Talk like that gets you in big trouble. So, our story ends with Jesus between a mob of angry people and the precipice of a huge cliff — from which Jesus walks away untouched. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22  

21) At the crossroads: The Stranger, novel by Albert Camus, introduces us to Meursault, a young man who commits a murder. The dramatic prosecutor theatrically denounces Meursault to the point that he claims Mersault must be a soulless monster, incapable of remorse and that he thus deserves only to die for his crime. Although Meursault’s attorney defends him and later tells Mersault that he expects the sentence to be light, Meursault is alarmed when the judge informs him of the final decision: that he will be decapitated publicly. Now the young man stands at a crossroads. He has only two ways open in front of him. One is to accept the message of peace, repent, and be exonerated. The other is to perish in his obstinacy. — Dear friends, God’s laws instruct us, educate us and lead us forward. Finally, we are placed in a situation where only two roads are open before us. There we have to make an ultimate choice: to follow God’s precepts and attain freedom or to discard them and end up in doom. The first reading presents a beautiful scene. Ezra the priest is reading the Law of the Lord to the people. Upon listening to the Law they must choose whether to accept or reject it. Repentant, they decide to follow the precepts of the Lord. (Fr. Bobby Jose). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22  

22) Dictionaries stolen, Bible safe: The Sanford Hotel in San Francisco reports that it never lost a single Bible in the 15 years it placed them at the bedside as a service to the guests. But, in one month after it started putting dictionaries in the rooms as well, 41 dictionaries disappeared. –Now, I don’t know whether you can draw a solid conclusion from that, but on the surface, it seems obvious that persons apparently place a greater value on human words than they do the Word of God. So, there are words and The Word. Of course, the Bible is the Word above all other words. But we go even further than that in the Christian Faith. Jesus is the Word — the Word become flesh — and by the Word that He is, we assess all other words including the Bible. (Maxie Dunnam). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22  

23) Rehabilitation: In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and due in no small measure to advances in science and technology, a new methodology dealing with society’s physical, psychological, ethical, moral, and social ills has been developed. Foremost among these methods is that of rehabilitation. From the Latin re, which means again, and habilitare, which means to enable, rehabilitation has been defined as the process whereby: (1) a handicapped or otherwise incapacitated person is restored to useful life through education and therapy; (2) the good name of a person is reinstated; (3) the rank, privileges and rights of a person are restored; (4) a person is returned to his/her former state or condition. Criminal offenders who were once simply relegated to prison to protect society are now being rehabilitated through treatment and training so as to be rendered capable of returning to society and functioning as law-abiding members of the community. Persons with addictions to gambling, drugs and/or alcohol, people with eating disorders, people with other compulsive behaviors, etc., now have hope for rehabilitation by participating in extensive programs offered at special centers by qualified therapists and counselors. Patients with physical challenges suffered as a result of accident or illness (stroke, heart/lung disease, etc.) can also benefit from courses of rehabilitation therapy. In the past few decades some inner-city neighborhoods that had been allowed to degenerate into urban jungles have been rehabilitated through the cooperative efforts of caring citizens. — In today’s Scripture readings, Ezra in the first reading and Jesus in the Gospel reading both invite a gathered assembly to appreciate and become participants in another sort of rehabilitation, viz., that which is freely offered to all people through the power of the Word of God. In the second reading, Paul notes that since all believers are members of the same body of Christ, the rehabilitation of each of us is inextricably bound to the rehabilitation of all of us. At the outset of this new year, believers in Jesus are called to accept rehabilitation by the power of the Word of God and to participate in the Church’s mission of rehabilitating all of humankind.  (Sanchez files). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22  

   24) Weeping at the word of God: Long before Madison Avenue invented “best seller” book lists, the Bible, as the “word of God” was the perennial best seller. Even today it is more widely circulated and more widely read in public as well as private, than any other book. Certainly, the word of God is heard more than it is heeded. Still when problems arise that make us lonely with doubt or dismay, we often turn back for light instinctively to the Book of Books – whether to the actual volume or to its verses long since engraved in our memory. If we then open our minds to these familiar works, we often find in them uncanny answers to our own problems. — In the fifth and sixth centuries, BC the Jews who had been led off into captivity in Babylon were finally able to return to their home-city Jerusalem. Today’s first reading deals with this exciting homecoming. Once the former exiles had rebuilt the city walls, their leading priest Ezra gathered them all together and slowly read to them the first five books of the Old Testament. This was the Torah, the Law, given the Israelites under Moses to govern the pattern of life of God’s chosen people. The crowd listened to Ezra carefully and began to weep. “Do not weep,” Ezra urged them, “Rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength.” — Centuries later, St. Francis of Assisi, though lately called by God, was in a quandary as to what God wanted him to do. On the feast of St. Matthias he listened carefully to the Gospel read at Mass. The passage contained Christ’s instructions to his apostles when he sent them on their first experimental mission: “Provide yourselves with neither gold nor silver no copper in your belts, no traveling bag, no change of shirt, no sandals, no walking stick…” Though these words had not been addressed to Francis personally, he took them as his own. From then on, as his friars set out on their mission of preaching penance, they went forth poor, barefoot and penniless. With God’s help, the Franciscans would try to live the Gospel literally. — If we, like the Jews back from exile and the pioneers of the Franciscan order, try to make the scriptures a part of ourselves, we will never lack the guidance and joy of their Divine Author along our pilgrim way. (Father Robert F. McNamara). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

 “Scriptural Homilies” Cycle C (No. 12) by Fr. Tony: akadavil@gmail.com

Visit my website by clicking on https://frtonyshomilies.com/ for missed or previous Cycle C homilies, 141 Year of Faith “Adult Faith Formation Lessons” (useful for RCIA classes too) & 197 “Question of the Week.” Contact me only at akadavil@gmail.com. Visit also https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies  under Fr. Tony’s homilies and  under Resources in the CBCI website:  https://www.cbci.in  for other website versions.  (Vatican Radio website: http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html uploaded my Cycle A, B and C homilies in from 2018-2020)  Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Fr. Anthony Kadavil, C/o Fr. Joseph  M. C. , St. Agatha Church, 1001 Hand Avenue, Bay Minette, Al 36507