Oct 10-15: Click on http://frtonyshomilies.comfor missed homilies).October is Respect Life month. Oct 10 Monday: Lk 11:29-32:29 When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah became a sign to the men of Nineveh, so will the Son of man be to this generation. 31 The queen of the South will arise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
The context: Since there had been many false prophets and false messiahs in the past, and since their pride and prejudice did not permit them to see the Messiah in a carpenter-from-Nazareth-turned-wandering-preacher, the Jewish religious leaders demanded that Jesus should show some “Messianic” signs and miracles taken from their list. They would not accept that Jesus’ numerous miraculous healings were the Messianic signs foretold by the prophets.
Jesus’ negative response: Calling them an apostate generation who refused to believe in their own prophets and denied the hand of God in the miracles he worked, Jesus warned these religious leaders that they would be condemned on the Day of Judgment by the people of Nineveh and by the Queen of Sheba from the South. (Sheba (or Saba) was a southern kingdom centred on Yemen or Ethiopia (and possibly including both) (Yemen to Jerusalem 2084 miles)This is one of the instances in which Jesus held up Gentiles as models of Faith and goodness (other examples: the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15, the centurion in Luke 7, the Good Samaritan story in Luke 10; etc.). The pagan Ninevites heard the voice of the Lord God in the prophet Jonah, repented, and were spared. The Queen of Sheba recognized God’s Wisdom in King Solomon and traveled to Israel to receive more of it. Nevertheless, Jesus gave the religious leaders challenging him, “the sign of Jonah.” It was the undeniable Messianic sign of his own Resurrection from the tomb on the third day after his death, just as Jonah had spent three days in the belly of the giant fish before finally going to Nineveh to accomplish the mission God had originally given him.
Life messages: We need to recognize God-given signs in our lives: 1) Each Sacrament in the Church is an external sign representing God’s grace. 2) On the altar we re-present Christ’s sacrifice on the cross using liturgical signs and prayers. 3) Everyone living with us or working with us is a sign of God’s living presence in our midst, inviting us to love and honor him or her as God’s child and the living Temple of the Holy Spirit. 4) All world events and events in our lives are signs of God’s care and protection for us, His children. 5) The Holy Bible is a sign of God communicating His message to us every day. 5) So, let us learn from these God-given signs instead of looking for signs in weeping Madonnas, bleeding crucifixes and daily messages of visionaries. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22. Additional reflections: Click onhttps://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/;https://www.epriest.com/reflections
Oct 11 Tuesday:(St. John XXIII, Pope): For a short biography, click here: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-john-xxiii Lk 11:37-41: 37 While he was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him; so he went in and sat at table. 38 The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. 39 And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of extortion and wickedness. 40 You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, everything is clean for you.
The context: In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus accuses the Pharisees of hypocrisy. Jesus was invited by a Pharisee for a dinner at which Jesus violated the ceremonial law by purposely omitting the ritual washing of hands before the meals and between the courses. Pious Jews were expected on each occasion to wash their hands by pouring two ounces of water from finger tips to wrist and in the reverse order, and then to cleanse each palm by rubbing the fist of the other hand. Water was stored in big stone jars for this washing ceremony. Omitting the ceremony was considered a sin and that is why Jesus’ host was astonished.
Jesus teaches the essence of religion: Jesus tells his host that the essence of religion is offering to God a clean heart filled with love, mercy, compassion, and forgiveness. Mere external observance of rituals without a cleansing of the heart is hypocrisy, which God hates. Jesus uses the occasion to accuse the Pharisees of harboring evil thoughts like greed, pride, bitterness, envy, and arrogance in their hearts. Jesus concludes by suggesting that one method of expressing real love of God and neighbor originating from a compassionate heart and making one pure and clean is giving alms to the poor. Almsgiving in the proper sense means realizing the needs of others and letting them share in one’s own goods, especially by way of spiritual help, financial and emotional support, consolation, fraternity, and love. St. John of the Cross explains this passage, remarking that in the evening of our lives we will be judged on our love expressed by works of charity.
Life messages: 1) In order to have interior cleanliness, let us do some charitable acts which externally express our loving relationship with God and our eagerness to do His will. Since we are offering our hearts and lives on the altar, let us expel everything evil from our hearts by true repentance Love is what we have to give others – love with understanding, mercy, respect for their freedom, and deep concern for their spiritual and material welfare. Giving this gift requires that we have love in our thoughts, words and actions always. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22
Oct 12 Wednesday: Lk 11:42-46:42 “But woe to you Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! for you love the best seat in the synagogues and salutations in the market places. 44 Woe to you! for you are like graves which are not seen, and men walk over them without knowing it.” 45 One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying this you reproach us also.” 46 And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! for you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.”
The context: In today’s text, taken from Luke’s Gospel, Jesus expresses his moral indignation and sorrow at the hypocrisy of the scribes and the Pharisees who have put obstacles between the common people and God by overburdening them with unnecessary, impractical, and almost limitless interpretations of Mosaic laws. In today’s text, Jesus levels three accusations against these religious leaders, naming particular misbehaviors: 1) They have misinterpreted the spirit of the Law, making the Law a heavy burden for the God-fearing common people. Jesus gives the Law of tithing as an example. God intended tithing for His people as an expression of their gratitude to a providing God (Dt 14:22; Lv 27:30). The scribes instructed the people to pay tithes on insignificant things, such as kitchen-garden plants, with great mathematical accuracy, but they themselves neglected justice and love of God in their private lives. 2) The second accusation is that the scribes and the Pharisees are notorious for their status-seeking. They demand that the common people give them special honors because of their expertise in Mosaic Law and faithful religious observance. As a mark of respect, they are to be given front seats in the synagogue and public greeting in the streets. 3) Jesus compares the scribes and Pharisees to the white-washed tombs on the sides of the road leading to Jerusalem. In preparation for the three major Jewish feasts, Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles, the scribes and Pharisees used to have the tombs whitewashed, so that the pilgrims would not be ritually defiled by unknowingly walking over one. Jesus accuses the Pharisees of moral filth, of hiding injustice and immorality inside themselves and of covering the corruption with pretensions of piety and religious fervor. Thus, they contaminate others with their rotten and dangerous ideas of God’s demands.
Life messages: 1) The essence of religion is to love God, discovering Him in everyone. The basic principles of the Ten Commandments are respect and reverence based on love of God and neighbor. When we learn to reverence God, His holy Name and His holy Day and to respect our parents, elders and all others, their lives, their goods and their good names, we practice true religion without hypocrisy or selfish interests. True love is sacrificial, encouraging us to help lift the burdens of others. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22Additional reflections: Click onhttps://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/;https://www.epriest.com/reflections
Oct 13 Thursday: Luke 11:47-54Woe to you! for you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. 48 So you are witnesses and consent to the deeds of your fathers; for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, `I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 50 that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it shall be required of this generation. 52 Woe to you lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.” 53 As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard, and to provoke him to speak of many things, 54 lying in wait for him, to catch at something he might say.
The context: Today’s passage, taken from chapter 11 of Luke’s Gospel, gives two more accusations which Jesus made against the Pharisees. According to Matthew, Jesus made these accusations on the third day of what we call Holy Week in the Temple precincts of Jerusalem.
1) Jesus criticizes the blatant hypocrisy and false zeal of the scribes and the Pharisees in decorating the old monuments and building new monuments for the past prophets who had been persecuted and murdered by the forefathers of these same Scribes and the Pharisees, while they themselves did not obey the injunctions of these past prophets. Abel’s martyrdom is the first recorded in the Bible (Gn 4:8). [Navarre Bible Commentary: “Zechariah was a prophet who died by being stoned in the temple of Jerusalem around the year 800 B.C. because he accused the people of Israel of being unfaithful to God’s law (cf. 2 Chr 24:20-22). The murder of Abel (Gn 4:8) and that of Zechariah were, respectively, the first and last murders reported in these books which the Jews regarded as Sacred Scripture”.] Jesus remarks that the blood-guilt inherited by the ancestors of the scribes and the Pharisees throughout the Old Testament era will spill over when the priests (most of them scribes), and the Pharisees conspired to execute Jesus the Messiah.
2) Since the scribes (religious lawyers), were the official interpreters of the Scriptures, they held the “office of the keys.” Unfortunately, their interpretation of the Scriptures became so distorted and difficult to understand that others were “shut off” from the Scriptures.
Life message: We need to be men and women of integrity and character without any element of hypocrisy in our Christian life. We should not make a show of holiness and religious fervor when we are not internally holy. Holiness requires humility and giving God credit for any good He does through us. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22
Oct 14 Friday: (St. Callistus I, Pope, Martyr):For a short biography, click here: http://franciscanmedia.beracha.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-callistus-iLk 12:1-7:1 In the meantime, when so many thousands of the multitude had gathered together that they trod upon one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. 4 “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear him! 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
The context: Jesus continues his condemnation of the hypocrisy of the Scribes and the Pharisees, comparing it to leaven or yeast. The Jews considered yeast as something evil, corrupting the dough during the process of fermentation. That is why the Law given through Moses prescribes unleavened bread for offering to God. Jesus reminded the common people that the Pharisees were hypocrites who pretended to be holy, and that they would corrupt people as the yeast corrupts the dough. The teaching and example of the scribes and the Pharisees influenced the crowd in a disastrous way, especially when the teachers failed to practice what they preached. Jesus also warned these religious leaders that their sins would be brought to light at the Last Judgment (CCC #678).
Hearing in secret and announcing in public: According to the Navarre Bible Commentary, most Palestinian houses had a roof in the form of a terrace. There people would meet to chat and while away their time in the hottest part of the day. Jesus pointed out to his disciples that in these get-togethers, things said in private became matters of public discussion. In the same way, despite the Pharisees’ and scribes’ efforts to hide their vices and defects under the veil of piety, all they had hidden would become a matter of common knowledge. A reverential fear of God: Since nothing — not even the most insignificant thing — escapes God, no one should fear that any suffering or persecution he experiences in following Christ will remain unrewarded in eternity. But our fear of God should not be servile (based on fear of punishment). It should be a filial fear (the fear of a son or daughter who loves, and so does not want to displease, his or her father), a reverent awe nourished by our trust in Divine Providence.
Life messages: 1) In contrast to the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, the followers of Jesus must display transparency in their Christian lives by practicing what they profess. 2) They should also maintain a reverential fear of God, adjusting their actions in such a way that they may not displease a loving heavenly Father. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22
St. Teresa of Avila(1515-1582)(Summarized from Franciscan Media)
Teresa’s life began with the culmination of the Protestant Reformation and ended shortly after the Council of Trent. It was an age of exploration as well as political, social and religious upheaval, a time of turmoil and reform. She is admired through centuries in three levels: 1) as a woman; 2) As a contemplative; 3) as an active reformer.
1) As a woman, Teresa was “her own woman.” She was beautiful, talented, outgoing, adaptable, affectionate, courageous, enthusiastic, and totally human. As a strong willed young woman she joined the Carmelites despite strong opposition from her father. She was a mystery of paradoxes: wise, yet practical; intelligent, yet much in tune with her experience; a mystic, yet an energetic reformer. A holy woman, a womanly woman.
2) As a contemplative, Teresa was a woman “for God,” a woman of prayer, discipline and compassion. Her conversion was the result of ongoing purification and suffering. She was misunderstood, misjudged, opposed in her efforts at reform. Yet she struggled on, courageous and faithful; she struggled with her own mediocrity, her illness, her opposition. And in the midst of all this she clung to God in life and in prayer.
3) As an active reformer, Teresa was a woman “for others.” Though a contemplative, she spent much of her time and energy seeking to reform herself and the Carmelites, to lead them back to the full observance of the primitive Rule. She founded over a half-dozen new monasteries. She traveled, wrote, fought—always to renew, to reform. In her self, in her prayer, in her life, in her efforts to reform, in all the people she touched, she was a woman for others, a woman who inspired and gave life.
A saint and Doctor of the Church. In 1970 the Church gave her that title she had long held in the popular mind: Doctor of the Church. She and St. Catherine of Siena were the first women so honored. Life messages: 1) Since we are living in a time of turmoil, reform and liberation we need to accept St. Teresa of Avila to become promoters of renewal and promoters of prayer. 2) Let us also accept the presence of of suffering in our lives and its value, praying with St. Teresa God’s grace “Lord, either to suffer or to die” realizing the truth with her, “Oh, my Lord! How true it is that whoever works for you is paid in troubles!
Today’s gospel: Lk 12:8-12:8 “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; 9 but he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11 And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious how or what you are to answer or what you are to say; 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
The context: The scribes and Pharisees attributed Jesus’ miracles of driving demons out of possessed people to the work of the devil rather than to God. Pride in their knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures and prejudice against Jesus, the wandering preacher, prompted them to attribute Jesus’ exorcisms to the devil’s power and Jesus’ collaboration with the devil. The first part of today’s Gospel is Jesus’ reply to their false accusation.
Unpardonable sin: The Jews did not have any idea of a Triune God. For them the Spirit of God was God Himself. It was this Divine Spirit Who spoke through Moses and the prophets and Who enabled men and women to understand the Sacred Scriptures. So, Jesus told the unbelieving Jews that they were refusing to believe in the Spirit of God and in the Messianic prophecies given by Him when they attributed Jesus’ miracles to the devil. Hence, theirs was a sin of blasphemy against the Spirit of God. Since they remained unrepentant, thus refusing God’s mercy and forgiveness, their sin against the Holy Spirit of God was unforgivable. In the second part of today’s Gospel, Jesus introduced the Holy Spirit as a Teacher and an Attorney Who would help defend his disciples when they were brought to trial before the Jewish synagogues and Roman authorities because of their Faith in Jesus as God and Savior.
Life messages: 1) Let us have the generosity and good will not to close our eyes to God or to shut our ears to His voice, thus refusing the chances given us by our merciful God to repent of our sins and renew our lives. 2) Let us ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen us in our fight against temptations, and let us pray for the illumination of the Holy Spirit (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22
Respect Life Sunday (OCT 2, 2022) Homily 1-page summary(L/22)
Facts on attacks on human life: a) Abortion: The number of unborn children slaughtered in the wombs of their mothers in the last 25 years is 1200 million in the world and 37 million in the USA. (4400 per day in the US). Almost half of the women in the US over the age of 40 have undergone an abortion, with or without the consent of the baby’s father. b) Euthanasia: Hundreds of old or terminally-ill people are killed in advanced countries under the names “mercy-killing” or euthanasia. c) Suicides and Physician-Assisted Suicides: Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death for all US men. It took the lives of 30,622 people in USA. in 2001. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15-19-year-old youngsters (19 adolescents each day), and only 5% of suicides are attributed to mental illness. d) Homicides e) Embryo-destruction for scientific experiments.
Why should we respect life? 1) TheBible teaches that life is a gift of God and, hence, we have to respect it from womb to tomb. Abortion attempts to destroy a work of God. Based on the word of God, the Church teaches that an unborn child, from the moment of its conception in its mother’s womb, is precious because it carries an immortal soul. 2)It is God’s commandment that we shall not kill. (Ex 20:13: “You shall not kill”). The circumstances of the baby’s conception do not change the evil of abortion: it is still a baby who is killed. Every tiny human embryo can grow into a child, and modern medical technology can enable it to survive outside its mother’s womb after five and a half months. 3) International Law forbids the killing of innocent, defenseless people. Abortion is the killing of a defenseless child in its safest abode, the womb, by its own mother, mostly for selfish motives. 4)Abortion harms women physically, emotionally, psychologically, socially, and spiritually. 93% of the abortions in America are for convenience. The mother’s health is an issue only 3% of the time, and the baby’s health is an issue 3% of the time. Rape and incest are issues only 1% of the time. Ninety-three percent of all abortions in America are performed because of selfishness, just because someone doesn’t want a child! 5) Advocates of pro-choice follow a dangerous principle of far-reaching consequences in the society. If it is justifiable to kill unwanted children by abortion, then the old, the sick, the handicapped, the mentally ill, and the retarded can also be killed – and so can any member of a “socially/politically unacceptable” minority!
Life messages: 1) We need to respect and protect all forms of human life from conception to natural death; we need to work and pray vigorously to end the culture of death. 2) We need to speak and act against abortion in private and in the public forum. Protecting human life is no more a sectarian creed than the Declaration of Independence is a sectarian document. Because all rights depend on life, the right to life is the most fundamental issue of all; if that is eliminated, the rest will follow. 3) We need to work to have the government enact anti-abortion, anti-euthanasia, and anti-Physician-assisted suicide laws; these killings violate justice, and, therefore, the command of God to love one another. 4) We need to give real care, support, and assistance to mothers with unwanted pregnancies who are contemplating abortion. Helping a woman choose life affirms and empowers her. 5) We need to teach the Church’s doctrines on abortion. The Church cares about the women who have had abortions, forgives them, heals them, and brings them peace with God, with their lost children, and with themselves. The Church reminds us that abortion is a mortal sin but promises any woman who has had an abortion that if she truly repents of her sin, she will find welcome and forgiveness.
RESPECT FOR LIFE SUNDAY (Oct 2, 2022) (SANCTITY OF LIFE SUNDAY)
Homily Starter Anecdotes# 1:Thou shall not kill.” A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five- and six-year-olds. After explaining the commandment “Honor thy father and thy mother,” she asked, “Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?” Without missing a beat, one little boy answered, “Thou shall not kill.” This is the main message for “Respect for Life Sunday.”
#2: Two dark days in American history and bright day: March 6, 1857, was a very dark day in American history. By a 7-2 vote, the United States Supreme Court declared that Afro-Americans were not legal persons. Rather, they were property. They could be used, sold, beaten, and even killed. Slavery was upheld. In 1868, fortunately, the 14th Amendment to the Constitution secured the rights of blacks to full personhood. Slavery was overturned, and the equality of all people before the law was upheld. Notice, the law did not GIVE blacks this equality. They always had it! God made them equal. What happened in the 14th Amendment was that the law recognized the rights the slaves had from God; human law was brought into line with God’s law. But another dark day came on January 22, 1973. By another 7-2 vote, the United States Supreme Court said that this 14th Amendment DOES NOT APPLY to children in the first nine months of life, that is, the nine months they live in their mother’s wombs. Therefore, during this time – that is, during ALL the nine months of pregnancy – the court said that a mother might end the life of her child by abortion. By this Roe vs. Wade decision, abortion was made legal in all 50 states. In a historic and far-reaching decision, the U.S. Supreme Court officially reversed Roe v. Wade in June, 2022, declaring that the constitutional right to abortion, upheld for nearly a half century, no longer exists. Writing for the court majority, Justice Samuel Alito said that the 1973 Roe ruling and repeated subsequent high court decisions reaffirming Roe “must be overruled” because they were “egregiously wrong,” the arguments “exceptionally weak” and so “damaging” that they amounted to “an abuse of judicial authority.”
Facts and figures: a) Abortion: The number of unborn children slaughtered in the wombs of their mothers in the last 25 years is 1200 million in the world and 37 million in the U.S.A. (4400 per day in the U.S.). Almost half of women in the US over the age of 40 have undergone an abortion, with or without the consent/insistence of the baby’s father. (The number of people killed on 9/11/2001 is not quite 3000. During the dictatorship of Hitler some 6 million Jews lost their lives in 12 years).
b) Euthanasia: Hundreds of old or terminally ill people are killed in advanced countries, under the names “mercy-killing” or euthanasia.
c) Suicides and Physician-Assisted Suicides: According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., the 3rd leading cause of death for people aged 10–14 and the 2nd leading cause of death for people aged 15–24. In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that nearly 45,000 lives were lost to suicide, and only 5% of suicides are attributed to mental illness.
1) The Bible teaches that life is a gift of God, and, hence, we have to respect it from womb to tomb. Abortion attempts to destroy a work of God. Based on the word of God, the Church teaches that an unborn child, from the moment of its conception in its mother’s womb, is precious because it carries an immortal soul. In reference to pregnant women, the term “with child” occurs twenty-six times in the Bible. The term “with fetus” never occurs. The Bible never uses anything less than human terms to describe the unborn (Ex 21:22-23). In Lk 1:36, 41, we are told that Elizabeth conceived a “son” and that the “babe” leaped in her womb. God does not say that a “fetus” leaped in her womb! Elizabeth greets Mary (in her early pregnancy) as ‘my Lord’s mother.” If God allows a child to be conceived, then God obviously has a plan for unborn children (Jer 1:5; Lk 1:13-17; Gn 4:25; Jgs 13:3-5), and so to abort an unborn child is to stop a plan of God: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you..” (Jer 1:5). “You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise You, so wonderfully You made me; wonderful are Your works!” Ps 139:13-14.
2)It is God’s commandment that we shall not kill. (Ex 20:13: “You shall not kill”). The circumstances in which the baby was conceived do not change the evil of abortion: it is still a baby who is killed. Every tiny human embryo can only grow into a child, and modern medical technology can enable it to survive outside its mother’s womb after five-and-a-half months. At two weeks pregnancy, the baby can move alone. The baby’s heart starts beating from the 25th day and its brain starts functioning on the 40th day. Unfortunately, the Jews still consider that life begins after birth. No wonder, many Jews are for choice. Dt 27:25 says, “Cursed be he that takes reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen,” andabortion involves the shedding of innocent blood. In abortion by suction, the unborn child is literally vacuumed from the mother’s womb during the early stages of pregnancy. In the currette-type abortion the child is cut from the mother’s womb with a spoon-like object. In the caesarean type abortion, the baby is surgically removed from the mother and allowed to suffocate, because the child’s lungs aren’t developed. In the Salt Brine technique, the unborn child is literally “pickled” to death by the injection of a strong salt solution. In partial-birth abortion the child is partially delivered, then stabbed in the skull to have his or her brains sucked out. RU-486 abortion pills inhibit pregnancy hormones and 1-7 weeks old child is evicted from the womb. Hence, all types of abortions are violations of the fifth commandment.
3) International Law forbids the killing of innocent, defenseless people. Abortion is the killing of a defenseless child in its safest abode by its own mother, mostly for selfish motives.
4) Abortion harms women physically, emotionally, psychologically, socially, and spiritually. 93% of the abortions in America are for convenience. The mother’s health is an issue only 3% of the time, and the baby’s health is an issue 3% of the time. Rape and incest are issues only 1% of the time. Ninety-three percent of all abortions in America are performed because of selfishness, just because someone doesn’t want a child!
5) Advocates of pro-choice follow a dangerous principle of far-reaching consequences in society. If it is justifiable to kill unwanted children by abortion, then the old, the sick, the handicapped, the mentally ill, the retarded and the “socially/politically unacceptable” can also be killed.
Life messages
1) We need to respect and protect all forms of human life from conception to natural death; we need to work and pray vigorously to end the culture of death.
2) We need to speak and act against abortion in private and public forums. Protecting human life is no more a sectarian creed than the Declaration of Independence is a sectarian document. Because all rights depend on life, the right to life is the most fundamental issue of all; if that is eliminated, the rest will follow.
3) We need to work to have the government enact anti-abortion, anti-euthanasia, and anti-Physician-assisted suicide laws; these killings violate justice, and therefore the command of God to love one another.
4) We need to give real care, support, and assistance to mothers with unwanted pregnancies, contemplating abortion. Helping a woman choose life affirms and empowers her.
5) We need to teach the Church’s doctrines on abortion. The Church cares about the women who have had abortions, forgives them when they repent, heals them, and brings them peace with God, with their lost children, and with themselves. The Church promises any woman who has had an abortion that if she truly repents of her sin, and confesses it in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, she will find welcome and forgiveness. Sacramental confession is necessary, because abortion (the murder of the child conceived), is a mortal sin, and it brings an automatic excommunication upon those who procure it, perform it, or cooperate in it.
Additional anecdotes: 1) Pro-abortion media: British lawmakers are reviewing the country’s pro-abortion laws. The review came about after publication of pictures of babies as young as twelve weeks stretching and kicking in the womb. Carl Sandburg wrote, “A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.” Yet, almost one-third of respondents to The New York Times poll favor legal abortion. Is the pro-life position so weak that many cannot accept it? The answer is negative, but most of the national media favor abortion, and many readers accept journalists’ opinions as infallible. The Los Angeles Times published a study on national newspapers by a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. Here are some conclusions. Most major newspapers support abortion on their editorial pages – the Los Angeles Times among them. 80 to 90% of US journalists favor abortion rights. If one is for unborn human life, one is called an extremist. It is not “politically correct,” according to most newspapers, to be pro-life. There is more defense for owls, whales, and seals. Mark Twain says correctly, “We revere all forms of life except human.” Incidentally, do not be intimidated by the fact 80 to 90% of US journalists are for abortion; 80 to 90% of German journalists were for Hitler! The overwhelming majority of Germans took their cue from journalists and supported Hitler. One consequence was the murder of eleven million civilians, primarily Jews, in infamous concentration camps. Only one-third of the colonists supported the American Revolution in the 18th century. Abolitionists in the 19th century never numbered more than 100,000. The vast majority of our citizens could not imagine a country without the British king or slavery. A few could and changed the USA forever. (Fr. Gilhooley).
Papal statements: 1) The Church opposes abortion but embraces with mercy those who have made this mistake. Let’s all take encouragement from these words of Pope St. John Paul II: “I would now like to say a special word to women who have had an abortion. The Church is aware of the many factors which may have influenced your decision, and she does not doubt that in many cases it was a painful and even shattering decision. The wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly, what happened was, and remains, terribly wrong. But do not give in to discouragement, and do not lose hope. Try, rather, to understand what happened and face it honestly. If you have not already done so, give yourselves over with humility and trust to repentance. The Father of mercies is ready to give you His forgiveness and His peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. To the same Father and to His mercy you can with sure hope entrust your child.” (Evangelium Vitae, #99).
2)”It is impossible to further the common good without acknowledging and defending the right to life, upon which all the other inalienable rights of individuals are founded and from which they develop.” (Evangelium Vitae).
3) Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law: “You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.74 God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.”75 (CCC # 2271,Note: 74Didache; 75 Vatican II ,Gaudium et Spes, 51, 3)
4) “Through the mystery of the Incarnation, the Son of God confirmed the dignity of the body and soul that constitute the human being” (Pope Benedict XVI, Dignitas Personae, 7).
“Human history shows, however, how man has abused and can continue to abuse the power and capabilities that God has entrusted to him, giving rise to various forms of unjust discrimination and oppression of the weakest and most defenseless; the daily attacks on human life; the existence of large regions of poverty where people are dying from hunger and disease and the many [wars and] conflicts that still divide peoples and cultures. These, sadly, are only some of the most obvious signs of how man can make bad use of his abilities and [lose] the awareness of his lofty and specific vocation to collaborate in the creative work of God” (Pope Benedict XVI, Dignitas Personae, 36).
“We must, then, dear friends, be continuously vigilant to protect the dignity of human life at every turn – in our homes, our schools, our places of work and recreation, and our halls of justice and legislation. Our times call for nothing less than our determined commitment to ‘the energetic promotion of a new culture of life’” (Dignitas personae, 36). (Cardinal Justin Regali, “Respect Life Mass: Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, October 4, 2009).
In every voice raised in defense of life, “there shines a great ‘yes’ to the recognition of the dignity and inalienable value of every single and unique human being called into existence” (Pope Benedict XVI, Dignitas Personae, 37).
5) Pope St. John Paul II: “Together, may we offer this world of ours new signs of hope and work to ensure that justice and solidarity will increase and that a new culture of human life will be affirmed for the building of an authentic civilization of truth and love” (Evangelium Vitae, 6). Pope St. John Paul II is an example of the Church’s conversion in its pro-life stance: “To choose life involves rejecting every form of violence, the violence of poverty and hunger, the violence of armed conflict, the violence of criminal trafficking in drugs and arms, the violence of mindless damage to the natural environment.”
6) Pope Francis on abortion: Pope Francis on Sunday couldn’t have been firmer in calling it a “very grave sin” and a “horrendous crime.” “I was thinking on the attitude of sending the kids back before they’re born, this horrendous crime, they send them back because it’s better like that, because it’s more comfortable, it’s a great responsibility- a very grave sin,” The comments came in an interview with the Italian Catholic media outlets TV2000 and Blu Radio, released on Sunday after the closing of the Jubilee Year of Mercy (8 December 2015-20 November 2016).
Catechism of the Catholic Church:
#2270. “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life. ‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you.’ – Jer 1:5. ‘My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.’- Ps 139:15.”
#2271. “Since the first century, the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law: You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish. [Didache 2, 2: SCh 248, 148; cf. Ep.Barnabae
19, 5: PG 2, 777; Ad Diognetum 5, 6: PG 2, 1173; Tertullian, Apol. 9: PL
1, 319-320.] God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes. [GS 51 # 3.]”
#2272. “Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. ‘ A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae‘ [CIC, can. 1398] — ‘by the very commission of the offense,’ [CIC,
can. 1314.] and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law. [Cf. CIC, cann. 1323-1324.] The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.”
#2274. “Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being. Prenatal diagnosis is morally licit, ‘if it respects the life and integrity of the embryo and the human fetus and is directed toward its safeguarding or healing as an individual…. It is gravely opposed to the moral law when this is done with the thought of possibly inducing an abortion, depending upon the results: a diagnosis must not be the equivalent of a death sentence.’ [CDF, Donum vitae I, 2.]”
#2322. “From its conception, the child has the right to life. Direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, is a ‘criminal’ practice (GS 27 # 3), gravely contrary to the moral law. The Church imposes the canonical penalty of excommunication for this crime against human life.”
Biblical teaching that the unborn child is a human child (Fr. Jose Panthaplamthottyil CMI)
Since October is Respect Life Month, I am giving below some of the Bible verses which remind us that an unborn child is a human being. In Psalm 139 the psalmist writes, “For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful; I know that full well(13). Job has the same perspective. He says, “Your hands shaped me and made me… Remember that You molded me like clay…You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in Your providence watched over my spirit” (Job 10:8-12). In the Book of 2 Maccabees this is how a mother talks about life in the womb: “I do not know how you appeared in my womb; it was not I who endowed you with breath and life, I had not the shaping of your every part. It was the Creator of the world Who made everyone and ordained the origin of all things” (2 Maccabees 7:22). Jeremiah was called by God to become his prophet while he was still in the womb of his mother. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). The Prophet Isaiah writes, “Before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb He has spoken my name” (Isaiah 49:1). Paul the apostle had the conviction his call came while he was still in the womb of his mother. He writes, “God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace…” (Galatians 1:15). Remember what happened when Mary went to visit Elizabeth and greeted her. In the Gospel of St. Luke we read, “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the Fruit of your womb. But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (1:41-43). The word of God does not say a ‘fetus’ leaped in her womb; instead it says “a baby!” In the case of Mary, she was only in the early weeks of her pregnancy! However, Elizabeth acknowledged Mary “as the mother of my Lord!”
Prayer to End Abortion: Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life, and for the lives of all my brothers and sisters. I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion, Yet, I rejoice that You have conquered death by the Resurrection of Your Son. I am ready to do my part in ending abortion. Today I commit myself never to be silent, never to be passive, never to be forgetful of the unborn. I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement, and never to stop defending life until all my brothers and sisters are protected, and our nation once again becomes a nation with liberty and justice, not just for some, but for all. Through Christ our Lord. Amen! L/21
INTERCESSORY PRAYERS FOR RESPECT LIFE SUNDAY 2022
1 – For all newborn babies: that they may teach us the consummate beauty and value of every human life; we pray to the Lord:
2 – For newly married couples: that their love for each other may nourish their Faith and strengthen their commitment to do God’s will; we pray to the Lord:
3 – That all government leaders may recognize and promote the inalienable right to life of every person from conception to natural death; we pray to the Lord:
4 – For those who await death in prisons, in hospitals, and at home: that we may remember them in prayer, beg God’s mercy for their sins, and love them as Christ loves us; we pray to the Lord:
5 – For those who, like Simeon and Anna, have grown old: that we may treasure their lives and rejoice in their presence; we pray to the Lord:
6 – That like the Good Samaritan, we may seek to serve the weakest and most forgotten, and preserve the lives of those threatened by violence or selfishness; we pray to the Lord:
7 – For every woman who has had an abortion: that she may be given the grace to embrace the mercy of God and know healing, strength, and holiness; we pray to the Lord:
8 – For those who work for the healing of mothers and their children: that God may strengthen their resolve and make their hands gentle, yet strong; we pray to the Lord:
9 – For all who work for the Gospel of Life and especially for those who teach: for patient endurance and joy; we pray to the Lord:
Respect life Sunday resources: visit these very useful resources:
“Scriptural Homilies” Cycle C (No. 53b) by Fr. Tony:akadavil@gmail.com
Visit my website by clicking on akadavil. Visit https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies under CBCI or Fr. Tony for my website version. (Special thanks to Vatican Radio website- http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html -which completed uploading my Cycle A, B and C homilies in May 2020) Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604
O.T. XXVIII [C] Sunday (Oct 9) Eight-minute homily in one page
Introduction: The central theme of today’s readings is gratitude – in particular, the expression of gratitude God expects from us. Today’s Gospel story of ‘the forgetful lepers presents a God Who desires gratitude from us for the many blessings we receive from Him, and Who feels pain at our ingratitude.
Scripture lesson summarized: Naaman, the Syrian military commander in the first reading, was an outcast, not only because of his leprosy, but because he was also a non-Israelite, a pagan. But he returned to thank the Prophet Elisha for curing his leprosy, and as a sign of his gratitude, transferred his allegiance to the God of Israel.
St. Paul, in the second reading, advises Timothy to be grateful to God even in his physical sufferings and amid the dangers associated with spreading the Word of God because God will always be faithful to His people.
Today’s Gospel story tells us of a single non-Jewish leper (a “Samaritan, considered by the Jews as heretic”), who returned to thank Jesus for healing him, while the nine Jewish lepers went their way. Perhaps, they were under the false impression that healing was their right as God’s “chosen people.” So, they hurried off to obtain health certificates from the priests. “Where are the other nine?” Jesus asked the returned Samaritan and the crowd rhetorically. Today’s readings also remind us that Faith and healing go hand in hand. It was Faith that prompted Naaman to plunge himself into the waters of the Jordan River, and it was Faith in Jesus which prompted the lepers to present themselves first to Jesus and then to the priests. The readings also demonstrate the universal love of God for all peoples, including the Samaritans (whom the Israelites hated), and the pagans, Israel’s enemies, whom Naaman represented.
Life Messages:1) We need to learn to be thankful to God and to others. We can express our gratitude to our loving and providing God by offering grace before meals and by allotting a few minutes of the day for family prayer. Let us show our gratitude to our forgiving God by forgiving others and by loving God in them, radiating His love, mercy, and compassion to all we encounter, including our families and friends. It is by taking good care of our old and sick parents that we express our gratitude to them for the loving sacrifices they have made in raising us.
2) We need to celebrate the Holy Eucharist as the supreme act of thanksgiving: The Greek word “Eucharist” meansprofoundly religious and thoroughly spiritual “thanksgiving.” When we celebrate Holy Mass together, we are thanking God for giving us the great gift of His Son in the Holy Eucharist so that we can share His Divine life and recharge our spiritual batteries, and for giving us His teaching, guiding, strengthening Holy Spirit. We express our thanks to God as a parish community by sharing our time, talents, and material blessings in the various ministries and services of the parish and by our active participation in its outreach programs in the community.
OT XXVIII [C] (Oct 9): II Kgs 5:14-17; II Tm 2:8-13; Lk 17:11-19
Homily starter anecdotes: # 1: “I’m just so glad and thankful I can hear and see.” Perhaps the most grateful person I’ve ever heard of was an old woman in an extended care hospital. She had some kind of wasting disease, her different powers fading away over the march of months. A student of mine happened to meet her on a coincidental visit. The student kept going back, drawn by the strange force of the woman’s joy. Though she could no longer move her arms and legs, she would say, “I’m just so happy and grateful to God that I can move my neck.” When she could no longer move her neck, she would say, “I’m just so glad and thankful I can hear and see.” — When the young student finally asked the old woman what would happen if she lost her senses of hearing and sight, the gentle lady said, “I’ll just be so grateful that you come to visit.” (Rev. John Kavanaugh S. J.) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
# 2: Two lists: Perhaps Daniel Defoe gave us some good advice through his fictitious character Robinson Crusoe. The first thing that Crusoe did when he found himself on a deserted island was to make out a list. On one side of the list he wrote down all his problems. On the other side of the list he wrote down all of his blessings. On one side he wrote: I do not have any clothes. On the other side he wrote: But it’s warm and I don’t really need any. On one side he wrote: All of the provisions were lost. On the other side he wrote: But there’s plenty of fresh fruit and water on the island. And on down the list he went. In this fashion he discovered that for every negative aspect about his situation, there was a positive aspect, something to be thankful for. – Is it, perhaps, time for us to sit down and take an inventory of our blessings. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
# 3: Expressing our gratitude: In 1976 Louise Fletcher was awarded the Oscar for best actress for her role as Nurse Ratched in the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. She had given up acting for eleven years to raise her children before she won that role after five big-name actresses had turned it down. In accepting her Academy Award, Louise Fletcher did a very dramatic thing. With her voice breaking with emotion she faced a national television audience and said: “For my mother and my father, I want to say thank you for teaching me to have a dream. You are seeing my dream come true.” (https://youtu.be/pGl5U7nNlkY) — Louise Fletcher delivered the message in sign language as she spoke because both of her parents were deaf-mutes and were watching from their home in Alabama. (Albert Cylwicki in His Word Resounds). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
# 4: “Then where’s his hat?” Winston Churchill loved to tell the story of the little boy who fell off a pier into deep ocean water. An older sailor, heedless of the great danger to himself, dove into the stormy water, struggled with the boy, and finally, exhausted, brought him to safety. Two days later the boy’s mother came with him to the same pier, seeking the sailor who rescued her son. Finding him, she asked, “You dove into the ocean to bring my boy out?” “I did,” he replied. The mother angrily demanded, “Then where’s his hat?” — In today’s Gospel Jesus tells the story of nine ungrateful lepers. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
Introduction:The central theme of today’s readings is gratitude – in particular, the expression of gratitude God expects from us. By describing Jesus’ miraculous healing of the ten lepers from a physically devastating and socially isolating disease, today’s Gospel presents a God Who desires gratitude from us for the many blessings we receive from Him, and Who feels pain at our ingratitude.
Scripture readings summarized: Naaman, the Syrian Military General in the first reading, was an outcast not only because of his illness; he was also a non-Israelite. But he returned to thank the Prophet Elisha for the cure of his leprosy. His rich reward having been declined by the Prophet, Naaman, as a sign of his gratitude, transferred his spiritual allegiance to the God of Israel. In the Responsorial Psalm, (Ps 98), the Psalmist urges us, “Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; Break into song; sing praise!” in thanksgiving to God who has “done wondrous deeds,” for all of us. St. Paul, in the second reading, advises Timothy to be grateful to God even in his physical sufferings and amid the dangers associated with spreading the Word of God, because God will always be faithful to His people. Today’s Gospel story tells us of a single non-Jewish leper (a Samaritan “heretic”), who returned to praise God and to thank Jesus for healing him, while the other nine newly-healed Jewish lepers went their way, perhaps under the false impression that healing was their right as God’s Chosen People. They did not seem to feel indebted to Jesus or to God for the singular favor they had received. Instead, they hurried off to obtain a health certificate from the priests. “Where are the other nine?” Jesus asked the Samaritan leper and the crowd rhetorically. “Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Today’s readings also remind us that Faith and healing go hand in hand, as do Faith and reconciliation. It was Faith that prompted Naaman to plunge himself into the waters of the Jordan River, and it was Faith in Jesus which prompted the lepers to present themselves first to Jesus and then to the priests. Finally, the readings demonstrate God’s love for all peoples, including the Samaritans (whom the Israelites hated), and the pagans, Israel’s enemies whom Naaman represented.
First reading (2 Kings 5:14-17) explained: The narrator describes a vivid expression of thanksgiving (hodah) made by the pagan Naaman, the army commander of the King of Aram, (in present-day Syria; its capital was Damascus), at his healing from leprosy through the power of Yahweh. When the prophet Elisha refused to accept Naaman’s costly gifts as reward for the healing, the grateful Naaman asked the prophet’s permission to take two mule-loads of earth with him from Yahweh’s land of Israel, so that when he got back to Damascus, he could place an altar for Yahweh on the soil, and so pray to Yahweh on the soil of Israel. Most people at that time had a crude, physical and territorial notion of Divinity. It was just understood that one god governed the land of Aram, and another god held sway over the territory of Israel, and so on. If one wanted to worship the God of Israel in another country, one had to take some of Israel’s soil with one, dump it on the ground in the other country and stand on it. That way, one would “be in Israel,” and so could worship Israel’s God. The grateful Naaman who had come to Faith in the Lord God through this miracle worked to heal him of leprosy, promised that he would accept Yahweh as his only God and would now offer holocausts to Him alone
Second Reading (2 Timothy 2:8-13) explained: In the Church at Ephesus, Timothy held an office that would evolve into that of a Bishop. Paul, a senior Apostle now in prison, loved his young, one-time missionary companion and friend of long standing. Today’s passage is part of Paul’s encouragement to Timothy. Paul tells Timothy that he willingly accepts his suffering –“even to the point of chains, like a criminal” – as a grateful Apostle of Jesus, “for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they, too, may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, together with eternal glory”(vv 9, 10). Part of the Christian life-experience includes the physical sufferings and dangers associated with spreading the Word of God [1 Cor 15:31; 2 Cor 4:8-11]. Paul reminds us that, “even if we are unfaithful, God will remain faithful;” and, hence, we must be grateful to God, even in our sufferings. “I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ for all of you.”(Rom 1:8)
Gospel exegesis:Leprosy as God’s punishment: Jesus was on the border between Galilee and Samaria where He was met by a band of ten lepers, including among one Samaritan among the Jews. They had been drawn together by their common misery and, in their shared illness, ignored their traditional enmity. Biblical leprosy rarely included Hansen’s disease (leprosy proper). It was mostly skin diseases like ringworm, psoriasis, leukoderma, and vitiligo. The suffering of lepers in Biblical times was chiefly due to the way they were treated by the religious society of the day (Interpreter’s Bible). They were deemed unclean, unfit to be counted among a people who considered themselves “a kingdom of priests, a holy nation” (Ex 19:6). “Leprosy” was a terrible disease becauseits victims were separated from their families and society. Lepers were treated as sinners who were being punished by God with a contagious disease. The punishment given to Miriam (the complaining sister of Moses (Nm 12:9-10), to Gehazi (the greedy servant of the prophet Elisha: “The leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever”-II Kgs 5:27) and to King Uzziah (for burning incense in the Temple, a right reserved for priests ( 2 Chr 26:19), supported this Jewish belief that leprosy was God’s punishment for sins.
Mosaic restrictions on lepers: The Mosaic Law (Lv 13:44-46), demands that a) the priest shall declare the leper unclean; b) the leper shall keep his garments rent and his head bare; c) he shall muffle his beard; d) he shall cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean’; and e) he shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp. God commands the Israelites “to put out of the camp everyone who is leprous”(Nm 5:2-3). Over 3000 words (Lv, chapters 13-14), govern the inspection of suspected lepers, their isolation, and the procedure for declaring the healed leper clean. As a general rule, when a Jewish leper was healed, he had to go to the local priest for public confirmation that he was now clean and was permitted to return home and mix with the general public.
The parallels: The Fathers of the Church note three parallels between the Gospel story and the story of Naaman, the Gentile who was also healed of leprosy. First, both Naaman and the Samaritan leper were foreigners who sought healing from a Godly Jew. Second, both were ordered to perform a small, seemingly irrelevant action. Elisha told Naaman to bathe in the river Jordan seven times. Jesus told the ten lepers to show themselves to the priest who could certify a healing. In both stories, healing took place only after they left the presence of the Godly Jew to obey. Third, both Naaman and the Samaritan returned, praising God, to the one who had commanded them to go.
The Samaritan hero: This incident recounting the thankfulness of the cleansed Samaritan leper is narrated only in Luke’s Gospel and provides an instance of Jesus holding up a non-Jew (Lk 17:18), as an example of goodness and Faith pleasing to God to his Jewish contemporaries. Moreover, it is the Faith in Jesus manifested by the foreigner that has brought him salvation (Lk 17:19. (New American Bible notes). Here a Samaritan is presented as the model of Faith and gratitude. Luke was himself a Gentile, a foreigner, and so he delights in recounting stories of foreigners whom God has blessed. A Samaritan is the hero of this episode. The thanks and praise of the Samaritan was a natural response to the free and undeserved mercy of God. The Samaritan knew that he had been in the right place at the right time, and that such an opportunity might never occur again for him. The Samaritan had not earned the kindness of God. He had simply asked for it–and it was freely given. He knew he couldn’t earn it; he was an outcast, a Samaritan. Having accepted God’s grace, his natural response was give thanks and praise. Both the author of 2 Kings and the Evangelist Luke wanted to make an important theological point about outsiders. No story in all the Gospels so poignantly shows man’s ingratitude. The lepers came to Jesus with desperate longing, and the merciful Lord cured them. But nine of them never came back to give thanks. As Charles H. Talbert (Reading Luke, A Literary and Theological Commentary on the Third Gospel, Crossroad Pub. Co., New York: 1984) has explained, the Samaritan looked beyond the gift of healing to its Giver and responded appropriately.
Ingratitude and gratitude: In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, God laments over man’s ingratitude. “Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth, for the LORD speaks: Sons have I raised and reared, but they have disowned me! An ox knows its owner, and an ass, its master’s manger; But Israel does not know, My people have not understood. Ah! Sinful nation, people laden with wickedness, evil race, corrupt children! They have forsaken the LORD, spurned the Holy One of Israel and apostatized” (Is 1:2-4). “He came to what was his own, but his own people 7 did not accept him” (Jn 1:11). Hence,the Word of God invites us to be thankful. At the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me” (Jn 11:41). St. Paul advises us: “Give thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father” (Eph 5:20). “And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col 3:17). Ps 107:1 advises us: “Give thanks to the LORD Who is good, Whose love endures forever!” The medieval Christian mystic, Meister Eckhart, suggests that if the only prayer we say in our lifetime is “Thank-You,” that would suffice. “To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven”Johannes A. Gaertner). Are we, on a constant and consistent basis, offering our thanks to God by how we use our time, our talents, and our treasure as good stewards? “What is the chief goal of human life?” the Westminster Catechism asks in its opening question, and answers, “To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” The old Baltimore Catechism asks a similar question, “Why did God make you?” and gives the response, “God made me to know Him, to love Him, to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him in the next.” A chief way we do either of these things, is by thanking God moment by moment for the gifts that God lavishes upon us.
Gratitude at the Holy Mass: Fr. Roger Landry beautifully explains the connection between the Holy Mass and Jesus’ thanksgiving. At every Mass we’re called to grow in this spirit of thanksgiving, because the Eucharist is Jesus’ own prayer of Thanksgiving to the Father. The Greek word from which we derive the word “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving.” During the Mass, the priest says, “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.” Everyone responds, “It is right and just.” And then the priest replies with a saying of great theological depth: “It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, Holy Father, almighty and ever-living God.” It’s right, it’s just, it’s fitting, it’s appropriate for us to give God thanks, “always and everywhere.” Before Jesus said the words of consecration on the night he was betrayed, the vigil of his crucifixion, he took bread and, as we’ll hear anew today, “gave thanks.” He gave thanks, because it is right always and everywhere, our duty and our salvation, to do so. He gave thanks because he was constantly thanking the Father. He gave thanks because he knew that the Father would bring the greatest good out of the greatest evil of all time which would happen to him after that first Mass in the Upper Room was done. He gave thanks because it would be through his passion, death, and Resurrection, that Jesus would institute the means by which we would be able to enter into his own relationship with the Father. The Mass is the school in which we participate in Jesus’ own thanksgiving, the thanksgiving the Church makes continuously from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Life Messages:1) We need to learn to be thankful to God and to others. Often, we are ungrateful to God. Although we receive so much from Him, we often take everything as our due, without recognizing and appreciating that everything we have or receive is His free gift. We allow the negatives of our lives to hide the blessings He is giving us — minor negatives like some health problems, financial worries, conflicts with a neighbor, co-worker, or spouse. Besides, we are often thankful only when we compare ourselves with less fortunate people. In times of need, we pray with desperate intensity, but as time passes, we forget God. Many of us fail to ask a blessing on our selves and the food God has given us before our meals, to offer Him a prayer of thanksgiving after each meal, or to allot a few minutes of the day for family prayers of praise, thanks, contrition, and petition. God gave us His Only-begotten Son, but we seldom give Him a word of thanks. Often, we are also ungrateful to our parents and consider them a nuisance, although in the past we were dependent on them for literally everything. Similarly, we owe a great debt of gratitude to our families, friends, teachers, doctors, bosses/employees, and pastors–but we often do not think to thank them. Hence, in the future, let us be filled with daily thanksgiving to God and to others for the countless gifts we have received. Let us show our gratitude to our forgiving, loving God by forgiving others and by radiating His love, mercy and compassion to othersin whom He dwells. We must strive to be like Naaman the Syrian, and like the one leper who returned to thank Jesus, and to follow the example of the Virgin Mary who demonstrated her gratefulness to God through her obedience and Faith. We must be grateful to God for everything, even suffering, for that is a means of sanctification and love for God Incarnate Who suffered for us and all mankind. We need to turn back to Him daily in repentance and gratitude.
2) We need to celebrate the Holy Eucharist as the supreme act of thanksgiving: The Greek word “Eucharist” meansprofoundly religious and thoroughly spiritual “thanksgiving.” Thanksgiving is the attitude we should adopt in worship. When we celebrate Holy Mass together, we are thanking God for the great gift of His Son whose sacrifice formed us into the People of God. We thank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit, through Whom we bring the presence of the Lord to others. Saying our thanks to God together with the parish community, sharing our time, talents and material blessings in the parish, and sharing the Heavenly Bread of Thanksgiving, the Holy Eucharist, are the simple forms of thanksgiving we can offer every Sunday, or even daily, in response to God’s blessings.
3) Let us realize the truth that we all need healing from our spiritual leprosy. Although we may not suffer from physical leprosy, the “spiritual leprosy” of sin makes us unclean. Jesus is our Savior who wants to heal us from this leprosy of sin. Since Jesus is not afraid to touch our deepest impurities, let us not hide them. Just as the lepers cried out to Jesus for healing, let us also ask him to heal us from the spiritual leprosy of sins including impurity, injustice, hatred and prejudice.
JOKES OF THE WEEK
1) “The pigs don’t.” The story is told of a farmer who went into town for a little breakfast. As his meal was set before him, he bowed his head and offered a silent prayer. The man at the next table derided him, “Hey, does everybody do that where you come from?” “No,” said the farmer. “The pigs don’t.”
2) A high five and thanks. Sally was thirty years old and had been married for seven years. She lived in Atlanta and was very active in the parish, but she and her husband Jim had been unsuccessful in starting a family. One day she visited her pastor and informed him that her engineer husband had taken a very good job with a reputable firm in Chicago. Hence, they would be moving from Atlanta to Chicago. Her pastor told her that he was going on a pilgrimage to Israel and assured her that he would light a candle at the birthplace of Jesus at Bethlehem for their special intention of being blessed with children. Ten years later their former pastor, while on a tour of Chicago, was invited by Sally to visit her family. When the pastor called on Sally he found to his great joy and astonishment that she was blessed with five children. “Congratulations Sally, I am glad to learn that my candle at Bethlehem really worked,” he said. After a while he enquired, “Where is your husband?” “He’s gone to Bethlehem,” Sally replied, “to thank Jesus, and to blow out that darn candle!”
4) “I can chew my food”: It was Thanksgiving season in the nursing home. The small resident population had been gathered around their humble Thanksgiving table, and the director asked each in turn to express one thing for which he or she was thankful. “Thanks” were expressed for a home in which to stay, families, etc. One little old lady, when her turn came, said, “I thank the Lord for two perfectly good teeth left in my mouth, one in my upper jaw and one in my lower jaw. They match so well that I can chew my food.”
5) Thanks to the guide: A man was lost in the woods. Later, in describing the experience, he told how frightened he was and how he had even finally knelt and prayed. Someone asked, “Did God answer your prayer?” “Oh, no,” the man replied. “Before God had a chance, a guide came along and showed me the way out.”
6) None died: Two old friends met each other on the street one day. One looked forlorn, almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked, “What has the world done to you, my old friend? “The sad fellow said, “Let me tell you: three weeks ago, my uncle died and left me forty thousand dollars.” “That’s a lot of money.” “But you see, two weeks ago, a cousin I never even knew died, and left me eighty-five thousand dollars, free and clear.” “Sounds to me that you’ve been very blessed.”“You don’t understand!” the sad one interrupted. “Last week my great-aunt passed away. I inherited almost a quarter of a million from her. — Now the man’s friend was really confused. “Then, why do you look so glum?” “This week . . . no relative died!”
USEFUL WEBSITES OF THE WEEK (For homilies & Bible study groups)
1) Empty bag of gratitude: There is an interesting story about two Angels who were sent to the Earth. The cries and petitions of the people reach the doorsteps of Heaven constantly. So once God decided that he should send the angels to the Earth to collect them directly from the people. Thus, two angels were sent to the Earth with carrying bags. One was commissioned to collect all the petitions, and the other was asked to collect gratitude. The angel that was collecting the petitions found the bag full in minutes and flew up to heaven many times. But the angel that was collecting gratitude could not even fill a bag. — It seems to be human nature to forget to say, “Thank you.” Samuel Leibowitz, a brilliant criminal lawyer, saved 78 people from the electric chair; not one thanked him. Art King had the radio program, “Job Center of the Air.” He supposedly found jobs for 2500 people, of whom, only ten ever thanked him. An official of the post office, in charge of the Dead Letter Box in Washington, D.C., reported, one year, that he had received hundreds of thousands of letters addressed to “Santa Claus” asking him to bring many things, but after Christmas, only one letter came to the box thanking Santa Claus for bringing the toys asked for. (King Duncan) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
2) Accept my sincere acknowledgments.” James Madison, the fourth President of the United States, is known as the Father of the American Constitution. Madison was known for his spotless character. In his old age, the venerable ex-President suffered from many diseases, took a variety of medicines and managed to live a long life. An old friend from the adjoining county of Albemarle sent him a box of vegetable pills and begged to be informed whether they helped him. In due time Madison replied as follows: “My dear friend, I thank you very much for the box of pills. I have taken them all, and while I cannot say that I am better since taking them, it is quite possible that I might have been worse if I had not taken them, and so I beg you to accept my sincere acknowledgments.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
3) “Not one of them ever thanked me.” From off the coast of Evanston Illinois there comes the story of a shipwreck. The students of Northwestern University came to the rescue. One student, Edward Spenser, personally saved the lives of 17 persons that day. — Years later a reporter was writing a follow-up story on the event, and went to interview the now elderly Spenser. When asked what was the one thing that stood out about the incident in his mind. Spenser replied: “I remember that of the seventeen people I saved that day, not one of them ever thanked me.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
4) “I can’t tell you how much your letter meant to me.” In the book A Window on the Mountain, Winston Pierce tells of his high school class reunion. A group of the old classmates were reminiscing about things and persons they were grateful for. One man mentioned that he was particularly thankful for Mrs. Wendt, for she, more than anyone, had introduced him to Tennyson and the beauty of poetry. Acting on a suggestion, the man wrote a letter of appreciation to Mrs. Wendt and addressed it to the high school. The note was forwarded and eventually found the old teacher. About a month later the man received a response. It was written in a feeble longhand and read as follows: “My dear Willie, I can’t tell you how much your letter meant to me. I am now in my nineties, living alone in a small room, cooking my own meals, lonely, and like the last leaf of fall lingering behind. You will be interested to know that I taught school for forty years and yours is the first letter of appreciation I ever received. It came on a blue, cold morning and it cheered me as nothing has for years. Willie, you have made my day.” — Let us remember the words of the Apostle Paul: “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is the will of God in Christ concerning you” (Philemon 4: 4). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
5) “That’s all the more reason we ought to give in thanks.” In a little Church, there were the father and mother of a young man killed in a military battle. One day, they came to the pastor and told him they wanted to give a monetary gift as a memorial to their son who died in battle. The pastor said, “That’s a wonderful gesture on your part.” He asked if it was okay to tell the congregation, and they said that it was. The next Sunday he told the congregation of the gift given in memory of the dead son. On the way home from Church, another couple was driving down the highway when the father said to his wife, “Why don’t we give a gift because of our son?” And his wife said, “But our son didn’t die in any conflict! Our son is still alive!” Her husband replied, “That’s exactly my point! That’s all the more reason we ought to give in thanks to God.” — We too often build fences around forgiveness, faith, duty, and gratitude. In passages like this one, Jesus encourages us to remove those fences in order to achieve the possibilities of the Christian life. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
6) “I’m thankful I’m going to see my grandmother.” On the radio, a reporter was conducting one of those man-in-the-street interviews. Out among the pedestrians he was asking, “What are you thankful for?” Some were grateful for their health. Some gave thanks because they had good jobs to provide for their families. One lady whispered in broken English, “Much happy to live in America.” One man was even thankful because the doctor said he could eat all the turkey he wanted. But the most enchanting remark of all was that of a wee little girl who said, “I’m thankful I’m going to see my grandmother so I can tell her how much I love her.” — Now that is really thanksgiving. It is going beyond mere “thanksgetting” and thanksgiving. It is taking your eyes off yourself and focusing on another. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
7) “God is great, God is good, and we thank him for our food.” Greg Anderson, in Living Life on Purpose,tells a story about a man whose wife had left him. He was completely depressed. He had lost faith in himself, in other people, in God–he found no joy in living. One rainy morning this man went to a small neighborhood restaurant for breakfast. Although several people were at the diner, no one was speaking to anyone else. Our miserable friend hunched over the counter, stirring his coffee with a spoon. In one of the small booths along the window was a young mother with a little girl. They had just been served their food when the little girl broke the sad silence by almost shouting, “Momma, why don’t we say our prayers here?” The waitress who had just served their breakfast turned around and said, “Sure, honey, we can pray here. Will you say the prayer for us?” And she turned and looked at the rest of the people in the restaurant and said, “Bow your heads.” Surprisingly, one by one, the heads went down. The little girl then bowed her head, folded her hands, and said, “God is great, God is good, and we thank Him for our food. Amen.” That prayer changed the entire atmosphere. People began to talk with one another. The waitress said, “We should do that every morning.” — “All of a sudden,” said our friend, “my whole frame of mind started to improve. From that little girl’s example, I started to thank God for all that I did have and stopped majoring in all that I didn’t have. I started to be grateful.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
8) Be grateful for Christian Faith: There is a story about a Monastery in Portugal. The monastery is perched high on a 300-foot cliff. The only way the monastery can be reached is by a terrifying ride in a swaying basket, attached to a single rope pulled by several strong monks. One day an American tourist was about to ride up in the basket. However, he became very nervous when he noticed that the rope was quite old and quite frayed. Timidly, he asked: “How often do you change the rope?” One of the monks replied: “Whenever it breaks!!!” — Many people today treat Faith like that. They never turn to Faith until something breaks. But, thank God, there are others who realize that the Christian Faith is a life-style that works in practical daily living. It is not just some last resort. It is the way to live. It is the way to relate to other people. It is the way to serve and honor God. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
9) Thanks, But No Thanks! Three men were fishing on a lake one day, when Jesus walked across the water and joined them in the boat. When the three astonished men had settled down enough to speak, the first man asked humbly, “Jesus, I’ve suffered from back pain ever since I lifted a very heavy long-range gun in the Viet Nam war. Could you help me?” “Of course, My son,” Jesus said. When Jesus touched the man’s back, the man felt relief for the first time in years. The second man, who wore very thick glasses and had a hard time reading and driving, asked if Jesus could do anything about his eyesight. Jesus smiled, removed the man’s glasses and tossed them in the lake. When the glasses hit the water, the man’s eyesight cleared up and he could see everything distinctly. Then Jesus turned to the third man. “What can I do for you?” he asked. At this, the man put up his hands defensively and cried: “Don’t touch me! I’m on long-term disability.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
10) Song of Norway. There was a beautiful motion picture released in November, 1970 entitled, Song of Norway. It was about Edvard Grieg’s struggle to succeed as a composer. Grieg had a friend who assisted him during the time of struggle. Indeed, Grieg’s friend poured his life into making this brilliant young composer a success. Later this friend lay dying and he sent word to Edvard, “Come see me.” — But Edvard was now a star. There were concerts and receptions and famous people to meet and Edvard never made it back to his friend’s bedside. Edvard Grieg may have been a great composer, but as a man, his life was surely lacking. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
11) Empty thank-you basket: There is an ancient legend about two angels who flew to earth to gather people’s prayers. Wherever people bowed in prayer by their bedside at night, in a chapel, or on the side of a mountain the angels stopped and gathered the prayers into their baskets. Before long the basket carried by one of the angels grew heavy with the weight of what he had collected, but that of the other remained almost empty. Into the first were put prayers of petition. “Please give me this….Please I want that.” Into the other went the “Thank you” prayers. “Your basket seems very light,” said one angel to the other. — “Yes,” replied the one who carried the ‘Thank-You’ prayers. “People are usually ready enough to pray for what they want, but very few remember to thank God when He grants their requests.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
12) “Now Thank We All Our God.” You can even be thankful during the most difficult of circumstances in life. It’s true! Imagine a man who conducted forty to fifty funerals a day, burying nearly 4500 people in one year. Among those dying would be his wife. Towards the end, the deaths would be so frequent that the bodies would just be placed in trenches, without burial rites. Imagine also that this brave person would be so thankful for these experiences that he’d write one of the Church’s most popular hymns, “Now Thank We All Our God,” sung by Christians of all denominations. This particular hymn was written in Germany in the early 1600s during the Thirty Years’ War. Its author was Martin Rinkart, a Lutheran pastor in the town of Eilenburg in Saxony. He lived in a walled city, the walls being the reason it was a place of hiding for thousands of refugees. The over-crowding brought on the epidemic of plague and famine. All other officials and pastors fled, leaving Rinkart alone to care for the dying. The war dragged on; the suffering continued. Yet through it all, he never lost courage or Faith, and even during the darkest days of Eilenburg’s agony, he was able to write this hymn because he kept his mind on God’s love when the world was filled with hate. He kept his mind on God’s promises of Heaven when the earth was a living Hell: Now thank we all our God, with hearts and hands and voices, Who wondrous things hath done, In whom the world rejoices …[So] keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed, and free us from all ills, in this world and the next. [Christopher Idle, Stories of Our Favorite Hymns, (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1980), p. 19.)] — Even when he was waist deep in destruction, Pastor Rinkart was able to lift his sights to a higher plane. He kept his mind on God’s love when the world was filled with hate. Can we not do the same – we whose lives are almost trouble-free, compared with the man who wrote that hymn?
13) “Thank-you Doctor!”: Some years ago I visited a doctor friend of mine. He was almost crying with joy. He showed me an envelope which contained an amount of money and a letter which said, “Doctor, when I was sick you helped me and never asked for anything because you knew that I could not pay. I have just landed a fairly good job. I am sending you something from my first pay packet just to say, ‘thank you’.” — My doctor friend commented, “You do not often meet that kind of gratitude!” (Father Gerry Pierse) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
14) Schindler’s List:Oskar Schindler was a German industrialist, who, during World War II, single-handedly and tenaciously saved thousands of Polish Jews from the horrors and brutalities of incarceration in the diabolical concentration camps. As the war ended, the defeated Germans pulled out of Poland, and the people eagerly awaited the arrival of the Russians. But just before the Russians arrived, Oskar Schindler, fearing for his safety, decided to flee westwards as well. When word got around that Oskar Schindler was planning to leave, the people he saved rallied together and began to discuss ways and means to express their heartfelt gratitude. But they had little to offer him. Suddenly, one man opened his mouth and pointed to the gold bridge-work on his teeth. “Take this please, and give it to Oskar.” That was indeed a very noble gesture, but the people would not hear of it. “Please,” begged the man, “please take it away. Were it not for Oskar, the SS would have taken it anyway. And my teeth would have been in a heap in some SS warehouse, along with the golden fangs of many others.” — So the people agreed. One of them who was a dentist in Cracow, extracted the gold. He passed it on to a jeweler, who melted it and fashioned a ring. On the inner rim of that ring, he inscribed the following words from the Talmud, “The one who saves a single life saves the entire world.” (James Valladares in Your Words, O Lord, Are Spirit, and They Are Life; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
15) “Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway!”: One night at 11:30 p.m., an older African-American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960’s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man’s door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read: “Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband’s bedside just before he passed away… God Bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others.” Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole. (Nat King Cole was a great American Musician). Fr Eugene Lobo S.J. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
16) Attitude of Gratitude: Some years ago, the movie What About Bob? came out. It humorously depicted a division of humanity between those who were grateful and those ungrateful. Richard Dreyfuss starred as a psychologist who has everything: a lovely wife and children, a dream house, a successful practice and a best-selling book which gives advice for problem solving. But the psychologist himself has a problem: nothing makes him happy. By way of contrast, he has a patient named Bob who possesses very little, but shows a dog-like gratitude for any scrap he receives. Played by Bill Murphy, Bob winds up at the psychiatrist’s home as an uninvited dinner guest. He savors each item of food, loudly expressing his satisfaction. Unaccustomed to such gratefulness, the wife is pleased, but her husband grows more and more irritated until he finally explodes, slamming his fists on the table and telling Bob to be quiet. — Our genuine happiness lies not in what we achieve, but in how we receive. A sense of accomplishment is important, but much more significant is having an attitude of gratitude. Our ability to receive the great gift of Faith depends on our attitude of gratitude. (John Pichappilly in The Table of the Word). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
17) Best of Gifts:There is a huge fortress on a hill overlooking the town of Weinsberg in Germany. One day far back in feudal times, the fortress was surrounded by the enemy. The commander of the enemy troops agreed to let all women and children leave the fortress. He also agreed to allow each woman take one valuable possession with her. Imagine the amazement and frustration of the commander when he saw each woman leave the fortress with her husband on her back! — Charity begins at home. The hardest place to practice the Gospel is at home in my own house. (Jack McArdle in And that’s the Gospel Truth!)(https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
18)Ingratitude is capital offense:In his best-known work, Gulliver’s Travels, Dublin-born poet and satirist, Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) invited his contemporaries to confront the dark, seamy side of human nature. Through the exploits of his featured character, Gulliver on his travels to four imaginary lands, Swift exposed the malice and venality of society, the frivolity of its intellectual concerns and its repeated failures, both as regards virtue and wisdom. By way of contrast, Swift offered the example of the society of the Lilliputians among whom such shortcomings as ingratitude were regarded as criminal. In a description of the law in Lilliput, he wrote: “Ingratitude is reckoned among them as a capital offense; for they reason thus, that whoever makes ill return to his benefactors must needs be a common enemy to the rest of mankind, from whom he had received no obligation. And, therefore, such a man is not fit to live”(sic). Swift admitted in a letter to his friend, Alexander Pope, that he used his pen so harshly in order to “vex the world rather than divert it.” –Could it be that the Lucan evangelist included the narrative of the nine ungrateful lepers who were healed by Jesus to similarly vex his readers? Inasmuch as many of us are, at times, culpable of such ingratitude, then perhaps a certain degree of vexation, i.e., discomfort, is warranted. (Patricia Datchuck Sánchez) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
19) Mountain-moving faith: An old woman regularly read the Bible before retiring at night. One day she came across the passage that said: “If you have Faith as little as a mustard seed and ask the mountain to go away, it will go.” She decided to test the efficacy of the passage as there was a hillock behind her house. She commanded the hillock to go away from there and went to bed. In the morning she got up as usual and remembered her command to the hillock. She wore her spectacles and peered through the window. The hillock was there. Then she muttered to herself, “Ah! That’s what I thought.” – What she had thought was that the mountain would not move. While her outer mind gave the command, her inner mind was convinced that she was giving a futile order. She did not have even an atom of faith! (G. Francis Xavier in The World’s Best Inspiring Stories; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
20) Kindness and gratitude:One day, so says an old legend, God gave a banquet for all his servants, and a really grand feast it was. All the virtues came and had a fine time. Humility was there, sitting in the lowest place at the table. Patience was there and didn’t mind at all being served last. Faith and Hope sat together on one side, while Justice and Peace sat together on the other side. Everyone was having a wonderful time. At the height of the banquet, Charity noticed that two of the virtues were strangers to each other. He was surprised because he thought they were always together, and he had purposely placed them side by side for that reason. He came down to them and asked each one whether she had met her partner before. When they said they had not, Charity introduced them, “Kindness, I want you to meet Gratitude.” Both the virtues were so surprised to find out who the other was. Kindness said to Gratitude, “We are supposed to be together always. Where one of us is, the other should be. Isn’t it a pity that we have never really met before.” –Yes, Kindness and Gratitude are supposed to be together always. Where one is, there the other should also be. (Fr. Lakra). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
21) The presence of God who gives us healing and consolation in our afflictions: The following story illustrates the presence of God who gives us healing and consolation in our afflictions (cf. Julie Garmon, “Fearless: What Prayer Can do” in GUIDEPOSTS, June 2010, p. 86). I couldn’t believe what my doctor was telling me. “I need to monitor you closely, Julie, for whatever might come next.” I had just been diagnosed with two autoimmune disorders – celiac disease and Sjogren’s Syndrome. What more could happen? “I wish I could be more definite, Julie”, my doctor continued. “But autoimmune illnesses cause the body to attack healthy tissue. They are really quite unpredictable.” As I let his office, I felt a cold rush of fear. How could I live like this? The minute I got home; I went looking for help on the internet. The information there was even more vague and frightening. By bedtime, my mind was whirling with negative thoughts. My body was under attack from itself. How could that be? I couldn’t close my eyes until I’d said a prayer, “Oh, God, I feel so alone. So vulnerable. Help me know that You are with me.” In the morning I was still so preoccupied with worry that I barely made it to my yoga class in time. I walked in, took a swig from my water bottle and tried to calm down. As Velda, our instructor led us through the poses, I breathed deeply to clear my mind. Today, that was impossible. At the end of the class I lay tense on my mat, my mind racing. All was quiet. Then Velda did something totally unexpected, something she had never done in the year I had been taking her class. “Our Father, who art in heaven …” she began to recite. She was ending the class with the Lord’s Prayer! Others soon joined in. The sound of those voices praying soothed me deeply. My mind cleared. The tension in my shoulder eased. The knot in my stomach disappeared. Peace filled me.– I made sure to thank Velda. “I needed that prayer more than the yoga today”, I told her. “You know, I didn’t plan to do that”, she said. “But something told me I just had to say it.” Or Someone. I rolled up my mat and headed home. I knew that no matter what the future held, God, not fear, would be leading me through it. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).22)Shirley Caesar Lyrics: “No Charge” (https://youtube/CJAfz-Pvfrw)
My sister’s little boy came in the kitchen one evening While she was fixing supper And he handed her a piece paper he had been writing on And after wiping her hands on an apron She took the letter in her hands and read it And this is what it said:
For mowing the yard, five dollars And for making up my own bed this week, one dollar For going to the store, fifty cents And playing with little brother while you went shopping, twenty five cents Taking out the trash, one dollar And for getting a good report card, five dollars And for raking the yard, two dollars Total owed, fourteen seventy five
Well, she looked at him standing there expecting And a thousand memories began to flash through her mind So she picked up the pen and she turned the letter over And this is what she wrote to that little boy:
For the 9 months I carried you growing inside of me: no charge For the nights I sat up with you doctored you and prayed for you: no charge For the time and tears and the costs through the years, there is no charge When you add it all, up the real cost of my love is no charge
For the nights filled with dread and the worries ahead: no charge For the advice and the knowledge and the costs of your college: no charge For the toys, food, and clothes and for wiping your nose, there’s no charge my son When you add it all the real cost of my love is: no charge.
After that Mom finished writing to that little boy He looked up at her with grand big ol’ tears in his eyes And he said, “Mama, I sure do love you!” And then he reached out and he got the letter and he turned it over And he wrote in grand big words: Paid in full
23) “If We Have Died with Him, We Shall Also Live with Him.” In the spring of 1982, the Vatican newspaper, Osservatore Romano, carried a statement that must have startled most American readers. It said that John Paul II had approved the official opening of the cause of canonization of an American priest who had died as recently as 1957. His name was Fr. Solanus Casey, O.F.M. Cap. “Who?” I asked myself. I had never heard of this Detroit Franciscan. That appears to be the point. Fr. Casey was being considered for sainthood precisely because he was a man of outstanding simplicity and humility, who shunned the spotlights. Born 1870 in Oak Park, Wisconsin, Bernard Casey was the sixth in line of the sixteen children born to very ordinary Irish immigrant parents. “Barney” quit school at 14 in order to help support his family, now at one job, now another (including that of a streetcar motorman). Meanwhile, he felt that he was ultimately called to the priesthood. The Milwaukee archdiocesan seminary accepted him, but he could not master Latin and German, as the course required, so he was dropped from its rolls. This set him thinking that his call might be to a religious order. He turned to the Capuchin Franciscans. They welcomed Barney, and on December 23, 1896, he was formally received and given the religious name “Solanus.” Once again, however, he had trouble with learning the Latin vital for priestly studies. His superior did call him to priestly ordination in 1904, but because of his deficiencies in theological studies, Father Casey was permitted only to offer Mass and never to preach or hear confessions. Solanus accepted their judgment with perfect good grace. Wherever he was assigned, whether in Milwaukee or in New York’s Harlem, he held the humblest offices: doorkeeper, sacristan, trainer of altarboys, moderator of the young women’s sodality. In addition to these tasks, however, he developed an effective special apostolate to the poor, the sick, the people with problems. As Pope John Paul II might put it, Solanus did “ordinary things in an extraordinary way.” If this “unknown” American friar is ever deemed worthy to be declared a saint, we can praise the Father in Christ’s words, “What You have hidden from the learned and clever You have revealed to the merest children,” (Mt 11:15). — In a country like ours, where people are liable to give wealth, position and comfort the highest priority, Barney Casey will also remind us of St. Paul’s more sober assurance to Timothy, “If we have died with Him we shall also live with Him.” (Today’s second reading.) (Fr. Robert F. McNamara). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
24) Give Thanks to the Lord, Invoke His Name:The reading from the second Book of Kings is strange. Why does Naaman haul away a pile of dirt? What is so special about Palestinian dirt? We have to remember that Naaman was a Gentile, a pagan, and in those days people connected a god and his power with a particular locality. You were closest to the god and his power when you were in his territory. Naaman had experienced the power and the mercy of the God of Israel and had come to believe that this was the only God, the universal God. He wanted to give thanks and praise for his cure by offering sacrifice on an altar built on soil from Israel. This would be a sign of unity with the land of Israel where God was present in a special way. St. Luke tells us of another foreigner cured of leprosy. Jesus tells the ten lepers to go to the priests and fulfill the requirements of the Mosaic Law,and on their way, they were healed. For this leper, a Samaritan, this presented a problem. Which temple should he go to, the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem or the Samaritan temple on Mt. Gerizim? Like Naaman, he had a concern for the proper place to find the presence of the Lord. But then he realized that neither temple is the place to find God’s presence. The place to find the presence of God is the person of Jesus Christ: wherever Jesus is, that is the place to encounter the healing presence of God and it is there he should give thanks and praise to God. —These stories remind us that God’s mercy and gifts are not limited by the barriers which we humans set up. Lord, may we follow the example of Naaman and the Samaritan. Remind us of the many gifts we have received from Your hand. May they inspire us to give You thanks and praise for all You have done for us. Forgive us for the times we fail to care and love those around us. (Fr. Robert F. McNamara). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
25)“And Never Catch Up To You!” There’s an old story about an Irishman who was down on his luck and was panhandling on Fifth Avenue before the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade got underway in New York City. As a couple strolled by, he called out: “May the blessing of the Lord, which brings love and joy and wealth and a fine family, follow you all the days of your life.” There was a pause as the couple passed his outstretched hand without contributing. Then he shouted after them, “And Never Catch Up To You!” (Parables, Etc. (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651)
26) Winning lottery ticket for the disaster victims: Let me tell you about someone I just read about in HeroicStories recently. It was in a story titled, “The Ticket” by Tony Keyes and edited by Joyce Schowalter. If you remember, in August of this year [2004], Japan’s west coast was hit by another typhoon, #16 of the Pacific season. It was fourth of a in a record-breaking series of ten typhoons to hit the mainlan [Facts and Details, Typhoons in Japan https://factsanddetails.com/japan/cat26/sub160/item856.html#chapter-6.%5D TV news featured pictures of roads washed away, bridges collapsed, houses half-buried in mud and debris, cars washed away by the floodwaters, along with pictures of people on rooftops, waiting to be rescued, waving and calling for help to the helicopters filming them. Thousands were evacuated until the floodwaters receded. A few days later, there was a story that illustrates thankfulness in the fullest. Somebody sent a letter to the Fukui disaster management center, one of the prefectures or states which was hit the hardest. The letter was addressed to the Governor. The letter expressed condolences to those who had suffered loss, and offered assistance in the form of a lottery ticket. The writer apologized for sending the ticket without cashing it, and for not delivering it in person, but wished to remain anonymous. The Governor found out that while the return address on the letter was bogus, the ticket was real. It was a ticket for the nationwide lottery that had been held a month before. It wasn’t just any ticket — it was the top prize ticket of 200 million yen (US $1.8 million). After the taped news report, the announcer wondered aloud what kind of person would do such a thing. That person had held this winning ticket for over a month, probably planning all the ways he or she could enjoy this newfound wealth, probably wondering how to invest it, how much to splurge, what to buy first, whether or not to about quit working, how life would change. And yet this person, who received a once-in-a-lifetime stroke of good luck, realizing that others really needed that good luck, was selfless enough to give it all away anonymously, humble enough to apologize for not delivering the money in person, and wise enough to realize that helping others is a far bigger prize than any amount of lottery winnings. — And the ticket sent the spirit of Thankfulness throughout that area. It was a gift within a gift. Because every person helped by that ticket was Thankful and whenever they met anyone else, they had to wonder, “Is this the person who was selfless, wise and humble enough to give up their lottery ticket to help us in our time of need? Is this the one I should thank?” (HeroicStories #554: 5 October 2004 www.HeroicStories.com). — That’s a person or a family who had a real “Gratitude Adjustment.
27) Attitude of gratitude: I just read about a woman named Cheryl Stephens who definitely had this Gratitude Attitude I’m talking about. She didn’t need a Gratitude Adjustment. She could be the poster person for the concept of Gratitude. She was a young mother struggling with cancer yet was determined to continue ministering to others. Cheryl went home to Jesus on November 19, 2003 at age 44. Her friends say she lived out Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” The following is a poem Cheryl wrote in 1984, long before her bout with cancer.
Remember me not for who I was But for who Jesus was in me. Remember me not for the things I’ve done But for the things Jesus did through me. Remember me not as one who loved Without remembering that “He first loved me.” Remember me not as one who gave But one to whom much was given. Remember me not as one who spoke of God But as one who knew God through His Son, Jesus. Remember me not as one who prayed But remember the One to whom I prayed. Remember me not as one who was strong But as one who cried out to God to be my strength. Remember me not as one who died But as one who lives forever because I have believed. Remember not my life and death For they will profit you nothing. But please . . . remember the life and death of Jesus. For He gave His life that we might live. He died that we might never have to, and He rose again That we might have eternal life. Remember not me, but do remember Jesus’ (. “If Only For This Life” by Marilyn Anderes, Good News, March/April 2004, p. 44)
28) Thank you, Dear Abby.” You’ve all heard of “Dear Abby” and her newspaper column. Well, one day, “Dear Abby” suggested that her readers write and thank a school teacher who had made a difference in their lives. Shortly after that, she received a letter which really shows the importance of saying “thank you.” “Dear Abby,” the letter said, “You can imagine how thrilled I was to receive a letter from a student I taught sixty-two years ago! He wanted to thank me for staying after school to teach him how to tell time when he was in the second grade. Abby, I am ninety-five years old and live in a nursing home. I don’t expect to have many more surprises as happy as this one. Thank you!” (Erskine White).
30) Leprosy in the past: Leprosy is no longer the scourge of humanity it once was. This is mainly a tribute to the “multi-drug therapy (dapsone with rifampicin, plus clofazimine for some types of disease),” which renders the treated person non-infectious. Hansen’s disease is caused by a slow-growing bacterium, Mycobacterium leprae, ” which “may take up to 20 years to develop the signs of the infection.’ The means of transmission for this disease are not well understood., but we do know that “prolonged, close contact with someone with untreated leprosy over many months is needed to catch the disease. Once treatment has begun, the treatment halts the spread of the disease but does not undo the nerve damage already aquired.” This treatment has greatly reduced the spread of Hansen’s disease world-wide — CDC.
Before these “miracle drugs” were developed, however, men and women stricken with the disease were subjected not only to the reality of great suffering, slowly leading to death, but also to the emotional pain of exile from their communities and separation from those whom they loved. Lepers were seen as the living dead. Ancient Egyptians called leprosy “death before death.” In the Middle Ages funeral masses were offered for lepers even to the point of bringing the leper to the Church, covering him with a black pall and finally casting several spades of dirt on the pathetic leper huddled under the pall.” Having been declared dead, lepers were required to wear or carry a bell or claxon as a warning for nonlepers so that the latter could avoid contact with the infected person. Their wives or husbands were considered as being widowed. Their children were orphans. Their property was divided as with a natural death. During the Middle Ages – as evidence of concern for lepers – hospices were developed for them, largely under the auspices of Christian religious orders. The hospice development meant that, even though lepers could not live freely and openly in society, at least they need not wander aimlessly and hopelessly, unsheltered and uncared for. However, once a leper entered a hospice, he or she could not ever leave the hospice. The penalty for leaving was death. In all fairness, it must be noted that there were no medical alternatives to segregation for lepers. It was a contagious illness. It was a debilitating illness. It was a terminal illness. With no way to cure it, only quarantine provided a possibility for halting its spread. It was the theory of quarantine which led to the development of a colony for lepers on Molokai in the Hawaiian Islands. (Rev. Carroll Gunkel). L/22
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 https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies of Fr. Nick’s collection of homilies or Resources in the CBCI website: https://www.cbci.in. (Special thanks to Vatican Radio website http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html -which completed uploading my Cycle A, B and C homilies in May 2020) Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604
Oct 3-8:Click onhttp://frtonyshomilies.com for missed homilies: Oct 3 Monday: Lk 10: 25-37: 25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live.” 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, 34 and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, `Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed mercy on him.” And Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
The context: A scribe asked Jesus a very basic religious question: “What should I do to inherit eternal life?” In answer to the question, Jesus directed the scribe’s attention to the Sacred Scriptures. The Scriptural answer is, “Love God and express it by loving your neighbor.” However, to the scribe, the word “neighbor” meant another scribe or Pharisee, never a Samaritan or a Gentile. Hence, the scribe insisted on further clarification of the word “neighbor.” So, Jesus told him the parable of the Good Samaritan. The parable clearly indicates that a “neighbor” is anyone who needs help. Thus, the correct approach is not to ask who our neighbor is, but instead, to ask, “Am I a good neighbor to those I meet, helping them in their needs?” The Good Samaritan is a symbol of Jesus, himself, in his role as Savior of the world. The parable: In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus presents three philosophies of life concerning our relationship with our neighbor: 1) the philosophy of the thieves who robbed the Samaritan: “What is yours is mine; I will take it by force. 2) the philosophy of the Jewish priest and the Levite: “What is mine is mine; I won’t part with it.” 3) the philosophy of the Samaritan: “What is mine is yours as well. I shall share it with you.
Life message: We need to have hearts of mercy: We need to remember that the road from Jerusalem to Jericho passes right through our home, parish and workplace. Jesus is inviting us to show mercy and kindness to those who are being hurt or mistreated on any of the “Jericho Roads” of our lives in our family, neighborhood, school, workplace, and parish. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22
Oct 4 Tuesday (St. Francis of Assisi): https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-francis-of-assisi; (St. Francis of Assisi) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-francis-of-assisi(Mt 11:25-30)St. Francis of Assisi is the best known and the most loved thirteenth century Italian saint. He was born in Assisi, Italy, the son of a rich merchant. As a carefree young man, he loved singing, dancing and partying. He joined the military and returned ill, as a changed man. He marked his conversion by hugging and kissing a leper. While at prayer in the Church of St. Damiano, he heard the message: “Francis go and repair my Church because it is falling down.” Francis took the command literally and got money by selling goods from his father’s warehouse. His father was furious and publicly disowned and disinherited Francis. Francis promptly gave back to his father everything except his hairshirt1 and started living as a free man, wearing sackcloth and begging for food. Possessing nothing, he started preaching the pure Gospel of Jesus. Strangely enough a few youngsters were attracted to Francis’ way of life and joined him. 1[Isidore O’Brien, OFM, Francis
of Assisi: Mirror of Christ (Chicago, Illinois: Franciscan Herald Press, 1978)
pp.43-44]
Pope Innocent III had a vision of Francis supporting the leaning Church of St. Johns Lateran in Rome. Subsequently, he approved the Religious Order begun by Francis, namely the Friars Minor [Lesser Brothers] which practiced Charity as a fourth vow along with Poverty, Chastity and Obedience. Soon, the Franciscan Order became very popular, attracting large numbers of committed youngsters. The friars traveled throughout central Italy and beyond, preaching and inviting their listeners to turn from the world to Christ. In his life and preaching, Francis emphasized simplicity and poverty, relying on God’s providence rather than worldly goods. The brothers worked, or begged, for what they needed to live, and any surplus was given to the poor. Francis wrote a more detailed Rule, which was further revised by the new leaders of the Franciscans. He gave up leadership of the Order and went to the mountains to live in secluded prayer. There he received the Stigmata, the wounds of Christ. Francis became partially blind and ill during his last years. He died at Portiuncula on October 4th, 1226 at the age of 44.
Francis called for simplicity of life, poverty, and humility before God. In all his actions, Francis sought to follow, fully and literally, the way of life demonstrated by Christ in the Gospels. Francis loved God’s gifts to us of nature, animals, and all natural forces, praising God for these “brothers and sisters.” One of Francis’s most famous sermons is one he gave to a flock of birds during one of his journeys. “From that day on, he solicitously admonished the birds, all animals and reptiles, and even creatures that have no feeling, to praise and love their Creator.” Francis is well known for the “Canticle of Brother Sun.” Written late in the saint’s life, when blindness had limited his sight of the outside world, the canticle shows that his imagination was alive with love for God in His creation.
Life messages: 1) Let us learn to practice the spirit of detachment of St. Francis that we may be liberated from our sinful attachments, addictions and evil habits. In poverty one makes oneself available for the Kingdom. Once the goods are no longer one’s own, they become available for all. Goods are made to be shared. Let us preach the Good News of Jesus’ love, mercy and forgiveness as St. Francis did, by imbuing the true spirit of the Gospel, loving all God’s creation and leading transparent Christian lives radiating Jesus all around us. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22:
Lk 11:1-4: 1 He was praying in a certain place, and when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread; 4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive every one who is indebted to us; and lead us not into temptation.”The context: The disciples were fascinated by watching their Master Jesus at prayer. They knew that John the Baptist had taught his disciples how to pray. In response to the request made by one of the apostles, Jesus taught the beautiful prayer, Our Father. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that the Our Father “is truly the summary of the whole Gospel” (CCC #2761). The great mystical Doctor of the Church Saint Teresa of Ávila gave this advice while praying the Lord’s Prayer: “Much more is accomplished by a single word of the Our Father said, now and then, from our heart, than by the whole prayer repeated many times in haste and without attention.” And Saint Thérèse of Lisieux said that the “Our Father” was one of the prayers she prayed when she felt so spiritually barren that she could not summon up a single worthwhile thought.
A prayer in two parts: In the first part of the prayer, we address God, lovingly acknowledging Him as our Heavenly Father, praising and worshipping Him. Then we ask Him that His Holy Will may be done by us in our lives on earth as perfectly as it is done in Heaven. In the second part, we ask our Father’s blessings on our present time (daily bread), our past (forgiveness of sins) and our future (protection against the tempter and his temptations). In this part we also invite the Triune God into our lives. We bring in 1) God the Father, the Provider, by asking for daily bread, 2) God the Son, our Savior, by asking forgiveness for our sins and 3) God the Holy Spirit, our Guide, Advocate, Comforter, and Illuminator, by asking for protection and deliverance from evil.
Special stress on spirit of forgiveness: In this prayer, Jesus instructs us to ask for forgiveness from others for our offenses and to give unconditional forgiveness to others for their offenses against us as a condition for receiving God’s forgiveness ourselves. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22
Oct 6 Thursday: (St. Bruno, Priest; https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-bruno; Blessed Marie, Rose Durocher, Virgin (U. S. A.) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/blessed-marie-rose-durocher; Lk 11:5-13: 5 And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, `Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within, `Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything’? ..13The context: After teaching a model prayer, Jesus instructs his disciples to pray to God their Heavenly Father with the same boldness, daring, intimacy, conviction, persistence, and perseverance that both Abraham and the “friend in need” in the parable used. Jesus gives us the assurance that God will not be irritated by our requests, nor will He be unwilling to meet them with generosity. Jesus stresses the power of intercessory prayer and the necessity for persistence, perseverance, trusting Faith, and the boldness of Faith in our prayer.
The parable: By presenting the parable of the “friend in need,” Jesus emphasizes our need for that persistent and persevering prayer which acknowledges our total dependence on God. In the ancient Hebrew world, hospitality was the essence of one’s goodness, and, hence, to welcome a visitor without food and drink was unthinkable. A traveler who was traveling in the evening to avoid the heat of the afternoon might well arrive late at night. So in this parable, when a man received an unexpected guest late at night and found his cupboard bare, he went to the man next door, woke him up, and asked him for a loaf of bread. Because of the persistence of his neighbor, Jesus says, the householder though not willing to get up for friendship’s sake, would get up and give him the bread he needed for his guest. This parable of Friend at Midnight is both an assurance that prayer is always answered and an encouragement to pray. This parable stresses the necessity for our persisting in prayer as the expression of our total dependence on God. St. Paul says, “Be constant in prayer” (Rom 12:12), “pray at all times” (Eph 6:18), “be steadfast in prayer” (Col 4:2), and “pray constantly” (2 Thes 5:17). Jesus assures us, “Knock and the door will be opened”(Lk 11: 10).
Life messages: We need to stop giving lame excuses for not praying. Modern Christians give four lame excuses for not praying: 1) We are “too busy.” This excuse should send us to our priorities list, where God needs to be first of all, if we are to be able to live in His peace. That settled, we will find that prayer in every form is our living connection with Him through which He gives us Grace, fills us with His love for us, and helps us to become our true selves. Then, with His help, we will be able to discern the truly important things in our lives and eliminate the unimportant and/or distracting, debilitating, and useless items. 2) We “don’t believe that prayer does that much good, other than giving us the psychological motivation to be better persons.” Such people forget the fact that prayer establishes and augments our responsive relationship with God, the Source of our power. 3) “A loving God should provide for us and protect us from the disasters of life, such as diseases or accidents, without our asking Him.” True – and He does! Prayer is not meant to inform God; it expresses our awareness of our need for God Who loves us unconditionally, and of our trusting dependence upon Him. 4) “Prayer is boring.” People who use this excuse forget the fact that prayer is a conversation with God: listening to God speaking to us through the Bible and talking to God through personal and family prayers. We can’t have a close relationship with anyone, including God, without persistent and intimate conversation. ((https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22: Additional reflections: Click onhttps://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/;https://www.epriest.com/reflections
Lk 1:26-38: This feast was established by Pope St. Pius V in thanksgiving for the victory at Lepanto, 7 Oct 1571, which stopped the Turkish invasion of Europe. Importance: The word Rosary means “Crown of Roses,” and each prayer in the Rosary is considered a flower presented to Mary. It is called the “Breviary of the Common People” and the “Psalms of the Illiterate” and “a compendium of the Gospel,” Pope Pius XII) The prayers we repeat are Biblical and hence “inspired,” and the mysteries we meditate upon are taken from the lives of Jesus and Mary. The “Our Father” is a prayer taught by Jesus Himself. The “Hail Mary” is also rooted in the Scriptures. Its first half echoes the words of the Archangel Gabriel and those of Elizabeth, both addressed to Mary. The rest of our petition, “Holy Mary, Mother of God,pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death” is added by the Church, seeking Mary’s intercession for all of us. The third prayer — the “Glory be to the Father….” — ancient in its wording, surely reflects the unceasing prayer of adoration and praise found in the Book of Revelation. The various events in the lives of Jesus and Mary on which we meditate during the Rosary are expressions of the Paschal Mystery, that is, the Life, Death, Resurrection, Ascension of Jesus to Heaven and Decent of the Holy Spirit, in which Mary shared.
History: Prayer using rosary beads is as old as mankind. The Hindus in India used to recite the thousand names of their gods and goddesses and their “mantra” prayers using multi-beaded rosaries, and their sages wear such rosaries around the neck, constantly rolling the beads in prayer. The Jews used beads to repeat the psalms, the Laws of Moses and the memorized sayings of the prophets. The Muslims use rosaries with a hundred beads for their prayer. In the ninth century, the Christian monks who recited the 150 psalms instructed the illiterate common people to recite the Our Father 150 times. It was in the eleventh century that the Europeans added the Hail Mary to the Our Father. In 1214, according to the legend, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Dominic Guzman, founder of the Order of Preachers, commonly known now as the Dominicans and instructed him to pray the Rosary in a new form as an effective antidote against the Albigensian heresy. The Rosary devotion attained its present form around 1500 A.D. An additional boost to the Rosary devotion was given in 1917, when our Blessed Mother, in her sixth apparition to the three shepherd children, on the thirteenth of May, asked them to, “Say the Rosary every day… Pray, pray a lot and offer sacrifices for sinners… I am Our Lady of the Rosary.” The “Fatima prayer” (O my Jesus forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who are most in need of Your mercy), requested by Mary herself at Fatima (July 13, 1917), was added following the “Glory be…” after the 1930 acceptance by the Bishop of the apparitions as genuine. Pope St. John Paul II enriched the Rosary by adding the “Luminous Mysteries” (Rosarium Virginis Mariae).
How to pray the Rosary: The ideal is to recite at least five decades of the Rosary (and if possible, the entire twenty), with one’s whole family daily. We need to say the Rosary slowly enough to make its recitation devout and reverent. We are to reflect for a minute or two on the mystery, and then concentrate on the meaning of the prayers as we say them, to avoid distractions. Besides saying the Rosary with others in the family before bedtime, let us make it a habit of reciting the Rosary during our journey to the workplace and during our exercises. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22 (Additional reflections: Click onhttps://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/;https://www.epriest.com/reflections
Oct 8 Saturday: Lk 11:27-28: 27 As he said this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked!” 28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
The context: A woman in the audience was so impressed by Jesus’ powerful refutation of the slander (that Jesus collaborated with the devil in exorcisms), that she shouted a blessing, praising the mother of Jesus: “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked!” She meant that any woman would be proud to have such a great son. Jesus tells her that His mother is more blessed for obeying the word of God throughout her life.
The reason for real blessedness: Completing the truth of the blessing the woman had pronounced, Jesus states that the real source of blessedness is the willingness to hear and the readiness to obey the word of God. Mary heard God’s message at the Annunciation, and her prompt response was, “I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word”(Lk 1:38). That is why she could boldly proclaim to her cousin Elizabeth in her canticle, “All generations will call me blessed”(Lk 1:48). No one listened more attentively to the word of God than Mary did. She “kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart” (Lk 2:10). Jesus clarified the same truth on another occasion, stating that His true mother and brothers and sisters are those who hear the word of God and do it (Lk 8:21). In today’s Gospel, Jesus declares that that those who hear God’s word and keep it are more blessed than those who are related to Him only by blood.
Life messages: 1) We become the members of the Heavenly family of the Triune God, that is, we are made children of God and brothers and sisters of Jesus, by our Baptism. But it is our fidelity in hearing the word of God and in putting that word into practice in our daily lives that makes us really blessed. What makes a person happy in this life and in the life to come is precisely the fulfillment of God’s will, as we learn through the attentive reading of, and listening to, His words. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22
Introduction: Today’s readings remind us that we are God’s stewards, and that God expects faithful and prudent stewardship from us. They challenge us to use our God-given talents and blessings, like wealth, wisely to attain Heavenly bliss. (You may add an anecdote)
Scripture lessons summarized: In the first reading, Amos, the prophet of social justice, condemns the crooked business practices of the 8th century BC Jewish merchants of Judea and reminds the Israelites and us to be faithful to our Covenant with Yahweh, God of Justice. We need to practice justice and mercy to all, as God’s faithful stewards. Amos warns us also against setting making money by any means as the goal of our life. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 113) reminds us that the All-seeing God protects and cares for the poor. In the second reading, St. Paul instructs the first century Judeo-Christians to become true stewards of the Gospel of Jesus, the only mediator, by preaching the “Good News” to the pagans and by including them in intercessory prayers, too. Today’s Gospel story tells us about the crooked, but resourceful, manager and challenges us to use our blessings — time, talents, health and wealth – wisely and justly so that they will serve us for our good in eternity. We use our earthly wealth wisely when we spend it for our own needs in moderation and when we love and help the needy around us, because these are the purposes for which God has entrusted His blessings to us.
Life messages:1) We need to be faithful in the little things of life: Let us remember Saint John Chrysostom’s warning, “Faithfulness in little things is a big thing,” and the reminder of St. Theresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa, canonized September 4, 2016 by Pope Francis), “Do little things with great love.” Hence, let us not ignore doing little things, like acknowledging a favor with a sincere “thank you,” congratulating others for their success, sharing in their sorrows and/or offering them help and support in their needs. 2) We need to use our spiritual resources wisely. The manager in Jesus’ story used all his resources to secure his future. We must be no less resourceful. We have at our disposal the Holy Mass and the Seven Sacraments as sources of Divine grace, the Holy Bible as the word of God for daily meditation and practice, and the teaching authority of the Spirit-guided Church to direct us in our Christian life. We need to use these resources in such a way that it will be said of us, “And the master commended them because they acted so prudently.”
3) We need to be prepared to give an account of our stewardship. We insure our houses against fire, storms, flood, and thieves, just as we insure our lives, buying life insurance, health insurance, and car insurance. In the same way, let us “insure” ourselves (with God, not Prudential!) for the one thing that most certainly will happen, namely, our meeting God to give Him an account of our lives. What really matters, at that time of our Private Judgment by God at the moment of our death is how wisely we have used our blessings during our life, lovingly and generously sharing them with others in need.
OT XXV [C] (Sept 18): Readings: Am 8:4-7; I Tm 2:1-8; Lk 16:1-13
Homily starter anecdotes: # 1: “That is the hotel I have just built for you to manage.” One stormy night many years ago, an elderly couple entered the lobby of a small hotel and asked for a room. The clerk explained that because there were three conventions in town, the hotel was filled. He added, “But I can’t send a nice couple like you out in the rain at 1 o’clock in the morning. Would you be willing to sleep in my room?” The couple hesitated, but the clerk insisted. The next morning when the man paid his bill, he told the clerk, “You’re the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States. Maybe someday I’ll build one for you.” The clerk smiled, amused by the older man’s “little joke.” A few years passed. Then one day the clerk received a letter from the elderly man recalling that stormy night and asking him to come to New York for a visit. A round-trip ticket was enclosed. When the clerk arrived, his host took him to the corner of 5th Avenue and 34th Street, where a grand new building stood. “That,” explained the elderly man, “is the hotel I have just built for you to manage.” “You must be joking,” the clerk said. “I most assuredly am not,” came the reply. “Who–who are you?” stammered the clerk. The man answered, “My name is William Waldorf Astor.” — That hotel was the original Waldorf-Astoria, one of the most magnificent hotels in New York. The young clerk who became its first manager was George C. Boldt. — This story reinforces today’s Gospel message about the prudent use of the earthly treasures and resources we have been given by God. If we use God‘s loving gifts to us to love others and help them in their need, He will be our reward in Heaven. (http://www.snopes.com/glurge/waldorf.asp) https://frtonyshomilies.com/
# 2: Returned overpayments: CNN reported that In March 1994, the huge defense contractor Martin Marietta returned to the Pentagon some 540 overpayments, totaling $135 million. Of course, that was nothing compared to the $1.4 billion in overpayments various defense contractors returned to the Pentagon in 1993. — With a fresh reading of the parable of the unjust steward in today’s Gospel in mind who was not concerned with truth and justice, but with his survival by any means, a report like that can tempt us to wonder. Defense contractors do not belong to altruistic organizations. So why did Martin Marietta really return $135 million to the Pentagon? And if $1.4 billion in overpayments was returned in 1993, was there more that should have been returned? We cannot know, and we cannot judge. We can pray for ourselves and our brothers and sisters that our own concern for truth and justice do not fail us in perilous situations!https://frtonyshomilies.com/
# 3: Waddling ducks: Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, once told a story about a make-believe country where only ducks lived. On Sunday morning all the ducks came into Church, waddled down the aisle, waddled into their pews and squatted. Then the duck minister came in, took his place behind the pulpit, opened the Duck Bible and read, “Ducks! You have wings, and with wings you can fly like eagles. You can soar into the skies! Ducks! You have wings!” All the ducks yelled, “Amen!” and then they all waddled home. No one flew or even tried. [Jim Burns, Radically Committed (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1991).] — Friends, there’s just too much truth to that little fable. Using the parable of a rascal manager in today’s Gospel, Jesus challenges us to see that it is time for the children of light to quit waddling. It’s time for us to soar by using wisely our God-given talents and blessings for the welfare of others, thus glorifying God and becoming eligible for our eternal reward. May we be the people that Jesus praises because we, too, saw something that needed to be done and we did it.https://frtonyshomilies.com/
Central theme: All three selections for today’s liturgy pertain to the subject of faithful stewardship. They remind us that we are God’s stewards and that God expects faithful and prudent stewardship from us. They challenge us to use our God-given talents and blessings wisely to attain Heavenly bliss.
Scripture lessons summarized: In the first reading for today, Amos, the Prophet of social Justice, condemns the crooked business practices of the 8th century BC Jewish merchants of Judea, and reminds the Israelites and us to be faithful to our Covenant with Yahweh by practicing justice and mercy as God’s faithful stewards. He warns us also against making the goal of our life the gaining money by any means. In today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 113) , the Psalmist reminds us that the All-seeing God protects and cares for the poor, singing, “Who is like the Lord, our God, Who is enthroned on high / and looks upon the Heavens and the earth below? / He raises up the lowly from the dust; from the dunghill He lifts up the poor/ to seat them with princes, with the princes of His own people” (vv 5-8). In the second reading, St. Paul instructs the first century Judeo-Christians to become true stewards of the Gospel of Jesus, the only mediator, by preaching the “Good News” to pagans and including them in intercessory prayers as well. Today’s Gospel story tells us about a crooked, but resourceful, manager and challenges us to use our blessings — time, talents, health, and wealth – wisely and justly so that they will serve us for our good, in eternity. We use our earthly wealth wisely when we spend it for our own needs in moderation and when we love and help the needy around us, because these are the purposes for which God has entrusted His blessings to us.
First reading: Amos 8:4-7, explained:Amos, “the prophet of justice,” was the first of the writing prophets during the 38-year span when Uzziah was king of Judah (781-743 BC). For a long time, the territory we call the Holy Land was divided between a Northern Kingdom called Israel with Samaria as its capital, and a Southern Kingdom known as Judah with Jerusalem as its capital. In the 8th century BC, Israel was prosperous only for the upper classes. The corrupt business community exploited the poor people while the priests ignored both the corruption and the poor who suffered from it. In those days, commercial activities were forbidden on the Sabbath and during days around the New Moon. Not only did these predatory merchants resent the Sabbath rest as a loss of profits, but their business methods were completely unscrupulous. The businessmen wanted those sacred periods to be over so that they might get more time to make profits by their dishonest business practices like charging high prices and using false weights. Hence, the Lord God, through His Prophet Amos, warned them of the coming downfall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel because of its lack of Covenant morality, expressed by the abusive, disrespectful, arrogant treatment of the poor and the needy by the rich and powerful. “They trample the heads of the weak into the dust of the earth and force the lowly out of the way.” (2:7) In the Covenant relationship between God and his people, loving compassion and concern for the unfortunate, honesty, and integrity were supposed to be distinguishing qualities in the community. Amos unequivocally declared that God would not tolerate the abuse of the weak. The Psalmist concurs in today’s Responsorial Psalm.
Second reading: I Timothy 2: 1-8 explained: Paul struggled to get Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians to respect each other and not to compartmentalize God’s salvation. Hence, in today’s second reading, he reminds Timothy (a community leader equivalent to a bishop), and his congregation that God’s concern extends to all people, not just themselves. Some scholars think that some early Jewish Christians might have refused to pray for pagans, and that this passage was intended to correct that mistake. In this passage, Paul insists again that he has been called to take the Gospel to all peoples. He requests prayers for civil rulers and those in high positions, so that all people may live a quiet and peaceable life and come to salvation through the one mediator, Christ Jesus. This teaching is reflected in our modern Prayer of the Faithful, which should embrace the needs of the whole world, not just those of the Church.
Gospel exegesis: A strange parable: The parable of the crooked steward or dishonest manager has shocked good Church people for centuries. It appears that Truth Incarnate is praising a crooked business manager for deception, or that He who gave us the commandment, “Thou shalt not steal” is himself praising someone for violating it. St. Augustine said, “I can’t believe that this story came from the lips of our Lord.” Jesus tells a paradoxical story about the steward (manager), of the estate of a rich absentee landlord. The steward was an out-and-out rascal. But his boss praised him for his rascality because he acted with foresight. Facing the coming return of his master and an audit of his accounts, the steward cleverly converted the debtors of his master into his own debtors. He bought “friends” with his master’s money and used these “friends” to secure a means of livelihood for the rapidly and certainly approaching point when he would be dismissed (for his previous embezzlement). In Luke’s account there are four morals drawn from the story to unfold its meaning. The parable advises us to take inventory of the resources placed in our charge: time, talents, opportunities, health, intelligence, education, and other advantages. It also challenges us to use these resources wisely so that they will serve for our good in eternity.
Lessons of the parable as presented by Luke: 1. Let the children of light acquire the prudence of the children of this world (verse 8). The steward in the parable was a dishonest rascal who had been put in charge of his master’s estate. He was a type of broker. In business transactions, such a manager or broker would be paid by adding on something to what was borrowed, rather be given a percentage taken out of the master’s proceeds. For example, if someone borrowed 50 denarii or 50 barrels of oil, he would have to pay back the 50 to the master and another 10 — or 30 or 50 — to the broker, whatever the broker thought he could get. This dishonest steward was probably charging his clients exorbitant commissions in order to maximize his profits. His master was probably a Palestinian landlord residing in a large city. When caught red-handed for misappropriation of profits, the steward cleverly falsified the entries in the account books so that the debtors appeared to owe far less than their actual debt. What he was doing was eliminating most or all of his commission to earn the favor of his customers. The steward knew that when his master fired him, he would need friends. His dishonest plan would serve two purposes. First, the debtors would be grateful to him and would support him financially. Second, he would be in a position to exercise a little judicious blackmail to silence them if that became “necessary.”
‘The children of this world’ are the children of darkness who see and value only the things of this world. They live for this world, concentrate their attention on it, invest everything in it, give the energies of mind and body fully to it, and find in it their entire purpose for living. Christian believers, however, are ‘the children of light’ who see real, eternal, spiritual values as primary and regard temporal values as secondary. The children of this world regard themselves as owners, while true Christians regard themselves as mere stewards of God who view their resources as simply loaned to them by God. To the Christian, “riches” mean spiritual and human values. Our stewardship requires us to use our advantages to help others.
Obviously, Jesus was not commending the steward’s dishonesty. He was commending only his shrewd resourcefulness. The parable points out that Christians should be as prudent and resourceful in acquiring goodness as the steward was in acquiring money and making his future safe. Christians must give as much attention to things that concern their souls as they do to the things that concern worldly matters. In saving our souls and spreading the Good News, our Lord wants us to apply the same ingenuity and effort that other people put into their worldly affairs or into their attempts to attain some human ideal. In other words, our Christianity will begin to be real and effective when we spend as much time and effort on spiritual matters as we do on worldly activities, and when the Church uses the worldly business sense of a good steward in conducting its ministries.
2.Invest temporal goods to acquire eternal welfare. Jesus reminds us that earthly resources will eventually run out. Hence, our material possessions should be used for the good of others, to cement friendships wherein lie the real and permanent values of life. This can be done in two ways. (a) In regard to eternity. It was a Jewish belief that charity given to the poor would stand to a man’s credit in the world to come. A man’s true wealth consisted, not in what he owned, but in what he gave away. The right use of wealth, according to Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, means helping the poor, the hungry, and the starving. That is the way that we make friends with God and please God according to this text. There are many people in our parish who live lives of generosity. There are many people in the Catholic Church who understand that God has given us money so that we can be generous to the needy, the poor and the starving. Thus, many of us are making wise investments for the future. (b) In regard to this world. A man can use his wealth not only to make life easier for himself, but also for his brothers and sisters. Perhaps he will fund scholarships for students or give to charitable organizations and missionary endeavors. There are a million possibilities. We are on the right path if we are using our earthly wealth to attain our heavenly goal. “Money is an instrument that can buy everything but happiness and purchase a ticket to every place but Heaven.” Hence making money should not be the goal of our existence.
3. Integrity and fidelity are the true yardsticks for promotion and eternal reward (verse 10). A man’s way of fulfilling a small task is the best proof of his fitness or unfitness to be entrusted with a larger task. No man will be advanced to a higher office until he has given proof of his honesty and ability in a lower position. Jesus extends this principle to eternity. He calls us to faithfulness in little things because most of our life is made up of seemingly small opportunities to do good. Few of us can hope to “save the world.” Still, we can conduct our business in honesty, tutor a child, visit a person in a nursing home, or help a neighbor in distress and make a difference in his or her life. Then our Lord will welcome us with the words: “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.” (Mt. 25:21).
How we handle our money and our possessions is a test of our character. It reveals whether or not we are morally qualified to receive the true riches of Heaven. How we treat what belongs to another is a test of our fitness to be entrusted with our own possessions. How do we treat others — their name, their possessions, their time, their ministry, their feelings, their family? The answer will reveal our fitness for true stewardship. This is why Jesus asked the question, “If you have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?” (verse 12). While we live on earth, we are in charge of things which are not really ours. We cannot take them with us when we die. They are only lent to us–we are only stewards over them. On the other hand, in Heaven we will receive what is really and eternally ours. Our Heavenly destiny depends on how we use the things of earth. Jesus gives us this parable in order to help us to see that our time is coming to an end and that we need to prepare an accounting, checking whether we were using God’s gifts of wealth, health, talents, and other blessings selfishly or for His glory by sharing them with others. .
4. “No servant can serve two masters”(verse 13). In the Greco-Roman world, the master had exclusive possession of his slave. A slave had no spare time of his own, since every ounce of his energy belonged to his master. In this saying, Jesus reminds us that, like slaves, we cannot serve God on a part-time basis. Once a man chooses to serve God, every moment of his time and every atom of his energy belong to God. God is the most exclusive of masters. We belong to Him either totally or not at all. As Christians, we are called to serve God first. We must not use money and possessions exclusively to serve our own purposes. Let us remember the proverb, “Money can buy everything but true happiness, and it can purchase a ticket to every place except to Heaven.” This parable of serving two masters may seem ironic. Perhaps, Jesus was attacking the Sadducees and Pharisees. The Sadducees cheated a bit on the Mosaic Law so that they might accommodate themselves to the Roman government. The Pharisees made a big show of giving small amounts of money to the poor. The lesson is that we cannot be nominal Christians, calling ourselves “Christians” and committing little wrongs while expecting God’s praise.
Life messages:1) We need to be faithful in little things of life: Often we get so caught up in our work that we ignore the little things of life. But let us not ignore these little matters — things like dropping someone an encouraging note or extending people a simple, “Thank you.” Similarly, we ought to take time out of our workday to help others in small things. As Saint John Chrysostom said, “Faithfulness in little things is a big thing.” We may not be able to reach millions of people all over the world by satellite as famous talk-show hosts or televangelists do. But in our own part of the world, we can faithfully do little things to point people toward Jesus. Our future opportunities in the eternal service of God largely depend on our stewardship in handling the little opportunities we have had on earth. As St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa, canonized September 4, 2016 by Pope Francis), used to recommend, “Do little things with great love.”
2) We need to act wisely, trusting in the power and assistance of God. Today’s parable gives us some practical advice. We are urged to stride into the future with confidence — not in ourselves or our abilities, but in the power and grace of God. The manager in Jesus’ story used all his resources to secure his future. We must be no less resourceful. At our disposal we have Hope in God’s justice, Faith in God’s assistance, trust in God’s grace and the reality of His Love within us. We have the Holy Mass and the Seven Sacraments as sources of Divine grace, the Holy Bible as the word of God for daily meditation and practice, and the Spirit-guided Church to direct us. These are the best possible resources; we need to use them in such a way that it will be said of us, “And the master commended them because they acted so wisely.”
3) We need to be prepared to give an account of our life. We are all stewards of what God has entrusted to us, so some day we will have to give Him an account of our stewardship. We prepare ourselves for all kinds of things, most of which never happen. But do we care enough for our souls to insure ourselves against the one thing that most certainly will happen? We must meet God and give an accounting. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil” (II Corinthians 5:10). Jesus wants us to be as prudent in the spiritual realm as greedy businessmen are in the material realm. Thus, the only thing that will count in our favor is the testimony of those who will say, “Lord, when I was really in need, he gave to me, at cost to himself. He helped me along. He showed love to me and proved it by giving himself to me.”
JOKES OF THE WEEK
1)“Four and take two, myself.” A businessman who heads his own company interviewed three applicants for a job. As a test, he asks: “If you divide six by two, what’s the result?” “Three,” answered the first applicant. He was not hired for being too honest. “Two,” answered the second applicant. Again, he was not hired because he was dishonest and for being an ignorant fool. This third applicant answered, “Sir, if I were to divide six between you and me, I would rather give you four and take two, myself.” He was hired for being clever.
2) Wisdom of the children of the world: The local Jewish Rabbi is out jogging through the countryside. He encounters a man with two puppies for sale. He asks the man what kind of puppies they are, and the man responds, “They’re Jewish puppies, Rev. Rabbi.” The Rabbi thinks that it is so great that the next day he brings his wife to see these puppies for herself. He asks the man to tell his wife what kind of puppies they are, and the man responds, “They’re Catholic puppies.” The Rabbi looks puzzled and says, “Yesterday, you told me they were Jewish puppies.” The man smiles and says, “Yesterday, they were. But today, they have their eyes opened and a Catholic priest booked them offering a higher price and paying in advance!”
3) Trustworthy with dishonest wealth? Abraham wanted a new suit, so he bought a nice piece of cloth and then tried to locate a tailor. The first tailor he visited looked at the cloth and measured Abraham, then told him the cloth was not enough to make a suit. Abraham was unhappy with this opinion and sought another tailor. This tailor measured Abraham, then measured the cloth, and then smiled and said, “There is enough cloth to make a pair of trousers, a coat and a vest, please come back in a week to take your suit.” After a week Abraham came to take his new suit and saw the tailor’s son wearing trousers made of the same cloth. Perplexed, he asked, “Just how could you make a full suit for me and trousers for your son, when the other tailor could not make a suit only?” “It’s very simple,” replied the tailor, “The other tailor has two sons.”
3) Estate Planning: Dan was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the family business. When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a wife with whom to share his fortune. One evening at an investment meeting he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away. “I may look like just an ordinary man,” he said to her, “but in just a few years, my father will die, and I’ll inherit 20 million dollars.” Impressed, the woman obtained his business card and three days later she became his stepmother.;Are crooked women so much better at estate planning than crooked men?
USEFUL WEBSITES OF THE WEEK(For homilies & Bible study groups)
1) Are you making plans for your long-term future…with God? Those who are going to retire ask two questions: 1) “How much money will I need to retire comfortably?” 2) “Will I be able to die with dignity?” The Presidential Commission on Retirement in the U.S. informs us that we will need about seventy percent of our present income to live about as we live today. If the present lifestyle costs us about $50,000, we are going to need about $35,000 to retire comfortably. According to PCR there are three resources for our income of the future: a) Social Security, b) the retirement program from our place of employment, and c) our savings account. But everybody knows that in the not-so-distant future, Social Security benefits will be reduced because there will not be a sufficient number of workers in the workforce to pay for the huge number of previously retired people still alive. In addition, seventy percent of the people working in America do not have a pension program through their employer. Besides, Americans in general are notoriously poor savers, and, hence, most of them have not saved enough money to pay the bills of their future retirement. So, can we be sure that when the end of our life comes we are not going to end up in bankruptcy and poverty? Are we making plans for our long-term future? How is our investment program doing? — Today’s Gospel asks the same question: Are we really wise in planning for our long-term future with God? Are we as wise in storing up for ourselves treasures in Heaven for our eternal retirement as we are in gathering treasures on earth for our retirement here? https://frtonyshomilies.com/
2) “Didn’t Speak Up:” With the Second World War behind him, the German Lutheran pastor, Martin Niemoeller, wrote his now famous confession called “I Didn’t Speak Up,” and it is apropos: “In Germany, the Nazis first came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, but I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak for me.” — Would that all of those involved in the religious enterprise were as effective as the manager in this parable! “What shall I do…?” he immediately wondered. He quickly cleared his brain to answer that one. He did not deny the reality of his need to take action, and he escaped ingeniously. https://frtonyshomilies.com/
3) Crooked stockbroker and financial planner: Claude Lochet, of Orleans, Massachusetts, showed such charm and inspired such trust as a stockbroker and financial planner that dozens of retired persons and elderly widows invested their life savings with him. The thirty-four-year-old seemed to be the model of professionalism. Suddenly, in December 1991, Lochet disappeared. At first, foul play was suspected, but then it was learned that $1.7 million was missing from client accounts. Then Lochet’s van, with stubs for plane tickets to Paris, was discovered in the parking area of Kennedy Airport in New York. Embezzlement and larceny charges were brought against Lochet, but he could not be found. Meanwhile, Lochet’s elderly clients were left with big losses. Most who had invested through Lochet were living on fixed incomes or modest pensions. On February 21, 1992, “Prime Suspect,” a nationally syndicated television show that airs fugitive cases, described Lochet’s case. Two callers from Los Angeles telephoned to report that a man fitting Lochet’s description was living in their area. Lochet was arrested. None of the money was found. When Los Angeles Detective Carl Holmstrom asked Lochet why he stole $1.7 million from clients, the fugitive broker showed no remorse. His only comment? “Everybody does it.” [Dr. William P. Barker, Tarbell’s (Elgin, Illinois: David C. Cook Church Ministries, 1994).] — In today’s Gospel Jesus tells the story of such a con artist. https://frtonyshomilies.com/
4) The Dynamite King: Wise people know how to use their fortunes to improve their reputations. One morning in 1888, Alfred Nobel, one of the world’s leading industrialists, opened a French newspaper and was shocked to see his own obituary. It was a mistake, of course; it was Alfred’s brother who had died. However, Alfred Nobel had an opportunity to see himself as other people saw him. The obituary simply called him “The Dynamite King.” He had made a fortune in manufacturing and selling explosives, but it rankled with him to be thought only that way so Alfred Nobel decided to use his wealth to change his reputation. He immediately arranged his estate to establish the Nobel Prize, to be given each year to the person or persons who has done the most for the cause of world peace. — In the past century, it has long been forgotten that the name Nobel once meant “The Dynamite King.” Today the name stands synonymous with promoting world peace. (John T. Carroll and James R. Carroll, Preaching the Hard Sayings of Jesus pp. 116-117.) https://frtonyshomilies.com/
5)Shrewd farmer and the crooked lawyer: There was a story in the newspaper about a young lawyer who was called in from the big city to represent a large railroad company that was being sued by a farmer. It seems that the farmer’s prize cow was missing from a field through which the railroad passed, and the farmer was suing for the value of the cow. Before the case was to be tried, the lawyer cornered the farmer and convinced him to settle out of court for half of what he originally wanted. The farmer signed the necessary papers and then accepted the check. The young lawyer could not resist gloating a bit about his success. He said to the farmer, “You know, I couldn’t have won this case if it had gone to trial. The engineer was asleep, and the fireman was in the caboose when the train passed through your farm that morning. I didn’t have a single witness to put on the stand!” With a wry smile, the old farmer replied, “Well, I tell you young feller, I was a little worried about winning that case myself because that cow came home this morning.” — Both the farmer and the lawyer could have related to a shrewd crook Jesus told us about. https://frtonyshomilies.com/
6) Shrewd deposit of casino winnings: An elderly lady reported winnings of $6500 from the Tunica casinos last year. She claimed a charitable deduction for half of her winnings—$3250—which she gave to her Church. No, she did not tell her pastor where that contribution came from. Some of her friends asked her why she gave 50 percent to the Church rather than the customary 10 percent tithe which the Bible commends. She replied, “If God was good enough to let me win $6500, He ought to get half of it.” This lady reminds me of the dishonest steward of long ago. — We aren’t supposed to approve of the way they got their money; but we have to admire the shrewd and farsighted way in which they planned for the future. Even a crook can teach us something. https://frtonyshomilies.com/
7)Hurricane compensation: A man in Florida had survived Hurricane Andrew. One day one of his neighbors asked him, “So, what claims are you putting in?” The man had not suffered any damage to his house or car from the storm, so he answered, “None.” The neighbor couldn’t believe it. “Hey, here’s your opportunity to collect a few bucks,” the neighbor said. “The insurance companies are practically writing checks on the spot. How could anyone pass up putting in a claim for $5,000 for wet carpeting or a damaged car? After all, you’ve been paying premiums all these years. Why not get a little back?” — Does that sound familiar? The neighbor’s willingness to give in to the temptation to falsify a claim is not that unusual. One-third of those sampled by the University of Florida’s Insurance Research Center believe it’s okay to falsify an insurance application. One-half of them feel it’s all right to shade the truth in order to save on out-of-pocket deductibles. This is the state of ethics in our society today. That’s sad. For one thing, we all pay for such chicanery. And secondly, it’s getting so you don’t know whom you can trust.https://frtonyshomilies.com/
8)John D. Rockefeller in a skin-deep society: Our skin-deep society costs a lot of cash. It’s not just the plastic surgeons who are getting rich on $10,000 face-lifts or $3000 liposuctions. There are also the cosmetic companies, the clothing industries, the fitness gurus, the drug companies, and the diet doctors. What would happen if we took some of the cash we spend on making ourselves look good and invested it in doing good for others, or for their souls? A soul-deep life, Spirit-filled and Spirit-powered, remains ever vital, ever ready to serve the needs of the kingdom. Brian Tracey tells this story about John D. Rockefeller, a “robber baron” capitalist that some might also call a dishonest manager. “John D. Rockefeller, who became the richest man in the world, started as a clerk at $43.75 per week. Even at that small salary, he gave as much as 50 percent of his salary to his Church every week to contribute to the betterment of others. Years passed. When he was fifty-two years old, he was extraordinarily wealthy, perhaps the richest man in the world. He was also extremely sick, and his doctors told him that he would die within a year. He thought back on his early years and the pleasure he got from contributing to his Church, he resolved that he would spend his last year giving his money away. He sold half of his stock in the Standard Oil Company. He then began financing worthy causes around the country. — Something incredible happened. The more money he gave away, the better he felt. His health improved. His illnesses went away. He recovered completely. He went on to live to age 91, in excellent health. By the time he died, he had given away millions of dollars. Meanwhile, the value of the Standard Oil Stock he had kept had increased so much that he died with more money than he had when he was on his deathbed many years before.” [Brian Tracey, Focal Point (New York: AMACOM, 2002), 182-83.]https://frtonyshomilies.com/
9) “It works almost every time. “An insurance salesman stuck his head into a department store sales manager’s office. “You don’t want to buy any insurance, do you?” he asked timidly. “Young man, who taught you how to sell?” asked the sales manager. “Don’t ever ask that kind of question! Your problem is a lack of confidence. Give me an application blank. I’ll buy some insurance from you to give you confidence in yourself.” After completing the application, the sales manager gave the young man a lecture: “Now remember, each customer is different. Figure out what each one really wants. Then you will know how to develop an approach that fits.” “That is exactly what I do,” said the salesman. “I just gave you my approach for sales managers. It works almost every time.” (R. Robert Cueni, The Vital Church Leader, pp. 12-13). — Smart! In today’s Gospel Jesus challenges his followers to be, not just “smart,” but truly as wise in the things of Heaven. https://frtonyshomilies.com/
10)Armed robbery during Sunday worship: An interesting story appeared in the newspapers sometime back. Worshipers at the Second Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio, had a rude interruption during worship services earlier this year. Three guys wearing masks burst into the Church. One pulled out a gun and announced that the worshipers were to get out their money and remove their jewelry and rings. It was a tense moment for this congregation. But hold on. This hold-up was not what it appeared to be. It turns out that the Church’s pastor, the Rev. Napoleon A. Harris, IV, had staged the robbery to teach his congregation a lesson. The message was about “robbing God.” Rev. Harris said the lesson was one of “responsibility, accountability, and dependability.” “It is my job to convey God’s word,” Rev. Harris said. “There’s nothing comfortable about telling God’s word,” he said about his little staged drama. The police saw the incident in a different manner. They described the lesson as a dangerous game. Rev. Harris doesn’t understand the fuss. He said, “I teach practical lessons every week.” [“Spreading the Word by Hook or by Crook,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, (March 13, 1992), pg. 3.] — In today’s Gospel, Jesus is trying to teach us a practical lesson, and his story is just about as shocking. https://frtonyshomilies.com/
11) The Sting and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: Remember how you laughed when you saw the movie, The Sting? Remember how great it was when Paul Newman and Robert Redford outwitted the gangsters, swindling them out of their money? If a little guy puts one over on his rich boss, what do we care? It’s funny. After all, the big guy is a money-grabbing capitalist, so maybe he deserves it! Remember the movie, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels? One crook tried to outwit another, and finally both got outwitted by a savvy woman. That’s funny. It is fun to see the little guy put one over on Mr. Big. In today’s Gospel, Jesus commends the clever, dishonest steward, not for what he has done to escape punishment and to deceive his master, but for the focused intelligence and energy he used in finding his “way out.” He was teaching us that it is this focus we need to use in preparing now for own Final Audit – for death comes unexpectedly! https://frtonyshomilies.com/
12) Golden handshake: There was a Home Building company which did business was on a very large scale. There is a story told about one of their building contractors, who was approaching the age of retirement. He had become very careless, and his working standards were constantly slipping. He began cutting corners, using inferior material, and taking shortcuts. He was quite pleased with himself, and he felt he was onto a good thing here. As time progressed, the standard of his work deteriorated. The houses were new, so the faults would not show up straightaway, and he would be well out of the business by then. The time of his retiring arrived, and it coincided with what was possibly the most shoddily built house he had ever produced. Imagine his surprise, at his retirement party, when his golden handshake was to be presented with the keys of that last house he had just completed! (Fr. Jack McArdle) https://frtonyshomilies.com/
13)Money Makers:When her husband, Ray Kroc, died in 1984, Joan Kroc was left with an estimated $700 million. Her wealth included an 8.7 percent share of the common stock of the McDonald’s food empire and full ownership of the San Diego Padres Baseball Franchise. Since that time this fast-food empress has become a woman of many causes. Besides giving sizable donations to nuclear-disarmament groups, the San Diego Zoo, St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, and the American Red Cross for African Famine relief, Joan Kroc has also been a steady supporter of the arts, alcohol and drug rehabilitation, medical research, wildlife preservation and programs to combat child abuse. Some skeptics dismiss her as a jet-set do-gooder, but close friends say that she becomes personally involved in many of the causes she supports. — Today’s readings from Scripture seem to be a blueprint for Joan Kroc’s use of money. She is the antithesis of the rich decried by the prophet Amos for trampling on the needy and taking unfair advantage of the poor. The Gospel reading is a collection of three separate statements Jesus made about money and material things, which Joan Kroc seems to have taken to heart. (Albert Cylwicki in His Word Resounds).https://frtonyshomilies.com/
14)Shrewd Paul Newman:In the precarious movie industry, actor, director Paul Newman has managed to remain a super-star for a long time. He is a man who has developed all his personal gifts to the full. His many fans throughout the world will attest to this point. In addition, he has enthusiastically lived verse 9 of today’s Gospel. “Use your worldly wealth to win friends for yourselves, so that when money is a thing of the past, you may be received into an eternal home.” Mr. Newman has given away more than 300 million dollars to various charitable causes. Additionally, he sponsors a camp for youngsters who are terminally ill. Sixteen hundred sick children receive a summer holiday in the country courtesy of the actor. This venture has cost him additional millions. — Billy Graham might have had Paul Newman in mind when he said, “God has given us two hands – one to receive with and the other to give with.” (Fr.James Gilhooley)https://frtonyshomilies.com/
15) $125 billion to charitable causes: At the urging of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, forty of the world’s richest families have promised to give at least half of their fortunes to philanthropy. By taking the “Giving Pledge,” the forty families or individuals, most of whom are billionaires, are promising a collective sum of at least $125 billion to charitable causes, based on Forbes’ current estimates of their net worth and other data sources. According to the pledge, the giving can occur either during donors’ lifetimes or after their passing. Each has committed at least 50 percent of his or her net worth, but many have committed to larger percentages, Buffett said. The men and women taking the pledge are free to direct their money to causes of their choice, and the organization is not pooling any money or dictating areas of need. In fact, the pledge is non-binding, though the organizers say the billionaires are making a “moral commitment,” publicly signing their names to letters posted on a website, GivingPledge.org. (http://abcnews.go.com/WN/bill-gates-warren-buffett-organize-billionaire-giving-pledge/story?id=11325984)https://frtonyshomilies.com/
16)Make your choice: Jenny Lind, the great Swedish soprano disappointed many of her friends because she turned down so many big business contracts that would have made her world famous. One day a friend was surprised to find her sitting on a sunny seashore reading the New Testament. The friend rebuked the singer for not seizing her chances. Quickly, Jenny put her hand over the New Testament and said, “I have found that making vast sums of money was spoiling my taste for this.” Robert Kimchi says thus: “This world is a house; Heaven the roof, the stars the lights; the earth, with its fruits, a table spread; the Master of the house is the holy and blessed God; man is the steward, into whose hands the goods of this house are delivered; if he behaves himself well, he will find favor in the eyes of the Lord; if not, he will be turned out of his stewardship.” — We are all stewards; therefore, the day of accounting is there for each one of us. (John Rose in John’s Sunday Homilies; quoted by Fr. Botelho). https://frtonyshomilies.com/
17)Street-smart:An up-dated but innocent example of the children of this world being enterprising is the department store clerk who had broken all sales records. Modestly disclaiming credit, he explained to his boss, “A customer came in, and I sold him some fishhooks. “You will need a line for those hooks,” I said, and sold him some line. Then I told him, “You have to have a rod to go with the line,” and I sold him a rod. “You ought to have a boat so you can use your new rod in deep water,” I suggested, and sold him a boat. Next I told him, “You’ll need a boat trailer” and he fell for that too. Finally, I said, “How will you pull the trailer without a car? And guess what? He bought my car.” And the boss said, “But I assigned you to the greetings card department.” “That is right,” the salesman nodded. “This customer came to me for a get-well card for his girl, who had a broken hip. When I heard that I said to him, ‘You haven’t got anything to do for six weeks, so you might as well go fishing.'” (Harold Buetow in God Still Speaks: Listen! quoted by Fr. Botelho).https://frtonyshomilies.com/
18)An astute manager:A few years ago, a priest was giving a retreat to inmates in a federal prison in the South. One of the talks dealt with Jesus’ teaching on revenge. Jesus said: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. When someone strikes you on [your] right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.” To illustrate Jesus’ point, the priest told the story of Jackie Robinson, the first black athlete to play in the major leagues. When Branch Rickey signed Jackie to a Dodger contract in 1945, he told him, “You will have to take everything they dish out to you and never strike back.” Rickey was right. On the field, pitchers brushed Jackie back with blazing fastballs, and opposing fans and teams taunted him. Off the field, he was thrown out of hotels and restaurants where the rest of the team stayed and ate. Through it all, Jackie kept his cool. He turned the other cheek. And so did Dodgers’ General Manager Rickey, who was abused by people for signing Jackie. The priest ended the story by asking the prisoners this question: “Where do you think black athletes would be today had Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey not turned the other cheek?” After the talk, a prisoner said to the priest: “That’s a nice story, Father. But why didn’t you tell the whole story? Why didn’t you tell why Rickey and Robinson turned the other cheek? It wasn’t for love of God. It was for love of money. Rickey turned the other cheek because if he succeeded, he would make a fortune too.” The priest thought to himself for a minute: “If the prisoner’s right, then he’s just shot my nice little story right out of the water.” — But then the priest thought: “Hey! Wait a minute! If the prisoner’s right, then my story makes an even more important point!” It’s the same point Jesus makes in today’s Gospel. Jesus says: “The children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.” (Mark Link in Sunday Homilies). https://frtonyshomilies.com/
19)“Treason! Treason!” On 22 August 1485, in marshy fields near the village of Sutton Cheney in Leicestershire, Richard III led the last charge of knights in English history. A circlet of gold around his helmet, his banners flying, he threw his destiny into the hands of the god of battles. Among the astonished observers of this glittering panoply of horses and steel galloping towards them were Sir William Stanley and his brother Thomas, whose forces had hitherto taken no part in the action. Both watched intently as Richard swept across their front and headed towards Henry Tudor, bent only on eliminating his rival. As the King battled his way through Henry’s bodyguard, killing his standard bearer with his own hand and coming within feet of Tudor himself, William Stanley made his move. Throwing his forces at the King’s back he betrayed him and had him hacked down. Richard, fighting manfully and crying, “Treason! Treason!” was butchered in the bloodstained mud of Bosworth Field by a man who was there to support him. — This is just one the numerous examples of the dishonest stewards, found in our history. The desire for wealth and power lead men to practice injustice. That is the message that the parable of the dishonest servant gives us.https://frtonyshomilies.com/
(Fr. Bobby Jose)
20) Actor Paul Newman the superstar. In the precarious movie industry, actor Paul Newman has managed to remain a super-star for a long time. He is a man who has developed all his personal gifts to the full. His many fans throughout the world will attest to this point. In addition, he has enthusiastically lived verse 9 of today’s Gospel. “Use your worldly wealth to win friends for yourselves, so that when money is a thing of the past, you may be received into an eternal home.” Mr Newman has given away more than ten million dollars to various charitable causes. Additionally, he sponsors a camp for youngsters who are terminally ill. Sixteen hundred sick children receive a summer holiday in the country courtesy of the actor. This venture has cost him additional millions. Billy Graham might have Paul Newman in mind when he said, “God has given us two hands – one to receive with and the other to give with.” If anyone is following the admonition of Psalm 113, vs 7-8, it is Newman. “He raises up the lowly from the dust; from the dunghill he lifts up the poor to seat them with princes…” — The next few sentences from this preacher will come as a surprise to no one. Just as Newman is generous with the gifts that God has given to him, so should we Catholics. We need not be as lavish as he is. Yet, would it not be wonderful if proportionate to our wealth, whether large or small, we were? (Fr. Kayala).https://frtonyshomilies.com/
21)Worldly wise: Henry Ford was known for both his frugality and his philanthropy. He was visiting his family’s ancestral village in Ireland when two trustees of the local hospital found out he was there, and they managed to get in to see him. They talked him into giving the hospital $5,000 dollars (this was the 1930’s, so $5,000 dollars was a great deal of money). The next morning, at breakfast, he opened his newspaper to read the banner headline: “American Millionaire Gives Fifty Thousand to Local Hospital.” Ford wasted no time in summoning the two hospital trustees. He waved the newspaper in their faces. “What does this mean?” he demanded. The trustees apologized profusely. “Dreadful error,” they said. They promised to get the editor to print a retraction the very next day, stating that the great Henry Ford hadn’t given $50,000, but only $5,000. Well, hearing that, Ford offered them the other $45,000, under one condition: that the trustees erect a marble arch at the entrance of the new hospital, with a plaque that read, “I walked among you and you took me in.” (Billy D. Strayhorn, Let’s Make a Deal).https://frtonyshomilies.com/
22)And our dollars are God’s dollars! Some of us are good stewards – or may be just tight. Stumpy and his wife Martha went to a state fair every year and every year when Stumpy saw the antique bi-plane he would say, “Martha, I’d like to ride in that airplane.” And Martha always replied, “I know Stumpy, but that airplane ride costs 10 dollars, and 10 dollars is 10 dollars.”One year Stumpy and Martha went to the fair and Stumpy said, “Martha, I’m 81 years old. If I don’t ride that airplane, I might never get another chance.” And again, Martha replied, “Stumpy, that airplane ride costs 10 dollars, and 10 dollars is 10 dollars.” The pilot overheard them and said, “Folks, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll take you both up for a ride. If you can stay quiet for the entire ride and not say a word, I won’t charge you; but if you say one word it’s 10 dollars.” Stumpy and Martha agreed and up they went. The pilot did all kinds of twists and turns, rolls and dives, but not one word was heard. He did all his tricks over again, but still not a word. When they landed, the pilot turned to Stumpy and said, “By golly, I did everything I could think of to get you to yell out, but you didn’t.” Stumpy replied, “Well, I was gonna say something when Martha fell out, but 10 dollars is 10 dollars.” (Quoted by Fr. Larka).https://frtonyshomilies.com/
23)What impressed you most about United States?“Your garbage cans.” A famous economics professor from a great University in Europe was travelling through the United States. He visited many of the great buildings and institutions, the skyscrapers of the big cities, stadiums and hospitals. When he was about to return to Europe someone asked him: “What impressed you most about the United States?” Without a moment’s hesitation he replied: “Your garbage cans.” “Garbage cans?” echoed the interviewer, “what is so impressive about the garbage cans?” The professor explained: “Your garbage cans are loaded with wasted food. You Americans waste more food in a week than it would take to feed the children of one European country for a whole month.” — Why did the steward in today’s gospel lose his job? Because “he was wasting his master’s goods.” Every one of us is a steward. We are in charge of goods, talents, even people. All these things and persons belong to God. When we waste them, we are committing a sin of injustice and dishonesty. (Msgr. Arthur Tonne). https://frtonyshomilies.com/
24)Credit for being Enterprising:Today’s gospel parable about the wily steward is a little tricky to interpret. The steward, about to be fired by his employer for embezzling, commits one final act of embezzlement to win the favor of his master’s debtors, hoping that they will give him another job. Jesus does not praise the rascal for his dishonesty, but he does give him credit for his cleverness in “winning friends and influencing people.” Using our wits is all the more in order when we seek to win a hearing for a good cause by good means. It is only commonsense to speak to people in an idiom they can comprehend. Father Matteo Ricci followed that principle when he went to China in 1582 to bring the gospel to the proud Chinese. Ricci was a learned Italian Jesuit. He quickly realized that this “western” Gospel would sound strange to the pagan but highly cultured Chinese leaders whom he sought first to convert. He decided that he and his fellow missionaries could get nowhere with the “Mandarins” or scholars unless they first became “Mandarins” themselves. So they adopted the dress and life-style of this highly revered academic class, and set out to learn their language and literature perfectly. Ricci, in fact, succeeded so well with the language that some of his writings have become Chinese literary classics. Once he had gained the confidence of the scholars, Dr. Li (as he called himself) began by discussing with them the admirable rules of morality and social living of their great philosopher, Confucius. But Confucius had not given all the answers – nor raised all the questions. At these open points, Fr. Matteo gently interjected Christian teachings into the discussion. Thus, as Pope John Paul II recently said, “without imposing his views, he ended up by bringing many listeners to the explicit knowledge and authentic worship of God, the Highest Good.”– It was a painfully slow approach, but the only feasible one. The Gospel was not given to the West alone, but to the whole world. It must be, therefore, proclaimed, as at Pentecost, in a manner understandable to every nation. Only thus can mankind hear the message Christ addressed to all his children. (Father Robert F. McNamara).https://frtonyshomilies.com/ L/22
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 https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies of Fr. Nick’s collection of homilies or Resources in the CBCI website: https://www.cbci.in. (Special thanks to Vatican Radio website http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html -which completed uploading my Cycle A, B and C homilies in May 2020) Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604
Sept 12-17: Click on http://frtonyshomilies.comfor missed homilies: Sept 12 Monday: (The Most Holy Name of Mary):https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/most-holy-name-of-the-blessed-virgin-maryLk 7:1-10: 1 After he had ended all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion had a slave who was dear to him, who was sick and at the point of death. 3 When he heard of Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his slave. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they besought him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he built us our synagogue.”6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; 7 therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, `Go,’ and he goes; and to another, `Come,’ and he comes; and to my slave, `Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard this he marveled at him, and turned and said to the multitude that followed him, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave well.Context: Jesus’ healing of the centurion’s slave, described in today’s Gospel, shows us how God listens to our Faith-filled prayers and meets our needs. Centurions were reliable, commanding officers, brave captains in charge of 80 soldiers in the first century AD.. They were the backbone of the Roman army. According to Luke’s account (Lk 7:1-10), this centurion loved the Jews, respected their religious customs, built a synagogue for them, loved his sick servant, trusted in Jesus’ power of healing, and was ready to face the ridicule of his fellow-centurions by pleading before a Jewish rabbi.
The remote healing: The centurion asked Jesus to shout a command, as the centurion did with his soldiers, so that the illness might leave his servant by the power of that order. Jesus was moved by the centurion’s Faith-filled request and rewarded the trusting Faith of this Gentile officer by performing a telepathic healing. When we ask for the intercession of the saints, we are like the centurion, acknowledging that we are not worthy, by our own merits, to stand before the Lord and bring Him our request.
Life messag: 1) We need to grow to the level of the Faith of the centurion by knowing and personally experiencing Jesus in our lives. We do so by daily meditative reading of the Bible, by our daily personal and family prayers and by frequenting the Sacraments, especially the Eucharistic celebration. The next step to which the Holy Spirit brings us is the complete surrender of our whole being and life to Jesus whom we have experienced, by rendering loving service to others seeing Jesus in them. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22
Sept 13 Tuesday:(St. John Chrysostom, Bishop, Doctor of the Church):https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-john-chrysostomLk 7:11-17: 11 Soon afterward he went to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large crowd from the city was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 And he came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all; and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” 17 And this report concerning him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.
The context: Today’s Gospel presents one of the three stories in the Gospel where Jesus brings a dead person back to life. The other stories are those of Lazarus and of the daughter of Jairus, the synagogue leader. Today’s story is found only in Luke. Nain is a village six miles SE of Nazareth, and it is mentioned nowhere else in the Bible. The scene is particularly sad because the mother in this story, who had already lost her husband, has now lost her only son and her only means of support.
Jesus’ touch of human kindness: Jesus was visibly moved by the sight of the weeping widow, perhaps because he could foresee his own mother in the same position at the foot of his cross. His compassionate heart prompted him to console the widow saying: “Do not weep.” Then Luke reports, “He touched the bier and when the bearers stood still, he said, ‘Young man, I say to you, arise.’And the dead man sat up and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother,” and participated in her indescribable joy. There were instances in the Old Testament of people being raised from death, by Elijah (1 Kgs 17:17-24), and Elisha (2 Kgs 4:32-37). Jesus’ miracle took place near the spot where the prophet Elisha had brought another mother’s son back to life again (see 2 Kgs 4:18-37). These miracles were signs of the power of God working through His prophets. In the case of the widow’s son in today’s Gospel, the miracle showed the people that Jesus, like Elijah and Elisha, was, at the least, a great prophet.
Life messages: 1) St. Augustine compares the joy of that widow to the joy of our Mother the Church when her sinful children return to the life of grace: “Our Mother the Church rejoices every day when people are raised again in spirit.” 2) The event also reminds us to have the same love and compassion for those who suffer that Jesus had. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22
Introduction: We celebrate this feast of the Exaltation of the Cross for two reasons: (1) to understand the history of the discovery and recovery of the True Cross and (2) to appreciate better the importance of the symbol and reality of Christ’s sacrificial love, namely, the cross in the daily life of every Christian.
History:The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is one of twelve “Master feasts” celebrated in the Church to honor Jesus Christ, our Lord and Master. This feast is celebrated to memorialize the first installation of the remnants of the true cross of Jesus in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher at Mount Calvary, September 14, AD 335, and its reinstallation on September 14, AD 630. The original cross on which Jesus was crucified was excavated in AD 326 by a team led by St. Helena, the mother of the first Christian Roman Emperor, Constantine. The Emperor built the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on Calvary, it was consecrated on September 14, AD 335, and the remains of the cross were installed in it by Archbishop Maccharios of Jerusalem. After three centuries, the Persians invaded Jerusalem, plundered it of all valuables and took with them the relic of the Holy Cross. In AD 630, Heraclius II defeated the Persians, recaptured the casket containing the holy relic, and reinstalled it in the rebuilt Church, which was destroyed by Muslims in 1009. The crusaders rebuilt it as the present Church of the Holy Sepulcher in 1149. The largest fragment of the holy cross is now kept in Santa Croce Church in Rome. The first reading today (Nm 21:4b—9) describes how God healed the complaining Israelites through the brazen serpent. The second reading Phil 2:6-11) reminds us that Jesus, “ humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross,” In today’s Gospel, answering the question raised by Nicodemus, Jesus cites the example of how, when the Israelites were in the desert, the impaled brazen serpent (representing the healing power of God), which God commanded Moses to raise, saved from death the serpent-bitten Israelites who looked at it (Nm 21:4-9). Then Jesus explains how He is going to save the world by dying on the cross.
Life messages: 1) We should honor and venerate the cross and carry it on our person to remind ourselves of the love of God for us and the price Jesus paid for our salvation. 2) The cross will give us strength in our sufferings and remind us of our hope of eternal glory with the risen Lord. With St. Paul, we express our belief that the “message of the cross is foolishness only to those who are perishing” (1Cor 1:18-24), and that we should “glory in the cross of Our Lord” (Gal 6:14). 3) We should bless ourselves with the sign of the cross to remind ourselves that we belong to Christ Jesus, to honor the Most Holy Trinity, and to ask the Triune God to bless us, save us and protect us from all danger and evil. 4) The crucifix should remind us that we are forgiven sinners and, hence, we are expected to forgive those who offend us and to ask for forgiveness whenever we offend others or hurt their feelings. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22
Today we remember the spiritual martyrdom of the Mother of Jesus and her participation in the sufferings of her Divine Son. Mary is the Queen of martyrs because she suffered in spirit all Jesus suffered during His Passion and death, her spiritual torments were greater than the bodily agonies of the martyrs, and Mary offered her sorrows to God for our sake. The principal Biblical references to Mary’s sorrows are found in Lk 2:35 and Jn 19:26-27. Many early Church writers interpret the sword prophesied by Simeon as Mary’s sorrows, especially as she saw Jesus die on the cross. In the past, the Church celebrated two feasts to commemorate separately 1) the spiritual martyrdom of the Blessed Virgin Mary throughout her life as the mother of Jesus and 2) her compassion for her Divine Son during his suffering and death. The devotion to the Seven Dolors (sorrows) of Mary honors her for the motherly sufferings she endured during the whole life of Jesus on earth.In 1239 the seven founders of the Servite Order took up the sorrows of Mary who stood under the Cross as the main devotion of their religious Order. Originally, this day was kept on the Friday before Good Friday. It was Pope Pius XII who changed the date of the feast to the 15th of September immediately after the feast of the Triumph of the Cross. The nineteenth-century German mystic Anne Catherine Emmerich claimed to have received a vision in which Mary actually kisses the blood of Jesus in the many sacred places on the way of the cross. In his film, The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson, inspired by this vision, pictures Claudia, Pontius Pilate’s wife, secretly handing Mary cloths to collect the blood of Jesus from the streets of Jerusalem.The seven sorrows:There are seven times of great suffering in Mary’s life. These events remind many parents of their personal family experiences of sorrow and mourning for their dear children. 1) Hearing the prophecy of Simeon, 2) Fleeing with Jesus and Joseph into Egypt, to escape Herod’s soldiers sent to kill Jesus, 3) Losing Child Jesus in Jerusalem, 4) Meeting Jesus on the road to Calvary, 5) Standing at the foot of Jesus’ Cross, 6) Receiving the Body of Jesus as it is taken down from the Cross, and 7) The burial of Jesus.
Life message: 1) On this feast day let us pray for those who continue to endure similar sufferings that they may receive from God the strength that they desperately need to continue to carry their spiritual crosses. Let us try to enter into the sorrowing hearts of the mothers in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Nigeria and other terrorist-haunted nations and the mothers in the United States and other countries grieving for their children, soldiers and civilians alike. 2) Let us also remember with repentant hearts that it is our sins which caused the suffering of Jesus and Mary. [“At
the
cross her station keeping,/ Stood
the mournful
mother weeping, / Close to Jesus to the last.// Through her
heart, his sorrow
sharing, / All his bitter
anguish bearing, /
Now at length the sword has passed.” (Stabat
Mater)] (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22
Sept 16 Friday: (St. Cornelius, Pope )(https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-cornelius and St. Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs(https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-cyprian ), Luke 8:1-3: 1 Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, preaching and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.
The context: Today’s Gospel describes how Jesus began his preaching and healing ministry in the company of the twelve Apostles and a group of women volunteers. Luke’s Gospel pays special attention to women. The female following of Jesus was out of the ordinary at the time and in the place where Jesus lived. In those days, strict rabbis would not speak to a woman in public, and very strict ones would not speak to their own wives in the streets or public places. In his Gospel, Luke provides Mary’s recollections of her own history with Jesus whom she outlived, describes several women around Jesus, like Elizabeth, Mary’s kinswoman, the prophetess Anna, the sinful woman, Martha and Mary, the crippled woman, the woman with hemorrhage, the women who supplied the needs of Jesus and his Apostles out of their own resources, and, in the parables, the woman kneading yeast into the dough, the woman with the lost coin and the woman who tamed the judge.
The ministry and the associates: Jesus started preaching the “Good News” that God His Father is not a judging and punishing God, but a loving and forgiving God Who wants to save mankind through His Son Jesus. Luke mentions the names of a few women who helped Jesus’ ministry by their voluntary service and financial assistance. Some among them were rich and influential like Joanna, the wife of King Herod’s steward, Chuza. We meet Joanna again among the women who went to the tomb on the morning of the Resurrection (Luke 24:10). Some others like Mary of Magdala were following Jesus to express their gratitude for the healing they had received from Jesus. This mixture of different types of women volunteers, all attracted by the person and message of Jesus, supported his Messianic Mission by providing food and other material assistance to Jesus and the Apostles who proclaimed the Gospel by word and deed and by their communal and shared life. It is nice to know that our Lord availed Himself of their charity and that they responded to Him with such refined and generous detachment that Christian women feel filled with a holy and fruitful envy (St. Josemaria Escriva). At crucial moments, Jesus was better served by the women disciples than by the men.
Life message: 1) The evangelizing work of the Church needs the preaching of the missionaries and preachers, feeding and leading the believers in parishes. 2) This work also needs the active support of all Christians by their transparent Christian lives, fervent prayers and financial assistance. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22
Sept 17 Saturday:(St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop, Doctor of the Church),(https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-robert-bellarmine) St. Hildegard of Bingen, Virgin, Doctor of the Church) https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/saint-hildegard-of-bingen/ Luke 8: 4-15: 4 And when a great crowd came together and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the path, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said this, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
The context: Today’s Gospel passage gives us the parable of the sower, the seeds sown, and the yield (depending upon the soil type). This, the first parable of Jesus in the New Testament about the Kingdom of Heaven, is also a parable interpreted by Jesus himself. It was intended as a warning to the hearers to be attentive, and to the apostles to be hopeful, about Jesus’ preaching in the face of growing opposition to Jesus and his ideas. The sower is God—through Jesus, the Church, the parents, and the teachers. The seed sown is the high-yielding word of God which is also described as “a sharp sword” (Is 49:2), “two-edged sword” (Heb 4:12), and “fire and hammer” (Jer 23:29).
Soil type and the yield: The hardened soil on the footpath represents people with minds closed because of laziness, pride, prejudice, or fear. The soil on flat rock pieces represents emotional types of people who go after novelties without sticking to anything and are unwilling to surrender their wills to God. “I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 11:19). The soil filled with weeds represents people addicted to evil habits and evil tendencies, those whose hearts are filled with hatred, jealousy, or the greed that makes them interested only in acquiring money by any means and in enjoying life in any way possible. The good and fertile soil represents well-intentioned people with open minds and clean hearts, earnest in hearing the word and zealous in putting it into practice. Zacchaeus, the sinful woman, and the thief on Jesus’ right side, St. Augustine, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Francis Xavier, among others, fall into this category of the good soil.
Life message: Let us become the good soil and produce hundred-fold harvests by earnestly hearing, faithfully assimilating and daily cultivating the word of God we have received, so that the Holy Spirit may produce His fruits in our lives. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22
O.T. XXIV [C] (Sept 11) Eight-minute homily in one-page (L/22)
Introduction: Today’s readings invite us to believe in a loving, patient, merciful, forgiving God. The Good News Jesus preached was that God is not a cruel, judging, punishing God. He is our loving and forgiving Heavenly Father Who wants to save everyone through His Son Jesus. He is always in search of His lost and straying children, as Jesus explains in the three parables of today’s Gospel. (Add a homily starter anecdote).
Scripture lessons summarized: Today’s first and second readings and Responsorial Psalm (Ex 32:14 + Psalm 51+ 1 Tm 1:16) point to God’s patience with his wayward children, and the Gospel selection (Lk 15:6,9-24) demonstrates His festive joy at their return. In today’s first reading, taken from Exodus, Moses is imploring a forgiving God to have mercy on the sinful people who have abandoned Him and turned to idol-worship. He reminds God of His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and to show mercy to His unfaithful people. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 51) is the song of the sinful man returning to God to seek His mercy. In today’s second reading, Paul tells Timothy that, although he, Paul, had been the greatest of sinners (as the former persecutor of the Church), God has shown great mercy towards him. Chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel has been called “the Gospel within the Gospel,” because it is the distilled essence of the Good News about the mercy of our forgiving Heavenly Father. The whole chapter is essentially single parable, the “Parable of the Lost and Found,” with three parable illustrations: the story of the lost sheep, the story of the lost coin and the major story of the lost son. These stories remind us that we have a God who welcomes sinners and forgives their sins whenever they return to Him with genuine contrition and resolution. The Hebrew term forrepentance, teshuvá, means a return to God by a person who has already experienced God’s “goodness and compassion” (Ps. 51).
Life messages:1) We need to live every day as our merciful God’s forgiven children: Let us begin every day offering all our actions for God’s glory and praying for the strengthening anointing of the Holy Spirit so that we may obey God’s holy will by doing good and avoiding evil, and try to live in God’s presence everywhere. Before we go to bed at night, let us examine our conscience and confess to God our sins and failures of the day, asking His pardon and forgiveness. Let us resolve to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation if we have fallen into serious sins. Let us continue to ask for God’s forgiveness before we receive Jesus in Holy Communion during the Holy Mass. Thus, let us live a peaceful life as forgiven prodigal children, getting daily reconciled with God our merciful and forgiving Father.
2) Let us ask God for the courage and good will to extend His forgiveness to others: Let us realize the truth that our brothers and sisters deserve and expect from us the same compassion, kindness, and forgiveness which we receive from our merciful God. As forgiven prodigals, we must become forgiving people, for Jesus taught us to pray, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” As we continue with the celebration of the Holy Mass, let us pray also for God’s Divine mercy on all of us who have fallen away from God’s grace. Let us open our eyes to see and ears to hear that Jesus is welcoming us back home!
OT XXIV [C] (Sept 11)Ex 32:7-11, 13-14; I Tm 1:12-17; Lk 15:1-32
Homily starter anecdotes # 1: Prodigal son’s prodigal father: He was a rebel, a college drop-out, a carouser, and a partier. He smoked, he drank Johnnie-Walker, he was a brawler, and he had more run-ins with the law than you would care to count. By his own admission, he was the quintessential prodigal son. But now, following the most respected, admired, and perhaps famous American of the twentieth century, Billy Graham, Franklin Graham not only has a tremendous, benevolent ministry called The Samaritan’s Purse, from which he meets needs all over the world, but is preaching the Gospel just as his dad did, to thousands and thousands of people. — He is where he is today because he had a father who made sure the door was always open for his prodigal son. (https://hopeonfranklingraham.weebly.com/). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
# 2: <1987 <2007 Miraculous rescue of Jessica McClure: For two days in October of 1987, not just a community, not just a state, not just a nation, but the entire world was watching with bated breath the drama of an eighteen-month-old little girl named Jessica McClure who had fallen twenty-two feet through an eight-inch opening in an oil pipeline at a daycare center. For fifty-eight solid hours over two and one-half days, drilling experts, highway construction equipment, pneumatic drills, special air vents, high pressure hydraulic drills, were employed in an unbelievable Herculean effort to rescue this one little girl. When she was finally pulled from that hole, an entire world cheered. When rescuers finally brought her to the surface, her head was bandaged. She was covered with dirt and bruises, and her right palm was immobilized to her face. She had to undergo five surgeries and lost one of her toes. Despite the size and diversity of the United States, the drama of Baby Jessica’s being lost and found touched hearts nationwide. Every parent hugged his/her own child a little tighter. For just a moment in time, one lost little girl became lost to each of them. And when everyone’s child, Baby Jessica, was found at last, an entire nation rejoiced. (Jessica is thirty years old in 2016, happily married to Daniel Morales and is a stay-at-home mom of two children, still carrying a scar on her forehead. At 25, she received $ 800,000 from the bank, the gifts people donated for her after her miraculous rescue as a child). — In today’s Gospel text, Jesus has the courage to suggest to his audience, especially those surly, grumbling Pharisees and scribes, that this is the kind of rejoicing that goes on in Heaven every time a sinner repents. (https://youtu.be/HBk5mlVYAZ4). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
3) “They’re looking for me:” There’s an old, old story, that I think is still funny. The phone rings and a little boy answers in a whisper: “Hello?” The caller says: “Hi, is your Mommy there? “Yes!” “Can I talk to her?” “No!” “Why not?” “She’s busy.” “What about your Daddy, can I talk to him?” “No! He’s busy.” “Well, is there anyone else there?” “My little sister.” “Is there anyone else there? Another adult?” “Uh, huh. The police.” “Can I talk to one of them?” “No, they’re busy.” “Is there anyone else there?” “Yes, the firemen.” “Can I talk to one of them?” “No, they’re busy, too.” Caller: “Good heavens, your whole family’s busy, the police and fire departments are there and they’re busy! What’s everybody doing?” The little boy giggled and whispered: “They’re looking for me.” — Today’s passage of Scripture is about searching and finding. And that’s an old story that illustrates the frantic nature of people who have lost something and are in search of it. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
# 4: Prodigal grandfather’s returned prodigal grandson: Billy Graham and Ruth Bell Graham also have a prodigal grandson Tullian Tchividjian, the middle of seven children born to Stephan Tchividjian and Billy Graham’s eldest daughter, Gigi. At 16, unable to obey his parents’ basic rules (like not bringing drugs in the house), he was escorted by police from his home. He dropped out of school and spent the next five years partying on South Beach. “I was a wild man. I lived a no-holds-barred lifestyle,” Tchividjian said. “If I believed it would bring me maximum pleasure in the moment, I did it, no matter what it was.” Eventually, he said, he bottomed out. He arrived home late one night, coming down from a high, and literally fell to the floor. “God, I have tried my best to ignore you and to do things my way,” he remembers praying. “I’m broken. I’m broken and in need of fixing.”– A classic prodigal son story followed. Tchividjian recommitted himself to Christ, entered the seminary, became a minister. He married and had three children. He started the New City Presbyterian Church, a 450-member church in Coconut Creek. He wrote a book, “Do I Know God?” It was published in 2007 and asks readers to ponder the title’s question. ( http://www.nbcnews.com/id/20377310/ns/us_news-faith/t/billy-grahams-kin-shares-prodigal-son-story/#.XUNfiknsbcs). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
The central themeof today’s readings is the invitation to believe in a loving, patient, merciful, forgiving God. Today’s readings remind us that God actively seeks out the lost, wants their repentance and rejoices when the lost are found. God is eager to be merciful toward us, not vengeful and punishing. He is always in search of His lost and straying children, as Jesus explains in the three parables of today’s Gospel.
Scripture readings summarized: Our God has always been a God of mercy and patience, a God who seeks out the lost, as shown in the experience of Israel in the desert (the first reading), and through the amazing mercy shown to Paul, the former persecutor of the Church (the second reading). The bridge between them, the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 51) is the song of the repentant sinner: “A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me.” Chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel has been called “the Gospel within the Gospel,” because it is the distilled essence of the Good News about the mercy of our forgiving Heavenly Father. The whole chapter is essentially one single parable, the “Parable of the Lost and Found,” developed in two parabolic illustrations: the story of the lost sheep, the story of the lost coin, climaxed with the major parable of the lost son. All explore the experience of finding something that has been lost: a sheep, a coin and a son. Loss, searching, finding, rejoicing, and sharing of the joy is the pattern in the first two stories. All three stories remind us that we have a God who welcomes sinners and forgives their sins whenever they return to Him with genuine contrition and resolution. The Hebrew term for repentance, teshuvá, means a return to God by a person who has already experienced God’s “goodness and compassion” (Ps. 51).
The first reading (Exodus 32: 1-14) explained: The rhythm of man’s sin and God’s forgiveness pervades the Jewish and Christian Scriptures. In today’s passage, taken from Exodus, Moses is imploring God to have mercy on the sinful people who have abandoned Him and turned to idol-worship (the golden calf). Moses reminds God of His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and insists that the people belong to God not to Moses whom God had commanded and authorized to lead them out of Egypt. God’s people break their covenant with the God who has just saved them. Such rank ingratitude calls for retribution, but God hears Moses’ plea and takes his people back. The reading concludes with the consoling passage: “So the Lord relented in the punishment He had threatened to inflict on His people,” in response to the audacious and unselfish plea of Moses. [Some Bible scholars consider this incident of idol-worship as an anachronized event: an event which took place later in Israel’s history and was then incorporated into the book of Exodus. They say the apostasy of the golden calf actually took place during the tenth century B.C.E. during the reign of Jeroboam I the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel. Jeroboam set up two golden calves in his sanctuaries, to keep the northern people from going to Jerusalem for worship in God’s Temple, thus safeguarding his own position as King of a separate Kingdom.
Second reading (I Tm 1:12-17) explained:The source for our second reading for today, 1 Timothy, is classified among the Pastoral Letters along with 2 Timothy and Titus. (It is believed by some Bible scholars to have been written by a disciple of Paul who was familiar with his mentor’s teachings and sympathetic to his concerns). Here Paul repeats his story of conversion, intending to offer to everyone who will listen, a challenge to conversion. As Saul of Tarsus, a zealous Jew, Paul persecuted the church of God, but not only is he forgiven, he is called to be an apostle. Paul always contrasts his life before Christ with his life after his Damascus experience. In today’s passage (1:12-17), Paul tells Timothy that, although he, Paul, had been the greatest of sinners, as a blasphemer and arrogant persecutor, God showed great mercy towards him. Paul’s sin was self-righteousness: he had been a zealot ready to persecute anyone he judged doctrinally unsound. It was Paul, then called Saul, who, approving the actions of St. Stephen’s stoners, had watched over their cloaks. In his letter, Paul reminds young Bishop Timothy of how God in His mercy changed Paul’s mind and pardoned him. “But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the Faith and Love that are in Christ Jesus.” Paul acknowledges the fact that he had wandered from the truth and rejoices that God first found him, then commissioned him to preach the Good News of God’s unconditional love, calling every prodigal home. Like John Newton, the eighteenth-century English composer of Amazing Grace, Paul declared his past openly. . . “I once was lost” . . . “I once was a blasphemer, a persecutor, a man filled with arrogance” (v. 13). Calling himself, “the worst of sinners,” and, “an extreme case,” (vv 15, 16), Paul invites us to marvel at the mercy of God and to find hope and help for dealing with our own need for conversion. Every forgiven and transformed prodigal can rejoice with Paul by offering honor and glory to the merciful and forgiving God.
Gospel exegesis:The parables of a loving and forgiving God: In the first two parables, there are the common elements of loss, searching, finding, rejoicing, and sharing of the joy. These parables show a God seeking sinners, but in the third parable, we see a God forgiving and receiving sinners. As a group, the parables tell us about God’s generosity in seeking and receiving the sinner and the joy of the sinner in being received by a forgiving and loving God. All three parables of Luke 15 end with a party or a celebration of the finding. Since the self-righteous Pharisees, who accused Jesus of befriending publicans and sinners, could not believe that God would be delighted at the conversion of sinners, Jesus told them the parable of the lost sheep and the shepherd’s joy on its discovery, the parable of the lost coin and the woman’s joy when she found it, and the parable of the lost and returned son and his Father’s joy. Besides presenting a God who is patiently waiting for the return of the sinners, ready to pardon them, these parables teach us of God’s infinite love and mercy. These three parables defend Jesus’ alliance with sinners and respond to the criticism by certain Pharisees and scribes of Jesus’ frequent practice of eating with and welcoming tax-collectors and sinners and of his receptivity to the lost among God’s people.
The lost sheep: Shepherding in Judaea was a hard and dangerous task. Pasture was scarce, and thorny scrub jungles with wild animals and vast desert areas were common, posing a constant threat to the wandering sheep. But the shepherds were famous for their dedicated, sacrificial service, perpetual vigilance, and readiness for action. Hence, the shepherd was the national symbol of Divine Providence and self-sacrificing love in Israel. Two or three shepherds might be personally responsible for the sheep owned by several families in a village. If any sheep was missing, one of the shepherds would go in search of it, sending the other shepherds home with the flock. The whole village would be waiting for the return of the shepherd with the lost sheep and would receive him with shouts of joy and of thanksgiving. That is the picture Jesus draws of God. God is as glad when a lost sinner is found as a shepherd is when a strayed sheep is brought home. Men may give up hope of reclaiming a sinner, but not so God. God loves those people who never stray from Him, but He expresses even greater joy when a lost sinner comes home.
The Lost Coin: The coin in question in this parable was a silver drachma. Since the houses were very dark, with one little circular window, and since the floor was made of beaten earth covered with dried reeds and rushes, it was practically impossible to find such a tiny coin. But the woman tried her best to get it back because it was worth more than a whole day’s wage for a workingman in Palestine. If the coin had been one of the ten silver coins attached by a silver chain to the traditional headdress of a married woman, it would have been as important to her as the wedding ring is in our society. Thus, we can understand the woman’s joy when at last she saw the glint of the elusive coin. God, said Jesus, is like that. The joy of God and of all the angels when one sinner comes home is like the joy of a woman who loses her most precious possession with a value far beyond money and then finds it again. We believe in the seeking the Love of God because we see that Love Incarnate in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to seek and to save that which was lost.
The lost son: This has been called” the greatest short story in the world.” It speaks about the deep effects of sin, the self-destruction of hatred and jealousy, and the infinite mercy of God. This is a story of love, of conflict, of deep heartbreak, and of ecstatic joy. The scene opens on a well-to-do Jewish family. With the immaturity of a spoiled brat the younger son demands impudently of his gracious father, “Give me the portion of goods that falls to me.” Demanding one’s inheritance while one’s father was alive was equivalent to treating the father as dead. Under Jewish law, when a father divided his property between two sons, the elder son had to receive two-thirds and the younger one-third (Dt 21:17). In Jesus’ parable, the younger son offends his father a second time by selling out his share of the inheritance, and a third time by going to a “far country” and squandering all the money there. The land was sacred to the Jewish people because it was the Promised Land given to the Chosen People. Hence, each bit of land was considered holy, and no Israelite could lawfully sell his property (Lv 25:23, I Kgs 21). Ancient “social security” basically consisted in sons farming their father’s land and taking care of their parents until their parents died. death. Thus, in selling his land, the prodigal has sold his parents’ social security.
The conversion, return, and confession: When he becomes bankrupt, the prodigal son ends up feeding pigs, a task that was forbidden to a Jew (Lv 11:7; 14:8). Having sunk to the depths of economic, spiritual, and moral depravity, the prodigal finally “comes to his senses” (v 17). So he decides to return to his father, to ask his forgiveness and to beg for the status of a hired servant. When he sees his son returning, however, the ever-watchful father runs to him and gives him a cordial welcome along with a new robe, a ring and new shoes. (Why did the father run to receive his returning son? 1) To save him from stoning by others who would recognize him as a “stubborn and disobedient son.” “If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother … all the men of the city shall stone him with stones, that he die ….(Dt. 21:18, 21). 2) To show his son his forgiving love.”). Symbolically, the robe stands for honor; the ring for authority (the signet ring gave a person the power of attorney), and the shoes for the son’s place as a member of the family (slaves did not wear shoes). The father also throws a great feast killing the “fatted calf’ reserved for the Passover feast so that all may rejoice at the wanderer’s return. The Vatican II document Lumen Gentium # 1 has a beautiful description of sin, saying that sin is before all else an offense against God and a rupture of communion with Him. At the same time, it damages communion with the Church. Hence conversion entails both God’s forgiveness and reconciliation with the Church which are expressed and accomplished liturgically by the sacrament of Penance/Reconciliation. So as we continue with the celebration of the Holy Mass, let us pray for those who have fallen away from the grace of God so that Divine mercy and forgiveness may reach out to them before it is too late. May their ears be opened so they will hear that Jesus is welcoming them back home.
The “Prodigal Father” and the self-righteous elder brother: The parable illustrates the wonder of God’s love and unconditional forgiveness. God seeks out the sinner and forgives him unconditionally. Jesus recounts the story of the elder brother as his response to the accusation by the self-righteous Pharisees that he was the friend of sinners. The elder brother represents the self-righteous Pharisees who would rather see a sinner destroyed than saved. He reflects the Pharisees’ attitude that obedience to Mosaic Law is a duty, not a loving service. Like the Pharisees, the elder brother resents and is jealous of his younger sibling, now restored to his place in the family, and levels accusations against him. As a self-righteous person, he refuses to forgive and refuses the love his father assures him is his (“All that I have is yours!” ) Thus, his grudge becomes a sin in itself, resulting in his self-exclusion from the banquet of his father’s love. That is what we all do when we sin. We exclude ourselves from the banquet of God’s love. Jesus does not tell us what the elder brother did then – leaving us to ponder the question and its application to ourselves!
Life messages:1) We need to live every day as our merciful God’s forgiven children: Let us begin every day by praying for the strengthening anointing of the Holy Spirit, so that we may learn how to obey God’s holy will by doing good, avoiding evil, and trying to live in God’s presence everywhere. Before we go to bed at night, let us examine our conscience and confess to God our sins and failures of the day, asking His pardon and forgiveness. Let us resolve to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation if we have fallen into serious sins. Let us continue to ask for God’s forgiveness before we receive Jesus in Holy Communion during the Holy Mass. Thus, let us live a peaceful life as forgiven prodigal children, getting daily reconciled with God, our merciful and forgiving Father.
2) Let us ask God for the courage and good will to extend God’s forgiveness to others: Let us realize the truth that our brothers and sisters deserve and expect from us the same compassion, kindness and forgiveness which we receive from our merciful God. As forgiven prodigals, we must become forgiving people, for Jesus taught us to pray, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” As we continue with the celebration of the Holy Mass, let us pray also for God’s Divine mercy on all of us who have fallen away from God’s grace. Let us open our eyes to see and ears to hear that Jesus is welcoming us, and the, back home!
3) We need the Father’s Compassion: Some of us take the prodigal son as a role-mode: go astray at will and come back to be welcomed back! Some others are ‘good’ like the elder brother — not willing to forgive. Once we have returned to the Father and have been welcomed and accepted, we must emulate the love and forgiveness as shown by father in the story. As heirs to our Father we must practice love and forgiveness for all in need. Jesus is not asking us to be like either of the two brothers. Let us try and be like the father in the story. “Be made perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Be compassionate as my Father.” (Joe Vempeny)
4) We need to forgive ourselves: There are many areas in our lives that need forgiveness and therefore repentance. A good place to start is ourselves. We often say to ourselves, ‘I can never forgive myself for doing that stupid thing.’ Because we have not forgiven ourselves, we feel bitter and angry – with ourselves, with others, with the world, and even with God. When we forgive and are forgiven, a great healing takes place in us. We learn to be humble. We also develop a positive outlook not only about God but also about ourselves, others, and our society. We then think and speak well of them and do them good. This transformation in ourselves is certainly cause for great rejoicing in heaven.
JOKE OF THE WEEK:1) The most unhappy character: The pastor told the story of “The Prodigal Son” to a first-grade class. To check on their understanding, he asked; “Who was the unhappy character in the story when the prodigal son returned?” An eager boy raised his hand and stated the simple truth. “The Fatted Calf.”
2) The self-righteous admirer. Bishop Sheen once told a story about a trip he made by plane, and how one of the attendants made a big fuss over him. “Do you want some more coffee, Your Excellency?” “Oh, my mother prays for you every day.” “I must write to her and tell her about seeing you.” About that time a big Texan who had had a little too much to drink, started cursing, making passes at the attendant and creating a big ruckus. Finally, the attendant who had had enough, walked up to the Texan and said, “Sir, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to be quiet. Bishop Sheen, the famous televangelist is flying with us.” “Bishop Fulton J. Sheen is flying with us?” the Texan asked with surprise. Then he stumbled back to where Bishop Sheen was sitting and said, “Bishop Sheen, I’m so glad to meet you. I just want you to know how much your sermons have helped me to live an ideal Christian life!”
3) Pastor for the dinner on the return of the prodigal son. Mr. & Mrs. Dennis invited their pastor for the dinner hosted in honor of the return of their son after long years of his wandering life. As Mrs. Dennis busied herself preparing food, she asked her little daughter to set the table. When the pastor started the prayer before the meals, Mrs. Dennis noticed that her daughter forgot to place silverware for the pastor. Embarrassed at the oversight, Mrs. Dennis asked her little girl why she had not placed silverware for the pastor. “Because, Mom, I have heard Papa saying that our pastor eats like a horse!”
USEFUL WEBSITES OF THE WEEK (For homilies & Bible study groups)
1) “Paco, meet me at the Hotel Montana noon Tuesday.All is forgiven.” In Ernest Hemingway’s short story, a Spanish newspaper carried a poignant story about a father and his son. It went like this. A teen-aged boy, Paco, and his very wealthy father had a falling out, and the young man ran away from home. The father was crushed. After a few days, he realized that the boy was serious, so the father set out to find him. He searched high and low for five months to no avail. Finally, in a last, desperate attempt to find his son, the father put an ad in a Madrid newspaper. The ad read, “Dear Paco, Meet me at the Hotel Montana noon Tuesday. All is forgiven. I love you. Signed, Your Father. On Tuesday, in the office of Hotel Montana, over 800 Pacos showed up, looking for love and forgiveness from their fathers!! — What a magnet that ad was. Over 800 Pacos because Paco was a very common name!! In today’s Gospel Jesus tells the story of such a Paco and the joy it brings to his father and his heavenly Father. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
2) Prodigal girl December’s return: Many years ago, comedian Chonda Pierce met a young woman named December. December’s father was a pastor. December got the message early on that pastor’s children are supposed to be perfect. December knew she would never be good enough for the people at Church. So December began rebelling against her family’s and her Church’s expectations. By her late teens, she was living on the streets. She spent her nights partying, sleeping with any man who caught her eye. Sometimes, she would slip into her parents’ Church during the service, but she always left before anyone could talk to her. After she became pregnant, December decided to return to her parents. She expected shame and condemnation. Instead, December’s parents welcomed her back with open arms. — As she says, “The bottom line is that I came back to my family and God because they love me with no strings attached. They forgave me. . . I thought I could do something to make them disown me, but I was wrong.” [Chonda Pierce, It’s Always Darkest Before the Fun Comes Up (Grand Rapids, MI.: Zondervan, 1998), pp. 80-84).] (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
3)Newsweek story of thereturn of the meth addict prodigal: In 1990, Michale Mohr’s son, Jeff, moved to Arizona to work as a computer technician. Michale, back in Portland, Oregon, looked forward to her son’s weekly calls. But after a few years in Arizona, Jeff’s phone calls began to taper off. When Michale’s letters to him were returned, she decided to investigate. Michale found out from Jeff’s friends that he had become addicted to crystal meth, a powerful drug. One day, Jeff had just walked away from his apartment. No one knew where he was. For the next three years, Michale Mohr made it her mission in life to find her son. She flew back and forth between Oregon and Arizona, canvassing Jeff’s old neighborhood and talking to his friends and associates. The police offered little help. Michale’s quest to find her drug‑addicted son led her into dangerous, run‑down neighborhoods. At one point, she even dressed as a homeless woman in order to relate to the street people she interviewed. Finally, after three years, Michale made contact with someone who knew Jeff. She remembers distinctly the day she found him. Jeff rode up on his bicycle. He had lost weight, his teeth were rotting, he was bruised from a recent beating. But he had ridden on his bicycle for ten miles in the sweltering Arizona heat to find her. They ran into each other’s arms. Jeff had been trying to fight his addiction, but he had been afraid to contact his mother, afraid of how his addiction might hurt her.– You will be happy to know that Jeff Mohr moved back to Oregon, got a steady job, and joined Narcotics Anonymous. (“The Seamier Side of Life” by Michale Mohr, Newsweek, August 18, 1997, p. 14.) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
4) From the Den of Lions to the land of freedom: In his book, Den of Lions (Crown Publishers, Inc., New York: 1993), Terry Anderson chronicled his journey from terrorist captivity for 12 months to freedom. Anderson, the Chief Middle East Correspondent for the Associated Press, was kidnapped from a street of Moslem West Beirut on March 16, 1985. In his book he recollects how he left the Church when he was young and slowly moved toward agnosticism for several years, “losing his way for a while,” doing evil things as did the “Prodigal Son.” During his first few weeks of confinement, Anderson was deprived of food, slapped, punched, kicked, cursed at and spat upon. With his legs and arms chained to a metal cot, he felt that he was, as he said, “on the edge of madness, of losing control completely, of breaking down.” From the edge of madness, he began to plead with his captors. His request for a Bible was granted and, in that moment,, he began the journey that would lead him back to God. By the time he had marked his fifth month in captivity, Anderson realized that it had been twenty-five years since he had admitted his weaknesses and failures through sacramental reconciliation. So, when the opportunity to do so arose, he was grateful. The chance for reconciliation with God was given through Father Lawrence Jenco, a Catholic priest and fellow hostage. As they sat together on the floor, Jenco’s warm smile and kindly manner enabled Anderson to ask God for forgiveness. “I have sinned,” he admitted, “in word and in thought, and in what I have done and what I have failed to do.” With his hand resting lightly on Anderson’s head, Father Jenco assured him, “In the name of a gentle loving God, you are forgiven.” Then he pulled the younger man’s head to his shoulder and hugged him. Both men were crying as one received the full flood of the other’s anger, guilt and remorse and returned only warmth, love and understanding. Although he would not be free to return home to the U.S. for another seven years, Anderson had already found his way home to God and the freedom of forgiveness. Secure in that experience, he also found the spiritual strength and stamina that enabled him to survive the remainder of his captivity. — Today’s Gospel passage describes how God rejoices at the return of his prodigal children, in the shepherd who found his lost sheep, the woman who found her lost silver coin, and the father of the prodigal son who got back his lost son. (Patricia Datchuck Sánchez). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
5) God of justice or God of forgiveness: On February 3rd of 1998, the State of Texas executed Miss Karla Faye Tucker Brown for her part in two extremely brutal murders committed in 1983. Karla was the first woman executed by Texas since the 1860’s and she was a born-again Christian. She had a childhood full of abuse and neglect, a youth as a prodigal daughter immersed in a world of drugs and immorality leading her to a sensational, brutal crime earning society’s ultimate punishment. In an attempt to steal a motor bike from the house of Jerry Lynn Dean, she and her boyfriend, Daniel Garrett, brutally murdered Jerry Dean and his girlfriend Deborah Thornton with pickaxes in Jerry’s house at night. — Karla was, to all appearances, a repentant murderer in the jail for 15 years. At the moment of her execution there were two groups of people outside the Texas state prison in Huntsville: a group protesting her execution, who were there praying for her, and a group demanding her execution, who were there cheering and jeering as she was received her lethal injection and died. The praying group was calling for love and mercy, and forgiveness, while the cheering group was calling for justice. The parable of the Prodigal Son reminds us today that for God, love, compassion, and forgiveness take precedence over blind justice. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
6) Prodigal son in Johannesburg: In his novel, Cry the Beloved Country (1948), South African educator, author and reluctant politician, Alan Paton, told the story of a father and son in Johannesburg. The boy had strayed to what Winston Churchill had called “that alien land where standards and ideals are lost” (a far country). Desperate to find his lost son, the father searched the entire city, street by street. Relentlessly, tirelessly, he traveled from reform school to Shanty Town, to the jails, inquiring of everyone he met until, at last, he found his wandering boy and brought him home. —Like the loving father featured in today’s Gospel, he did not reproach his son but rejoiced in the fact of their reunion. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
7) “Well, that’s cute, Mom. What is it?” A divorced woman found herself struggling with an increasingly rebellious teenage daughter. It all came to a head late one night when the police called her to pick up her daughter who had been arrested for drunk driving. The two of them didn’t speak on the way home or next day either, until at last the mother broke the tension by giving her daughter a small, gift-wrapped package. The girl opened it with an air of indifference and found inside a small rock. “Well, that’s cute, Mom. What is it?” “Read the card, dear,” the mother replied. As the girl did so, tears began to trickle down her cheeks, and she gave her mom a hug as the card fell to the floor. On the card her mother had written: “This rock is more than 200 million years old. That’s how long it’ll take before I give up on you.” —That’s what Jesus is telling us about God in today’s readings: He never gives up on us. (Fr. Clarke). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
8) “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree.” In 1973, Tony Orlando recorded the song, “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree.” It became the number one hit record for the year, became Tony Orlando’s theme song and grew into an American anthem of hope and homecoming, reunion and renewal. We have used it (and its yellow ribbon symbol), to welcome home soldiers, POW’s, hostages, and lost children. The song was probably inspired by the following story. A young man is on a train. He seems deeply troubled — nervous, anxious, afraid, fighting back the tears. An older man seated beside him senses that something is wrong, and he asks the younger man if he is all right. The young man, needing to talk, blurts out his story: Three years before, after an argument with his father one evening, the young man had run away from home! He had chased back and forth across the country looking for freedom and happiness and, with every passing day, had become more miserable. Finally, it dawned on him that, more than anything, he wanted to go home. Home was where he wanted to be, but he didn’t know how his parents felt about him now. He had written ahead that he would be passing by their back yard on the afternoon train on this day and if they forgave him, if they wanted to see him, if they wanted him to come home, to tie a white rag on the crabapple tree in the back yard. If the white rag were there, he would get off the train and come home; if not, he would stay on the train and stay out of their lives forever. Just as the young man finished his story, the train began to slow down as it pulled into the town where his family lived. Tension was heavy, so much so that the young man couldn’t bear to look. The older man said: “I’ll watch for you. You put your head down and relax close your eyes. I’ll watch for you.” As they came to the old home place, the older man looked and then touched the young man excitedly on the shoulder and said: “Look, son, look! You can go home! You can go home! There’s a white rag on every limb!” — Isn’t that a great story? The truth is: that powerful story is simply a modern re-telling of the greatest short story in history, namely, Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son. The story was probably inspired by the Parable of the prodigal son. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
9) “But he nearly killed the prodigal son!” A teenager came to his pastor for advice: “I left home,” said the boy, “and did something that will make my dad furious when he finds out. What should I do?” The pastor thought for a moment and replied, “Go home and confess your sin to your father, and he’ll probably forgive you and treat you like the prodigal son.” Sometime later the boy reported to his pastor, “Well, I told Dad what I did.” “And did he kill the fatted calf for you?” asked the priest. “No,” said the boy, “but he nearly killed the prodigal son!” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
10) Rescue of nine miners: On Wednesday, July 24, 2002, nine Pennsylvania miners were trapped 240 feet underground. For three days Americans followed the drama hoping and praying for a miracle. Within twenty-four hours of the disaster, the rescuers successfully lowered an air pipe to where they believed the miners were. By banging on the pipe, the miners signaled that they were alive. Only about a third of the way into the solid granite a 1500-pound drill bit broke. One miner later said, “We fought despair when the drilling stopped.” He found a pen and wrote a good-bye note to his family. Rescuers would not give up. Eventually they reached the miners and lifted each one to safety to the thundering applause of colleagues, reporters and family. — Today’s Gospel reminds us that the Church must recover its search and rescue mission, return to its apostolic roots, and start caring for lost people. That is our mission. As long as there is one lost person, all Heaven is concerned. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
11) “I once was lost, but now am found.” “Amazing Grace” is always listed among the favorite hymns. It is an old one, goingback to the 18th century. It was written by John Newton, who was on the sea from the time he was a little boy. When he was a young man, he became the captain of his own ship, a ship that brought African slaves to the colonies to work the plantations. Back in England, between voyages, he went to hear George Whitefield preach and was converted. He realized the evil of his occupation, left it, and became a priest in the Church of England and served the rest of his life as the rector of a little church in a town called Olney. He wrote a number of hymns which were printed in a collection called the “Olney Hymns,” (a classic collection of hymns in the Church), and “Amazing Grace” was one of them. Even people who are not members of churches, and those who do not profess Faith, find something about this hymn touching them. It is over two hundred years old. It is uncompromisingly Christian in its language. It is evangelical in its message, reflecting John Newton’s experience of being found: “I once was lost, but now am found.” — Maybe that is the clue to its popularity, because it could be called the Christian understanding of our relationship with God. God has found us. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
12) Rembrandt’s painting of the Prodigal Son: In 1986 Henri Nouwen, a Dutch theologian and writer, toured St. Petersburg, Russia, the former Leningrad. While there he visited the famous Hermitage where he saw, among other things, Rembrandt’s painting of the Prodigal Son. The painting was in a hallway and received the natural light of a nearby window. Nouwen stood for two hours, mesmerized by this remarkable painting. As he stood there the sun changed, and at every change of the light’s angle he saw a different aspect of the painting revealed. He would later write: “There were as many paintings in the Prodigal Son as there were changes in the day.” — Just as Henri Nouwen saw a half dozen different facets in Rembrandt’s painting of the Prodigal Son, so, too, are there many different angles in the story itself. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
13) Create him not: An old Jewish legend describes what happened when God created man. The legend says God took into counsel the Angels that stood about his throne. The Angel of Justice said; ‘Create him not, for if You do, he will commit all kinds of wickedness against his fellow man; ‘ The Angel of Truth said, ‘Create him not, for he will be false and deceitful to his brother and even to Thee.’ The Angel of Holiness stood and said; ‘Create him not, for he will follow that which is impure in Your sight and dishonor You to Your Face.’ Then stepped forward the Angel of Mercy, God’s most beloved angel, and said; ‘Create him, Heavenly Father, for when he sins and turns from the path of right and truth and holiness, I will take him tenderly by the hand, and speak loving words to him and then lead him back to You.’ (Fr. Chirackal). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
14) Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy: In her novel, Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy, author Rumer Godden tells an intriguing tale. The heroine of the story is Lise an English army girl who falls on hard times and becomes a prostitute after the liberation of Paris in World War II. Within a short time, she becomes the leading Madame in one of Paris’ smartest brothels owned by a man named Patrice. But Patrice soon tires of Madame Lise as his mistress and she is humiliated. In trying to help a younger prostitute escape from the same fate she suffered, Lise shoots and kills Patrice. So she is sent to prison where she meets the French Dominican Sisters of Bethanie. This is a community dedicated to serving whores, drug addicts and vagrants; some of the sisters were once themselves such unfortunates. Lise becomes one of the Sisters of Bethanie. — Sister Lise is a prototype of the lost sheep and the lost coin in today’s Gospel, reminding us that God’s grace is greater than our sins. (Albert Cylwicki in His Word Resounds; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
15) Lost and Found: Everyone has lost something at one time or another. There is even a website complete with mobile app, http://www.lostandfound.com, that acts as a global ‘lost and found’ box. Users can report items missing and users can report items found. It is a good example of how technology can help people connect in a useful way. This is a gateway site for all of the physical things that can be retrieved and returned to their rightful owners. According to their statistics, about twice as many objects have been reported lost as have been reported found in the U.S. So, the site’s users are losing things at twice the rate they are finding them. — Haven’t we all had the experience of losing things that we know deep down we will never recover? Depending on the situation, we can feel disappointed, heartbroken, hopeless, or simply discouraged by our own inability to keep up with things. Isn’t it a wonderful relief to know that we will never fall into the ‘Lost Forever’ category? Isn’t it reassuring to know that God will never give up on us? Let us include a word of thanks in our prayers this week to acknowledge how grateful we are for that kind of gracious love. (Staff, www.Sermons.com). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
16) God Loves Me: There is a wonderful story about Maya Angelou. She is an active member now of Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in San Francisco. She wrote that years ago when she first came to San Francisco as a young woman she became sophisticated. She said that was what you were supposed to do when you go to San Francisco, you become sophisticated. And for that reason, she said she became agnostic. She thought the two went together. She said that it wasn’t that she stopped believing in God, just that God no longer frequented the neighborhoods that she frequented. She was taking voice lessons at the time. Her teacher gave her an exercise where she was to read out of some religious pamphlet. The reading ended with these words: “God loves me.” She finished the reading, put the pamphlet down. The teacher said, “I want you to read that last sentence again.” So, she picked it up, read it again, this time somewhat sarcastically, then put it down again. The teacher said, “Read it again.” She read it again. Then she described what happened. “After about the seventh repetition I began to sense there might be some truth in this statement. That there was a possibility that God really loves me, Maya Angelou. I suddenly began to cry at the grandness of it all. I knew if God loved me, I could do wonderful things. I could do great things. I could learn anything. I could achieve anything. For what could stand against me with God, since one person, any person, with God, forms a majority now.” (Mark Trotter, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
17) Which Color Would You Be? Ralph Milton tells of the teacher who, for reasons of her own, asked the kids one day, “If all the bad children were painted red and all the good children were painted green, which color would you be?” Think about it. What color would you be? Red or Green? It is a tough question isn’t it when you pose only two options. One very wise child answered the teacher: “Striped.” — The reason I am going on about this point is simple. It seems to me that in the frame of the story – everyone but Jesus is striped. It is the same in the world today. We are a curious combination of the lost and the found. We are striped. We are, in some sense, not completely complete. It is hard language, this language of lost and found, especially for folks in the middle, as most of us are, most of the time. It seems too absolute. Rarely are we completely lost. And rarely are we completely found. There is always a part of us that needs to be dragged and cajoled into the light, and there is always a part of us that is already there in the light. For some it is more and for some it is less, but always some part. The wonderful thing is that God wants us to enter fully into the light. The wonderful thing is that God wants to bless us all richly to keep us safe, to make us strong, to help us be like a Shepherd who really cares for his sheep, or like a poor widow who really values all her coins. (Richard Fairchild, Seeking the Lost). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/
18) Joy of reconciliation: This story took place when I was a teenager. My father, who was seriously ill, emotionally vulnerable, and exceedingly sensitive, had an argument with my brother who was going through the pains of a teenage crisis. I do not remember what the conflict was about, but the mutual hurt it generated is forever etched in my memory. My weeping brother packed up his clothes and, before running away from home, advised me to take care of our beloved father and mother. A sense of sadness pervaded each family member. In the afternoon, my mother went to look for my brother. After many moments of anxious searching, my mother finally found him. She pleaded and prevailed upon him to come home. My father was very relieved to see him again safe and sound. My brother was equally happy to be home. It was a moment of joy for all. — Indeed, the grace of reconciliation is a cause for rejoicing. (Lectio Divina). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
19) For a shepherd, to save one erring soul is recompense enough: How intense the joy of a parent whose little one has wandered off, when the child has finally been recovered, safe and sound! In today’s parable, Jesus depicts the joy of a spiritual shepherd who has anxiously sought out and finally rescued a strayed soul. For a shepherd to save one erring soul is recompense enough. An American Franciscan priest, Father Sixtus O’Connor, had the privilege of saving more than one of the Nazi war criminals condemned at the Nuremberg Trials of 1946. According to the National Catholic News Service, Fr. O’Connor, who had been a parish priest in Manhattan, served during World War II as a U.S. Army chaplain in Germany. He had studied earlier in universities there and spoke German fluently. It was doubtless because of this fluency that he was retained in service after the close of the war and assigned as chaplain to the Nazi war-criminals imprisoned in the Nuremberg jail while they awaited trial. The prisoners came to respect this man of God because of his realism, Faith, serenity and compassion. Among the prisoners were found men who had held high positions in Nazidom: Baldur von Schirach head of the Nazi youth movement; Hans Fritzsche, deputy minister of propaganda; Hans Frank, Governor of Nazi-held Poland; and Ernst Kaltenbrunner, in charge of the Austrian Gestapo. Through prayer and patient discussion, Fr Sixtus had the happiness of changing the hearts of these four major leaders. Von Schirach, a lapsed Catholic, sentenced to 20 years in prison, returned to devout Catholicism. Herr Fritzche lived to praise the priest in memoirs. Kaltenbrunner was grateful for the priest’s defense when the Allied officials called him a total liar. He and Hans Frank made their peace with God before they were hanged. Frank, bound for the gallows, offered his life in atonement for his sins. What must have been Fr. O’Connor’s gratitude to God at that moment. And on the day that Hans Frank died contrite, how great must have been the “joy in heaven.” (Fr. Robert F. McNamara). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
20) “Tony, Tony, turn around. Something’s lost that must be found.” The tradition of invoking St. Anthony’s help in finding lost or stolen things traces back to a scene from his own life. As the legend goes, Anthony had a book of psalms that, in his eyes, was priceless. There was no printing press yet. Any book had value. This was his book of psalms, his prayer book. Besides, in the margins he’d written all kinds of notes to use in teaching students in his Franciscan Order. A novice who had already grown tired of living a religious life decided to leave the community. Besides going AWOL, he also took Anthony’s Psalter! When he went to his room to pray and found it missing, Anthony prayed it would be found and returned to him. After he prayed this prayer, the thieving novice fleeing through the forest, was met by a demon (okay, this part of the story is murky—how a negative could be an avenue of God’s good). Anyway, the demon told the thief to return the Psalter to Anthony and to return to the Franciscan Order. He did and was accepted back. Soon after Anthony’s death, people began praying through him to find or recover lost and stolen articles. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
21) “Oh, Daddy! I’ve found you at last!”In the timber mountains of the Northwest of USA a five-year-old boy was lost. Night came. The citizens and rangers searched frantically every cave and mountainside. Snow began to fall. Blanket upon blanket covered the forest floor, but no Bobby could be found. The next morning the father, fatigued from an all-night search, kicked against what seemed to be a log in the path but when the snow fell loose, a small boy sat up, stretched, yawned, and exclaimed: “Oh, Daddy! I’ve found you at last!”
— When we commit sin, we also wander away from God and are lost to Him. But God out of His abounding love and bountiful mercy goes out in search of us until He finds us. He is ‘the Father Who is ever eager to receive us back.’ (Fr. Lakra). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). (L/22)
Visit my website by clicking onhttps://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 atakadavil@gmail.com. Visit https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies of Fr. Nick’s collection of homilies or Resources in the CBCI website: https://www.cbci.in. (Special thanks to Vatican Radio website http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html -which completed uploading my Cycle A, B and C homilies in May 2020) Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604
Sept 5-10: Sept 5 Monday(St. Teresa of Calcutta= Mother Teresa) (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-teresa-of-calcutta) (Labor Day homily on page 2): Lk 6:6-11:6 On another Sabbath, when he entered the synagogue and taught, a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 And he looked around on them all, and said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
The context: Today’s Gospel describes a miraculous healing performed by Jesus one Sabbath as a public violation of Sabbath laws, in order to prove that God’s intention for the Sabbath was for His people 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 Pharisees hadamplified God’s law on the Sabbath, misinterpreting it and making it burdensome for the common people through man-made laws. Jesus wanted to demonstrate in public the original intention of God in declaring Sabbath holy. For Jesus, the Sabbath was a day of rest on which Israelites were meant to adore God, to learn and teach His laws, and to do good to/for others. Hence, Jesus took the liberty of healing a man with a withered hand in the local synagogue immediately after the worship service, thus infuriating the scribes and the Pharisees.
Life messages: 1) Our Catholic “Sabbath” observance of participating in the Eucharistic celebration on Sunday is meant to recharge our spiritual batteries for doing good to/for others and avoiding evil. 2) Our Sunday observance is further meant to be an offering of our lives to God on the altar, to praise God, to thank Him for His blessings, 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 receiving Holy Communion. 3) It is finally a day to spend with the members of the family and to help our neighbors in the activities of our parish and neighborhood. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22
Sept 5: Labor Day in the U. S. The first Labor Day was observed on September 5, 1882, to celebrate the social and economic achievements of American workers and to give them a day off on the last day of the summer. Today, Labor Day unofficially signals the beginning of a new “school” year of work and study and the end of the “lazy days of summer.” It was President Grover Cleveland who signed a bill into law on June 28, 1894, declaring Labor Day a national holiday.
1) It is a day to acknowledge the dignityand necessity of labor and workers. We participate in the creative act of God by the various forms of work we do using our God-given talents, a) The Bible presents God as working six days in the creation of the world and commanding Adam to work six days and rest on the seventh. b) Jesus, God’s Son, was a professional carpenter. c) Most of Jesus’ apostles were fishermen, and Paul was a tentmaker. d) In his inaugural speech in the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus expressed his preferential option for the poor – the working class and those who cannot work. Work is necessary for our own well-being, for health of body, mind, and spirit. It enables us to be independent and to help those who are less fortunate and unable to work. e) Works of charity are the main criteria of our Last Judgement: “Whatever you did to one of these least brethren you did to Me.”
2) A day to remember the Church’s teaching on the nobility of work and the necessity of just wages. In the encyclical, Laborem exercens (September 14, 1981), Pope St. John Paul II instructs us that all of us are called to work together for a just society and a just economy which allow us all to share God’s blessings. He reminds us that governments should see that the greed of a minority does not make the life of the majority miserable. He advises labor unions to fight for social and economic justice, better wages and better working conditions.
3) It is the day to remember and pray for the jobless people: There are thousands without work and millions more who are underemployed, working at part-time jobs or jobs that do not pay a decent wage. Society has a moral obligation to reduce joblessness because it is through work that families are sustained, children are nurtured, and the future is secured. Joblessness is also a clear threat to family life.
4) It is an appropriate time to acknowledge and bless the temporal and spiritual work that our parishioners do for their families, for their neighbors, and for the parish community. It is also a day to remind ourselves that our workplace gives us an opportunity to practice what we believe, and to display a level of integrity that matches our Faith, thus witnessing to Christ.
5) It is a day to pay attention to a warning: The warning is that we should be aware of the danger in work. If not properly oriented it can make us workaholics: we may turn work into our God or may use it as an escape mechanism to run away from spouse, children, and neighbors.
Thus, on this Labor Day, let us try to realize the dignity of work, the necessity of work, and the danger involved in work. Let us thank the Lord for the talents and work he has given us to do. Let us pray that we may find joy and satisfaction in our work, realizing that we are co-creators with God and stewards of His creation. By offering our work for God’s glory, let us transform our work to prayer. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22
Sept 6 Tuesday: Lk 6:12-19: In those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles; 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. 17 And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; 18 and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19….
The context: Today’s Gospel passage gives a short account of the call of the Apostles and of the preaching and healing mission of Jesus. Jesus was 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 this First Missionary selected and empowered twelve future missionaries as Apostles to continue his mission.
Special features: Jesus selected very ordinary people, most of them hard-working fishermen with no social status, learning, or political influence. Jesus was sure that this strange mixture of people would be very effective instruments in God’s hands. Matthew was a hated tax collector serving the Roman Empire, while Simon the Cananaean was a Zealot, a fanatical nationalist or terrorist of those days, determined to destroy Roman rule by any means. The others were mostly professional fishermen with a lot of good will, patience and stamina. It was only Jesus‘ love for them and their admiration and love for Jesus that united them. Jesus selected them after a night of prayer and gave them His own Divine powers of healing and exorcism and made them a key part of His own Messianic mission of preaching the “Kingdom of God.”
Life Messages: 1) God wants to show us that a calling for ministry, or a vocation to priestly or religious life or family life, is an initiative of God. 2) As Christians we have the same mission that Jesus entrusted to his Apostles. 3) We fulfill this mission of preaching the word of God, primarily, by living out Jesus’ teachings and by promoting and helping world-wide missionary activities of the Church. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22
Sept 7 Wednesday: Luke 6:20-26: 20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 “Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. “Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh. 22 “Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. 24 “But woe to you that are rich, for you have received your consolation. 25 “Woe to you that are full now, for you shall hunger. “Woe to you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 26 “Woe to you, when all men speak well of you, for so their
The context: Luke presents the Sermon on the Plain as following immediately upon the choosing of the twelve Apostles. Today’s Gospel passage, taken from Luke’s Sermon on the Plain, teaches us that true happiness or beatitude lies in the awareness of who we are and what we are supposed to do. The eight beatitudes Jesus gives in Mathew, like the four in Luke, contradict the ideas of “real” happiness prevalent in the Jewish culture of Jesus’ day (and in our modern society as well), according to which wealth, health, power, pleasure, and influence are the “true” beatitudes.
The Beatitudes: Jesus instructs his disciples in the paradoxical blessedness of poverty, hunger, sorrow, and persecution, which contradict our natural expectations in every way. Blessed are those who are poor, hungry, weeping, hated, excluded, insulted, and denounced because in poverty, we recognize God’s reign; in hunger, His providence; in sorrow, true happiness; and in persecution, true joy. Experiencing these miseries opens the way for us to receive the true riches….the food, comfort and acceptance we find only in His love and His presence here and in His Kingdom forever. The Beatitudes are commands for how we should live, and what we should do. What makes one blessed is not simply poverty or hunger or sadness or suffering for one’s Faith, but commitment to Jesus and His spirit of sharing.
Life messages: 1) We need to respond to the challenges of the Beatitudes in our daily life. Millions are starving, persecuted, and homeless, leading hopeless lives. When we reach out to help them, we are living out the Beatitudes. In addition, Jesus tells us that we are serving him in these suffering people. We are also loving our neighbors as Jesus loves us. That is why we are told that we will be judged on the basis of our acts of mercy and charity (Mt 25:31-46). 2) Let us also remember that each time we reach out to help the people who are needy, sick, and/or oppressed, we give them the experience of God’s love for them. 3) Just as the Apostles were called to minister to society’s untouchables, so all Christians are called to minister to the untouchables, the discriminated against, and the marginalized in our own modern society, so that they may meet God’s love in human flesh. (USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm ((https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22) Additional reflections:Click onhttps://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/;https://www.epriest.com/reflections
Sept 8 Thursday(Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary): https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/nativity-of-the-blessed-virgin-maryMt 1: 1-16, 18-23: Anecdote: Life magazine estimated that the prayer “Hail Mary” is said two billion times every day, and each year five to ten million people make a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Many others visit Marian sites elsewhere in the world. Mary is prayed to as advocate and helper, and even in the sports arena there is a reference to her power: the last desperate pass by a losing football team was once called a “Hail Mary pass.” Mary is also venerated by Muslims. It is reported that when the Prophet Muhammad cleared the idols out of the Kaaba in Mecca, he allowed only a fresco of the Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus to remain. In every Muslim mosque, the “mihrab” or prayer niche in the wall is dedicated to Mary. In the Qur’an, she is described as having been sent as “a mercy for the worlds.” (http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/days/features.php?id=15974)
History: As one of the oldest Marian solemnities, this feast is based on the second century (A.D. 175), apocryphal book Protoevagelium Jacobi (The Pre-Gospel of James), which reflects the traditions of the early Church, although it is not considered an inspired book. According to this book, Mary’s parents were Joachim and Anna. Mary was born either in Jerusalem or in Sephoris, three miles north of Bethlehem. The Annunciation is believed to have taken place later in the house of Mary’s parents. The feast originated in the fifth century in Syria or Palestine. St. Romanus of Syria is supposed to have brought it to Rome. The Roman Church adopted it in the 7th century and fixed it on September 8th. It is found in the 8th and 9th century Gregorian Sacramentary.
Importance: The feast is the birthday celebration of the mother of Jesus, our Heavenly Mother, and the Mother of the Church. It is the birthday of an ordinary woman who was chosen to become the Mother of an extraordinary Divine Child. The Church celebrates the death day of a saint as his/her feast day, considering it his/her “birthday in Heaven.” The three exceptions are Jesus’ birthday (Christmas), Mary’s birthday (September 8), and John the Baptist’s birthday (June 24). Mary’s birthday is celebrated because of her Immaculate Conception. John the Baptist, in Elizabeth’s womb, was filled with the Holy Spirit during Mary’s visitation of Elizabeth. We honor Mary because God has done great things for her (Lk 1:49), a) by choosing her as the mother of Jesus His Son, b) by filling her with His Holy Spirit twice, c) by making her the embodiment of all virtues (“full of grace”), and our Heavenly Mother and d) by allowing her to become the most active participant with Christ, her son, in our redemption. The readings: (Mi 5:1-4 or Rom 8:28-30; Mt 1:1-16, 18-23). Romans 1:3 states that Mary was a descendant of David, and Matthew’s genealogy in today’s Gospel also supports this truth.
Life Messages: 1) Let us, as Mary’s children, give a suitable birthday gift to our Heavenly Mother. Every mother wants her children to inherit and acquire all her good qualities. Hence, the best birthday gift to Mary is for us to become holy children of a Holy Mother. 2) Let us make this day a day to start practicing Mary’s virtues. Let us practice her virtues of a) trusting Faith in the power of God (“nothing is impossible for God’); b) perfect obedience to the will of God (“be it done to me according your will”); c) the spirit of sacrificial and sharing love; and d) the acceptance of suffering with one hundred percent commitment to her heroic mission. (Fr. Tony) L/21 (Gospel readings suggested: Matthew 1:16, 18-23, 24a or Mt 1: 18-23). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22 Additional reflections:Click onhttps://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/;https://www.epriest.com/reflections
Sept 9 Friday:(St. Peter Claver, Priest, U. S. A.) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-peter-claverLk 6: 39-42: He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully taught will be like his teacher. 41 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your brother, `Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye. Additional reflections:Click onhttps://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/;https://www.epriest.com/reflections
The context: In today’s passage, taken from the Sermon on the Plain given in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus condemns our careless, malicious and rash judgments about the behavior, feelings, motives, or actions of others by using the funny examples of one blind man leading another blind man and one man with a log covering his eyes trying to remove a tiny speck from another’s eye.
Reasons why we should not judge others: 1) No one except God is good enough to judge others because only God sees the whole truth, and only He can read the human heart. Hence, only He has the ability, right, and authority to judge us. 2) We do not see all the facts or circumstances or the power of the temptation which has led a person to do something evil. 3) We are often prejudiced in our judgment of others, and total fairness cannot be expected from us. 4) We have no right to judge because we have the same faults as the one we are judging and often to a greater degree (remember the critical man with a wooden beam in his eye?) St. Philip Neri commented, watching the misbehavior of a drunkard: “There goes Philip but for the grace of God.” Abraham Lincoln said that only he has the right to criticize who has the heart to help (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22
Sept 10 Saturday: Lk 6: 43-49: 43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good man out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure produces evil; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. 46 “Why do you call me `Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? 47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep, and laid the foundation upon rock; and when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But he who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
The context: In today’s passage, taken from the Sermon on the Plain given in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus teaches the necessity for cultivating a strong Christian moral character as the foundation of our Christian life. The teaching: In the first part of the Gospel, Jesus teaches us that the good fruits of Christian virtues, like love, mercy, forgiveness, and service, result only from an upright character trained in and cultivated by the repeated practice of Christian principles. Jesus compares good works with figs and grapes and reminds us that thorny shrubs and bramble bushes cannot produce them. In the second part, Jesus gives us two warnings: that we must match our profession of Faith with actual obedience to the will of God, and that we must build a life on the firm foundation of Jesus’ teachings. Jesus emphasizes the truth that we should not be mere hearers of the word of God, but also consistent doers of that word. In other words, our profession of Faith should be matched by our practice. Jesus compares mere hearers of the word to a foolish man who built his house on a sandy foundation, and the doers of the word to a wise man who built his house on strong and solid rock.
Life messages: 1) We need to be men and women of character with the courage of our religious convictions, doing what is right at all times. Such persons are honest and reliable before God, themselves, and their neighbors. 2) We need to build our family on a strong Christian foundation. There can be no great marriage and no great family without a solid foundation, and that foundation begins with the husband and wife doing, and being, the love of Christ for each other and for their children. 3) We need to get ready to face the storms of life: Jesus wants us to follow his words and to build our lives and our families on these words. He wants us to be ready for the storms of life, including, among others, the current Covid-19 pandemic, economic downturns, pension defaults, war, depression both mental and economic, relationships that fade, the deaths of those who love us and whom we love, devastating illness, and protracted disease. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22
Central theme: Today’s readings challenge us to the true Christian discipleship of total commitment to the will of God, putting God first in our lives.
Scripture lessons summarized: The first reading, taken from the Book of Wisdom, instructs us to ask for the gifts of discernment and strength from the Holy Spirit so that we may do the will of God as His true disciples. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 90), instructs true disciples to lead holy lives by remaining constantly aware of the brevity and uncertainty of life. The second reading, taken from St. Paul’s letter to Philemon, teaches us that detachment and renunciation are necessary for a true disciple of Christ. As a responsible Apostle and zealous disciple of Christ, Paul had to renounce the service of his new helper, Onesimus, and return him to his master. As a new disciple of Christ, Onesimus had to leave Paul, face his owner as a runaway slave, and accept the consequences. Today’s Gospel reminds us to count the cost of being a disciple and follower of Christ because the cost is high: true Christian discipleship requires one to “renounce” both earthly possessions and possessions of the heart (i.e., one’s relationships). In today’s Gospel, Jesus lays out four conditions for true Christian discipleship.1)Renounce too much attachment to family, giving priority to God and His commandments. 2)Break off the excessive attachment to possessions by leading a detached life, willingly sharing one’s blessings with others.3) Be ready to carry the cross and follow Jesus by i) gracefully accepting and lovingly offering our pains and suffering with Jesus on the cross for the salvation of all of us ii) sharing our blessings sacrificially with others iii) accepting the pain involved in controlling our evil habits and tendencies and iv) by welcoming the pain and humiliation we suffer in professing our faith in public and in practicing it in daily life, standing with Jesus, his ideas and ideals. 4) Calculate the cost involved in following Jesus. Using the two parables of the tower-builder and the king defending his country, Jesus says we must think long and hard about Christian discipleship before we commit ourselves to Jesus in this full, life-long surrender.
Life messages: We need to accept the challenge of Christian discipleship with heroic commitment and practice it. We do so: 1) by daily recharging our spiritual batteries through prayer, i.e., by talking to God, and by listening to Him through our meditative reading and study of the Bible; 2) by sharing in God’s life through frequent and active participation in the Eucharistic celebration; 3) by practicing the spirit of detachment and the renunciation of evil habits; 4) by giving our time, talents and resources generously, for the Lord’s work in the Church universal, and especially in our parish community, relying on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, 5) by loving all God’s children, especially the less fortunate ones, through humble, selfless acts of kindness, mercy, forgiveness, and service; 6) by showing true commitment to the obligations and duties entrusted to us by our vocation in life and our profession, for example, by fidelity in marriage and firm adherence to justice in our living and profession.
OT XXIII (Sept 4) Wis 9:13-18b; Phlm 9-10, 12-17; Lk 14:25–33
Homily starter anecdotes# 1: ‘We will drill you and drill you, then drill you again.” Each Fall, a lot of young boys aspire to become football players. But only a few will find their way onto the high school or university teams. Every year a coach challenges the hopefuls, explaining the cost involved: “Your muscles will ache from calisthenics. We’ll run you till you think you can run no more. We will drill you and drill you, then drill you again, every day, after school. There’ll be no drugs, no alcohol. Only if you work hard will you make the team. If you don’t, you won’t.” The personal, economic, and emotional cost of becoming a professional athlete or an Olympics Medalist is still higher. Young children spend hours a day practicing their skills and submitting themselves to rigorous programs of diet and exercise to become great gymnasts or dancers. Others accept the cost of dedicating years to study and hard work to become outstanding doctors or lawyers or scientists or writers. — In today’s Gospel, Jesus challenges his would-be followers to calculate the cost in following him, because they will have to leave their families and possessions and accept the pain and suffering involved if they are to follow him as true disciples. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
# 2: Hating father and mother: St. Thomas More was the Lord Chancellor, when Henry VIII was the King of England. More, with a wife and children, was a successful lawyer, a great linguist and a renowned spiritual and political writer. His book, Utopia, has become a classic. More refused to take an oath supporting the Act of Succession, which a) recognized the offspring of the self-divorced Henry and his second wife Anne Boleyn as the heir to the throne; b) declared Henry’s first marriage with Catherine as null and void, and so c) repudiated the Pope (who had given Henry a dispensation for that first marriage). Consequently, More was imprisoned in the Tower of London in the year 1534. Thomas More could not, with any honesty, approve Henry’s second marriage to Anne, and he could not acknowledge the King as the supreme head of the Church of England. His family implored him – for his sake and theirs – to take the oath. More’s beloved daughter, Margaret, took an oath to persuade him to do so, in order that the family might visit him in prison. With More’s wife and son-in-law, Margaret tried hard, but Thomas refused. He spent fifteen lonely months imprisoned in the Tower of London – in poor health, isolated from the other prisoners, deprived of his beloved books; not even paper and pen were given to him. Thomas More was convicted of treason, sentenced to death and, on July 6th, 1535, he was beheaded. — On mounting the scaffold, Thomas More proclaimed that he was “the king’s good servant but God’s first.” St. Thomas More paid the price for his discipleship by loving God more than his wife, children, nay, even his life. (John Rose in John’s Sunday Homilies). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
# 3: “The beauty remains; the pain passes.” French artists Henri Matisse and Auguste Renoir were close friends and frequent companions despite the fact that Renoir was twenty-eight years the senior of Matisse. During the last several years of his life, Renoir was virtually crippled by arthritis; nevertheless, he painted every day, and when his fingers were no longer supple enough to hold the brush correctly, he had his wife, Alice, attach the paintbrush to his hand in order that he might continue his work. Matisse visited him daily. One day, as he watched his older friend wincing in excruciating pain with each colorful stroke, he asked, “Auguste, why do you continue to paint when you are in such agony?” Renoir’s response was immediate, “The beauty remains; the pain passes.”– Passion for his art empowered Renoir to paint until the day he died; those who continue to admire the enduring beauty of his smiling portraits, his landscapes, his still life studies of flowers and fruit will find no trace therein of the pain required to create them. Most will agree that the cost was worth it. (Patricia Datchuck Sánchez). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
Central theme: Today’s readings challenge us to make a total commitment to the will of God, putting God first in our lives.
Scripture lessons summarized: The first reading instructs us to ask for the gifts of discernment and wisdom from the Holy Spirit, so that we may obey the will of God as disciples. In today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 90), the Psalmist has us pray to the Lord God, “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of Heart” (Ps 90:12), so that we may constantly be aware of the brevity and uncertainty of life. The second reading teaches us that detachment and renunciation are necessary for a true disciple of Christ. As a responsible Apostle and model disciple of Christ, Paul had to renounce the service of his new helper, Onesimus, and return him to Philemon, his master. As a new disciple of Christ, Onesimus had to leave Paul, whom he had come to love, and return to his owner (with this powerful letter from Paul to his owner, an old friend, pleading for mercy for Onesimus ), and face the ordinary consequences of his theft and flight, — being branded, sold in the slave markets or simply killed. Today’s Gospel reminds us to count the cost of being a Christian because the cost is high. Christian discipleship requires that one “renounce” both earthly possessions and possessions of the heart (i.e., one’s relationships). In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus lays out four conditions for true Christian discipleship: i)renouncing the attachment to family by putting God first, before other relationships and self-interest; ii)severing the attachment to possessions by leading a detached life, willingly sharing our blessings with others; iii)accepting the hard consequences of discipleship which include offering daily sacrificial service to others and being ready die, rather than to deny Jesus and/or betray the brethren. We must also be faithful in our stewardship, faithful in our worship attendance, faithful in our sexuality, honest in our business practices, and accurate on our tax returns — and we must show compassion for the less fortunate; iv) calculating the cost involved. Using the two parables of the tower-builder and the king defending his country, Jesus says that we must think long and hard about Christian discipleship before we commit ourselves to Jesus in this full, life-long surrender.
The first reading, Wisdom 9:13-18 explained: This selection tells us that the will of God can only be discerned by the help of God’s Wisdom (the Spirit of God). God gives us this Divine Wisdom directly in the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, and the Spirit empowers and instructs us through Divine Revelation in Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Hence, we must prepare our plan of action in Christian discipleship, relying on the power and light of the Holy Spirit. Our decisions as true disciples of Christ must flow from our religious values, what the author of Wisdom calls “things [that] are in Heaven.” This means that we are called to make decisions as disciples of Jesus, not as merely foolish people caught up in the cultural values of our time. (The book of Wisdom was written in Alexandria, Egypt a century before Christ. It was the work of a pious Jew and was intended to bolster the Faith of his fellow-Jews who were tempted to “assimilate” into the dominant pagan culture). Today’s passage is about deep theological issues, such as the ability of the human mind to grasp the ways of God, and the interaction between body and soul. God’s mind is Infinite, so we finite creatures, His children, must constantly, and deliberately, pray for Heavenly wisdom.
The second reading, Philemon 9-10, 12-17 explained: This letter provides another lesson in the detachment and renunciation necessary for Christian discipleship. The cost of his discipleship had already landed Paul in prison once, probably in Ephesus (ca. AD 52-54). Philemon was a wealthy Colossian and a friend of Paul. Philemon had been converted to the Christian Faith through Paul’s ministry. Philemon had a slave called Onesimus who had robbed his master and fled to Rome. God’s grace led Onesimus to the prison where Paul was being held, and the Apostle took compassion on him, leading Onesimus also to the Christian Faith. Then Paul sent Onesimus back to his master in Colossae with a letter pleading with Philemon, not only to spare Onesimus severe punishment, but also to show him sympathy, affection and Christian brotherhood (with a broad hint that Onesimus would be most “useful” to Paul, himself, should Philemon send him back to Paul!) Paul asked Philemon to receive Onesimus not as a slave but as a brother in the Lord, as a spiritual sibling and to welcome him as he would welcome Paul himself or even Christ himself. Paul means that Onesimus should not be marked by a red-hot iron with a F for “fugitive” on his forehead. We hear this appeal in the second reading. As a responsible Apostle and model disciple of Christ, Paul had to renounce the service of his new helper and return him to his master. As a new disciple of Christ, Onesimus had to leave Paul, face his owner as a runaway slave and accept the consequences. Paul challenged Philemon to express his commitment to Christ as a true disciple by treating Onesimus “no longer as a slave but a brother,” thus transforming the relationship between master and slave, bravely facing the contempt and scorn of his social equals and incurring social and economic liability as well. (The traditional belief is that Onesimus was later made the bishop of Ephesus and suffered martyrdom in Rome.)
Gospel exegesis:The context: Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem where he would be crucified. But the crowd thought that he was going to Jerusalem to oust the Romans and to reestablish the old Davidic kingdom of Israel. Jesus was enormously popular with the crowds as a great healer, brave teacher and miracle worker. Looking at the cheering masses, however, Jesus frankly put before them the strenuous conditions for discipleship:
1) We must renounce family relationships, giving priority to God. Today’s passage in Luke puzzles a lot of people, because in the Middle East, anyone who deliberately cut ties with family and social network would lose the ordinary means of making a living. Further, a person’s life and family relationships were a necessity for security and identity, regardless of social position. Why was Jesus, who had been recommending that his followers love everybody –including their enemies–suddenly announcing that no one could be his disciple unless he hated his own family? The Hebrew language does not have comparatives — it is not possible in Hebrew, for example, to speak of loving something “more” or “less” than another thing. It is only possible to speak of loving or hating. The phrase, “If anyone follows me and does not hate father and mother” should be understood in this way: “If anyone follows me, without preferring me to father and mother….” To see that this is so we only need to look at the same matter in the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus says: “Whoever loved father and mother more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37). Besides, the word hate, as used in this case, “is Semitic exaggeration and may reflect an idiom which means ‘love less than’ (Oxford Bible Commentary). So, it is clear that Jesus’ “hating” one’s family is a Semitic hyperbole or exaggeration, spoken for effect. Matthew’s Gospel makes it clear. “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” (Mt 10:37-38). This is Semitic hyperbole or exaggeration-for-effect. The word “hate,” in Hebrew, does not mean “detest” but to “put in second place. Jesus is not calling us to hate father and mother but is instead calling us to a commitment above all other commitments, including commitment to family. When Jesus said, “hate your family,” he was talking about spiritual detachment, the ability to put God first, before other relationships and before self-interest. Without such detachment, one does not have the ability truly to follow Jesus. Jesus cannot just be a part of our life but must be its center. Love for Christ does not exclude the other loves, but rather orders them. Indeed, it is in him that every genuine love finds its foundation and support and the necessary grace to be fully lived out. This is the meaning of the “grace of state” that the sacrament of marriage confers on Christian husbands and wives. It assures that in their love they will be sustained and guided by the love that Christ has for his Church.
2) We must bear our crosses: Taking up our own cross does not mean seeking out suffering. Jesus did not seek out his cross; he took on himself, in obedience to the Father, what men put on his shoulders, and with his obedient love , he transformed it from an instrument of torture into a sign of redemption and glory. Jesus did not come to make human crosses heavier, but rather to give them meaning. It has been rightly said that “whoever looks for Jesus without the cross will find the cross without Jesus,” that is, he will certainly find the cross but not the strength to carry it. Though “bearing a cross” is often equated with welcoming chronic illness, painful physical conditions, or trying family relationships, it also includes what we do voluntarily, as a consequence of our commitment to Jesus Christ. Further, it is the spirit in which we freely and deliberately accept and endure the pain, the difficulties, and even the ridicule involved with these choices, that transforms them into real cross-bearing. We need to be prepared to suffer out of love for Jesus. For the early Christians, however, cross-bearing had a far more literal meaning. Just as Jesus went to the cross, some of his followers would also taste death for their devotion to the Master. Only if the disciple is firmly committed to Christ will he be able to spend his life in sacrificial service for others. We observe this integrity in Christian doctors, medical students, and pharmacists who refuse to take part, in any way, in abortions, even if they might suffer professionally; in people who stick up for Christ and his teachings (even when they suffer derision as a result), at school, work, or in their families; in those who sacrifice money and time to care for others and for the mission of the Church. “Discipleship not only means to follow the Master with our ‘cross.’ It also means to reveal the crucified Christ to others. In other words, through our struggles and in consequence of Faith, Christ is present, to us and to those who see us.” (CCC #618).
3) We must calculate the cost of discipleship: Using the two parables of the tower-builder and the king defending his country, Jesus says we must think long and hard about Christian discipleship before making this commitment. In the first parable, the builder was not financially able to finish the building. The second parable spoke of a king planning strategy against a belligerent opponent. Could the king win the battle against an army twice the size of his own? Or should he sue for peace? Just as a tower builder needs to have enough in the budget for materials and as a general to win a war needs to have enough well-trained troops to defeat his opponents, so we, to be followers of Christ need to know the sufferings that keeping this commitment will demand. Perhaps these parables also illustrate that discipleship is not a one-time decision and that the commitment involved needs to be an ongoing decision to persevere in the ministries that are integral to following Jesus. When we first decide to follow Christ, we know simply that there will be a price to pay. Only as life unfolds can we begin to assess the full cost. Jesus warns us to expect significant cost overruns because the cost for him was the cross at Calvary.
4) We need to say good-bye to possessions: The fourth condition for being a disciple of Jesus means not only surrendering material possessions but sometimes one’s very life. In today’s reading, we hear the phrase, “whoever does not renounce all of his possessions and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.” Jesus asserted it in the Sermon on the Mount: “No one can serve two masters; for he will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Mt 6:24). When Jesus says that we must give up all our possessions in order to follow him, he doesn’t mean that we must all hold a giant yard sale and live as mendicants on the streets. He means that we should lead a detached life, willingly sharing our blessings with others. The four conditions of discipleship as outlined by Jesus indicate a kind of total commitment that every follower of Christ should be prepared to live. The radical demands of Jesus call us to center our lives on the suffering and risen Christ.
5) The paradox of Jesus’ strenuous conditions: Jesus commanded us to make disciples of all nations (not “make members”). On the one hand, our text repeats the necessity of putting Jesus first – an extremely demanding condition. On the other hand, even “street people” are generously invited to the banquet. The only “demand” is that we come, eat, and enjoy the feast that has been prepared. Do we live in this tension between free grace and costly discipleship? Is there a difference between believing in Jesus and being a disciple? Yes! Just being an active Church member is not enough. Jesus doesn’t want disciples who just “go along with the crowd.” He wants committed Christians — those who are aware of the costs of following him — who choose to follow him anyway. Being Jesus’ disciple has never been convenient. It is costly — costly in terms of money, time, relationships, and priorities.
6) Cheap grace and costly grace: According Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Lutheran theologian, martyred by Hitler, “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, Baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, and grace without Jesus….Cheap grace costs us nothing (in the short term). Costly grace costs us our life, but it is also the source of the only true and complete life.” (TheCost of Discipleship). (http://peterfaur.com/2012/12/18/study-guides-for-dietrich-bonhoeffers-the-cost-of-discipleship#axzz4JI86fUOI) Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field and the pearl of great price for which the one who believes in Jesus is willing to sell everything one has. Costly grace is the Gospel which must be lived and preached; it is the gift which must be asked for, the door at which every disciple must knock. Costly grace means following Jesus, aware of and prepared for the pitfalls of discipleship but still willing to meet them and manage them daily with his help. “A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing. “(Martin Luther). It is strange to see how some of the present followers of Martin Luther preach and practice a diluted, cost-free Christianity, assuring eternal salvation to all who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and ask his pardon and forgiveness for their sins – and that is “preaching forgiveness without requiring repentance”!
7) Cafeteria Christians versus committed Christians: Soren Kierkegaard said that there are a lot of parade-ground Christians who wear the uniforms of Christianity, but few who are willing to do battle for Christ and his kingdom. When it comes to doing battle for the Lord, too many church members are just sitting on the premises instead of “standing on the promises of God.” Jesus does not want a large number of “half-way” disciples who are willing to do a “little bit” of prayer, a “little bit” of commitment, a “little bit” of dedication, a “little bit” of love. Jesus wants disciples who are truly committed to prayer, to discipleship and to being ruled by him as their king. With a few such dedicated disciples, Jesus could change the world. Today, more than a billion people gather to worship, but many of them are half-hearted Christians. We are tempted to forego the call to faithful stewardship, faithful worship attendance, faithful sexuality, honest business practices, accurate tax returns, and compassion for the less fortunate. Ironically enough, Churches with high standards attract people with high standards. Integrity and commitment attract others. On the one hand, Jesus makes it very difficult to be his disciple. On the other hand, Jesus is making it impossible to be his disciple just using only our own abilities. When we confess, “I can’t,” then we are open for God’s “I can.” With God’s grace everything is possible.
Life messages: 1) We need to practice true Christian discipleship. In the book Power Surge, Mike Foss lists “six marks of discipleship for a changing Church” which he expects Christians to practice: 1) daily prayer, 2) weekly worship by participating in the Eucharistic celebration, 3) diligent study of the Bible, 4) service in and beyond the parish, 5) spiritual friendships, and 6) giving time, talents, and resources to the Lord’s work.
2) We need to accept the challenge with heroic commitment: Jesus’ challenge of true Christian discipleship can be accepted only if we practice the spirit of detachment and renunciation in our daily lives. Real discipleship demands true commitment to the duties entrusted to us by life, circumstances, the community, or directly by God Himself, and by loving acts of selfless, humble, sacrificial love offered to all God’s children around us. Let us remember that all this is possible only if we rely on the power of prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Mother Teresa said, “If we have our Lord amid us, with daily Mass and Holy Communion, I fear nothing for the Sisters nor myself; he will look after us. But without him I cannot be. I am helpless” (MFG, p. 26).
JOKE OF THE WEEK: 1) President in search of a true Christian disciple: Abraham Lincoln was debating whom to hire as Indian Commissioner. He called his advisors Ben Wade and Senator Daniel Voorhees for assistance in selecting the right man. “Gentlemen,” said President Lincoln, “I want an honest, decent, caring, moral Christian man, a man frugal and self-sacrificing!” “Mr. President, I feel certain you won’t find him,” said Voorhees. “And why not?” asked the President. “Because he was Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified eighteen hundred years ago,” said the Senator.
2) Christian burial for a non-disciple? One morning Rev. Desmond went to the front door of his rectory to get his newspaper and found a dead mule on the street. He quickly called the city health department and asked to have the mule disposed of. The smart secretary on duty said, “Hey, Reverend Pastor, I always heard that you pastors buried your own dead even if they are not practicing Christian disciples”. “Yes, we do, “the pastor, replied. “But not in all cases. In this case, I would like to meet the deceased’s close relatives in the Health Department in person to offer my condolences and to give a special blessing!
Websites of the week
1) Fr. Don’ collection of video homilies & blogs: https://sundayprep.org (Copy it on the Address bar and press the Enter button)
For pictures for the parish bulletin: Type Luke 14:25–33 under Google images and press the Enter button of your Keyboard.
22-Additional anecdotes
1) Cheap grace and costly grace: During the era of World War II, the great German Protestant theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), wrote a book entitled The Cost of Discipleship. “’Cheap grace,’” Bonhoeffer wrote in his book “is the grace we bestow on ourselves…grace without discipleship, while ‘costly grace’ is the Gospel that must be sought again and again, the gift, which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock… It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.” As a religious scholar in a country where the Nazis were bent on expanding an ideology of national and racial superiority, Dietrich Bonhoeffer struggled inside himself and chose to resist the Nazis as a true disciple of Christ. He joined the underground in the conviction that it was his duty as a Christian to work for Hitler’s defeat. His convictions inspired many to resist, but this cost them their freedom and lives at the hands of the Gestapo. Bonhoeffer’s theologically rooted opposition to National Socialism first made him a leader, along with Martin Niemoeller and Karl Barth, as an advocate on behalf of the Jews. Indeed, his efforts to help a group of Jews to escape to Switzerland were the cause of his arrest and imprisonment in the spring of 1943. He was hanged in the concentration camp at Flossenbürg on April 9, 1945, on the false charge of plotting to assassinate Hitler. Thus, he paid the cost of discipleship with his life and death. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
2) The cost paid by great musicians: Someone once said to Paderewski, the great pianist, “Sir, you are a genius.” He replied, “Madam, before I was a genius, I was a drudge.” He continued: “If I missed practice one day, I noticed it; if I missed practice two days, the critics noticed it; if I missed three days, my family noticed it; if I missed four days, my audience noticed it.” It is reported that after one of Fritz Kreisler’s concerts a young woman said to him, “I would give my life to be able to play like that.” He replied, “That’s what I gave.” — The door is narrow. Why should we think we can “drift” into the Kingdom of God? The Christian life is a constant striving to do the will of God as Jesus revealed it. We need to strive because there are forces of evil within us and around us, trying to pull us down. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
3) The cost of discipleship for Dr. David Livingston. Livingston was a brilliant scholar. He studied Greek, theology, went to Glasgow University and was graduated with a degree in Medicine. He could have been anything he wanted to be: a professor, an author, a doctor. But God had called him to the mission field in the interior of Africa where no white man had ever entered. The sacrifice he made was incredible. While he was out in the bush, preaching the Gospel one day, a huge lion leaped on him, clamped its teeth on his shoulder and crushed it, leaving his left arm totally useless. One of his helpers killed the lion and saved him. He was taken back to Scotland for treatment. Through that ordeal, Livingston was nursed back to health by a woman named, Mary, who became his wife. She went with him to Africa. As the years passed, they had five children. While they were crossing one of those vast plains of Africa, one of their children died. They concluded that it would be safer for his wife and four remaining children to go back to Scotland. Livingston said that decision was the most difficult of his life. They left, and for five years Livingston did not see the faces of his wife and children. The loneliness was unbearable. Finally, when Livingston was able to return home to see his relatives, it was to see them returning from the cemetery after burying his beloved father. Another price had been paid. Many years after his return to Africa he received a letter that caused his heart to leap. The children were now grown, and Mary was coming to Africa. But she had barely arrived when she was struck down by an African fever. Dr. Livingston used every ounce of his medical skill to try to save her, but he could not. He buried his wife under a huge African Baobab tree. After having a short memorial service, he went back to his cottage and wept like a baby. He wrote that day in his diary: “My Jesus, my King, my Life, my All; I again dedicate my whole self to Thee. I shall place no value on anything I possess or on anything I do except in relation to the Kingdom of Christ.” –Was his sacrifice worth it? Well, consider this. Twenty-five years after his death in 1900, there were ten million Christians in Africa. Today, there are over 300 million. Nothing great is ever done without sacrifice. But any sacrifice for Jesus is always great. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
4) Cost paid by famous golf & basketball players:Arnold Palmer, for many years, was one of America’s finest golfers. Certainly, he was our most popular golfer. Wouldn’t it be great to be a “natural” athlete like Arnold Palmer? Except that Arnold Palmer practiced golf eight hours a day, day after day after day. Being a great golfer requires commitment. Some of you who play the game are thinking to yourselves that even being a poor golfer requires commitment! You don’t excel in athletics or anything else unless you are willing to pay the price. Larry Bird won the Most Valuable Player award in the National Basketball League for three years in a row. How did he achieve such excellence? Larry Bird is legendary for his dedication to the game of basketball. An opposing player tells of arriving at Boston Garden with his teammates to play the Boston Celtics several hours before an important game. There was the great Larry Bird standing at the foul line of dark, deserted Boston Garden practicing free throws over and over again. The coach of the opposing team preached a little sermon about dedication to the game using Larry Bird as the prime example.– Successful living requires commitment. It requires dedication. That’s true in athletics. It is also true in business. Jesus says in today’s Gospel that it is true in our relationship with God. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
5) Cost of being soldiers of Alexander the Great: In his world-conquering march, Alexander the Great approached a highly fortified city and through a messenger demanded to see the king and set out his terms of surrender. The king laughed at him and said, “Why should I surrender to your emperor Alexander? You can’t do us any harm! We can endure any siege.” As the messenger returned Alexander ordered his men to line up in single file and to march towards the cliff within sight of the city walls. The city’s citizens watched with horrified fascination as one by one Alexander officers marched over the edge of that cliff and plunged to their deaths. After several men had obeyed his orders, he commanded them to halt. He then called his troops back to his side and stood silently facing the city. The effect on the citizens and the king was stunning. From spellbound silence they moved to absolute terror. They realized they had no walls thick enough and no defense strong enough to protect themselves against that kind of commitment and that kind of devotion. Spontaneously they rushed through the gates to surrender themselves to Alexander the Great. — That is the kind of surrender and sacrifice that Jesus is asking for. One thing you have to say about today’s terrorists is that they are willing to die for what they believe. The tragedy is that terrorists are more willing to pay a price and are more willing to die for a lie than Christians are to live for the truth. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
6) Tie for No. 14: Some years ago, Time magazine asked a group of Americans to rate one hundred famous events in history as to their significance. The results of that poll are quite amazing. Number one was Columbus’ discovery of America. Three events tied for fourteenth on the list: the discovery of X-rays, the Wright brothers’ first plane flight, and the crucifixion of Jesus. — Notice that: Jesus tied for fourteenth! That poll indicates that you and I have not done a very good job of communicating to the world the meaning of the cross and the price Jesus paid for our salvation. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
7) The NCAA cross-country championship: Back in 1994, 128 runners lined up to compete in the NCAA cross-country championship in Riverside, California. Unfortunately, one of the turns on the 10,000-meter course was not well marked. Only five of the 128 runners stayed on the correct path. Mike Delcavo was the first runner to notice the problem. He began waving at the other runners to follow him, but most refused. Can you blame them? One-hundred-and-twenty-three runners took the wrong path, only five took the right one. What did the 123 runners think of Delcavo? He commented later, “They thought it was funny that I went the right way.” (Leadership, Summer 1994, p. 49.) — We all like to think that we’re on the right path; what a rude awakening it will be to discover we have taken the broad way leading to eternal damnation! (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
8) Twenty million tons of cement. In 1974, in the wake of the oil boom, the government of Nigeria decided to bring the country at a single leap into line with most developed Western nations. The planners calculated that to build the new roads, airfields, and military buildings which the plan required would call for some 20 million tons of cement. This was duly ordered and shipped by freighters from all over the world, to be unloaded onto the docks at Lagos, Nigeria. Twenty million tons of cement. Unfortunately, the Nigerian planners had not considered the fact that the docks at Lagos were only capable of handling two thousand tons a day. Working every day, it would have taken twenty-seven years to unload the ships that were at one point waiting at sea off Lagos. These contained a third of the world’s supply of cement much of it showing its fine quality by setting solid in the holds of the freighters. — Hasty transactions bring painful losses. Poor planning causes disastrous results. Building a tower before counting the cost? Three guesses! (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
9) “The Road Less Traveled”:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And, sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
……….…………………………………….
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference (Robert Frost). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
10) “Beats me too.” A man remarked to a woman sitting to his left at a Super Bowl game that he was surprised that there was an empty seat between them. The woman said, “Oh, that belonged to my husband, but he died.” The man offered his condolences and went on to express amazement that another member of her family of a relative of friend hadn’t wanted to use his seat. “Beats me too,” said the woman, “but they all insisted they needed to go to his funeral!” — How’s that for a story about values and commitment? (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
11) Clenched fists or open hands:African aboriginals have an ingenious way of trapping monkeys. They carve out a small cavity in the bark of a tree just big enough for a monkey to slip his hand in. Then, they fill the cavity with peanuts – or ‘monkey nuts’, as we call them in India – and lie in wait. Soon, curious monkeys come to investigate. They smell the peanuts and sure enough one of them squeezes his hand through the cavity to grab the nuts. But the cavity isn’t big enough for the monkey to pull out his clenched fist. The monkey stupidly refuses to open his clenched fist and let go of the nuts. He’s trapped. — How often, like a monkey, I refuse to let go of trifles and lose Life in the bargain. Let us listen to the conditions placed by Jesus in today’s Gospel (Francis Gonsalves in Sunday Seeds for Daily Deeds; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
12) Cost of architectural masterpiece of Antonio Gaudi: Visitors touring the city of Barcelona in Spain are invariably drawn to the Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) Church. An architectural masterpiece designed by Antonio Gaudi, this neo-Gothic structure has been described as biological surrealism in that it is comprised of human figures, vegetative formations, molten-like cornices and cubistic towers, topped with twisted, mosaic-covered finials. All of these elements are permeated by a logically ordered Marian iconography. –However, visitors are also invariably surprised to discover that, since it was commissioned in 1882, only the choir and front of the church’s east transept have been completed. Gaudi’s ornate and unusual architecture proved too costly to build. — Therefore, behind the church’s impressive façade stands an emptiness that bears silent witness to the lesson taught through the twin parables in today’s Gospel, viz., that those who would become the disciples of Jesus must first appreciate the cost, accept it, and then be willing and prepared to persevere in meeting that cost daily. (Sánchez Files). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
13) Cost of discipleship paid by a modern saint: St. Gianna Berretta Molla understood well the cost of discipleship and all its implications. Her canonization on May 16, 2004 was one of the last canonizations celebrated by Pope St. John Paul II. She is a modern saint, who died on April 28, 1962. Her husband and children were present for her canonization. We haven’t heard a whole lot about her in the United States, something in which we priests, and I as your pastor, are remiss. I intend to remedy this today. Gianna Berretta was a doctor living outside of Milan, Italy. She had a double residency and practice in pediatrics and obstetrics/gynecology. After she finished her residencies, her desire to reach out to the people influenced her to open a clinic in a small town in her native Italy. She was not a wealthy doctor; she never hesitated to give her services free to those who could not afford to pay. A good doctor works long hours and Gianna was no exception. Pregnant mothers felt very secure in her care because they knew no matter what time of night, they needed her, she would be there for them. After becoming a doctor, Gianna met and became engaged to the man of her dreams, Pietro Molla. They were married on September 24, 1955. In November 1956, to her great joy, she became the mother of Pierluigi; in December 1957 of Mariolina; and in July 1959 of Laura. With simplicity and equilibrium, she harmonized the demands of being mother and wife with those of her continued practice as a doctor, all with the passion that she had for life. In 1961, Gianna became pregnant with the Molla’s fourth child. In September, towards the end of the second month of pregnancy, she was touched by suffering and the mystery of pain. She had developed a tumor in her uterus. She was given the choice of having the uterus removed, thus killing the child, or risk surgery that might save the child but kill her. She was an Ob-Gyn. She knew the risk that her continued pregnancy brought, but she pleaded with the surgeon to save the life of the child she was carrying and entrusted herself to prayer and Providence. The baby’s life was saved, for which she thanked the Lord. She spent the seven months remaining until the birth of the child in incomparable strength of spirit and unrelenting dedication to her tasks as mother and doctor. She worried that the baby in her womb might be born in pain, and she asked God to prevent that. A few days before the child was due, although trusting as always in Providence, she was ready to give her life in order to save that of her child. She repeated to her husband: “If you must decide between me and the child, do not hesitate choose the child – I insist on it. Save the child.” On the morning of April 21, 1962, Gianna Emanuela was born. Despite all efforts and treatments to save both of them, on the morning of April 28, amid repeated exclamations of “Jesus, I love you. Jesus, I love you,” Gianna Berretta Molla died. She was 39 years old. — Was Gianna foolish for making the decision to allow her death rather than the death of her child? Shouldn’t she have considered staying alive for the sake of her other three children, her husband, and even her medical practice? These arguments were presented to her by those whom she had respected, doctors, family members, etc. But their thinking was the thinking of the world. Gianna knew that she would accomplish nothing in killing a child to keep her own life. The child that was saved, Gianna Emanuela, followed in her mother’s footsteps and is now a medical doctor and consulter to the Saint Gianna Berretta Molla Society. The cost of discipleship seldom makes the demand on us that it made on Gianna Molla, but we are all continually confronted with the choice of standing up for our Faith or joining the world that rejects the Lord. (Fr. Pellegrino) Homilies.net (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
14) “We saw your smoke signal.” The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed earnestly to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but no one seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements and in which to store his few possessions. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. “God, how could you do this to me!” he cried. Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. The weary man asked his rescuers: “How did you know I was here?” They replied: “We saw your smoke signal.” — God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering. But we fail to see the invisible hand of God. (Fr. Bobby Jose). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
15) The real cost of Christian discipleship is meeting daily the demands Jesus makes upon his followers. The Italian freedom fighter Garibaldi offered his men only hunger and death to free Italy. Winston Churchill told the English people that he had nothing to offer them but “blood, sweat, toil, and tears” in their fight against the enemies of England. Jesus demands that his followers carry a cross– the sign of death.
Andrew died on a cross
Simon was crucified
Bartholomew was flayed alive
James (son of Zebedee) was beheaded
The other James (son of Alphaeus) was beaten to death
Thomas was run through with a lance
Matthias was stoned and then beheaded
Matthew was slain by the sword
Peter was crucified upside down
Thaddeus was shot to death with arrows
Philip was hanged
— The demands that Jesus makes upon those who would follow him are extreme. Christianity is not a Sunday morning religion. It is a hungering after God, to the point of death if need be. It shakes our foundations, topples our priorities, pits us against friend and family, and makes us strangers in this world… (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
16) Calculate the cost before a war: Napoleon Bonaparte, the French Emperor, decided to campaign against Russia, in 1812. Napoleon was pushing on with preparations for war on a colossal scale. By the summer of 1812 he had about 750,000 men under arms of whom 450,000 were destined for the actual invasion. On 28 May this army of armies set out towards East. Immense stores were collected. Two million pairs of boots were held in reserve. The baggage was hauled by 18,000 heavy draft horses, the siege-guns and pontoons by 10,000 oxen. A million great coats had been bought. The army passed into Russia unopposed. As Napoleon reached Moscow, he understood the mistake he had made. The marshals too were reluctant to march northwards. With the first fall of snow the story of the march became an epic of human misery; no food, no shelter, no fuel. Icy gales froze them and killed scores every night. History testifies that it was one of the great errors of Napoleon. Out of 450000 who had crossed into Russia only 20,000 marched back. If Napoleon had corrected himself 430000 men who had crossed into Russia would not have lost their lives or pushed into misery. — Human history gives evidence that such human errors have often proved fatal. The history of salvation too is a sum total of such errors, often willful, that have estranged man from God, and God’s interventions to make man aware of his own mistakes and of God’s offer of mercy. (Fr. Bobby Jose) . (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
17) Seeing the white rabbit and chasing it: One day, a young disciple of Christ who wanted to become everything that God had in mind for him visited the home of an elderly Christian seeking his advice. He had heard that this old man had never lost his love for Christ in all the years he had known the Savior.
The old man smiled and replied, “Let me tell you a story: One day I was sitting here quietly in the sun with my dog. Suddenly a large white rabbit ran across in front of us. Well, my dog jumped up, and took off after that big rabbit. He chased the rabbit over the hills with a passion. Soon, other dogs joined him, attracted by his barking. What a sight it was, as that pack of dogs ran barking across the creeks, up stony embankments and through thickets and thorns! Gradually, however, one by one, the other dogs dropped out of the pursuit, discouraged by the course and frustrated by the chase. Only my dog continued to hotly pursue the white rabbit. In that story, young man, is the answer to your question.” The young man sat in confused silence. Finally, he asked, “I don’t understand. What is the connection between the rabbit chase and the quest for God?” “You fail to understand,” answered the older man, “because you failed to ask the obvious question— ‘Why didn’t the other dogs continue on the chase?’ And, the answer to that question is that they were only joining the excitement of the group. They had not seen the rabbit. Unless you have actually seen the rabbit, the chase is just too difficult. You will lack the passion and determination necessary to keep up the chase.” — And this brings us to the pertinent topic of this particular discourse: Have you seen the Lord? Have you really seen Him? Do you realize and accept that He is carrying a cross? Do you understand what it means to be a Christian? In order to follow after Him, the first prerequisite is that we actually see Him and understand what it means to be called to Christian discipleship. (Rev. Byron Perrine). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
18) The beggar boy or the beggar girl? A beggar boy had staked himself on a bridge in Rome w/ an old violin on which he played pitifully. The only people who gave money were those who felt sorry for him. One day a man came by who after listening asked the boy if he could hold the violin. Reluctantly, the boy surrendered his instrument. After the stranger tuned it, he began to play a beautiful melody. Suddenly, a crowd gathered to listen and began dropping money into the case As the crowd grew, the money increased. When the man finished, he handed the boy his violin, along with the money in the case. Who was the stranger? It was the great Paganini, the renowned Italian violinist! Around the same time, a little beggar girl knocked on the door of Adelina Patti, the renowned Italian-Spanish opera singer looking for a handout. The great singer gave her no money but invited her momentarily into her home and asked her to sing. Puzzled, the girl fulfilled her request and sang. Patti detected a tiny spark of musical promise in the girl and invited her to return the following day where she began to give the girl daily lessons. The great opera diva trained the girl for seven years – when finally, she introduced her to the world in concert. For the rest of her life, the female urchin-turned-singer, trained by Adelina Patti, earned a large salary and blessed multitudes of people. — Of these stories, which account do you think most portrays Jesus’ concept of making disciples? Then why is it that we tend to default to the first method? Chinese Proverb: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Discipling is teaching a man to follow Jesus so he can feed on God for himself. It’s leading a man to take responsibility for himself and for others. The call of every Christian is to become broken bread and poured out wine to others until they can feed on God for themselves. (Rev. Joseph Rogers). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
19) The cost of Christian discipleship: Two years ago in China, I met many pastors and church leaders who had suffered terribly during the years of the Cultural Revolution under Chairman Mao and his fanatical following of students. Their churches had been shut down, and they had been sent to years of harsh living away from home and family for what was called re-education on the factory floor or in the rice paddies of rural villages. Some watched family members sent off to prison, and many endure chronic health problems today resulting from the brutal treatment they received in those awful years. All had productive years of ministry stolen from them. Yet, none of the people I visited spoke of those times with bitterness or resentment. None of them held up their personal experience as cause for special commendation. It was simply the cost they had to bear in their time and place for being a disciple of Jesus. — One old pastor put it well: “God used those years in the fields to help us learn how to be a church of the poor. Before that, we had been a church of the educated, of the intellectuals. Now we know how to be a church for the poor.” His simple eloquence reminded me of Joseph, after his father’s death, meeting the brothers who had tried to kill him. “You meant it for evil,” he told them, “but God meant it for good that an entire people might live.” (Rev. John Thomas). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
20) Fathers in Christ: Catholics have a lovely tradition of calling priests “father”. For centuries this tender name has been applied to priests in religious orders. Our American Catholic custom of calling diocesan priests by the same term is scarcely a century old. But it is equally appropriate – never more so than when we are addressing the priests who baptized us. In a very special way they are our spiritual parents. That is why St. Paul, in today’s second reading, calls the slave Onesimus who he had recently baptized “my child whom I have begotten.” The Catholic priesthood has had a rough time in America over the past twenty years. Not a few “fathers” have left its service. The number of aspirants to the priesthood has plummeted. (This is true, at least, in the Western World; in Iron Curtain lands and in the Third World, the number of vocations is rising dramatically). Part of the fault is ours. Forgetful of what priests mean to us, we have too often neglected to praise the priesthood in our homes. Thus our sons never think of priesthood as a great and wonderful vocation to which they, too, are possibly called. Recently a Connecticut woman spoke out, albeit anonymously, in praise of priests. Her letter appeared in the Hartford Catholic Transcript. “Dear Fathers, brothers, but most of all, priests in Christ, we who have been blessed so much of our lives, to have been fed, consoled and cared for by so many of you, want to say over and over again how grateful we are to God and to you for your compassion, love, and all that you have done for us. We hope that you know how much we love and need you in these dark hours in our world and in our Church! We realize today that you are fewer in number, and we are sorry to have added our heavy burden to those you already bear. Please forgive us…Surely you must know how much your family (your church family) needs you to help to reap the harvest of so many lost souls in our world today. There are so many hungers that need to be filled. With His help, and yours, we know this can be done.”– Our priests needed that word of acknowledgement. “Thanks, Mrs. Calabash, whoever you are!” (Father Robert F. McNamara). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
21) Paul sends the runaway slave Onesimus back to his legal owner, Philemon. Is this his way of saying that slavery is “okay” for Christians?After the customary “greetings” and “farewells,” this tiny letter has only twelve verses to make its message heard. And it reflects Jesus’ own methods when it came to challenging the cultural “standards” of a “status society” (called an “honor-shame” society) such as the Mediterranean world of those days, when those standards impinged upon the dignity of humans. The message is extremely potent and powerful, yet masterful in its subtle approach. Paul and Philemon live in a world where legal rights were dictated by a military power, such that one could not safely challenge the social structure and survive. So Paul is forced to appeal to Christian love: when it comes to the Christian community, we are to treat each other as blood brother and sister, not as a caste system of master and slave. That is a direct challenge to the existing cultural standards, because the slave owner is being asked “in the name of (Christian) love” to treat Onesimus as a beloved brother. Slavery as an institution is not even a direct issue; the human dignity of the slave Onesimus is the issue, as well as the response demanded by any and every Christian in such a situation. That is a very high price for a slave owner to pay, in a society structured around honor and shame, where “control” was the top priority to preserve the status quo. Today is one of those rare Sundays when the Second Reading fits so perfectly, although unintentionally, with the Gospel (Lk 14:25-33). — Jesus spells out very clearly the high price a committed Christian may be called to pay to follow him — even at the cost of breaking with family and social structures that might insert barriers between humans who are equal in God’s eyes. The name “Onesimus” means “profitable” in Greek, and our Church teaches with utmost clarity that it is a sin against the dignity of persons to reduce them to their productive value or to a source of profit (CCC #2414). Paul was laying the foundation for social advocacy to help those powerless to help themselves. What have you done to improve social justice concerns in your city? (Father Robert F. McNamara). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
22) You mean I have togive up everything I own and become materially poor, to become a disciple? : Quick answer: you don’t! When most folks hear the phrase about renouncing their “possessions,” they usually picture their retirement savings, their new car, home, and other kinds of property. Visions of living like a homeless street person or vagrant bring on the goose bumps. Well, relax; that is not the kind of life Jesus is calling you to live. Now, just suppose we do have some of these things – and you pick which one appeals to you: a Mercedes or a Ford; a Rolex or a Timex; a mansion or a log cabin; pricey designer clothes or a Wal-mart outfit on sale. Well, no matter what you pick, it still identifies your “status” in society. You are labeled Upper Class, Middle Class, or Lower Class, because almost everyone in a consumer society is “class conscious” and one keeps one’s eye on the next rung up on the ladder. Jesus is calling us to make a radical change away from that kind of thinking. No longer is “social status” an important guideline and goal. Instead, an uncompromising loyalty to Jesus – demonstrated today by an unconditional acceptance of his teachings, those proclaimed to us by our Catholic bishops – is the sole criterion to true discipleship. In the kind of kingdom envisioned by Jesus, we renounce the attitude that drives us to seek and cling to greater social status, and we refocus our attention on loving God and loving all his children. In this kind of kingdom, everyone has the same status – not the social kind, but the greatest status of all: the knowledge that I belong to God’s household, that I am one of His kingdom kids. Our bond with Jesus takes absolute precedence over all other bonds, familial or social (CCC #1618). Love of riches or their selfish use is absolutely incompatible with love for the poor (CCC #2445). — One’s attitude toward one’s possessions – all of which one holds in stewardship for God – shows where one’s heart is in relation to true discipleship. Take a journey through Romans 12:9-21 if you have doubts about how kingdom kids need to live (CCC #1971). (Father Robert F. McNamara). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/). L/22
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 atakadavil@gmail.com. Visit https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies of Fr. Nick’s collection of homilies or Resources in the CBCI website: https://www.cbci.in. (Special thanks to Vatican Radio website http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html -which completed uploading my Cycle A, B and C homilies in May 2020) Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604
Mk 6:17-2914 King Herod heard of it; for Jesus’ name had become known. Some said, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; that is why these powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” 17 For Herod had sent and seized John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; because he had married her. 18 For John said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. When he heard him, he was much perplexed; and yet he heard him gladly. 21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and the leading men of Galilee. 22 For when Herodias’ daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will grant it.” 23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out, and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the baptizer.” 25 And she came in immediately with haste to the king, and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And the king was exceedingly sorry; but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her….29.
The context: Today’s Gospel presents the last scene of a tragic drama with three main characters, Herod, Herodias, and John the Baptist. Herod was a jealous, weak puppet-king with a very guilty conscience, who answered to Rome for his rule of one section of Israel, at that time a Roman subject-province. Herod feared the prophet John because John had publicly scolded him for divorcing his legal wife without adequate cause and for marrying his sister-in-law Herodias who was his niece, thus committing a double violation of Mosaic Law. Herodias was an immoral and greedy woman, stained by a triple guilt and enraged by John’s public criticism of her: 1) She was an unfaithful woman of loose morals. 2) She was a greedy and vengeful woman. 3) She was an evil mother who used her teenage daughter for the wicked purposes of murder and revenge by encouraging the girl to dance in public in the royal palace against the royal etiquette of the day. John the Baptist was a fiery preacher and the herald of the Promised Messiah. He was also a Spirit-filled prophet with the courage of his prophetic convictions who dared to criticize and scold an Oriental monarch and his proud wife in public.
God’s punishment: After the martyrdom of John, Herod was defeated by Aretas, the father of his first wife. Later, both Herod and Herodias were sent into exile by Caligula, the Roman emperor.
Aug 30 Tuesday: Lk 4:31-37: 31 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath; 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority. 33 And in the synagogue, there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon; and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ah! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” 37 And reports of him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
Context: After the sad experience in Nazareth, Jesus used the city of Capernaum, 30 miles away from Nazareth, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, the center of the fishing business, as a base for a teaching, healing, and preaching ministry. The people were impressed by the authority with which Jesus taught. The Old Testament prophets had taught using God’s delegated authority, and the scribes and Pharisees taught quoting Moses, the prophets and the great rabbis. But Jesus, as God Incarnate taught using Divine authority and knowledge. Perfect knowledge of God, perfect obedience to the will of God His Father, and absolute confidence in God were the sources and supports of Jesus’ authority. The second part of today’s Gospel describes a healing by exorcism, which Jesus performed in the synagogue. We are told how Jesus, as God Incarnate, exercised Divine authority to cast out the devil by just one compound command: “Be silent, and come out of him!” The demon obeyed at once, throwing the man it had possessed to the floor in the midst of the people in the synagogue on its departure. The people were impressed with Jesus’ power and authority that could command even evil spirits.
Life messages: 1) Our Faith is based on the Divinity of Christ, demonstrated by His miracles, which in turn give authority and validity to His teaching and promises. Hence, let us accept Jesus’ teachings, even if some of them are mysteries beyond our understanding 2) Let us read the authoritative word of God every day and assimilate it into our lives. 3) In our illnesses, let us confidently approach Jesus the Healer with trusting Faith first, then go to the doctors who are the ordinary instruments of Jesus’ healing ministry in our midst. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22
Aug 31 Wednesday: Lk 4:38-44:38 And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they besought him for her. 39 And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her; and immediately she rose and served them. 40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them, and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ. 42 And when it was day he departed and went into a lonely place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them; 43 but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.” 44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea. .
The context: Today’s Gospel tells us that preaching the Good News of God’s love, mercy, and salvation, and healing the sick were the means Jesus used to build up the Kingdom of God. By preaching and healing, Jesus drew listeners to belief in a loving and providing God and to loving obedience to His will. We are told that Jesus drew renewed spiritual strength from God, His Father, every day by talking with and listening to Him, often in a desolate place at night.
Healing mission: Jesus never tired of healing the sick, thus demonstrating the mercy and compassion of His Heavenly Father to every sick person who approached with trusting Faith. Having finished the day’s preaching in the synagogue on one Sabbath, Jesus went to Simon’s home and healed Simon’s mother-in-law of a fever. In the evening, when the Sabbath rest was over, people brought all their sick dear ones to Jesus for healing and exorcism. Jesus either concluded the day or, as here, began the new day, by spending time with the Father in prayer in a lonely place.
Life messages: 1) We are called to continue Jesus’ preaching mission primarily by bearing witness to Christ through our day-to-day lives, radiating Christ’s mercy, love, forgiveness, and spirit of humble service to all around us. 2) We can participate in Jesus’ healing mission by praying for the sick and by visiting, helping, and encouraging the sick and shut-ins. 3) We, too, need to have our spiritual batteries recharged by prayer every day, as Jesus did. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22
Sept 1 Thursday: Lk 5:1-11: 1 While the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. 2 And he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, 7 they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
The context: The scene is the Sea of Galilee (Gennesaret in Greekand Tiberius in Latin). The story of the miraculous catch of fish described in today’s Gospel is similar to the post-Resurrection appearance of Jesus recounted in Jn 21:4-14. It is one of the “epiphany-call stories” which direct our attention to the fact that Jesus had distinct criteria for selecting people to be apostles. The reading challenges us to examine our own personal calls to conversion and discipleship.
The miraculous catch followed by the call: After teaching the crowd from a seat in the boat of Simon, Jesus said to him “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” Simon and his companions were stunned by the biggest catch of their lives. This event led Simon to acknowledge his unworthiness, as a sinner, even to stand before the Divine Presence of Jesus. Impressed by Simon’s obedience and confession of unworthiness, Jesus immediately invited Simon, Andrew, James and John to become close disciples and so to “catch men” instead of fish.
Life Messages: 1) Our encounter with the holiness of God needs to lead us to recognize our sinfulness. The Good News of today’s Gospel is that our sinfulness — our pride and self-centeredness – does not repel God. That is why we offer this Mass asking God’s pardon and forgiveness, and why we receive Jesus in Holy Communion only after acknowledging our unworthiness.
2) With Jesus, the seemingly impossible becomes possible. Today’s Gospel passage tells us an important truth about how God works in and through us for His glory. God chooses ordinary people – people like you and me – as His ambassadors. He uses the ordinary circumstances of our daily lives and our responses. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22
Sept 2 Friday: Lk 5:33-39: 33 And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” 36 And he also told them a parable. “No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one. Otherwise, he will tear the new and the piece from it will not match the old cloak. 37 Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. 38 Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins. 39 (And) no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’
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 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 responds 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. First, Jesus compares the apostles with the children of the bridal chamber, the selected friends of the bride and groom who feasted in the company of bride and groom during a week of honeymoon. Nobody expected them to fast. Jesus explains that the apostles will fast when Jesus, the bridegroom, has been taken away from them. In the same way, we are to welcome both the joys of Christian life and the crosses it offers us. Jesus uses the comparisons of the danger of using new, unshrunken cloth to make a patch for an old garment and of using old wineskins to store freshly fermented wine, to tell the questioners that they must have more elastic and open minds and larger hearts to understand and follow the new ideas they are hearing, which are in many cases different from the traditional Jewish teachings.
Life messages: 1) We need to be adjustable Christians with open and elastic minds: The Holy Spirit, working actively in the Church and guiding the Church’s teaching authority, enables the Church to have new visions, new ideas, and new adaptations and to replace old ways of worship with new. So, we should have the generosity and good will to follow the teachings of the Church.
2) At the same time, we need the assistance of the Holy Spirit, Who works through the Church’s magisterium to interpret and apply Scripture – the Old Testament revelations and the New Testament teachings — and Sacred Tradition to our daily lives. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L22
Sept 3 Saturday:(St. Gregory the great, Pope, Doctor of the Church): https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-gregory-the-greatLuke 6:1-5: 1 While he was going through a field of grain on a Sabbath, his disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. Some Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” Jesus said to them in reply, “Have you not read what David did when he and those (who were) with him were hungry? (How) he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering, which only the priests could lawfully eat, ate of it, and shared it with his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
The context: Today’s Gospel passage gives Jesus’ teaching on the purpose of the Sabbath and on its proper observance. This was Jesus’ response to a criticism and a silly accusation made by some Pharisees against the apostles who, to satisfy their hunger on a Sabbath, had plucked ears of grain from a field for their snack, removed the husks by rubbing the grain 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: Jesus gives three counter-arguments from Holy Scripture defending the apostles. (1) Basic human needs, like hunger, take precedence over Divine worship and Sabbath observance. Jesus cites from Scripture the example of the hungry David and his selected soldiers. They approached Abimelech, 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) Jesus quotes the prophet Hosea to remind the accusers of God’s words: “I want mercy, not sacrifice” (Hos 6:6). Further augmenting the counter-arguments, Jesus, as Son of Man (a Messianic title), claims Lordship over the Sabbath itself.
Life messages: Like the Jewish Sabbath, the Christian Sunday is to be 1) a day of 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); 3) a day for parents to teach religious Faith and the Bible to their children; 4) a day to do works of charity in the neighborhood and in the parish and 5) a day for socializing with family members, neighbors and fellow-parishioners. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22
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