Aug 24-29: Aug 24 Monday:St. Bartholomew, Apostle: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-bartholomew/John 1:45-51 43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. And he found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Beth-sa’ida, the city of Andrew and Peter). 45 Philip found Nathan’a-el, and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathan’a-el said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathan’a-el coming to him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” 48 Nathan’a-el said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathan’a-el answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”
In today’s Gospel of John (John 1:43-51), Nathanael, also called Bartholomew or “son of Tholomay,” is introduced as a friend of Philip. He is described as initially being skeptical about the Messiah coming from Nazareth, saying: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” But he accepted Philip’s invitation to meet Jesus. Jesus welcomed him, saying “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” Jesus’ comment, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” is probably based on a Jewish figure of speech referring to studying the Torah. Nathanael immediately recognized Jesus as “the Son of God” and “the King of Israel.” Nathanael reappears at the end of John’s Gospel (John 21:2), as one of the disciples to whom Jesus appeared at the Sea of Tiberius after his resurrection from the tomb. The Gospels thus present Bartholomew as a man with no malice, a lover of Torah, who was open to truth and ready to accept it. Nathanael was the first Apostle to make an explicit confession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah and as the Son of God. (Source: The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries,”
Life message: 1) Let us pray for the grace to love the word of God as Bartholomew did. Let us also pray that we may accept the teaching of the Bible as the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, interprets it with open heart and open mind and without pride or prejudice. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/26
Aug 25 Tuesday: St. Louis King of France: – https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-louis-of-france/, St. Joseph Calasanz: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-joseph-calasanz/Mt 23:23-26: 23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! 25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and rapacity. 26 You blind Pharisee! first cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
The context: Chapter 23 of Matthew’s Gospel presents the rolling thunder of Jesus’ anger and sorrow at the blatant hypocrisy of the Pharisees, in the form of a series of eight denunciations. Today’s Gospel passage contains the fourth, fifth, and sixth charges: unauthorized extra tithing, exaggerated zeal for the Law and undue emphasis on external cleanliness as a cheap substitute for internal purity. For Jesus, the essence of religion is offering a clean heart to God, a heart filled with love, mercy, compassion, and forgiveness. Mere external observance of rituals without cleansing the heart is hypocrisy.
The fourth of the eight accusations is that the Pharisees practice non-required and silly tithing of herbs in the kitchen garden, while they fail to observe “the weightier matters of the Law, Justice, Mercy and Faith,” thus missing the spirit of tithing. Tithing was intended to remind the Chosen People that God, their Creator, owns everything He has created and given to them, and to express that truth by gratefully offer Him their tithes; to support the Temple worship, and to help the poor in the Jewish community. The fifth denunciation is of their exaggerated zeal for observing the letter of the Law, for instance filtering the drinks to avoid unclean insects, while committing serious sins without any prick of conscience. The sixth indictment is of their exaggerated zeal for ritual, external cleanliness while they leave their minds and hearts filled with pride, evil intentions, prejudice, and injustice and fail to practice mercy or offer compassion to suffering people.
Life Message: 1) Let us not be Pharisaical in our religious lives by meticulously practicing external observance of piety and devotion while remaining unjust, uncharitable, arrogant, impatient, cruel, stubborn, irritable, and judgmental. 2) We are tempted to hide the bad things about ourselves and advertise the good things, so, the bad things grow, and the good things are dissipated. 3) Let us try to have noble intentions for all our good deeds and to learn how to love God living in others by rendering them sacrificial service with agápe love. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/26
Aug 26 Wednesday: Mt 23:27-32: 27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, `If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.
The context: Today’s passage, again taken from chapter 23 of Matthew’s Gospel, gives the seventh and eighth accusations made against the Pharisees on the third day of the original “Holy Week” in Jerusalem, as Jesus addressed them in the Temple precincts. Jesus called them hypocrites seven times told them plainly that they were whitewashed tombs containing rotten stuff inside.
Hypocrisy exposed: Jesus compared the scribes and Pharisees to the tombs on the sides of the road leading to Jerusalem. In preparation for the three major Jewish feasts, the Scribes and Pharisees used to have these tombs whitewashed, so that the pilgrims would not be ritually defiled by unknowingly walking over one. In this seventh charge, Jesus accused the Pharisees of moral filth, of hiding injustice and immorality inside themselves and covering the corruption with “whitewash” — the pretenses of piety and religious fervor. In his eighth and final indictment, Jesus also criticized their false zeal in decorating the old monuments and rebuilding new monuments for the past prophets who had been persecuted and murdered by their forefathers the Pharisees of Jesus’ time had neither learned from nor been changed by the messages of the now-dead prophets.
Life message: 1) We need to be men and women of integrity, sincerity, and good character originating from our Christian Faith and convictions without any element of hypocrisy in our Christian life. 2) We should not flaunt exernal piety and religious fervor when we realize that we are not internally holy. Here is St. John Chrysostom’s (4th century) comment on the matter: “You have been counted worthy to become temples of God. But you have instead suddenly become more like sepulchers, having the same sort of foul smell. This is dreadful. It is extreme wretchedness that one in whom Christ dwells and in whom the Holy Spirit has worked such great works should turn out to be a sepulcher, a place for death, carrying a dead soul – a soul deadened by sins, a soul paralyzed – in a living body!” (Fr. Tony) https://frtonyshomilies.com/ (L/26)
Aug 27 Thursday:St. Monica:https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-monica: Matthew 24: 42-51: 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, `My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with the drunken, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, 51 and will punish him, and put him with the hypocrites; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.
The context: The central theme of today’s Gospel passage is the necessity for Faith and vigilant preparedness in the lives of Christ’s followers. The passage contains a pair of short parables in which the chief characters are a master (representing the risen Jesus), and his servants (Jesus’ followers, ourselves). Jesus warns the disciples that they must be prepared at all times because the Son of Man will come at an unexpected hour. According to the Fathers of the Church, Jesus’ words in this passage have two senses. In the narrower sense, the words refer to the Second Coming of Jesus, but in the broader sense they refer to the time of our own death, when God will call us to meet Him and to give Him an account of our life on earth. Jesus wants all of us to be ready at every moment to do God’s will by loving others through humble, sacrificial service.
Steadfast Faith and eternal vigilance: In the first part of this discourse, prior to today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches the disciples the need for constant vigilance, using the mini-parable of the thief and the treasure. We should not lose our treasure of Divine grace or close relationship with Jesus, like the man who awoke one morning to discover that a thief had stolen his wealth in the night. In the second part (today’s Gospel), Jesus exhorts the disciples to be steadfast in their Faith and ever vigilant. When he had to be away from home, a master would make a servant his steward and entrust to him the management of the household. A trusted steward was expected to run his master’s house well, to govern the master’s servants, and to administer the master’s estate. When his master was not at home, a wise and trustworthy steward was ever vigilant. He prepared himself for his master’s return at any time of the day or night by always doing his duties faithfully. Jesus illustrates the same point by using another mini-parable of the foolish and wicked steward who got drunk, abused the other servants, and was caught red-handed by his master.
Life message: 1) These parables encouraging “wakefulness” and “preparedness” are addressed to all believers. Since the time of our death is quite uncertain, we, too, must be ever ready to meet our Lord at any moment. Our Master should find us carrying out our tasks of love, mercy, and service, rather than leaving things undone or half-done or postponed. He should also find us at peace with God, ourselves and with our fellowmen (Eph 4:26) (Fr. Tony) https://frtonyshomilies.com/ (L/26) For additional reflections, click on: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video;https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections
Aug 28 Friday:St. Augustine, Bishop, Doctor of the Church; https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-augustine-of-hippo/Mt 25:1-13: 1 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, `Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise replied, `Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other maidens came also, saying, `Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 but he replied ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor he hour.”
The context: Today’s parable, taken from Matthew’s Gospel, brings the usual warnings about preparation for the end of our own world, the end of our own times, and our own passage to another world. The parable tells us that a searching, watching, and growing heart is essential for a lively, dynamic Faith in God; it also asks us whether we are ready for these events and how we are preparing for them.
The parable: Since a wedding was a great occasion, the whole village would line up at the sides of the road to wish God’s blessings on the bride and groom in procession. The invited ones would join the procession, which started from the bride’s house, and ended at the groom’s house to take part in the week-long celebration. Since the bridegroom might come to the bride’s house unexpectedly, the bridal party had to be ready at any time, with virgins carrying lighted torches and reserve oil in jars. The five foolish virgins who could not welcome the groom’s party lost not only the opportunity of witnessing the marriage ceremony, but also of participating in the week-long celebration that followed. The local meaning is that the foolish virgins represent the “Chosen People of God” who were waiting for the Messiah but were shut out from the Messianic banquet because they were unprepared. The universal meaning is that the five foolish virgins represent those who fail to prepare for the end of their lives and for the Final Judgment. They do not put their Faith in Jesus and live it out by keeping Jesus’ Commandment to love others as Jesus Himself did.
Life messages: 1) We must be wise enough to remain ever prepared: Wise Christians carefully make their daily choices for God. They are ready to put the commandment of love into practice by showing kindness and forgiveness. 2) Let us be sure that our lamps are ready for the end of our lives: Spiritual readiness, preparation and growth come as a result of intentional habits built into one’s life. These include taking time for prayer and being alone with God; Adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, reading God’s Word; leading a Sacramental life; cooperating with God’s grace by offering acts of humble loving service to others; practicing moral faithfulness, and living always in loving obedience to Him. (Fr. Tony) https://frtonyshomilies.com/ (L/26)
Aug 29 Saturday:The Passion of St. John the Baptist: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/martyrdom-of-saint-john-the-baptist: Mk 6:17-29: 14 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 27And immediaately the King sent a soldier of the guard and gave orders to bring his head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, 28 and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
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, 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. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/26
O.T. XXII [A] (Aug 30, 2026)Eight-minute homily in one page
Introduction: Today’s Gospel passage reminds us that Christian discipleship demands self-control (“Deny yourself”), the willingness to suffer (“take up your cross”), the readiness to follow Jesus by obeying his commandment of love, and the ongoing surrender of our whole being to God (“to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to God” (Rom 12:1). (An anecdote may be added)
Scripture lessons summarized: Today’s readings explain how we should practice true, dynamic Christian discipleship. Jeremiah, in the first reading, is certainly a prototype of the suffering Christ. In the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 63), the Psalmist manifests his profound trust in God, just as Jeremiah himself does. In the second reading, Paul advises the Romans and us (Rom 12:1-2): to ‘’offer our bodies as a living sacrifice” to God by explicitly rejecting the ungodly behavior of the world around us, and by discerning and doing the will of God. In today’s Gospel, Jesus takes his disciples by surprise when, after Peter’s great confession of Faith, Jesus announces that he “must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” After correcting Peter’s protest, Jesus announces the three conditions of Christian discipleship: “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me.”
Life messages: # 1: We need to be “extremophiles” for Christ: True disciples of Christ are: a) truly compassionate: they are willing to visit and help the infected and the sick in hospitals, the incontinent elderly, the handicapped, and those who suffer dementia in nursing homes, and AIDS patients in hospices; b) truly humble: they areable to see that every good gift comes from God alone, and that His gifts to us of time, personal talents, and resources should inspire gratitude, not pride; c) truly patient: they are committed to working with challenging children, adolescents with problems, young adults who are struggling with their Faith, with the intellectually challenged and with those suffering dementia; d) truly forgiving: they are willing to forgive not just once, or twice, but again and again, because they know that God has forgiven them again and again; e) truly loving: they willingly visit people in prisons, in retirement homes, and in homeless shelters; and f) truly faithful: they are living out a committed, trusting relationship with God, with spouse, with family and friends.
# 2: We need to ask these questions as we examine our conscience. A true disciple examines his or her conscience every day, asking three questions about discipleship: a) Am I sacrificing a part of my time, talents, and income b) Am I practicing self-control over my thoughts, words, deeds, and use of mass media, and put loving restriction on the cell phone and Internet activities of my children? c) Am I training my children in my Faith in a loving, providing, redeeming God by encouraging them, as we spend some time together as a family, praying and reading the Bible? d) Am I teaching my children through example and word to pardon each other, to ask for God’s pardon for our own sins and failures, to thank God for His blessings, and to participate in the Sunday school classes and youth programs?
OT XXII [A] (Aug 30, 2026)Jer 20:7-9; Rom 12:1-2; Mt 16:21-27
Homily Starter Anecdotes# 1:“There is no Polandwithout a cross.” Years ago, when Poland was still under Communist control, the Prime Minister ordered that crucifixes be removed from classroom walls. Catholic Bishops attacked the ban, which had stirred waves of anger and resentment all across Poland. Ultimately the government relented, insisting that the law remain on the books, but agreeing not to press for removal of the crucifixes, particularly in the schoolrooms. But one zealous Communist school administrator, the director of the Mietnow Agricultural College, Ryszard Dobrynski, took the crosses down from his seven lecture halls where they had hung since the school’s founding in the twenties. Days later, a group of parents entered the school and hung more crosses. The administrator promptly had these taken down as well. The next day two-thirds of the school’s six hundred students staged a sit-in. When heavily-armed riot police arrived, the students were forced into the streets. Then they marched, crucifixes held high, to a nearby Church where they were joined by twenty-five hundred other students from nearby schools for a morning of prayer in support of the protest. Soldiers surrounded the Church. But the press was there as well, and pictures from inside of students holding crosses high above their heads flashed around the world. So did the words of the priest who delivered the message to the weeping congregation that morning. “There is no Poland without a cross.” (http://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/09/world/student-protest-swells-in-poland-return-of-crucifixes-is-demanded.html) — Perhaps the cross has come to symbolize comfort to us because we have had to sacrifice little in our lives. The more we are called upon to carry our own crosses, the more we will understand the one our Savior carried outside the city gates to the hill called Golgotha. That is why today’s Gospel challenges us to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Jesus.
# 2: Jesus’ call to be extremophiles or “extreme-lovers.” Probably, you’ve never met these creatures called extremophiles. This is because they are extremely small microorganisms which live in environments where the Fahrenheit temperature ranges either from 170 to 215 degrees (water boils at 212 °F), or down to several degrees below freezing point — or in acidic media. One such extremophile is Pyrococcus furiosus. Pyro is only one of many microorganisms attracting the attention of scientists today. Biotechnologists are learning a lot from such microorganisms living way out there, in dangerous places like hot springs, polar ice caps, salty lakes and acidic fields. They live in conditions that would kill humans and most plants and animals. Extremophile microbes are also busy industrialists, reports The Futurist magazine, because they produce enzymes that are enormously useful in the food, chemical, pharmaceutical, waste treatment and other industries. Suppose you need an enzyme to replace bleaching by Chlorine …. (Cynthia G. Wagner, “Biotech Goes to Extremes,” The Futurist, October 1998). — Today’s reading points us to the Greatest Extremophile of all time. In the district of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus reveals himself to be an “extremophile,” showing his disciples that he “must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Mt 16:21). When Peter objects to this extremely painful prediction, Jesus rebukes him sharply: “Get behind me, Satan! … you are setting your mind not on Divine things but on human things.” He then tells his disciples, ”Whoever wishes to come after memustdeny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (16:24-25).
# 3: “Quo vadis Domine?” There is an ancient legend about Peter, which became the basis for the Polish novel Quo Vadis written by Henryk Sienkievicz between 1895-1896 which became a motion picture in 1951. At the time of the great persecution under Nero, the Christians of Rome told Peter to leave. “You’re too valuable,” they said. “Get out of town! Find your safety! Go to another place and preach the Gospel.” Peter hastily hurried out of town as fast as he could. But as he hurried along the Appian Way, away from the Eternal City, he was met by Christ, going toward the city. Peter said to him in Latin, “Quo vadis, Domine?” “Where are you going, Lord?” To which Jesus replied, “Back to Rome, to be crucified with my people. Where are you going, Peter?” Peter’s eyes filled with tears of remorse, as he turned and walked back to Rome, where, according to tradition, he was crucified head downward, feeling that he was not worthy to die in the same manner as had his Lord. — Jesus’ question to Peter comes to us also: “Quo vadis?”“Where are you going?” Are we going with Christ, or away from him and from his cross? That’s the really important question. It doesn’t matter how far we have traveled. What does matter is the direction in which we are going.
# 4: “They prayed in the stands. They prayed in the team huddles.” Like a burning fire within, the irresistible word of the Lord compels us to resist evil. It strengthens us to speak for the reign of God. The following high-impact story, circulated through the Internet, illustrates the challenges for today’s Christians as well as the appeal of Saint Paul “not to conform … but be transformed”. — “Tennessee Football”:This is a statement that was read over the PA system at the football game at Roanne County High School, Kingston, Tennessee, by school principal Jody McLeod.
It has always been the custom of Roanne County High School football games, to say a prayer and play the National Anthem, to honor God and country. Due to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, I am told that saying a Prayer is a violation of Federal Case Law. As I understand the law at this time, I can use this public facility to approve of sexual perversion and call it “an alternate lifestyle”, and if someone is offended, that’s OK. I can use it to condone sexual promiscuity, by dispensing condoms and calling it, “safe sex”. If someone is offended, that’s OK. I can use this public facility to present the merits of killing an unborn baby as a “viable means of birth control”. If someone is offended, no problem … I can designate a school day as “Earth Day” and involve students in activities to worship religiously and praise the goddess “Mother Earth” and call it “ecology”. I can use literature, videos and presentations in the classroom that depict people with strong, traditional Christian convictions as “simple minded” and “ignorant” and call it “enlightenment” … However, if anyone uses this facility to honor GOD and to ask HIM to bless this event with safety and good sportsmanship, then Federal Case Law is violated. This appears to be inconsistent at best, and at worst, diabolical. Apparently, we are to be tolerant of everything and anyone, except GOD and HIS commandments. Nevertheless, as a school principal, I frequently ask staff and students to abide by rules with which they do not necessarily agree. For me to do otherwise would be inconsistent at best, and at worst, hypocritical … I suffer from that affliction enough unintentionally. I certainly do not need to add an intentional transgression. For this reason, I shall “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s” and refrain from praying this time. However, if you feel inspired to honor, praise and thank GOD and ask HIM, in the name of JESUS, to bless this event, please feel free to do so. As far as I know, that’s not against the law – yet.
One by one, the people in the stands bowed their heads, held hands with one another and began to pray. They prayed in the stands. They prayed in the team huddles. They prayed at the concession stand and they prayed in the Announcer’s Box. The only place they didn’t pray was in the Supreme Court of the United States of America – the Seat of “Justice” in the “one nation, under GOD, indivisable”. Somehow, Kingston, Tennessee remembered what so many have forgotten. We are given the freedom OF/FOR religions, not the freedom FROM religion. Praise GOD that HIS remnant remains! JESUS said, “If you are ashamed before men, then I will be ashamed of you before MY FATHER.” (Lectio Divina).
Introduction: The readings for this Sunday remind us that Christians are called to live their lives in a different way from others around them. Christian discipleship demands honesty, the willingness to suffer (“take up your cross”), generosity (“to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to God”), and readiness to follow Jesus by obeying his commandment of love. Today’s readings explain how this Christian mission should be accomplished, specifically that we should know and live the will of God and accept the suffering involved in doing so. These readings tell us as well, that while suffering is an integral part of our earthly life, it is also our road to glory. There is no crown without a cross. Jeremiah, in the first reading, is a certainly a prototype of the suffering Christ. Jeremiah tried to live the will of God bravely facing confrontations and persecution, and he continued to proclaim God’s message, because when he tried to stop, the message itself became ”like a fire, burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in! I cannot endure it.” In the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 63), the Psalmist sings, “O God, You are my God Whom I seek; for You my flesh pines and my soul thirsts, like the earth parched, lifeless and without water. … You are my Help, and in the shadow of Your Wings I shout for joy. My soul clings fast to You: Your right hand upholds me.” In the second reading, Paul advises the Romans, and us (Rom 12:1-2): to ‘’offer our bodies as a living sacrifice” to God by explicitly rejecting the ungodly behavior of the world around us and by discerning and doing the will of God. Paul learned from personal experience that one’s commitment to God’s requires of one e fearless, faithful resistance to one’s contemporary culture. Paul details the physical sufferings and hostile rejections he met because of his fidelity to, and love for, Jesus and the Gospel entrusted to him in his apostolic mission to the Gentiles. In today’s Gospel, Jesus takes his disciples by surprise when, after Peter’s great confession of Faith, Jesus “began to show his disciples that hemust go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” After correcting Peter’s protest, Jesus announces the three conditions of Christian discipleship: “deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.” Unless we constantly remind ourselves of the demands of this difficult vocation from God, we will fail to be the kind of disciples that Christ expects us to be.
The first reading: Jer 20:7-9 explained: The prophet Jeremiah lived from about 650 B.C. to about 580 B.C. Most of his work was done in Judah’s capital, Jerusalem. Jeremiah was sent by God, “to tear up and to knock down, to destroy and to overthrow” (Jer 1:10). He tried to keep this people, who lived in an atmosphere of political intrigue and backstabbing, faithful to God. Jeremiah was regarded as a traitor by his own people because, as God’s mouthpiece, he had to foretell the dire results that would follow from their plan of revolt against the mighty power of Babylon. In his discouragement, Jeremiah complained bitterly to God. The English word jeremiad means an elaborate and prolonged lamentation or tale of woe. Today’s first reading is the purest of jeremiads. In it, Jeremiah accuses Yahweh of tricking him and offers us a powerful description of someone suffering for obedience to his conscience.
Second reading (Rom 12:1-2) explained: In the second reading, Paul advises the Roman Christians that they must live their Christian lives in such a way that they differ both from the Jews and from the pagans. St. Paul calls them to adopt an attitude of sacrifice in their worship of God. In order to do this, they must explicitly reject the behavior of the world around them. Paul tells them, and us (Rom 12:1-2): “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice” to God. Paul then explains that the sacrifices that should be offered are not the animals or grain of Jewish Temple worship, but their bodies “as a living sacrifice … spiritual worship.” In this way, by non-conformity to their own age, they would differ from the Jews and the pagans, and that would cost them suffering and sometimes their very lives. Like Paul’s Christians, we too must “discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect,”– and then do it!
Gospel exegesis:"Get behind me, Satan!”After Peter had confessed his Faith that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, Jesus, in today’s Gospel, explained to the apostles what the Messianic Mission and their responsive discipleship really meant. Jesus realized that, although he had predicted his suffering and death three times, his disciples were still thinking in terms of a conquering Messiah, a warrior king, who would sweep the Romans from Palestine and lead Israel to power. That is why Peter, unable to bear the idea of a suffering Messiah, protested., and received a stern rebuke from Jesus: "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to Me; for you are not on the side of God but of men!” (Mt 16:23). Jesus’ rebuke was intended to nullify what was, in fact, a temptation of the evil one urging Him to shrink from doing the work for which He had come. It was the same kind of rebuke He had delivered to Satan in the wilderness. Origen suggests that Jesus was saying to Peter: "Peter, your place is behind me, not in front of me. It's your job to follow me in the way I choose, not to try to lead Me in the way YOU would like me to go."Satan is banished from the presence of Christ, and Peter is recalled to become, again, Christ's follower. “This foundation-stone-become-stumbling-stone stands as a cautionary tale for all of us who are called to serve with authority in the Church, a reality that surely extends to parents with respect to their children and teachers with respect to students.” (Fr. Reginald Fuller). -- The Good News is that, by the grace of God, rehabilitation is not only possible but likely, if we pray. Like Peter, the Church is often tempted to judge the success or failure of her ministry by the world’s standards. But Jesus teaches that worldly success is not always the Christian way. That is why Jesus decided that the time had come for him to confront the forces of the scribes and the Pharisees at the seat of their power, Jerusalem, realizing fully well what the agonizing consequences would be.
Three conditions of Christian discipleship: After correcting Peter for trying to divert him from what would be his way of the cross in Jerusalem, Jesus declares three conditions for anyone who would become and live as his disciples: a) deny yourself b) take up your cross and c) follow me. A) Self-denial means evicting selfish thoughts, desires, and tendencies from our hearts and letting God fill our hearts with Himself. It also means being cleansed of all evil habits, enthroning God in in our hearts, and sharing Him with others. B) Carrying the cross with Jesus always entails pain and suffering. Our personal sufferings become the cross of Jesus when: 1) we suffer by serving others selflessly; 2) we give ourselves — our health, wealth, time and talents – to others until it hurts us; 3) we join our physical, mental or emotional sufferings to Jesus’ sufferings and offer them with him to the Father in reparation for our sins and those of the world; and we work with the Spirit Who is purifying us through our personal sufferings or penitential practices. C) Following Jesus means that, as disciples of Christ, we should live our lives according to the word of God by obeying Jesus’ commandment of love. To follow someone who has asked us to “take up our cross” daily seems foolish. But in the words of the Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen, “to be a fool for Christ is the greatest compliment the world can give. You and I are in good company, because most of the saints embraced the Cross of Christ and were considered fools for doing so.” The Catechism teaches, “The way of perfection,” that is, the path leading to holiness, “passes by way of the Cross” (CCC #2015).“There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle” (CCC #2015).“Spiritual progress entails the ascesis and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes” (CCC #2015).
Losing life, finding life: Matthew was writing for the Christian community in the bitterest days of persecution – AD 80-90. Hence, he emphasizes Jesus’ teaching that a man who is faithful may die for his Faith in Jesus, but in dying he will live. The man who risks everything for Christ finds life. On the other hand, the man who abandons his Faith for safety or security may live, but he is actually dying. History is full of noble souls who risked their lives for the sake of others. If certain scientists had not been prepared to take risks, many a medical cure would not exist. If mothers were not prepared to take risks, no child would ever be born. If we’re honest with ourselves, we know that there are constant opportunities for us to choose to be true to the Gospel. But the world is essentially opposed to the Gospel and those who live out its truths. Archbishop Desmond Tutu was questioned once as to whether or not he was a politician. He answered, “No, I am not. I am a Church person who believes that religion does not deal just with a certain compartment of life. Religion has relevance for the whole of life, and we have to say whether a particular policy is consistent with the policy of Jesus Christ or not, and if you want to say that that is political, then I will be a politician in those terms….My role, the role of people of Faith, is to be able to say: ‘Thus saith the Lord.’”
Life messages:# 1: We need to be extremophilesfor Christ: True disciples of Christ are: a) truly compassionate: they are willing to visit the infected and the sick in hospitals, the incontinent elderly, the handicapped, those who suffer dementia in nursing homes, and AIDS patients in hospices; b) truly humble: they are able to see that every good gift comes from God alone, and that His gifts to us of time, personal talents, and resources should inspire gratitude, not pride; c) truly patient: they are committed to working with challenging children, adolescents with problems, young adults who are struggling with their Faith, with the intellectually challenged, and with those suffering dementia; d) truly forgiving: they are willing to forgive, not just once or twice but again and again, because they know that God has forgiven them again and again; e) truly loving: they willingly visit people in prisons, in retirement homes, and in homeless shelters; f) truly faithful: they are living out a committed, trusting relationship with God, with spouse, with family and friends.
# 2:We need to askthese questions as we examine our conscience. A true disciple examines his or her conscience every day asking three questions about discipleship: a) Did I sacrifice a part of my time, talents, and income for my parish and the missionary activities of the Church? b) Did I practice self-control over my thoughts, words, deeds, and use of mass media, and put loving restriction on the cell phone and Internet activities of my children? c) Did I train my children in my Faith in a loving, providing, redeeming God by encouraging them as we spend some time together as a family praying and reading the Bible and by teaching them through example and word to pardon each other, to ask for God’s pardon for our own sins and failures, to thank God for His blessings and to participate in the Sunday school classes and youth programs?
# 3: We need to askadditional questions. Does my Church offer a Faith strong enough to command a sacrifice on my part? Do I have enough Faith to offer up a genuine sacrifice for Christ’s sake? Can a Church in today’s self-centered culture ask its people to sacrifice something for the sake of the Gospel? Jesus’ challenge to all would-be disciples requires more than a “feel-good” spirituality. A true disciple asks, “Am I willing to sacrifice something for the Kingdom?” What made it possible for first-century Christians to choose a martyr’s death? What has kept generations of Christians from losing Faith and falling apart when confronted by the violence and hatred of this world? How can I offer even the day-to-day sacrifices of my Faith that demand things I don’t want to do or give? Can I sacrifice some of my time in order to visit a homeless shelter or soup kitchen? Can I sacrifice my job security and refuse to “go along” with a policy that is unjust? Can I sacrifice my need to be in control and let Christ do with me whatever he may will? Can I refuse to let my children watch television programs filled with sex and violence?
JOKE OF THE WEEK
Three holy, religious priests, a Dominican, a Franciscan, and a Jesuit were in the same hospice. All were near death. One evening, the Angel of Death appeared before them and informed them that it was their time. He said, however, that each could have a final request before accompanying him from this world as they had scrupulously practiced the triple norms of Christian discipleship in their pretty long lives. The Dominican went first, and he asked to gaze upon the face of his Savior. In an instant, the face of Christ appeared before him. He was satisfied and felt he could die with no regrets. The Franciscan was next. He asked to touch the wounds in the hands and feet of Jesus before he died. No sooner had he spoken than Christ appeared and invited him, as he did Thomas, to examine His wounds. The dying priest touched Christ’s hands and feet, wept with joy and was content and at peace. Finally, the angel turned to the Jesuit and asked his final request. Without hesitation, the Jesuit replied: “I’d like a second opinion.”
1) Heroic modern cross bearers: Valerie Price, Maximilian Kolbe and Dom Helder Camara: Here are the stories of three Christians who accepted the challenge of Christian discipleship given in today’s Gospel, by “denying themselves, taking up their crosses and following Jesus.” Twenty-three-year-old Valerie Price went to Somalia to work as a nurse. She wanted to help people who had nothing. She wanted to offer them a better way of life. Valerie was concerned about her safety, but nothing could stop her from doing her work. She was put in charge of a feeding center in Mogadishu. Through her efforts, children who had been near starvation were fed. Valerie even established a school so the children could learn and have some hope for the future. She became nationally known for her committed service. Valerie, however, was killed by armed bandits outside the school she had started. She was willing to risk her life to help other people.
St. Maximilian Kolbe was born in Poland. It seems that his early years – while good – were not that remarkable. He was devoted to Mary. He became a Conventual Franciscan priest. His Faith was important to him. But when the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, Kolbe saw the writing on the wall. He knew that if he were to be a person of Faith – and be true to his Faith – he would probably have to suffer. In February 1941, because he spoke out against the horror of the Nazis, he was arrested and imprisoned at Auschwitz. On July 30, 1941, a prisoner escaped from Auschwitz, and in retaliation, the commandant of the camp lined up the inmates of cellblock 14 and ordered that ten of them be selected at random for punishment. They would be consigned to an underground bunker and starved to death. Ten men were selected. One of them, Francis Gajowniczek, cried out in tears, “My poor wife and children! I will never see them again.” At this point Maximilian Kolbe stepped forward and volunteered to take his place. The commandant accepted his offer, and so Fr. Maximillian Kolbe assumed his place among the condemned. By August 14, Kolbe was dead, his body cremated in the camp ovens.
Dom Helder Camara was an Archbishop of the poorest and least developed Archdiocese of Brazil. But he has been described as “one of the shapers of the Catholic Church in the second half of the twentieth century.” Early in his life, he was part of a conservative political movement inspired by Italian Fascism. But as he became more and more involved in pastoral work in Rio de Janeiro, he became increasingly affected by the poor. In trying to relate the message of the Gospel to their sufferings, he underwent a radical conversion, which finally reached the point where he himself was labeled a Communist and called “the red bishop.” His was an outspoken witness for peace and social justice in a land ruled by a brutal military dictatorship. Dom Helder’s message was reflected in his style of leadership. Instead of a pectoral cross of gold or silver, he wore a simple wooden cross. He moved out of the bishop’s palace and lived in a much poorer house. He encouraged the training of lay catechists and opened the seminary doors to lay people and women. His own door was always open to any who sought him, and he presented himself as truly the servant of the people. His house was sprayed with machine-gun fire, his diocesan offices were repeatedly ransacked, he was banned for thirteen years by the government from any public speaking, the newspapers were not permitted to mention his name, and even the Church in Rome continually questioned his orthodoxy. When he retired as Archbishop of Recife, his conservative successor reversed nearly all his initiative. Dom Helder died on 27 August 1999, aged 90. But his spirit lives on. — Valerie and St. Maximillian Kolbe and Don Helder Camara did not choose to suffer; they chose to live the Gospel, to be true to the covenant God offered them. Valerie wanted to serve the poor – she didn’t want to be shot to death. Maximillian Kolbe wanted to preach the Gospel in every way possible – he didn’t want to be starved to death. Don Helder Camara wanted to be with his people – he didn’t want to be reviled.
2) “I will take your identification and wait here.” Bruce Riggins was working sacrificially with underprivileged people in London. When the reporter asked one of these women what had inspired her Christian Faith and action, she shared her story of how seeing another Christian’s Faith converted her. She was a Jew fleeing the German Gestapo in France during World War II. She knew she was close to being caught, and she wanted to give up. When she came to the home of a French Huguenot, a widow working with the underground came to tell her it was time to flee to a new place. This Jewish lady said, “It’s no use, Ma’am, they’ll find me anyway. They are so close behind.” The Christian widow said, “Yes, they will find someone here, but it’s time for you to leave. Go with these people to safety; I will take your identification and wait here.” Then the Jewish woman understood. The Gestapo would come and find this widow and think she was the fleeing Jew. As Bruce Riggins listened to this story, the now-Christian woman of Jewish descent looked him in the eye and said, “I asked her why she was doing that and the widow responded, ‘It’s the least I can do; Christ has already done that and more for me.'” The widow was caught and imprisoned in the Jewish woman’s place, allowing the Jewish fugitive time to escape. Within six months, the Christian widow was dead in the concentration camp. The Jewish woman never forgot and became a follower of Christ through that one widow’s living sacrifice. — Who knows how many people will come to new life through the witness of our living sacrifice? What will it be for us? Mission field? Ministry? More committed service in our Church or in our workplace? Only we and God can decide. Whatever it is, let us just do it – present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God, holy and acceptable, deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus.
3) GenericChristians: As Maxie Dunnam was driving one day on Poplar Avenue, in Memphis, Tennessee, he noticed a bumper sticker on the car in front of him. He inched closer and saw that the bumper sticker read in big letters, “I am a Generic Christian.” That got his attention. He tried to get closer. Some smaller letters were written beneath the larger ones. He got dangerously close to the back of the car to read the words, “Ask me what I mean.” He was intrigued even more. What was the person with this bumper sticker trying to say? A couple of blocks later the driver pulled into a car wash. Dunnam had no intention of having his car washed that day. Nevertheless, he also turned in to the car wash hoping to meet and speak with the driver with the intriguing bumper sticker. The man told him that he was a member of a local congregation. He was so tired, though, of the denominational emphasis in so many churches that he wanted to proclaim a different kind of message. He wanted the world to know that he was a Christian not tied to any label – hence a generic Christian. The man might have had a point, but on further reflection Dr. Dunnam says, “I wonder if we don’t have too many generic Christians and not enough disciples who are ready to deny themselves, take up their crosses and follow Jesus as demanded by today’s Gospel.” [Maxie Dunnam, Congregational Evangelism, (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 1992), p. 25]
4) Christians in the Roman amphitheater who accepted Jesus’ challenge: The year is AD 177. The place is the arena at Lyons, France and the sport is killing criminals, runaway slaves, and Christians. A letter from the local Church to a sister Church in Turkey describes what happened: “The Roman governor who ruled France in those days ordered the Christians to form a procession for the enjoyment of the crowd. First Maturus, then Sanctus, Blandina, and Attalus were led to face the lions in the amphitheater. The virgin Blandina, after the whips, after the lions, after the iron chair, was at last thrown into a basket and presented to a bull. For a time, the animal tossed her, but she had now lost any sense of what was happening, thanks to her Hope, her steadfast Faith and her close communion with Christ.”(Quoted by Christopher Kelly in Times Literary Supplement, 22 December 1995). The governor was so fond of violence that he ordered his soldiers to turn the faces of the mauled, mutilated, dying Christians in his direction, so he could enjoy their final moments of agony. The people who were in the stadium, the people who roared even louder than the lions when Blandina and her Christian companions were led into the arena, were not the rabble, but the respectable, the wealthy, the good, decent, law-abiding citizens of France. — Think we have finally risen above exploiting the kind of canned violence that the French and the Romans cheered at in their Coliseums? Like the ancient Romans and the French, we are bombarded daily by images of brutality on our computer, movie and TV screens, and we seem to need ever more heinous acts to quench our blood lust. “Today, experts estimate that by the end of elementary school, the average American child will have seen 8,000 screen murders and more than 100,000 acts of violence. In real life during the past decade, there has been a fifty-five percent increase in the number of juveniles arrested for murder. More American teens today die from violence thanfrom disease” (Louis Moore, as quoted in Current Thoughts and Trends, January, 1996). — Today’s Gospel text acknowledges the painful reality that we live in a violent world and that we are a violent people. Consequently, we find it difficult to accept the challenge Jesus extends to those who would be true disciples: “Take up [your] cross and followMe …. whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (vv. 24-25).
5) “…I’ll fight; while men go to prison…” Remember the words of General William Booth, founder of The Salvation Army and a friend to the down and out? Three months, before his death he wrote: “While women weep as they do now, I’ll fight; while little children go hungry as they do now, I’ll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I’ll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I’ll fight – fight to the very end.”— Can you imagine General Booth writing a book entitled Looking Out For Number One? What has happened to us? “If any man or woman would be my disciple,” Jesus says to us, “Let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” That is the word we desperately need to hear. It is a call, as M. Scott Peck would phrase it to walk “a road less traveled.” In Zig Ziglar’s analogy, it is the lonely stairway as opposed to the crowded elevator. Or as Jesus himself once said, it is the narrow way that only a committed few will pursue.
6) “There is no Poland without a cross.” Years ago, when Poland was still under Communist control, the Prime Minister ordered that crucifixes be removed from classroom walls. Catholic Bishops attacked the ban, which had stirred waves of anger and resentment all across Poland. Ultimately the government relented, insisting that the law remain on the books, but agreeing not to press for removal of the crucifixes, particularly in the schoolrooms. But one zealous Communist school administrator decided that the law was the law. So, one evening he had seven large crucifixes removed from lecture halls where they had hung since the school’s founding in the twenties. Days later, a group of parents entered the school and hung more crosses. The administrator promptly had these taken down as well. The next day two-thirds of the school’s six hundred students staged a sit-in. When heavily armed riot police arrived, the students were forced into the streets. Then they marched, crucifixes held high, to a nearby Church where they were joined by twenty-five hundred other students from nearby schools for a morning of prayer in support of the protest. Soldiers surrounded the Church. But the press was there as well, and pictures from inside of students holding crosses high above their heads flashed around the world. So did the words of the priest who delivered the message to the weeping congregation that morning. “There is no Poland without a cross.“ — Perhaps the cross has come to symbolize comfort to us because we have had to sacrifice little in our lives. The more we are called upon to carry our own crosses, the more we will understand the one our Savior carried outside the city gates to the hill called Golgotha.
7) Mistaken identity: Mistaken identity is not all that uncommon, especially since there are only so many variations of our common facial features. After both Albert Schweitzer and Albert Einstein had gained worldwide fame and had had their pictures printed in a variety of media, some mistook the former for the latter. Once Schweitzer was approached hesitantly by a mother and daughter duo who asked if he were the great scientist, Einstein. Rather than disappoint them, with more magnanimous grace than he felt, Schweitzer signed an autograph, “Albert Einstein, by way of his friend, Albert Schweitzer.” Or take the case of Queen Elizabeth II of England. She was stopped on one occasion in Norfolk as she entered a tea shop. Two women were exiting carrying baskets of cakes and breads. One commented to her that she looked remarkably similar to the queen. “How very reassuring,” said the modest royal personage, and moved on. Her daughter, Princess Anne, had a similar encounter. At a sporting event, she was approached by a woman who said, “Has anyone ever told you that you look like Princess Anne?” She replied, “I think I’m better looking than she is!” — Mistaken identities may be commonplace, but on some occasions, they are more serious than others. Certainly, that is true in Matthew 16. Just before these verses, Jesus had asked his disciples what people were saying about him. Did they get it right? Peter did. But when Jesus explained that it was by undergoing a shameful death on the cross that he would accomplish his Messianic mission, Peter tried to discourage him and was challenged by Jesus for it, as described in today’s Gospel.
8) What it is that separates man from the great apes? Richard Leaky, the famous archeologist who worked in northern Kenya, discusses in his book, People of the Lake, what it is that separates man from the great apes. It is not man’s intelligence, says Leakey, but his generosity. Only human beings have the ability to share. Only human beings are capable of genuine compassion. Only human beings are capable of laying down their lives for a friend. — When it comes to taking up the cross of self-denial, however, many of us have not discovered our humanity. If we don’t care what happens to this world, who will? If we don’t feed the hungry, who will? If we don’t shelter the homeless, who will? If we don’t tell the world about Christ, who will? If we don’t pray and offer sacrifices, who will?
9) “That’s the reason, Ruth. No one else is doing it.” You may know the thrilling story of Glen Cunningham, a young man whose legs were so badly burned when he was a boy that doctors said he would never walk again. However, this determined champion went on to win an Olympic gold medal as a miler. Even more importantly, Glen Cunningham devoted his life to helping troubled young people. Once, his wife asked, “Glen, why do we have to give so much more than others? No one else is doing what we are.” — Glen answered, “That’s the reason, Ruth. No one else is doing it.”
10) “The least compassionate people I ever knew.” Michael Slaughter in his book, Unlearning Church, tells about a religion editor from a local newspaper who came to his Church to interview him about a conference they were having. At the end of the interview, he asked if she went to Church. He assumed she did, since she was a religion editor. She said, “No, I am a Buddhist. I was raised in the Church,” she went on, “but about ten years ago, I became interested in Buddhism because the highest value of Buddhism is the value of compassion.” Michael Slaughter says her next comment made him feel as if she had put her hand in his chest and squeezed his heart. “The people I grew up around in the Church,” she added, “were some of the least compassionate people I ever knew.” — “Ouch,” says Michael Slaughter, and then he adds, “Yet Jesus is compassion made visible.” And he’s right. Jesus is compassion made visible. Having Jesus’ name, but not his heart is a dangerous combination. It can make us turn away people that Jesus is calling us to embrace.
11) The Hollywood movie, The Insider. In 1995, Jeffrey Wigand made headlines when he exposed illegal and unethical practices by his employer, Brown & Williamson, a major tobacco company. Overnight, Wigand lost his $300,000-per-year job. He became the target of death threats. Wigand faced tremendous pressure from former friends and colleagues. His ordeal was documented in the Hollywood movie, The Insider. — Today, Jeffrey Wigand is still the target of occasional threats. He is making only about one-tenth of his former salary. But he claims to be happier now than he’s ever been in his life. In an interview with Time magazine, Wigand commented, “I felt dirty before [as a cigarette executive]. Now I feel good . . . I don’t need the cars and fancy ties and all those trappings that consumed me once. My enjoyment comes when some kid comes up to me and says, ‘I’m never gonna smoke.’ I can take that to the bank, whatever bank you want to call it.”– It takes nerve to offend your friends, offend your employer. Many Christians are pleased that Jesus died on a cross on their behalf, but they seem to try studiously to avoid taking up a cross of their own.
12) “My God, I could have bought back two more people with this ring:” There is a powerful scene in the movie Schindler’s List. In the beginning of the story, a Czech businessman named Oskar Schindler built a factory in occupied Poland using Jewish labor because, in those tragic days at the start of World War II, Jewish labor was cheap. As the war progressed, however, and he learned what was happening to the Jews under Adolph Hitler, Schindler’s motivations switched from profit to sympathy. He used his factory as a refuge for Jews to protect them from the Nazis. As a result of his efforts, more than 1,100 Jews were saved from death in the gas chambers. You would think that Oskar Schindler would have felt quite pleased with himself, but at the end of the war Schindler, in the midst of some of the Jews he had saved, broke down in tears, took off his gold ring and said, “My God, I could have bought back two more people [with this ring]. These shoes? One more person. My coat? Two more people. These cufflinks? Three more people.” There he stood, not gloating but weeping with regret that he had not done more. — I wonder if one day you and I, as followers of Christ, will ask ourselves, “Could I have done more? Have I truly borne the cross of Christ?” That is the first question on today’s test: Is our Faith sacrificial? Is it costing us something?
13) Free legal service: Valerie Place was preaching in West Virginia one night. Two young lawyers were part of the congregation. Campolo’s sermon was on the cost of discipleship. At the conclusion of the service the invitation was given for people to commit themselves fully to Christian service. The two young lawyers did not come forward. However, they did accept the challenge to change their lives and seek ways in which they could more fully serve Christ. The two men practiced law together. As a result of the call to discipleship, these lawyers decided to offer free legal services to poor people in their county. This was a decision that went beyond the amount of free service that most law firms provide. These lawyers would help anyone in the county who needed their help – without cost. People responded to their generosity. Their commitment to helping the poor, though, changed their lives in ways they did not expect. They soon gained new paying customers. Even more surprising, a number of people who had been delinquent with their bills suddenly paid them in full. “I suppose they didn’t want to cheat lawyers who helped the poor,” one of the lawyers explained. — These men have taken the first step in becoming disciples of Jesus, and they are headed in the right direction. They are doing something significant for Christ in their everyday lives. [Tony Campolo, Wake up America! (San Francisco: Harper, 1991), pp. 83].
14) In baseball and in Christian life you “sacrifice…” In football, you “Tackle!” In baseball, you “catch flies…” In football, you “Punt!” In baseball, you “bunt…” Football is played on a “Gridiron”! Baseball is played on a “field…” In football, you “Score!” In baseball you “go home…” In football, you “Kill!”In baseball, you “sacrifice…” Baseball may be the only sport where you actually can hear this last word. It’s one of the few places anywhere that you hear it in a self-centered, “I-take-care-of-myself-and-worry-about-myself-and-I-don’t worry-about-anybody-else” society. In contrast to football, sacrifice may sound like a sign of weakness, but I hardly think of any of the Atlanta Braves or Minnesota Twins as weak. Baseball’s one thing; life is quite another. In our society, there are still Christians who sacrifice their lives for Christ and who really deny themselves and takes up their crosses. [The Gates of New Life, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1940), p. 3]. — Here is a young man who wanted to be a lawyer, but his father died, and he had to leave school and work to keep things going at home. Here is a young woman who wanted to be a great doctor but was never admitted to medical school. Here is a businessman who had hoped all his life to make his business a great success, but the competition was much tougher than he had ever expected, and he soon found himself declaring bankruptcy. Here is a couple whose marriage is on the rocks. When it started out it was so sweet and good but now… now it’s just not the same. There is not a person in any congregation who has not sacrificed a hope, or a dream as burnt offering on the high altar of the providence of God.
15) “I wasn’t hard enough on myself, that’s all.” During the Los Angeles Open Golf Tournament a few years ago, Arnold Palmer, the legendary golfer, was interviewed while practicing on the putting green. “Arnie,” he was asked, “What do you feel was wrong to make you play so poorly this past year?” Without looking up from his putting, Arnold answered in his own direct way, “I wasn’t hard enough on myself, that’s all.” Two hours after this brief interview, the same reporter came back to find Palmer still practicing on the putting green. The reporter concluded, “The greatness of Arnold Palmer is his choice of the hard way.” — Success in life requires a willingness to resist the lure of the easy way. A sound body requires that we exercise, eat the right foods, conquer bad habits. A sound mind requires that we read, that we observe, that we continually learn. A sound marriage requires that each partner go into it with the understanding that marriage is not a 50/50 proposition but a 70/30 one in which both parties give the 70. A sound family means that we take the time to be sensitive to the needs of our children and that we provide not only for their physical needs but for their emotional and spiritual needs as well. Such goals require sacrifice, they require perseverance, and they require determination. But every one of us knows that the path to personal success is the path of self-denial.
16) A Russian Soldier Fights for Christ: Every aspect of our lives, everything we do, can glorify God and help build up his Kingdom. The great Catholic apologist and writer G.K. Chesterton once said that when he became a believer, it even changed the way he brushed his teeth. This is one of the reasons why Christianity is such a dynamic religion — it isn’t limited to the sacristy and the altar; it overflows into everything we do and fills us with desires to do more and more. One of Pope St. John Paul II’s favorite phrases was a line written by St Ireneaus in the third century: “The glory of God is man fully alive.” The Christian God is a Father Who rejoices in seeing His children grow and flourish. Years ago, a book came out that told the story of a young man who had been drafted into the Russian Communist army. He was a Russian who loved his country, but he was also a Christian. Of course, Russian Communism had no room for Christianity; it was an atheistic social system. And so, during his training, the officers paid special attention to this Christian soldier. They were constantly looking for opportunities to humiliate him in front of the other soldiers, to make life hard for him, so that he would give up his Christian Faith. But no matter how closely they watched him, they couldn’t find anything to punish him for. In every point of military discipline, he was the top soldier: he was always on time; his uniform was always impeccable; his performance was exceptional; his knowledge always complete. — He was a Christian, and so everything he did, from kitchen duty to the parade ground, he did with love and excellence, making his whole life into a spiritual worship that was pleasing to God. (E- Priest).
17) Mary Lou Rettonlosing to win: In the 1984 Olympics at Los Angeles, 16-year-old Mary Lou Retton became the first American girl to win a gold medal in gymnastics. To accomplish this extraordinary feat, she had to make sacrifices during her two years of intensive training prior to the Olympics. While other teenagers were enjoying themselves with a full schedule of dating and dancing, Mary Lou Retton could only participate on a very limited basis. To improve her skills, she had to practice long hours in the gym; to nourish her body properly she had to follow a strict diet and practice long hours, and to increase her confidence she had to compete frequently in meets. — But what Mary Lou Retton gave up in terms of good times and junk food was little compared to what she gained when she won her Olympic gold medal. What she lost in the usual social life of a teenager she found in the special setting of becoming a champion gymnast: acceptance, camaraderie, and respect. — Mary Lou Retton’s Olympic experience illustrates somewhat Christ’s paradox in today’s Scripture: “Whoever would save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Albert Cylwicki in His Word Resounds; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
18)Saving one’s soul: “What good will it do you, even if you gain the whole world, if you lose your soul?” (Mt 16:26). These are good words to recall when we are faced with important and difficult choices. Here is a modern example. The scene: a prison for political prisoners near Moscow (during the era of Stalin). Ivan knew at once that they wanted something from him. “Would you like a remission?” they asked him. ”What do I have to do?” he asked. “We’d like to transfer you to another prison to take charge of an important project. If you agree, you will be free in six months.” “What is the project?” “We want you to perfect a camera that works in the dark, and another miniature one that can be fitted to the jamb of a door, and which works when the door is opened. We know you can do this.” Ivan was perhaps the only person in the whole of Russia who could produce a blueprint for these devices. After seventeen years in prison the idea of going home appealed to him. Here surely was the answer to his wife Natasha’s prayer. All he had to do was invent a device that would set him free. “Could I not go on working on television sets as I am at present?” he asked. “You mean you refuse?” said the general. Ivan thought: Who would ever thank him? Were those people out there worth saving? Natasha was his lifelong companion. She had waited for him for seventeen years. “I couldn’t do it,” he said at last. “But you’re just the man for the job,” said the general. “We’ll give you time to make up your mind.” “I won’t do it. Putting people in prison because of the way they think is not my line. That’s my final answer.” — Ivan knew what his ‘no’ meant. A few days later he was on a train to Siberia to work in a copper mine where starvation rations, and probable death awaited him. No fate on earth could be worse. Yet he was at peace with himself. (Flor McCarthy in New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
19)The cost of discipleship: Nelson Mandela spent twenty-seven years in prison or ten thousand days (approximately). Before that he was on the run for a couple of years. Of the time he was on the run he wrote later: “It wasn’t easy for me to separate myself from my wife and children, to say good-bye to the good old days when, at the end of a strenuous day at the office, I could look forward to joining my family at the dinner table, and instead to take up the life of a man hunted continuously by the police, living separated from those who are closest to me, facing continually the hazards of detection and of arrest. This was a life infinitely more difficult than serving a prison sentence.” [Long Walk to Freedom, 1994, (Little, Brown and Company).] — What drove him to make such great sacrifices was his love for his country. This was the ‘cross’ he carried because of his love for his people. (Flor McCarthy in New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
20) Cross-road to life! In the 1998-99 persecutions against Gujarat’s Dangi Christians, many tales of Faith fortitude went unrecorded. I still remember the battered, bleeding youth, Sitaram Devasyabhai, who told me, “I will not give up Christianity even if they kill me!” Earlier in Karota village of the Dawada mission where I served as priest, Poslabhai Vasava confessed, “I find great strength in Jesus crucified although friends joke that I adore a helpless, naked deity.” A young Christian from Mumbai, Neil Gaikwad gave witness to self-sacrifice. “For twelve hours during torrential rains that submerged Mumbai in July 2005, he swam to save the lives of 60 people trapped in a bus. Eyewitnesses said, Neil must’ve gone up and done 40-50 times to take people out.” Texan Lance Armstrong too, combated cancer and went on to win the prestigious Tour de France cycle-rally on July 24, 2005, for an unprecedented 7th time in succession. — Neil and Lance demonstrate that life comes through dying to self, and all Cross-roads lead to Heaven. (Francis Gonsalves in Sunday Seeds for Gospel Deeds; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
21) Salt March of Gandhi: One of the very important events in the history of struggle for Indian independence was the Historic Salt March. During British Colonialism in India, the British Salt Tax rule was imposed, making it illegal to sell or produce salt. Gandhiji saw this as an injustice to the people of India. Gandhiji decided to protest against it. He decided to lead 78 people on a 240-mile journey from his Ashram to the coastal village of Dandi, Gujarat, on 12 March 1930. The March involved high risk. Hence, veteran politicians, and experienced leaders warned Gandhi about its consequences and tried to dissuade him. But, Gandhiji was determined. Thousands of Indians, inspired by his non-violent demonstration and strong will joined him on his march to the sea. — It is a common experience that people try to stay in their comfort zone, and, so, try to dissuade those who struggle to come out of it — because leaving one’s comfort zone involves risk; it means daring to enter into the unknown, brings a lot of challenges, and causes suffering. In today’s Gospel, Jesus shows his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. The Apostles could not accept this, and so missed the comfort of His promise that on the third day after his death, Jesus would Rise. (Fr. Bobby Jose).
22) Graceful acceptance of temporary suffering results in lasting glory: When a bud goes through the pain of bursting, it is transformed into a beautiful flower, when a pupa struggles out of a cocoon, it is transformed into a charming butterfly; when a chicken breaks the shell and comes out it becomes a lovely bird.; when a seed bursts the pod and falls to the ground it begins to grow as a plant. – Similarly, when we undergo the suffering and pain of life we are strengthened. Arthur Golden reminds us, “Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are.” (Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha). St. Paul wrote: “Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Rom 5:3-4). ”Suffering is not the last thing in life. It leads us to something greater, as long as we are ready to accept its challenges. A bend in the road is not the end of the road… unless you fail to make the turn.” (Fr. Bobby Jose).
23) Why do injustices prevail? Eugene Orowitz was a skinny, 100-pound sophomore at Collingswood High at Collingswood, N.J. One afternoon the gym coach held classes in the middle of the track field to show the kids how to throw a javelin. After instructions he let the kids try their hand at it. The longest throw was 30 yards. “You want to throw it too, Orowitz?” the coach asked Eugene. The other kids laughed at Eugene. Someone shouted “Careful! You’ll stab yourself!” Eugene pictured himself as a young warrior about to battle the enemy; he raised the javelin and threw it over 50 yards till it crashed into the empty bleachers, its tip broken. The coach ignoring his feat, looked at the broken head and said, “What the heck Orowitz, you broke the thing. It’s no good to the school any longer.” That summer Eugene began throwing the javelin in a vacant lot. By the end of the year, he threw the javelin 211 feet, farther than any high schooler in the nation. He was given an athletic scholarship at the University of Southern California and he began dreaming of the Olympics. Then one day he didn’t warm up properly and tore the ligaments of his shoulder. That put an end to javelin throwing, his scholarship, and his dreams. Eugene dropped out of college and took a job in a warehouse. — The tragic story of Eugene Orowitz raises a vexing question which prophet Jeremiah asks in the first reading today. Why does God let misfortune wreck the lives of so many good people? (Mark Link in Sunday Homilies; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
24) The film, The Devil’s Advocate: When a talented small-town Southern lawyer, Kevin Lomax, discovers his client is guilty, he goes to the restroom to compose himself. He returns to the courtroom, humiliates the prosecution’s young witness and emerges victorious. Soon after, he is offered an opportunity to join a prestigious firm in New York. His wife is uncertain about the move and his very religious mother is against it, but he joins, and strange things happen in New York. Kevin’s wife is lonely and hallucinates, Kevin’s confidence in his work begins to falter, he is attracted to a female lawyer and his relationship with his wife suffers. He gets a wealthy but guilty businessman acquitted of murder charges. Kevin’s wife claims that she has been assaulted by John Milton the company’s head. When Kevin confronts Milton, he discovers that Milton is the devil incarnate who offers Kevin the world and the opportunity to sire an Antichrist. Milton reveals that Kevin is actually his son, and Kevin put a gun to his head and pulls the trigger. Suddenly, Kevin is back in the restroom where he had gone to plan the next move for his guilty client. He decides to do the right and noble thing — to discontinue defending the client, knowing that he will be disbarred. But as he leaves the courtroom, a journalist asks Kevin for an interview that will make him a celebrity. — The Devil’s Advocate deals explicitly with sin and the screenplay raises themes of God, the devil, salvation, damnation, and freewill. The film is about choices people have to make to live an upright life with all its challenges, or to live an easy life that leads to doom. Jesus, in today’s Gospel, reminds us that we have to make a choice for him or for Satan. The way of the devil is attractive and comfortable. The way of the Messiah is the way of the Cross, hard, challenging but in the end fulfilling. (Peter Malone in Lights Camera..Faith!; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
25) Cheap grace and costly grace: “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, Baptism without Church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ living and incarnate. Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price, to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him. Costly grace is the Gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because, freely given, it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because through it, God gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because through it God justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: “you were bought at a price,” and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life but freely and with love for us, delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship). — Today’s Gospel challenges us to pray that we may accept and make use of this costly grace.
26) Pope St. John Paul II on suffering: In his apostolic letter of February 11, 1984, entitled Salvifici Doloris, Pope St. John Paul II speaks about suffering. Here is a summary: 1. Suffering is evil. Evil is the absence of good, rooted in sin, which can bring about death. This absence of good can cause greater suffering, if the one who suffers thinks he/she does not deserve such suffering. 2. There are different kinds of suffering: physical, spiritual, and psychological. There are also private sufferings like loneliness. And there are common sufferings like those caused by epidemic, calamity, and famine. 3. Suffering comes from the world. It does not come from God. Yet the one who suffers usually turns to God to ask about the causes and objectives of suffering. 4. Suffering can be a punishment arising from the justice of God. It can also be a test, as it was with Job. And God can also permit suffering in order that it can serve as a seed for a greater good that will come because of it, like holiness, or greatness. 5. Our sufferings can also be joined with the sufferings of Christ for our salvation, or for that of others, not because Christ’s suffering are not enough, but because Christ has left his sufferings open to Love so that the bitter sufferings of man — mingled with this Love, may turn into a sweet spring which shall overflow into eternity.
27) “Take up your cross and follow me” (Mt 16:24). Acertain lady who spent her time working for the Lord – visiting the sick and the bed-ridden, helping the elderly and the handicapped – was diagnosed with a knee-problem needing surgery. The surgery unfortunately, was not a success, and the woman was left in constant pain, unable to walk. It seemed that the Lord had ignored the prayers of this woman and her friends for a successful surgery. This was a woman who considered herself a personal friend of Jesus. She was utterly disappointed, and her cheerful disposition turned into sadness and gloom. One day she pulled herself together and shared with her confessor what was going on in her soul. The confessor suggested that she go into prayer and ask her Friend Jesus why he had treated her this way. And she did. The following day the priest met her and saw peace written all over her face in spite of her pain. “Do you know what Jesus said to me?” she began, “As I was looking at the crucified Jesus and telling him about my bad knee, he said to me, ‘Mine is worse.’” (Fr. Lakra).
28) The intimate connection between carrying the cross and Christian discipleship: The following modern-day account gives insight into the intimate connection between carrying the cross and Christian discipleship: One of the most devastating events that anyone can experience is the death of a child. Some parents never recover from the shock and grief. For others time heals some of the pain, but there remains a deep sadness, that never quite goes away. Mayo and Karlene Ryan lived this parental nightmare. Their son, Timothy Ryan, lost his life in a tragic accident in 1986. Tim Ryan was a promising, delightful young man. He was a scholar and athlete, popular and respected at school and seemed to have endless potential, but less than one year after graduating from high school, Tim was gone, leaving behind shattered parents, family members and friends. Mayo, a longtime Poverello board member, and Karlene, a volunteer here for many years, were overcome with sorrow. Faith, friends, and the passage of time lessened some of the pain, but at some point, they decided that helping someone else might be a way of bringing some closure to the tragedy, and at the same time honor the memory of Tim. At the time of his death, Mayo and Karlene asked that remembrances be sent to the Poverello House in Tim’s name, and the Timothy Ryan Memorial Fund was started. The fund’s original purpose was to provide scholarships to men in the Poverello Resident Program. Over the years, the Timothy Ryan Memorial Fund has paid tuition to college and other vocational schools, provided specialized equipment, books and uniforms, and in general supported graduates of Poverello’s rehabilitation program in their training for a better life. There had been fewer candidates for the scholarship in the past couple of years, so Mayo and Karlene decided to turn their attention to the neighborhood surrounding Poverello, one of the poorest areas in the city. Thanks to the Ryan Fund and Mayo and Karlene’s personal contributions, children from King, Lincoln, Kirk, and Columbia Elementary Schools, 1,813 students in all, will begin their 2014-2015 school year with new backpacks, filled with items needed for school. cf. “Help for the Neighborhood” in Poverello News, July 2014, p. 3-4). (Lectio Divina).
29) Why not accept the irresistible force of God’s call as the prophet Jeremiah did? The following article by Paul Thigpen illustrates the prophetic ministry of Pope St. Paul VI (canonized October 19, 2018) and shows us how the Christians of today are called to witness to God’s truth about the sanctity of life and “not to conform themselves to this age” (Rom 12:2a)
I read an article yesterday in the Washington Post by a woman planning to have a third child. She noted, with some perplexity, a certain reaction she has encountered to her pregnancy. Some people complain – in all seriousness – that she and others like her are just “showing off”, ostentatiously advertising their financial security. Only well-off families, they insist, can afford three children. Well, just tell that to my parents. Mom and Dad barely eked out a living in our little family-owned business, a meat market where we kids grew up working alongside them to bring home the bacon. All five kids, that is. My folks would have been mystified by the notion that we five little ones were somehow a luxury they were presumptuous to take on. I was the third child, and I certainly never felt like a luxury.
Yet I don’t think Pope St. Paul VI, who became pontiff the year my baby sister was born (1963), would have been mystified at all by this disturbing attitude. Why not? Because he described the context for its development in his encyclical letter Humanae vitae, whose 57th anniversary the Church commemorates on July 25, 2020. In this profound but controversial document on the transmission of human life, the Pope laid out the reasons why artificial contraception is gravely immoral. In it, he noted that the desire to contracept is only one of many modern attempts to extend our control over every aspect of life, including those aspects that represent a mystery not of our own making, much less of our own understanding. In short, it’s an endeavor to play God, and a dangerous one indeed. When much of a society comes to believe – as ours has – that the miracle of life’s transmission is simply one more mechanical function to manipulate at will, then the “product of conception”, as they are now termed (we once called them “children”) are viewed as nothing more than a commodity. So we feel free to abort them. We buy and sell them. We use them as lab rats. We figure their costs to see whether we can work them into our financial plan – just one more budget item to be added or subtracted, according to how many other luxury items we might rank ahead of them. Pope St. Paul VI courageously declared that children are gifts from God to be gratefully received, not assets to be calculated or liabilities disposed of. Fifty-seven years later, we must acknowledge his prophetic insight – and mourn a world that has largely rejected his warning. (cf. “Paul VI, Pope and Prophet” in The Catholic Answer, July-August 2006, p. 4). (Lectio Divina).
30) On Instructing the Instructors: Back in the 1950’s, when Catholics still spoke of Africa as a distinctly “mission” continent, a film on the missions in East Africa was shown to the children of St. Mary’s School in Corning, New York. A well-produced Technicolor movie, it illustrated both the earnest work of the missionaries and the devotion and the simple Christian dignity of the black African converts. Then, to fill out the movie hours, the projectionist concluded with an American film on sports-car games and contests. Daredevil drivers jumped their autos through flaming rings; stock-cars battled stock cars, racing about the field and bumping into each other in a madcap game. The contrast between the two moving pictures did not escape the kids. At the end of the show, a fifth-grader said to Sister Suzanne, “Why do we go over to convert the Negroes in Africa? They ought to come over here and convert us!” — “… Do not conform yourselves to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may judge what is God’s will, what is good, pleasing and perfect” (Rom 12:2). Today’s second reading). (Father Robert F. McNamara).
31)“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Vincent Capodanno joined the Catholic Foreign Mission Society, Maryknoll, where he was ordained in 1958 to the priesthood. He went to the missions in Taiwan, where he served the Church and the people faithfully for six years. He developed by discernment a strong notion of serving as a chaplain in the military for those going to Vietnam and requested his order to allow him to serve as a chaplain. Eventually, the Maryknoll superiors granted this request, and, after finishing Officer Candidate School in 1966, Father Capodanno reported to the 7th Marines in Vietnam. As the chaplain for the battalion, his immediate focus was on the young enlisted troops or “grunts.” In fact, he was affectionately given the title of “Grunt Padre” by those he served.
It was during his second tour on September 4, 1967, with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines that Father Vincent Capodanno made the ultimate sacrifice. After hours of heavy fighting from a North Vietnamese ambush, Father Capodanno, himself seriously injured and refusing to be evacuated (having been wounded in the hand, arms, and legs while administering the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick to wounded Marines), ran to the assistance of a wounded corpsman and the Marine the corpsman was assisting, who were pinned down by an enemy machine gunner. Father Capodanno administered medical and spiritual attention to both of them. The enemy opened fire on the unarmed Father Capodanno, who sustained 27 bullet wounds and died making the ultimate sacrifice while serving his flock to the very end. — He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 1969 in addition to other military awards including the Purple Heart. Before his sacrificial death, he was widely known for his willingness to share the hardships of suffering Marines — “radiating Christ” to those around him. The cause for his sainthood has been opened by the Church and he has been declared a Servant of God. (Homiletic & Pastoral Review)
32)A short story by famous Russian novelist Anton Chekhov titled ‘Rothschild’s Fiddle.’“Yakov!” Martha cried. “I am dying!” Yakov just looked at his wife. He did not move. He did not say a word. He continued to look glum. Not because she was sick and dying but because he was overwhelmed by his losses. Yakov was a coffin maker by trade. He was also a good violinist. So, apart from the meager income he made making coffins, he occasionally got some money by playing the violin for weddings. However, what he earned was enough only to meet his basic needs. It was nothing compared to what he always dreamed of making. Even though many older adults were in his village, they were not dying as often as he wished. Hence, he could not make much money by making coffins. When the police inspector of his town became very sick, he dreamed of making and selling an expensive casket for his funeral. However, things did not turn out the way he had anticipated. To save him from death, the relatives of the police inspector took him to a faraway place for better medical treatment. However, he died soon and was buried there. Since Yakov lost his opportunity to make a coffin for the police inspector, he counted 10 rubles as his loss. That made him remember the other losses he had incurred during the year. There were weddings in the village for which he was not invited to play the violin, which resulted in the loss of hundreds of rubles. There was a Jewish orchestra in the village for which sometimes he was invited to play the violin. But recently, they were also not calling him, which resulted in the further loss of hundreds of rubles. When he added up all the figures, he discovered he had lost more than 1000 rubles that year. Then, it dawned on him that he also lost the interest he could have received from the bank for that lost amount of 1000 rubles. The interest would have been 40 rubles. He added the 40 rubles to his lost amount! When he became aware of his terrible losses, he began sweating and heaved a long sigh of despair. “Yakov!” Martha cried again. “I am dying!” Turning to her, he looked at her face, which was unusually joyful and bright at that time. ”She must be happy to die as it would end all her misery,” Yakov said to himself. As he continued to look at her, he sadly remembered that he never said a tender word to her or bought her anything to make her happy. He also felt a sharp pang of guilt for not allowing her to have tea and insisting that she should be satisfied with drinking hot water. He recalled how she had always cooked and cleaned for him without complaint for fifty years of their life together. Yakov took Martha to the village hospital on horseback at dawn the next day. “Put a cold bandage around her head,” the doctor ordered after examining Martha, who was shivering with fever. The doctor was sure Martha was going to die soon. Hence, he did not bother to give her any medicine. Yakov was sad the doctor did not try to make her well. Since Martha would die soon, Yakov decided to make a coffin for her. He took her measurement and made her a cheap coffin for which he wrote three rubles as its expense in his account book. Martha died the following morning, and he buried her without spending much money, for which he patted himself on the back. However, while leaving the cemetery, he was hit with an avalanche of memories, which made him shudder. He remembered with distress the times he mistreated her or failed to say a kind or tender word to her during their fifty years together. He regretted that he had never shown any gratitude to her for the cooking and cleaning she had done for him over the years. The weight of his guilt made him die soon after Martha’s death. — This is how the sad story of Yakov ends in the short story by famous Russian novelist Anton Chekhov titled ‘Rothschild’s Fiddle.’ Yakov was always unhappy about the money he could not make. Moreover, he was unusually troubled about how people spent money for themselves. That is why he ordered his wife not to have tea, which he thought was a waste of money. When we read the story of Yakov, we might wonder whether there are people like Yakov in this world. When we take an account of our life, is it always about our money and wealth? If it is so, we are not much different from Yakov. There were many things in his life about which Yakov should have considered, like his love for his wife or the success of his family life. He should also have taken into account the good deeds he was expected to do as a normal human being. However, his focus was always on money and wealth, which resulted in his forgetting his duties and responsibilities in life. The temptation will always be there to go after money and wealth, forgetting our duties and responsibilities in life. If that is what happens in our lives, no matter how much money we make, we will end up with terrible losses in our lives. The account of our life will be an account of heavy losses with no gain. Hence, let us ensure that we will always hold on to a value system that gives more emphasis to right living and less attention to material things in life. L/26
Visit my websiteby clicking on https://frtonyshomilies.com/for missed or previous Cycle C & A homilies, 141 Year of Faith “Adult Faith Formation Lessons” (useful for RCIA classes too) & 197 “Question of the Week.” Contact me by email 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 websitehttp://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html -which completed uploading my Cycle A, B and C homilies in May 2020). My post-retirement U. S. postal address: Fr. Anthony Kadavil, C/o Fr. Jogy M. C. , St. Agatha Church, 1001 Hand Avenue, Bay Minette, Al 36507. But I moved to my home country in June 2023 and live with my younger brother’s family, close to our Cathedral church
Aug 17-22: Aug 17 Monday: Mt 19:16-22: 16 And behold, one came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which?” And Jesus said, “You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have observed; what do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.
The context: Today’s Gospel reminds us thatwe do not possess anything in our life that we refuse to surrender to the Lord. Rather, it often possesses us, and we become the prisoners of our possessions, violating the First Commandment, which demands that we give unconditional priority to God. Jesus reminds the rich young man of the Commandments that deal with his relationships with other people and challenges him to sell what he has and give it to the poor. Jesus’ challenge exposed what was missing in the young man’s life: a sense of compassion for the poor and the willingness to share his blessings with the needy.
The incident of the rich, young ruler: The rich young man who came to Jesus in search of eternal life really wanted to be accepted by Jesus as a disciple. The young man claimed that from childhood he had observed all the Commandments Jesus mentioned. His tragedy, however, was that he loved “things” more than people, and his possessions “possessed him.” Jesus told him that keeping the Commandments, while enough for salvation, was not enough for perfection and challenged him to share his riches with the poor. “There is one thing lacking. Sell all you have and give to the poor, and then you will have real treasure. After that, come and be with me.” Jesus asked him to break his selfish attachment to wealth by sharing it. But “when the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.”(This young man has become a symbol of the kind of Christian whose mediocrity and shortsightedness prevent him from turning his life into a generous, fruitful self-giving to the service of God and neighbor. (Navarre Bible Commentary).
Life messages: 1) Jesus makes the same challenge to each of us today. Our following of Jesus has to be totally and absolutely unconditional. Our “attachment” may not be to money or to material goods, but to another person, a job, one’s health, position, or reputation. We must be ready to cut off any such attachment in order to become true Christian disciples, sharing our blessings with others. 2) To follow Jesus, we must have generous hearts and the willingness to share our blessings with others to show our generosity. St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) puts it in her own style: “Do SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL for God. Do it with your life. Do it every day. Do it in your own way. But do it!”(https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/26
Aug 18 Tuesdays: Mt 19:23-30:23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said in reply, “Lo, we have left everything and followed you. What then shall we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And ever one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 But many that are first will be last, and the last first.
The context: Jesus had told a rich, young man who had expressed his desire to follow Jesus as a disciple that he had to share his possessions with the less fortunate as a condition for becoming a perfect disciple. But “when the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.”It was then that Jesus made the comment given in today’s Gospel. Jesus uses a vivid hyperbole or “word cartoon” to show how riches bar people from Heaven. The camel was the largest animal the Jews knew, and the eye of a needle the smallest hole. “The needle’s eye” is variously interpreted. a) Most probably Jesus used the image literally. b) The little, low, narrow pedestrian gate on the outer wall of the city of Jerusalem through which even a man could hardly pass erect was called, “The Needle’s Eye” in Jesus’ time. c) The Greek word used in the passage for camel is kamelos, which can also mean a ship’s thick cable or hawser rope. In any case, Jesus is saying that it is not impossible, by the grace of God, for a wealthy person to keep his spiritual integrity, but it is extremely difficult and uncommon. Why do riches prevent one from reaching God? First, the rich think that they can buy their way out of sorrow and into happiness, so they don’t need God. Second, riches shackle one to this earth, and one ignores an afterlife, as we are taught in Scripture (Mt 6:21). Third, riches tend to make one selfish. The Bible doesn’t say that money is the root of all evil; it says, “the love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Tm 6:10). Jesus also challenges the Jewish belief that material wealth and prosperity are signs of God’s blessings, and poverty is the sign of His punishment. Jesus condemns a value system that makes “things” more valuable than people.
Life message: 1) We need to accept God’s invitation to generosity. Jesus’ Infinitely generous Self-gift to us has the crucifix as “Exhibit A,” and in the Eucharist Jesus actually becomes our spiritual Food and Drink. To follow Jesus, we must have a generous, self-giving heart, and we should be willing to use it by sharing our blessings with others. God does not ask us to give up our riches, but He does ask us to use them wisely in His service. How do we use our talents? What about time – do we use it for God? We each get 168 hours every week. How do we use our time? Are we too busy to pray each day? (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/26
Aug 19 Wednesday:St. John Eudes, Priest:https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-stephen-of-hungaryMt 20:1-16: 1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4 and to them he said, `You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So, they went. 5 Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing; and he said to them, `Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, `Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, `You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, `Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the householder, 12 saying, `These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, `Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”
The context: The parable described in today’s Gospel is known as the “Parable of Workers in the Vineyard” or the“Parable of the Generous Landlord.” This remarkable and rather startling parable is found only in Matthew. There is Gospel, or “Good News,” in this parable because it is the story of the landlord’s love and generosity, representing God’s love and generosity. The question in God’s mind is not, “How much do these people deserve?” but rather, “How can I help them? How can I save them before they perish?” It’s all about grace and blessings. God is presented in the parable as a loving mother who cares about each of her children equally. The parable in a nutshell: The Kingdom of Heaven, says Jesus, is like a landowner who goes out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. He rounds up a group at 6 AM, agrees to pay them the usual daily wage and then puts them into action. At 9 AM, he rounds up another group, saying He wil give them what is just. At noon, he recruits a third team, and then at 3 PM, a fourth. Finally, at 5 PM, he finds still more laborers who are willing and able to work. He sends them into the vineyard to do what they can before sundown. As the day ends, the landowner instructs his manager to pay each of the workers one denarius, the daily living wage, and to begin with those who started at 5 PM.
Life messages: (1) We need to follow God’s example and show grace to our neighbor. When someone else is more successful than we are, let us rejoice with him and assume he has earned the success. When someone who does wrong manages to escape discovery, let us remember the many times we have done wrong and gotten off free. We mustn’t wish pain on people for the sake of “fairness,” for that is envy, and we become envious of others because of our lack of generosity of heart. 2) We need to express our gratitude to God in our daily lives. God personally calls each of us to a particular ministry. He shows his care by giving us His grace and eternal salvation. All our talents and blessings are freely given us by God, so we should thank Him by avoiding sins, by rendering loving service to others, and by listening and talking to Him. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/26
Mt 22:1-14: Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests andthe elders of the people in parables saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. A second time he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened, cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast.” ‘Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then the king said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.’ The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to meet the guest, he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’ But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’ Many are invited, but few are chosen.”
The context: The Parable of the royal banquet is a parable about the Kingdom of God and about the people who will eventually belong to it. It is also the first of three parables that challenge the legitimacy of the Jewish leadership. The parables all contrast the true Israel with the attitudes and lives of the Pharisees, demonstrating the claims of the Pharisees as false. In addition, theParable of the Royal Banquet and the Wedding Garment is Jesus’ interpretation of the History of Salvation. It is also one of the three parables of judgment or “rejection parables” that Jesus told at the Temple in Jerusalem during the last week of his public life, addressing the “chief priests and elders of the people,” i.e., Israel’s religious and civic leaders.
By telling an allegoric parable of judgment in the Temple of Jerusalem two days before his arrest, Jesus was accusing the Jewish religious and civil leaders of rejecting God’s invitation to the Heavenly Banquet given to them through God’s Own Son, Himself. They have been rejecting God’s invitation by not listening to the Good News preached by Jesus and by not reforming their lives. The Lo rd God had repeatedly extended His invitation to Israel through the prophets, including John the Baptist. But the leadership contemporary with Jesus rejected the reality that Jesus was the fulfillment of all prophecy, refused to accept God’s invitation to righteous living given through John the Baptist and through Jesus, and now planned to kill God’s own Son, Jesus. Hence, God is inviting the sinners and Gentiles to His banquet, and that is why Jesus is keeping the company of sinners.
Life messages: 1) We need to keep wearing the wedding garment of holiness and righteousness, the state of grace, all the time, do good for everyone, and appreciate, receive, and use God’s graces in the Church: a) We received the “wedding garment” of sanctifying grace in Baptism; the other Sacraments provide the additional graces we need to retain it. b) Our participation in the Eucharistic celebration and in personal and family prayers helps us to recharge our spiritual batteries and enables us to lead Spirit-filled, prayerful lives, doing good for all. c) Jesus nourishes us in the Church through the proclamation of word of God and through His Body and Blood offered to us as spiritual Food and Drink in Holy Communion.
2) We need to participate in the Eucharistic banquet with proper preparation by repenting of our sins and by actively participating in the prayers and singing during the Holy Mass. Participating in Holy Mass is the best preparation and greatest Source of power for our future participation in the Heavenly banquet. L/26
Aug 21 Friday:St. Pius X, Pope:https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-pius-x/Mt 22:34-40: 34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment.39 And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.” .
The context: The Pharisees, who believed in both the written Law and the oral tradition, were pleased to see how Jesus defeated the Sadducee who had tried to humiliate him with the hypothetical case of a woman who married seven husbands in succession. So, a lawyer challenged Jesus to summarize the most important of the Mosaic Laws into one sentence. Jesus’ answer teaches us that the most important Commandment isto love God in loving others and to love others in loving God. In other words, we are to love God completely, and express our love by loving our neighbor who is a son or daughter of God in whom God lives.
Jesus’ novel contribution: Jesus gives a straightforward answer quoting the Law and startling his listeners with his profound simplicity and mastery of the law of God and its purpose. He cites the first sentence of the Jewish Shema prayer (Dt 6:4-5)“…Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.”Then He adds its complementary law (Lv 19:18): “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus combines the originally separate commandments and presents them as the essence of true religion. We are to love our neighbor as our self because this is a way to love God: God gives us our neighbors to love and be loved by, so that we may learn to love Him.
Life messages: 1) How do we love God? There are several means by which we can express our love for God: a) by thanking God daily for His blessings and expressing our gratitude by obeying His Commandments and sharing His gift to us with others; b) by being reconciled with God daily, confessing our sins, and asking His forgiveness; c) by acknowledging our total dependence on God, presenting our needs before Him with trusting Faith; d) by keeping friendship with God, daily talking to Him in prayer and listening to Him in reading the Bible; and e) by recharging our spiritual batteries through participating in Sunday Mass, receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, and leading a Sacramental life.
2) How do we love our neighbor? Since every human being is the child of God and the dwelling place of the Spirit of God, created in the “image and likeness of God” and saved by the precious Blood of Christ, we are actually giving expression to our love of God by loving our neighbor as Jesus loves him, and by loving Jesus in our neighbor. This means we need to help, support, encourage, forgive, and pray for every one of God’s children patiently, without discrimination based on attractiveness, responsiveness, color, race, creed, gender, age, wealth, or social status. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/26
Lk 1:26-38 — This special Liturgical Feast was proclaimed by Pope Pius XII on October 11, 1954 through his Encyclical Letter Ad Caeli Reginam. But Mary’s title as “Queen of Heaven and Earth” is a great scandal to many non-Catholic Christians. Here is the Biblical argument supporting her Queenship given in the encyclical.
Theology of Mary’s queenship: Since Holy Scripture presents Jesus Christ as a king, his mother Mary is the Queen-Mother. Jesus is King by Nature, as God; but Mary is Queen by “Divine relationship,” that is, by being the Mother of God. Mary is also Queen by grace. She is full of grace, the highest in the category of grace, next to her Son. She is Queen by singular choice of God the Father. If a mere human can become King or Queen by choice of the people how much greater a title is the choice of the Father Himself! Biblical basis: The Holy Father gives three biblical citations supporting Mary’s queenship.1) The messianic prophecies. In most of the Messianic prophecies given in the Old Testament books of Samuel, Micah (5:1), Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel (7:13-14), Christ, the Messiah, is represented as a King, an identity given to Jesus in the New Testament: Lk 1:32-33, Mt 2:2, Lk 19:38, Jn 18:37. 2) The Annunciation scene: The beginning of the concept that Mary is a Queen is found in the Annunciation narrative, given in today’s Gospel (Lk 1:26-38). For the angel tells Mary that her Son will be King over the house of Jacob forever. So, she, His Mother, would be Queen Mother. 3) Vision of Mary in the Book of Revelation: Mary’s Queenship can be seen in the great vision described in Revelation: “And a great portent appeared in Heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery” (Rv 12:1–2). Thus Revelation 12 portrays Mary as the new Queen-Mother in the Kingdom of God, sharing in her Son’s rule over the universe.
Role of Queen-mother in the Bible: In the monarchy of King David, as well as in other ancient kingdoms of the Near East, the mother of the ruling king held an important office in the royal court and played a key part in the process of dynastic succession. In fact, the king’s mother ruled as queen, not his wife or one of his wives. The prophet Jeremiah tells how the Queen-Mother possessed a throne and a crown, symbolic of her position of authority in the kingdom (Jer 13:18, 20). Probably the clearest example of the Queen-Mother’s role is that of Bathsheba, wife of David and mother of Solomon (1 Kgs 1:16–17, 31; 1 Kgs 2:19–20; 1 Kgs 2:19–20). Some Old Testament prophecies incorporate the Queen-Mother tradition when telling of the future Messiah. One example is Isaiah 7:13-14.
Life message: 1) Understanding Mary as Queen-Mother explains her important intercessory role in the Christian life. (Once, King Solomon responded to a request made by the queen-mother of the Davidic kingdom , Bathsheba, with “Ask it, my Mother, for I will not refuse you”1 Kings 2:20), In this case, though, hearing the petition and discovering that the real petitioner, was a rival who desired to kill him and usurp the Kingdom entrusted to him by God through David, Solomon refused, not his Mother (whose will was always one with her son’s), but the real petitioner whom he had killed at once (1 Kgs 2:21-25). So Jesus, the King of the universe, responds to Mary, his Mother, whose will is completely one with that of God, and who serves Him in acting as our advocate before her Divine Son. Hence, we should approach our Queen-Mother with confidencene (provided, of course, that our requests are consonant with the Will of God), knowing that she carries our petitions to her Royal Son.
The prayer Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen) is perfect for today: “Hail holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us. And after this our exile, show unto us the blessed Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. V: Pray for us, O holy Mother of God R: that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen”. (Fr. Tony)
OT XXI [A] Sunday (Aug 23rd)Eight-minute homily in one page (L/26)
Introduction: We might call this Sunday “Power Sunday” because the main theme of all three readings is that God is the Source of all authority. God shares His authority with civil rulers elected to serve the people and with the Pope and the other Church leaders for the material and spiritual welfare of His children. Today’s Gospel challenges us to accept the authority of Jesus as our Lord and Savior as St. Peter did at Caesarea Philippi.
Scripture lessons summarized: The first reading, taken from Isaiah, tells us how God hates unfaithful and selfish officials. He removed the proud “master of the royal palace” from his office, taking from Shebna the power and responsibility of which he had proven unworthy, and gave both to the humble and faithful Eliakim. The robe, the sash, and the keys were the insignia of this office. In today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 138), David thanks God for having raised him from lowly origins and given him authority as king over the people of Israel. In the second reading, St. Paul praises God for the depth of His wisdom, knowledge, and correct judgment, asserting that He is the Source of all authority on earth and in Heaven. Today’s Gospel passage shows us how Peter confessed Jesus as his Lord and Savior and how Jesus, in turn, approved Peter’s words and gave him teaching and ruling authority in Jesus’ Church. Thus, Jesus establishes a “Magisterium” to serve the spiritual and physical needs of the Church members. His statement, “I will give you the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven,” gives Peter and his successors the power to bind and to loose (make laws; exercise authority) in the Church, with assurance that their decisions would be ratified in Heaven.
Life messages:1) We need to accept and experience Jesus as our Lord and personal Savior:: First, we should accept Jesus as the Son of God and our personal Savior. This means that we are accepting Jesus as our Good Shepherd, our Divine Savior, and our Redeemer. Second, Jesus should become a living experience for us – as our God protecting us and providing for us in our life’s journey, loving us, forgiving us, helping us, and transforming our lives and outlook. We receive these gifts by listening to Jesus through the daily, meditative reading of the Bible, by talking to Jesus through daily, personal, communal and liturgical prayers, by offering our lives on the altar with Jesus whenever we participate in the Holy Mass, by receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, and by leading exemplary lives, as we cooperate with God’s grace. Our personal experience of Jesus will also lead us to praise and thank God in all the events of our lives, both pleasant, and painful, realizing that God’s loving hands are behind everything.
2) We need to surrender our lives to Jesus, our Lord and Savior. That surrender requires that we freely give all areas of our lives to Jesus and radiate to all around us Jesus’ sacrificial agápe love, unconditional forgiveness, overflowing mercy, and committed service. The joy, the love, and the peace that we find in Jesus need to be reflected in the way we live our whole lives. We also surrender our lives to Jesus by rendering loving, humble service to others with the strong conviction that Jesus is present in every person.
OT XXI [A] (Aug 23/26) Sunday:Is 22:19-23; Rom 11:33-36; Mt 16:13-20
Homily starter anecdotes: [Is there any Biblical basis for using anecdotes? “All this Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable” (Mt 13: 34).]
#1: “Who do you think I am?”In 1896, after fifteen centuries, Athens renewed the Olympic Games. You can imagine how proud the Greeks were to host the first modern Olympics. The Greeks were by far the most successful nation in terms of total medals (forty-six), 26 more than the U. S. Nevertheless, their number of first-place finishes (10) was one fewer than the Americans who gained 11. The last competition was the marathon. Greece’s entrant was named Spyridon Louis, a water carrier with a little military training, and not much competitive background. He learned endurance by transporting mineral water from his village to the city. When the race started, Louis was far back in the pack of marathoners. But as the miles passed, he moved up steadily. One by one the leaders began to falter. The French hero fell in agony. The hero from the United States had to quit the race. Soon, word reached the stadium that a lone runner was approaching the arena, and the emblem of Greece was on his chest! He even slowed down for a glass of wine. As the excitement grew, Prince George of Greece hurried to the stadium entrance where he met Louis and ran with him to the finish line. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece_at_the_1896_Summer_Olympics). — In this sports’ tale, we have something of the history of the human race. Jesus Christ started from way back in the pack. He was born in relative obscurity, never had many followers, commanded no army, erected no edifices, wrote no books. He died young, was buried in a borrowed grave, and you’d think he’d be quickly forgotten. But, no! His reputation has grown, so that today Jesus is worshiped on every continent, has more followers than ever before, and sixteen times has been pictured on the cover of TIME magazine, while Jesus’ sayings have been translated into more than 200 languages. Consider: Socrates taught for forty years, Plato for fifty, and Aristotle, forty. Jesus Christ only taught for three years. Yet which has influenced the world more, one hundred thirty years of classical thought or three years of Christ’s? In the Library of Congress there are 1,172 reference books on William Shakespeare, 1,752 on George Washington, 2,319 on Abe Lincoln, and 5,152 on Jesus Christ. Perhaps H. G. Wells best summed up the runaway difference in interest. “Christ,” he wrote, “is the most unique person of history. No man can write a history of the human race without giving first and foremost place to the penniless teacher of Nazareth.” As Emerson once noted, “The name of Jesus is not so much written as PLOUGHED into the history of the world.” — Today’s Gospel challenges us to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior as St. Peter did at Caesarea Philippi.
# 2: “Who is Jesus?” In his teens, C.S. Lewis was a professed agnostic. He was influenced in his conversion to Christianity by reading G.K. Chesterton’s The Everlasting Man, and through the influence of two of his Christian friends. After his conversion, he wrote a number of books defending Christianity. During the Second World War, in his famous BBC radio talk, “Mere Christianity,” he said, “I am trying to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Jesus: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who is merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic, on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg, or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.” — If we accept Jesus as a moral teacher, then we must necessarily accept Him as God, for great moral teachers do not tell lies. (John Rose in John’s Sunday Homilies)
#3: “Suppose Jesus were to come here.” Without the 19th century essayist Charles Lamb, William Shakespeare would be “missing in action.” It was Mr. Lamb’s essays that snatched the 17th century playwright from undeserved obscurity after he had been famous for Andy Warhol’s fifteen minutes. One night, Lamb and his guests were chatting about the Bard over Spanish port and Cuban cigars. “Supposing,” someone asked Lamb, “Shakespeare were to stroll into our dining room at this moment.” The essayist replied, “We would raise a glass of port to the great man.” “Supposing,” said another, “Jesus were to come here.” Lamb answered, “We would all get down on our knees.” — There is the essential difference between the Man from Nazareth and all other great people you can think of. “The Christ is God, and all others, no matter what their deeds, are but fools who strut on the stage for a brief time and then exit.” (Fr. Gilhooly)
#4: “I am the governor of this state.”When Christian Herter was governor of Massachusetts, he was running hard for a second term in office. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes (and no lunch), he arrived at a church barbecue. It was late afternoon and Herter was famished. As Herter moved down the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman serving chicken. She put a piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line. “Excuse me,”Governor Herter said, “do you mind if I have another piece of chicken?”“Sorry,” the woman told him. “I’m supposed to give one piece of chicken to each person.”“But I’m starved,” the governor said. “Sorry,” the woman said again. “Only one to a customer.” Governor Herter was a modest and unassuming man, but he decided that this time he would throw a little weight around. “Do you know who I am?” he said. “I am the governor of this state.” “And do you know who I am?” the woman said. “I’m the Lady in Charge of the Chicken. Move along, Mister.” —This is a short, and simple, and humorous story about two people viz. Governor Herter and the Lady in Charge of the Chicken, each trying to exert authority over to the other by telling – ‘who I am.’
Introduction:We might call this Sunday “Power Sunday,” because the main theme is the handing over of the “Keys” which open and shut, representing authority in the Church and in the Kingdom. In today’s Gospel, Jesus challenges us to know him personally and to serve him and love him as Lord, and he wants from each one of us our total, whole-hearted response.
The Scripture readings summarized: The first reading, taken from Isaiah, gives a detailed description of the investiture of a royal court official. The robe, the sash, and the keys are insignia of this office. The Lord God, through Isaiah, tells Shebna that the keys of authority will be taken away from him, the unfaithful, proud “master of the royal palace.” In the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 138), David thanks God for having raised him from lowly origins and given him authority as King over the people of Israel. In the second reading, St. Paul points out that God is the Source of all authority on earth and in Heaven. Today’s Gospel passage, giving the Petrine promise of Mt. 16:16-20, defines Catholicism. Here, Jesus reveals his plan to build his Church on the strong bedrock foundation of Peter, to whom he will then give the Keys of teaching and governing authority in the Church. Thus, Simon Bar-Jona receives a new mission symbolized by a change of name, Cephas (Peter), is the rock (petros), on which Jesus will build his Church which the power of evil cannot overcome. Peter and his successors, will be given the Keys of the Kingdom and the power to bind and to loose (make laws; exercise authority) on earth, decisions which Heaven will ratify. Thus, Jesus commissions Peter, giving him authority and leadership in the Church.
The first reading (Is 22:19-23) explained: Chapters thirteen through twenty-three of Isaiah record oracles in which the prophet Isaiah pronounces God’s judgment against various nations. In chapter twenty-two, Shebna, the proud, unfaithful royal official, is severely criticized and told by the Lord God, through Isaiah, that he will have to yield to a replacement named Eliakim: “I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station.” The reason for the degradation of Shebna, the “master of the royal palace,” (the most powerful person next to the King), was that he had tried to immortalize himself by beginning to construct his own tomb in a lofty place on the mountain. The Lord demands faithfulness to His Way and His Word. Hence, Shebna was removed from his position of controlling access both to the city and to the king
The “master of the royal palace” proudly carried the “key,” an iron bar of considerable size, on his shoulder during state occasions. This “key” symbolism recalls Eliakim’s installation as “major domo” (second in command to the king) in King Hezekiah’s palace. The reference to the “key of the house of David” in this text prompted some Fathers to see in it a Messianic prophecy, foretelling the removal from power of the leaders of the Chosen People of the Old Testament, and the transfer of that power to Christ, who in turn would hand it on to Peter as head of His Church. The robe and the sash indicate that Eliakim has been invested with authority. The key symbolizes jurisdiction, and the tent peg is a sign of stability. This passage prepares us for today’s Gospel, Matthew 16:13-20, in which Jesus grants Peter “the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.” The “key of David” connects with Matthew’s “Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.” Isaiah emphasizes the charismatic dimension of authority, stating that it is Yahweh who gives certain individuals the charism of leadership. “Isaiah foretells that the keys to David’s kingdom would be given to a new master, who would rule as father to God’s people. Jesus, the root and offspring of David, alone holds the Kingdom’s keys (see Rv 1:18; 3:7; 22:16). (Dr. Scott Hann). The purpose of authority in the Church, or of authority at any level, is not to control the lives of others, but rather to help them to seek the values that will bring them lasting joy, both in this changing world and in the next.
The Second Reading(Romans 11:33-36) explained: Paul praises the wisdom of God and His inscrutable ways of bringing salvation to all people. Paul marvels at the Divine Goodness, Wisdom, and Knowledge. He emphasizes the wisdom of God (described in chapters 9-11), which allowed the Jews to reject Jesus and called a few Jewish believers, like Paul, empowering them to evangelize the Gentiles. When the Gentiles had been converted, some of the Jews might be impressed and accept Christ themselves. These Jews would attain salvation through the example provided by the Gentiles. The result would be the salvation of the whole world – a good greater than the election of Israel. Thus, the ancient promise of God to Abraham would be fulfilled. With this in mind Paul exclaims, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are His judgments and how unsearchable His ways!”
Gospel exegesis:Two questions and the answers. In Matthew and Mark, Jesus asked certain questions about his identity. This incident took place at Caesarea Philippi, (presently called Banias), twenty-five miles northeast of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus asked a question in two parts. The first question: “What is the public opinion?” The apostles’ answer was, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” John the Baptist was so great a figure that it might well be that he had come back from the dead. Elijah, the greatest of the prophets was believed to be the forerunner of the Messiah. [“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes” (Mal 4:5). In 2Esdr 2:18 the promise of God is: “For thy help I will send my servants Isaiah and Jeremiah.”] The phrase “one of the prophets” suggested that Jesus had a ministry like that of the former prophets. When the people identified Jesus with Elijah and with Jeremiah, they were, according to their lights, paying him a great compliment and setting him in a high place, for Jeremiah and Elijah were the expected forerunners of the Anointed One of God. When they arrived, the Kingdom would be very near indeed.
The second question: “What is your personal opinion? For the first time in their relationship Peter, speaking for the other disciples, declared publicly: “You are the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the living God.” Peter was the first apostle to recognize Jesus publicly as the Anointed One (also translated Messiah or Christ. Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew word Messiah). Peter was saying that Jesus is the Christ, the anointed one of God, Immanuel, the Salvation of God — God Himself who became Man to save sinners! It is evident that Jesus was well pleased with Peter’s answer. Jesus first pronounced a blessing upon Peter, the only disciple in the Gospels to receive a personal blessing. “Blessed are you, Simon son of John!” Next, Jesus confirmed Peter’s insight as a special revelation from God. “No mere man has revealed this to you, but my Heavenly Father.” However, Jesus was quick to explain to the disciples that he was not a political Messiah. He was, rather, a Messiah who must suffer, die, and be raised to life again.
The promise: “You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church.”Ever since Pope Stephen I (254-257), used this text against Cyprian of Carthage to defend Roman primacy, these verses have been among the most disputed in the New Testament. Historically, they have been central to issues of authority in the Church, especially of the authority of the episcopacy and of the Bishop of Rome. Jesus’ promise to Peter is the Catholic basis for the position of the Pope and of the Church. The Church teaches that Peter was given the keys which admit a man to Heaven or exclude him from it, and that to Peter was given the power to absolve or not to absolve a man from his sins. In other words, Jesus gave to Peter the authority to determine what courses of action would be permitted or forbidden in the Church. It is further argued by the Catholic Church that this power given to Peter has descended to Peter’s successors, all the Bishops of Rome throughout all ages, and that it exists today in Pope Leo XIV who, as the direct successor of Peter, is the Head of the Church and the Bishop of Rome.
The Magisterium of the Church in the First Vatican Council defined the doctrine of the primacy of Peter and his successors in these terms: 6 “We teach and declare, therefore, according to the testimony of the Gospel, that the primacy of jurisdiction over the whole Church was immediately and directly promised to and conferred upon the blessed Apostle Peter by Christ the Lord. For to Simon, Christ had said, ‘You shall be called Cephas’ (John 1:42). Then, after Simon had acknowledged Christ with the confession, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’ (Mt 16:16), it was to Simon alone that the solemn words were spoken by the Lord: ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in Heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the powers of hell shallnot prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and what you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven’ (Mt 16:17-19). Then, after His Resurrection, Jesus conferred upon Simon Peter alone the jurisdiction of supreme shepherd and ruler over His whole fold with the words, ‘Feed my lambs … Feed my sheep’” (Jn21:15-17). […]
The keys of Heaven and the binding power.The wording has its roots in Is 22:22, (today’s first reading): “I will place on Eliakim’s shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open.” Eliakim thus became the steward of the house, responsible for opening the house in the morning, closing it at night, and controlling access to the royal presence. According to Jewish historian Josephus, “The power of binding and loosing was always claimed by the Pharisees. Under Queen Alexandra the Pharisees became the administrators of all so as to be empowered to banish and readmit whom they pleased as well as to loose and bind.” (http://www.canapologetics.net/peter_and_papacy_2.html) So here, in the New Testament, we see Jesus handing over these “keys” of the Kingdom of Heaven, to Peter, one of the apostles. We notice the similarities and differences between this passage and the one from Isaiah. Where Eliakim has the key placed on his shoulder, Jesus says he “will give” the keys to Peter; Where “he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open,” Peter is told “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” The Anchor Bible commentary, an Interfaith work (Catholic, Protestant and Jewish scholars), says this: “By conferring the power to bind and loose upon Church leadership, Jesus authorizes it to interpret the Scriptures and establish norms for Christian behaviour (vol. 1).” One final quote comes from a primary Protestant authority, Martin Luther, who, five years after the Reformation, declared “So we stand here and with open mouth stare heavenward and invent still other keys. Yet Christ says very clearly in Mt 16:19 that he will give the keys to Peter. He does not say he has two kinds of keys, but He gives to Peter the keys He Himself has and no others. It is as if He were saying: “Why are you staring heavenward in search of the keys? Do you not understand I gave them to Peter? They are indeed the keys of Heaven, but they are not found in Heaven. I left them on earth. Don’t look for them in Heaven or anywhere else except in Peter’s mouth where I have placed them. Peter’s mouth is my mouth, and his tongue is my key case. His office is my office, his binding and loosing are My binding and loosing” [Martin Luther, “The Keys,” in Conrad Bergendoff, ed., trans. Earl Beyer and Conrad Bergendoff, Luther’s Works, volume 40, (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1958), p 365-366.] In this role, Peter was the first to preach Christ, and he did so to three thousand people at Pentecost (Acts 2); he became the spokesman to the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15). “Bind and loose” also concerns doctrine and ethical conduct, declaring certain actions as either forbidden or permitted. Later Christian tradition extended this principle to include the power to forgive or retain sins (18:18; Jn 20:23). In Mt 18:18, Jesus extends this authority to the whole group of disciples, saying, “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven.” Catholics believe that Peter’s authority passed from Peter to the Popes who followed him. “In giving those Keys to Peter, Jesus fulfills that prophecy, establishing Peter – and all who succeed him – as holy father of His Church. His Church, too, is the new house of God – the spiritual temple founded on the “rock” of Peter, and built up out of the living stones of individual believers (see 1 Peter 2:5)”. (Dr. Scot Hann).
Guarantees given to Peter and his successors: The Catholic Church teaches that by giving Peter the “keys” along with the promise that all his decisions would be ratified in Heaven, Christ gave Peter the power of freedom from error when he was officially teaching the universal Church. In other words, Peter received primacy in the Church and the gift of infallibility in his official teaching on matters of Faith and morals. The first Vatican Council defined this Dogma, and the second Vatican Council reconfirmed it. As the Church was to continue long after Peter had died, it was rightly understood from the beginning that those privileges given to Peter which were necessary for the successful mission of the Church, were given to his lawful successors – the Popes – as well.
The most disputed text –“Upon this rock I will build my Church”:Origen interpreted the text to mean that Peter is the type of every true, spiritual Christian on whom the Church is built. The “Eastern” Church interpreted the rock as the Faith of Peter, so that the Church is built on the Faith of believing Christians. The Roman (or Pontifical) interpretation which dates from the fourth century is that rock is Peter, and the promises made to Peter apply also to Peter’s successors in the Petrine ministry. Since Vatican I, this has been the normative interpretation for Roman Catholics. The Middle Ages gave the Christological interpretation, according to which Christ is the Rock (see 1 Cor. 3:11, 10:4). Non-Catholics argue that there is no evidence that Peter’s ministry would be successive. However, the whole context and meaning of the imagery from the beginning to the end show it to be a ministry that must be successive. First of all, the image of the rock is, by its very nature, a timeless and everlasting image. That’s why the image of the rock was chosen. That’s how rocks are. They’re there to stay. Then, in Mt 16, Jesus himself says that the steward’s ministry will have an eternal dimension. He holds the keys to the Kingdom of God and the gates of hell will never prevail against it. Finally, the image of the shepherd, as we have seen, is an eternal one because God Himself is the ultimate Good Shepherd. If the Rock, the Steward, and the Shepherd are eternal ministries, then for it to last that long, the ministry given to Peter must be successive. How could this eternal ministry have died out with Peter himself and still have been eternal?
Authority for service: In a dramatic return to the Spirit of the Apostolic Church, the participants at the Second Vatican Council affirmed the teaching of Jesus, in that Authority is always to be exercised as a service and in a collegial manner for the building up of the community (Dogmatic Constitution on The Church, # 27). Following Vatican II, a number of ecumenical dialogues have resulted in more of a consensus among Christians concerning authority in the Church. The Anglican, Roman-Catholic International Commission issued a document entitled “An Agreed Statement on Authority in the Church“ (1977). According to this commission, the model of authority in the Church is not political, sociological, structural or juridical but rather one of koinonia, viz., a union based on mutual loving service in the truth of Christ, activated by the Holy Spirit, in order to create community with God and all persons. Similar statements by the Lutheran Catholic Dialogue remind contemporary disciples of Jesus that all Christian authority is rooted in Christ and in the Gospel, a word of power from God (Rom1:16) which is proclaimed by various witness-servants who are given a share in the authority of Christ, the Witness-Servant-Model for us all.
Life messages:1)We need to accept Jesus as our Lord and personal Savior: Jesus is not merely the founder of a new religion, or a revolutionary Jewish reformer, or one of the great teachers. For Christians, he is the Son of God and our personal Savior. This means that we have to see Jesus as the Good Shepherd, the Savior, and the Redeemer. He is our beloved Friend, closer to us than our dear ones, and a living experience, who walks with us, loves us, forges us, helps us, and transforms our lives and outlook. We have to give all areas of our lives to him. He must have a say in our daily lives, and we must radiate all around us his sacrificial agápe love, unconditional forgiveness, overflowing mercy, and committed service. The joy, the love, and the peace that we find in Jesus should be reflected in the way we live our lives.
2) We need to experience Jesus as our Lord and Savior and surrender our lives to him. The knowledge of Jesus as Lord and personal Savior should become a living, personal experience for each Christian. This is made possible by our listening to Jesus through the daily, meditative reading of the Bible, by our talking to Jesus through daily, personal and communal prayers, by our offering our lives on the altar with Jesus whenever we attend Holy Mass, and by our leading a Sacramental life. The next step is the surrender of our lives to Jesus by rendering humble, loving service to Him in Himself and in all others, with the strong conviction that Jesus is present in every person. The step after that is to praise and thank God in all the events of our lives, both pleasant and painful, realizing that God’s loving hands are behind everything.
JOKES OF THE WEEK:
1) “Do you know who I am?” The archbishop wanted to pray for and share his love with the residents of a local nursing home. As he entered the lobby of the nursing home, he saw a ninety-year-old lady sitting in a wheelchair. He faced her and asked her whether she knew who he is. She said, “Sir, if you do not know who you are, go to the front desk and ask the receptionist. It is always better to know who you are before visiting old folks like me!”
2)“But how did the other ear get burned?”:On Sunday morning, a man showed up at Church with both his ears terribly blistered, so his pastor asked, “WHAT happened to YOU?” “I was lying on the couch watching a ball game on TV while my wife was ironing nearby. I was totally engrossed in the game when she went out, leaving the iron near the phone. The phone rang, and keeping my eyes on the TV, I grabbed the hot iron and put it to my ear.” “How dreadful,” gasped the pastor. “But how did the other ear get burned?” “Well, you see, I’d no sooner hung up and the guy called back!” — He just didn’t get it! Lots of folks never get it, never understand how life really works, even at the simplest levels. That’s why Jesus is pressing his followers — and us — so insistently in today’s Gospel: “Do you understand Who I AM,” he asks, “and what My being here means for you?” (Msgr. Dennis Clarke)
3) “But on the other hand..” Three of the clergy—a Lutheran, a Catholic, and an Episcopalian—ended up at the Pearly Gates one day. It was St. Peter’s day off, so Jesus was administering the entrance exam. “The question is simple,” he said. “Who do you say that I AM?” The Lutheran stepped forward and began, “The Bible says . . . ” but Jesus interrupted and said, “I know what the Bible says; who do you say that I AM?” The Lutheran said, “I don’t know,” and fell through a trapdoor to that other place. The Catholic stepped forward and began, “The Pope says . . . ” But Jesus interrupted him and said, “I know what the Pope says; who do you say that I am?” “I’m not sure,” said the Catholic, and promptly fell through the trapdoor to that other place. Jesus turned to the Episcopalian and asked, “Who do you say that I AM?” The Episcopalian replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” Then, just as Jesus smiled and gestured for the Pearly Gates to be opened, the Episcopalian continued, “but on the other hand…”
21- Additional anecdotes:1) “To draw out all his savings?” A teacher was giving her students a lesson in logic. “Here is the situation,” she said. “A man is standing up in a boat in the middle of a river, fishing. He loses his balance, falls in, and begins splashing and yelling for help. His wife in her riverside house hears the commotion, knows he can’t swim, and runs down to the bank. Why do you think she ran to the bank instead of calling for help?” A girl raised her hand and asked, “To draw out all his savings?” — In today’s Gospel, the disciples are faced with a similar situation – like being in class when the teacher asks a very important question. We want to seem intelligent so we blurt out an answer – not always the right one – but an answer nonetheless. In today’s Gospel lesson Peter blurts out an answer that is theologically correct, inspired, and amazing.
2) Mount Rushmore National Memorial: When one thinks of South Dakota, one thinks of Mount Rushmore. Carved into the mountainside by Gutzon Borglum are the heads of four of the great leaders of the United States. It’s ironic that this monument is in the heart of an area sacred to the Lakota and Dakota people whose ancestors possessed the land centuries before George Washington’s family came to America. Thousands of Americans visit Mount Rushmore each year. Many come away with flags, patriotic symbols and T- shirts reading, “God Bless America.” Perhaps they feel a rush of pride and make resolutions to be better Americans in the future. — Let us remember that Christians are part of the Rock. Jesus built his Church on the Rock of Peter as a reward for his great confession of Faith in the Divinity of Christ. The members of the Church are given a new face on the same Rock, the face of Jesus, as they proclaim his love, mercy, and forgiveness in their daily lives.
3)“But I know who she is and I know who I am:” Every day Tim would go to the nursing home and visit her. Each time she would ask Tim who he was and why he was visiting her. And each time Tim would explain who he was and why he was visiting. He would tell the story of all the children and grandchildren, all the activities and all the news of his family. And while he was feeding her lunch each day, he would gently remind her that he was married for 52 years to the same woman and that woman was she. Then each time she would smile brightly as if told for the first time. That woman was Margaret, and Margaret suffers from Alzheimer’s disease; she moves in and out of reality. Tim tends to her each and every day and before he leaves, he caresses her gently, kisses her and tells her that he loves her dearly, knowing well, that tomorrow he will have to repeat the whole routine over and over again. His friends ask Tim as why he continues to put himself through this. They tell him, “She doesn’t even know who you are any more.” And he would always respond in the same way, “But I know who she is, and I know who I am.” — The reality of our lives is that we are known by our actions. How we treat one another is how we first know who we are for ourselves, and that is how others come to know us. It is in our actions that we will be known. And that is what Jesus asks today, “Who do people say that I am?” Do I know Jesus? Do I know who I am? (John Pichappilly in The Table of the Word; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
4) Who is this Jesus? Where do we find Him? In his book, Pray from Where You Are, James Carroll recalls something many of us remember from our childhood. Every Sunday, the comic page of our newspapers used to carry a series of printed games. One of everybody’s favorites was a picture showing some scene, like a family enjoying a picnic in a park. Printed beneath the picture were the words, “Can you find the man hidden in the picture?” You’d look and look, and at first wouldn’t see anything that looked like a man. Then you’d turn the paper this way and that to get a different view of it. Suddenly, from the edge of a fluffy white cloud you’d see an ear. Then, from the green leaves of a tree you’d see a mouth, and so on, until you’d see an entire man’s face smiling out at you from the picnic scene. Once you saw the man, that picnic scene was never the same again. For you had found the hidden man. You yourself had seen the smiling face. — It’s the same way in our own lives. We Christians know by Faith that there is a Man hidden away in every scene of daily life. And that Man’s name is Jesus. Once we find Jesus, up close and personal, no scene in our lives is ever the same. That is part of the message of today’s Gospel. (Mark Link in Sunday Homilies; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
5) Confusion most confounded: Just take the world of medicine. Anyone confused the way I am? Does it seem to you that one study is always negating the finds of the previous study? Hormone replacement therapy is great. No. Hormone replacement therapy causes cancer. Saccharine causes cancer; NutraSweet is good. No. NutraSweet causes cancer and Saccharine is good. LowCarb/HighFat is the best diet. Whoops, no, we meant to say NoFat/LowCarb is the best diet. Being slightly underweight is best. No. Being slightly overweight is best. Stock market recommendations and economist’s predictions are equally confusing. Watch Fox’s Saturday morning stock market analysis. The experts end up calling each other’s advice ridiculous, completely wrong, amazingly erroneous, and downright stupid. — Same thing happened at Caesarea Philippi where Peter declared Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of the living God. Jesus congratulated him as the spokesman of God the Father’s revelation. At the same time Jesus warned his disciples not to tell this truth to anyone.
6) What is in a name? In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Juliet says to Romeo, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”The Journal of the American Medical Association did a study on the names of people in the medical profession in the United States. Doctors’ names included: Needle, Probe, Lance, Ligate, Drill, Scope, Bolt, Pin, Croak and Klutz. On the up side, we find physicians named Fix, Cure, Heal, Brilliant, Able, and Best. Our vet’s name is Dr. Fish. There is an Episcopal priest in New York City named Donald Goodness. Do names make a difference? Can a person’s name determine his or her destiny? If you had the choice, would you pick Dr. Brilliant or Dr. Klutz? Many actors will take a stage name because their real name is considered unattractive, dull, or amusing for the wrong reason, or because it projects the wrong image, or is considered too “ethnic.” — Today’s Gospel describes how Jesus, who gave Simon a new name, Peter, made him the bedrock foundation of his Church.
7) Novel/Film – Shoes of the Fisherman: When the Italian pope dies in the latter part of the twentieth century, the Cardinals debate who will succeed him. Some want a conservative pope, while others feel that modern times call for a different approach so that the Church can speak to the real needs of the people. The conclave elects a Slavic cardinal who was imprisoned for twenty years by the Communists. He becomes Pope Kiril I. He feels constricted by Vatican protocol, so he ventures out one night to meet the real people of Rome. He also relates with theologians in difficulties with pastoral kindness and understanding. At his papal coronation, he gives away the tiara. He tries to negotiate an accord between the warring nations, China and Russia, and he says he is ready to sell the treasures of the Vatican to alleviate starvation in China. When Morris West’s novel, Shoes of the Fisherman, first appeared in 1963, it was regarded as prophetic. When John Paul I died in 1978 after barely a month in office, the Polish Cardinal, Karol Wojtyla, was elected, and Pope St. John Paul II is considered to have been one of the chief influences in the collapse of the Soviet Union.– Morris West was even more prophetic than people realized. Shoes of the Fisherman takes past perceptions of the papacy and papal authority and looks at them in new ways. Like Pope Kiril in the film, Pope St. John Paul II traveled outside Rome and tried to enter into dialogue with everyone. He exercised spiritual authority and tried to show that the role of the papacy was for service, especially in the political and economic arenas. The film shows the end of one era and the beginning of a new one. Shoes of the Fisherman continues to challenge audiences to understand the papacy more deeply. Shoes of the Fisherman was almost a blueprint for the papacy of Pope St. John Paul II. The film expresses a different yet converging definition of what ‘Church’ means and what authority and service entail. (Peter Malone in Lights Camera….Faith!)
8) Pray TV and the dog Spuds MacKenzie: The ABC television network carried a program titled Pray TV. Actor John Ritter played the role of an evangelist. Incredibly, some 22,000 people called local television stations wanting to pledge financial contributions to Ritter’s work. These figures were verified by various telephone companies who had monitored and logged the incoming calls. Just after a scene in which the evangelist said, “We need your prayers,” a fictitious toll-free number was flashed on the screen. Many viewers around the country tried to phone the number to offer prayers and money. It pays never to underestimate the gullibility (or generosity, in this case?) of the American people. Characters in soap operas tell horror stories about viewers who confuse the actors with the roles they are playing. In 1968, when actor Leslie Nielsen played a brutal sheriff in the television film Shadow Over Elviron, he received more than two hundred poison pen letters, mostly from women. Some of these were shockingly vulgar. Even Spuds MacKenzie, the dog on certain beer commercials, receives an average of five thousand letters a month. Not the trainer, not the sponsor, not the agent, not the handlers – the dog herself receives the fan mail! Winston Churchill once was congratulated on the size of a crowd that turned out to hear him speak. He said the crowd would be twice as large if he were being hanged. — Jesus wasn’t really that concerned about what the majority of the people were thinking about him. He knew that some in the crowds cheering him would later shout the loudest for his crucifixion. So, he wasn’t really all that concerned when he asked, “Who do men say that I am?” However, he was concerned when he turned to his disciples and asked them, “And who do you say that I am?” Jesus’ plan for the salvation of the world lay with this small group of men.
9) “You are the Christ.” Fr. Herbert O’Driscoll uses a wonderful image to explain the structure of the Church. His idea is to look at all of the last 20 centuries as rings of time, or as concentric circles of time. Today’s Christians, in the 21st century, are in the outermost circle, farthest away from the center – which is a Cross. We are brought into the circle, into the Faith, in large part because somewhere, somehow, someone in the circle just before ours took us by the hand and said, “Come,” and so drew us in. That is one very important reason why we are here. That person was able to do this for us because someone had taken him or her by the hand and had drawn that person in. And so it went, back through all the centuries until we reach the hands that had actually touched the mark of the nails. In this way, Christ builds his Church. We constantly re-live this Gospel story. When we say to Jesus, “You are the Christ,” he says to each of us—“You, too, are Peter, you too, are a rock, and with you, also, I am building my Church.” What happened to Peter continues to happen and actually includes us.
10) Peter Johnson the Rocky: It is said that Winston Churchill never liked talking to subordinates. He always wanted to go to the top because he figured that was the only way he could get any action. So, as the story goes, when Churchill went to heaven, he met St. Peter at the gate and said, “Who are you?” When Peter said, “I’m St. Peter,” Churchill said, “To hell with you, get God!” How did poor Peter get this job in the first place? It all started with the story recounted in this text when Jesus renamed him “Rocky” and gave him the keys to the Kingdom. Actually, he called him Cephas, an Aramaic nickname meaning rock. Its Greek counterpart is Petros which also means rock. Thus, on that day at Caesarea Philippi about 20 miles north of the Sea of Galilee, Simon Johnson, as he was known to his fishing buddies and his family, got a new name — Rocky. Rocky was the big one, bigger than the boxer by that name, Marciano, or the character Sylvester Stallone played in the movie called Rocky and all its sequels. I can just hear him calling the other disciples with a tough Brooklyn street-kid accent, “Hey you’se guys, let’s go get some fish.”
11) “Catholic Church” or “universal church”: A woman was talking to her Presbyterian minister, taking him to task for using, in praying the creed during a worship service, the words, “I believe in the holy, catholic church” instead of saying “universal church” or something similar, because, she said, it was “not Presbyterian.”“Well,” the minister replied, “you don’t mean to say that you believe that the only way you can get to Heaven is by being a Presbyterian, do you!”— She thought a minute and said, “No, not really. But no genteel person would think of going any other way.” [B. Clayton Bell, Moorings in a World Adrift: Answers for Christians Who Dare to Ask Why, (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1990) p. 87.]
12) “The powers of death (Gates of hell) shall not prevail against it.” There is a story about a poor guy who died. Much to his surprise he was sentenced not to Heaven, but to Satan’s domain. Before he was admitted, however, he was interviewed by Satan himself. “It’s pretty bad down here, isn’t it?” asked the man. “Not at all!” said Satan. “You’re surrounded by people who know how to enjoy! Each day we have a theme. Monday, for example, is Party Day! We party around the clock. Tuesday is Alcohol Day! An open bar, take all you want! Wednesday is Tobacco Day! The finest Havana cigars, all the best cigarette blends.” The guy begins to brighten up. He says, “I’m sold. Let me in!” They let him in the gate and he promptly falls into a fiery pit where he is prodded by a nasty looking thing with a pitchfork. “Hey,” he cried, “what happened to those Theme Days?” “Today is Thursday,” Satan giggles with glee. “Thursdays, we tell lies!” (The Jokesmith).
13) “The powers of death shall not prevail against it.” No. 2 Elaine Pagels is a distinguished professor at Princeton University who studies and knows a lot about the human phenomenon of religion. She begins her book, Beyond Belief, with an unusual anecdote and a very powerful witness. On a bright, cold Sunday morning in New York, she interrupted her daily run by stopping in the vestibule of a church to get warm. Two days earlier, her two-and-a-half-year-old son had been diagnosed with an invariably fatal lung disease. Two-and-a-half years old. Barely born and already dying. Imagine the pain in her heart, if you can. But here is how she describes that scene in the Church that day: “Since I had not been in Church for a long time, I was startled by my response to the worship in progress–the soaring harmonies of the choir singing with the congregation; and the priest, a woman in bright gold and white vestments, proclaiming the prayers in a clear resonant voice. As I stood watching, a thought came to me: Here is a family that knows how to face death…Standing in the back of that church, I recognized, uncomfortably, that I needed to be there. — Here was a place to weep without imposing tears upon a child; and here was a heterogeneous community that had gathered to sing, to celebrate, to acknowledge common needs, and to deal withwhat we cannot control or imagine.” (http://www.uccseb.org/Sermons/2004/March%2028,%202004.htm )
14) “God does not always settle accounts in October.” There is a story about an irreligious farmer who gloried in his irreligion. He wrote a letter to a local newspaper in these words: “Sir: I have been trying an experiment with a field of mine. I plowed it on Sunday. I planted it on Sunday. I harvested it on Sunday. I carted the crop home to the barn on Sunday. And now, Mr. Editor, what is the result? This October I have more bushels to the acre from the field than any of my neighbors have.” He expected applause from the editor, who was not known to be a religious man himself. When he opened the paper the next week, there, sure enough, was his letter printed just as he had sent it, but underneath it was the short but significant sentence: “God does not always settle accounts in October.’” — Let us ask ourselves, when did we last show ourselves disciples of Jesus, or witness him in public? (Gerard Fuller in Stories for all Seasons; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
15) Under Rock and Key: Late one evening, Jerry lost the key of his moneybox and went down on fours looking for it outside. His neighbors joined him in searching under streetlights until all were exhausted. “Where did you lose the key?” asked a concerned friend. “Inside my house,” replied Jerry. “Then why are we looking for it outside?”“Because” explained Jerry, “there is better light outside than inside my house!” — We often look for keys in wrong places, and, ironically, the keys to understand today’s readings is a Key of the House of David in the first reading, and the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven in the Gospel. On April 24, 2005, at his installation as Pontiff, Benedict XVI described himself as “weak servant of God” showing deep awareness of being “servus servorum Dei” (servant of servants of God). Likewise, on October 22, 1978, when Pope St. John Paul II began his ministry, he said “Open wide the doors for Christ!” It is heartening that those who hold the Keys are aware of their responsibility to serve and open Church doors for the Spirit’s action. (Francis Gonsalves in Sunday Seeds for Gospel Deeds; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
16) “I am a Christian. I refuse to give up my Faith.” Neo-martyr Michael Paknanas was less than twenty years old, and he worked as a gardener in Athens in the 1800s. The Turks, who enslaved Greece at the time, were trying to convince him to give up his Faith. When flattery and wealth failed to persuade him, they put to use some of their more convincing standard missionary work by torturing the teenager. When all the tortures proved to be futile, the executioner was preparing to behead the young man, but at the same time he was feeling some compassion for him. So he began cutting his neck slowly with the sword by administering very light blows, while asking the martyr to reconsider. The martyr’s response? “I told you, I am a Christian. I refuse to give up my Faith.” The ax-man struck with another light blow to make some more blood flow, to possibly convince him. The martyr repeated, “I told you, I am a Christian. Strike with all your might, for the Faith of Christ.” This totally aggravated the executioner. He did exactly that, and St. Michael was sent to the Heavenly mansions. — These are the people who understood who Jesus is, and what his place is in their lives. (Fr. Bobby Jose).
17) “There are five things you need to know:” There is a beautiful story about the pencil. The pencil maker took the pencil aside, just before putting it into the box. “There are five things you need to know,” he told the pencil, “before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be. One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone’s hand. Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you’ll need it to become a better pencil. Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make. Four: The most important part of you will always be what’s inside. And Five: On every surface on which you are used, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.” — The same applies to each one of us too. When we find an answer to Jesus’ question (“Who do you say that I am?”), we will be able to make ourselves useful to our contemporaries. We have to undergo the process that the pencil undergoes. One: We will be able to do many great things, but only if we allow ourselves to be held in God’s hand, and allow other human beings access to the many gifts we possess. Two: We will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems in life, but we’ll need it to become a stronger person. Three: We will be able to correct any mistakes we might make. Four: The most important part of us will always be what’s on the inside. And Five: On every surface we walk through, we must leave our mark. No matter what the situation, we must continue to do our duties to the best of our abilities.
18)Ready to Serve? Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross was a former professor of psychiatry at the University of Chicago. She wrote a best-seller called Death and Dying. The book grew out of interviews with hundreds of people who had been declared clinically dead and then revived. Repeatedly these people report that during their near-death experience they underwent a kind of instant replay of their lives. It was like seeing a movie of everything they’d ever done. How did their instant replay affect these people? Did it reveal anything significant? Commenting on this, Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross says: “When you come to this point, you see that there are only two things that are relevant: the service you rendered to others and love. All those things we think are important, like fame, money, prestige, and power, are insignificant.” — Today’s Gospel describes how Jesus gave authority to Peter and his successors in his Church to serve God’s people. (Flor McCarthy in New Sunday and Holy Day Homilies; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
19) “Pioneers of Persuasion” In his book The Image Makers, William Meyers has a chapter called “Pioneers of Persuasion.” One of the stories tells how an ad executive, Rosser Reeves, used carefully spliced television commercials during the 1952 presidential campaign to sell General Eisenhower to the public “like a tube of toothpaste.” Ever since then, professional image makers and marketing experts have been employed to “package” political candidates in glamorous ways so that they will appeal to the voters’ emotions. To be successful today, office seekers have to be as concerned about their image as about the campaign issues. Appearance and performance on television are as important as one’s experience and programs. — In the Gospel today, it seems that Jesus, too, was worried about his public image. “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” he asks his disciples. In response, they give sort of the latest Gallup poll readout of their day: “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” But as we read further, we see that Jesus was not interested in his popularity rating. He is interested in the more profound question of his essential identity. “Who do you say that I am?” Moreover, Jesus is not aiming so much at finding out who he is (he knows that already), but is leading his disciples to discover this for themselves. (Albert Cylwicki in His Word Resounds; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
20) God Has His Own Reasons to use His authority and power when He wants: Annick Theuroueville, a 20-year-old French girl who had been paralyzed from birth, took part in a Rosary pilgrimage to Lourdes on October 7, 1975. In her wheelchair, she joined the procession of more than 40,000 pilgrims, and then bathed in the pool fed by the original stream Our Lady had Bernadette find, and use to drink and wash in, some distance from the grotto. After bathing, she complained of being very tired. At three o’clock the next morning, she awakened in her hotel room. On a sudden impulse she got out of bed and walked. Apart from painful efforts to use crutches, she had never in her life done this. The other pilgrims at the hotel were amazed to see Annick come down the stairs for breakfast. Doctors who examined her on October 8 could find no medical explanation for her recovery. Of course, the medical bureau at Lourdes is very cautious about pronouncing cures miraculous. Conclusions are reached only after several years of observation. Naturally everybody was interested in asking Annick’s own reactions. Many knew that she had long since accepted her disability as the will of God. “It means joy” she answered, “but also sadness. For I ask myself, why me, and not the others?” – “…Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? (Rom 11:34. Today’s second reading). (Father Robert F. McNamara)
21)To know Jesus personally is to be transformed by what one knows:A dialogue between a recent convert and an unbelieving friend: “So you have been converted to Christ?” “Yes.”
“Then you must know a great deal about him. Tell me: what country was he born in?” “I don’t know.”
“What was his age when he died?” “I don’t know.”
“How many sermons did he preach? ”I don’t know.”
“You certainly know very little for a man who claims to be converted to Christ!”
“You are right. I am ashamed at how little I know about him. But this much I know. Three years ago, I was a drunkard. I was in debt. My family was falling to pieces. My wife and children would dread my return. That’s what Jesus did when I turned to Him and asked for help.” (cf. Anthony De Mello, The Song of the Bird, New York: Image Books, 1984, p. 112). — This story shows us that a simple, receptive heart is necessary for truly knowing Christ. We are witnesses of Christ. Our personal transformation testifies to his saving presence in our life. L/26
Visit my website by clicking on https://frtonyshomilies.com/for missed or previous Cycle C & A 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). My post-retirement postal address: Fr. Anthony Kadavil, C/o Fr. Jogy M. C. , St. Agatha Church, 1001 Hand Avenue, Bay Minette, Al 36507
Caesarea Philippi at Jesus’ time: Please check Google images
Caesarea Philippi at present
Caesarea Philippi was a Greco-Roman city located near the ancient city of Dan, in the northern part of Israel, by Mount Hermon and the Jordan River. As you follow the Banias stream to the cliff area, you can tell immediately that you are in an incredibly unique place. There is a rocky face that rises 100 feet above you and 500 feet wide, centered by a foreboding cave with temple ruins strewn about. It was here that Herod the Great built the Temple of Augustus (Augusteum) in 19 B.C. to honor his Caesar. The temple sat in front of the cave that was believed to be the gateway to the underworld, and where the Greek god Pan lived.. Herod willed the region to his younger son Philip when he died in 4 B.C., who then built this city up to be his capital and to honor his Caesar, Tiberius. Josephus records the spot in the following: “And when Caesar had further bestowed upon him (Herod) another additional country, he built there also a temple of white marble, hard by the fountains of Jordan: the place is called Panium (Panias, Caesarea Philippi), Prior to the Romans, the Greeks under Alexander the Great had conquered the area. They were so enamored with the spot that Greek sanctuaries were built here to worship the god Pan, worship which included strange sexual acts with goats. The Greeks called this place Panias, and the cave was the main attraction for Hellenistic pagan worship. Animal sacrifices were thrown into the bottomless pool inside. If the sacrifices sank, the gods were appeased. Next to the Pan cave are five niches with indented scalloped areas cut into the face of the cliff for their idols. These niches had elaborate temples attached to worship Pan, Zeus, Nemesis, and a sanctuary to the cult of the “dancing goats.” Pan was the god of the goats and his pipe music would entice the goats to dance, and make their fertility assured (he is also linked to sex, lust, and bestiality). It was so wicked, a sin city like today’s Las Vegas, that rabbis forbade a good Jew to come here. Still, Jesus brought his men here anyway and revealed to them that He was the promised Messiah (Matthew 16). Why here? It was a simple way to let the world, both seen and unseen, know that there would be a coming battle for the souls of men. At the foot of this debauched mountain, the gauntlet was thrown at Satan’s feet; his time was over. This mountain’s other significance is as the traditional site of the Transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17:1-8).
Interesting again to note that He chose “Satan’s turf” to proclaim His glory to His disciples. No one knows the exact spot on Mount Hermon where this glorification occurred, but most believe that it was indeed here. Today you can see this cave, the rubble of the temples, and the shrines that were carved into the cliffs where Jesus acknowledged Peter’s revelation at Caesarea Philippi (today called Banias, most likely an Arab corruption of Pan, Panias). There are huge sections of carved stone from the Temple all around the area, and King Agrippa’s Palace nearby. The ancients believed that water symbolized the abyss and death, so the spring that flowed out of the Gate of Hades made Jesus’ promise about His Church’s supremacy all the more poignant. “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the Gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:17-20). How perfect that one of the most sinful places in Israel was where He revealed Himself to be the true God of Israel.
Aug 10-15: Aug 10 Monday:St. Lawrence, Deacon, Martyr: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-lawrence: Jn 12: 24-26: 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him.
The context: Jesus tells us a short parable followed by two amazing paradoxes. The parable is that of a grain of wheat sown into the muddy field, growing up and yielding a good crop. The parable followed by the paradoxes teaches us three lessons for Christian life. The first lesson is that life comes only through death. Only when the grain of wheat dies in the muddy soil of the field does it become a seedling. In the same way, the Church would grow up and flourish in the death of its martyrs: “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”When we die to our personal ambitions and desires, we are born as useful instruments in the hands of God. The second lesson is that only by spending life we can retain it. The world owes a lot to saintly people like St. Don Bosco, St. Vincent De Paul, St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa), St. Jeanne Jugan, and St. Damien of Molokai, among others, who spent their energy in service of the poor and the down-trodden and gave themselves to God. The third lesson is that greatness comes through selfless and committed service. This explains why the world still honors and cherishes the memory of great souls mentioned above.
Life message: Let us surrender our lives to God in the service of others with agápe love in all humility, seeing the face of Jesus in each of them. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/26
Aug 11 Tuesday:St. Clare, Virgin: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-clare-of-assisi: Matthew 18:1-5, 10,12,141 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me;10 See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in Heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father Who is in Heaven. 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go in search of the one that went astray? 14 So it is not the Will of my Father Who is in Heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”
The context: Chapter 18 of Matthew’s Gospel is a “discourse on the Church,” giving leaders of the Church instructions for administration. Jesus’ apostles shared the Jewish hope that the Messiah would be a political ruler; they hoped that they would hold important portfolios in the Messianic kingdom. Hence, in today’s passage (vv. 1-5), Jesus warned his apostles and the future hierarchy of his Church against the natural human tendencies to pride and ambition. He exhorted the spiritual leaders, as well as all believers in responsible positions, to be humble, trusting, and innocent – that is, to be like children. The additional parable of the shepherd rejoicing at the recovery of his lost sheep tells us that our Heavenly Father is very particular that His little ones should not perish due to our negligence.
Child-like qualities: Children are basically innocent and honest. They are naturally humble because they depend on their parents for everything. They trust and obey their parents because they know their parents love them. Hence, Jesus advises his disciples to forget their selfish ambitions and, with trusting Faith in a loving and providing God, to spend their lives serving others in all humility. Then they will be great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Life Messages: 1) We need to practice humility in thoughts, words and actions. “Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart.”“What is the essential thing in the religion and discipline of Jesus Christ?” St. Augustine asks, and then responds, “I shall reply: first humility, second humility and third humility.”
2) We should not seek recognition and recompense for the service we do for Christ and the Church as parents, teachers, pastors, etc.
3) Trusting Faith resulting from true humility is essential for all corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Since children reflect the innocence, purity, simplicity, and tenderness of our Lord, and since they are given the protection of a guardian angel, we are to love them, train them and take care not to give scandal to them. We need to try to treat everyone with love and respect because, “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life,” (St. Basil) CCC # 336. (Fr. Tony) L/26.
Aug 12 Wednesday:St. Jane Francis de Chantal, Virgin: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-jane-frances-de-chantal/Mt 18: 15-20: 15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”USCCB video reflections:http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/
The context: The first part of today’s portion of Matthew’s Gospel is one of the passages many have found difficult to interpret. Many Bible commentators think that Jesus never said these things, that probably they were a later addition by the Church because 1) there was no organized Church at that time, 2) Jesus never considered a sinner as a hopeless case, and 3) Jesus loved Gentiles and tax collectors.
The real meaning: What Jesus actually meant was, “Do whatever you can to make the guilty person realize and confess his fault, thus helping him to repair the damage he or she has done to his or her personal and communal relationships.” Jesus seems to suggest the following steps to repair a broken personal relationship: 1) One-on-one encounter: First ask God for forgiveness for your part in the misunderstanding, then, go to him, apologize for your part in the incident, and, only then, tell him calmly, gently, and politely that he has hurt you. 2) The group encounter: If the first step does not work, meet him again in the company of two or three wise and honorable persons and try to help the culprit realize what he has done wrong. 3) Parish encounter: If steps one and two do not work, bring his case to the pastor or to the parish council or the Christian fellowship. 4) Leave him to Lord’s mercy: If the culprit remains stubborn, like a Gentile or proud tax collector, ask God to help you to desire to forgive him, then forgiving him in your heart, continue to pray for him and leave him to God’s mercy.
Life messages: 1) Let us have the good will and generosity to accept our mistakes and ask pardon and forgiveness from the offended victim. 2) Let us also learn to forgive and forget the offenses done against us (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/26
Aug 13 Thursday:Saints Pontian, Pope and Hippolytus, Priest, Martyrs: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-pontian-and-st-hippolytus-559: Mt 18:21–19:121Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; 25 and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, `Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But this same, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe!’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused, and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they went and reported to their Lord all that had taken place. 32 Then his Lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me; and should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had mercy on you.’ And in anger his Lord delivered him to the jailers till he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my Heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” 19:1 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Juda beyond the Jordan.
The lessons taught by the parable: (1) We must forgive so that we may be forgiven. Jesus explains this truth after teaching the prayer, “Our Father.” He warns us, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Mt 6:14-15). As James states it later, “For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy” (Jas 2:13). Clearly, Divine and human forgiveness work together.
(2) We represent the greater debtor in the parable; that is, we owe God the ten thousand talents of the parable. We commit sins every day and, hence, we need God’s forgiveness every day. The sum total of all the offenses which our brothers and sisters commit against us is equivalent to the small debt of the second debtor in the parable, namely 100 denarii. Yet, shockingly and sadly, we are merciless towards our fellow human beings. The moral of Jesus’ story is that, as members of a community, we must treat one another as God has treated each of us. Here is a Divine call to throw away the calculator when it comes to forgiveness. We must choose the more honorable path and forgive one another “from the heart.” We have been forgiven a debt beyond all human paying – the sin of man which God forgave through the willing, sacrificial death of His own Son, Incarnate in human flesh. Since that is so, we must forgive others as God has forgiven us. Otherwise, we cannot hope to receive any mercy ourselves.
Life messages: 1) We need to forgive: Having experienced forgiveness at the hands of God and God’s people, we are then called to make it possible for others to experience the same forgiveness. Let us forgive the person who has wronged us before hatred eats away at our ability to forgive.
2) Forgiveness will not be easy, but God is there to help us. We can call on God’s help by offering that individual to God, not by sitting in judgment, but simply by saying, “Help so-and-so and mend our relationship.” We may never forget the hurt we have experienced, but we can choose to forgive. 3) We need to remind ourselves that with God’s grace we have already forgiven the one that hurt us. As life goes on, we may remember the incident or occasion that was hurtful. Then let us offer the offender to God’s mercy and pray for God’s blessings on him or her. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/26
Aug 14 Friday:St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest, Martyr: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-maximilian : Mt 19:3-12: 3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, `For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?” 8 He said to them, “For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9.” 10 The Disciples said to him, ‘If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry.’ 11 But he said to them, “Not all men can receive this precept, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it.”
Jesus’ explanation of a Mosaic sanction: Jesus explains that Moses’ permission for divorce was only a temporary concession which was meant to control the growing rate of divorce in Moses’ own time by introducing a law governing divorce. Jesus adds that it was because of the hard-heartedness of the Jewish men that Moses allowed such a concession. By denying the man’s right to divorce, Jesus places the husband and wife on an equal footing in marriage and teaches that no Mosaic regulation dealing with a temporary situation can alter the permanence and unity of marriage.
Jesus’ clear teaching on divorce: Jesus reminds us that His doctrine goes back to the original intention of God. Citing the book of Genesis, Jesus says that God made us male and female and commanded that “the two shall become one flesh.” He then draws the conclusion that “they are no longer two, but one body” – partners with equal rights – and he declares that no man is allowed to separate what God has joined together (Mt 19:6).
Catholic teaching: Based on the NT teachings given in Mk 10:1-12, Mt 5:31-32; Mt 19:3-9; Lk 16:18; and 1 Cor 7:10-11, the Catholic Church teaches that marriage is a Sacrament involving both a sacred and legal contract between a man and a woman and, at the same time, a special Covenant with the Lord. “Divorce is also a grave offense against the natural law. Besides, it claims to break the contract, to which the spouses freely consented, to live with each other till death…… Divorce is immoral also because it introduces disorder into the family and into society” (CCC #2384, #2385).
Life messages:1) Let us keep all the families of our parish in our daily prayers, that the spouses may have a mutual understanding and appreciation of each other, the willingness to ask pardon and give pardon, the generosity to forgive and forget, and the good will to serve each other, because all these virtues help to make a marriage permanent. 2) Let us also pray for all the divorced in the parish and welcome them as active members of the parish, both those who have remained single and those who have remarried without annulment. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/26.
Q 2: Why do Catholics venerate Mary? Mary herself gives the reason in her “Magnificat” recorded in Luke (1:48-49): 48: “For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. 49: The Mighty One has done great things for me, and Holy is his Name.”
1) God has honored Mary in four ways, and we honor her because God honored her:
a) He chose her as the mother of His Son, Jesus Christ the Messiah.
b) In preparation for this role, God made her “Full of grace” by her Immaculate Conception.
c) He anointed her twice with His Holy Spirit: at the Annunciation and at Pentecost, making her the most Spirit-filled of all women.
d) God allowed her to participate actively in Christ’s suffering and death, suffering in soul all Jesus suffered in body.
2) Mary is our Heavenly Mother, given to us by Jesus from the cross.
3) Mary is our role model for all virtues, particularly, love, fidelity, humility, obedience, surrender to the will of God, and patience.
Q 3: Why do we believe that Mary was taken to Heaven after her death and burial? (“Assumption” means that after her death, Mary was taken into Heaven, both body and soul. The word Assumption comes from the Latin verb “assumere,” meaning “to take to oneself.” Our Lord, Jesus Christ took Mary home to himself where he is. It was on November 1, 1950, that, through the Apostolic Constitution Munificentimus Deus, Pope Pius XII officially declared the Assumption as a Dogma of Catholic Faith, giving the following reasons:
1) Uninterrupted tradition in the Catholic Church starting from the first century AD. (The first trace of belief in the Virgin’s Assumption can be found in the apocryphal second-to-third century AD accounts entitled Transitus Mariae [Latin:
for “The Crossing Over of Mary”].
2) The feast is found in all the ancient liturgies
3) The belief in the assumption of Mary is taught by all early Fathers of the Church, e.g., Origen (died AD 253), St. Jerome (died AD 419) and St. Augustine (died AD 430).
4) Negative evidence: Mary’s tomb was never reported or venerated.
5) Old Testament evidence of corporal assumption of Enoch (Gn 5: 24) and Elijah (2 Kgs 2:1).
6) Theological reasons: her Immaculate Conception and sinless life.
Life messages: 1) We are challenged to keep ourselves pure and holy children of a Holy Mother. 2) We are challenged to accept total liberation from all our bondages. 3) We are assured of our resurrection and given the inspiration to face pain, suffering, despair, disappointment and temptations as Mary did.
O. T. XX [A] (Aug 16)Eight-minute homily in one-page (L-26)
Introduction: All three readings today speak of the expansive and universal nature of the “Kingdom of God,” in contrast with the theory that salvation was to be offered first to the Jews and then, through them alone, to the rest of the world. Although God set the Hebrew people apart as His chosen race, He included all nations in His plan for salvation and blessed all the families of the earth in Abraham (Gn 12:1-3).
Scripture readings summarized:By declaring through the prophet Isaiah (first reading), “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples,” God reveals the truth that in His eyes all human beings, regardless of race, caste, color, intelligence, wealth, or charm are His dear children by Creation and adoption. The long-expected Messianic kingdom was intended, not only for the Jews, but for all peoples as well. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 67) rejects all types of religious exclusivity: “Let all the peoples praise You, O God; …For You judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon the earth, so that Your saving power may be known among all the nations.” In the second reading, Paul explains that, although the Jews were the chosen people, many of them rejected Jesus as the promised Messiah, and, consequently, God turned to the Gentiles who received mercy through their Faith in Jesus. In the Gospel story, Jesus demonstrates that salvation was meant for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews by healing the daughter of a Gentile woman as a reward for her strong Faith. Thus, Jesus shows us that God’s mercy and love are available to all who call out to Him in Faith.
Life messages:1) We need to persist in prayer with trustful confidence. Although the essential parts of prayer are adoration and thanksgiving, the prayer of petition, like the prayer of contrition, plays a big part in our daily lives. Christ himself has told us to ask him for these needs: “Ask and you shall receive.” Asking with fervor and perseverance proves that we have the “great Faith” we need to receive what Christ wants to grant us in response to our requests. We must realize, and remember, that we do not always get exactly what we ask for. Rather, God gives us what He knows we really need, what He wants us to have, that is, what is really best for us. As Christians, we also know that our particular request may not always be for our good, or for the final good of the person for whom we are praying. But if the prayer is sincere and persevering, we will always get an answer — one which is better than what we asked for.
2) We need to pull down our walls of separation and share in the universality of God’s love: Very often we set up walls which separate us from God and from one another. Today’s Gospel reminds us that God’s love and mercy are extended to all who call on Him in Faith and trust, no matter who they are. In other words, God’s care extends beyond the bounds of race and nation to the hearts of all who live, and God’s House should become a House of Prayer for all peoples. It is therefore fitting that we should pray and work sincerely so that the walls which our pride, intolerance, fear, and prejudice have raised in us may crumble.
OT XX [A] (Aug 16)Is 56:1, 6-7; Rom 11:13-15, 29-32; Mt 15:21-28
Homily starter anecdotes (Biblical reason why preachers may use anecdotes in their homilies: Mt 13: 34: “All this Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable).”
# 1) “Never give up!”:Many years ago in Illinois, a young man with six months formal schooling to his credit ran for an office in the legislature. As might have been expected, he was beaten. Next, he entered business but failed in that too, and spent the next seventeen years paying the debts of his worthless partner. He fell in love with a charming lady, they became engaged – and she got sick and died, causing her lover a mini-nervous breakdown. He ran for Congress and was defeated. He then tried to obtain an appointment to the U.S. Land Office but didn’t succeed. He became a candidate for the Vice-Presidency and lost. Two years later he was defeated in a race for the Senate. He ran for President and finally was elected. That man was Abraham Lincoln. —Today’s Gospel presents a Canaanite woman who persisted in her prayer and obtained from the Lord what she prayed for. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
# 2) “If Christians have caste differences…” M. K. Gandhi in his autobiography tells how, during his days in South Africa as a young Indian lawyer, he read the Gospels and saw in the teachings of Jesus the answer to the major problem facing the people of India, the caste system. Seriously considering embracing the Christian faith, Gandhi went to a white-only church one Sunday morning, intending to talk to the pastor about the idea. When he entered the Church, however, the usher refused to give him a seat and told him to go and worship in another church with his own colored people. Gandhi left the church and never returned. “If Christians have caste differences also,” he said, “I might as well remain a Hindu.” (Fr. Munacci) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
# 3: Religious fanaticism: A Jewish professor of psychology said of his tradition, “If there are ten Jewish males in a city, we create a synagogue. If there are eleven Jewish males, we start thinking about creating a competing synagogue.” A Baptist police officer had a similar tale. He said, “One Baptist family in a neighborhood witnesses until they bring another family to Christ. Then they form a Church, and start witnessing to the rest of the community. When another family joins, they have a schism and form a rival Church.” According to a Presbyterian homemaker, her communion was a little like vegetable soup. “We have,” she said, “the OPs, RPs, BPs, and Split Peas!” And a Methodist businessman complemented these tales with an apocryphal tale of a man from his Faith community who had been shipwrecked for years on a small island. When found by a passing ship, rescuers asked him why he had constructed three huts, since he was there by himself. “Well,” he replied, “that one is my home, that one is my Church, and that one is my former Church.” — Today’s Gospel tells us how Jesus extended his healing mission to the Gentiles, too. (Rev. Wayne Brouwer ) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
Introduction:All three readings today speak of the expansive and universal nature of the “Kingdom of God,” in contrast with the protocol of the day which demanded that salvation should come first to the Jews and through them alone to all the people of the earth. Although God set the Hebrew people apart as His chosen race, He included all nations in His plan for salvation and blessed all families of the earth in Abraham (Gn 12:1-3). By declaring through the prophet Isaiah (first reading), “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples,” God reveals the truth that in His eyes all human beings, regardless of race, caste, color, intelligence, wealth or charm are His dear children by Creation and adoption. The long-expected Messianic kingdom was intended, not only for the Jews, but for all nations as well. In other words, we all belong to one another; hence, there is no place for discrimination among God’s children. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 67) rejects all types of religious exclusivity: “Let all the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. For You judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon the earth, so that Your saving power may be known among all the nations.” In the second reading, Paul explains that, although the Jews were the chosen people, many of them rejected Jesus as the promised Messiah. Consequently, God turned to the Gentiles who received His mercy through their Faith in Jesus. In the Gospel story, Jesus demonstrates that salvation is meant for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews by healing the daughter of a Gentile woman as a reward for her strong Faith. Thus, He shows that God’s mercy and love are available to all who call out to Him in Faith.
The First Reading, (Isaiah 56:1, 6-7) explained: The third part of the book of the prophet Isaiah (chapters 56-66), was written mainly for the Jews who were returning from the Babylonian exile to join their relatives who had been left behind in Judea. But today’s lesson is primarily addressed to those Jews who, after the Exile had officially ended, still chose to remain in Babylon as Jews among the Gentiles. In this passage, the Lord God not only pleaded with these people (who preferred exile to the labor of returning to the Promised Land), to come home to Jerusalem and help to rebuild the City and the Temple, but also tried to make them understand the role the Gentiles would have in the coming Messianic Kingdom. Though in the past all who came to the God of Israel were required to accept the Law and the Covenant, God’s concern for those outside that Covenant led Him to a new and radical solution. “The foreigners,” the Lord God declares to us today throughIsaiah, “who join themselves to Yahweh, ministering to Him, loving the Name of Yahweh and becoming His servants . . . them I will bring to My holy mountain and make joyful in My house of prayer . . . for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” Thus,Isaiah’s prophecy, which applied directly to the coming Messianic Kingdom, assured them that their God was equally interested in the people of other nations as well as in the descendants of Abraham. Hence, the exclusivist claims of the Jews as God’s chosen people would have to yield, as God made room for others. For in addition to the exiles of Israel, Yahweh would receive the non-Israelites who had joined themselves to the Lord. In short, the prophet reports, everyone has a part to play in God’s plan — even those who don’t belong to the “true religion.”
In the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 67) the Psalm Refrain has us sing, “O God, let all the nations praise You!” and the verses continue “2May God have pity on us and bless us; may He let His Face shine upon us. 3So may Your way be known on earth; among all nations, Your salvation,” thus responding to Yahweh’s declaration in the first reading that the Gentiles will be accepted at the altar of Yahweh.
The Second Reading (Rom 11:13-15, 29-32) explained: Here, Paul asks how God could apparently go back on His promise to Abraham that Abraham’s descendants would always be God’s chosen people, now that those descendants had rejected Jesus. Paul answers his own question by explaining that God’s plan all along had allowed for the Jews’ rejection of Jesus, so that the few Jews who accepted Jesus and went out to preach the Good News, like Paul himself, would be forced to turn to the Gentiles and bring them into the New Covenant. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, God permits evil only if He can draw a greater good out of it. Thus, God permitted both Jews and Gentiles to disobey Him so that He could show His mercy by offering eternal life to everyone who wished to have it. Frustrated by the slow pace of Jewish conversions and prevented from continuing to work directly among the Jews by the overt, physical hostility Jewish synagogues showed him and his companions, Paul directed his preaching missions to the Gentiles, so that the Jews would become jealous and accept Jesus. Thus, God’s secret plan to invite all people into the Covenant would be revealed and completed. By the statement, “Their rejection is the reconciliation of the world,” Paul meant that the Jews’ rejection of Jesus allowed the world (the pagans, the Gentiles), to be reconciled to God. By asking the question, “What will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” Paul meant that the Jews who at last accept Christ will receive new life through the once spiritually dead pagans. Paul was convinced that the Jewish nation would eventually accept Christ because God’s ”irrevocable” call, given to them through Abraham, was a call to eternal salvation. Paul’s failure to convert his fellow-Jews serves as a model for us who must accept failure in our own lives, especially when it concerns our loved ones who refuse what we judge to be to their advantage. Paul’s message is also a challenge to us to pray fervently and often for the conversion of the Jews.
Gospel exegesis:The significance of the miracle: The Gospels describe only two miraculous healings Jesus performed for Gentiles: the healing of the centurion’s servant (Mt 8:10-12) in Capernaum, and the healing of the daughter of the Canaanite woman which we hear today. The encounter with the Canaanite woman took place outside Jewish territory in Tyre and Sidon, two coastal cities, twenty-five and fifty miles north of Galilee in present-day Lebanon. The story of this miracle is told twice, (Mt 15:21-28; Mk 7:24-30), foreshadowing the extension of the Gospel (the Good News), to the whole world. The woman in today’s miracle belonged to the old Canaanite stock of the Syro-Phoenician race. The Canaanites were the ancestral enemies of the Jews and were regarded as pagans and idolaters and, hence, as ritually unclean. But this woman showed “a gallant and audacious love which grew until it worshipped at the feet of the Divine, an indomitable persistence springing from an unconquerable hope, a cheerfulness which would not be dismayed” (Fr. James Rowland). By granting the persistent request of the pagan woman, Jesus demonstrates that his mission is to break down the barriers and remove the long-standing walls of division and mutual prejudice between Jews and Gentiles. God loves all His children by Creation and adoption, welcoming everyone who believes in Him, asks for His mercy and tries to do His will.
Trustful persistence rewarded. Jesus first ignores both the persistent cry of the woman and the impatience of his disciples to send the woman away. He then tries to awaken true Faith in the heart of this woman by an indirect refusal, telling her, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman is persistent in her request. She kneels before him and begs,“Lord, help me.” Now Jesus makes a seemingly harsh statement, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” The term “dogs” was a derogatory Jewish word for the Gentiles. Dogs were regarded by the Jews as unclean, because they would eat anything given to them, including pork. The woman noticed, however, that Jesus had used the word kunariois, (the word for household pets), rather than kuon. (the ordinary Greek word for dogs). She also observed that Jesus hadused the word for dogs in a challenging way, urging her to answer in kind — a sort of test of the woman’s Faith. So, she immediately matched wits with Jesus. Her argument runs like this: Pets are not outsiders but insiders. They not only belong to the family but are part of the family. While they do not have a seat at the table, they enjoy intimacy at the family’s feet. Hence, the woman replied: “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table!” (v. 27), expressing her Faith that Jesus could and would heal her daughter. Jesus was completely won over by the depth of her Faith, her confidence and her wit and responded with delight, “Woman, great is your Faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” We notice that the woman was refused three times by Jesus before he finally granted her request; it was only at her the fourth attempt that Jesus rewarded her persistence, curing her daughter in answer to her pleas. This silently underlines Jesus’ teaching (Lk 18:1-8) amplified by Paul in Eph 6:18) that we must persist in prayer. This Gospel episode is also an account of a woman who got more from the Kingdom of God than she had hoped for. She had come to Jesus asking for one miracle, and she got two: her daughter was exorcised of her demonic possession and received a new life, and the mother herself, through her experience with Christ, found a new life as well. The greatness of this woman’s Faith consists in: a) her willingness to cross the barrier of racism; b) her refusal to be put off or ignored because of her position in life and c) her humility in admitting that she did not deserve the Master’s attention and time. The Catechism reminds us that the woman in today’s Gospel recognized in Jesus the messianic power attributed to the awaited “Son of David” (CCC #439). For, if one truly believes that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, one trusts him and fashions one’s prayer requests accordingly (CCC #2610).
Life messages:#1) We need to persist in prayer with trustful confidence. Although the essential parts of prayer are adoration and thanksgiving, the prayer of petition, like that of contrition, plays a big part in most people’s daily life. We cannot provide, by our unaided selves, for our spiritual and temporal needs. Christ himself has told us to ask him for these needs: “Ask and you shall receive.” Asking with fervor and perseverance proves that we have the “great Faith” we need to be able to receive all that Christ wants to grant us in response to our requests. We must realize and remember that we do not always get exactly what we ask for, but rather what God knows we need, what He wants for us – that is, what is really best for us. What we need most is to receive the peace and security that come from being in harmony with God’s will for us. As Christians, we also know that our particular requests may not always be for our good, or for the final good of the person for whom we are praying. In that case, the good God will not grant what would be to our, or their, eternal harm. But if the prayer is sincere and persevering, we will always get an answer – one which is better than what we asked for. Hence, let us trust that every time we pray for something, the answer is already on its way, even before we have asked God for it. We just need to trust God, that, according to His perfect timetable and in His Infinite Wisdom, Love and Goodness, He will give us what He knows is best for us, and that it will be better than what we were requesting.
#2) We need to pull down our walls:Sometimes unaware, we set up walls which separate us from God and from one another. Today’s Gospel reminds us that God’s love and mercy are extended to all who call on Him in Faith and trust, no matter who they are. In other words, God’s care extends beyond the boundaries of race and nation to the hearts of all who live, and God’s House is intended to become a House of prayer for all peoples. It is therefore fitting that we should pray that the walls which our pride, intolerance, fear, and prejudice may have raised, may crumble. Next, we have to be grateful to God for all the blessings we enjoy. As baptized members of the Christian community, we have been given special privileges and easy access to God’s love. But we also have serious responsibilities arising from these gifts. One of these responsibilities is to make clear to others, with true humility and compassion, that God’s love, mercy, and healing are for them also because they too are the children of God.
JOKE OF THE WEEK
Faith in theory and action: A man who was walking close to a steep cliff lost his footing and plunged over the side. As he was falling, he grabbed the branch of a tree that was sticking out about half-way down the cliff. He managed to hang onto a weak limb with both hands. He looked up and he saw that the cliff was almost perfectly straight and that he was a long way from the top. He looked down and it was a long, long way down to the rocky bottom. At this point the man decided that it was time to pray. He didn’t pray a long, wordy prayer. He simply yelled out, “God, if you’re there, help me!” About that time, he heard a deep voice coming from high up above that said, “I’m here My son, have no fear.” The man was a little startled at first by God’s voice, but he pleaded, “Can You help me? Can You help me?” God replied, “Yes, I can My son, but you have to have Faith. Do you trust Me?” The man answered, “Yes Lord, I trust You.” God said, “Do you really trust Me?” The man, straining to hold on replied, “Yes Lord, I really trust You.” Then God said, “This is what I want you to do: let go of the limb, trust Me, and everything will be all right.” The man looked down at the rocks below, then he looked up at the steep cliff above him and yelled, “Is there anybody else up there who can help me?”
1) Rootedness of Christianity in Judaism:Jean Marie Cardinal Lustiger, a twentieth century French Catholic prelate once explained, “I was born Jewish and so I remain, even if that’s unacceptable for many. For me, the vocation of Israel is bringing light to the goyim. That’s my hope and I believe that Christianity is the means for achieving it.” In this same regard, Karl Barth noted, “Jews have God’s promise, and if we Christians have it too, then it is only as those chosen with them, as guests in their house, that we are new wood grafted on to their tree.” Speaking to an audience of Jewish men and women, Pope John Paul II declared, “You are our dearly beloved brothers, and in a certain way, it could be said that you are our elder brothers.” Each of these three statements underscores the rootedness of Christianity in Judaism and recalls the experience of Saul, a Jew who accepted Jesus of Nazareth, as the Christ of God, His Messiah; Paul longed for the day his fellow Jews would do likewise, as recalled in the second reading today. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
2) “Are you waiting to speak to one of us?” Here are a couple of stories about Dorothy Day, the founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, demonstrating how she valued each human being as a child of God and hence, as important. A reporter came to interview her at her office on 4th Street in Manhattan. He could see her talking to a man who was either drunk or mentally ill. Time passed and the reporter grew impatient. Dorothy finally appeared and said, “Are you waiting to speak to one of us?” — Obviously, Dorothy did not think that she was more important than the person she was talking with. On another occasion, a woman came in and donated a diamond ring to the Catholic Worker. Her co-workers wondered what Dorothy would do with it. If she asked one of them to take it to a diamond merchant and sell it, it would buy a month’s worth of rice and other food items for a poor family. That afternoon, however, Dorothy gave the diamond ring to an old woman who lived alone and often came to Dorothy for meals. “That ring would have paid her rent for the better part of a year,” someone protested. Dorothy replied that the woman had her dignity. So she could sell it if she liked and spend the money for rent, a trip to the Bahamas, or keep the ring to admire. “Do you suppose,” Dorothy asked, “God created diamonds only for the rich?”—– Dorothy Day was one of the prophets of her day. Her vision allowed her to see all human beings as equal , all equally precious to God each in his or her own uniqueness. . She recognized, as Mother Teresa did, the mark of the children of God in everyone, in the same way Jesus recognized God’s child in the Canaanite woman who belonged to a race inimical to the Jews. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
3) “Love it?” she said, “I hate it!”The wife of our 32nd President, knew how to assert herself. She once left the White House to visit a prison in Baltimore. Her departure was so early in the morning that she decided not to disturb her husband. Shortly after he got up, he contacted her secretary to ask where his wife was. She replied, “She’s in prison, Mr. President.” “I’m not surprised,” replied FDR, “but what for?” [Bob Dole, Great Political Wit: Laughing (Almost) All the Way to the White House (New York: Doubleday, 1998), p. 79.] — Eleanor Roosevelt was a woman of quiet strength. She was not deliberately controversial, but she was not reluctant to speak her mind about things she considered important. Jesus tells a parable about another such woman in today’s Gospel.
Eleanor Roosevelt, late in her retirement, spent part of her day diving from the board into a pool. People by the score filled the pool, and children, too, noticed her diving, swimming, climbing out, and diving again. Someone walked up to her and said, “Mrs. Roosevelt, you surely must love to dive.” “Love it?” she said, “I hate it!” “Well, why do you bother to do it then?” “Someone must set an example for the children,” she replied. — In her own gentle but determined way, every dive she made was an encouragement, a push, for those children who, bug-eyed and open-mouthed, watched this old woman and began to think, “Well, if she can do it, I guess I can, too!” — Hers was a life-giving push, which nudged these children toward their potential. God’s pushes are always life-giving. Oh, they deal death to the old ways, yes, but only to clear the deck for the new ways, which make life better. The Gospel story of Jesus’ encounter with a Canaanite woman is one of those surprising and uncomfortable pushes. (Rev. King Duncan) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
4) Universal fraternity: There is a story about a man named Jeremy Cohen, a Texan who, with his family, served as host to a rabbi from Moscow one Christmas. To treat the rabbi to a culinary experience unavailable to him in his own country, Cohen took him to his favorite Chinese restaurant. After an enjoyable meal and pleasant conversation, the waiter brought the check and presented each person at the table with a small brass Christmas ornament as a complimentary gift. Everyone laughed when Cohen’s guest turned the ornament over and read the label “Made in India.” The laughter quickly subsided, however, when everyone saw tears running down the rabbi’s cheeks. Cohen asked the rabbi if he were offended at having been given a gift on a Christian holiday. Smiling, the rabbi shook his head and answered, “No, I was shedding tears of joy to be in such a wonderful country in which a Chinese Buddhist restaurant owner gives a Russian Jew a Christmas gift made by a Hindu in India.” — Today’s Gospel episode describes how Jesus extended his healing mission to the Gentiles. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
“Lord, I believe:”If you want to get into Olympic competition, you’d better be a pretty good athlete. If you want to get into the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, you need excellent musical ability and training. If you want to get into the Miss America Pageant, you’ll be greatly helped if you are good-looking and somewhat talented. — But to get into the Kingdom of God, all you need is Faith – to say, “Lord, I believe,” and to say this, not in words alone, but also in action, expressing Faith through life. The Canaanite woman in today’s Gospel story believed. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
“But not with that bunch.”Billy Graham once told of an incident that happened a long time ago when teachers could talk about religion in the classroom. A teacher was talking to her class of young boys, and she asked, “How many of you would like to go to Heaven?” And all the hands instantly shot into the air at once, except one. She was astounded. She asked, “Charlie, you mean you don’t want to go to Heaven?” He said, “Sure, I want to go to Heaven, but not with that bunch.” — Unfortunately, that is how many religious groups feel about one another. Consider the Middle East where, in parts of Lebanon, Christian militias are fighting each other and in Syria and Iraq extremist Muslims are driving all Christians from their territories on pain of death, unless they convert. All three great Faiths in that part of the world trace their origins through the patriarch Abraham. All three of them honor the Mosaic Law. All three are monotheistic. And yet as the political walls of this world come tumbling down, the religious walls seem to grow higher and higher. How tragic. Today’s Gospel tells us how Jesus healed the daughter of a Gentile woman in spite of the religious prejudice of his fellow Jews for the Gentiles.(Rev. King Duncan)(https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
“Nag, nag, nag!.”A cartoon in a magazine showed a woman preacher speaking from the pulpit. Two middle-aged portly men were seated near the front. Looking up at the preacher, one of them said, “Nag, nag, nag.” — It is a truism that men do not like nagging women. In his Journal, John Wesley tells of some Methodists who were arrested for disturbing the peace with their prayers. They were brought to court, and the judge asked what the charges against them were. One reported, “Your honor, they pretend to be better than other people; and besides, they pray from morning to night. And what’s more, they have even converted my wife. Until she started going among Methodists, she had such a tongue! And now she is quiet as a lamb.” The judge shouted, “Let them go! Let them all go and convert all the nagging wives in town!”— In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus and the disciples were confronted with a nagging woman. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
“Our Lord Jesus was just a bit of a liberal.”There is a wonderful story about a church in Holland, which felt strictly bound to obey the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. On a certain Sunday, however, the area was threatened by a terrible storm. There was concern that if the dikes were not strengthened, the people would not survive. The police notified the pastor of the danger. He was faced with the decision of whether to call off the services and urge his people to work on the dikes. Unable to make the decision, he called a meeting of his council to decide. The council concluded they would go on with their services. After all, God is omnipotent. He could always perform a miracle with the wind and waves. Their duty was to obey His commands. The pastor tried one last argument. Did not Jesus himself break the commandment and declare that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath? Then an old man stood up and said, “I have always been troubled, Pastor, by something I have never ventured to say publicly. Now I must say it. I have always had the feeling that our Lord Jesus was just a bit of a liberal.” — (Kasemannin, Jesus Means Freedom). Today’s Gospel presents such a “liberal” Jesus extending his healing touch to a Gentile woman. (Rev. King Duncan) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
9) It says, “Kills fleas for six months.“ Jesus never met a person he didn’t love. People from all kinds of situations found themselves comfortable in his presence. He didn’t come across as stuffy or pretentious. It reminds me of the story of a priest in the mountains of Kentucky who had gone home with a family of new converts for dinner. He was received cordially by all but the small daughter in the family, who stared at him unblinkingly throughout the meal. The priest, somewhat uncomfortable, tried to put the little girl at ease. “Is it my collar you are staring at?” he asked, taking it off and holding it up. When he did so he saw the cleaning instructions on the inside of the collar, and to make conversation, he asked, “Do you know what it says here?” “Yes,” responded the little girl. “My cat has a small collar like it. It says, Kills fleas for six months.” [Buddy Westbrook, London, Kentucky, Loyal Jones, The Preacher’s Joke Book (Little Rock: August House, 1989), p. 26.] — I can hear Jesus telling such a joke on himself, can’t you? People who are secure in themselves don’t have to “put on airs.” He was open and caring. People of all sorts were drawn to him, including the Gentile woman in today’s Gospel story. (Rev. King Duncan) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
10) “The Lady in whom Jesus Christ has come to live.” Catherine Lowe was a young wife and mother. Her husband was the warden at Sing Sing. In the early years of this century, women were not allowed inside the prison “not even the warden’s wife.” Catherine was filled with love, though, and wanted to share her gift of love with other people. She inquired and was told she was absolutely, totally, forbidden to enter the prison. But Catherine was a strong-willed woman. When the first inmate basketball game was announced, she risked harsh disciplinary action by taking her two little girls and sitting in the bleachers to watch. Much to her amazement she was not chastised for her action. That one step led to bolder steps. She wanted to help the prisoners. She knew love could make a difference in anyone is life. One day she met a murderer named Jack. He was one of the toughest of the tough. He was big and black and blind, a victim of harsh and cruel racial injustices. Catherine felt drawn to this hardened criminal. “Hi, Jack,” she introduced herself one day. There was no response. The scarred, battered face stared back with icy, unseeing eyes. “What books do you read?” she asked him. The silence was broken. He spit out the words, “I am blind, lady! I can’t read!” This was her opportunity. “Oh, what about Braille?” she asked. No one had even told Jack about Braille let alone taken the time to teach him. “You can read with your fingers!” Catherine explained as she stroked his rough hands. “Please,” she said, “let me see your fingers.” She touched his fingertips, and said, “You can read with your fingertips. I’ll teach you.” And she did. Then she found another inmate and discovered that he was deaf. He could not hear or talk. Catherine learned sign language so she could communicate with this man. She opened doors to worlds of love for one convict after another. And that love redeemed and restored some of the toughest of the tough, the meanest of the mean. In Sing Sing, they called her, “The Lady in whom Jesus Christ has come to live.” — Catherine gave her best, a miracle happened inside the walls of a prison and lives were forever changed. A blind man learned to read. A deaf man learned to communicate. A Canaanite woman received healing for her daughter. People are people whatever label they may wear. Faith is Faith wherever we may encounter it. Love will find a way. [Robert H. Schuller, Life is Not Fair but God is Good (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991), pp. 103-104.] (Rev. King Duncan) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
11) “Baby Snow.” The love and concern for her child shown by the Canaanite woman in today’s Gospel is quite a contrast with what is happening today. One sub-freezing morning at 3:30 AM in Atlanta during the bitter winter of 1977, a baby was found wrapped in an Indian blanket on the bottom of an apartment complex garbage dumpster. The newborn child was taken to a hospital where nurses named him “Baby Snow.” In the same year a thirty-one-year-old woman discovered a new-born baby in a shopping bag lying against a hedge in Brooklyn. — Are these rare instances? According to three leading sociologists, the American home is the most violent place in the country. They claim that one million kids are growing up with parents who use guns and knives on them. If we have the compassion of the Canaanite woman, we would have reason to nag Jesus for help. (Rev. John R. Brokhoff) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
12) A tit-for-tat, reminding us of the Canaanite woman:A government clerk was hiking when he came upon a shepherd with a large flock. The clerk looked at the flock and then said to the shepherd, “I’ll bet you I can tell you exactly how many sheep you have here.” The shepherd said, “I doubt you could do that the way they are all bunched together.” The hiker said, “Well, let’s make a wager. If I’m wrong, I’ll give you $100. If I’m right, you have to give me a sheep.” “OK, you’re on.” the shepherd said. “There are 287 sheep here.” said the hiker. “That’s right,” said the shepherd. “You win. Go ahead and pick out a sheep.” The hiker picked up an animal and put it over his shoulders. “Wait a minute,” said the shepherd, “I bet you I can tell you what you do for a living. If I’m wrong, I’ll give you $100. If I’m right, you have to give the animal back.” “OK” said the hiker. “You are a government bureaucrat,” said the shepherd. “How did you know that?” The hiker asked. “Put down my dog and I’ll tell you,” replied the shepherd. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
13)All are welcome! :One day, it seems, a certain curious person in heaven asked St. Peter “How many Hindus are in heaven?” Peter replied: “No Hindus”. Then he asked: “How many Muslims?” “Not even one,” replied Peter. The man was surprised. He said: “Oh, then, there are only Christians in heaven?” “No, there are no Christians in heaven either,” replied Peter. “How Many Catholics?” “No, Catholics either.” Then St. Peter said, “Heaven is not meant for any particular group of people. Here, there is no distinction between Hindus, Muslims or Christians for all are welcome in Heaven.” — What else could St. Peter have said? Did not God tell his chosen people, referring to the Temple in Jerusalem which was a symbol of Heaven for them; “My House shall be called a House of Prayer for all peoples” (Vima Dasan in His Word Lives; quoted by Fr. Botelho) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
14)The stronger you grow in Love of God in your neighbor, the weaker your doubts about the Faith become: In his novel, The Brothers Karamazov ,Dostoevsky refers to an old woman whose spiritual health begins to deteriorate as rapidly as her physical health. One day she discusses her problem with an old priest, named Fr. Zossima. She tells him about her weak Faith and the doubts she is beginning to have: Is there a God Who cares? Is there life after death? Fr Zossima listens compassionately and says: “There’s no way to prove these things, but you can become surer of them.” “How?” cries the old woman. “By love,” says the old priest. “Try to love your neighbor from the heart. The more you love, the surer you will become about God’s existence and life after death. The more you love, the stronger your Faith will grow and the weaker your doubts will become. This is sure. This has been tried. This works.” Albert Schweitzer, the great missionary doctor, makes the same point in his book Reverence for Life. He says something to this effect: “Do you want to believe in Jesus? Do you really want to believe in him? Then you must do something for him. In this age of doubt there is no other way. If for his sake you give someone something to eat, or drink, or wear – which Jesus promised to bless as though it were done to him- then you will see that you really did it for him. Jesus will reveal himself to you, as one who is alive.” (Mark Link inSunday Homilies; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
15)Can we go beyond the obvious?A Franciscan Sister of Mercy, herself a Croat who grew up in Serbia, has been working with rape victims of Bosnia as well as trying to find housing for the many refugees. Dressed in her nun’s habit, she goes to a door and pleads with those who answer, “I have no place to stay. I’m hungry. Can you take me in?” Croatia is deeply Catholic country, so the answer to the nun’s plea is almost always, “Of course, Sister.” Then the nun steps back to let the real refugees with her be seen. They are usually taken in by the family. — Application: Can we go beyond our prejudices?
16)“A child! There is a child!’ There is an incident reported as having happened during the China earthquake. After the earthquake had subsided, when the rescuers reached the ruins of a young woman’s house, they saw her body through the cracks. But her pose was somehow strange that she knelt on her knees; her body was leaning forward, and her two hands were supporting an object. The house had collapsed on her. With so many difficulties, the leader of the rescuer team put his hand through a narrow gap on the wall to reach the woman’s body. He hoped that this woman could be still alive. However, the cold and stiff body told him that she had passed away for sure. But he was curious to know what she was protecting from earthquake using her body as a cover. So, he knelt down again and used his hand through the narrow cracks to search the little space under the dead body. Suddenly, he shouted with excitement, “A child! There is a child!“ The whole team worked together; carefully they removed the piles of ruined objects around the dead woman. There was a three-month-old little boy wrapped in a flowery blanket under his mother’s dead body. Obviously, the woman had made an ultimate sacrifice for saving her son. When her house was falling, she used her body to make a cover to protect her son. The little boy was still sleeping peacefully when the team leader picked him up. — Today’s Gospel describes the depth of the love of a Canaanite woman for her sick daughter, which prompted her to use all her wits and insistence to get Jesus’ healing attention. (Fr. Bobby Jose quoted by Eddie Cutinha). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
17)The one the Father loves most: A professor of mine once told me the following story: “I’m one of thirteen children. One day when I was playing in the street of our hometown, I got thirsty and came into the house for a glass of water. My father had just come home from work for lunch. He was sitting at the kitchen table with a neighbor. A door separated the kitchen from the pantry and my father did not know I was there. The neighbor said to my father, ‘Joe, there’s something I wanted to ask you for a long time. You have thirteen children. Out of all of them, is there one that is your favorite, one that you love more than all the others?’ I had pressed my ear against the door hoping against hope it would be me. ‘That’s easy,’ my father said. ‘That’s Mary the twelve-year-old. She has got braces on her teeth and feels so awkward and embarrassed that she won’t go out of the house anymore. Oh, but you asked about my favorite. That’s my twenty-three-year-old Peter. His fiancée just broke their engagement and he is desolate. But the one I really love most is little Michael. He’s totally uncoordinated and terrible in any sport he tries to play. But of course, the apple of my eye is Susan. Only twenty-four, living in her own apartment, and developing a drinking problem, I cry for Susan. But I guess of all the kids…. and my father went on mentioning each of us thirteen children by name.” The professor ended his story saying: “What I learned was that the one my father loved most was the one who needed him most at that time. — And that’s the way the Father of Jesus is: He loves those most who need Him most, who rely on Him, depend on Him, and trust Him in everything. All that matters is trust. God doesn’t wait until we have our moral life straightened out before He starts loving us.” (Brennen Manning, taken from Lion and Lamb). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
18)Poem-‘The Cold Within’ – Subtitle: ‘200 years of Prejudice’: Six humans trapped by happenstance/ in bleak and bitter cold,/ each possessed a stick of wood,/ or so the story is told. //Their dying fire in need of logs,/ the first man held his back, /for of the faces round the fire,/ he noticed one was black.// The next man looking across the way/ saw one not of his Church/ and couldn’t bring himself to give/ the fire his stick of birch.// The third sat in tattered clothes; /he gave his coat a hitch./Why should his log be put to use/ to warm the idle rich?// The rich man just sat back and thought/ of the wealth he had in store/ and how to keep what he had earned/ from the lazy, shiftless poor.// The black man’s face bespoke revenge/ as the fire passed from his sight;/ for all he saw in his stick of wood/ was a chance to spite the white// The last man of this forlorn group/ did naught, except for gain./ Giving only to those who gave/was how he played the game.// Their logs held tight in death’s still hand,/ were proof of human sin./ They did not die from the cold without./ They died from the cold within.// — Today’s Gospel describes how Jesus went far beyond the prejudice of his people about the pagan Canaanites, bringing healing and salvation to everyone. (James Patrick Kenny;quoted by Fr. Botelho).(https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
19)Gentlemen and Gentile Woman: A gentleman was boasting about the superiority of Catholicism and the holiness of his priests to a Hindu and Muslim friend. Debating at the crossroads they spied a sadhu going into a brothel. “Saw that?” sneered the Catholic. “Our priests won’t be seen there!” Minutes later, a Mullah covered his face with his shawl and entered the brothel too. The Catholic remarked, “Ah, ha, Mullahs are no better than sadhus!” Just then the parish priest also slyly entered the brothel. The Catholic sighed sanctimoniously, “I wonder which of those girls is sick and in need of Sacraments!” — Strangely, “we” are always holier than “they” just as Pharisees in Jesus’ time claimed superiority over Gentiles. (Francis Gonsalves in Sunday Seeds for Daily Deeds; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
20)Let go and…As he lay on his hospital bed in Melbourne, an Australian Marist Brother told his gathered friends the story of his spirituality. It came from watching trapeze artists performing in a circus a few years ago. Trapeze artists are those who perform in a circus with swings. It is an air-borne performance. One of the artists had explained to him, “As a flyer I must have complete trust in my catcher, He has to be there for me with split–second precision and grab me out of the air as I come to him in the long jump.” The artist explained that the flyer does nothing and the catcher does everything. When the artist flies, he has simply to stretch out his arms and hands and wait for him to catch him and pull him safely over the apron behind the catcher. The flyer should actually do nothing. The worst thing the flyer can do is to try to catch the catcher. The flyer is not supposed to catch the catcher. If the flyer grabbed the catcher’s wrists, he might break them, or the catcher might break the flyer’s wrists, and that would be the end of them both. A flyer has to fly and the catcher has to catch, and the flyer has to trust with outstretched arms, that his catcher will be there for him. — This is the trust we should have in Jesus, and the woman in today’s story demonstrated such a faith. L/26
You may visit my websiteby clicking on http://frtonyshomilies.com/ for missed or previous Cycle A homilies, 141 Year of Faith “Adult Faith Formation Lessons” (useful for RCIA classes too) & 197 “Question of the Week.” Kindly visit https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies under CBCI or Fr. Tony for my website version. (Special thanks to Vatican official website http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html -which completed uploading my Cycle A, B and C homilies in May 2020) My post-retirement contact postal address in the U. S. is Fr. Anthony Kadavil, C/o Fr. M. C. Joseph, Pastor St. Agatha Catholic Parish 1001 Hand Ave, Bay Minette, AL 36507 36507. Contact me by email only atakadavil@gmail.com. I am back at my home in my home country since June 2023. I live in my home in my home country since my final retirement in June 2023. Hence please contact me only by email (akadavil@gmail.com).
OT XX [A] (Aug 16)Is 56:1, 6-7; Rom 11:13-15, 29-32; Mt 15:21-28
Homily starter anecdotes (Biblical reason why preachers may use anecdotes in their homilies: Mt 13: 34: “All this Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable).”
# 1) “Never give up!”:Many years ago in Illinois, a young man with six months formal schooling to his credit ran for an office in the legislature. As might have been expected, he was beaten. Next, he entered business but failed in that too, and spent the next seventeen years paying the debts of his worthless partner. He fell in love with a charming lady, they became engaged – and she got sick and died, causing her lover a mini-nervous breakdown. He ran for Congress and was defeated. He then tried to obtain an appointment to the U.S. Land Office but didn’t succeed. He became a candidate for the Vice-Presidency and lost. Two years later he was defeated in a race for the Senate. He ran for President and finally was elected. That man was Abraham Lincoln. –Today’s Gospel presents a Canaanite woman who persisted in her prayer and obtained from the Lord what she prayed for. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
# 2) “If Christians have caste differences…” M. K. Gandhi in his autobiography tells how, during his days in South Africa as a young Indian lawyer, he read the Gospels and saw in the teachings of Jesus the answer to the major problem facing the people of India, the caste system. Seriously considering embracing the Christian faith, Gandhi went to a white-only church one Sunday morning, intending to talk to the pastor about the idea. When he entered the Church, however, the usher refused to give him a seat and told him to go and worship in another church with his own colored people. Gandhi left the church and never returned. “If Christians have caste differences also,” he said, “I might as well remain a Hindu.” (Fr. Munacci) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
# 3: Religious fanaticism: A Jewish professor of psychology said of his tradition, “If there are ten Jewish males in a city, we create a synagogue. If there are eleven Jewish males, we start thinking about creating a competing synagogue.” A Baptist police officer had a similar tale. He said, “One Baptist family in a neighborhood witnesses until they bring another family to Christ. Then they form a Church, and start witnessing to the rest of the community. When another family joins, they have a schism and form a rival Church.” According to a Presbyterian homemaker, her communion was a little like vegetable soup. “We have,” she said, “the OPs, RPs, BPs, and Split Peas!” And a Methodist businessman complemented these tales with an apocryphal tale of a man from his Faith community who had been shipwrecked for years on a small island. When found by a passing ship, rescuers asked him why he had constructed three huts, since he was there by himself. “Well,” he replied, “that one is my home, that one is my Church, and that one is my former Church.” — Today’s Gospel tells us how Jesus extended his healing mission to the Gentiles, too. (Rev. Wayne Brouwer ) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
Introduction: All three readings today speak of the expansive and universal nature of the “Kingdom of God,” in contrast with the protocol of the day which demanded that salvation should come first to the Jews and through them alone to all the people of the earth. Although God set the Hebrew people apart as His chosen race, He included all nations in His plan for salvation and blessed all families of the earth in Abraham (Gn 12:1-3). By declaring through the prophet Isaiah (first reading), “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples,” God reveals the truth that in His eyes all human beings, regardless of race, caste, color, intelligence, wealth or charm are His dear children by Creation and adoption. The long-expected Messianic kingdom was intended, not only for the Jews, but for all nations as well. In other words, we all belong to one another; hence, there is no place for discrimination among God’s children. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 67) rejects all types of religious exclusivity: “Let all the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. For You judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon the earth, so that Your saving power may be known among all the nations.” In the second reading, Paul explains that, although the Jews were the chosen people, many of them rejected Jesus as the promised Messiah. Consequently, God turned to the Gentiles who received His mercy through their Faith in Jesus. In the Gospel story, Jesus demonstrates that salvation is meant for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews by healing the daughter of a Gentile woman as a reward for her strong Faith. Thus, He shows that God’s mercy and love are available to all who call out to Him in Faith.
The First Reading, (Isaiah 56:1, 6-7) explained: The third part of the book of the prophet Isaiah (chapters 56-66), was written mainly for the Jews who were returning from the Babylonian exile to join their relatives who had been left behind in Judea. But today’s lesson is primarily addressed to those Jews who, after the Exile had officially ended, still chose to remain in Babylon as Jews among the Gentiles. In this passage, the Lord God not only pleaded with these people (who preferred exile to the labor of returning to the Promised Land), to come home to Jerusalem and help to rebuild the City and the Temple, but also tried to make them understand the role the Gentiles would have in the coming Messianic Kingdom. Though in the past all who came to the God of Israel were required to accept the Law and the Covenant, God’s concern for those outside that Covenant led Him to a new and radical solution. “The foreigners,” the Lord God declares to us today throughIsaiah, “who join themselves to Yahweh, ministering to Him, loving the Name of Yahweh and becoming His servants . . . them I will bring to My holy mountain and make joyful in My house of prayer . . . for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” Thus,Isaiah’s prophecy, which applied directly to the coming Messianic Kingdom, assured them that their God was equally interested in the people of other nations as well as in the descendants of Abraham. Hence, the exclusivist claims of the Jews as God’s chosen people would have to yield, as God made room for others. For in addition to the exiles of Israel, Yahweh would receive the non-Israelites who had joined themselves to the Lord. In short, the prophet reports, everyone has a part to play in God’s plan — even those who don’t belong to the “true religion.”
In the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 67) the Psalm Refrain has us sing, “O God, let all the nations praise You!” and the verses continue “2May God have pity on us and bless us; may He let His Face shine upon us. 3So may Your way be known on earth; among all nations, Your salvation,” thus responding to Yahweh’s declaration in the first reading that the Gentiles will be accepted at the altar of Yahweh.
The Second Reading (Rom 11:13-15, 29-32) explained: Here, Paul asks how God could apparently go back on His promise to Abraham that Abraham’s descendants would always be God’s chosen people, now that those descendants had rejected Jesus. Paul answers his own question by explaining that God’s plan all along had allowed for the Jews’ rejection of Jesus, so that the few Jews who accepted Jesus and went out to preach the Good News, like Paul himself, would be forced to turn to the Gentiles and bring them into the New Covenant. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, God permits evil only if He can draw a greater good out of it. Thus, God permitted both Jews and Gentiles to disobey Him so that He could show His mercy by offering eternal life to everyone who wished to have it. Frustrated by the slow pace of Jewish conversions and prevented from continuing to work directly among the Jews by the overt, physical hostility Jewish synagogues showed him and his companions, Paul directed his preaching missions to the Gentiles, so that the Jews would become jealous and accept Jesus. Thus, God’s secret plan to invite all people into the Covenant would be revealed and completed. By the statement, “Their rejection is the reconciliation of the world,” Paul meant that the Jews’ rejection of Jesus allowed the world (the pagans, the Gentiles), to be reconciled to God. By asking the question, “What will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” Paul meant that the Jews who at last accept Christ will receive new life through the once spiritually dead pagans. Paul was convinced that the Jewish nation would eventually accept Christ because God’s ”irrevocable” call, given to them through Abraham, was a call to eternal salvation. Paul’s failure to convert his fellow-Jews serves as a model for us who must accept failure in our own lives, especially when it concerns our loved ones who refuse what we judge to be to their advantage. Paul’s message is also a challenge to us to pray fervently and often for the conversion of the Jews.
Gospel exegesis:The significance of the miracle: The Gospels describe only two miraculous healings Jesus performed for Gentiles: the healing of the centurion’s servant (Mt 8:10-12) in Capernaum, and the healing of the daughter of the Canaanite woman which we hear today. The encounter with the Canaanite woman took place outside Jewish territory in Tyre and Sidon, two coastal cities, twenty-five and fifty miles north of Galilee in present-day Lebanon. The story of this miracle is told twice, (Mt 15:21-28; Mk 7:24-30), foreshadowing the extension of the Gospel (the Good News), to the whole world. The woman in today’s miracle belonged to the old Canaanite stock of the Syro-Phoenician race. The Canaanites were the ancestral enemies of the Jews and were regarded as pagans and idolaters and, hence, as ritually unclean. But this woman showed “a gallant and audacious love which grew until it worshipped at the feet of the Divine, an indomitable persistence springing from an unconquerable hope, a cheerfulness which would not be dismayed” (Fr. James Rowland). By granting the persistent request of the pagan woman, Jesus demonstrates that his mission is to break down the barriers and remove the long-standing walls of division and mutual prejudice between Jews and Gentiles. God loves all His children by Creation and adoption, welcoming everyone who believes in Him, asks for His mercy and tries to do His will.
Trustful persistence rewarded. Jesus first ignores both the persistent cry of the woman and the impatience of his disciples to send the woman away. He then tries to awaken true Faith in the heart of this woman by an indirect refusal, telling her, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman is persistent in her request. She kneels before him and begs, “Lord, help me.” Now Jesus makes a seemingly harsh statement, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” The term “dogs” was a derogatory Jewish word for the Gentiles. Dogs were regarded by the Jews as unclean, because they would eat anything given to them, including pork. The woman noticed, however, that Jesus had used the word kunariois, (the word for household pets), rather than kuon. (the ordinary Greek word for dogs). She also observed that Jesus hadused the word for dogs in a challenging way, urging her to answer in kind — a sort of test of the woman’s Faith. So, she immediately matched wits with Jesus. Her argument runs like this: Pets are not outsiders but insiders. They not only belong to the family but are part of the family. While they do not have a seat at the table, they enjoy intimacy at the family’s feet. Hence, the woman replied: “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table!” (v. 27), expressing her Faith that Jesus could and would heal her daughter. Jesus was completely won over by the depth of her Faith, her confidence and her wit and responded with delight, “Woman, great is your Faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” We notice that the woman was refused three times by Jesus before he finally granted her request; it was only at her the fourth attempt that Jesus rewarded her persistence, curing her daughter in answer to her pleas. This silently underlines Jesus’ teaching (Lk 18:1-8) amplified by Paul in Eph 6:18) that we must persist in prayer. This Gospel episode is also an account of a woman who got more from the Kingdom of God than she had hoped for. She had come to Jesus asking for one miracle, and she got two: her daughter was exorcised of her demonic possession and received a new life, and the mother herself, through her experience with Christ, found a new life as well. The greatness of this woman’s Faith consists in: a) her willingness to cross the barrier of racism; b) her refusal to be put off or ignored because of her position in life and c) her humility in admitting that she did not deserve the Master’s attention and time. The Catechism reminds us that the woman in today’s Gospel recognized in Jesus the messianic power attributed to the awaited “Son of David” (CCC #439). For, if one truly believes that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, one trusts him and fashions one’s prayer requests accordingly (CCC #2610).
Life messages:#1) We need to persist in prayer with trustful confidence. Although the essential parts of prayer are adoration and thanksgiving, the prayer of petition, like that of contrition, plays a big part in most people’s daily life. We cannot provide, by our unaided selves, for our spiritual and temporal needs. Christ himself has told us to ask him for these needs: “Ask and you shall receive.” Asking with fervor and perseverance proves that we have the “great Faith” we need to be able to receive all that Christ wants to grant us in response to our requests. We must realize and remember that we do not always get exactly what we ask for, but rather what God knows we need, what He wants for us – that is, what is really best for us. What we need most is to receive the peace and security that come from being in harmony with God’s will for us. As Christians, we also know that our particular requests may not always be for our good, or for the final good of the person for whom we are praying. In that case, the good God will not grant what would be to our, or their, eternal harm. But if the prayer is sincere and persevering, we will always get an answer – one which is better than what we asked for. Hence, let us trust that every time we pray for something, the answer is already on its way, even before we have asked God for it. We just need to trust God, that, according to His perfect timetable and in His Infinite Wisdom, Love and Goodness, He will give us what He knows is best for us, and that it will be better than what we were requesting.
#2) We need to pull down our walls: Sometimes unaware,we set up walls which separate us from God and from one another. Today’s Gospel reminds us that God’s love and mercy are extended to all who call on Him in Faith and trust, no matter who they are. In other words, God’s care extends beyond the boundaries of race and nation to the hearts of all who live, and God’s House is intended to become a House of prayer for all peoples. It is therefore fitting that we should pray that the walls which our pride, intolerance, fear, and prejudice may have raised, may crumble. Next, we have to be grateful to God for all the blessings we enjoy. As baptized members of the Christian community, we have been given special privileges and easy access to God’s love. But we also have serious responsibilities arising from these gifts. One of these responsibilities is to make clear to others, with true humility and compassion, that God’s love, mercy, and healing are for them also because they too are the children of God.
JOKE OF THE WEEK
Faith in theory and action: A man who was walking close to a steep cliff lost his footing and plunged over the side. As he was falling, he grabbed the branch of a tree that was sticking out about half-way down the cliff. He managed to hang onto a weak limb with both hands. He looked up and he saw that the cliff was almost perfectly straight and that he was a long way from the top. He looked down and it was a long, long way down to the rocky bottom. At this point the man decided that it was time to pray. He didn’t pray a long, wordy prayer. He simply yelled out, “God, if you’re there, help me!” About that time, he heard a deep voice coming from high up above that said, “I’m here My son, have no fear.” The man was a little startled at first by God’s voice, but he pleaded, “Can You help me? Can You help me?” God replied, “Yes, I can My son, but you have to have Faith. Do you trust Me?” The man answered, “Yes Lord, I trust You.” God said, “Do you really trust Me?” The man, straining to hold on replied, “Yes Lord, I really trust You.” Then God said, “This is what I want you to do: let go of the limb, trust Me, and everything will be all right.” The man looked down at the rocks below, then he looked up at the steep cliff above him and yelled, “Is there anybody else up there who can help me?”
1) Rootedness of Christianity in Judaism: Jean Marie Cardinal Lustiger, a twentieth century French Catholic prelate once explained, “I was born Jewish and so I remain, even if that’s unacceptable for many. For me, the vocation of Israel is bringing light to the goyim. That’s my hope and I believe that Christianity is the means for achieving it.” In this same regard, Karl Barth noted, “Jews have God’s promise, and if we Christians have it too, then it is only as those chosen with them, as guests in their house, that we are new wood grafted on to their tree.” Speaking to an audience of Jewish men and women, Pope John Paul II declared, “You are our dearly beloved brothers, and in a certain way, it could be said that you are our elder brothers.” Each of these three statements underscores the rootedness of Christianity in Judaism and recalls the experience of Saul, a Jew who accepted Jesus of Nazareth, as the Christ of God, His Messiah; Paul longed for the day his fellow Jews would do likewise, as recalled in the second reading today. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
2) “Are you waiting to speak to one of us?” Here are a couple of stories about Dorothy Day, the founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, demonstrating how she valued each human being as a child of God and hence, as important. A reporter came to interview her at her office on 4th Street in Manhattan. He could see her talking to a man who was either drunk or mentally ill. Time passed and the reporter grew impatient. Dorothy finally appeared and said, “Are you waiting to speak to one of us?” — Obviously, Dorothy did not think that she was more important than the person she was talking with. On another occasion, a woman came in and donated a diamond ring to the Catholic Worker. Her co-workers wondered what Dorothy would do with it. If she asked one of them to take it to a diamond merchant and sell it, it would buy a month’s worth of rice and other food items for a poor family. That afternoon, however, Dorothy gave the diamond ring to an old woman who lived alone and often came to Dorothy for meals. “That ring would have paid her rent for the better part of a year,” someone protested. Dorothy replied that the woman had her dignity. So she could sell it if she liked and spend the money for rent, a trip to the Bahamas, or keep the ring to admire. “Do you suppose,” Dorothy asked, “God created diamonds only for the rich?”—– Dorothy Day was one of the prophets of her day. Her vision allowed her to see all human beings as equal , all equally precious to God each in his or her own uniqueness. . She recognized, as Mother Teresa did, the mark of the children of God in everyone, in the same way Jesus recognized God’s child in the Canaanite woman who belonged to a race inimical to the Jews. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
3) “Love it?”she said,“I hate it!”The wife of our 32nd President, knew how to assert herself. She once left the White House to visit a prison in Baltimore. Her departure was so early in the morning that she decided not to disturb her husband. Shortly after he got up, he contacted her secretary to ask where his wife was. She replied, “She’s in prison, Mr. President.” “I’m not surprised,” replied FDR, “but what for?” [Bob Dole, Great Political Wit: Laughing (Almost) All the Way to the White House (New York: Doubleday, 1998), p. 79.] — Eleanor Roosevelt was a woman of quiet strength. She was not deliberately controversial, but she was not reluctant to speak her mind about things she considered important. Jesus tells a parable about another such woman in today’s Gospel.
Eleanor Roosevelt, late in her retirement, spent part of her day diving from the board into a pool. People by the score filled the pool, and children, too, noticed her diving, swimming, climbing out, and diving again. Someone walked up to her and said, “Mrs. Roosevelt, you surely must love to dive.” “Love it?” she said, “I hate it!” “Well, why do you bother to do it then?” “Someone must set an example for the children,” she replied. — In her own gentle but determined way, every dive she made was an encouragement, a push, for those children who, bug-eyed and open-mouthed, watched this old woman and began to think, “Well, if she can do it, I guess I can, too!” — Hers was a life-giving push, which nudged these children toward their potential. God’s pushes are always life-giving. Oh, they deal death to the old ways, yes, but only to clear the deck for the new ways, which make life better. The Gospel story of Jesus’ encounter with a Canaanite woman is one of those surprising and uncomfortable pushes. (Rev. King Duncan) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
4) Universal fraternity: There is a story about a man named Jeremy Cohen, a Texan who, with his family, served as host to a rabbi from Moscow one Christmas. To treat the rabbi to a culinary experience unavailable to him in his own country, Cohen took him to his favorite Chinese restaurant. After an enjoyable meal and pleasant conversation, the waiter brought the check and presented each person at the table with a small brass Christmas ornament as a complimentary gift. Everyone laughed when Cohen’s guest turned the ornament over and read the label “Made in India.” The laughter quickly subsided, however, when everyone saw tears running down the rabbi’s cheeks. Cohen asked the rabbi if he were offended at having been given a gift on a Christian holiday. Smiling, the rabbi shook his head and answered, “No, I was shedding tears of joy to be in such a wonderful country in which a Chinese Buddhist restaurant owner gives a Russian Jew a Christmas gift made by a Hindu in India.” — Today’s Gospel episode describes how Jesus extended his healing mission to the Gentiles. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
“Lord, I believe:” If you want to get into Olympic competition, you’d better be a pretty good athlete. If you want to get into the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, you need excellent musical ability and training. If you want to get into the Miss America Pageant, you’ll be greatly helped if you are good-looking and somewhat talented. — But to get into the Kingdom of God, all you need is Faith – to say, “Lord, I believe,” and to say this, not in words alone, but also in action, expressing Faith through life. The Canaanite woman in today’s Gospel story believed. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
“But not with that bunch.”Billy Graham once told of an incident that happened a long time ago when teachers could talk about religion in the classroom. A teacher was talking to her class of young boys, and she asked, “How many of you would like to go to Heaven?” And all the hands instantly shot into the air at once, except one. She was astounded. She asked, “Charlie, you mean you don’t want to go to Heaven?” He said, “Sure, I want to go to Heaven, but not with that bunch.” — Unfortunately, that is how many religious groups feel about one another. Consider the Middle East where, in parts of Lebanon, Christian militias are fighting each other and in Syria and Iraq extremist Muslims are driving all Christians from their territories on pain of death, unless they convert. All three great Faiths in that part of the world trace their origins through the patriarch Abraham. All three of them honor the Mosaic Law. All three are monotheistic. And yet as the political walls of this world come tumbling down, the religious walls seem to grow higher and higher. How tragic. Today’s Gospel tells us how Jesus healed the daughter of a Gentile woman in spite of the religious prejudice of his fellow Jews for the Gentiles.(Rev. King Duncan)(https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
“Nag, nag, nag!.” A cartoon in a magazine showed a woman preacher speaking from the pulpit. Two middle-aged portly men were seated near the front. Looking up at the preacher, one of them said, “Nag, nag, nag.” — It is a truism that men do not like nagging women. In his Journal, John Wesley tells of some Methodists who were arrested for disturbing the peace with their prayers. They were brought to court, and the judge asked what the charges against them were. One reported, “Your honor, they pretend to be better than other people; and besides, they pray from morning to night. And what’s more, they have even converted my wife. Until she started going among Methodists, she had such a tongue! And now she is quiet as a lamb.” The judge shouted, “Let them go! Let them all go and convert all the nagging wives in town!”— In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus and the disciples were confronted with a nagging woman. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
“Our Lord Jesus was just a bit of a liberal.” There is a wonderful story about a church in Holland, which felt strictly bound to obey the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. On a certain Sunday, however, the area was threatened by a terrible storm. There was concern that if the dikes were not strengthened, the people would not survive. The police notified the pastor of the danger. He was faced with the decision of whether to call off the services and urge his people to work on the dikes. Unable to make the decision, he called a meeting of his council to decide. The council concluded they would go on with their services. After all, God is omnipotent. He could always perform a miracle with the wind and waves. Their duty was to obey His commands. The pastor tried one last argument. Did not Jesus himself break the commandment and declare that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath? Then an old man stood up and said, “I have always been troubled, Pastor, by something I have never ventured to say publicly. Now I must say it. I have always had the feeling that our Lord Jesus was just a bit of a liberal.” — (Kasemannin, Jesus Means Freedom). Today’s Gospel presents such a “liberal” Jesus extending his healing touch to a Gentile woman. (Rev. King Duncan) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
9) It says, “Kills fleas for six months.“ Jesus never met a person he didn’t love. People from all kinds of situations found themselves comfortable in his presence. He didn’t come across as stuffy or pretentious. It reminds me of the story of a priest in the mountains of Kentucky who had gone home with a family of new converts for dinner. He was received cordially by all but the small daughter in the family, who stared at him unblinkingly throughout the meal. The priest, somewhat uncomfortable, tried to put the little girl at ease. “Is it my collar you are staring at?” he asked, taking it off and holding it up. When he did so he saw the cleaning instructions on the inside of the collar, and to make conversation, he asked, “Do you know what it says here?” “Yes,” responded the little girl. “My cat has a small collar like it. It says, Kills fleas for six months.” [Buddy Westbrook, London, Kentucky, Loyal Jones, The Preacher’s Joke Book (Little Rock: August House, 1989), p. 26.] — I can hear Jesus telling such a joke on himself, can’t you? People who are secure in themselves don’t have to “put on airs.” He was open and caring. People of all sorts were drawn to him, including the Gentile woman in today’s Gospel story. (Rev. King Duncan) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
10) “The Lady in whom Jesus Christ has come to live.” Catherine Lowe was a young wife and mother. Her husband was the warden at Sing Sing. In the early years of this century, women were not allowed inside the prison “not even the warden’s wife.” Catherine was filled with love, though, and wanted to share her gift of love with other people. She inquired and was told she was absolutely, totally, forbidden to enter the prison. But Catherine was a strong-willed woman. When the first inmate basketball game was announced, she risked harsh disciplinary action by taking her two little girls and sitting in the bleachers to watch. Much to her amazement she was not chastised for her action. That one step led to bolder steps. She wanted to help the prisoners. She knew love could make a difference in anyone is life. One day she met a murderer named Jack. He was one of the toughest of the tough. He was big and black and blind, a victim of harsh and cruel racial injustices. Catherine felt drawn to this hardened criminal. “Hi, Jack,” she introduced herself one day. There was no response. The scarred, battered face stared back with icy, unseeing eyes. “What books do you read?” she asked him. The silence was broken. He spit out the words, “I am blind, lady! I can’t read!” This was her opportunity. “Oh, what about Braille?” she asked. No one had even told Jack about Braille let alone taken the time to teach him. “You can read with your fingers!” Catherine explained as she stroked his rough hands. “Please,” she said, “let me see your fingers.” She touched his fingertips, and said, “You can read with your fingertips. I’ll teach you.” And she did. Then she found another inmate and discovered that he was deaf. He could not hear or talk. Catherine learned sign language so she could communicate with this man. She opened doors to worlds of love for one convict after another. And that love redeemed and restored some of the toughest of the tough, the meanest of the mean. In Sing Sing, they called her, “The Lady in whom Jesus Christ has come to live.” — Catherine gave her best, a miracle happened inside the walls of a prison and lives were forever changed. A blind man learned to read. A deaf man learned to communicate. A Canaanite woman received healing for her daughter. People are people whatever label they may wear. Faith is Faith wherever we may encounter it. Love will find a way. [Robert H. Schuller, Life is Not Fair but God is Good (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991), pp. 103-104.] (Rev. King Duncan) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
11) “Baby Snow.” The love and concern for her child shown by the Canaanite woman in today’s Gospel is quite a contrast with what is happening today. One sub-freezing morning at 3:30 AM in Atlanta during the bitter winter of 1977, a baby was found wrapped in an Indian blanket on the bottom of an apartment complex garbage dumpster. The newborn child was taken to a hospital where nurses named him “Baby Snow.” In the same year a thirty-one-year-old woman discovered a new-born baby in a shopping bag lying against a hedge in Brooklyn. — Are these rare instances? According to three leading sociologists, the American home is the most violent place in the country. They claim that one million kids are growing up with parents who use guns and knives on them. If we have the compassion of the Canaanite woman, we would have reason to nag Jesus for help. (Rev. John R. Brokhoff) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
12) A tit-for-tat, reminding us of the Canaanite woman: A government clerk was hiking when he came upon a shepherd with a large flock. The clerk looked at the flock and then said to the shepherd, “I’ll bet you I can tell you exactly how many sheep you have here.” The shepherd said, “I doubt you could do that the way they are all bunched together.” The hiker said, “Well, let’s make a wager. If I’m wrong, I’ll give you $100. If I’m right, you have to give me a sheep.” “OK, you’re on.” the shepherd said. “There are 287 sheep here.” said the hiker. “That’s right,” said the shepherd. “You win. Go ahead and pick out a sheep.” The hiker picked up an animal and put it over his shoulders. “Wait a minute,” said the shepherd, “I bet you I can tell you what you do for a living. If I’m wrong, I’ll give you $100. If I’m right, you have to give the animal back.” “OK” said the hiker. “You are a government bureaucrat,” said the shepherd. “How did you know that?” The hiker asked. “Put down my dog and I’ll tell you,” replied the shepherd. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
13)All are welcome! :One day, it seems, a certain curious person in heaven asked St. Peter “How many Hindus are in heaven?” Peter replied: “No Hindus”. Then he asked: “How many Muslims?” “Not even one,” replied Peter. The man was surprised. He said: “Oh, then, there are only Christians in heaven?” “No, there are no Christians in heaven either,” replied Peter. “How Many Catholics?” “No, Catholics either.” Then St. Peter said, “Heaven is not meant for any particular group of people. Here, there is no distinction between Hindus, Muslims or Christians for all are welcome in Heaven.” — What else could St. Peter have said? Did not God tell his chosen people, referring to the Temple in Jerusalem which was a symbol of Heaven for them; “My House shall be called a House of Prayer for all peoples” (Vima Dasan in His Word Lives; quoted by Fr. Botelho) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
14)The stronger you grow in Love of God in your neighbor, the weaker your doubts about the Faith become: In his novel, The Brothers Karamazov ,Dostoevsky refers to an old woman whose spiritual health begins to deteriorate as rapidly as her physical health. One day she discusses her problem with an old priest, named Fr. Zossima. She tells him about her weak Faith and the doubts she is beginning to have: Is there a God Who cares? Is there life after death? Fr Zossima listens compassionately and says: “There’s no way to prove these things, but you can become surer of them.” “How?” cries the old woman. “By love,” says the old priest. “Try to love your neighbor from the heart. The more you love, the surer you will become about God’s existence and life after death. The more you love, the stronger your Faith will grow and the weaker your doubts will become. This is sure. This has been tried. This works.” Albert Schweitzer, the great missionary doctor, makes the same point in his book Reverence for Life. He says something to this effect: “Do you want to believe in Jesus? Do you really want to believe in him? Then you must do something for him. In this age of doubt there is no other way. If for his sake you give someone something to eat, or drink, or wear – which Jesus promised to bless as though it were done to him- then you will see that you really did it for him. Jesus will reveal himself to you, as one who is alive.” (Mark Link inSunday Homilies; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
15)Can we go beyond the obvious?A Franciscan Sister of Mercy, herself a Croat who grew up in Serbia, has been working with rape victims of Bosnia as well as trying to find housing for the many refugees. Dressed in her nun’s habit, she goes to a door and pleads with those who answer, “I have no place to stay. I’m hungry. Can you take me in?” Croatia is deeply Catholic country, so the answer to the nun’s plea is almost always, “Of course, Sister.” Then the nun steps back to let the real refugees with her be seen. They are usually taken in by the family. — Application: Can we go beyond our prejudices?
16)“A child! There is a child!’ There is an incident reported as having happened during the China earthquake. After the earthquake had subsided, when the rescuers reached the ruins of a young woman’s house, they saw her body through the cracks. But her pose was somehow strange that she knelt on her knees; her body was leaning forward, and her two hands were supporting an object. The house had collapsed on her. With so many difficulties, the leader of the rescuer team put his hand through a narrow gap on the wall to reach the woman’s body. He hoped that this woman could be still alive. However, the cold and stiff body told him that she had passed away for sure. But he was curious to know what she was protecting from earthquake using her body as a cover. So, he knelt down again and used his hand through the narrow cracks to search the little space under the dead body. Suddenly, he shouted with excitement, “A child! There is a child!“ The whole team worked together; carefully they removed the piles of ruined objects around the dead woman. There was a three-month-old little boy wrapped in a flowery blanket under his mother’s dead body. Obviously, the woman had made an ultimate sacrifice for saving her son. When her house was falling, she used her body to make a cover to protect her son. The little boy was still sleeping peacefully when the team leader picked him up. — Today’s Gospel describes the depth of the love of a Canaanite woman for her sick daughter, which prompted her to use all her wits and insistence to get Jesus’ healing attention. (Fr. Bobby Jose quoted by Eddie Cutinha). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
17)The one the Father loves most: A professor of mine once told me the following story: “I’m one of thirteen children. One day when I was playing in the street of our hometown, I got thirsty and came into the house for a glass of water. My father had just come home from work for lunch. He was sitting at the kitchen table with a neighbor. A door separated the kitchen from the pantry and my father did not know I was there. The neighbor said to my father, ‘Joe, there’s something I wanted to ask you for a long time. You have thirteen children. Out of all of them, is there one that is your favorite, one that you love more than all the others?’ I had pressed my ear against the door hoping against hope it would be me. ‘That’s easy,’ my father said. ‘That’s Mary the twelve-year-old. She has got braces on her teeth and feels so awkward and embarrassed that she won’t go out of the house anymore. Oh, but you asked about my favorite. That’s my twenty-three-year-old Peter. His fiancée just broke their engagement and he is desolate. But the one I really love most is little Michael. He’s totally uncoordinated and terrible in any sport he tries to play. But of course, the apple of my eye is Susan. Only twenty-four, living in her own apartment, and developing a drinking problem, I cry for Susan. But I guess of all the kids…. and my father went on mentioning each of us thirteen children by name.” The professor ended his story saying: “What I learned was that the one my father loved most was the one who needed him most at that time. — And that’s the way the Father of Jesus is: He loves those most who need Him most, who rely on Him, depend on Him, and trust Him in everything. All that matters is trust. God doesn’t wait until we have our moral life straightened out before He starts loving us.” (Brennen Manning, taken from Lion and Lamb). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
18)Poem-‘The Cold Within’ – Subtitle: ‘200 years of Prejudice’: Six humans trapped by happenstance/ in bleak and bitter cold,/ each possessed a stick of wood,/ or so the story is told. //Their dying fire in need of logs,/ the first man held his back, /for of the faces round the fire,/ he noticed one was black.// The next man looking across the way/ saw one not of his Church/ and couldn’t bring himself to give/ the fire his stick of birch.// The third sat in tattered clothes; /he gave his coat a hitch./Why should his log be put to use/ to warm the idle rich?// The rich man just sat back and thought/ of the wealth he had in store/ and how to keep what he had earned/ from the lazy, shiftless poor.// The black man’s face bespoke revenge/ as the fire passed from his sight;/ for all he saw in his stick of wood/ was a chance to spite the white// The last man of this forlorn group/ did naught, except for gain./ Giving only to those who gave/was how he played the game.// Their logs held tight in death’s still hand,/ were proof of human sin./ They did not die from the cold without./ They died from the cold within.// — Today’s Gospel describes how Jesus went far beyond the prejudice of his people about the pagan Canaanites, bringing healing and salvation to everyone. (James Patrick Kenny;quoted by Fr. Botelho).(https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
19)Gentlemen and Gentile Woman: A gentleman was boasting about the superiority of Catholicism and the holiness of his priests to a Hindu and Muslim friend. Debating at the crossroads they spied a sadhu going into a brothel. “Saw that?” sneered the Catholic. “Our priests won’t be seen there!” Minutes later, a Mullah covered his face with his shawl and entered the brothel too. The Catholic remarked, “Ah, ha, Mullahs are no better than sadhus!” Just then the parish priest also slyly entered the brothel. The Catholic sighed sanctimoniously, “I wonder which of those girls is sick and in need of Sacraments!” — Strangely, “we” are always holier than “they” just as Pharisees in Jesus’ time claimed superiority over Gentiles. (Francis Gonsalves in Sunday Seeds for Daily Deeds; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
20)Let go and…As he lay on his hospital bed in Melbourne, an Australian Marist Brother told his gathered friends the story of his spirituality. It came from watching trapeze artists performing in a circus a few years ago. Trapeze artists are those who perform in a circus with swings. It is an air-borne performance. One of the artists had explained to him, “As a flyer I must have complete trust in my catcher, He has to be there for me with split–second precision and grab me out of the air as I come to him in the long jump.” The artist explained that the flyer does nothing and the catcher does everything. When the artist flies, he has simply to stretch out his arms and hands and wait for him to catch him and pull him safely over the apron behind the catcher. The flyer should actually do nothing. The worst thing the flyer can do is to try to catch the catcher. The flyer is not supposed to catch the catcher. If the flyer grabbed the catcher’s wrists, he might break them, or the catcher might break the flyer’s wrists, and that would be the end of them both. A flyer has to fly and the catcher has to catch, and the flyer has to trust with outstretched arms, that his catcher will be there for him. — This is the trust we should have in Jesus, and the woman in today’s story demonstrated such a faith. L/26
You may visit my website by clicking on http://frtonyshomilies.com/ for missed or previous Cycle A homilies, 141 Year of Faith “Adult Faith Formation Lessons” (useful for RCIA classes too) & 197 “Question of the Week.” Kindly visit https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies under CBCI or Fr. Tony for my website version. (Special thanks to Vatican official website http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html -which completed uploading my Cycle A, B and C homilies in May 2020) My post-retirement contact postal address in the U. S. is Fr. Anthony Kadavil, C/o Fr. M. C. Joseph, Pastor St. Agatha Catholic Parish 1001 Hand Ave, Bay Minette, AL 36507 36507. Contact me by email only atakadavil@gmail.com.I am back at my home in my home country since June 2023.I live in my home in my home country since my final retirement in June 2023. Hence please contact me only by email (akadavil@gmail.com).
Aug 3-8: Aug 3 Monday: Matthew 14:22-36: 22 Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately he spoke to them, saying, “Take heart, it is I; have no fear.” 28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; 30 but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “O man of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.” 34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent round to all that region and brought to him all that were sick, 36 and begged him that they might only touch the fring of his garment; and as many as touhed it were made well.
Historical note: Today the Church celebrates the anniversary of the dedication of the Cathedral Church of Rome by Pope Sylvester I (AD 314-335), in AD 324. This Church serves as the Episcopal seat of the Pope as the Bishop of Rome and, hence, is called “the Mother and Head of all Churches of Rome and the world.”
The basilica and baptistery were built originally by the Emperor Constantine and called Basilica Constantinia. Later it was named the Arch-Basilica of the Most Holy Savior. However, it is now called St. Johns Lateran Basilica because it was built on property donated to the Church by the Laterani family, and because the monks from the monastery of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Divine served it. The name St. Johns comes, first, from the Baptistery, rebuilt after its hard treatment by the Visigoths (AD 410), by Pope St. Sixtus II (AD 432-440), and dedicated by him to St. John the Baptist. Later, Pope St. Hilary (AD 461-468), dedicated it to St. John the Evangelist, in thanksgiving to that apostle for saving his life. [Richard P. McBrien, Lives
of the Popes (San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins Publishers, 1997), pp.
58-58, 71-72, 77-78.]. USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm
The context: The event presented by today’s Gospel is the scene immediately following Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish. Sensing the danger of having the people make him leader of a revolt, Jesus had promptly instructed his apostles to leave the place by boat and, after dispersing the crowd, went alone to the mountain to pray.
A double miracle on the sea: When the apostles in the boat were several furlongs away from the shore, they faced an unexpected storm on the sea caused by the hot wind of the desert rushing into the Sea of Galilee through the gaps in the Golan Heights. Recognizing the danger, Jesus walked on the stormy waters toward the boat. Jesus calmed the frightened disciples as He approached the boat, allowed Peter to do a trial walk on water, then saved the apostle from drowning when he panicked and called to Jesus for help. As soon as Jesus brought Peter into the boat the storm ceased miraculously. The apostles recognized the presence of God in their midst, and they all worshipped Jesus.
Life messages: 1) Let us approach Jesus with strong Faith in his ability and willing availability to calm the storms in our lives and in the life of the Church. Church History shows us how Jesus saved his Church from storms of persecution in the first three centuries, storms of heresies in the fifth and sixth centuries, storms of moral degradation and the Protestant reformation movement in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and storms of sex abuse scandals of the clergy in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. 2) Let us ask Jesus to protect us when we face storms of strong temptations, storms of doubts about our religious beliefs, and storms of fear, anxiety, and worries about the future, as in the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, in our personal lives. 3) Experiencing Jesus’ presence in our lives, let us confess our Faith in him and call out for his help and protection. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/26
1 Some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands when they eat a meal.” 10He summoned the crowd and said to them, “Hear and understand. 11It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles the man;but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.” 12 Then his disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” 13He said in reply, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. If a blind man leads a blind man,both will fall into a pit.”
Catholic Bible Commentary & Context
· The Tradition of the Elders (vv. 1-2): Scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem challenge Jesus because His disciples eat without performing the ritual washing of hands. In Catholic tradition, this criticism highlights a fundamental conflict: the Pharisees elevated their man-made customs and oral traditions to the level of divine law, while Jesus championed the actual commandments of God. [
· True
Defilement (vv. 10-11):Jesus
explains to the crowd that “it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a
person, but it is what comes out of the mouth”. According to theIgnatius
Catholic Study Bible, this signifies an essential turning point in
salvation history. Jesus is beginning to abrogate the dietary laws of the Old
Testament (Leviticus 11), shifting the focus from external ritual purity to
internal moral purity
· Blind
Guides (vv. 12-14):When
the disciples point out that the Pharisees are offended, Jesus dismisses their
opposition. Catholic commentary notes that this recalls the warning in the
Prophets (e.g., Isaiah 9:16) regarding leaders whose false teachings lead
others to spiritual ruin. The “blind leading the blind” refers to legalistic religious leaders who have lost
sight of God’s mercy and justice, leading both themselves and their followers
to destruction (the “pit”).
Mt 15:21-28: 21And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon." 23But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples cameHim, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying after us." 24He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel 25 But she came and knelt before Him, saying, "Lord, help me." 26 And He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." 27She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table." [28] 28Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly.
The Context: Jesus withdrew to Tyre and Sidon both to escape persecution by Herod and by the Jewish authorities and to concentrate on training His Apostles. Tyre and Sidon were Mediterranean coastal cities in Lebanon, outside the territory of Herod Antipas. Jesus and His disciples traveled about 40 miles on foot to this district. The people there were said to have been descendants of Cain, the son of Adam and Eve who killed his brother, Abel, and was banished. He and his descendants settled in the area of Tyre and Sidon and were not heirs to the Faith given through Abraham, Moses and the prophets, making them Gentiles. The Event: Today’s Gospel episode speaks of the expansive and universal nature of the “Kingdom of God,” in contrast with the theory that salvation was offered first to the Jews and through them alone to the rest of the world. In fact, God included all nations in His plan for salvation and blessed all the families of the earth in Abraham (Gn 17:1-5). In today’s Gospel episode, Jesus demonstrates that salvation was meant for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews by healing the daughter of a Gentile woman as a reward for her strong, trusting Faith, unwavering trust, perseverance, wit, and humility. Thus, Jesus shows that God’s mercy and love are available to all who call out to Him in Faith.
Life messages:1) We need to persist in prayer with trustful confidence. Although the essential parts of prayer are adoration, praise, thanksgiving, and contrition, the prayer of petition plays a big part in our daily lives. Christ Himself has told us to ask him for these needs: “Ask and you shall receive.” Asking with fervor and perseverance proves that we have the “great Faith” we need to receive what Christ wants to grant us in response to our requests. We must realize and remember that we do not always get exactly what we ask for. Rather, God gives us what He knows we really need, what He wants for us, and what is really best for us. If our prayer is sincere and persevering, we will always get an answer — one which is better than what we asked for.
2) We need to pull down our walls of separation and share in the universality of God’s love: Very often we set up walls which separate us from God and from one another. Today’s Gospel reminds us that God’s love and mercy are extended to all who call on Him in Faith and trust, no matter who they are. It is therefore fitting that we should pray and work sincerely so that the walls which our pride, intolerance, fear, and prejudice have raised may crumble. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/26
Mt 17:1-9:1After six days, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart. 2And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light. 3 3And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5He was still speaking, when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 6When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces, and were filled with awe. 7But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 8And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. 9 And as they were coming down the Mountain, Jesus commanded them, “tell no one the vision, until theSon of man is raised from the dead.” USCCB video reflections:https://youtu.be/BwQJBFi_mTw
The context: Today’s Gospel describes Jesus’ Transfiguration during prayer on a mountain. It invites us to welcome the transformation of our lives caused by the Holy Spirit and to radiate the grace of the transfigured Lord around us by our Spirit-filled lives. The primary purpose of Jesus’ Transfiguration was to consult his Heavenly Father and to ascertain His plan for Our Lord’s suffering, death and Resurrection. The secondary aim was to make his chosen disciples aware of his Divine glory so that they might discard the worldly ambitions underlying their notions of a conquering political Messiahand remain faithful to him during his trial and the execution which would follow. The location of the Transfiguration was probably Mount Hermon in North Galilee, near Caesarea Philippi.
The event: While praying, Jesus was transformed into a shining figure clothed with heavenly glory. Representing the Lawand the Prophets, Moses, the great Lawgiver, and Elijah, the great prophet, appeared, speaking with Jesus in His glory. These representatives of the Law and the Prophets, in their lives on earth, foreshadowed Jesus who is the culmination of the Law and the Prophets. Then “a bright Cloud overshadowed them, and a Voice from the Cloud said, ‘This is My beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.’”God revealed Jesus as His Son — His beloved — the one in whom He is well pleased and to whom we must listen.
Life messages: (1) The transfiguration by transubstantiation in the Holy Mass is the source of our strength. In the Holy Mass, the bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus. Hence, just as the Transfiguration of Jesus was meant to strengthen the apostles in their time of trial, each Holy Mass should be our source of Heavenly strength against our own temptations, and a source of renewal for our lives. In addition, each Holy Communion should transform us both internally and externally. 2) God gives us a message of Hope in Jesus’ Transfiguration. In moments of doubt, despair, and helplessness, Jesus’ Transfiguration reminds us of our own coming transfiguration in Heaven, and helps us to reach out to God to hear again His consoling words, “This is my beloved son/daughter in whom I am well pleased.” (Fr. Tony) L/26 For additional reflections, click on: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video;https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections
Aug 7 Friday: St, Sixtus II, Pope and Companion Martyrs;https://www.loyolapress.com/catholic-resources/saints/saints-stories-for-all-ages/saint-sixtus-ii-and-companions/ St. Cajetan, Priest:https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-cajetan/Mt 16:24-28: 24Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? 27For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done. 28Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.”
The context: After Peter made his famous declaration of Faith in Jesus as God and Messiah, Jesus plainly warned his disciples about his approaching suffering, death and Resurrection. But the apostles were unwilling to accept such a fate for their Master. Peter even took Jesus aside and prayed, “God forbid, Lord! This must never happen to you!” It was after Peter’s protest (and Jesus abrupt response), that Jesus declared the three conditions of the discipleship which he expects from his followers. We hear them in today’s Gospel.
Conditions of Christian discipleship one’s heart of all bad habits and evil tendencies and evicting the self, with its selfish thoughts and desires from the center of one’s heart. It also means enthroning God in one’s cleansed heart and surrendering one’s life to God’s service by serving others.
Carrying the cross means willingly accepting the pain involved in serving others sacrificially. It also means spending our time, talents, wealth, and health for others until it hurts us. Cross-bearing is also our sacrificial sharing of God’s blessings with others. Further, it includes our doing penance to make reparation for our sins and to grow in self-control. Carrying one’s cross becomes easier and more meritorious when we accept life’s crosses as loving, healing gifts given by a loving Father. The comparison of our light crosses with the heavy crosses given to others should make us grateful. Finally, we should carry our crosses, praying for Heavenly strength, rather than trusting only in our own strength
“Follow Me” means the disciple should be ever ready to obey as Jesus directs him or her through his words in the Bible and through the teaching authority he instituted in the Church.
Life message: We need to love the cross, wear the cross, and transform the God-given crosses of our life into the instruments of our salvation by working with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/26
Mt 17: 14-20:14 And when they came to the crowd, a man Mt 14: Nt came up to him and kneeling before him said, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; for often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, `Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”
The context: When Jesus came down from the mountain of the Transfiguration along with Peter, John, and James, the father of an epileptic son knelt before Jesus and asked Jesus to heal his son. The father’s complaint was that the other nine disciples of Jesus waiting for their master to come down from the mountain could not heal the boy.
The healing: After expressing impatience with the crowd for their lack of Faith, Jesus rebuked the demon and cast him out of the boy. Later when the apostles asked Jesus why they had been unable to do the same, although they had been given the power of exorcism, Jesus pointed out their lack of Faith. Jesus said further that even a small amount of Faith would enable them to do great things. “Moving mountains”was a Jewish phrase meaning that God can remove all difficulties for one who places trusting Faith in Him.
Life message: We will be able to solve our problems and many of the problems of our fellow-human beings if we place our trusting Faith in God’s power and goodness and ask for His strengthening in prayer. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/26
OT XIX [A] (Aug 9th)Sunday Homily (8-minute homily in one page)
Introduction: The readings for this week speak of God’s saving presence among His people, our need for trusting Faith in our loving and providing God Who always keeps us company, and our need for prayer in storms of life. (You may add an Anecdote).
Scripture lessons: The first reading shows us how Elijah the prophet who had defeated the 450 false priests of Baal with the help of just such a trusting Faith in the power of Yahweh, fled to the Lord God for help and strength on Mt Horeb, and encountered Him there in His mercy. In the second reading, Paul, addressing, the Romans laments and mourns over the Jews who, having lost their Faith in Yahweh and His prophets, had rejected their promised Messiah, Jesus. Paul tells us later (11:7-24), that God’s plan allowed the Jews to reject Jesus so that a few believers, like Paul, would be free to carry the Good News outside Judaism, evangelizing the Gentiles. The Gospel episode occurred during an unexpected storm on the Sea of Galilee in the early morning hours. As Jesus approached the apostles, miraculously walking on water, he allayed their fears by telling them, “It is I.” The Gospel episode also explainshow Peter lost his trusting Faith in Jesus for a few seconds, and failed his attempt to walk on water, but was rescued when he called on Jesus for help.
Life messages: 1) We all need to call Jesus in the storms facing us in the Church and in our lives. Let us approach Jesus with strong Faith in his ability and willing availability to calm the storms in the life of the Church and in our own lives. Church history shows us how Jesus saved his Church from the storms of persecution in the first three centuries, from the storms of heresies in the 5th and 6th centuries, from the storms of moral degradation and the Protestant reformation movement (later resulting in hundreds of denominations), in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the storms of sex abuse scandals of the clergy in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. We need to realize that it is the presence of Jesus which gives us peace even in the wildest storms of life: the storms of anxiety and worries about the future we suffered during the Corona Virus Pandemic (Covid-19), storms of sorrow, storms of doubt, tension and uncertainty, storms of anger and despair, storms of temptations, and storms in family relationships. But this peace flows only from a personal relationship with God, with Jesus, and with the Holy Spirit enhanced through prayer, meditative reading of Scripture, active participation in the Holy Mass and reception of the Sacraments when these are available to us.
2) We need to imitate the short prayer of sinking Peter: We are expected to pray to God every day with trusting Faith for strengthening our personal relationship with Him and for acknowledging our dependence on Him. But when we have no time or mental energy for formal prayers, let us use the short prayers in the Gospels like Peter’s prayer: “Lord, save me!” or the prayer of the mother of the possessed girl: “Lord, help me!” or the blind man’s prayer: “Son of David, have mercy on me!” or the repentant sinner’s prayer: “Lord, have mercy on me a sinner!” We get plenty of time during our travels to say the short prayers like the “Our Father”,“Hail Mary” and “Glory be….” We can begin every day by offering all our day’s activities to God and asking for His grace to do His will; then we can conclude every day before we go to sleep, by asking God’s pardon and forgiveness for our sins. Keeping a Bible on our table will encourage us to read at least a few words of the Bible and thus listen to what God is telling us to do.
Homily starter anecdotes 1):An old story about trustful Faith: In the middle of a dark winter’s night in a small Midwest farming community, the two-story home of a young family caught fire. Quickly, parents and children followed their well-practiced emergency plan and made their way through the smoke-filled home out into the front yard. There the father quickly counted heads and realized that their 5-year-old son was not among them. Suddenly he heard a wail and looked up to see the boy at his bedroom window, crying and rubbing his eyes. Knowing the danger of reentering the house to rescue his son, the father called, “Jump, Son! I’ll catch you!” Between sobs, the boy responded to the voice he knew so well. “But I can’t see you, Daddy!” The father answered with great assurance. “No, Son, you can’t see me, but I can see you! Jump!” At that, the boy jumped into the smoky darkness and found himself safely cradled in his father’s arms. Our Scripture readings for today are about trusting – about having Faith – about being able to discern the fact that our God is always with us, even in storms of life. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
2):Elizabeth Blackwell walked on water: (https://youtu.be/dLKDMe52O3c) For Elizabeth Blackwell “walking on water” meant something entirely different. Elizabeth Blackwell was born on February 3, 1821, in Bristol, England. As a girl, she moved with her family to the United States, where she first worked as a teacher. Elizabeth wanted to become a doctor in the 1840s. At the time, medical schools were only for men. Elizabeth Blackwell had to fight just to get in. Finally, at one school, Geneva College of Medicine in New York, the students voted to let her in as a joke. But the head of the school didn’t know it was supposed to be a joke, and he let her in. When she got there, the students made fun of her. They refused to share their notes with her. Some professors tried to keep her out of their classes. She refused to give up. In 1849, she graduated at the head of her class. When no hospital would allow her to practice, she opened her own hospital. Then she opened a medical school to train women. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Blackwell) Elizabeth Blackwell courageously got out of the boat and walked on the roaring waters of opposition and gender discrimination in the medical profession. Today’s Gospel tells us how Peter the apostle tried to walk on water and failed because he turned from looking at Jesus, saw the water and panicked, shouting for help. Jesus grabbed him and they got into the boat together. Only then did Jesus call him, tenderly, ”O you of little faith!” (https://youtu.be/j-Vpxb6A6XI). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) Fr. Tony(https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
4) Joni survived the storm in her life: (https://youtu.be/4fzY0uj9q6k) Mark Link tells the inspiring story of a 17-year-old girl named Joni Eareckson, who like all teenagers her age was full of vitality, vigor and promise. Her favorite sport was horse-back riding, and in every completion her performance was so very impressive that her prospects for the future kept rising both noticeably and dramatically. One hot afternoon in July, Joni went for a swim in Chesapeake Bay and there tragedy struck. On one particular dive, she sustained such a severe injury to her head that she was instantly knocked unconscious and rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment. And there the worst fears of her loved ones were confirmed. Joni would be a quadriplegic for the rest of her life. The months ahead were an absolute nightmare, with just no light at the end of the tunnel. The once graceful rider, who delighted crowds with her performances, would lie strapped to a Stryker frame. And for much of her time she would lie with her face down, looking at nothing but the floor. That is when she had a spiritual experience. As Joni lay strapped in her Stryker frame, she thought of Jesus nailed to the cross. He was God, yet He was totally powerless and helpless. And she adds, “I pictured Jesus standing by my Stryker frame and saying to me, “Don’t lose heart, Joni, for I am with you and will help you to achieve the impossible.” Even as she lay there a curious thought crossed Joni’s mind. She could attempt painting if she could hold a painting brush between her teeth. And that is precisely what she did- so successfully and admirably that she is author of two best-sellers –one being autobiographical and entitled Joni –and has played the lead role in a movie of her own life. This inspiring story aptly demonstrates what God can do in one’s life if one surrenders to Him and allows Him to act. This precisely is what Joni did in her absolute helplessness. But with Faith in the Almighty Power and the never-failing help of the Lord Jesus, she was able to achieve the impossible. [J. Valladares in Your Words O Lord, are Spirit, and They Are Life (https://youtu.be/WiygoMpCNms)] (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).
Introduction: The readings for this week speak of God’s saving presence for His people and the need for trusting Faith in our loving and providing God Who always keeps us company. The first reading tells us of how Elijah the prophet who had defeated the 450 false priests of Baal with the help of just such a trusting Faith in the power of Yahweh (then had to flee Queen Jezebel’s henchmen for his life), encountered the Lord God on Mt. Horeb. In the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 85), the Psalmist assures us, “Near indeed is His Salvation to those who fear Him, glory dwelling in our land.” In the second reading, Paul laments and mourns over the Jews who, having lost their Faith in Yahweh and His prophets, had rejected their promised Messiah, Jesus. The Gospel episode explains how Peter. for a few seconds, lost his trusting Faith in Jesus and, so, failed his attempt to walk on water, but was rescued when he called on Jesus for help.
The first reading (1 Kg 19:9, 11-13) explained: After Solomon’s death (922 BC), the northern tribes broke away from Judah, from its priests and from the Temple in Jerusalem. They formed an independent country they called Israel, centered in the city of Samaria. As years rolled by, many of these Jews lost their Faith in Yahweh. Their seventh king Ahab (869-850 BC) married Jezebel, the daughter of the pagan king of Tyre. He allowed her to build a temple for her god Baal, then encouraged, and himself took part in, idol-worship and immorality. The prophet Elijah was sent by Yahweh to Israel to bring His people back to true worship. Elijah’s trusting Faith in the power and presence of Yahweh enabled him to defeat and execute the 450 pagan priests of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kgs. 18:16-40). Consequently, Queen Jezebel sent murderous henchmen after the prophet. Elijah, sustained by food provided by God through an angel, fled for forty days and nights. He finally reached Horeb, the mountain where God had earlier established His covenant with Israel under Moses. Elijah might have expected a spectacular miracle from God to protect and vindicate him, or an appearance of God with great power in thunder and lightning to bolster his Faith, like the one Moses had been granted on that very spot (Exodus 19:16-19). However, the presence of God was not in the spectacles of thunder, earthquake or fire but in “a tiny whispering sound.” Elijah acknowledged God’s presence by covering his face and coming out of the cave where he had taken shelter. He was content with God’s quiet sign of His presence, and was consoled, trusting that his God was helping and protecting him. Like Elijah, we can miss God’s presence by limiting our experience of Him to certain places and persons and forgetting that He is everywhere. The first reading reminds us that we have to experience God’s presence in our lives and listen carefully to everything going on around us, because we encounter God in insignificant as well as spectacular events. Both failure and success, however, equally offer us the opportunity for growth in trusting Faith in a loving and providing God.
The second reading (Rom 9:1-5) explained: In the first eight chapters of his letter to the Romans, Paul describes the blessings which Christ, that is, the Messiah, of God, as the fulfillment of “the Law and the prophets,” brought to mankind. Deeply moved, Paul (in today’s second reading), cries out in passionate grief for his countrymen, the Jews, because as a nation they have refused to see Christ as the Messiah promised to them by God through their patriarchs and prophets. Thus, though still His Chosen People, the Israelites have not been the ones to bring the Messiah to the world and the world to the Messiah in the present form of the Kingdom of God on Earth, which is filled with Gentile converts as well as some Jewish converts. Paul tells us later (11: 7-24), that God’s plan allowed for the Jews’ rejection of Jesus; He supplied a few of the Chosen People who became believers in Jesus Christ, the Messiah. (like Saul of Tarsus, the Pharisee who became Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles), to carry the Good News outside Judaism and to evangelize the Gentiles. The result would be the salvation of the whole world and the reconciliation of the Jews and the Gentiles – blessings, an even greater event and process than the election of Israel still in suspension. Thus, the ancient promise of God to Abraham would not go unfulfilled. Our first reaction should be a fervent “Thank You, God!” for the true Faith we have received and embraced. Our second thought should be to ask the good God, with trusting Faith, to send the light of Faith to the descendants of Abraham, and to re-light it among those Gentiles who have extinguished it. It is not enough for a true Christian that he should live his own life according to the laws of Christ. True charity demands that he be seriously interested in the spiritual welfare of his neighbors. Paul knew that Jesus suffered and died for all humanity – past, present and future. Christ’s redemptive mission thus, was redemptive suffering. So, when we offer our own sufferings to Christ then they, too, somehow become redemptive for others. Herein lies the power of our intercessory prayer. Through the Church (the Body of Christ), all who suffer – whether Christian or not – are embraced by Christ who makes their suffering his own. As Pope John Paul II taught, in that unity of suffering with Christ, even the suffering of non-Christians is somehow contributing to the world’s redemption (Salvifici Doloris, 24).
Gospel exegesis:The context: Today’s lesson, the account of Jesus’ walking on the Sea of Galilee, is one of the best-known passages in the New Testament. It forms a narrative bridge between the Jewish and Gentile portions of Jesus’ ministry, as well as giving us a theologically rich story about Jesus in its own right. In Matthew’s Gospel, the story follows the rejection of Jesus in his hometown of Nazareth (13:54-58), the death of John the Baptist (14:1-12), and the feeding of the five thousand (14:13-21). It precedes the account of his healing of the sick at Gennesaret (14:34-36) and his confrontation with the Jewish authorities over the nature of tradition (15:1-9). In addition to being a collection of miracle stories (feeding, walking, healing), the stories also form a complex of narratives which, when taken together, speak about both those who recognized in Jesus the One promised by Israel’s religious tradition and those whose doubts or vested interests had blinded them to the miraculous power in their midst. “In Matthew’s inspired theology, the Divine Presence in human history unfolds in three stages: (1) God forms the people of Israel and remains with them in good times and bad; (2) in fulfillment of the Divine promise transmitted by the prophets, Jesus, the Messiah and Incarnate Son of God, is present among his people as their savior; (3) in these last days, the Risen Lord, through his disciples, is present to extend his saving mission beyond his particular historical time and land to all nations.” The one constant in the drama of the Divine Presence in history is the necessity of human response to the saving presence with total trust. (Campion P. Gavaler, O.S.B.)
The challenge of trusting Faith: Jesus’ walking on the water follows the miraculous feeding in Matthew, Mark, and John. However, the account of Peter’s walking on the water is found only in Matthew. Thus, Matthew’s retelling of this event also says something about Peter and his Faith. While we might emphasize Peter’s fear, his sinking and his “little” Faith, we need to look also at his leap of Faith. Peter represents all who dare to believe that Jesus is Savior, take their first steps in confidence that Jesus is able to sustain them, and then forget to keep their gaze fixed on him when they face storms of temptations. From the depth of crisis, however, they remember to call on the Savior, and they experience the total sufficiency of his grace to meet their needs. It is this type of the “little Faith” of Peter which Jesus later identifies as the rock on which he will build his Church. The only Faith Jesus expects of his followers is a Faith which concentrates solely on Him. In other words, when we simply heed Our Lord, we can do great things. So, with His grace, we have to raise our awareness of God’s presence in our lives. As we become more aware, we will step out and proclaim that presence, even in surprising places.
Assertion of Christ’s Divinity: Since there are number of passages in the Hebrew Scriptures that speak of God walking on the sea (e.g., Job 9:8; Hb 3:15; Ps 77:19), it has been argued that this is a theophany: Jesus revealing Himself to his disciples as God by proving his mastery over the sea, considered by the ancients to be an unruly chaos inhabited by evil spirits. In Jewish folklore, only God could walk on the water, but human beings cannot see God and live. Therefore, if a person thinks he sees someone walking on the water, it must be a ghost! Besides, there was also a superstition that there were monsters at the bottom of the Sea of Galilee and likely that played into their alarm as well. And the way to get rid of ghosts is to shout and scream. This is exactly what the disciples did until Jesus told them, “Take courage; it is I.” Then those in the boat worshipped Jesus and proclaimed him to be truly the Son of God. There are aspects of this story that suggest a post-Easter event described in John 21:1-14, where the risen Jesus is at first unrecognized. Then, when the disciples know who he is, Peter jumps out of the boat and swims to Jesus. When the disciples get to shore, Jesus takes bread and fish – the same elements that appear in the feeding story before our text (Mt 14:13-21) – and gives them a meal. The only other occurrence of the disciples’ worshiping Jesus takes place on the mountain after the resurrection (Mt 28:17).
Assurance of hope in the midst of persecutions: “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Matthew recorded his Gospel after Peter was crucified, when the Christians were being persecuted. The two storm stories address issues of danger, fear, and Faith. In both stories, the boat seems to represent the Church, buffeted by temptations, trials,and persecutions. In both, Jesus appears as the Church’s champion, strong to save those who call on him in Faith. The recounting of this episode probably brought great comfort to the early Christians, especially those of Matthew’s Faith community. For it offered them the assurance that Christ would save them even if they had to die for their Faith in him, and that, even in the midst of persecution, they need not fear because Jesus was present with them. The episode offers the same reassurance to us in times of illness, death, persecution, or other troubles. It teaches us that adversity is not a sign of God’s displeasure, nor prosperity a sign of His pleasure, that illness is not a sign of inadequate Faith, nor health a sign of great Faith. Paradoxically, the storms of life can be a means of blessing. When things are going badly, our hearts are more receptive to Jesus. A broken heart is often a door through which Christ can find entry. He still comes to us in the midst of our troubles, saying, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” If we permit the chaos and evil around us to distract and influence us, then we will sink into the very chaos that we fear! On the other hand, if we keep our focus on the Source of our safety, our salvation, the One to whom we call out to save us, then the winds die down, and we are once again content in the Presence of the Lord. This is the way we increase or sustain our Faith: by never doubting that the Presence of the Lord is with us every single moment of our lives! Our Catechism reminds us that when we cry out “Lord!” we express our recognition of the Divine Mystery of Jesus., and also show our respect and trust in the One we approach for help and healing (CCC #448).
Life messages:1) We need to call Jesus in the storms facing the Church and our lives. Let us approach Jesus with strong Faith in his ability and willing availability to calm the storms in the life of the Church and in our lives. Church history shows us how Jesus saved his Church from the storms of persecution in the first three centuries, from the storms of heresies in the 5th and 6th centuries, from the storms of moral degradation and the Protestant reformation movement in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and from the storms of sex abuse scandals of the clergy in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It is the presence of Jesus which gives us peace even in the wildest storms of life: the storms of anxiety and worriy about the future we suffered during the Corona Virus Pandemic (Covid-19), storms of sorrow, storms of doubt, tension and uncertainty, storms of anxiety and worries, storms of anger and despair, storms of temptations. Storms reveal to us our inability to save ourselves and point us to the Infinite ability and eagerness of God to save us. When Jesus shows up in our life’s storms, we find that we gain strength to do the seemingly impossible. For example, when Jesus shows up, he makes marriages out of mistakes, he invigorates, restores, and empowers us to reach the unreachable, to cross the un-crossable. Storms let us know that without him we can do nothing, without him we are doomed to fail. Yet, when Jesus shows up, we gain the strength to join Paul, saying, “In Christ I can do all things.” But this demands a personal relationship with God, with Jesus, enhanced through prayer, meditative study of Scripture and an active Sacramental life. Experiencing Jesus’ presence in our lives, let us confess our Faith in him and call out for his help and protection always.
2) We need to imitate the short prayer of sinking Peter: We are expected to pray to God every day with trusting Faith for the strengthening of our personal relationship with Him and for the courage and humility to acknowledge our complete dependence on Him for everything. But when we have no time or mental energy for formal prayers, let us use the short prayers in the Gospels, like Peter’s prayer: “Lord, save me!” or the prayer of the mother of the possessed girl: “Lord, help me!” or the blind man’s prayer: “Son of David, have mercy on me!” or the sinner’s prayer: “Lord, have mercy on me a sinner!” We get plenty of time during our travels to say the short prayers like the “Our Father”, “Hail Mary” and “Glory be….” We may begin every day offering all our day’s activities to God and asking for His grace to do His will and we may conclude every day before we go to sleep, by asking God’s pardon and forgiveness for our sins. Keeping a Bible on our table will encourage us to read at least a few words of the Bible and thus listen to what God is saying to us.
3) We should not limit God’s saving presence: There are those who would limit God’s presence for their own comfort or security or to keep themselves in power. In years past there were those who would deny God’s presence in slaves. There have been those who would ignore God’s presence in their enemies. There are those who would refuse to believe that God is present in the murderer sitting on death row, in those who are marginalized by our society: the gay person, the addict, the person living with AIDS, the gambler, the prostitute, the illegal alien, the handicapped, to name but a few. It is in situations like these that we have to get out of the boat, surprise others, and show them the reflection of God in such people. Let us always look for ways to be surprised by our God and opportunities to wake one another up to the beauty, the power and the nearness of our loving, providing and protecting God. Let us also pray for a deepening of God’s gift of Faith within us, that we may be able to recognize Him in the ordinary situations of our lives, and humbly pray to Him saying, “Lord, let us see Your kindness, and grant us Your salvation.”
# 1: Familiar story. In one of his books, Mark Twain recalls a visit to the Holy Land and a stay in Capernaum. It was a moonlit night, so he decided to take his wife on a romantic boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Twain asked a man in a rowboat how much he would charge to take them out on the water. The man saw Twain’s white suit, white shoes and white hat and supposed he was a rich Texan. So, he said the cost would be twenty-five dollars. Twain walked away as he said, “Now I know why Jesus walked on water.”
2) Ministers walking on water! There’s an old joke about three pastor friends who are on a beach together. The first, a Catholic priest gets up from his beach towel and walks about a quarter mile out to a raft in the ocean. The second, a Protestant minister, does the same. The third, a rabbi, the newcomer in the group, gets up and walks toward the raft to join his colleagues. Suddenly he finds himself underwater. The priest turns to the minister and says, “Didn’t you show him where the rocks are?”
3) “Have Faith my child”: For the umpteenth time Mrs. Youngston came to her pastor to tell him, “I’m so scared! Joe says he’s going to kill me if I continue to come to your Church.” “Yes, yes, my child,” replied the pastor, more than a little tired of hearing this over and over. “I will continue to pray for you, Mrs. Youngston. Have Faith – the Lord will watch over you.” “Oh yes, He has kept me safe thus far, only…..” “Only what, my child?” “Well, now Joe says if I keep coming to your church, he’s going to kill YOU!” “Well, now,” said the pastor, “Perhaps it’s time for you to check out that little parish on the other side of town.”
4) A priest of little Faith and big ambitions: A Jewish rabbi and his friend a Catholic priest were traveling together in a train and it being a long journey they started to talk.
Rabbi : So what’s your next move, padre?
Priest : Well, if I’m lucky I might get a parish of my own
Rabbi : And then?
Priest : Well perhaps I’ll be made a Monsignor and maybe even a Bishop!
Rabbi : And after that?
Priest : Well I suppose, it’s just possible that I could become a Cardinal
Rabbi : Yes, and what after that?
Priest : Well, it’s ridiculous to think about it. But I suppose I could become Pope!
Rabbi : And then?
Priest : Well that’s it, Pope! There’s only God after that.
Rabbi : Well, you never know. After all one of our Jewish boys from Nazareth, made it! (Source: Jewish Jokes “with no blasphemy intended”)
25- Additional anecdotes:
1) Called or Not, God is Present.Above the office door of the Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung (1875-1961), hung a stone plaque inscribed with the words: “Called or Not, God is Present.” Jung’s sign encapsulated in a few words what the joint testaments of Judaism and Christianity have put forth in hundreds of thousands of words for centuries, viz., that the Transcendent Almighty God chooses to be with humankind, to commune with us, to love and move among us, to be near, to abide, to be present whether called or not, in peace, as well as in panic. The real question is not, “Is God absent from us?” Rather the real question is: “Are we absent from God?” This Sunday’s first reading relates the experience of the prophet Elijah who sought and realized the presence of God in the peaceful silence of Horeb (Sinai). Peter and the disciples (Gospel) experienced the presence of God in the person of Jesus whose power over the sea calmed their panic and fostered their Faith. Paul, in the second reading, taken from Romans, lamented the fact that not all of his fellow Israelites had come to know the saving presence of God as he had, on the road to Damascus. (Patricia Datchuck Sánchez)
2) There seems to be no limit to our fears. In a Peanuts cartoon strip Charlie Brown goes to Lucy for a nickel’s worth of psychiatric help. She proceeds to pinpoint his particular fear. “Perhaps,” she says, “you have hypengyophobia,” (the fear of responsibility). Charlie Brown says, ““No.”“Well, perhaps you have ailurophobia,” (the fear of cats). “No.” “Well, maybe you have climacophobia,” (the fear of staircases). ”No.” Exasperated, Lucy says, “Well, maybe you have pantophobia,” (the fear of everything). “Yes,” says Charlie, “that’s the one!’ –Sometimes we feel we are afraid of everything. We are tossed by storms of fear. We are afraid of ourselves. We are afraid of people. We are afraid of the future. We are afraid of our past. We are afraid of life. We are afraid of death. Peter knew that the Lord could sustain him, even in the midst of the storm, when there was nothing but uncertainty, and He did. He will always take care of us, too, if we will allow Him to do so, and recognize Him when He comes to us in other people! But I want you to know that Faith is a risk-taking enterprise.
3)“I have Faith in the Lord, and He will save me.” (A story about presumptuous Faith). A man named Smith climbed upon the roof of his riverside house during a flood, confident that his God would save him miraculously. When the flood waters had covered his feet a neighbor in his canoe paddled past and shouted, “Can I give you a lift to a higher ground?” “No, thanks,” said Smith. “I have Faith in the Lord and He will save me.” Soon the water had risen to Smith’s waist. At this point a motor-boat pulled up and someone invited him to get into the boat and escape. But Mr. Smith adamantly refused the offer declaring his Faith in the saving power of his God. Later when Smith was standing on the roof with water up to his neck somebody from a helicopter dropped a rope and the pilot yelled at him, “Grab the rope before the water currents push you down.”“No, thanks,” said Smith. “I have Faith in the Lord and He will save me.” But after a while Mr. Smith lost his grip on the roof, fought for his life for a time and finally drowned. As he arrived at the Pearly Gates, he met God and launched a complaint about this turn of events. “Tell me, Lord,” he said, “I had such Faith in You to save me and You let me down. Why? That was not fair!.” The Lord replied, “What did you expect Me to do? I sent a canoe, a motor-boat and a helicopter to save you!”
4)“Stop!”: A woman is walking down the street when she hears a voice shout, “Stop!” And she stops, and a piece of metal falls from space just in front of her–perhaps debris from a satellite. If she had gone one step farther, she would have been killed. She looks around to find the person who saved her life and sees no one. A few days later she is about to cross a street and she hears the same voice boom, “Stop!” And a car, out of control, zooms by in front of her — missing her by inches. She looks around again for the source of the strange but life-saving voice. She sees no one, but this time she hears a voice. “Do you know who I am?” the voice asks. “No, I don’t,” she answers. “I am your guardian angel,” says the voice. “I am here to protect you from harm.” Instead of voicing her gratitude, the woman was indignant. “There’s just one thing I want to know,” she said, “Where were you when I got married?” — All of us take risks. We would never have anything if we did not. No new relationships would be formed. No new businesses would be started. No new homes would be built. Helen Keller got it right when she said, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky put it this way, “You miss 100% of the shots you never take.” Mark Twain waxed poetic when he wrote: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Today’s Gospel describes how Peter takes a risk by stepping into the sea to walk upon water.
5) What is one doing but walking on water? I’ll bet every one of us this morning can think of some remarkable water-walkers we have known. We all have watched simple, straight-forward, hard-working men and women, little toddlers and tormented teens, the shut-in elders and the shut-out homeless, perform acts in their lives that defy the limitations of the world in which they live. The chemotherapy patient who gets out of bed, puts on clean clothes and picks up around the house, before going for treatment . . . What is one doing but walking on water? The homeless woman who sleeps in a box, gleans food from dumpsters, but still smiles a greeting and laughs at a joke . . . What is she doing but walking on water? The single parent, overworked, overwhelmed, over-extended in time, money, and energy, who makes it to soccer games and school plays and checks to see that homework is done . . . What is that harried parent doing but walking on water? The octogenarian who lives alone, whose family has forgotten him, who counts the postal carrier and the water-meter reader as “company,” but still is up and dressed by 8am and sits at the table for all his meals . . . What is he doing but walking on water? There are people here this morning who are walking on water. You may not know who they are, and the difficulties they’re facing . . . but I can tell you as their pastor (and I don’t know all the stories represented here this morning, but enough to speak with conviction) . . . I’m looking out now at people who are walking on water.
6) “Staring at that cross, I realized that therein lies freedom.” Alexander Solzhenitsyn was the first author to alert the West to the horrible realities he had experienced in Stalin’s Gulags — labor camps. Solzhenitsyn said that only once during his long imprisonment in a labor camp in the Soviet Union did he become so discouraged that he thought about suicide. He was outdoors, on a work detail, and he had reached a point where he no longer cared whether he lived or died. When he had a break, he sat down, and a stranger sat beside him, someone he had never seen before and would never see again. For no apparent reason, this stranger took a stick and drew a cross on the ground. Solzhenitsyn sat and stared at that cross for a long while. He later wrote, “Staring at that cross, I realized that therein lies freedom.” At that point – in the midst of a storm – he received new courage and the will to live. The storm didn’t end that day, but through Jesus, Solzhenitsyn found the strength to ride it out. — I don’t know what storm of life will come your way this week, or what storm you may be enduring at this very moment. But I know this: even as the storm rages around you, if you will listen very carefully with your heart, you will hear a gentle voice calling to you, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” And in time the storm will pass. And Jesus will still be there.
7) Henri Nouwen’s Little River story: Once upon a time there was a little river that said, “I can become a big river.” It worked hard to get big, but in the process, encountered a huge rock. “I won’t let this rock stop me,” the river said. And the little river pushed and pushed until it finally made its way around the rock. Next the river encountered a mountain.“I won’t let this mountain stop me,” the river said. And the little river pushed and pushed until it finally carved a canyon through the mountain. The river, now large and powerful, finally arrived at the edge of a vast desert.“I won’t let this desert stop me,” the river said. But as the river pushed and pushed its way across the desert, the hot sand began soaking up its water until only a few puddles remained. The river was quiet. Then the river heard a voice from above. “My child, stop pushing. It’s time to surrender. Let me lift you up. Let me take over.” The river said, “Here I am.” The sun then lifted the river up and turned it into a huge cloud. And the wind carried the river across the desert and let it rain down on the hills and valleys of the faraway fields, making them fruitful and rich. — If we stay focused on Christ, having more Faith in Him than in ourselves, obeying His will even when it’s hard, no obstacle will be too much for us, and he will make our lives more fruitful than we could ever imagine. (E-Priest).
8) General George Patton can walk on water: General George Patton’s soldiers were in awe of him. A member of General Marshall’s staff once asked a second lieutenant under Patton’s command if he believed that General Patton could walk on water. The lieutenant replied, “Colonel, I know General Patton! If he had to walk on water, he would figure out a way and within twenty-four hours he would have me doing it as well!” — Such stories are part of our national folklore. But they’re all in fun. Nobody takes them seriously. Because, let’s face it, people can’t walk on water, at least, ordinary people can’t.. And that is exactly the point of this story from Matthew’s Gospel: JESUS IS NO ORDINARY MAN, AND THE EFFECT HE CAN HAVE ON THE LIVES OF THOSE WHO TRUST HIM IS DRAMATIC.
9) Sarah was focused on what to do, Michelle on what to avoid: Author Zig Ziglar in his book,Better Than Good, tells about the 2002 Winter Olympic Games when sixteen‑year‑old Sarah Hughes skated her way to a gold medal. Sarah stepped on the ice, says Zig, not believing she had a chance of winning any medal, so she just skated with reckless abandon, unconcerned about the live audience, the television audience, or for that matter, the judges. She just gave it all she had. That sheer abandon she exhibited expressed the total joy she was feeling at the time and she turned in a spectacular performance, winning the gold. Michelle Kwan, on the other hand, skated after Sarah and was expected to win the gold. She was a true champion, beloved by skating fans the world over, and the recipient of many medals in her career. But after Sarah Hughes’s flawless performance, Michelle went out determined not to make any mistakes. Consequently, she fell, and took the bronze. Zig Ziglar contends that while Sarah was focused on what to do, Michelle was focused on what to avoid doing, and that made the difference. –That is what fear continually does to us. We fear failure, and the very act of fearing causes us to fail. We fear the future, and because of that fear, we sabotage opportunities that come to us. We fear sickness and pain and death and the weight of that worry increases the chances that illness will overtake us. That is why Jesus’ words are so important to us, “Take heart, it is I; have no fear.”
10) Focus your thoughts on God: There is a story about the famous statesman Bismarck who came into a friend’s house and saw a portrait of himself on display in the friend’s parlor. The picture portrayed Bismarck as a strong and forceful man. Bismarck shook his head and asked, “Is that supposed to be me? It can’t be.” Then he turned around to a picture his friend had of the fearful Simon Peter sinking beneath the waves and said, “That is I!” — That is how we feel when we take our eyes off of Christ. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale tells how he once developed laryngitis because he worried about a speaking engagement at which he would be speaking to over a thousand people. When he sought medical help, his doctor said, “I didn’t think I would ever have to give this kind of advice to Norman Vincent Peale: Focus your thoughts on God and don’t focus them on your problems. When you focus on your problems, your nervous system tightens up so your blood doesn’t flow harmoniously. As a result, you experience sickness. Focus your thoughts on God instead of on your problems…”
11) The Denial of Death In his Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Denial of Death, Ernest Becker says that so many of the fears that we grapple with – the fear of rejection, abandonment, failure, separation, loss – are but manifestations of the one ultimate fear, and that is the fear of death. — Perhaps he is right. How do we overcome that ultimate fear? Faith. Only through Faith will the demons of fear that can haunt us be exorcized. I think the Gospel is telling us that when Peter stepped out onto the lake, walked on the water, it was only when he looked at the wind and waves that he became terrified and stopped looking at Jesus, and that is when he started to sink, Jesus later asked him why he doubted. Why didn’t his Faith carry him across the water to Jesus’ side? It was fear. Fear crept in and doubt began to rise and Peter began to sink.
12) Not a single person bullied her or taunted her. In the book, A Second Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Bill Sanders writes of a young neighbor named Nikki who learned to walk on the water. When Nikki was in seventh grade, she was diagnosed with leukemia. Nikki went through the necessary chemotherapy and the resulting loss of hair. To be different as a seventh grader is a kind of death. Without hair, Nikki was very different from her peers. She was a generally popular girl, but still she faced hurdles. Kids would sneak up behind her and snatch her wig off. People would stare and laugh. No one would sit with her in the cafeteria or in math class, and the lockers on either side of hers had been vacated. Nikki told her neighbor, Bill, that she could handle losing her hair. And with her faith in God, she could handle losing her life. But the hardest part of her illness was losing her friends. Nikki’s parents had given her permission to stay out of school, but then Nikki changed her mind. She heard a story about a seventh-grader in Arkansas who was bullied for bringing his Bible to school. The boy handed his Bible to his biggest tormentor and said, “Here, see if you’ve got enough courage to carry this around school just one day.” Those three bullies became his three friends. Another story that affected Nikki was of a boy from Ohio named Jimmy Masterdiro. Ohio didn’t have a state motto, so Jimmy wrote a proposed state motto, then set up a petition to get the motto legitimated by the state. Jimmy got enough signatures to take his petition before the State legislature. Because of Jimmy Masterdiro, Ohio’s official state motto is, “All things are possible with God.” Nikki set out for the school the next Monday as usual. Her parents drove her. When she got to school, Nikki hugged and kissed both her parents. Then she said, “Mom and Dad, guess what I’m going to do today?” Her eyes began to tear up. “Today I’m going to find out who my best friend is. Today I’m going to find out who my real friends are.” Then Nikki took off her wig and set it on the car seat. “They take me for who I am, Daddy, or they don’t take me at all. I don’t have much time left. I’ve got to find out who they are today.” Then Nikki asked for her parents’ prayers, and she walked into the school. Not a single person bullied her or taunted her. [Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, [(Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc., 1995), pp. 24-27.] — I don’t know what walking on the water would be for you. Going back to school? Asking for that promotion? Inviting your next-door neighbor to come to a Bible study with you? All I’m saying is, don’t let fear defeat you. You have a Friend who comes to you in your hour of greatest need and says, “Don’t be afraid; you can do it. Step out of the boat and walk on the water with Me.”
13) Do you recognize the name Anna Taylor? No? It’s just as well. On October 24, 1901, Anna was the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel and live. That’s too much risk-taking for most of us. Do you know what the last words of a redneck are? “Hey, guys, watch this.” Some risk-taking is just plain dumb. And yet some people, by their very nature, are risk-takers. Christopher Columbus was a risk-taker. So are racecar drivers and many celebrities. These people have a personality trait which researchers call “novelty-seeking.” Researchers say novelty-seekers are usually outgoing, excitable, short-tempered and eager for new experiences. They’re also likelier to have a gene that fosters this thrill-seeking temperament. Studies by Israeli and U.S. researchers, published in Nature Genetics, have linked novelty-seeking behavior with a gene that affects the body’s response to the brain chemical dopamine. Dopamine helps stimulate the feeling of euphoria. It affects how we perceive pain, and it plays a role in the sensations produced by some addictive drugs. The researchers found that people with the gene for the D4 dopamine receptor were likelier to seek new experiences than people without this receptor. How they pursue their novelty-seeking, however, will be determined by their experiences. A novelty-seeker encouraged to be athletic, for instance, might try bungee jumping, while someone from a cerebral environment might become an inventor.
14) Reach out to Jesus: Dale Carnegie relates in his famous book, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, the resilience of a discouraged and disheartened book salesman, John R. Antony. Antony knew his job thoroughly, but, somehow, he never made many sales. Day by day, he was discouraged. He became afraid to call on people. Even when he went in, often, he would wish that his client wouldn’t be in the seat. The sales manager threatened to stop his advances if he didn’t send in more orders. With decreasing sales, Antony grew depressed. The only reason he did not commit suicide was because he did not have the courage to do so. Since he had no one else to turn towards, he turned towards God. He asked God to help him to give him money to feed his wife and his three children. After the prayer he opened his eyes and saw the Bible on the dresser in the hotel room. He opened the Bible read the words of Jesus: “Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; But seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Mt: 6: 25-33).” As he read and prayed over those words of Jesus, a miracle happened. His anxieties, worries and fears were transformed into heart-warming courage and hope and triumphant Faith. The next morning, he got up and dressed well and headed towards his clients with a bold and positive stride. He held his chin high and introduced himself confidently and began his selling of the books. From then on, he never turned back. Twenty-two years later he confessed this truth: “That night I had become suddenly aware of my relationship with God. A mere man alone can easily be defeated, but a man alive with the power of God within him is invincible. I know. I saw it work in my own life.” Anthony from his sinking state reached out to Christ and Christ lifted him up. (John Rose in John’s Sunday Homilies; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
15) A dog walking on water: An avid duck hunter was in the market for a new bird dog. His search ended when he found a dog that could actually walk on water to retrieve a duck. Shocked by his find, he was sure none of his friends would ever believe him. He decided to try to break the news to a friend of his, a pessimist by nature, and invited him to hunt with him and his new dog. As they waited by the shore, a flock of ducks flew by. they fired, and a duck fell. The dog responded and jumped into the water. The dog, however, did not sink but instead walked across the water to retrieve the bird, never getting more than his paws wet. The friend saw everything but did not say a single word. On the drive home the hunter asked his friend, “Did you notice anything unusual about my new dog?” “I sure did,” responded his friend. “He can’t swim.”
16) “It was then that I carried you.” One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one belonging to him, and the other to the LORD. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he questioned the LORD about it. “LORD, you said that once I decided to follow You, You’d walk with me all the way. But I noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why, when I needed You most, You would leave me.” The LORD replied, “My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.” (Fr. Tommy Lane).
17) St. Tharsilla’s Secret: Have Faith and live it: St. Tharsilla [thar-SIHL-uh] lived in Rome in the 500s. She and her sister St. Emiliana [ehm-eel-ee-YAHN-uh] were living on their father’s estate just outside the city walls. They dedicated themselves almost entirely to prayer and to serving the poor. Their brother was Pope St. Gregory the Great. Quite a family – three siblings, all of them canonized saints! They did more for the Church and society in those violent, cataclysmic years than any number of politicians, businessmen, or generals – and the secret to their fruitfulness was prayer. As St. Tharsilla lay on her deathbed in the year 550, a relative from three generations before, who had also been a saint, Pope St Felix II, appeared to her. He showed her a place in Heaven, saying, “Come; I will receive you into this habitation of light…” After that, her deathbed became a place of intense joy, not of sorrow and anxiety. Just a couple days after that vision, Tharsilla entered into her agony, and her last words before dying were: “Away! Away! My Savior Jesus is coming!” It was Christmas Eve. A few days afterwards, St. Tharsilla appeared to her sister, St. Emiliana, and called her to come and celebrate the Epiphany in Heaven. And indeed, St Emiliana died on the eve of January 6, the feast of the Epiphany. — These two saints lived such an intimate friendship with Jesus that not even life’s greatest suffering – the sickness and death of a loved one, could steal their joy or interior peace. They truly were citizens of Heaven, even while they lived beautiful, inspiring lives here on earth. Of course, holiness like that doesn’t happen randomly. (E-Priest).
18) The Paradox of Infant Baptism: This is one reason why many non-Catholic Christian denominations condemn the ancient, Catholic practice of infant Baptism. For them, Faith is a personal commitment to follow Jesus Christ, and Baptism is the symbol of that commitment. And so, for them, it makes no sense to baptize a baby who is too young to be able to make a personal commitment. Of course, they are forgetting that Faith is much more than just a “personal commitment” – though it is certainly nothing less. Faith is first and foremost a gift of God’s grace. This is the difference between Faith and self-help. Jesus saved us while we were still sinners, and Jesus’ saving love changed our hearts – not the other way around. When we baptize babies that’s what we are focusing on: God’s unconditional generosity in offering us salvation not as a reward for something we did, but purely out of love. The Gospels tell us about many parents who asked Jesus to come and heal their sick or dying So, the non-Catholic Christians who criticize infant Baptism are confused about that point; they are forgetting that friendship with Christ begins with God’s free gift of grace. But they aren’t confused when they criticize Catholics for being so caught up in external rituals that we sometimes neglect our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Parents who have their children baptized, for example, but then never teach their children how to pray, are only doing half their job. And our non-Catholic brothers and sisters are right to call us to task for it. (E-Priest).
19) Walking on Water:A Man Called Peter was a best-selling biography that was later made into a movie. It narrates the life of Peter Marshall, a Scotsman from Glasgow whose desire was to be a seaman but whose destiny took him to the U.S. Senate as chaplain. As a lad, Peter enlisted in the British Navy, but his career had lasted only two days when it was discovered that he was only 14 years old. Later, when working as a machinist and teaching Sunday School, Peter felt the call to be a minister. Persuaded by a cousin to come across to America, Peter set out in Faith to cross the cold waters of the North Atlantic. With little money, no friends and only a job reference, Peter likened himself to other men of Faith who ventured into the unknown, men like the patriarch Abraham, the explorer Columbus, and the pioneer Brigham Young. The Lord continued to guide Peter Marshall in surprising ways through the Presbyterian ministry, in marriage to Catherine, in his parish assignments and finally to his fame as chaplain to the U.S. Senate. Peter Marshall died in 1949 when he was only 46, but in that short lifetime he inspired thousands of people by his preaching, his friendliness, and above all by his life of prayer. — Another man called Peter, who ventured over water, is the subject of today’s Gospel. God is calling many of us to walk on the water, to move into the unknown. What kind of Faith do we have? Will we sink with Peter or set sail with Peter Marshall? (Albert Cylwicki in His Word Resounds; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
20) Hanging by an inch: There is a character in the classic work Don Quixote named Pancho Sanchez. Pancho Sanchez hangs in fear from the ledge of a window all night long, too frightened to let go. When morning dawns he discovers his toes are only an inch off the ground. It’s amusing to think of Simon Peter climbing out of the boat trying to imitate his Lord by walking on the water. Then, like a cartoon character, he makes the mistake of looking around. “What in the world am I doing?” he asks himself and suddenly he begins to sink. — How often that happens in life! People are charting a successful course in their business, in their marriage, in their walk with Christ, and then they begin to listen to their fears. “What if I fail? What if the market fails? What if my Faith is misplaced?” and they begin slowly to sink. (King Duncan, Barking Pigs and Determined Disciples).
21) Storm in a parish- Fr. Andrew Greeley’s story: One upon a time a battered parish priest approached his Bishop. “I want to retire,” he said. “You’re not old enough to retire.”“Yeah, but I’m worn out. My laity are fighting one another, my young people don’t come to Church. My parish Council has no guts. My teenagers drink too much. My staff members are in constant conflict. A couple of women are trying to take over the parish. Men can’t stand the tension. My collections are down. Spies are reporting me to you every week. Grammar school kids are breaking windows and writing graffiti. I receive anonymous hate mail every day.” The Bishop sighed loudly, that West of Ireland sigh which suggests the advent of a serious asthma attack. “Let me tell you about my problems.” The two men sat in silence for a few minutes after they had exchanged woes. “Well,” said the bishop, “congratulations on having a lively parish. It’s still alive and kicking and Jesus is active in your parish boat calming the sea.” So, the pastor went back to his parish resolving to walk on the stormy parish sea with Jesus. He did not resign.
22) A gypsy family who survived the Holocaust by Faith:In war, the saying goes, there is no one who is right. There are only those who are left. From the early 1940’s, there comes the true story of a gypsy family who survived the Holocaust of World War II. The family were members of a traveling circus that toured throughout eastern Europe. In one of the family acts, a teenage daughter would jump from a high wire with no net below, and her father would catch her. The account goes that one day her father left the apartment they were staying early, leaving the daughter alone in the apartment. Later that morning, there was a knock on the door. When she opened it, she found a stranger who said he had a message from her father. The stranger told her the message was as follows: Nazi troops were coming into town and she needed to escape. But it was far too risky for the father to enter the town or the daughter to escape in the daylight hours. Their only hope was to escape at night. So, the stranger told her that at 2 in the morning she was to walk out to the northwest corner of the apartment building. And right at 2AM, she was to jump from the rooftop and her father would be below to catch her. Understandably, the daughter was confused. She didn’t know the messenger. She didn’t know whether the message he gave her was actually from her father. She wasn’t even positive which corner of the apartment building was the northwest corner. Well, as the day went on the Nazis did in fact enter the town and take up positions. That night at 2am the daughter went to the rooftop. She looked down and it was pure blackness. She whispered, “Father, are you there?” No answer. And then she jumped…..and her father caught her! — Leaps of faith are normally less dramatic, but they are no less real. In order to act in good Faith, the young daughter had to trust. First, she had to trust that the stranger was really sent by her father. Second, she had to trust that the message was her father’s message. Finally, she had to trust that she herself would leap from the correct corner of the rooftop, and that her father would be ready below. We find Peter making a leap of Faith. (Rev. Tom Mannebach)
23) Sign and Countersign:In December 1874, the steamship Edwin, enroute to Australia from a Washington State port, sprang a bad leak off Vancouver Island, and had to drop anchor. Some Hesquiat Indians on the nearby shore, seeing that the ship was in distress, jumped into their canoes, and braved high waves to come to the sailors’ aid. However, the crew feared that the natives were hostile, so they gestured them away. Although these Indians were not yet Christian, they had already learned of the Christian respect for the sign of the cross. To prove that they came in peace, they blessed themselves so that the sailors could see them. As a countersign, the crew also made the sign of the cross. Then they let the Hesquiats come aboard the foundering vessel. Shortly after, rescuers and shipwrecked disembarked in the canoes and soon reached the safety of the beach. …Jesus hastened to reassure them: “Get hold of yourselves! It is I. Do not be afraid!” (Matthew, 14:27. Gospel of the day.) -Father Robert F. McNamara.
24) Storms confront us all the time in Ordinary Time.
Sometimes those storms are shared by large numbers of people. That’s the reality of globalization. Today, no one is untouched by global warming. Islands in the South Pacific find themselves underwater. The Polar ice caps recede each year. California experiences drought, beef prices rise and fisher folks on Cape Cod find their industry dying. A small tropical storm off the coast of Africa becomes a Stage 5 Hurricane battering the Gulf Coast of the United States. A tiny virus in China becomes a global pandemic. Terrorism in Latin America floods our borders with young children. Reality confronts us in Ordinary Time. Those storms also take highly individualized form. Last week I lost a close friend from high school, a talented artist with a gallery in Rockport. His wife and daughter and their families are going through a storm today. Later in the service we will pray for others whose personal boats are being crashed by waves. –Maybe it’s illness, maybe it’s a fractured relationship, maybe it’s economic uncertainty. Sometimes, the storms are visible to others and sometimes they are hidden, but the storms are very real. But today’s Gospel passage reminds us that God and Jesus are with us in life’s toughest moments, when waves threaten to drown us.
25) “God sometimes whispers.”There is a story told about a young man and an old preacher. The young man had lost his job and didn’t know which way to turn. So, he went to see the old preacher. Pacing about the preacher’s study, the young man ranted about his problem. Finally, he clenched his fist and shouted, “I’ve begged God to say something to help me. Tell me, Preacher, why doesn’t God answer?”The old preacher, who sat across the room, spoke something in reply – something so hushed, it was indistinguishable. The young man stepped across the room. “What did you say?” he asked. The preacher repeated himself, but again in a tone as soft as a whisper. So, the young man moved closer until he was leaning on the preacher’s chair. “Sorry,” he said. “I still didn’t hear you.” With their heads bent together, the old preacher spoke once more. “God sometimes whispers,” he said, “so that we will move closer to hear Him.” This time the young man heard, and he understood. — We all want God’s voice to thunder through the air with the answer to our problem. But God’s is the still, small voice… the gentle whisper. Perhaps there’s a reason. Nothing draws human focus quite like a whisper. God’s whisper means I must stop my ranting and move close to Him, until my head is bent together with His. Then, as I listen, I will find my answer. Better still, I find myself closer to God.
You may visit my website by clicking on http://frtonyshomilies.com/ for missed or previous Cycle A homilies, 141 Year of Faith “Adult Faith Formation Lessons” (useful for RCIA classes too) & 197 “Question of the Week.” Kindly visit https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies under CBCI or Fr. Tony for my website version. (Special thanks to Vatican official website http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html -which completed uploading my Cycle A, B and C homilies in May 2020) My post-retirement contact postal address in the U. S. is Fr. Anthony Kadavil, C/o Fr. M. C. Joseph, Pastor St. Agatha Catholic Parish 1001 Hand Ave, Bay Minette, AL 36507 36507. Contact me by email only atakadavil@gmail.com. I am back at my home in my home country since June 2023. I live in my home in my home country since my final retirement in June 2023. Hence please contact me only by email (akadavil@gmail.com).
July 27- Aug 1: July 27 Monday: Mt 13:31-35:31 Another parable he put before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” 33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” 34 All this Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”
The context: Today’s Gospel contains two of Jesus’ one-line parables about the Kingdom of God. The parable of the mustard seed probably shows that Gentiles in the Church will one day outnumber Jews. The parable of the yeast indicates that all are invited to salvation, and that the power of the Holy Spirit working within the Church will enable it to grow.
The small beginnings and great ending: Using a pair of mini-parables — the mustard seed and the yeast — Jesus explains how the Kingdom of God, or rule of God, grows within us by the power of the Word of God and power of the Holy Spirit living within us. When we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ and allow his Word to take root in our hearts, we are transformed and made holy by the power of the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us. In the Parable of the mustard seed, the primary point of comparison is the contrast between the smallness of the seed and the greatness of the result (“the largest of plants”). The life-principle in a small mustard seed enables it to grow into a large bush by a slow but steady process. In the Parable of the Yeast the microscopic yeasts within a small piece of leaven transform a thick lump of dough overnight into soft, spongy bread. Christianity had a small beginning, like a mustard seed or yeast, with Jesus and a band of twelve apostles in a remote corner of the world. But through the power of the Holy Spirit living in individual Christians, Christianity has become the largest religion in the world, spreading in all countries embracing all races of people.
Life messages: 1) We need to allow the Holy Spirit to transform us, changing our evil ways and tendencies to a life of holiness; from unjust and uncharitable conversations to speaking with God and listening to Him (prayer); from a judgmental attitude expressed in scornful criticism, to non-judgmental acceptance of people as our brothers and sisters in Christ, and from destructive gossip to a loving, welcoming attitude, lived out in willing help, patience, and consoling, encouraging, inspiring support.
2) We need to act like yeast, influencing the lives of others around us: Just as Christianity in the past transformed the treatment of women, children, slaves, the sick, and the poor by the power of Jesus’ Gospel, we Christians, in our time, have the duty to transform the lives of people around us by our exemplary lives, led according to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/26
July 28 Tuesday: Mt 13:36-43:36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of man; 38 the field is the world, and the good seed means the sons of the kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. 41 The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
The context: Today’s Gospel text is Jesus’ explanation of the Parable of the wheat and weeds. This parable teaches us that a very patient and compassionate God is hopeful that the so-called “weeds” among us will be converted, and that we should not be in a hurry to eliminate such elements from the Church, society, or the family, on the basis of unwarranted and hasty judgment.
Through the Parable of the wheat and the weeds, Jesus assures us that we are the field of God. We are the ground Jesus works, as well as the seed Jesus plants, and the seedlings Jesus nurtures. We are the people upon whom Jesus rests his hopes, and the folks in whom he plants the seed — the Word of God. We are the congregation He anoints with the Holy Spirit. In today’s parable, Jesus shows us a wise and patient God Who allows the good and the evil to coexist in the world, so that the ones who do evil may come to conversion before their time ends, and He must punish them: “Let the seed and the darnel grow together till the harvest time.”In other words, God awaits repentant sinners, giving them the strength to acknowledge their weakness: “God’s delays are not God’s denial.” God calmly recognizes that there is evil in the world, but He sees that evil as no excuse for the good people who have God’s grace at their disposal not to do good. Through the Parable of the wheat and the weeds in today’s Gospel, Jesus calls us to be patient with those who, as we see them, fail to meet the high ethical standard expected of a Christian. If we don’t spend all our time wondering why there is so much evil in the world, we will have more left for wondering why there is so much good!
Life message: 1) We need to practice patience. We need to be patient with ourselves and with others, especially those who annoy us and those who offend us. Let us patiently and lovingly treat the “weeds”in our society as our brothers and sisters and do all in our power to put them back on the right road to Heaven, especially by our good example and our fervent prayer for their conversion. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/26
July 29 Wednesday: St. Martha, Mary & Lazarus: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saints-martha-mary-and-lazarus:https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saints-martha-mary-and-lazarus Jn 11:19-27 (or Lk 10: 8-42): 19 Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary sat in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world.”
July 29th was traditionally celebrated as the feast day of St. Martha, sister of Mary and Lazarus. But on February 2, 2021, Pope Francis expanded this memorial to include Martha’s sister and brother, Mary and Lazarus, close friends of Jesus. Since they lived in Bethany, less than two miles from Jerusalem, Jesus visited their home each time he, with his disciples, participated in a major feast in the Temple of Jerusalem, and Martha prepared meals for them. It was during one of those meals that Jesus praised Mary for finding time to listen to him and gently told Martha that she was worrying too much about the details of the cooking and serving of the meal she was preparing tor Him and His Apostles, while Mary, sitting and listening to Him was serving Him also, and better.
Pope Francis decided in February, 2021 to include all three siblings, Martha, Mary and Lazarus, in today’s feast. Martha is presented as a woman of great dynamism and action who despite her deep sorrow at her brother’s death, believed in Jesus as the Lord of life and death and proclaimed him by her strong profession of Faith as the Messiah and God. Mary is included in the feast as a model of the keen listener to the word of God who was keen on applying the word she heard into her life. Correcting the unbiblical belief that Mary of Magdala and the sinful woman who anointed the feet of Jesus at the house of a Pharisee were identical with Mary of Berthany, the sister of Lazarus, the Pope approved the unanimous opinion of modern Bible scholars that these three Marys are distinct and different women. Lazarus is included in the feast because of his courageous, strong testimony that he had been resuscitated by Jesus, despite the Pharisees’ threat to arrest him. When this memorial was established, the Congregation for Divine Worship said, “In the household of Bethany, the Lord Jesus experienced the family spirit and friendship of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, and for this reason the Gospel of John states that he loved them.”
Life messages: 1) Let us invite Jesus into our families by consecrating our families to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and by allowing him to rule our lives. 2) We need both Marthas and Marys in the Church – women of action and women of contemplation. How would the Church survive if not for the Marthas and Bills who sing in the choir, teach in the Sunday school, work with the youth, run the altar guild, work with the homeless, and build the Church? The same is true with the family. We need responsible people to do the work in the house: to cook, to clean, to keep the house operating, to pay the bills, to keep the cars running, not to speak of rearing the children and loving the spouse. Households can’t survive without Marthas and Bills, nor can offices, schools or businesses. 3) But we must all find time to listen to God speaking to us through His word, and time to talk to God. Where would we all be without the cloistered monks and nuns who spend their lives praising God and praying for all of us? Jesus clearly told us to be hearers anddoers of the word; he never reversed that order. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/26: For additional reflections, click on: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video;https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections
July 30 Thursday: St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop, Doctor of the Church: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-peter-chrysologus : Mt 13:47-53:47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; 48 when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, 50 and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. 51 “Have you understood all this?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” 53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there. .”
The context: Today’s Gospel presents the third in a set of three parables Jesus preached on the Kingdom of God/Heaven and the conditions for entering it. The Parable of the fishing net: In Palestine, there were two main ways of fishing. The first was with the casting-net, which required a keen eye and great skill in throwing the net at the correct moment. The second was with a dragnet or seine. Galilean seine nets were tied to two boats and drawn through the water. The catch was sorted only afterwards, with edible (kosher) fish going to market and unacceptable fish being thrown away. Just as a dragnet collects good and bad fish indiscriminately, so the Church is bound to be a mixture of all kinds of people, good and bad, useless and useful. This parable encourages the Church to adopt an open approach to Evangelization. The parable also teaches that the time of separation will come in the Final Judgment, when the good and the bad will be sent to their respective, freely chosen, destinies. This parable is, thus, a counterpart to the Parable of the weeds and the wheat.The concluding simile or mini-parable: Jesus concludes his parables by advising the listeners to imitate wise scribes (Jewish religious teachers who specialized in Sacred Scripture and its application to life). A scribe/scholar need not give up his scholarship when he became a Christian; rather he should use his learning for Christ. Christians are also expected to be like scholars who study both the old wisdom of their ancestors and the new vistas of knowledge. They have a duty to pass on to others the Christian teaching they have received in language their hearers can understand.
Life message: 1) We need to learn loving patience and compassionate understanding.) The lesson of this parable is that the Church is a mixed body of saints and sinners (good and bad fish). There will be always a temptation on the part of some who feel they are more “faithful” to separate themselves from the “unfaithful.” But Jesus reminds us that the final judgment resulting in reward or punishment is the work of God. Thus, we must learn to be loving, patient, compassionate, and understanding of others, resisting firmly the temptation to pass judgment on them, even if only silently, as falling “far below the requirements” of the Gospel and the Kingdom. Let us humbly admit the fact that only Jesus and Mary were not a mixture of good and evil. Let us acknowledge as St. Paul did, “I am what I am with the grace of God” (1 Cor 15:10.) Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/26
July 31 Friday: St. Ignatius of Lyola, Priest: (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-ignatius-of-loyola ) Mt 13:54-5854 He came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue. They were astonished* and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?” 55 Is he not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56 Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all this?” 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house.” 58 And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.
The context: Today’s Gospel describes how, on a Sabbath, Jesus stood before the people in the synagogue of his hometown, Nazareth, reading and interpreting what Isaiah had prophesied about the Messiah and his mission. Jesus claimed that he was the One sent “to bring glad tidings to the poor, liberation to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and freedom for the oppressed.” To the great amazement and disbelief of his own townsmen, Jesus declared that Isaiah’s prophecy was being fulfilled at that very moment “in your hearing,” because the prophet was foretelling and describing Jesus’ mission and ministry. Luke reports that the initial reaction of the people was surprise at the power and eloquence of this son of their soil. They were amazed that one of their fellow villagers could speak with such grace and eloquence and with such authority. Luke says they were “amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips,” because they knew him only as a carpenter from a poor family, with no formal training in Mosaic Law. But their amazement turned into displeasure when, during his “Inaugural Address” or “Mission Statement,” Jesus took upon himself the identity of a prophet, different from the image of the miracle-worker that people wished to see. Then their displeasure turned into anger when Jesus claimed that he was the promised Messiah of Isaiah’s prophecy. They challenged his Messianic claim, asking, and “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” They could not understand how a mere carpenter could be the Messiah who would liberate them from Roman rule and reestablish the Davidic kingdom. Jesus explained their attitude by saying “No prophet is accepted in his native place” (Is 13:57).
Life messages:1) We need to face rejection with prophetic courage and optimism. Perhaps we have experienced the pain of rejection, betrayal, abandonment, violated trust, neglect, or abuse, even from friends and family members, when we reached out to them as God’s agents of healing and saving grace. Perhaps we ourselves are guilty of the same rejection of God in His agents. Perhaps we, too, have been guilty of ignoring or humiliating people with our arrogance and prejudice. Let us learn to correct our mistakes and to face rejection from others with courage.
2)Let us not, like the people in Jesus’ hometown, reject God in our lives. We reject God when we are unwilling to be helped by God, or by others. Such unwillingness prevents us from recognizing God’s directions, help and support in our lives, through His words in the Bible, through the teaching of the Church, and through the advice and examples of others. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/26
Aug 1 Saturday: St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop, Doctor of the Church: (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-alphonsus-liguori)Mt 14:1-12: 1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus; 2 and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist, he has been raised from the dead; that is why these powers are at work in him.” 3 For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison, for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; 4 because John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. 6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and pleased Herod, 7 so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 And the king was sorry; but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given; 10 he sent and had John beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 And his disciples came and took the body and buried it; and they went and told Jesus.
The context: Today’s Gospel presents the last scene of a tragic drama with three main characters, Herod, Herodias, and John the Baptist. Herod Antipas, (4 BC – AD 39), was a jealous, weak puppet-king with a guilty conscience. He feared the prophet John because John had publicly pointed out the evil Herod had done in divorcing his lawful wife without adequate cause and then marrying his sister-in-law, Herodias, thus committing a double violation of Mosaic Law. Herodias was an immoral, greedy woman, stained by a triple guilt and publicly criticized by John. 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 her 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 convictions who criticized and challenged an Oriental monarch and his proud wife in public for doing evil.
God’s punishment: After the martyrdom of John, Herod was defeated by Aretas, the father of Herod’s first wife. Later, both Herod and Herodias were sent into exile by Caligula, the Roman emperor.
Life messages: 1) As Christians we need to live out the moral integrity and the courage of our convictions as John did. 2) Let us remember that sins of revenge and cruelty will never go unpunished. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/26
O. T. 18 [A] Sunday (Aug 2/26) –Eight-minute homily in one page
Introduction:The central theme of today’s readings is the care God can take of us, meeting our physical and spiritual needs, if we put our trust in Him. He shares Jesus, His only-begotten Son and become Incarnate so that Jesus can be Infinite generosity both prepares us for the Heavenly banquet, and challenges us to share our blessings with others.
Scripture lessons: In the first reading, Isaiah consoles the Jewish exiles in Babylon, assuring them of their return to homeland and promising them that Yahweh their God alone can, and will, provide for their spiritual and physical needs. He will pardon their sins and will offer them participation in His eschatological banquet. The refrain for today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 145), has us sing, “The Hand of the Lord feeds us; He answers all our needs,” in praise of the mercy, forgiveness, and maternal care of our One loving and providing God. In the second reading, Paul argues that since God’s love for us is Infinitely immense, “nothing can come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.” In today’s Gospel, demonstrating God’s caring love for us, Jesus fed the enormous crowd of listeners both spiritually by his preaching, and physically by his miraculous multiplication of the apostles’ lunch of five loaves and two fish. This miracle shows the Divinity of Jesus, the providing care of God, and the compassion of Jesus for the crowd. The miracle is also a Messianic sign, identifying Jesus as both the new Moses who fed the Israelites in the desert and the new Elisha who miraculously fed the starving people of Gilgal (2 Kings 4:42-44). The Eucharistic wordings used, and the promise made by Jesus on the following day, that he would give his body and blood as food and drink (John 6:25-70), made the miracle a prefiguring symbol of the Holy Eucharist.
Life messages:1) We need to nourish our souls with Jesus in Word and Sacrament. We nourish our souls with the Word of God (by listening to God through reading the Bible) and with the Bread of Life (by receiving Jesus in Holy Communion). We need to find time to be with Christ both in personal and family prayer, and in Adoration of the Eucharist whenever this is available. One way of listening to God is to read a passage in the Bible until it speaks to the heart, then stop to reflect on the message God is conveying to our hearts. The next step is to respond to God by prayer, which is talking to Him, as to a friend in conversation, telling Him everything and asking Him for whatever we need.
2) We need to be “Eucharistic” ministers: We, too, can perform miracles in our own time and place, by imitating the four “Eucharistic actions” of Jesus: take humbly and generously what God gives us, bless it by offering it to others in God’s love, break away from our own needs and selfish interests for the sake of others, give with joy-filled gratitude to God who has blessed us with so much and to our brothers and sisters, His children.
3) We need to be generous in sharing God’s blessings: We need to share our blessings with others around us, generously and sacrificially, in order to alleviate their spiritual and physical hunger. God lavishly blesses the large-hearted, who generously and sacrificially share their resources with others.
OT XVIII [A] (Aug 2, 2026):Is 55:1-3; Rom 8:35, 37-39; Mt 14:13-21
Homily-Starter Anecdotes: (Biblical reason why preachers may use anecdotes in their homilies? Mt 13: 34: All this Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable). #1: “I shared my rice because she has several starving children:” From her personal experience, Mother Teresa relates a story showing how generous the poor are, and how ready to share what little they have with others because they themselves have experienced hunger and poverty. Learning of a poor Hindu family in Calcutta who had been starving for many days, Mother Teresa visited them and gave a parcel of rice to the mother of the family. She was surprised to see that the woman divided the rice into two equal portions and gave one to her Moslem neighbor. When Mother Teresa asked her why she had done such a sacrificial deed, the woman replied: “My family can manage with half of what you brought. My neighbor’s family is in greater need because they have several children who are starving.” In the Synoptic Gospels’ account, the Apostles (in John’s account, a young boy), gave Jesus all they/he had — five small loaves of barley bread and two dried fish, — and Jesus used that tiny amount to feed a multitude. Thus, the apostles, and/or the young boy, became the instrument of a miracle in Jesus’ hands.
# 2: “The Cheeseburger Bill:” Statistics tell us that Americans eat 75 acres of pizza, 53 million hot dogs, 167 million eggs, 3 million gallons of ice cream, and 3,000 tons of candy a day. As a result, fifty-five percent of American adults are overweight and 23 percent of us are obese, costing this country about $118 billion in lost wages and medical expenses annually. On March 10, 2004, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill known as the “Cheeseburger Bill” designed to protect fast-food companies from lawsuits filed by overweight people. One billion of the world’s richest people consume 80 percent of the earth’s resources (World population in 2020 is 7.8 billion). Another five billion consume 15 percent, leaving 5% for 1.8 billion chronically malnourished people, most of them women and children. Seven million children in the world under the age of five die each year from malnutrition. Someone has noted that the average person BLINKS his eyes 13 times every minute, and in every minute 13 people starve to death. Even in the U.S., there are 3.8 million families who experience hunger, and up to 12 million families are concerned about having enough food to feed their families. The problem is not how much food is available; the problem is distribution. In the U.S., food production has tripled since World War II while the population has only doubled, so why are there hungry people? The percent of personal income given to charity in the United States was 2.9 percent during the Great Depression and 2.5 percent in 2002 and less in 2014. Is hunger a problem of production or a lack of faith? Hunger is real. And food is the subject of the miracle in today’s Gospel when Jesus miraculously fed the nearly 20,000 people present on that Galilean hillside.
# 3:Frightening Hunger statistics: Statisticians report that for at least two thirds of the world’s population, hunger is a daily experience — not the slight twinge of discomfort or abdominal rumbling which may occur if a meal is skipped or delayed, but the deep, painful, sunken-eyed, body-emaciating type of hunger which is virtual starvation. Every hour of every day, at least 1500 people die of hunger or hunger-related causes while farmers in some of the world’s wealthiest industrialized nations are paid not to grow certain crops and to relegate others to storage bins and warehouses. To further compound this untenable situation, billions of dollars are spent annually on a variety of weight loss products and programs because one third of the world’s population is sated with seventy-five percent of its food supply. Since most of the readers of this publication are probably among the fortunate, for whom physical hunger is not a routine experience, it may be difficult to appreciate fully the impact of today’s readings. In both the first reading and the Gospel, the hungry are called to come and be filled at the banquet which the Lord freely provides. The significance of these readings lies in the fact that, in addition to providing for their physical appetites, the Lord is also offering to satisfy the spiritual hungers of His people. (Sanchez Files).
# 4:Hams for the Hungry and Aspirin for the sick: Four years ago, young Matthew LeSage, a third grader, wanted to do something to help the hungry in his city. So, he started a program, Hams for the Hungry. This year, in its fourth year, Hams for the Hungry will raise $40,000 to brighten the holiday season for people with limited resources. Matthew’s story reminds me of another young man, 13 years old at the time, who read about Dr. Albert Schweitzer’s missionary work in Africa. He wanted to help. He had enough money to buy one bottle of aspirin. He wrote to the Air Force and asked if they could fly over Dr. Schweitzer’s hospital and drop the bottle down to him. A radio station broadcast the story about this young fellow’s concern for helping others. Others responded as well. Eventually, he was flown by the government to Schweitzer’s hospital along with 4 1/2 tons of medical supplies worth $400,000 freely given by thousands of people. This, of course, would be the equivalent of millions of dollars today. — When Dr. Schweitzer heard the story, he said, “I never thought one child could do so much.” In John’s account, our story from Matthew’s Gospel is about a young man who didn’t have much. But what he did have, he offered to Christ. And thousands of hungry people were fed.
Introduction: The common theme of today’s readings is the provident care of a loving and merciful God who generously shares His riches with us and invites us to practice His sharing love in our lives. After announcing the return of God’s chosen people to their homeland from Babylonian captivity, the prophet Isaiah, in today’s first reading, concludes his prophecies with God’s invitation to the eschatological banquet [the Heavenly Banquet that will be given to all of us after the world and has come to its end and the Last Judgment has settled all of us in our freely chosen eternal homes in Heaven (or Hell). The grace of God is compared to freely given food and drink. Yahweh’s gracious invitation in the first reading is echoed in the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 145), which reminds us, “The eyes of all look hopefully to You, and You give them their food in due season; You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.” In the second reading, Paul argues that, since God loves us, “nothing can come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.”Today’s Gospel describes how Jesus demonstrates the provident care of God the Father by miraculously feeding a multitude of listeners near a remote, desolate village called Bethsaida Julius, where the River Jordan still flows into the north end of the Sea of Galilee. In Matthew’s account, Jesus acts out of his great compassion for the crowds. First, he challenges the disciples to give what they have — five loaves and two fish. Then he performs the four-fold action that prefigures the Eucharist: He takes, raising His eyes to Heaven blesses, breaks and gives the bread and fish to the assembled multitude, making of them a community of the Lord’s banquet. Just as God supplies the needs of all living beings, so Jesus, His Son, heals the sick and feeds the hungry. This event indicates God’s power in Christ as well as His mercy.
The first reading (Isaiah 55:1-3) explained: Chapters 40-55 of Isaiah record prophecies concerning the end of the Babylonian captivity, when the Jews would return to their devastated homeland from slavery. Promising fertility of crops and livestock through His prophet, the Lord God meant to give the people hope and to keep them from losing Faith in Him. The people were promised abundant water, grain, milk, wine, and bread — with a renewal of God’s covenant. Isaiah’s prophecy repeatedly assured the people that poverty would not be a barrier to their enjoyment of God’s bounty: “You, who have no money, come.” “Come, without paying and without cost.” “Why spend … your wages for what fails to satisfy?” This would be a reassurance to people who were ashamed of the sins that had led them into exile. God was telling them that they didn’t have to pay their own ransom, but that He (Yahweh) would pay the price out of undeserved mercy and love because He had made an everlasting Covenant with His people which Jesus would fulfill by His death and Resurrection. That Eternal Covenant, which will be celebrated after the end of the world and the Final Judgment, is foreshadowed by Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the hungry multitude gathered around him (Isaiah 55:1). Describing himself as Living Water and as Bread from Heaven, Jesus underlined the future Eucharistic Banquet for the Pilgrim Church as well as the final Heavenly Banquet at time’s end. Deutero-Isaiah’s vision of the messianic banquet was realized through Jesus’ actions at the institution of the Holy Eucharist at his Last Supper. The concluding sentence explains why the audience is invited to “eat the what is good” and “delight yourselves in rich food” (Is 55:1; RSV2Catholic), for in God’s Kingdom, everyone becomes a king, sharing the “benefits assured to David.” Finally, the Divine promise of life – “Listen, that you may have life!” – takes on new and fulfilled meaning in Christ’s Resurrection.
Responsorial Psalm 145: Yahweh’s gracious invitation in the first lesson is echoed in the Responsorial Psalm – Yahweh is “good to all, His compassion is over all that He has made” (v. 9) – and specific details are added: the fallen and bowed down are rescued, all creatures are fed, and all who call on Him and cry to Him are heard. In verse 10, not used in today’s selection, the Psalmist declares that the response of all creatures to this unmerited generosity is to praise and bless Yahweh. The first reading and psalm agree that God is like a caring mother, delighted to please us and meet all our needs. For our part, we need do nothing other than to accept this loving care, with our gratitude expressed as obedience to His commandments.
The second reading: (Romans 8:35, 37-39) explained:Some of the Judeo-Christians in Rome insisted that the Gentile Christians needed to observe at least some aspects of the Law of Moses. Paul, on the other hand, argued that it was enough to put one’s Faith in Jesus and let God save us through His unearned and undeserved grace. Hence, the Gentile converts to Christianity had no obligation to keep any aspect of Jewish law, although Jewish converts could do so if they wished. In today’s lesson from the letter to the Romans, Paul answers the question, “Well, if God loves us so much as to save us by unearned grace, why is everything still so difficult? Why are we suffering?” Paul’s response sounds like a lawyer’s dramatic closing argument in a hard-fought trial when he declares, “…neither death nor life…nothing that exists…can ever come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.” For Paul, these are the trials through which we triumph.
Gospel exegesis:The symbolism of the multiplication of bread: The multiplication of the loaves is described six times in the Gospels: twice in Matthew and Mark and once each in Luke and John. The numbers are symbolic. For example, the word “basket” refers to the Jewish basket, and 12 suggests Israel’s twelve tribes. The language used echoes that of Moses feeding the people in the desert. The number 5 might refer in some way to the Pentateuch. The location is Jewish territory. The echoes of Moses are important for Matthew’s Gospel because his community had only recently broken from the mother religion of Judaism and would like to claim for itself the fulfillment of that to which the Mosaic traditions pointed.
Herod’s banquet versus Jesus’ banquet: In today’s Gospel, Matthew intentionally contrasts two “banquets”: one hosted by Herod which resulted in the death of John the Baptist (Mt 14:1-12), and the feeding of a large crowd by Jesus near the shore of the Sea of Galilee (Mt 14:13-21). Herod’s banquet took place in an environment of scheming and arrogance; it concluded with a murder. Prior to feeding the crowd that was following him, Jesus felt compassion for their needs and healed their sick. Herod’s banquet was held at a royal court. Jesus’ meal with this crowd was performed in a “deserted” place or wilderness. Matthew uses these two meals, Herod’s great banquet and Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000, to prefigure Jesus’ coming “Last Supper” and death. Jesus’ path to kingship was quite the opposite of Herod’s, which was littered with corpses. Jesus’ path to kingship was the willing offering of himself on behalf of others (20:28). In Matthew’s account, this miracle happened right after the death of John the Baptist. Jesus’ forerunner was dead; he had finished his work, and so he died at the hands of Herod. John’s death foreshadowed Jesus’ own death at the hands of Pontius Pilate.
Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness: This withdrawal could have been meant to provide a period of rest and reflection for Jesus and his disciples, a time for the disciples to be taught by Jesus. It might also have been meant to allow Jesus to avoid possible danger after the execution of John the Baptist. But when Jesus stepped ashore, he was faced with a large crowd of people. His immediate response was deep compassion, and he began to heal the sick among them.
A great miracle before a multitude: The miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 is found in all four Gospels, although the context and emphasis varies. Told no less than six times in the four Gospels, the event of the loaves and fish is the only miracle so emphasized. This is the only miracle, other than the Resurrection, that is told in all four Gospels, a fact that speaks of its importance to the early Church. [Compare Mark 6:35-44, Luke 9:12-17, and John 6:1-14]. The miraculous feeding narrative expresses the conviction that, through Jesus, we share in God’s own abundance and in the promises made to God’s covenant people: “The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs,” we sing as our Responsorial Psalm (Ps 145) Refrain today. Matthew says that there were about 5,000 men, not including women and children. According to some commentators, this means that there could have been as many as 20,000-30,000 people present. The miracle suggests the Old Testament story of the people of Israel being fed with manna in the wilderness, as well as that of the multiplying of oil and bread by Elisha (II Kgs 4:1-7). The Gospel story should be treated as a witness to the power of God and an implicit declaration of Jesus’ Divinity. In the Synoptic accounts, the story also shows Christ, giving the disciples the loaves and fish to distribute to the crowd, thus empowering them to continue his works of compassion. We may regard this incident, in which Jesus multiplied loaves and fish in order to feed his hungry listeners, as both a miracle of Divine providence and a Messianic sign. The lesson for every Christian is that, no matter how impossible his or her assignment may seem, with Divine help it can be done, “for with God, nothing will be impossible” (Lk 1:37;RSV2Catholic). The twelve baskets clearly represent the twelve tribes of Israel as well as the twelve apostles who are part of the New Israel. They will become the twelve sources transmitting God’s generous comfort and aid to His people.
The Old Testament parallels: Throughout his Gospel, Mathew draws parallels between Moses and Jesus to help his community begin to identify themselves as a Church of Christian disciples, rooted in, yet distinct from, Judaism. God told Moses to feed 600,000 men fit for military service, for a month. Moses said he could not do that because he did not have sufficient food (Numbers 1:22). Consequently, God showered manna for bread and sent quails for meat. Matthew clearly intends to portray Jesus as similar to Moses, yet surpassing him, as the bringer of a new age. Jesus makes this connection even more explicit when he refers to manna in his “Bread–from–Heaven” discourse (John 6:31-49), which follows the feeding of the five thousand in John’s Gospel, These feedings are also reminiscent of Elisha’s feeding miracle in II Kings 4:42-44. In that story, Elisha had only twenty barley loaves to feed the starving people of Gilgal. When he ordered his servant to distribute the bread, the servant protested, “How can I set this before a hundred people?” Elisha reaffirmed the order, promising, “They shall eat and have some left.” The servant distributed the bread; the people ate — and there was bread left over in fulfillment of the Word of God. The linkage between the stories is made even tighter by the reference to barley loaves in John 6:9. Allusions in today’s Gospel (multiplication of loaves and fish), show how Jesus recapitulated and fulfilled the Old Testament story. The people here followed a new and greater Moses into the desert, where he fed them with miraculous bread. Jesus also showed himself greater than Elisha the prophet, who fed 100 men from 20 barley loaves, with “some left over.” In the gospel story, five loaves and two fish sufficed for 5,000 men, and their families, with twelve baskets left over. The miracle of the loaves and fishes is a clear affirmation of God’s most generous Providence. Just as the merciful God fed the wandering Israelites with manna in the desert, Jesus, “his heart moved with pity,” fed the crowds who had come to hear him. Just as Elisha’s miracle foreshadowed Jesus’ miracle in Galilee, which in turn foreshadowed the Last Supper, the Eucharist we now celebrate, foreshadows the Heavenly Banquet, and already enables us to begin participating in that coming Glory. Now, partaking in the Lord’s Supper nourishes the spiritual life of the believer. Through the Holy Eucharist, Jesus also satisfies our spiritual hunger for Truth, for freedom, for peace, for understanding, for justice and for love.
A miracle of generous sharing? Contemporary, scientifically -minded, free-thinking modern believers who deny everything miraculous, are skeptical about a multiplication of loaves. Hence, some interpreters propose that the “miracle” was Jesus’ success in getting this group of people to share their personal provisions. According to them, it appears strange and unnatural that the crowd had made this nine-mile long expedition to such a desolate village without taking anything to eat. So, the crowd had, in fact, brought food with them in their wicker baskets, but were unwilling to share with others. If such was the case, Jesus might have deliberately borrowed the five loaves and two fish from his apostles in order to set a good example for the crowd. Moved by this example of generosity, the crowd might have done the same: thus, there was enough for all. This rather fanciful, non-Biblical explanation may still be considered a miracle: it shows how the presence of Jesus miraculously turned a crowd of selfish men and women into a fellowship of generous sharers. But a more literal understanding of the story is the Biblically correct explanation, and the traditionally accepted view. (1) Pope Francis on the miracle of sharing: vhttp://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/pope-francis-on-the-parable-of-the-loaves-and-fishes-11-things-to-know-and (2) 20 reasons why sharing miracle view is wrong:http://catholicslovejesus.com/Teaching%20Truth%20about%20Miracle%20of%20Loaves..htm
A symbol of the Eucharist: The early Christian community especially cherished this story because they saw this event as anticipating the Eucharist. The same main actions and verbs (took, blessed, broke gave) were used to describe both the loaves event and the institution of the Eucharist. The way in which Jesus’ actions are described [“looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples,”] makes a connection with Jesus’ Last Supper and the Church’s celebration of the Eucharist. The miracle itself is a symbol of the Eucharist, the Sacrament of unity, and the sharing of the broken bread is a sign of a community that shares and provides in abundance for the needs of its members. Matthew invites us to see this miracle as a type or symbol explaining the Sacrament’s meaning. Probably, the telling of the story has been shaped by the Eucharistic customs of the early Christian community: “taking the . . . loaves,” “blessed,” “broke,” “gave,” “ate.” Clearly the account suggests the early Christian rite of the breaking of the bread (early form of the Holy Mass), celebrated on Sundays, rather than the Covenant-sacrifice meal, which was probably, in the earliest days, a single, annual Christian Passover celebration. Their “breaking of the bread” also had eschatological associations: it was an anticipation of the Messianic banquet. The Church’s Eucharist today combines both the sacrificial and the eschatological associations. In the past, emphasis was placed more on the sacrificial than on the eschatological Banquet aspect. Vatican II redressed that imbalance well, but some of those applied what they “thought” the Council “really meant” and took the shift overboard resulting in a generation whose catechesis was woefully incomplete. Now, a true balance between the two is in process of being restored — but probably only in Heaven will we all finally experience the whole meaning of the Eucharist as God sees it!
Catechism of the Catholic Church on the symbolism: This “massive” feeding of so many thousands of needy people prefigures the “superabundance” of this unique bread of the Eucharist (CCC #1335). The first Christians recognized this miracle of the breaking of the bread not only as the reality of the Real Presence of Jesus, but also as the sign of their call to be in communion with one another as the united Body of Christ (CCC #1329).
Life messages:1)“You give them something to eat.” Today’s readings tell us that God really cares about His people, and that there is enough and more than enough for everybody. Studies show that the world today produces enough food in grain alone to provide every human being on the planet with 3,600 calories a day, not counting such foods as tuber crops, vegetables, beans, nuts, fruits, meats, and fish. Over the past twenty-five years, food production has exceeded world population growth by about 16%. This means that there is no good reason for any human being in today’s world to go hungry. But even in a rich country like the U.S.A., one child out of five grows up in poverty, three million people are homeless and 4000 unborn babies are aborted every day. “The problem in feeding the world’s hungry population lies with our political lack of will, our economic system biased in favor of the affluent, our militarism, and our tendency to blame the victims of social tragedies, such as famine. We all share responsibility for the fact that populations are undernourished. Therefore, it is necessary to arouse a sense of responsibility in individuals, especially among those more blessed with this world’s goods.” (Pope John XXIII, Mater et Magistra (1961) 157-58).
It is too easy to blame God, too easy to blame governments, too easy to see these things as other people’s problems. They are also our problems. That is the meaning of the Eucharist we celebrate here today. In other words, as Christians we have to commit ourselves to share and to work with God in communicating His compassion to all. God is a caring Father, but He wants our co-operation. That’s what the early Christians did, generously sharing what they had with the needy. They were convinced that everything they needed to experience a fulfilling life was already there, in the gifts and talents of the people around them. People of our time have to be encouraged to share, even when they think they have nothing to offer. Whatever we offer through Jesus will have a life-giving effect in those who receive it. We are shown two attitudes in John’s account (John 6:7-9) of the Gospel story: that of Philip and that of Andrew. Philip said, in effect: “The situation is hopeless; nothing can be done.” But Andrew’s attitude was: “I’ll see what I can do, and I will trust Jesus to do the rest.” Let us have Andrew’s attitude.
2) God blesses those who share their talents with loving commitment. This is illustrated by Mother Teresa who went to serve the slum-dwellers of Calcutta with just twenty cents in her pocket. When she died forty-nine years later, God had turned her original twenty cents into eighty schools, three hundred mobile dispensaries, seventy leprosy clinics, thirty homes for the dying, thirty homes for abandoned children and forty thousand volunteers from all over the world to help her. We can begin our own humble efforts at “sharing” right here in our parish by participating in the works of charity done by organizations like St. Vincent DePaul Society, the Knights of Columbus and so many other volunteer groups. We may say, “I do not have enough money or talent to make any difference.” But we need to remember that the young boy in the story had only five loaves of bread and two fish. The Bible guarantees that every believer has at least one gift from the Holy Spirit. This is our one “tiny fish.” Perhaps our “fish” is not money, but a talent or an ability that God has given us. We all have something. If we have never trusted God with our time, or our talent, or our treasure — all our resources. — this is the time to start. Let us offer everything to God saying, “Here is what I am and what I have Lord, and You have given me all of it, so I am yours: use me as You will, please” And He will, blessing and amplifying everything beyond our expectations. As we begin to give, we will discover that the Lord “moves in” where we are not adequate, and He abundantly supplies what is needed. When we give all we have to God, and we ask Him to bless it, it is then the miracle happens.
3) We need to be “Eucharistic ministers”: We, too, can perform wonders in our own time and place, by imitating the four “Eucharistic verbs” of Jesus: take humbly and generously what God gives us, bless it by offering it to others in God’s love, break the use of His gift away from our own needs and selfish interests for the sake of others and give with joy-filled gratitude to God who has blessed us with so much.
4) We need to eat Jesus the Bread of life.How do we eat Jesus Christ? How do we digest the Son of God? One way is by maintaining daily private devotions, spending time alone with Christ, apart from the family and the busyness of the day. It means taking some time – five, ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes – each day to spend in the presence of Christ, the Bread of Life. We can take the Bible, read a passage until something speaks to the heart, then stop, reflect on what has been and ask, “What is God saying to me in this passage? Is there a command to obey? A promise to trust? An example to follow? A sin to avoid? A prayer to echo?” This is called reflection or meditation. We enter into quiet and stillness, focus our mind on God and His Word and listen to Him. Our next step is to respond to God by prayer which is talking to Him, speaking to Him as to a friend in conversation, telling Him everything and asking Him for whatever we need. By doing this day in and day out, we will be feeding our soul with the Bread of Life. We will grow strong within. Our Faith will mature., and we will be preparing our souls to eat the Bread of Life when we join (weekly of course, and daily if we are blessed with many priests), the Public Worship of the Church at the Eucharistic celebration. There, we gather with fellow-believers at Mass, joining hearts and voices with theirs in praising God and listening to His Word taught and preached in the Liturgy of the Word. In the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we really eat the glorified body, blood, soul and Divinity of our Risen Lord, Jesus the Christ of God in receiving the Eucharist, By eating Jesus’ Body and drinking Jesus’ Blood, we share in Jesus’ Divine life. Since Christ is the heart and center of the Bible, we can say that the Bible is also the Bread of Life. When the Bible is preached, the homilist is breaking the Bread of Life for us. Christians feed on the Word of God as they hear it in Church, as well as when they read and pray it privately .
JOKE OF THE WEEK
Leftovers? A nervous young priest, concluding his first sermon, told the flock, “For my text this Sunday, I will take the words, “And they fed five men with five thousand loaves of bread and two thousand fishes.” A member of the flock raised his hand and said, “That’s not much of a trick. I could do that.” The priest didn’t respond. However, the next Sunday he decided to repeat the text. This time he did it properly, “And they fed five thousand men with five loaves of bread and two fishes.” Smiling, the priest said to the noisy man, “Could you do that, Mr. Perkins?” The member of the flock said, “I sure could.” “How would you do it?“ asked the minister. “With all the food I had left over from last Sunday!”
1) We are over-eating ourselves to death: Experts tell us that Americans are over-eating themselves to death. Obesity is America’s number one health problem. The average American eats daily nine hundred more calories than he needs. It is reported that fifty percent of us are overweight. Fifty-three percent of the deaths are caused by diseases that are related to obesity. Americans spend annually ten billion dollars on diets and slimming programs. Even our dogs are over-fed. Look at the miserable contrast: the overfilled stomachs of dogs almost touching the ground and the bloated stomachs of children suffering from malnutrition! If we had compassion on the poor and hungry, we would voluntarily change our lifestyles to those which would call for less food in-take. Then, we could take the money saved from buying less food and give it to our Church’s program to send food abroad to the destitute. One denomination within a two-year period gave eight million dollars for world hunger. This was possible because loyal members sacrificed by eating less that others might eat more. — Jesus gave the bread to the apostles to distribute to the people. In our day those who have food, as America does, should have the compassion of Jesus to share with those who have little or no food.
2) Spiritual hunger leading people to New Age religions: Physical hunger is a very real fact of life. Spiritual hunger is just as real, and there are many millions more who are spiritually malnourished, while multitudes are dying of spiritual starvation. Many of the symptoms of spiritual hunger are seen here and all over the world. We see today spiritually hungry people who are going outside the Church for soul food. This is a judgment upon the Church for apparently not satisfying the spiritual needs of the people. Forty-two million Americans, for instance, or one out of every five, has espoused astrology. They believe that the position of the stars has something to do with their daily lives. Two-thirds of our newspapers carry a daily horoscope. Eight out of every ten Americans can tell you under what star they were born. This turning to astrology is an indication that people are looking for something transcendent; they are looking for guidance from a force beyond themselves. Six million Americans have embraced Transcendental Meditation and thirty thousand new people each month are signing up for instruction. This points to a need for meditation to get in touch with God, something many Church people must feel they are not getting now. Add to this number five million people who are seeking union with God by Yoga. Three million Americans belong to the charismatic movement, meeting a desire for an experience with the Spirit. Many of these charismatics claim that the average church is cold and lacking in spiritual warmth. Added to this, are the various heretical sects that are attracting people by the tens of thousands, like Scientology and the Unification church by Moon.
3) Junk food for the souls: What is feeding our spirits? Many Americans get their food from television. It is reported that the average child watches twenty-three hours of television per week. By the time a child reaches age eighteen, he has watched twenty-three thousand hours of television, equivalent to three years of his life. And what do they get on television, what feeds their minds and hearts? They are fed materialism through the constant appearance of commercials, often six at a time. In 1976, it is said, television stations ran three hundred thirty-five thousand commercials per month! In these commercials we are fed with a materialistic view of life. We are told that things make life happy and worthwhile. Buy, buy, and have all the good things in life! In addition, television is feeding us with sex and violence, more of both each joining the flood each year. By the time a child reaches age eighteen, it is claimed that he has seen eighteen thousand murders. On children’s television cartoons, an act of violence is shown at the rate of one per minute. These scenes of violence are sowing the seeds of hatred, brutality, and vengefulness in the hearts of people. The tragedy of our times is that we are content to feed our souls with “empty calories,” when we could be getting a spiritual banquet. We are living on chaff and husks rather than the good meat of a steak.
4)“You’d never believe it, Dad.” Charles Swindol tells a funny story about a nine-year-old named Danny who came bursting out of Sunday school like a wild stallion. His eyes were darting in every direction as he tried to locate either mom or dad. Finally, after a quick search, he grabbed his Daddy by the leg and yelled, “Man, that story of Moses and all those people crossing the Red Sea was great!” His father looked down, smiled, and asked the boy to tell him about it. “Well, the Israelites got out of Egypt, but Pharaoh and his army chased after them. So, the Jews ran as fast as they could until they got to the Red Sea. The Egyptian Army was gettin’ closer and closer. So, Moses got on his walkie-talkie and told the Israeli Air Force to bomb the Egyptians. While that was happening, the Israeli Navy built a pontoon bridge so the people could cross over. They made it!” By now his dad was shocked. “Is THAT the way they taught you the story?” he demanded. “Well, no, not exactly,” Danny admitted, “but if I told you the way they told it to us, you’d never believe it, Dad.” — It’s more popular to operate in the black-and-white world of facts … and, of course, to leave no space for the miraculous. And so, when we read the story of the feeding of the five thousand, we tend to focus our attention on the question, “Did it really happen? Or was it a miracle of sharing the bread people had with them? “ Some say that this young fellow’s example encouraged other people to share food they had brought with them for the journey. But today’s Gospel presents it as a real miracle.
5) We should rethink our own stewardship of the earth’s resources: Did you know, for example, that six million Europeans eat as much food as 240 million Africans? Even more startling, the citizens of this country, who form only 5.7% of the world’s population, eat half the food produced in the world. Somebody’s eating more than his/her share! We spend ten times more money on the feeding of cats and dogs than the sovereign country of Guinea earns as its national income. We are an indulgent, wasteful people. We each need to examine our stewardship of the bounty with which God has blessed us.
6)“I’ll pay it for you.” In 1930, during the Great Depression, a man named Golden Rule Jones was mayor of Toledo, Ohio. During his term of office, he sometimes sat as the presiding judge in night court. One night a man was brought in for stealing money from a grocery store. His defense was that he needed the money for food and that he was simply a victim of hard times. Nevertheless, Golden Rule Jones found him guilty. “You did not steal from society.” he said. “You stole from a private citizen and you broke the law. I’m fining you ten dollars. However,” and he reached for his wallet, “I’ll pay it for you.” Next, he instructed the bailiff to pass the hat around the courtroom. “I’m fining everybody here at least fifty cents. You’re all guilty of being members of a society that made it necessary for this man to steal. The collection will go to the defendant.”
7) “Help, I can’t swim:” In one of his books, Chuck Swindoll tells about a very interesting case that came before the courts in the state of Massachusetts back in the 1920s. It concerned a man who had been walking along a pier when suddenly he tripped over a rope and fell into the cold, deep waters of that ocean bay. He came up sputtering, screaming for help, then sank beneath the surface. For some reason he was unable to swim or stay afloat. His friends heard his faint cries in the distance, but they were too far away to rescue him. But within only a few yards was a young man lounging on a deck chair, sunbathing. Not only could the sun-bather hear the drowning man plead, “Help, I can’t swim,” he was also an excellent swimmer. But the tragedy is that he did nothing. He only turned his head to watch indifferently as the man finally sank and drowned. The family of the victim was so upset by that display of extreme indifference, they sued the sun-bather. The result? They lost the case. With a measure of reluctance, the court ruled that the man on the dock had no legal responsibility whatsoever to try to save the drowning man’s life. — You and I can turn a deaf ear to the needy of this world. We can callously shrug our shoulders and say, “Let God feed them.” But God works through people who are responsive to God’s leading. For them, there is nothing in this world that cannot be accomplished. Jesus said, “You feed them!” And we can.
8) Christy, Grade III A. A man was packing a shipment of food for the poor people of Appalachia. He was separating beans from powdered milk, and canned vegetables from canned meats. Reaching into a box filled with various cans, he pulled out a little brown paper sack. Apparently one of the pupils had brought something different from the items on the suggested list. Out of the paper bag fell a peanut butter sandwich, an apple, and a cookie. Crayoned in large letters was a little girl’s name, “Christy, Grade III A.’ A little girl had given up her lunch for some hungry person as did the little boy did in today’s Gospel.
9) “Born of the virgin Edna…” There was pastor who used his computer to create a personalized printed program for every Baptism. To make each one special, he’d use the computer’s “search & replace” function to find the name of the last baby baptized and then replace it with the next baby’s name. So, one Saturday evening, the priest told his computer to find the name “Mary,” last week’s baby, and to replace it with “Edna,” the next day’s baby. Next morning, everything went smoothly till the congregation reached the Apostles’ Creed and found themselves saying, “…And we believe in Jesus Christ, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Edna...” — So often our best intentions go awry, and before we get very old, the reality of our personal limitations becomes painfully clear. The Apostles in Sunday’s Gospel knew their limits only too well, especially when they stood next to Jesus. So, when Jesus looked at the crowd of about 20,000 and told the Apostles to feed the people, they were truly abashed.
10) A poor girl’s donation of “five loaves and two fish”: A sobbing little girl stood near a small Sunday school building. The pastor asked her why she was crying. “I can’t get into the Sunday school,” she sobbed. “The teacher said it was too crowded.” Seeing her shabby, unkempt appearance, the pastor guessed the reason. Taking her by the hand, the pastor took her inside and found a place for her in the Sunday school class. The child was so touched that she went to bed that night thinking of the children who had no place to learn about Jesus.
Two years later, this child lay dead in one of the poor tenement buildings, and her parents called for the kind-hearted pastor, who had befriended their daughter, to handle arrangements for her funeral. As her body was being moved, a worn and crumpled purse was found which she might have gotten from some trash dump. Inside was found fifty-seven cents and a note scribbled in a child’s handwriting. It read, “This is my saving to help build our small church and the little Sunday school bigger so that many more children can go to worship God and to learn about Jesus.” For two years she had saved for this offering of love. When the pastor tearfully read that note, he knew instantly what he should do. Carrying this note and the child’s purse to the pulpit, he told the story of the poor little girl’s unselfish love and devotion. He challenged his parishioners to raise enough money for a larger church and bigger Sunday school. A newspaper learned of the story and published it. It was read by a realtor who offered them a plot of land worth thousands, for the price of fifty-seven cents — the amount the little girl had saved. The parishioners made large donations. Checks came from far and wide. Within five years the little girl’s gift had increased to $250,000.00, a huge amount at the turn of the last century. Her unselfish, sacrificial love had paid large dividends. — When you next visit the city of Philadelphia, look for Temple Baptist Church, with a seating capacity of 3,300, and Temple University, where hundreds of students are trained. Have a look, too, at the Good Samaritan Hospital, and the Sunday school building which houses hundreds of Sunday scholars, so that no child in the area will ever need to be left outside during Sunday school time. In one of the rooms of this building you will see the picture of the sweet face of the little girl whose fifty-seven cents, so sacrificially saved, and had such a remarkable history. Alongside is a portrait of her kind pastor, Rev. Dr. Russell H. Conwell, author of the book Acres of Diamonds. In today’s Gospel we read the similar story of a boy who sacrificially shared his little lunch with Jesus, thus cooperating with Him in the miraculous feeding of a huge crowd. (Confer Snopes.com for the true story)
11) CNN heroes 2010: Out of 10,000 nominations from more than 100 countries, Narayan Krishnan from Madurai, India was selected as one of the Top 10 in “CNN heroes 2010″. In 2002, he was a cook for the prestigious Taj Hotel in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. He was selected for advanced training in Switzerland in his chosen profession as a hotel chef. He describes the moment of awakening that changed the course of his life. “I saw a very old man, eating waste food thrown out into a dumpster. I went to the nearby hotel bought some bread and gave it to the old man. Believe me; I had never seen a person eating so fast, ever. As he ate the food, his eyes were filled with tears. Those were the tears of happiness.” Right away, Krishnan quit his job and dreams of becoming a chef. Defying religious, caste and social conventions he spent his life by pouring his time and effort into feeding, bathing, and grooming the destitute, mentally ill, and elderly left uncared for and languishing in the streets. By founding the Akshaya Trust in 2003, he made thousands of people partners and facilitators of his acts of kindness. Every day, he wakes up at 4 a.m., cooks a simple hot meal and then, along with his team, loads it in a van and travels about 125 miles (201 km) feeding the homeless and mentally disabled in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. He serves breakfast, lunch and dinner to 400 indigent and elderly people in Madurai. — Today’s Gospel tells us how Jesus felt compassion for the spiritually and physically hungry people and fed them miraculously. (Fr. Bobby Jose).
12) The whole room was filled with light: In a book entitled Healing Through the Mass [Father Robert DeGrandis, SSJ (Ascension Press), pp. 84-85] I read the following. NASA did some experimenting with a special type of camera that can “see” the energy levels in the human body. The result is displayed on a monitor. The energy shows up as an aura around the body. NASA’s interest in the experiment was to investigate the effects of space travel on astronauts in orbit. Experimenting in a hospital, they discovered that when a person is dying, the aura around the body is thinner and gets thinner and thinner until the person dies. Behind a two-way mirror, the scientist and his associate carrying out this investigation in the hospital could see with their camera another man coming into the room with light coming from his pocket. Then the man took the object from his pocket and did something so that in the camera the whole room was filled with light and with their camera they could no longer see what was happening. They ran to the room to see what was causing so much light to appear in their camera. They discovered that the dying man was being given Holy Communion. Afterwards with their camera they could see that the aura around the patient was brighter. Although in his fifties, the scientist conducting the experiment decided to become a priest after witnessing that. (Fr. Tommy Lane).
13) Christ’s love stands up to trials: There is a funny story about a small-town trial many years ago. Everyone was gathered in the courthouse. The prosecuting attorney called his first witness, an elderly woman, to the stand. He approached her and asked, “Mrs. Jones, do you know me?” She responded, “Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I’ve known you since you were a young boy. And, frankly, you’ve been a big disappointment. You lie, you cheat on your wife, you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. Yes, I know you.” The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, “Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?” She replied, “Why, of course I do. “I’ve known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. I used to babysit him. And he, too, has been a real disappointment. He’s lazy, bigoted, and has a drinking problem. The man can’t build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is shoddy and crooked. Yes, I know him.” At this point, the judge rapped the courtroom to silence and called both counselors to the bench. In a very quiet voice, he said with menace, “If either of you ask her if she knows me, I’ll hold you both in contempt of court!” (E- Priest).
14) King and two beggars: There is an old story about a king and two beggars dressed in rags. The king announced a banquet in honor of his son’s wedding; anyone dressed in royal garments was welcome to attend. Both beggars longed to attend the banquet, but neither had any royal garments. The first beggar spent the day gathering lost coins and doing odd jobs. Finally, he went to the clothing merchant, presented his handful of coins, and asked for some royal robes. But the merchant laughed and said, “You can’t buy royal robes for pennies, old man!” The second beggar had a different idea. He made his way to the king’s castle, knocked on the gate, and asked to see the king. The guard brought him to the chamberlain, who took the beggar before the king’s throne. The beggar, shaking with fright, bowed low and said, “Please, your majesty, if I may be so bold, may I have one of your old garments so that I, too, may come to the banquet tonight?” The beggar was shaking so hard that he could not see the faint smile on the king’s face. “You have been wise in coming to me,” the king said. He called to his son, the young prince. “Take this man to your room and array him in some of your clothes, so that he too may enjoy the royal hospitality on this glorious night.” — The story teaches that Christ doesn’t love us because we have earned his love by our achievements; Jesus, God’s Only-begotten Son Incarnate loves us because God’s Own Goodness — unconditional and overflowing, especially in the face of our weaknesses, failures, and misery.
“You feed them!”: Tony Campolo is a professor of sociology and a popular speaker. He was once invited to a women’s conference where he was to give a major address. These women were being challenged to raise several thousand dollars for a mission project goal. While Campolo was sitting on the dais, the chairperson turned to him and asked him if he would pray for God’s blessing as they considered their individual responses to the goal. Campolo stood and — to the utter amazement of everyone present — graciously said “No.” He approached the microphone and said, “You already have all the resources necessary to complete this mission project right here within this room. It would be inappropriate to ask for God’s blessing, when in fact God has already blessed you with the abundance and the means to achieve this goal. The necessary gifts are in your hands. As soon as we take the offering and underwrite this mission project, we will thank God for freeing us to be the generous, responsible and accountable stewards that we’re called to be as Christian disciples.” And they did. Wow! Leave it to Tony Campolo to hit the nail right on the thumb! Jesus says, “You feed them!” And we can! This is a rich world and we are rich people! (King Duncan, “You Feed Them!” Quoted by Fr. Kayala).
16)Loving Generosity: Time out of mind, when the world was young, two brothers shared a field and a mill. Each night they divided evenly the grain they had ground together during the day. Now, as it happened, one of the brothers lived alone; the other had a wife and a large family. One day the single brother thought to himself: “It isn’t really fair that we divide the grain equally. I have onlymyself to care for, but my brother has children to feed.” So, each night he secretly took some of his grain to his brother’s granary to see that he was never without. But the married brother said to himself one day, “It isn’t fair that we should divide the grain equally, because I have children to provide for me in my old age, but my brother has no one. What will he do when he is old?” So every night he secretly took some of his grain to his brother’s granary. As a result, each of them always found his supply of grain mysteriously replenished each morning. Then one night the brothers, meeting each other halfway between their two houses, suddenly realized what had been happening and embraced each other in love. — The story is that God witnessed their meeting and proclaimed, “This is a holy place – a place of love – and here it is that My Temple shall be built.” And so it was. The holy place where God is made known, is where human beings discover each other in love. (Wilkie Au in By Way of the Heart; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
17)More blessed to give than to receive: There was the beggar who sat at the Temple gate every day, begging for his living. One day he heard that the King was coming to the Temple and he was all excited, sure that the king would give him enough alms so he wouldn’t have to beg any more. He eagerly awaited the arrival of the king but when the king came, the King did a strange thing. Instead of giving alms, he begged for alms himself. Perplexed, the beggar put his hand into his bag and reluctantly placed a few grains of rice into the king’s hands. Thanking him, the king departed, putting back to the beggar’s bag the grains he received, much to the disappointment of the beggar. At the end of the day the beggar returned home frustrated. But when he poured out the contents of his bag to check his day’s collection, to his great surprise, he discovered a few grains of gold among the rice. How he wished he had given more to the king! (Ravindra Nath Tagore; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
18) Stone Soup and miracle of sharing: One day a village woman was surprised to find a well-dressed stranger at her door asking for something to eat. “I’m sorry,” she said, “But I have nothing in the house right now.” “Not to worry,” said the amiable stranger. “I have a soup stone in my bag; if you will let me put it in a pot of boiling water, I’ll make the most delicious soup in the world. A large pot please.” The woman gave him the pot. He put the stone into it and filled the pot with water. As he put it on the fire, she whispered the secret of the soup stone to a neighbor. Soon all the neighbors had gathered to see the stranger and his soup stone. When the water began to boil, the stranger tasted a spoonful and exclaimed, “Very tasty! All it needs is some potatoes.” “I have potatoes at home,” shouted one woman. In a few minutes she was back with a large quantity of sliced potatoes, which were placed in the pot. Then the stranger tasted the brew again. “Excellent!” he said, adding, “if we only had some meat this would become a tasty stew.” Another housewife rushed home to bring some meat, which the stranger graciously accepted and deposited in the pot. When he tasted the broth again, he rolled his eyes heavenwards and said, “Delicious!” If only we had some vegetables, it would be perfect.” One of the neighbors rushed off home and returned with a basket of carrots and onions. After these had been put in, the stranger tasted the mixture and in a voice of command ask, “Salt and sauce?”“Right here,” said the housewife. Then came another command, “Bowls for everyone?” People rushed to their homes in search of bowls. Some even brought back bread and fruit. Then they all sat down to a delicious meal while the stranger handed out large helpings of his incredible soup. Everyone felt strangely happy as they laughed and talked and shared their first common meal. In the middle of the merriment the stranger slipped quietly away, leaving behind the miraculous soup stone, which they used every time they wanted to make the loveliest soup in the world. (Flor McCarthy in New Sunday & Holy Day Liturgies; quoted by Fr. Botelho). L/26
Visit my website by clicking on https://frtonyshomilies.com/for missed or previous Cycle C & A 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). My post-retirement postal address in tge U. S.: Fr. Anthony Kadavil, C/o Fr. Jogy M. C. , St. Agatha Church, 1001 Hand Avenue, Bay Minette, Al 36507
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/martyrdom-of-saint-john-the-baptist: Mk 6:17-29: 14 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 27And immediaately the King sent a soldier of the guard and gave orders to bring his head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, 28 and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb. 
“Scriptural Homilies” Cycle A (No. 47) by Fr. Tony: 
Fr Tony's Homilies 
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