ASH WEDNESDAY (March 2) 8-minute homily in one page 

Introduction: Ash Wednesday (dies cinerum), is the Church’s Yom Kippur or “Day of Atonement.” The very name of the day comes from the ancient practice of doing mourning or doing penance wearing “sackcloth and ashes” to express penitence, not only by both the Chosen People and pagans as well. The Old Testament shows us the pagan people of Nineveh, the pagan King Ben Haddad of Syria, and the Jewish Queen Esther fasted, wearing sackcloth and ashes.In the early Church, Christians who had committed serious sins were did public penance wearing sackcloth and ashes. The Church instructs us to observe Ash Wednesday and Good Friday as days of full fast and abstinence. Fasting is prescribed to reinforce our penitential prayer during the Lenten season.

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

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

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

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

ASH WEDNESDAY (March 2) JL 2:12-18; II Cor 5:20–6:2; Mt 6:1-6, 16-18

Homily starter anecdote: # Lent then and now: So, we begin another season of Lent. Those of you who are as old as I am will remember Lent as a more severe season than it seems to be today. The fasting required was more challenging; adults had to fast every day of Lent, and fasting included two meatless meals out of the three, with, of course, nothing between meals, and no meat at all on Fridays. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday demanded full abstinence from meat as well as fasting. So, Abstinence from meat was an everyday Lenten thing, not just an Ash Wednesday/all Lenten Fridays practice. We ate a lot of macaroni and cheese in those days! We made personal sacrifices, giving up smoking, candy, alcohol or something else that we really liked. And generally, we practiced self-denial on Sunday, not just on weekdays. We went to Church a lot more, whether to daily Mass, or Stations of the Cross, or for prayer. Many feel that Lent today is much easier. Encouragement is given to do positive things during Lent, so many don’t give up much anymore. Most people don’t find their life during Lent much different from their life in any other season. Following the Second Vatican Council, the Church decided to take a risk and treat us as adults. While they removed many of the previous rules, they challenged us to observe the season of Lent with all seriousness, to take responsibility for our own spiritual growth. That is a lot harder than just following rules, but it also bears the potential of really making Lent a time to change our lives and truly become more Christlike. (Fr.Lawrence Mick).

Introduction: Ash Wednesday (dies cinerum)is the Church’s Yom Kippur or “Day of Atonement.” The very name of the day comes from the Jewish practice of doing penance wearing “sackcloth and ashes.” In the early Church, Christians who had committed serious sins were instructed to do public penance wearing sackcloth and ashes. This custom was introduced Richard P. McBrien, Lives of the Popes, p. 96), and it was enacted as a universal practice in all of Western Christendom by the Synod of Benevento in 1091 A.D. Since the 11th century, receiving ashes on the first day of Lent has been a universal Christian practice. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of full fast and abstinence. Fasting is prescribed to reinforce our penitential prayer during the Lenten season. The prophet Joel, in the first reading, insists that we should experience a complete conversion of heart and not simply regret for our sins. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 51) provides us with an excellent prayer of repentance and a plea for forgiveness. Saint Paul, in the second reading, advises us “to become reconciled to God.” Today’s Gospel instructs us to assimilate the true spirit of fasting and prayer., and not just settle for the legal externals.

The blessing with the ashes and the significance of the day: The priest dipping his thumb into blessed ashes (collected from burnt palms from the previous year’s Palm Sunday), marks the forehead of each with the sign of the cross , saying the words, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return” or “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” By marking the sign of the cross with ashes on the foreheads of her children, the Church gives us:

1- a firm conviction that a) we are created from the earth (as God’s beloved dust), that God’s grace gives us life, and we are connected the rest of humanity and to all living things, b) we are mortal beings, c) our bodies will become dust when buried and ashes if cremated, and d) our lifespan is very brief and unpredictable;

2- a strong warning that we will suffer eternal miseries if we do not repent of our sins and do penance; and

3- a loving invitation to realize and acknowledge our sinful condition and return to our loving and forgiving God with true repentance as the prodigal son did.

(Biblical use of ashes: Ashes are a sign of mourning in the Bible, often associated with wearing sackcloth, a coarse material. In Jb 2:8, Job “sat among the ashes” when he was stricken. When Tamar is raped by Amnon, she “put ashes on her head, and tore the long robe which she wore; and she laid her hand on her head and went away, crying aloud as she went” (2 Sm 13:19). In Esther Chapter 4, when Mordecai and the Jews learn of the order for their persecution, they put on sackcloth and ashes. Most famously, in Jon 3:6, when the pagan king of Nineveh was told by Jonah to repent, “he arose from his throne, removed his robe and covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes,’ and commanded the same for all his kingdom, including the beasts).Other citations: I Macabees 3; 47, Daniel 9: 3; Esther 14; 1-3)

Ash Wednesday Life messages: We are invited tomake a real conversion and renewal of life during the period of Lent by fasting, prayer, almsgiving, penance, and reconciliation. In fasting we sacrifice our love of “Self” so that we can become free to love God and others. In prayer we sacrifice our love of “Time” to make time for the love of God. In almsgiving we sacrifice our love of “Stuff” to make room for the love of others.

I- We need to do prayerful fasting: a) by following the example of Jesus before his public ministry, and b) by imitating the pagan king and the people of Nineveh (Jon 3:7), who fasted in sackcloth pleading for mercy from the Lord God; of the Syrian King, Ben Hadad (I Kgs 20:31-34), who did not fast, but wore sackcloth and begged Israel’s King Ahab for his life); of the Jewish Queen Esther who fasted “in garments of distress and mourning” and “covered her head with ashes and dung”, begging God to save her people (Est 4:16); of the soldiers of Judas Maccabaeus who fasted so greatly they felt too weak to fight (1 Mc 3:17); and of St. Paul who observed “frequent fastings” (2 Cor 11:27).

(Historical note: In the past, the Greek Orthodox Christians had 180 days of fasting, and the Orthodox as well as Catholic Syrian Christians had 225 to 290 days of fasting every year. The Roman Church also had a number of fast days. Technically speaking, fasting is now only required on two days in Lent, namely, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. In the United States, in addition, abstinence alone is commanded on all Fridays of Lent). “Lord Jesus, create in us silence so that we may listen to your voice in Creation and in the Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May your word guide us so that we may experience the power of your resurrection and witness to others that you are alive in our midst as source of fraternity, justice, and peace. Amen.” (ocarm.org)

Fasting: True fasting is “tearing one’s heart and returning to God” with true repentance for one’s sins (Jl 2:13). It is “breaking unjust fetters, freeing the oppressed, sharing one’s bread with the hungry, clothing with the naked and home with the homeless, and not turning away from the needy relatives” (Is 58:6-7).

Advantages of fasting: a – It reduces the excessive accumulation of “fat” in our soul in the form of evil tendencies and evil habits (=spiritual obesity).

b – It gives us additional moral and spiritual strength.

c – It offers us more time to be with God in prayer.

d – It encourages us to share our food and goods with the needy.

e – “There is joy in the salutary fasting and abstinence of Christians who eat and drink less in order that their minds may be clearer and more receptive to receive the sacred nourishment of God’s word, which the whole Church announces and meditates upon in each day’s liturgy throughout Lent” (Thomas Merton).

II – We need to lead a life of penance because:

1 – It is the model given by Jesus.

2 – It was his teaching: “If anyone wishes to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me” and “Try to enter through the narrow gate.”

3 – Theological reasons: a) it removes the weakness left by sin in our souls, b) it pays the temporal debt caused by sin, and c) it makes our prayers more fruitful.

III – We need to enlarge our hearts for reconciliation.

By receiving the ashes, we confess that we are sinners in need of the mercy of God, and we ask forgiveness for the various ways in which we have hurt our brothers and sisters. In the recent past, our Catholic community has experienced acute suffering caused by the scandalous behavior of a few of our spiritual leaders. Lent is a time for forgiveness and reconciliation. Let us allow the spirit of forgiveness to work its healing influence in our parishes and families. God bless you.

Ash Wednesday agenda: By Almsgiving, we highlight others as being more important than ourselves and give ourselves to them as Jesus gave Himself to others. By Prayer, we highlight God as being most important in our life, magnifying Him, humbling ourselves (thus realizing the distance between Him and us), and trying to come to come closer to the Lord. By Fasting, we discover our personal self and see who we really are. Cutting, pruning and disciplining ourselves will be part of this job. Doing all these three things with joyful heart and mind will prepare us to rise with Jesus. (Fr. Raj).

5 anecdotes:

1) “Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?” Some of the senior citizens here today can remember a song that was popular exactly 51 years ago this year. In 1971, a group from Canada called the Five Man Electrical Band had a hit called

The song is about how signs are always telling us what to do, and the chorus says, “Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?” Five decades and counting later, the question it poses – “Can’t you read the sign?” — is one we might ask ourselves today. We are going to be signed with ashes in the sign of our Faith, the cross. “Can’t you read the sign?” — The cross of ashes means that we are making a commitment – that we are undertaking Lent as a season of prayer and penitence, of dying to ourselves. It also describes our human condition: it says that we are broken and need repair; that we are sinners and need redemption. Most importantly, it tells us that, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are to carry our crosses. It also reminds us that we are dust and ashes– mortal human beings carrying and informed by an immortal soul. (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/)https://frtonyshomilies.com/

2) The ash-cross sign versus swoosh sign: In 1971, an art student at Portland State University named Carolyn Davidson got a job doing some freelance design work for a local sporting goods company. They were looking for a company logo, an emblem. Carolyn Davidson came up with something in just a few hours. Everyone liked what she did and thanked her. For a day’s work, she was paid $35. Little did anyone realize what Carolyn Davidson had created. That design went on to generate billions—and made history. What she came up with is the now-famous Nike swoosh. It may be the most successful, most recognizable, most visible corporate symbol in the world. Anyone in any language knows exactly what it represents. And millions around the world know the phrase that goes with it: “Just do it.” Graphic designers will tell you it’s a symbol without equal in the world. — But this morning, to begin the season of Lent, we will bear an emblem even greater, more visible, more powerful: the cross, made of ashes. We will wear it on our foreheads and carry it into the world as a sign of repentance, and sacrifice, and a quiet but purposeful desire to change. And our message—to ourselves and to those around us—is the same as the one from Nike: “Just do it!” (Deacon Greg Kandra) https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

3) The Potato Salad Promise: Tony Campolo tells about a Church that one day every year celebrates student recognition day. One year, after several students had spoken quite eloquently, the pastor started his sermon in a striking way: “Young people, you may not think you’re going to die, but you are. One of these days, they’ll take you to the cemetery, drop you in a hole, throw some dirt on your face and go back to the Church and eat potato salad.” — We may not like to acknowledge it, but someday, every one of us will have to face the “potato salad promise”, that we will all die. “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…..” https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

4)  Kill the Cyclops in you: The Cyclops is that strange monster of Greek mythology with one big eye in the middle of its forehead. We pretend to ignore the truth that, for 325 days of each year, we are all Cyclopes because there is ONE GREAT BIG “I” right in the middle of our heads! If we are skeptical about this assertion, we might watch our words for one day, from morning to night. What’s the first thing we think about each morning? “What am I going to do today? How will I do it? What will happen to me today? How will I feel today?” I, I, I. And all day long, what do we say to people? We say things like, “I think this” and “I think that” and “I agree” and “I disagree” and “I like this” and “I don’t like that” and “I just want to say…” I, I, I. And what’s the last thing that we think about at night? “I wish that so-and-so would stop doing thus-and-such to me” and “I really did a good job today” and “I wonder what I’ll do tomorrow.” The problem with seeing with one eye is that we’re half blind. Everything looks flat and two-dimensional because with only one eye, we have no depth-perception. Consequently, we go wrong in assessing people. In Greek mythology, the Cyclops was killed when Odysseus and four of his men took a spare staff of the Cyclops, hardened its tip in the fire and used that to destroy the monster’s one big eye.

5) A living children’s sermon: The Rev. Timothy J. Kennedy tells a wonderful true story that is perfect for Ash Wednesday. It was told to him by a colleague, Pastor Chris Mietlowski. It concerned a Baptism that Mietlowski once performed on an infant named Eric. During the Baptism, Mietlowski traced the cross of Christ on Eric’s forehead using the oil of catechumens.  Following ceremony, Eric’s family celebrated the occasion with a big backyard party. Family and friends ate burgers and chips and played volleyball under a summer sun. Eric, being only six months old, was left to nap in his backyard stroller. When Mom got him up, whoops! Basted on Eric’s forehead was the image of the cross. Mom had forgotten to wash Eric’s forehead following his Baptism, and the oil that the pastor had traced onto his forehead acted the opposite of a sunscreen. The Cross of Christ was imprinted on Eric’s forehead as a sunburn. — Eric’s Mom and Dad had to explain the cross to the pediatrician, to the neighbors, to the stranger in the grocery store. For a few weeks, Eric was nothing less than a [living] children’s sermon. It was only a bit of a sunburn to be sure, but [it was] the best basting a child can have to be marked with the cross. https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

Note: (Pictures are available only in my emailed homilies because permission from the publishers is necessary for legally uploading them in a website. You may get them from Google images, by typing the subject (eg: Ash Wednesday under Google images). 

FASTING AND ABSTINENCE FOR LENT 

1) Everyone 14 years of age or older is bound to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays in Lent including GOOD FRIDAY.

2) Everyone 18 years of age and under 60 years of age is bound to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

3) On these two days of fast and abstinence only one full, meatless meal is allowed. Two other meatless meals, sufficient to maintain strength, may be taken according to each one’s needs, but together they should not equal one full meal. Eating between meals is not permitted on these two days, but liquids, including milk and fruit juices, are allowed. When health or ability to work would be seriously affected, the law does not oblige.

4) To disregard completely the law of fast and abstinence is a serious matter. 

5) Going to Mass every Sunday, doing acts of charity, forgiveness, and good deeds of virtue are obligations of daily life for Catholics especially during Lent.

Videos of the week

Episcopalian virtual video on Ash Wednesday: https://youtu.be/WIEf9G2Wmho

Fr. Barron’s Ash Wednesday reflections: https://youtu.be/hPTcMWpHfKk

https://youtu.be/KO-EpdMUqa0  by Karlo Broussard

Lenten reflections: 1) https://youtu.be/MOstFC5QZyc  2) https://youtu.be/AHzG3ocLaj4

Giving up for Lent: 1) https://youtu.be/I8aWqjpuJLQ  2) https://youtu.be/zoI0qbaoq9U

History of Lent:  https://youtu.be/W7dRA13BnPM

Ashes on the head: https://www.ncregister.com/news/why-do-we-put-ashes-on-our-heads

Dr. Brian Pitre: https://youtu.be/2vnGEJHg05E

Give Up during Lent

GIVE UP grumbling! Instead, “In everything give thanks.” Constructive criticism is OK, but “moaning, groaning, and complaining” are not Christian disciplines.

GIVE UP 10 to 15 minutes in bed! Instead, use that time in prayer, Bible study and personal devotion.

GIVE UP looking at other people’s worst points! Instead concentrate on their best points. We all have faults. It is a lot easier to have people overlook our shortcomings when we overlook theirs first.

GIVE UP speaking unkindly! Instead, let your speech be generous and understanding. It costs so little to say something kind and uplifting. Why not check that sharp tongue at the door?

GIVE UP your hatred of anyone or anything! Instead, learn the discipline of love. “Love covers a multitude of sins.”

GIVE UP your worries and anxieties! Instead, trust God with them. Anxiety is spending emotional energy on something we can do nothing about: like tomorrow! Live today and let God’s grace be sufficient.

GIVE UP TV one evening a week! Instead, visit some lonely or sick person. There are those who are isolated by illness or age. Why isolate yourself in front of the “tube?” Give someone a precious gift: your time!

GIVE UP buying anything but essentials for yourself! Instead, give the money to God. The money you would spend on the luxuries could help someone meet basic needs. We are called to be stewards of God’s riches, not consumers.

GIVE UP judging by appearances and by the standard of the world! Instead, learn to give up yourself to God. There is only one who has the right to judge, Jesus Christ. (Craig Gates, Jackson, MS, “What to Give up for Lent”)

Jokes of the Day

• Today is Ash Wednesday. So, my family is going to be eating a lot more legumes, mostly lentils.
• Two 3rd graders were talking in their school. The little girl asked the boy what that smudge was on his forehead. He replied, “Its Ash Wednesday.”

“What’s Ash Wednesday?” She asked.

“Oh, it’s when Christians begin their diet,” he replied.

• Lent is when I determine which addictions, I may still have some control over.
• An Irishman walks into a bar and orders three glasses of Guinness, drinking them one at a time. Noticing this odd ritual, the bartender explains that the beer goes flat when poured and informs the man his beer would be much fresher if he ordered one glass at a time. The Irishman explains he began this custom with his two brothers, who have moved to America and Australia, respectively. This is their way of remembering all the time they spent drinking together. The man becomes a regular at the pub, well-known for always ordering three beers at once. One day he walks in and orders only two beers. Assuming the worst, a hush falls among other patrons. When the Irishman returns to the bar to order his second round, the bartender quietly offers his condolences. The man looks confused for a moment, and then explains, “No, everyone’s fine. I gave up beer for Lent.” L/22
•  “Scriptural Homilies” Cycle C (No. 18) by Fr. Tony: akadavil@gmail.comVisit my website by clicking on https://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.” Contact me only at akadavil@gmail.com. Visit also https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies  under Fr. Tony’s homilies and  under Resources in the CBCI website:  https://www.cbci.in  for other website versions.  (Vatican Radio website: http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html uploaded my Cycle A, B and C homilies in from 2018-2020)  Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604 .
  

  Bible Verses for Ash Wednesday

  Genesis 3:19 “to the dust you shall return “is one of many Scripture passages that are fitting for meditation on Ash Wednesday.

  Daniel 9:3 “So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting and in sackcloth and ashes.”

  Job 42:5-6 “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore, I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

  2 Samuel 1:2: “On the third day, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes torn and dust on his head. And it came about when he came to David that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.”

  Joshua 7:6: “Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.”

  Lamentations 2:10: “The elders of the daughter of Zion Sit on the ground, they are silent. They have thrown dust on their heads; They have girded themselves with sackcloth. The virgins of Jerusalem Have bowed their heads to the ground.”

  Ezekiel 9:4 is another verse that influenced this holiday. “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”

  Psalm 103:8-14 “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.”

  Mark 1:15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

  Psalm 90:12 “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

  2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2 “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For He says, ‘In the time of My favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”

  Revelation 18:19: “And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!’”

  Biblical use of ashes: Ashes are a sign of mourning in the Bible, often associated with wearing sackcloth, a coarse material. In Job 2:8, Job “sat among the ashes” when he was stricken. When Tamar is raped by Amnon, she “put ashes on her head, and tore the long robe which she wore; and she laid her hand on her head and went away, crying aloud as she went” (2 Samuel 13:19). In Esther Chapter 4, when Mordecai and the Jews learn of the order for their persecution, they put on sackcloth and ashes. Most famously, in Jonah 3:6, when the king of Nineveh is told to repent, “he arose from his throne, removed his robe and covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes.”)

• 9 things to know and share about Ash Wednesday- (Jimmy Akins) (http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/9-things-you-need-to-know-about-lent)

  1. What is Ash Wednesday? Ash Wednesday is the day that Lent begins).The name comes from the fact that a particular rite is always celebrated on this Wednesday in which the faithful have ashes put on their foreheads. According to the Roman Missal: In the course of today’s Mass, ashes are blessed and distributed. These are made from the olive branches or branches of other trees that were blessed the previous year [on Palm/Passion Sunday].
  2. What does the putting on of ashes symbolize? According to the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy: 125. In the Roman Rite, the beginning of the forty days of penance is marked with the austere symbol of ashes which are used in the Liturgy of Ash Wednesday. The use of ashes is a survival from an ancient rite according to which converted sinners submitted themselves to canonical penance. The actof putting on ashes symbolizes fragility and mortality, and the need to be redeemed by the mercy of God. Far from being a merely external act, the Church has retained the use of ashes to symbolize that attitude of internal penance to which all the baptized are called during Lent. The faithful who come to receiveashes should be assisted in perceiving the implicit internal significance of this act, which disposes them towards conversion and renewed Easter commitment.
  3. How does the distribution of ashes take place? The Roman Missal states that after the homily, the priest blesses the ashes and sprinkles them with holy water. Then the priest places ashes on the head of all those present who come to him, and says to each one: Repent, and believe the Gospel. Or: Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Meanwhile an antiphon or another appropriate chant is sung.
  4. Is there a particular way the ashes should be put on people’s heads? Fr. Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at Regina Apostolorum University comments: There are no set rules regarding this, and it largely depends on local custom. In most English-speaking countries the prevailing custom seems to be that the priest places enough holy water into the ashes to form a kind of paste. The ashes are then daubed in the form of a cross on the forehead. Many Catholics see this practice as a means of publicly showing their Faith and leave the smudge on their forehead throughout Ash Wednesday. In other countries, such as Spain, Italy and parts of Latin America, the prevailing custom seems to be sprinkling fairly dry ashes on the crown of the head. But even within these geographical areas, both customs are practiced and there may be other legitimate traditions as well.
  5. Can this be done outside of Mass? Yes. The Roman Missal states:

  The blessing and distribution of ashes may also take place outside Mass. In this case, the rite is preceded by a Liturgy of the Word, with the Entrance Antiphon, the Collect, and the readings with their chants as at Mass. Then there follow the Homily and the blessing and distribution of ashes. The rite is concluded with the Universal Prayer, the Blessing, and the Dismissal of the Faithful.

  6. Can someone other than a priest distributes the ashes? Yes. The Book of Blessings states: 1659 This rite may be celebrated by a priest or deacon who may be assisted by lay ministers in the distribution of ashes. The blessing of the ashes, however, is reserved to a priest or deacon.
  7. How long do you leave the ashes on? There is no rule about this. It is a matter of personal decision based on the individual’s own inclinations and circumstances. The ashes can be left on until they wear off naturally or they can be washed off or wiped off when the individual chooses.
  8. Can ashes be distributed to the sick who cannot attend Mass? Yes. The Book of Blessings states: 1657— This order [in the Book of Blessings] may also be used when ashes are brought to the sick. According to circumstances, the rite may be abbreviated by the minister. Nevertheless, at least one Scripture reading should be included in the service. 1658 — If already blessed ashes are brought to the sick, the blessing is omitted, and the distribution takes place immediately after the homily. The homily should conclude by inviting the sick person to prepare himself or herself for the reception of the ashes.
  9. Is Ash Wednesday a Holyday of Obligation? No. There is no obligation to attend Mass. However, Ash Wednesday is a penitential day, and it (together with Good Friday) is one of two days of the year on which fasting, and abstinence are required.

Feb 28- March 5:Kindly click on https://frtonyshomilies.com/ for missed Sunday and weekday homilies, RCIA & Faith formation classes:Feb 28 Monday: Mk 10: 17-27:17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19 You know the commandments: `Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth.” 21 And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 At that saying his countenance fell, and he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. 23 ..27 (Additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections (Copy and paste these web addresses on the Address bar of any Internet website like Google or MSN and press the Enter button of your Keyboard)

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

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

2) Our following of Jesus has to be totally and absolutely unconditional. Our attachment may not be to money, but to material goods, to another person, a job, health, or reputation. We must be ready to cut off any such attachment in order to become true Christian disciples, sharing our blessings with others. St. Teresa of Calcutta, (Mother Teresa), gives the message of today’s Gospel thus: “Do something Beautiful for God.” Do it with your life. Do it every day. Do it in your own way. But do it!” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

March 1 Tuesday: Mk 10:28-31: 28 Peter began to say to him, “Lo, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many that are first will be last, and the last first.” (Additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections)

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

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

Life message: 1) Let us try to become true disciples of Jesus by sacrificially sharing our blessings with those around us, thereby inheriting additional blessings from a generous God. Let us not refuse anything to him or hold back anything from him. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

March 2 Wednesday: (Ash Wednesday):  https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections)

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

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

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

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

# 2: We need to offer prayerful fasting and acts of penance for our sins,following the example of Jesus before his public ministry. Fasting reduces our “spiritual obesity” or the excessive accumulation of “fat” in our soul in the form of evil tendencies, evil habits, and evil addictions. It also gives us additional moral and spiritual strength and encourages us to share our blessings with the needy. It offers us more time to be with God in prayer. It encourages us to share our food and goods with the needy. Fasting also makes our minds clearer and more receptive to receiving the sacred nourishment of God’s Word in Scripture and in Holy Eucharist. (Thomas Merton).L/22

March 3 Thursday: (St. Catherine Drexel, Virgin, U. S. A) (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-katharine-drexel): Lk 9:22-25: 22 Jesus said to his disciples, “The `Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and on the third day raised. 23 And he said to all, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? (Additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflection

The context: After Peter had made his famous declaration of Faith in Jesus as God and the Messiah, Jesus plainly warned his disciples about his suffering death and Resurrection. But the Apostles were unwilling to accept such a fate for their master. Hence, Jesus declared the three conditions of discipleship which he expected from his followers, as given in today’s Gospel. The Three Conditions: 1) Deny yourself. 2) Take up your cross. 3) Follow Me. 1) Denying oneself involves a) cleansing of the heart by the eviction of self and the removal of all evil tendencies and addictions from the heart with the help of the Holy Spirit, b) the enthronement of God in the heart and the dedication of oneself to Him, and c) the surrendering of one’s life to the enthroned God through the loving, selfless service of others for God’s glory. 2) Taking up one’s cross means, not only accepting gracefully from God our pains and suffering, but also accepting the pain involved in serving others, in sharing our blessings with them, and in controlling our evil tendencies. Carrying one’s cross becomes easier when we compare our light crosses with the heavier ones given to terminally-ill patients and to exploited people living under subhuman conditions. The realization that Jesus carries with us the heavier part of our cross also makes our cross-bearing easier and more salvific. 3) Follow Me means one is to follow Jesus by obeying the word of God and adjusting one’s life accordingly. 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 has instituted in the Church.

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

Life message: We need to love the cross, wear the cross, carry the crosses we are given, and transform these God-given crosses of our life into the instruments of our salvation by working with the Holy Spirit. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

March 4 Friday: (St. Casimir): (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-casimir) Mt 9:14-15: 14 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” (Additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections) .

The context: Today’s Gospel passage gives Jesus’ reply to the question asked by a few disciples of John the Baptist about fasting and feasting. Prayer, fasting and almsgiving were the three-cardinal works of Jewish religious life. Hence, John’s disciples wanted to know why they and the Pharisees fasted, while Jesus’ disciples were seen feasting with him and never fasting.

Jesus’ reply: Jesus responded to their sincere question using three metaphors: the metaphor of the “children of the bridal chamber,” the metaphor of patching torn cloth and the metaphor of wineskins (Mk 2:18-20; Lk 5:33-35). In today’s Gospel passage taken from Matthew, Jesus compares his disciples with the children of the bridal chamber. These people were selected friends of the bridegroom who feasted in the company of the bride and groom during a week of honeymoon. Nobody expected them to fast. Jesus declares that his disciples will fast when he, the Bridegroom, is taken away from them. One of the fruits of the Spirit is joy, and it is mentioned next after love in St Paul’s list, “…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal 5:22). Hence, we are to welcome the joys of Christian life as well as the crosses it offers us. The Fathers of the Church interpret the image of the bridegroom and bride as referring to Christ and his Church. Some explain it topologically: as long as the Spouse is with us, we are not able to mourn; but when by our sin we turn from Jesus, then is the time for tears and fasting. Yet others apply the words of Christ to the Holy Eucharist. The parable does not condemn the strictness of John nor does it condemn fasting. The disciples of Christ kept the fasts prescribed by the Law, but they did ignore those imposed by the Pharisees.

Life messages: 1) Fasting reduces the excessive accumulation of fat in our soul in the form of evil tendencies and evil habits (= spiritual obesity). In addition, fasting gives us additional moral and spiritual strength. It offers us more time to be with God in prayer. It encourages us to share our food and goods with the needy. We fast so as to share in the sufferings of the Body of Christ (Col 1:24).

2) We need to be adjustable Christians with open and elastic minds and hearts: The Holy Spirit, working actively in the Church and guiding the teaching authority in the Church, enables the Church to have new visions, new ideas, new adaptations and new ways of worship in the place of old ones. So, we should have the generosity and good will to follow the teachings of the Church (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

March 5 Saturday: Lk 5: 27-32: 27 After this he went out, and saw a tax collector, named Levi, sitting at the customs post; and he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And he left everything, and rose and followed him. 29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house; and there was a large company of tax collectors and others sitting at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes murmured against his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections)

The context: Today’s Gospel episode of Matthew’s call as Jesus’ Apostle reminds us of God’s love and mercy for sinners and challenges us to practice this same love and mercy in our relations with others.

The call and the response: Jesus went to the tax collector’s post to invite Matthew to become his disciple. Since tax collectors worked for a foreign power and extorted more tax money from the people than they owed, and thus made themselves rich by extortion, they were hated and despised as traitors by the Jewish people, and considered public sinners by the Pharisees. But Jesus could see in Matthew a person who needed Divine love and grace. While everyone hated Matthew, Jesus was ready to offer him undeserved love, mercy, and forgiveness. Hence, Matthew abandoned his lucrative job, because for him, Christ’s call to follow him was a promise of salvation, fellowship, guidance, and protection.

Scandalous partying with sinners: It was altogether natural for Matthew to rejoice in his new calling by celebrating with his friends. Jesus’ dining with outcasts in the house of a traitor scandalized the Pharisees for whom ritual purity and table fellowship were important religious practices. Hence, they asked the disciples, “Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus Himself answered their question, stressing his ministry as healer: “Those who are well do not need a physician; the sick do.” Then, in Matthew’s account, quoting Hosea, Jesus challenged the Pharisees, “Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’ (Hos 6:6)” Finally, Jesus clarified his position, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Life messages: 1) Jesus calls you and me for a purpose: Jesus has called us, through our Baptism, has forgiven our sins and has welcomed us as members of the Kingdom. He calls us through the Word and through his Church to be his disciples and to turn away from all the things that distract us and draw us away from God.

2) Just as Jesus did, and Matthew did, we, too, are expected to preach Christ through our lives by reaching out to the unwanted and the marginalized in society with Christ’s love, mercy and compassion. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

O. T. VIII [C] (Feb 27) Homily (8-minute homily in one-page) 

Central theme: Jesus draws our attention to practical points of Christian living and challenges us to use our words as he used his in his preaching and healing ministry — to heal, to restore, and to bring back life, joy, and hope. Today’s readings also instruct us to share our Christian life, love, and spiritual health by our words, and to avoid gossiping about and passing rash, thoughtless, pain-inflicting judgments on others, thus damaging their good reputation and causing them irreparable harm.

Scripture lessons: The first reading, taken from the Book of Sirach, teaches that what is inside us is revealed through our conversation – as the grain and husks are separated in a farmer’s sieve, as the quality of the shaped clay is revealed in the potter’s fire, and as the size and quality of a tree’s fruit reveal the care it has received from the planter. Sirach’s teaching serves as an excellent preview for today’s Gospel, which reminds us, when we’re feeling judgmental, to think before we speak because what comes out of our mouth reveals our heart. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 92) advises us to spend our time praising and thanking God for all His blessings. In the second reading St. Paul advises the Corinthian Christians “to be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain,” instead of wasting time on useless and sinful conversations, which bring punishment instead of the victory of resurrection and eternal reward. In today’s Gospel passage, taken from the Sermon on the Plain given in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus condemns our careless, malicious and rash judgments about the behavior, feelings, motives, or actions of others by using the funny examples of one blind man leading another blind man and one man with a log stuck in his eye, trying to remove a tiny speck from another’s eye.  Jesus does not mean that  we should not correct immoral behavior and sexual misbehavior or stop admonishing children and students  as parents and teachers or promote moral relativism. In both Matthew and Luke, the statements that follow the prohibition on judging indicate that it is an elaboration of the Golden Rule—the idea that we should treat others the way that we, ourselves, want to be treated. When Jesus says, “Judge not, lest ye be judged,” he means: “Don’t judge or God will judge you in your “particular” or “Last” judgment.”  

Life messages: We should avoid judging others because 1) No one except God is good enough to judge others because only God sees the whole truth, and only He can read the human heart. Hence, only He has the ability, right, and authority to judge us. 2) We do not see all the facts or circumstances or the power of the temptation which has led a person to do something evil. 3) We are often prejudiced in our judgment of others, and total fairness cannot be expected from us, especially when we are judging those near or dear to us.  4) We have no right to judge because we have the same faults as the one, we are judging and often in a greater degree (remember Jesus’ funny example of a man with a log in his eye trying to remove the dust particle from another’s eye?) St. Philip Neri commented, watching the misbehavior of a drunkard: “There goes Philip but for the grace of God.” Abraham Lincoln said that the only one who has the right to criticize is the one who has the heart to help. 5) Hence, we should leave all judgment to God, practice mercy and forgiveness, and pray for God’s grace to get rid of all forms of hypocrisy in our lives. Let us remember the warning of saints: “When you point one finger of accusation at another, three of your fingers point at you.”

OT VIII [C]: (Sir 27:4-7; Ps 92:2-3; 13-16; I Cor 15:54-58; Lk 6:39-45)

Homily starter anecdotes: # 1: Rash judgment on buying “Luxury items” with food stamps:A grocery store check-out clerk once wrote to advice-columnist Ann Landers to complain that she had seen people buy “luxury” food items—like birthday cakes and bags of shrimp—with their food stamps. The writer went on to say that she thought all those people on welfare who treated themselves to such non-necessities were “lazy and wasteful.”A few weeks later Lander’s column was devoted entirely to people who had responded to the grocery clerk. One woman wrote: “I didn’t buy a cake, but I did buy a big bag of shrimp with food stamps. So what? My husband had been working at a plant for fifteen years when it shut down. The shrimp casserole I made was for our wedding anniversary dinner and lasted three days. Perhaps the grocery clerk who criticized that woman would have a different view of life after walking a mile in my shoes.” Another woman wrote: “I’m the woman who bought the $17 cake and paid for it with food stamps. I thought the check-out woman in the store would burn a hole through me with her eyes. What she didn’t know is the cake was for my little girl’s birthday. It will be her last. She has bone cancer and will probably be gone within six to eight months.” — Today, Jesus advises us to leave the judgment to God and to show mercy and compassion. (Rev. Richardson). https://frtonyshomilies.com/

# 2: Valuables in safe custody:In his little book, Illustrations of Bible Truth, H.A. Ironside points out the folly of judging others. He relates an incident in the life of Bishop Potter. “He was sailing for Europe on one of the great transatlantic ocean liners. When he went on board, he found that another passenger was to share the cabin with him. After going to see the accommodations, he came up to the purser’s desk and inquired if he could leave his gold watch and other valuables in the ship’s safe. He explained that ordinarily he never availed himself of that privilege, but he had been to his cabin and had met the man who was to occupy the other berth. Judging from his appearance, he was afraid that he might not be a very trustworthy person. The purser accepted the responsibility for the valuables and remarked, ’It’s all right, Bishop, I’ll be very glad to take care of them for you. The other man has been up here and left his valuables for the same reason!’” (Daily Bread).- This is what happens when we make rash judgments. https://frtonyshomilies.com/ 

# 3:  Don’t judge a book by its cover: Schoolteacher Dodie Gadient decided to travel across America and see the sights she had taught her students about, for the last 13 yrs. Traveling alone in a truck with a camper in tow, she launched out. One afternoon as she was rounding a curve on I-5 near Sacramento in rush-hour traffic, the water pump blew on her truck. She was tired, exasperated, scared, and alone. In spite of the traffic jam she caused, no one seemed interested in helping. Leaning up against the trailer she prayed, “Please Lord send me an angel, preferably one with mechanical experience!” Within 4 minutes a huge Harley drove up ridden by an enormous man sporting long black hair, a beard and tattooed arms. With an incredible air of confidence, he jumped off and without even glancing at Dodie went to work on the truck. Within another few minutes, he flagged down a larger truck, attached a tow chain to the frame of the disabled Chevy and whisked the whole 56-ft rig off the freeway onto a side street where he calmly continued to work on the water pump. The intimidated, schoolteacher was too dumbfounded to talk. Especially when she read the paralyzing words on the back of his leather jacket: Hell’s Angels. As he finished the task, she finally got up the courage to say, “Thank you.” Noticing her amazement at the whole ordeal, he looked her straight in the eye and said, “Don’t judge a book by its cover!” — With that he smiled, closed the hood of the truck and straddled his Harley. With a wave he was gone as fast as he had appeared. (Rev. Jeffrey Stewart). https://frtonyshomilies.com/

# 4:  That person is me: C.S. Lewis wrote, “There is someone I love, even though I don’t approve of what he does. There is someone I accept, though some of his thoughts and actions revolt me. There is someone I forgive, though he hurts the people I love the most. That person is me.” https://frtonyshomilies.com/

Introduction: Jesus draws our attention to practical points of Christian living and challenges us to use words as he used them in his preaching and healing ministry, to heal, restore and bring back life, joy, and hope. Today’s readings also instruct us to share our Christian life, love, and spiritual health by our words, and to avoid gossiping about and passing rash, thoughtless and pain-inflicting judgments on others, damaging their good reputation and causing irreparable harm.

Scripture lessons summarized: The first reading from the Book of Sirach teaches that what is inside us is revealed through our conversation — as the grain and husks are separated in a farmer’s sieve, as the quality of the newly formed clay pot is revealed in the potter’s fire, and as the size and quality of a tree’s fruit reveal the care it has received from the planter. Sirach’s teaching serves as an excellent preview for today’s Gospel. It reminds us, when we’re feeling judgmental, to think before we speak because what comes out of our mouth reveals our heart.

The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 92) reminds us  “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to Your Name, Most High, to proclaim Your Kindness at dawn and Your Faithfulness throughout the night!”(Vv 2-3). In the second reading St. Paul advises the Corinthian Christians “to be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain,” instead of wasting time on useless and sinful conversations which bring punishment instead of the victory of resurrection and eternal reward. In today’s Gospel passage, taken from the Sermon on the Plain given in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus condemns our careless, malicious and rash judgments about the behavior, feelings, motives or actions of others by using the funny examples of one blind man leading another blind man and one man with a log stuck in his eye trying to remove a tiny speck from another’s eye.

The first reading (Sir 27:4-7) explained: In the Greek version of the Bible, the first title of this book was “The Wisdom of Ben Sirach.” It was the book most used in the liturgy.  In fact, in the early Church it was a kind of official catechism used in the catechumenate, and hence its Greek name in the Septuagint is Ecclesiasticus.  According to the prologue and other passages in the book, the inspired author was a learned scribe, a humble and zealous man, who lived in Jerusalem. From an early age he had meditated deeply on Sacred Scripture.  This book played an important part in shaping the Faith of the Jewish people. It equipped them to cope with the imminent menace of Greek culture, which ran completely counter to the monotheism of the people of the Old Covenant. Since the book was written in Greek, not in Hebrew, the Jewish scholars who finalized the canon of the Hebrew Bible after Jesus’ Resurrection did not include it in the canon of the Hebrew Bible. But since it was included in the Septuagint, the Catholic Church retains it as an inspired book of the Bible. Sirach advises us not to praise any man before he speaks, for it is then those men are tested. Speech is the principal criterion for evaluating a person’s character. The sacred author first uses an agricultural image to explain his point. When a sieve is shaken, the grains fall to the basket beneath the sieve and the husks remain in the sieve showing their ugly emptiness. The same thing happens when a man speaks: his faults, his pride, and his ignorance are exposed. The second image used is the potter’s furnace. If the clay isn’t completely dry, the piece explodes in the kiln (furnace). In the same way, conversation is the test of a man. The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had; As an example, sycamore fruit had to be punctured to grow fat and juicy; this was the job of the “dresser of sycamores.” In the same way, a man’s speech discloses the bent of his mind. Praise no man before he speaks, for it is then that men are tested.

The second reading (I Cor 15:54-58) explained: When Paul called the Corinthian Christians to affirm their Faith in the power of Jesus over death by his Resurrection, he challenged them to affirm their freedom from death, from sin, and from the Law, and to exercise that freedom “by being fully engaged in the work of the Lord,” (v. 58), instead of divesting themselves of the body and all that it entails. Thus, the faithful will transform their corruptible physical bodies into incorruptible spiritual bodies in their resurrection, and experience immortality. Paul denies the teaching of the Corinthian philosophers that the attainment of the “ideal” existence or salvation from this world can be accomplished in individuals by their own efforts to live “properly.” Paul teaches that the transformation to immortality has been made possible for all only because of Jesus Christ. His death on the cross and his rising alone have accomplished the victory over death. Hence, Paul concludes: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” The hard work of the Christian life is not in vain, because the Christian is “in the Lord” who has already won the victory.

The Gospel exegesis: Luke may have collected together sayings of Jesus which were spoken on different occasions, thus giving us a kind of compendium of rules for life and living. We may be able to trace four pieces of advice from today’s Gospel passage.

1) Advice for students & teachers of Scripture: The Christian disciples are called upon to be both guides and teachers. Since a teacher cannot lead his students beyond what he himself has been taught, he must learn from the best teacher and then continue to learn Scripture from all available sources, the best being the Holy Spirit Who inspired Holy Scripture. Then, the learner must apply what he has learned to his own life before trying to teach others. Our goal in the Christian life must be to become like our Teacher, Jesus, in our thoughts, words, and actions.

2) We should not be blind guides: In order to lead a blind person, one must be sighted; in order to teach, one must be knowledgeable; otherwise, the blind person and the student will be lost. The sight and the knowledge specified here are the insights that come through Faith and the Holy Spirit, and the knowledge that comes from a Faith-filled relationship with the Lord. The point of this image of the blind leading the blind is that we must be careful when choosing whom to follow, lest we stumble into a pit alongside our blind guide. A corollary is that we have no business trying to guide others unless we ourselves can see clearly. This is an important message in a day when so many self-appointed gurus vie for control of our spiritual affairs, our financial affairs, our medical affairs, our romantic affairs, our family affairs. Some are blind, but others see our vulnerabilities—see where they can take advantage of us. When choosing a guide—particularly a spiritual guide—it pays to be very, very careful. Therefore it is most important to go in for regular “eye exams.” Every day, Christians should go to God, our spiritual Eye Doctor, to ask Him to check our vision. As we get into the Word, as we pray, He corrects our sight, and He shows us what to watch out for. It is vitally important that we have this regular “eye exam,” because we are not alone in the car. There are people who trust us to lead them to safety. It may be our children, or our spouse. It may be a friend. It may be people in the Church or community who are following where we lead. If we lead them off a cliff because of poor vision, God will hold us accountable. Listen to the words of Paul in Romans 2:19-23. “ If you are confident that you are a guide for the blind and a light for those in darkness, that you are a trainer of the foolish and teacher of the simple,  because in the law you have the formulation of knowledge and truth, then you who teach another, are you failing to teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You who detest idols, do you rob temples? You who boast of the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?”

3) We have no right to criticize and judge others: The first reason Jesus gives us is that we have no right to criticize unless we ourselves are free of faults. That simply means that we have no right to criticize at all, because “there is so much bad in the best of us and so much good in the worst of us that it ill becomes any of us to find fault with the rest of us.” Jesus clarifies his point by presenting the humorous simile of a man with a log stuck in his own eye trying to extract a speck of dust from someone else’s eye. The task of fraternal correction (removing specks, etc.), should not be attempted, then,  without prior self-examination, though the disciple need not be completely without imperfections before the process can begin.

What did Jesus mean when he said not to judge others? Jimmy Akins: 1) Not a cover for immoral behavior in general. It’s clear that Jesus did not intend his words to be used as a cover for immoral behavior. 2) Not even a cover for sexual misbehavior [Mt 5:27-28]. 3) Not a prohibition on admonishing others. Jesus also did not intend his words to be used to stop others from admonishing others when they are committing sinful behavior [Mt 28:19-20]. 4) Not an endorsement of moral relativism. Taking Jesus’ teaching out of context, one might try to use it as a pretext for moral relativism—the idea that all moral judgments regarding the conduct of others are to be suspended and each person is to be allowed to define what is morally good for himself. Then what did Jesus actually say? In both Matthew and Luke, the statements that follow the prohibition on judging indicate that it is an elaboration of the Golden Rule—the idea that we should treat others the way that we, ourselves, want to be treated. 6) When Jesus says, “Judge not, lest ye be judged,” he means: “Don’t judge or God will judge you.” What Jesus means is that God will judge us. He’s made that perfectly clear in the Bible, and in the teaching of Jesus in particular. There will be a Last Judgment at the end of the world, as well as a particular judgment at the end of our earthly lives. So, it isn’t a question of escaping God’s judgment. It’s a question of how we will be judged. The right approach is to ask: Given that you will be judged for what you have done, what kind of judgment do you want? If we are in our right minds, we want a judgment done with mercy, compassion, and forgiveness. And that’s the way Jesus wants us to treat others: He wants us to be merciful, compassionate, and forgiving to them. In this context, what he means by “judging” is the opposite of doing those things—being unmerciful, uncompassionate, and unforgiving. In addition to “not judging” involving being merciful, compassionate, and forgiving to others, it can include other things, such as: Giving others the benefit of the doubt. Leaving the ultimate judgment of others to God instead of simply concluding that someone is (or should be) damned. (http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/what-did-jesus-mean-when-he-said-not-to-judge-others-10-things-to-know).

4) We must be good at heart to be good at our deeds: In order to distinguish the good tree from the bad tree we need to look at the fruit the tree produces (deeds) and not at its foliage (words). “The treasure of the heart is the same as the root of the tree,” St Bede explains. “A person who has a treasure of patience and of perfect charity in his heart yields excellent fruit; he loves his neighbor and has all the other qualities Jesus teaches; he loves his enemies, does good to him who hates him, blesses him who curses him, prays for him who calumniates him, does not react against him who attacks him or robs him; he gives to those who ask, does not claim what they have stolen from him, wishes not to judge and does not condemn, corrects patiently and affectionately those who err. But the person who has in his heart the treasure of evil does exactly the opposite: he hates his friends, speaks evil of him who loves him and does all the other things condemned by the Lord” (In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, II, 6). In verse 46, Jesus asks us to act in a way consistent with being Christians and not to make any separation between the Faith we profess and the way we live: “What matters is not whether or not we wear a religious habit; it is whether we try to practice the virtues and surrender our will to God and order our lives as His Majesty ordains, and not want to do our will but His” (St. Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle, II, 6).

Life messages: 1) We need to avoid hypocrisy: Let us acknowledge the hypocrisy we all live every day. It is the word Jesus used. We tell people how concerned we are about our kidneys and hearts when we don’t give a second thought to the gaping, rotting wounds of sin covering us from head to toe. It is even worse when someone else falls into sin. Ignoring the glaring faults of our own, we point the finger of accusation, and whisper about them, and say, “How could they?” instead of asking “How could we?” We must look to our own sin first. This is the truth of Lk 6:39-42. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I must be honest with myself. If I have trouble seeing my sin, and my failures, I have to go to Jesus and ask Him to point them out to me through prayer and through His Word. And He will. I must be ready for some painful “I” surgery. But I am sure to come out with better vision, and better eyesight, because I looked to myself first.

2) We should stop judging others harshly and unreasonably because a) No one except God is good enough to judge others because only God sees the whole truth, and only He can read the human heart; hence, only He has the right and authority to judge us. b) We are often prejudiced in our judgment of others, and total fairness cannot be expected from us. c) We do not see all the facts, the circumstances or the power of the temptation, which have led a person to do something evil. d) We have no right to judge others because we have the same faults and often to a more serious degree than the person we are judging (remember Jesus’ funny example of a man with a log stuck in his eye trying to remove the dust particle from another’s eye?) St. Philip Neri commented, watching the misbehavior of a drunkard: “There goes Philip but for the grace of God.”

3) Hence, we should leave all judgment to God and practice mercy and forgiveness, remembering the advice of saints: “When you point one finger of accusation at another, three of your fingers point at you.” Let us pay attention to the Jewish rabbi’s advice: “He who judges others favorably will be judged favorably by God.

Note: (Pictures are available only in my emailed homilies because permission from the publishers is necessary for uploading them in a website. You may get them from Google images, by typing the subject under Google images) 

Jokes of the week

For cartoons visit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/223280094010936796)

1) Judgmental husband: There’s the story of the conscientious wife who tried very hard to please her ultra-critical husband but failed regularly. He always seemed the most cantankerous at breakfast. If the eggs were scrambled, he wanted them poached; if the eggs were poached, he wanted them scrambled. One morning, with what she thought was a stroke of genius, the wife poached one egg and scrambled the other and placed the plate before him. Anxiously she awaited what surely this time would be his unqualified approval. He peered down at the plate and snorted, “Can’t you do anything right, woman? You’ve scrambled the wrong one!”

2)“Go thou and do likewise!” After a minister preached a sermon on spiritual gifts, he was greeted at the door by a lady who said, “Pastor, I believe I have the gift of criticism.” He looked at her and asked, “Remember the person in Jesus’ parable who had the one talent? Do you recall what he did with it?” “Yes,” replied the lady, “he went out and buried it.” With a smile, the pastor suggested, “Go thou, and do likewise!”

3) Judge Not

I was shocked, confused, bewildered
As I entered Heaven’s door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or its decor.

But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp–
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
The alcoholics and the trash.

There stood the kid from seventh grade..
Who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor
Who never said anything nice.

Herb, who I always thought
Was rotting away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.

I nudged Jesus, ‘What’s the deal?
I would love to hear Your take.
How’d all these sinners get up here?
God must’ve made a mistake.

‘And why’s everyone so quiet,
So somber – give me a clue.’
‘Hush, child,’ He said, ‘they’re all in shock.
No one thought they’d be seeing you.’

Websites of the week

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

 

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

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

3) Dr. Brant Pitre’s commentary on Cycle C Sunday Scripture for Bible Class: Click on https://catholicproductions.com/blogs/mass-readings-explained-year-c  

4)Movie & DVD reviews: Click on http://www.catholicnews.com/movies.cfm

5)Catholic perspectives:Click on http://sansecondodasti.org/!SanSec_htm/Catholic%20Perspectives/catholic_perspectives.htm

6)Catholic calendar:Click on  http://www.cathcal.org/index.php

7)Click on http://thecatholicguy.tv/lent2016/

8)Click on Healing in marriages: http://www.maritalhealing.com/

 15 Additional anecdotes:

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

1)  Mom with one eye: My mom only had one eye. I hated her… She was such an embarrassment. She cooked for students and teachers to support the family. There was this one day during elementary school where my mom came to say hello to me. I was so embarrassed. How could she do this to me? I ignored her, threw her a hateful look and ran out. The next day at school one of my classmates said, “EEEE, your mom only has one eye!” I wanted to bury myself. I also wanted my mom to just disappear. I confronted her that day and said, “If you’re only gonna make me a laughing stock, why don’t you just die?” My mom did not respond… I didn’t even stop to think for a second about what I had said, because I was full of anger. I was oblivious to her feelings. I wanted out of that house and have nothing to do with her. So, I studied real hard, got a chance to go abroad to study. Then, I got married. I bought a house of my own. I had kids of my own. I was happy with my life, my kids and the comforts. Then one day, my Mother came to visit me. She hadn’t seen me in years, and she didn’t even meet her grandchildren. When she stood by the door, my children laughed at her, and I yelled at her for coming over uninvited. I screamed at her, “How dare you come to my house and scare my children! GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!!!” And to this, my mother quietly answered, “Oh, I’m so sorry. I may have gotten the wrong address.” – and she disappeared out of sight. One day, a letter regarding a school reunion came to my house. So, I lied to my wife that I was going on a business trip. After the reunion, I went to the old shack just out of curiosity. My neighbors said that she died. I did not shed a single tear. They handed me a letter that she had wanted me to have. “My dearest son, I think of you all the time. I’m sorry that I came to your house and scared your children. I was so glad when I heard you were coming for the reunion. But I may not be able to even get out of bed to see you. I’m sorry that I was a constant embarrassment to you when you were growing up. You see……..when you were very little, you got into an accident, and lost your eye. As a mother, I couldn’t stand watching you having to grow up with one eye. So, I gave you mine. I was so proud of my son who was seeing a whole new world for me, in my place, with that eye. With all my love to you, Your Mother.” (https://mygoodtimestories.com/2013/09/16/the-mother-with-one-eye/) https://frtonyshomilies.com/

2) Things are never quite as they appear — sometimes!!  A woman was flying from Seattle to San Francisco. Unexpectedly, the plane was diverted to Sacramento along the way. The flight attendant explained that there would be a delay, and if the passengers wanted to get off the aircraft the plane would re-board in 50 minutes…Everybody got off the plane except one lady who was blind…A man had noticed her as he walked by and could tell the lady was blind because her guide dog lay quietly underneath the seats in front of her throughout the entire flight… He could also tell she had flown this very flight before because the pilot approached her, and calling her by name, said, “Kathy, we are in Sacramento for almost an hour, would you like to get off and stretch your legs?” The blind lady said, “No thanks, but maybe Buddy would like to stretch his legs.” All the people in the gate area came to a complete stand still when they looked up and saw the pilot walk off the plane with a guide dog for the blind! Even worse, the pilot was wearing sunglasses! People scattered. They not only tried to change planes, but they were trying to change airlines! (https://mygoodtimestories.com/2014/02/16/things-are-not-always-as-they-appear/) https://frtonyshomilies.com/

3) A brick hit his Jaguar XKE: (Chicken Soup for the Soul – 5th Portion. The story was written by Josh Ridker) A little while ago, a young and very successful executive named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his sleek, black, 12-cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child darted out, but a brick sailed out and – WHUMP! – it smashed Into the Jag’s shiny black side door! SCREECH..!!!! Brakes slammed! Gears ground into reverse, and tires madly spun the Jaguar back to the spot from where the brick had been thrown. Josh jumped out of the car, grabbed the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, “What was that all about, and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing?!” Building up a head of steam, he went on. “That’s my new Jag, that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?”

“Please, mister, please. . . I’m sorry! I didn’t know what else to do!” pleaded the youngster. “I threw the brick because no one else would stop!” Tears were dripping down the boy’s chin as he pointed around the parked car. “It’s my brother, mister,” he said. “He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.” Sobbing, the boy asked the executive, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.” Moved beyond words, the young executive tried desperately to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapes and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long walk back to the sleek, black, shining, 12-cylinder Jaguar XKE –a long and slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. — Some bricks are softer than others. Feel for the bricks of life coming at to you. For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves, God has positive answers.  https://mygoodtimestories.com/2014/03/07/a-chicago-story-the-brick/ https://frtonyshomilies.com/

4) “My sins run out behind me, and I do not see them: A member of a monastic order once committed a fault. A council was called to determine the punishment, but when the monks assembled it was noticed that Father Joseph was not among them. The superior sent someone to say to him, “Come, for everyone is waiting for you. So, Father Joseph got up and went. He took a leaking jug, filled it with water, and carried it with him. When the others saw this they asked, “What is this, father?” The old man said to them, “My sins run out behind me, and I do not see them, and today I am coming to judge the error of another?” Source: unknown https://frtonyshomilies.com/

5) The Elephant Man (https://youtu.be/oRPARnyPiOI?list=PLEA7F76BFCF2A5BB7)

Under the name of John Merrick, the movie The Elephant Man tells the true story of Joseph Carey Merrick, born in 1862 in Leicester, England. Within the first few years of his life it became apparent that Joseph suffered from deformities on his face and body. These deformities grew to be significantly noticeable, and tumors on his mouth affected his speech. His mother loved him dearly but died when he was ten. After leaving home, Merrick was unable to make a living and at 17 he entered Leicester Union workhouse. After four years in the workhouse, Merrick contacted a showman who agreed to exhibit him as the “Elephant Man” in carnivals. People would pay money to line up and observe him like some animal in a zoo. While on display in a penny gaff shop in London, Merrick met a surgeon named Frederick Treves who invited Merrick to the London hospital to be examined. Soon after, Merrick’s exhibition was shut down by the police and Merrick travelled to Belgium under a new manager. After being robbed and abandoned, he found his way back to London and into the care of Treves. Merrick was allowed to live in rooms at the London Hospital where he became a celebrity in London’s high society. Dr. Treves discovered that Merrick was in fact highly intelligent and sought to nurture his growth. Yet Merrick’s greatest hurdle was still to come. All his life Merrick had known only fear and rejection from women. So, Dr. Treves asked an attractive widow he knew if she could come into Merrick’s room, smile at him and shake his hand. When she did Merrick broke down into a ball of tears, later telling Treves that she was the first woman in his life apart from his mother to have showed him kindness. That was a breakthrough moment for Merrick. In the coming years more and more people, women included, would meet him and show him kindness. He began meeting Countesses and Duchesses. He even had many visits and letters from the Princess of Wales, forming a friendship with her. Throughout this time, Dr. Treves reports, Merrick changed dramatically. Merrick stayed at his London hospital room until his death in 1890. — Merrick’s story shows us the power of love and acceptance. Rejected all his life, treated as a “thing”, it was the loving welcome of others that liberated him to become all he could be.  His life was made tragic not by his deformities but by the response people made to them. (Source: Reported at www.elephant-house.fsnet.co.uk & Wikipedia). https://frtonyshomilies.com/

6) The rejection and acceptance of a sinner: It was one of the most extraordinary birthday parties ever held. No,  it wasn’t in a plush ballroom of a grand hotel. No, there weren’t famous celebrities, nor anyone rich or powerful present. It was held at 3 AM in a small seedy cafe in Honolulu, the guest of honour was a prostitute, the fellow guests were prostitutes, and the man who threw it was a Christian minister! The idea came to Christian minister Tony Campolo very early one morning as he sat in the cafe. He was drinking coffee at the counter, when a group of prostitutes walked in and took up the stools around him. One of the girls, Agnes, lamented the fact that not only was it her birthday tomorrow but that she’d never had a birthday party. Tony thought it would be a great idea to surprise Agnes with a birthday party. Learning from the cafe owner, a guy named Harry, that the girls came in every morning around 3:30 AM. Tony agreed with him to set the place up for a party. Word somehow got out on the street, so that by 3:15 the next morning the place was packed with prostitutes, the cafe owner and his wife, and Tony. When Agnes walked in, she saw streamers, balloons, Harry holding a birthday cake, and everyone screaming out “Happy Birthday!” Agnes was overwhelmed. The tears poured down her face as the crowd sang Happy Birthday. When Harry called on her to cut the cake she paused. She’d never had a birthday cake and wondered if she could take it home to show her mother. When Agnes left there was a stunned silence. — Tony did what a Christian minister should. He led Harry, Harry’s wife and a roomful of prostitutes in a prayer for Agnes. It was a birthday party rarely seen in Honolulu – thrown by a Christian minister for a 39-year-old prostitute who had never had anyone go out of their way to do something like this and who expected nothing in return. Indeed, so surprising was this turn of events that the cafe owner found it hard to believe there were Churches that would do this sort of thing, but if there were then that’s the sort of Church he’d be prepared to join. Would Jesus call us blind hypocrites? https://frtonyshomilies.com/

7)  A worthless creature: In the seventeenth century France a humanist scholar by the name of Muretus was an ailing fugitive. When he presented himself to the medical doctors he was dressed in the rags of a pauper. The doctors discussed his case in Latin, thinking he would not be able to understand them. “Faciamus experimentum in anima vili” one said, which means “Let us try an experiment with this worthless creature”. Imagine their shock when this pauper replied, also in Latin, “Vilem animam appellas pro qua Christus non dedignatus est mori?”, “Will you call worthless, one for whom Christ did not disdain to die?” Source: Reported in Charles Birch, Regaining Compassion (University of NSW Press, 1993). https://frtonyshomilies.com/

8) You can’t please everyone: Aesop’s Fable, “The Man, the Boy and the Donkey,” illustrates this truth!  A Man and his son were once going with their Donkey to market. As they were walking along by its side a countryman passed them and said: “You fools, what is a Donkey for but to ride upon?” So the Man put the Boy on the Donkey and they went on their way. But soon they passed a group of men, one of whom said: “See that lazy youngster, he lets his father walk while he rides.” So the Man ordered his Boy to get off, and got on himself. But they hadn’t gone far when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other: “Shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along.” Well, the Man didn’t know what to do, but at last he took his Boy up before him on the Donkey. By this time, they had come to the town, and the passers-by began to jeer and point at them. The Man stopped and asked what they were scoffing at. The men said: “Aren’t you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor donkey of yours and your hulking son? “The Man and Boy got off and tried to think what to do. They thought and they thought, till at last they cut down a pole, tied the donkey’s feet to it, and raised the pole and the donkey to their shoulders. They went along amid the laughter of all who met them till they came to Market Bridge, when the Donkey, getting one of his feet loose, kicked out and caused the Boy to drop his end of the pole. In the struggle the Donkey fell over the bridge, and his fore-feet being tied together he was drowned. — “That will teach you,” said an old man who had followed them: “Please all, and you will please none.” [www.taleswithmorals.com] https://frtonyshomilies.com/

9) No entry was ever made:  People who are willing to complain about others in their absence are reluctant to do so to their faces. A preacher, capitalizing on this fact, devised an effective way of handling such critics. He kept a special book labeled, “Complaints of Members Against One Another.” When one of them would tell him about some fault of a fellow parishioner, he would say, “Well, here’s my complaint book. I’ll write down what you say, and you can sign you name to it. When I see that person, I’ll take up the matter with him.” That open ledger, and the critic’s awareness of his own faults, always had a restraining effect. Immediately the complainer would exclaim, “Oh, no, I couldn’t sign anything like that!” In 40 years, that book was opened a thousand times, but no entry was ever made. https://frtonyshomilies.com/

10) The American blame game: We are a people who like to make excuses for failures. Nothing is ever really our fault. Think about it! From Creation, we have blamed others for our own decisions — Adam blamed Eve for enticing him to eat the forbidden fruit and Eve blamed the serpent. And we are still playing the blame-game. We are dysfunctional because of what our parents and grandparents did or did not do to/for us. The prisoner blames his parents for his illegal activity. Divorced couples blame each other for the demise of marriages. Our children’s yearning for material goods is blamed on television. We blame school violence on the lack of prayer in school. Sex and Drug use among our youth is blamed on the Internet, television, and Hollywood. Sinful behavior is now being referred to as compulsive behavior and is blamed on chemical imbalances. Whenever we do something wrong, we are apt to point the finger elsewhere. Fingers are being pointed at the increasing Hispanic population as the cause of higher rates of unemployment. Declining neighborhood property values are being blamed on the increasing number of minorities. The Democrats and the Republicans blame each other for increase in taxes and for increasing the country’s deficit. We are a people who like to point the fingers at others for the problems we have to deal with. (Rev. A. LaMar Torrence). https://frtonyshomilies.com/

11) Prejudiced isolation:  David Suzuki is one of the world’s best-known campaigners for the environment. He is now a respected and highly regarded citizen of his homeland Canada. Many people are unaware however of the painful memories Suzuki has from childhood. On December 7, 1941 the Japanese air force bombed Pearl Harbor and so Japan entered the Second World War. People of Japanese descent were immediately suspect in Canada. Within nine days of the bombing they were required to register with the authorities as “enemy aliens”. Their property was confiscated, their bank accounts were frozen and they were told they would have to leave their homes. David Suzuki was five years old at the time, and his parents were second generation Canadians…of Japanese descent. By the time David turned 6 he, his mother and his sisters had been sent to an internment camp in British Columbia. His father was sent to work on a road gang, rejoining his family in the camp a year later. The conditions were filthy and cramped. Toward the end of the war the internees were given a choice. The Canadian government would pay for them to move to Japan, or they could remain in Canada, on condition that they lived east of the Rocky Mountains. Japanese-Canadians were no longer welcome in the Suzuki’s hometown of Vancouver. David’s family chose to remain in Canada, destitute and in poverty. The entire episode left a terrible legacy in David Suzuki’s life. Proud to be Canadian he began to despise his Japanese descent and his Asian appearance. For years as a teenager he saved money for an operation to enlarge his eyes and dye his hair. He refused to walk down the street with his parents because he felt ashamed of them. His father drummed into him that to do well with white people he would have to be twice as good as they were. Even today Suzuki struggles with the past. He says “The terrible burden I’ve had all my life is that I seem to be constantly trying to reaffirm to Canadians that I’m a worthwhile human being. It’s really ridiculous to be 64 years old and still feel that you’ve got to prove to them that you’re not somebody who should be locked up.” (Source: Information reported in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Weekend Magazine, April 8, 2000). https://frtonyshomilies.com/

12) “Don’t judge others. Show God’s love to all you meet, because you don’t know their story.” With this, came the realization of how often I do unknowingly judge the people I encounter every day. I say “unknowingly,” because I don’t usually take the time to learn who people really are, or what they’re going through. Instead, I slap a label on them based on the little I can see on the outside. Let me explain. If she’s quiet, that mean she’s rude. If they cut in front of me in traffic, they’re a jerk. If she’s always smiling and laughing, she’s shallow, and has a perfect life. If he refuses to make eye contact, he’s hiding something. If she wears low-cut shirts, short shorts, and dark makeup, she’s wild and no good. But what if I knew their stories? Could hear their thoughts? Looked inside when they went home and let their guard down? Instead, what if it was…She’s quiet because it’s the anniversary of her dad’s death and she’s trying not to burst into tears. They cut in front of me because they just heard their family member was in a car accident and they’re rushing to the emergency room. She’s always smiling and laughing, but in reality, it’s just a cover-up for the pain she goes through every day in her bad marriage. He refuses to make eye contact because he suffers daily from PTSD and he’s afraid of letting me see the “real him.” She wears low-cut shirts, short shorts and dark makeup, because she’s deeply insecure, has been wounded again and again, and no longer believes she’s worth anything more than the amount of skin she shows. — What if I knew all that? How would I act? How would we all act? Would we be more gracious, kind, and loving? Less judgmental and harsh? I love this quote by Mother Teresa. She says, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” (By Sara Barratt). https://frtonyshomilies.com/

13) Crab and the ocean: Once upon a time there was a crab. It was walking on the shore of ocean, leaving its beautiful footprint behind. The crab adored its footprints. Suddenly as the crab was admiring its footprints, the waves of the ocean washed the footprints away. The crab turned towards the ocean wave and said, “Hey!! I thought you were my best friend. Why did you do that?? Why did you wash my footprints away?” The ocean said, “A fisherman was chasing you, my dear friend, looking at your footprints, so I washed them away so that fisherman could not chase you.” — It’s a general human tendency. We all judge each other in different situations and draw conclusions about the person. Even in our relationship we judge the people by the actions or behavior. But it is important not to craw conclusions about any person and react without understanding the other person’s intentions. (Divya Nimbalkar). https://frtonyshomilies.com/

14) Follow VFR-Visual Flight Rules:  In 1999 John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and her sister, Lauren, had a wedding to attend in Hyannis Point, Massachusetts. Since John had his pilot’s license, they decided to fly there. Now John had 310 hours of flying experience, but not a lot over water at night. I suppose he must have believed he could handle it, though, and they set out for Hyannis Point. But the plane never made it to its destination and unfortunately all were killed. The National Transportation Safety Board investigation found no evidence of mechanical malfunction in airframe, systems, avionics, or engine, and determined that the probable cause was “the pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane during a descent over water at night, which was a result of spatial disorientation. Factors in the accident were haze, and the dark night.” According to the National Transportation Safety Board, three simple letters resulted in the tragic death of such an influential young man, VFR-Visual Flight Rules. In essence, John Kennedy was flying that evening only by what he saw visually. For all he knew, it was a picture-perfect flight. But he made one very fatal mistake; he failed to fly by IFR-Instrument Flight Rules. If he had used his instruments and relied on them to guide his flight, he probably would have known that he was headed straight down into the ocean. The instrument panel is what identifies the truth. Pilots cannot depend on their feelings, eyesight, or the opinion of others. Those instrument gauges are the only reliable source for determining the airplane’s true position. That is why pilots who only fly by visual contact don’t like flying at night or in bad weather. — Though most of us aren’t pilots, and therefore don’t need to know about airplane instruments, most of us here are claiming to be disciples or followers of Jesus. We claim and think our lives are headed in the right direction, but are they really? How would we know? What identifies true disciples who are going in the right direction? Can we depend on our feelings, ideas or the opinions of others to guide us to the right answers and in the right direction? No! Just as a plane has instruments to indicate its true position there are also the spiritual indicators or gauges that indicate our true position as true followers or false followers of Jesus. What indicators identify true disciples? The answer to that question is found in Luke 6:43-45. (Rev. Davi Elvery). https://frtonyshomilies.com/

15) Refrain from making rash judgments. An engineer, a psychologist, and a theologian were hunting in the wilds of northern Canada. They came across an isolated cabin, far removed from any town. Because friendly hospitality is a virtue practiced by those in the wilderness, the hunters knocked on the door to ask permission to rest. No one answered their knocks, but, discovering the cabin was unlocked, they entered. It was a simple place–two rooms with a minimum of furniture and household equipment. Nothing was surprising about the cabin except the stove. It was large, pot-bellied, and made of cast iron. What was unusual was its location: it was suspended in mid-air by wires attached to the ceiling beams. “Fascinating,” said the psychologist. “It is obvious that this lonely trapper, isolated from humanity, has elevated his stove so he can curl up under it and vicariously experience a return to the womb.” “Nonsense!” replied the engineer. “The man is practicing the laws of thermodynamics. By elevating his stove, he has discovered a way to distribute heat more evenly throughout the cabin.” “With all due respect,” interrupted the theologian, “I’m sure that hanging his stove from the ceiling has religious meaning. Fire lifted up has been a religious symbol for centuries.” The three debated the point for several minutes without resolving the issue. When the trapper finally returned, they immediately asked him why he had hung his heavy potbellied stove by wires from the ceiling. His answer was succinct: “Had plenty of wire, not much stove pipe!” — A Christian who lives graciously, understands that things are not always as they seem, so he seeks to refrain from making rash judgments. (Dave Mcfadden). https://frtonyshomilies.com/

16) “I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows.”  A young couple (Jane and Joe Shmuckatellie) moved into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young woman (Jane) saw her neighbor hanging her wash to dry. “That laundry is not very clean,” she said. “She doesn’t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap.” Her husband looked on, but remained silent. Every time her neighbor hung her wash to dry, the young woman (Jane) repeated her observations about the dirty laundry. About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband (Joe): “Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?” The husband (Joe) said, “I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows.” (Quoted by Fr Michael Grant George Cadotte). https://frtonyshomilies.com/

17) His name is H. G. Wells: In the late 1800s a boy was working in a London store. He had to rise at five o’clock each morning, sweep the store, and then work fourteen hours. He stood it for two years and then told his mother that he would kill himself if he had to continue. Following his talk with his mother, the boy wrote a pathetic letter to a teacher he had in his earlier years. He explained how he was heart broken and no longer wanted to live. The teacher praised him as a person and assured him that he was greatly gifted. To make a long story short, that letter of encouragement changed boy’s entire life. He went  on to become one of England’s most successful writers, authoring nearly eighty books. His name is H. G. Wells. — And so today’s Gospel invites us to take look at our general attitude. Are we persons who are adding to the joy in our world by affirming and encouraging other people? Or are we persons who are adding to the sorrow in our world by constantly nagging and criticizing others. If we are this second kind of person, we need to take to heart the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel and realize that by our negative attitude we are destroying not only ourselves but also those around us. ( Fr. Mark Link S. J.) https://frtonyshomilies.com/

 “Scriptural Homilies” Cycle C (No. 17) by Fr. Tony: akadavil@gmail.com

Visit my website by clicking on https://frtonyshomilies.com/ for missed or previous Cycle C homilies, 141 Year of Faith “Adult Faith Formation Lessons” (useful for RCIA classes too) & 197 “Question of the Week.” Contact me only at akadavil@gmail.com. Visit also https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies  under Fr. Tony’s homilies and  under Resources in the CBCI website:  https://www.cbci.in  for other website versions.  (Vatican Radio website: http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html uploaded my Cycle A, B and C homilies in from 2018-2020)  Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604 .

Feb 21-26:Kindly click on https://frtonyshomilies.com/ for missed Sunday and weekday homilies, RCIA & Faith formation classes:

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

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

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

Life messages: 1) God will work daily miracles in our lives, provided we pray with trusting Faith. 2) Jesus offers us freedom from bondage to sin, evil habits and addictions. 3) Let us make full use of the protection and help God offers to those who seek Him with Faith in His power and trust in His mercy. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

Feb 22 Tuesday (Chair of St. Peter the Apostle): https://www.franciscanmedia.org/chair-of-saint-peter/ : Mt 16:13-23: Additional reflections: Click on: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

By celebrating the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter we acknowledge the  authority that was given to St. Peter by Jesus Christ himself as seen in the gospel reading of today   and  we honor the mission of teacher and pastor conferred by Christ on Peter and continued in an unbroken line down to the present Pope. Even while criticizing the hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees Jesus acknowledged their God-given authority to teach in Mt 23: 2: “The Scribes and Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses”. We are not commemorating a piece of furniture today because  the chair in question is “chair” like “chairman”, a position, an office. We are also celebrating the unity we have together as we are in communion with our Holy Father, the Vicar of Christ and we use this occasion to renew our submission to the Magisterium or teaching authority of the Roman Pontiff, extended both to truths which are solemnly defined ex cathedra, and to all the acts of the ordinary Magisterium. The  first occupant of this chair, St. Peter stumbled a bit, denying Jesus three times and hesitating to welcome Gentiles into the new Church. Some of its later occupants have also stumbled a bit, sometimes even failing scandalously. So, the feast reminds us that the Vicar of Christ needs the prayer support of all the Catholics. This feast also gives us the occasion to  give thanks to God for the authority and mission He entrusted to the Apostle Peter and his successors. (Pope St. John Paul II: On the feast of the Chair of St Peter, the liturgy once again offers us the famous oracle of the prophet Ezekiel, in which God reveals himself as the Shepherd of his people. Indeed, the chair is inseparable from the pastoral staff, because Christ, Teacher and Lord, came to us as the Good Shepherd (cf. Jn 10: 1-18).’

It is also the feast of a relic long reputed to be St. Peter’s actual chair or the Cathedra Petri.  On this feast day, 110 candles illuminate the reliquary that containing Peter’s original chair. This relic has been venerated by the faithful since the fourth century. Previously preserved in the Baptismal Chapel of what is referred to as the Old St Peter’s Basilica, built by the Emperor Constantine around 333AD, today it can be found encased in a reliquary — the bronze throne built by Bernini and enshrined in the apse of St Peter’s Basilica. The throne is supported by the statues of four Doctors of the Church:  two from the West, St Augustine and St Ambrose, and two from the East:  St John Chrysostom and St Athanasius, beneath the well-known stained-glass image depicting the Holy Spirit as a dove. In medieval liturgical custom the Pope was enthroned on the relic for part of his coronation ceremony and used it as his liturgical cathedra in the Basilica on the feast. Ever since, Bernini’s artwork covering the Chair, it is considered only as a  reliquary and not used. The last time the relic was exposed was in 1867 by Blessed Pius IX on the eighteenth centenary of the martyrdom of Ss. Peter and Paul. Since ancient kings sat on thrones and ruled, Peter’s chair is a symbol of his authority from Jesus to rule the Church. This feast also reminds us that Jesus bestowed on Peter a special place among the Apostles. He was one of the three who were with Christ on special occasions, such as the Transfiguration of Christ and the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemani. Peter was the only Apostle to whom Christ appeared individually on the first day of the week, the day of the Resurrection. Peter, in turn, often spoke on behalf of the Apostles. When Jesus asked the Apostles, “Who do men say that the Son of Man is?” Simon replied, “Thou art Christ, the Son of the Living God.”  (Mt 16:16)

And Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood have not revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to you: That you are Peter [Cephas, a rock], and upon this rock [Cephas] I will build my Church [ekklesian], and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mt 16:13-20). In saying this, Jesus made St. Peter the head of the entire community of believers and placed the spiritual guidance of the faithful in St. Peter’s hands. A symbol of this teaching, leading  and guiding authority is the “cathedra,” a bishop’s throne or chair in a cathedral,.Peter delivered the first public sermon after the Pentecost and won a large number of converts. He also performed many miracles and defended the freedom of the Apostles to preach the Gospels. He preached in Jerusalem, Judaea, and as far north as Syria. He was arrested in Jerusalem under Herod Agrippa I, but miraculously escaped execution. He left Jerusalem and eventually went to Rome, where he preached during the last portion of his life. He was crucified there, head downwards, as he had desired to suffer, saying that he did not deserve to die as Christ had died. The date of St. Peter’s death is not clear. Historians estimate he was executed between the years 64 and 68. His remains now rest beneath the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

Original wooden chair of St. Peter enclosed in a decorated bronze case built by Bernini. L/22

Feb 23 Wednesday (St. Polycarp, Bishop, Martyr) (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-polycarp) : Mk 9: 38-40: John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw we saw someone driving outdemons in your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me. 40 For he that is not against us is for us. Additional reflections: Click on: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

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

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

Life message: 1) Let us not try to prevent anyone from doing good to others because of envy or jealousy.  Envy and jealousy are sinful because they lead us to sadness over what should make us rejoice.  True love always seeks the highest good of the neighbor. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

Feb 24 Thursday: Mark 9: 41-50: 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward. 42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. 49 For every one will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” Additional reflections: Click on: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

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

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

Life messages: 1) We need to have salt in our lives: Jesus declares that, as the salt of the earth, our duty is to purify, preserve and give flavor to people’s lives by using the blessings given to us instead of leading others to sin by bad example. 2) As salt penetrates what it is placed upon, let us penetrate the society around us, radiating Jesus’ love, mercy, forgiveness and spirit of service. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

Feb 25 Friday: Mk 10:1-12: 1 And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again; and again, as his custom was, he taught them. 2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3……………………….12 Additional reflections: Click on: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

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

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

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

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

Life messages:1) Let us keep all families of our parish in our daily prayers. The mutual understanding and appreciation of the spouses, their openness and frankness, their spirit of sacrifice, adjustment, tolerance, their willingness to ask pardon and give pardon, their generosity in forgiving and forgetting – all these help to make a marriage permanent. 2) Let us also pray for all divorced men and women in the parish and also for those who have married again without an annulment, and welcome them as active members of the parish, although the latter cannot receive Holy Communion. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

Feb 26 Saturday:Mk 10:13-16: “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 13 And they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it he was indignant, and said to them, “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them. Additional reflections: Click on: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

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

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

Life messages: 1) Let us live in the awareness that we are the children of a loving and providing Heavenly Father and that by Baptism we are members of God’s family. Hence, we are expected to behave well every day as worthy children of a Holy Father. 2) Let us pray for all children in our families and for all our young parishioners and let us find time to cooperate in the parish ministries meant for children and young people. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

OT VII [C] (Feb 20) Sunday (Eight-minute homily in one page) 

Central theme: Today’s Scripture readings challenge us to make three types of correct choices in life. First, we are advised to choose the “golden rule” including loving our enemies  and showing sensitivity to the feelings and needs of others. Second, we need to choose unconditional, agape love instead of jealousy and hatred in our relationships with others. Third, we must choose graceful and merciful  forgiveness instead of harboring revenge and planning retaliation.

Scripture lessons: The first reading shows us how David made the right choice, respecting God’s anointed king by forgiving his offenses, while Saul continued to make the wrong choices, perpetuating his own misery in seeking his revenge. In the Responsorial Psalm, Ps 103, the Psalmist reminds us of the mercy of God and His compassion which we should practice in our choices. In the second reading, St. Paul tells us how the “First Adam” made a wrong choice of disobedience, bringing death into the world, whereas Jesus, the “Second Adam,” made the right choice of fulfilling his Father’s saving plan for mankind by accepting acute suffering and heinous death. Today’s Gospel (Luke 6:27-38) gives us Jesus’ revolutionary moral teaching about correct choices in our human relationships, based on the necessity of our following the “Golden Rule” and our obligation to behave like the children of a loving, forgiving, merciful, and compassionate Heavenly Father. Our relationships in our communities become truly Christian when we follow the Golden Rule, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Jesus amplifies the golden rule by giving additional commands for us to follow as God’s children, by explaining Christian love: “Love your enemies…Do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you and pray for those who maltreat you.” Jesus orders us to love our enemies and to be merciful and compassionate to everyone as God our Father is loving, merciful, and compassionate. He concludes by instructing us to stop judging others and start forgiving all who offend us.

Life Messages: 1)We need to practice the Golden Rule:The Golden Rule asks us to do to others what we would like them do to us. If we obey, loving others and expressing that love by loving words and deeds, we will start receiving the same love from others in higher intensity. Further, if we want others to forgive our offenses, our words of criticism, and our thoughtless judgments against them, then we should start forgiving their offenses against us and start appreciating their good qualities while encouraging them and supporting them in their needs.

2) We need to pray for the strength to forgive. At every Mass we pray the “Our Father”, asking God to forgive us as we forgive others. Our challenge is to overcome our natural inclination to hate family members, co-workers, neighbors and all who offend us. To meet that challenge, we need to ask God for the strength to forgive each other. We must forgive, because only forgiveness truly heals us. If we remember how God has forgiven us, it will help us forgive others. Let us start forgiving right now by curbing the sharp tongue of criticism, suppressing the revenge instinct and bearing patiently the irritating behavior of a neighbor.

VII SUNDAY: (I Sm 26 2:7-9, 12-13, 22-23; I Cor 15:45-49; Lk 6:27-38)

Homily starter anecdote: # 1: Adopt an orphaned Muslim child in your Hindu family. In his autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Mahatma Gandhi mentions the “Sermon on the Mount” as one of the main religious works that inspired him to search for ways of bringing about political freedom for India by non-violent resistance to oppression. He writes: “I came to see that the Sermon on the Mount was the whole of Christianity for one who wanted to live a Christian life. It is that sermon that has endeared Jesus to me.” In 1947, when British India was divided into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan, Mahatma Gandhi went on a hunger strike to end the communal violence which had erupted between Hindu and Moslem fanatics in the Indo-Pakistani Border States. During this time, a Hindu fanatic came to him and confessed, “I will surely go to hell and no one can save me.” Gandhi asked the man why he thought he was doomed to hell. The man replied that he was a Hindu, and that Muslims had killed his child during a riot. In revenge, he had slaughtered a Muslim child and his parents, but felt very guilty afterwards. Gandhi said, “I know one way to save you from going to hell. “Find a Muslim child who has lost his parents, take him home, bring him up and educate him so that he grows up as a Muslim in your Hindu family.Then you won’t go to hell.” When Mohandas Gandhi was gunned down in 1948, his last gesture was to press his palms together and raise his folded hands to his lips in the Hindu sign of forgiveness. Martin Luther King was a great admirer of Gandhi. When a gang of racial fanatics set fire to King’s house, an Afro-American mob gathered, ready to take revenge. But he told them, “When you live by the rule ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,’ you end up with a nation of blind and toothless people.” Then he led the gathering in prayer for the white brothers who had burned his house. That is what the “Amazing Grace” of forgiveness, the central theme of today’s readings, is all about. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

# 2: Meeting the President to seek pardon for the worst enemy: During the Revolutionary War, Peter Miller was the pastor of a little Baptist Church in Pennsylvania. He was also the abbot of the community of mystics at the Ephrata Cloisters whose monks helped the fighting American soldiers with food. The Reverend Peter Miller was a friend of General George Washington and was respected for his many outstanding services to the newly born republic. He also helped the President to translate the Declaration of Independence into several foreign languages so that the Imperial Courts of Europe would be aware of the intentions of the new American government. Michael Wildman, the public prosecutor lived near the Church, constantly criticizing and abusing Pastor Miller and his congregation. When Wildman was caught for spying for the British army, President George Washington sentenced him to be hanged for treason. No sooner was the sentence announced than Rev. Peter Miller set out on foot to appeal to General George Washington for his enemy’s life. The president thought that Mr. Wildman was Rev. Miller’s friend and stated that he could not save Miller’s friend because of the gravity of his guilt. Miller said, “Mr. President, Mr. Wildman is not my friend; he is my worst enemy.” “What!” exclaimed Washington, “You have walked sixty miles to save the life of your enemy? That puts the matter in a different light. Pardon is granted.” Pardon in hand, Miller hurried to the place of execution, fifteen miles away. He arrived just as the traitor was being led to the scaffold. Seeing the pastor Miller coming close to the executing officer, the condemned Wildman shouted, “Here is the old Peter Miller. He came to get his revenge by seeing me hanged.” — Miller calmly stepped forward and gave him the pardon, signed by General Washington. Rev. Miller lived by the command Jesus gave us as described in today’s Gospel passage: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Adapted from Msgr. Arthur Tonne & http://rosicrucian.50webs.com/various/palo-day-washington-cried.htm).

# 3: Two presidents and a truck driver: When President Gerald Ford granted former President Richard Nixon “a free, full and absolute pardon” for his participation and perjury in the “Watergate” scandal, many considered Ford’s decision to be an act of weakness. In 1977, when President Jimmy Carter offered amnesty to those who, during the Vietnamese War, had avoided being conscripted, he was criticized for not enforcing the law. Both men, one a Republican, the other a Democrat, “took the heat”, as it were, because neither was motivated by partisan politics or the pressure of public opinion. Each had chosen to go beyond the limits of strict justice in order to exercise a mercy that was dictated, not by law, but by a conscience formed on Gospel principles. During the race riots in Los Angeles, in the aftermath of the Rodney King incident, a truck driver named Reginald Denny was pulled from his vehicle and severely beaten with a brick. When the case went to trial in 1993, Denny stunned the courtroom with his offer of forgiveness to those who had almost killed him. Later Denny said that only by forgiving the perpetrators of the crime against him had he been able to put the event behind him and move on. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

Introduction: The readings today are linked together by one main theme: the power of Christian love, when exercised in unconditional forgiveness. The readings also instruct us about our right and wrong choices. The right choices lead us to God, and the wrong ones break our relationship with Him and with one another. The first reading shows us how David made the right choice, respecting God’s anointed king by forgiving his offenses, while Saul continued to make the wrong choices, perpetuating his own misery seeking his revenge. In the Responsorial Psalm, Ps 103, the Psalmist reminds us of the mercy of God and His compassion for us “as a Father has compassion on His children.” In the second reading, St. Paul tells us how the “First Adam” made a wrong choice of disobedience, bringing death into the world, whereas Jesus, the “Second Adam,” made the correct choice of fulfilling his Father’s saving plan. Today’s Gospel (Luke 6:27-38), gives us Jesus’ revolutionary moral teaching about correct choices in our human relationships, placing special emphasis on the Golden Rule, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” This Golden Rule, is amplified by a string of particular commands: “Love your enemies…Do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you and pray for those who maltreat you.” For Jesus, love is a fundamental attitude that seeks another’s good. Jesus orders us to love our enemies and to be merciful as God our Father is merciful. Jesus challenges us to do for others what God does for us. “Be compassionate, as your Father is compassionate.” He concludes by instructing us to stop judging and start forgiving.

The first reading (1 Sm 26: 2: 7-9, 12-13, 22-23) explained: This reading from the Hebrew Scriptures, gives us a vivid example of self-control, forgiveness, and mercy. The ancient Israelites were governed first by Moses, then by a long line of judges. Since they noticed the progress made by their Gentile neighbors who had kings, the Israelites finally prevailed on their last Judge, Samuel to ask God for a king for them. (1 Samuel: 8). The king was Saul. In Saul’s army, the youth David won a famous victory over Goliath, and thereby gained the admiration of the people and the envy of King Saul. Saul and his “three thousand picked men” went in search of David to kill him. Yet, David and Abishai were able to steal into Saul’s camp and stand over the sleeping king. But David turned down Abishai’s offer to “nail Saul to the ground with one thrust of the spear.” ”Do not harm him,” David commanded. Then taking Saul’s spear and water jug, he went to an opposite hill and yelled across to Abner, Saul’s lieutenant: “Here is the king’s spear…. Today, though Yahweh delivered him into my grasp, I would not harm Yahweh’s anointed.” David’s sense of justice, spirit of forgiveness, and respect for Divine authority helped him to go beyond the retaliation which others expected him to show. David is an image of Christ and an example to us. If he can forgive his mortal enemy, so can, and so should, we.

The second reading (I Cor. 15:45-49) explained: Here we have Saint Paul’s doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus, contrasting Christ, “the last Adam,” with Adam, the “first Adam.” He reminds the Corinthian community that everyone shares in the sinful nature of the “first Adam.” But he encourages his followers to remember that by Baptism they also share in the spiritual nature of Jesus — the “last Adam.” Hence, we Christians are expected to go beyond our earthly, natural desire to seek revenge and retaliation. Instead, when we are injured, we are to offer the Christian response of forgiveness and mercy, whether our culture accepts or rejects it. If, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we do so, we share in the life of the risen Christ, both here and now, and after our death.

Gospel exegesis: The Gospel passage contains four commands of Jesus: love, forgive, do good, and pray. They specify the kind of love that the Christian follower is expected to show toward an enemy. The ‘enemy’ is one who injures hates or rejects the Christian. 1) Love your enemies: This command proposes a course of action that is contrary to human nature. Jesus invites those who follow him to repudiate their natural inclinations and instead follow his example and the example of the heavenly Father. He recommends, not merely a warm affection (philia), such as one might have for one’s family, or a passionate devotion (eros), such as one might expect between spouses, but a gracious, active interest (agape), in the welfare of precisely those persons who are antagonistic to us. Agape is the love that cares deeply for others simply because they are created in God’s image, and wishes them well because that is what God wishes. Jesus not only commanded us to love our enemies, he also gave us the most vivid and awesome example of this type of love in action. While hanging on the cross, he prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

2) Offer your other cheek to the one who strikes you. This injunction and that in v. 30, cut through the old principle of retaliation (Ex 21:24; Lev 24:20; Dt 19:21-30). Jesus is not saying that we should permit the destruction of the innocent and defenseless or allow ourselves to be abused or killed! The Catechism is very clear on this point: “Self-defense is morally legitimate, as long as it’s proportional to the attack. Let us remember that the commandment is ‘Love your neighbor AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF’…Love toward oneself remains a fundamental principle of morality. Therefore it is legitimate to insist on respect for one’s own right to life” (CCC #2264). What are the challenges Jesus gives us in this command to “turn the other cheek”? First, he challenges us to forgive others totally and completely, which means letting go of any and every grudge. He also challenges us not to seek vengeance. In addition, he wants us to be patient with the shortcomings of others and to love everyone, even our enemies. (CCC #2264). So the bottom line is this: It’s morally wrong not to defend the innocent, when we have a responsibility to do so; it’s morally legitimate to defend ourselves from an unjust aggressor; but it can be virtuous to endure unjust sufferings and even martyrdom for the sake of Jesus Christ and his Gospel.

3) “Forgive and you will be forgiven. Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” This message might have sounded very strange to the Jews, who were familiar with a God who was merciful to his own people and vengeful against their enemies, as pictured in Psalms 18, 72 and 92. But Jesus repeats his teaching on forgiveness, both in the prayer he taught his disciples “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” (Mt 68:12; Lk 11:4), and in his final commandment to his apostles, “Just as I have loved you, you should also love one another” (Jn 15:12). Another good reason for us to forgive our enemies is, “(so that everyone will know that we are disciples of the Most High” (Jn 13:34-35). That is, Christianforgiveness can be a form of evangelization. Jesus does not advise his followers to overlook evils, wars, economic disparity, and exploitation of the vulnerable. Instead, we are called to forgive, to be merciful and not to retaliate. But we cannot achieve this level of love and forgiveness by ourselves. We need the power of God working through us by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

4) The Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Christian ethics consists not in merely refraining from evil, but in actively doing good, not only to those who are friends, but to those who hate us or do evil against us. In other words, Jesus expects us to rise above our human instincts and imitate the goodness and generosity of God. The observance of the golden rule makes us like God whose love and mercy embrace saints and sinners alike. At the same time the Golden Rule does not require that we allow others to take advantage of us.

Life Messages: 1) Invitation to grace-filled behavior: What makes Christianity distinct from any other religion is the quality known as grace, i.e., God’s own life working in us, so that we are able to treat others, not as they deserve but with love, kindness and mercy. God is good to the unjust as well as to the just. Hence our love for others, even those who are ungrateful and selfish towards us, must be marked by the same kindness and mercy which God has shown to us. When we pray for those who do us wrong, we break the power of hate in ourselves and in others and release the power of love. How can we possibly love those who cause us harm? God gives the necessary power and grace to those who believe and accept the gift of the Holy Spirit. His love conquers our hurts, fears, prejudices and grief. Only the cross of Jesus Christ can free us from the tyranny of malice, hatred, revenge, and resentment, and give us the courage to return good for evil.

2) Accept the challenges of day-to-day life. Jesus challenges our willingness to endure unjust suffering for his sake and the sake of his Gospel. For example, we must often endure the suffering that comes when a co-worker calls us “a religious fanatic” because we believe in the Ten Commandments; the pain that comes when family members refuse to associate with us because we take our Faith seriously and refuse to compromise our beliefs; the suffering that comes to a practicing Christian youth who is ostracized by his friends because he won’t do drugs or engage in promiscuous sexual activity. These are examples of the “little martyrdoms” that Jesus challenges us to embrace every day in his name! (CCC # 2264)

3) Pray for the strength to forgive. At every Mass we pray the “Our Father,” asking God to forgive us as we forgive others. Our challenge is to overcome our natural inclination to hate. To meet that challenge we need to ask God for the strength to forgive each other. Each of us needs to ask: Do I have anyone in my life I call an enemy? Is there anyone who actually hates me? Are there people who would really curse me? Is there anyone in my life who mistreats me-–a boss, a teacher, a parent, a co-worker, a family member, a former spouse? These things hurt us, and they are often difficult to forgive. However, we must forgive, because only forgiveness truly heals us. If we remember how God has forgiven us, it will help us forgive others. For those who have hurt us, Jesus tells us our response should be love: “Forgive and you will be forgiven.” Let us start forgiving right now by curbing the sharp tongue of criticism, suppressing the revenge instinct, and patiently bearing the irritating behavior of a neighbor.

4) Let us try to live our lives in accordance with “the Golden Rule.” Let us examine our conscience. Is generosity central to our lives, or do we often choose selfishness instead? Are we willing to trust in God’s providence, or do we place our Faith in ourselves? Do we really accept and embrace our responsibility for one another and for the world we live in, or do we see all things in terms of our own wants and needs? Do we allow emotions such as hatred and jealousy guide our spiritual lives, or do we try to be more like our Lord?

Jokes of the week

#1: “Forgive Your Enemies” The preacher’s Sunday sermon was, “Forgive Your Enemies.” He asked, “How many have forgiven their enemies?” About half held up their hands. He then repeated the question. This time about eighty percent held up their hands. He then repeated his question a third time. The entire congregation held up their hands except one elderly lady. “Mrs. Jones,” the preacher asked, “aren’t you willing to forgive your enemies?” “I don’t have any” she replied. “That is very unusual”, the preacher said. “How old are you?” “Ninety-three.” “Mrs. Jones, please come to the front and tell the congregation how a person cannot have an enemy in the world.” The little sweetheart of a lady tottered down the aisle and said: “It’s easy; I just outlived all those rascals!”

# 2: The preacher and the doctor:There’s a story told of a husband and wife both of whom were doctors – one a Doctor of Theology and the other a Doctor of Medicine. When their doorbell was rung and the maid answered, the inquirer would often ask for “the doctor”. The maid’s interesting reply was: “Do you want the one who preaches or the one who practices?”

#: Irish prayer: There is an old Irish prayer that goes like this, “May God bless those who love us. And those who do not love us, may He turn their hearts. And if He does not turn their hearts, may He turn their ankles so we may know them by their limping.”

VIDEO-WEBSITES OF THE WEEK

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

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

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

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

3) Dr. Brant Pitre’s commentary on Cycle C Sunday Scripture for Bible Class: https://catholicproductions.com/blogs/mass-readings-explained-year-c  

Selected Catholic apologetic websites

(https://www.reasonablecatholic.com/recommended-links/recommended-websites/)

1)http://www.abcsoffaith.com/html/home.html; 2) http://www.aboutcatholics.com/, 3) http://www.americancatholictruthsociety.com/ 4)http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/a/, 5) http://www.biblechristiansociety.com/ 6) http://www.catholic.com/ 7)http://www.phatmass.com/directory/ 8) http://www.catholicfaithandreason.org

9)http://www.TheDefender.org/ 10) http://www.ourcatholicfaith.org/ 11)www.catholicscomehome.org 12) www.jimmyakin.com

25 Additional anecdotes

1) Forgive and forget: When Mahatma Gandhi was gunned down in 1948, his last gesture was one of forgiveness for his assassin; with his palms pressed together he raised his hands to his lips in the Hindu sign of forgiveness. Pope John Paul II was similarly generous. After recovering from his gunshot wounds, he visited his assailant in jail and assured him of his forgiveness. Father Lawrence Jenco, upon his release as a hostage in Beirut, said that only when he was able to forgive his kidnappers, was he able to enjoy his freedom. Only by forgiving those who had starved, degraded and brutalized him was he able to move from brokenness to wholeness before God. During the race riots in Los Angeles, in the aftermath of the Rodney King debacle, a truck driver named Reginald Denny was pulled from his vehicle and severely beaten with a brick. When the case went to trial in 1993, Denny stunned the courtroom with his offer of forgiveness to those who had almost killed him. Later Denny said that only by forgiving the perpetrators of the crime against him was he able to put the event behind him and move on. The late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin (died November 14, 1996), who once said that the believer’s relationship with Christ must influence all his/her other relationships (Christ Lives in Me, St. Anthony Messenger Press, Cincinnati: 1970), extended his experience of that relationship to a young man who had accused him of sexual molestation. Even before the man recanted his accusations as false, Cardinal Bernardin had extended to him the gift of forgiveness. When Christian missionaries to Alaska first began to minister among the Inuit people, they were surprised to discover the Inuit term for forgiveness. A formidable assemblage of 24 letters, the compound word issumagijoujungnainermik is a beautiful expression which means not-being-able-to-think-about-it-any more. Implied in this term is the notion that the one who forgives will also forget. — What a freeing thought! Forgiveness is a noble gift, and when it is authentically offered and genuinely received, it never ceases to stir a certain amazement in the human heart. (Sanchez Files). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

2) Forgiveness did what Justice could not do: Do you remember the movie, “Dead Man Walking” (1995)? It was based on the book of the same name published in 1993, depicting the counseling experiences of Sister Helen Prejean, a Sister of St. Joseph, who worked in prison ministry in Louisiana and was a long-time campaigner against the death penalty in the United States. The story is about her relationship with a criminal named Robert Willie and with one of his victims, Debbie Morris. Willie and a friend of his were convicted of going on an eight-day crime spree in which they kidnapped three eighteen-year-olds. They molested and murdered one girl, sexually assaulted another, and beat up a third. Debbie’s boyfriend was tortured, shot and paralyzed. Debbie Morris survived and Willie was executed. Because of those traumatic events, Debbie Morris was in agony for years and could not forgive Robert Willie for his crimes. For eighteen years after the incident, her life was filled with anxiety. She didn’t have an hour in which she was free of torment. She was filled with anger and hatred for everything and everybody. She hated her mother for letting her go out that night; she hated God for letting this happen to her; and needless to say, she hated Robert Willie. Sister Helen counseled her, and finally, after eighteen years, Debbie Morris found the strength to forgive Robert Willie. Debbie is now married, has two children, and is doing very well. She wrote in an article entitled “Forgiving the Dead Man Walking”: “By forgiving Robert Willie, I in no way absolve him of the responsibility for what he did. But the refusal to forgive him meant that I held on to my pain, my shame, and my self-pity. Justice didn’t do a thing to heal me. Forgiveness did.” — When we hear today’s Gospel we are tempted to ask: “Is Jesus serious about his teaching on forgiveness? Does Jesus expect us to subject ourselves to physical abuse and actually enjoy it? Is he saying that to defend oneself against physical attack is a sin? What does he mean when he tells us to “turn the other cheek?” Debbie Morris would answer, “Justice didn’t heal me. But forgiveness did.” Jesus is completely serious when he tells us to love our enemies and forgive them, showing them that God’s justice lies in His mercy. That’s what he tells us in today’s Gospel. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

3) The Marines could blast him to “kingdom come.” A little girl came home from Sunday School and asked her father if she could send a note to Osama Bin Laden. “Why him?” asked her startled father. “Because,” said the little girl, “if Mr. Bin Laden got a nice note from a little American girl, maybe he’d think that we’re not all bad and he might start liking us a little. And then maybe he’d write a note back and come out of his cave and talk to people about our differences.” “Suzie,” said the proud father, “that’s a wonderful idea. “ ”Yes,” said Suzie, “and once he’s out of the cave, the Marines could blast him to kingdom come.” — I hope Suzie didn’t get that idea at Sunday School. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

4) The Jews eating a five-cornered cake to remember Hitler?: One day long ago, when things were looking darkest for the free world, a man named Adolph Hitler was addressing a large audience in Germany. On the front row sat a man of pronounced Semitic appearance. Following his address, Hitler came down from the platform, walked up to this man and said: “While I was speaking you were laughing. What were you laughing about?” The man replied, “I was not laughing, I was thinking. “” What were you thinking about?” asked Hitler. “I was thinking about my people, the Jews, and that you are not the first man who didn’t like us. A long time ago there was another man who didn’t like us. His name was Pharaoh and he put heavy burdens on us down there in Egypt. But for years we Jews have had a feast called Passover and at that feast we have a little three-cornered cake and we eat that cake in memory of Pharaoh. “Years later there was another man who didn’t like us. His name was Haman and he did his best to get rid of all the Jews throughout the realm of King Ahasuerus. But for years we Jews have had another feast called the feast of Purim and at that feast we have a little four-cornered cake and we eat that cake in memory of Haman. “And while you were up there speaking, sir, I was sitting here thinking and wondering what kind of a cake we were going to eat to remember you by. “ (John A. Redhead, Jr., The Past Speaks to the Future–50 Years of the Protestant Hour (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995).) — How shall we treat our enemies? This Jewish gentleman was on the right track. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

5) “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands.” There was once a shepherd boy who became a legendary soldier. But, after a brief time of service, he made a very powerful enemy. The shepherd boy was named David. The powerful enemy was a King of Israel, named Saul. You remember the story. The crowds chanted, “Saul has killed his thousands; David has killed his ten thousands.” (I Samuel 18:7) And Saul was consumed with envy and hatred. He chased David all over the wilderness, seeking to take his life. On one occasion, in the Desert of Ziph, Saul took three thousand soldiers with him for the express purpose of hunting David down and killing him. It was on this mission that, one night while Saul was sleeping, David slipped into his tent under the cover of dark. There lay David’s enemy asleep with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. A soldier who had accompanied David on this clandestine mission said to him, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of my spear . . .” But David would have none of it. In his eyes, Saul was God’s anointed. So David took the spear and water jug near Saul’s head, and they left. Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the hill some distance away; there was a wide space between them. “Here is the king’s spear,” David shouted. “Let one of your young men come over and get it. The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and faithfulness. The Lord delivered you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed.” Interesting insight into David’s character: David was not always merciful to his enemies, but at least on this occasion, David’s Faith in God was more important than either his desire for vengeance or his concern for his own safety, so he spared Saul’s life. –How shall we treat our enemy? (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

6) Fatwa against Salman Rushdie and Barbie dolls: You may remember when writer Salman Rushdie first gained the public eye because he had a bounty on his head. Why? For writing words critical of the Prophet, even though he is a Moslem himself. It was a harsh reminder that you can be killed in some parts of the world just for asking questions or expressing doubts. Of course, there was a time when that was true in the Christian world, too, but we conveniently forget that. It was amusing to read that Islamic fundamentalists in Kuwait recently issued a fatwa against Barbie dolls. “This she-devil has polished nails and wears skirts above the knee,” says Kuwait’s College of Islamic Sharia. “The fatwa against Barbie commences immediately.” That seems a little extreme. It’s not the first time, of course, the Gulf has banned Western products. Last year Saudi Arabia and Iran barred satellite dishes–for the sinful images they import. Thirty years ago Saudi Arabia’s senior religious authority declared the earth was flat and outlawed globes. (Newsweek, April 24, 1995, p. 6.) — Itis very difficult for us to relate to such a religion. And yet, relate to it we must. For, if we do not, if we hate people simply because of their religion, we become exactly like the people who hate us so much. If we return evil for evil, what separates us from sinners? asks Jesus. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

7) “Juda Ben Hur, you have become a Massala.” Some of you will remember an epic Hollywood motion picture titled Ben Hur, starring Charlton Heston. You may remember it for the exciting chariot race at the end. At the time Ben Hur was the most expensive Hollywood movie ever made. In the movie, based on a Lew Wallace book, an old friend named Massala has become Juda Ben Hur’s enemy. Because of Massala’s evil doing, Ben Hur is captured and forced into service down in the galley of a slave ship. Meanwhile, his mother and sister are sent off to prison. Ben Hur loses contact with them and later is told that they are dead. Juda Ben Hur, returns to Israel intent on one thing–revenge. Because of Massala, he has lost everything. And now he lives for one thing, to avenge himself upon Massala. This passion consumes Ben Hur to such an extent that his sweetheart, Esther, looking into his tortured eyes exclaims, “Juda Ben Hur, you have become a Massala.” — That’s what hatred does to us. It is impossible to have the Spirit of Christ within us and at the same time to have a spirit of hatred for any other human being. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

8) “We must realize that we are all family.” TV news reporter Peter Arnett was visiting the West Bank in Israel when a bomb exploded in the middle of town. He was surrounded by anguished screams and clouds of smoke. A man holding an injured girl ran up to Peter and asked for a ride to a hospital. As they sped through the streets, the man nursed the bloody girl in the backseat. The doctors did everything to save the girl’s life, but to no avail. Peter turned to comfort the man on the loss of his child, but the man interrupted him. She wasn’t his child, he said. She was a Palestinian. He was Israeli. He found her lying in the street and decided to help. — “Mister,” he said through his tears, “there must come a time when we realize that we are all family.” (Tony Campolo, Let Me Tell You a Story (Nashville: Word Publishing, 2000), pp. 120-121.) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

9) The Bishop’s silver candlesticks: One of the most successful musicals of the past forty years has been Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Les Miserables, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. The main character of Les Miserables is Jean Valjean. Orphaned as a boy, Valjean reaches his teens only to take on the responsibility of caring for his widowed sister and her seven children. All his work couldn’t pull his sister and her family out of poverty, and so one day a desperate Valjean steals a loaf of bread from a baker’s shop, to keep the children from starving. He is soon arrested and thrown in jail, where his young heart becomes hardened with anger and hatred. After spending half his life in prison, Valjean is released to a world that doesn’t want him. His criminal past causes him to be rejected and ostracized everywhere he goes. Finally, he stumbles on the house of a kindly Bishop. The Bishop treats Valjean with kindness, feeding him and allowing him to spend the night at his house. That night, Valjean is restless, still battling the anger and bitterness in his heart. He leaves the house that night, stealing all the bishop’s fine silver utensils. The next day, soldiers come to the bishop’s house with Valjean in tow. They have found the silver, and are ready to throw him in jail. But the bishop greets Valjean with gladness and insists that he freely gave him the silver. The soldiers release their trembling prisoner and leave. Valjean, in disbelief, accepts the gift of the silver from the bishop. He cannot understand why this man would tell a lie to save someone like himself. —- His answer comes when the kindly bishop announces, “Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to the evil, but to good. I have bought your soul for you. I withdrew it from black thoughts and the spirit of hate, and gave it to God.” And Jean Valjean leaves the bishop’s house a changed man changed by a man who treated him with favor. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

10) “I have no choice but to love and forgive the man who murdered my mother.” A few years ago the small town of Palm Bay, Florida, experienced a deep community trauma. A crazed alcoholic filled his pockets with high-powered ammunition. Then, taking a semiautomatic rifle, he walked into a crowded shopping center and started killing people at random. By the time he was finally chased into a grocery store (where he held a young woman hostage for several hours before the police persuaded him to give up), he had killed six people and wounded a dozen more some seriously. Emotions ran high. One of the ladies killed was a sixty-eight-year-old saint who worked in a Church nursery. People were confused. What role did justice play in this kind of situation? Forgiveness? Each person had to arrive at his own conclusion. — But Sandy Thompson, the daughter of the slain woman, made a deliberate decision not to hate. “If I hate him,” she told her pastor, “I am also a murderer.” She said, “Jesus said, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.’ (Mt 5:21-22). He also said: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’ (Mt 5:43-44) Therefore,” said Sandy Thompson, “I have no choice but to love and forgive the man who murdered my mother.” [Jamie Buckingham, Parables (Milton Keynes, England: Word Publishing, 1991), p. 39.] (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

11) “We are not advocating violence. We must love our enemies.” On January 30, 1956, Martin Luther King, Jr. came home from a meeting to find his home had been bombed while his wife and children were inside. Crowds full of anger swarmed in the front yard. After a while, Dr. King came out to address the crowd. — This is what he said: “We are not advocating violence. We must love our enemies. What we are doing is just, and God will be with us.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

12) “We shall pray for who have perhaps already raised their hands to kill us.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer—World War II—fighting Hitler, decided to leave the safety of this country and to go back to Germany and lead a Church in the resistance movement against the Nazi regime. It cost him his life. But Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes in that great book The Cost of Discipleship, “We are approaching an age of widespread persecution. Our adversaries seek to root out the Christian Church because they cannot live side by side with us. So what shall we do? We shall pray. It will be a prayer of earnest love for those who stand around and gaze at us with eyes aflame with hatred, and who have perhaps already raised their hands to kill us.” — What will we do? We can pray. Why not? Why not a better way of life? (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

13) “Blood never loses its color.” On Dec. 24, 1994, a young Albanian man by the name of Isaj was murdered. The police didn’t investigate the crime, even though they knew who the killer was: Isaj’s close friend, Rasim. Why didn’t the police arrest Rasim? Because it was a revenge killing, and revenge killings are part of the basic moral code in Albania. The basic moral code of Albania comes from the Kanun, a centuries-old book of folk laws. The Kanun calls for brutal revenge if a man has been injured or his honor has been insulted. Forgiveness and reconciliation are not options. If a man refuses to kill another man in a blood feud, then he loses all honor in Albanian society. A quote from the Kanun reads, “Blood never loses its color.” — Revenge is natural; love is Christ-like. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

14) “Fratres Pontifices,” the bridge-building brothers. In A.D. 1191, Pope Clement III approved a new guild. Its members included nobles, clergy, and artisans. The work of the guild consisted of clearing dangerous roads for pilgrims and building bridges over rivers and chasms. Members of the guild wore clothing that carried a picture of two things: a cross and a bridge. The guild was called “Fratres Pontifices,” the bridge-building brothers. — And that is who we who follow Jesus are called to be. An Episcopal priest, Dr. Joseph Fort Newton, once commented: “People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges.” [Edward Chinn, Wonder of Words (Lima, Ohio: C.S.S. Publishing Co., Inc., 1987), p. 22.[ (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

15) “But, I have many bridges to build.” Once upon a time two brothers who lived on adjoining farms fell into conflict. It was the first serious rift in 40 years in farming side by side, sharing machinery, and trading labor and goods as needed, without a hitch. Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with a small misunderstanding that grew into a major difference, and finally exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence. One morning there was a knock on John’s door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter’s toolbox. “I’m looking for a few days work,” he said. “Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there. Could I help you?” “Yes,” said the older brother. “I do have a job for you. Look across the creek at that farm. That’s my neighbor, in fact, it’s my younger brother. Last week there was a meadow between us and he took his bulldozer to the river levee and now it is a creek between us. Well, he may have done this to spite me, but I’ll go him one better. See that pile of lumber curing by the barn? I want you to build me a fence–an 8-foot fence so I won’t need to see his place anymore. Cool him down anyhow.” The carpenter said, “I think I understand the situation. Show me the nails and the post hole digger and I’ll be able to do a job that pleases you.” The older brother had to go to town for supplies, so he helped the carpenter get the materials ready and then he was off for the day. The carpenter worked hard all that day measuring, sawing, nailing. About sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer’s eyes opened wide, and his jaw dropped. There was no fence there at all. It was a bridge, a bridge stretching from one side of the creek to the other. A fine piece of work–handrails and all–and the neighbor, his younger brother, was coming across, his hand outstretched. “You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all I’ve said and done.” The two brothers stood at each end of the bridge and then they met in the middle, took each other’s hands. They turned to see the carpenter hoist his toolbox on his shoulder, “No wait, stay a few days. I’ve a lot of other projects for you,” said the older brother. — “I’d love to stay on,” the carpenter said, “but, I have many bridges to build.” (Source: www.swanlake.twoffice.com via http://www.witandwisdom.org ) — Christ, of course, is the ultimate bridge builder. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

16) In The Godfather II, Michael Corleone preaches the following principle: “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer yet.”– Powerful information is wrapped up in criticism. You will always learn more from your enemies than from your friends. Enemies can provide a largely untapped source of truth; they give us tips, either about us or (if the critique is off-base), about those who criticize us. Either way we receive valuable information. Proverbs 23:12 can be translated as: “Don’t refuse to accept criticism; get all the help you can.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

17) In search of mother’s murderer: A number of years ago, The New York Times Magazine told the story of Nicholas Gage and his mother Eleni. Eleni was a Greek peasant who smuggled her son out of the village before he could be “re-educated” by the Communist party. As a result, she was tortured and murdered on August 28, 1948. Thirty-two years later, her son quit his job as a reporter for the New York Times. He devoted his time and money to finding his mother’s killer. He sifted through government cover-ups and false leads. Eventually he found the person who ordered Eleni’s death. His name was Katis. In a moving account, he tells of going up the path to a seaside cottage, where he sees Katis, fast asleep. He stood and looked at the man who had killed his mother. But as he pondered his revenge, Gage remembered how his mother did not spend the last moments cursing her tormentors; rather, she faced death with courage because she had done her duty to those she loved. “I could have killed Katis,” he confessed. “It would have given me relief from the pain that had filled me for so many years. But as much as I want that satisfaction, I have learned that I can’t do it. My mother’s love, the primary impulse of her life, still binds us together, often surrounding me like a tangible presence. Summoning the hate to kill my enemy would have severed that bridge connecting us. It would have destroyed the part of me that is most like my mother.” (New York Times Magazine 3 April 1983: 20.) — Gage prowled all over Greece, looking to treat somebody else as he felt his mother had been treated. He spent his money trying to give the enemy a taste of his own medicine. Instead he was interrupted by love, a mother’s love that made sacrifices for him, a love that was not withheld even in the face of certain death, a love like the love of Christ on the cross. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

18) “Remember Mr. Denny had brain damage …” Do you remember Reginald Denny who was beaten senseless, almost to death, in Los Angeles? The attack on Reginald Denny was an incident in the 1993 Los Angeles riots in which Reginald Denny, a white construction truck driver, was beaten nearly to death by a group of black assailants who came to be known as the “L.A. Four”. We remember the trial, the riots, and the controversy. — But do you remember the fact that in the courtroom he was with the families of those who had beaten him? He had gathered together with them in their homes and had gotten to know them because he realized the only hope for the world was for us to forgive our aggressors. Outside the courtroom, after Denny pronounced forgiveness on those who harmed him, one newspaper man simply said, “Remember Mr. Denny had brain damage …” So, we call someone brain-damaged who simply follows the command to love our enemies! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Reginald_Denny). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

19) “I threw the brick because no one else would stop!” A number of years back, a young and very successful executive was travelling down a suburban street in his brand-new black jaguar. Suddenly a brick was thrown from the sidewalk, thumping into the side of the car. Brakes slammed! Gears ground into reverse, and tires madly spun the Jaguar back to the spot from where the brick had been thrown. The driver jumped out, grabbed the kid who had thrown the brick and pushed him up against a parked car. “What was that all about?!” he screamed. “That’s my new Jag, that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money!” “Please, mister, please …. I’m sorry! I didn’t know what else to do!” pleaded the youngster. “I threw the brick because no one else would stop!” Tears were dripping down the boy’s chin as he pointed around the parked car. “It’s my brother, mister,” he said. “He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.” Sobbing, the boy asked the executive, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.” The mood was transformed in a moment as the young executive realized what had occurred. He lifted the young man into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapes and cuts. He then watched as the younger brother pushed him down the sidewalk toward their home –Unfortunately, that story is all too common. Without knowing all the facts, we all make judgments about people all the time. And what is really unfortunate, is that judgments like that are all too common in the Church. The Christian churches have a bad reputation as a bunch of judgmental hypocrites, don’t we? (Rev. Don Jaques). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

20) “He just ran over three motorcycles on his way out of the parking lot.” Late one summer evening a weary truck driver pulled his rig into an all-night service station to get some food. The waitress had just served him when three tough looking, leather jacketed motorcyclists – of the Hell’s Angels type – decided to give him a hard time. Not only did they verbally abuse him, one grabbed the hamburger off his plate, another took a handful of his chips, and the third picked up his coffee and began to drink it. How would you respond? Well, this trucker did not respond as one might expect. Instead, he calmly rose, picked up his bill and walked to the front of the restaurant, paid his bill and went out the door. The waitress followed him to put the money in the cash register and stood watching out the door as the big truck drove away into the night. When she returned, one of the bikers said to her, “Well, he’s not much of a man, is he?” She replied, “I don’t know about that, but he sure ain’t much of a truck driver. He just ran over three motorcycles on his way out of the parking lot.” — We laugh at that because that is what we’d like to do to those who make life difficult for us. When someone does something to us, our first instinct is to get back at them! Our first instinct is to make them pay and to hurt as much as they hurt us. But that is not what Jesus would have us do. In Luke 6, Jesus gives us a different response to have. What would Jesus have us do to our enemies? He tells us we are to LOVE THEM. (Rev. David Elvery). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)

21) Arab girl with Jewish kidney: On February 4 in the year 2007, the ABC re-broadcast a program documenting the moving story of Marsha Gladstone, a Jewish woman from Scotland. When a bus in Tel Aviv was shattered in a suicide bombing, Marsha’s 19-year-old son Yoni Jesner was critically injured. Yoni never regained consciousness, and before he died, the family agreed to make some of his organs available for transplant. The decision to donate helped them to find some meaning in this senseless tragedy. The subsequent revelation that one of Yoni’s kidneys had saved the life of Yasmin Rumeilah, a seven-year-old Palestinian girl, came as quite a shock to the family. It had simply never occurred to this Jewish family that a child of the “enemy’ would become the beneficiary of Yoni’s gift. — A year after Yoni’s death and at considerable personal cost, Marsha visited Yasmin and her family in their home in the West Bank. The Jewish mother who had lost her son embraced the Palestinian mother whose child lives with gratitude in her heart for the young Jewish man who gave her another chance at life and whom she now refers to as her “˜brother’. There was an extraordinary moment of womb-compassion in the embrace of these two women, one Jewish and the other Muslim. The hatred and misunderstanding of the generations seemed to dissolve in their encounter. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

22) About “dreaming the impossible dream”?That phrase comes from the Joe Darion song in 1965, immortalized by the 1965 stage play about “Don Quixote” and by the 1966 recording by Frank Sinatra. It speaks of an “unbeatable foe,” and suffering “unbearable sorrow,” as well as righting the “unrightable wrong.” The advice that Jesus gives in today’s Gospel is a lot like that. Nevertheless, the only option he offers is that of loving everyone, including our enemies and those who hurt us.

Jesus was aware that only love can stop the cycle of hatred. He knew that only if the “dream” became a reality it would come to fruition. We hear that repeated many times today by civic leaders. For example, Eleanor Roosevelt is quoted as saying “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” President Woodrow Wilson didn’t live to see his “impossible dream” fulfilled of American leadership in a League of Nations; nevertheless, the United Nations was the result of his early vision. Jesus died on the cross for our salvation. He did not see his dream of everyone loving everyone else become a reality. One of my friends, Fr. Jerry Fuller (†) made this comment: “Jesus’ words are what we call `counter-cultural’ in that they go against the philosophy of the world. For instance, in America 70% of the people believe in capital punishment. But Jesus tells us to forgive. A majority look down on welfare people, saying `Let them pull themselves up by their bootstraps like I did.’ If an enemy attacks our family or country, we immediately seek revenge, we certainly don’t turn the other cheek. So where is Jesus coming from? Has he just landed from Mars?” He goes on to say that only when we have Jesus’ words etched in our heart, and live them daily, will we be able to respond as Jesus did. — That is our challenge today, to put on the mind of Jesus, and trust in Him and love like Him! (Father Robert F. McNamara) .

23) “My son, one who slanders a virtuous person is like one who spits at the sky.” But the question that most of us are asking is this: How about if he abuses our love for him or if he does not accept it? What shall we do? You, what are you going to do? Are you going to let him do what he wants? If he abused our love for him, he is like the man who, after he listened to Buddha who talked against returning evil for evil or in our Gospel, ‘a tooth for a tooth’, decided to see if Buddha practiced what he preached. The man shouted all kinds of abuses and slanderous words at the great teacher and called him a stupid fool. Buddha listened patiently. When the man ran out of things to say, Buddha said: “My son, if one declines to accept a gift from another, to whom does the gift go?” “Any fools know that,” the man replied scornfully . “The gift goes back to the giver.” “My son,” said the Buddha, “You have given me much verbal abuse. I decline to accept your gift.” The man was dumbfounded. — Buddha continued, ”My son, one who slanders a virtuous person is like one who spits at the sky. The spittle does not soil the sky. It only comes back to soil the face of the one who spits. Or it is like one who flings dust into the wind. The dust does not reach its target. It only blows back into the face of the man who throws it.”( Quoted by Fr. Bennett).

24) “Then no more spit in soup.” During the Korean War, a group of American GI’s decided to hire a young Korean boy to clean up around the barracks and to prepare meals for them. The boy who they hired had a delightful personality, always upbeat and easy-going. No matter what the soldiers did, he only smiled and continued his work. So the soldiers decided they would compete to see who could make the boy angry by playing practical jokes on him. One time they nailed his shoes to the floor of the barracks. But the boy simply took out some pliers and pulled up the nails. He smiled and kept on with his work. Another time they put a pail of water on the door so that, when the boy came in, the water fell on him and completely drenched him. But he dried himself off, smiled and continued with his chores. They tried one practical joke after another, never with an angry response. Finally, they felt embarrassed about the whole project and decided it needed to stop. So they called the boy in and they said, “You have such a wonderful personality, such a forgiving nature, that we are not going to do any more practical jokes.” The boy said, “No more joke?” “No more,” they said. “No more nail in shoe?” “No more,” they said. “No more water on door?” “No more,” they said. “Good,” the boy said, “then no more spit in soup.” This story presents the alternative principle to Jesus’ teaching. (Fr. George Smiga).

25) Friedrich Nietzsche and Sigmond Freud: While the mind of Friedrich Nietzsche was unraveling as the last century ended, Freud’s was taut, wrapped around the mystery of unconscious human behavior. Both thinkers are now celebrated as the great unmaskers of motivation. They spread the awful news that we humans are not as nice as we think. Under our seeming civility and tidy-mindedness lurks a raging thirst for power hunkered down around an oven of anger and lust that Freud dubbed the “id.” Civilization, to Nietzsche’s disgust and Freud’s approval, supposedly tamed those feral impulses, yet both men suspected that the cooker of repression would explode. Politically, world wars and holocausts—as recent as events in Rwanda [1994]—seem to have confirmed their frightening visions. In academic circles Nietzsche and Freud are lionized as prophets of deconstruction. And in mean streets, will and power work their ruthless ways. What does all this have to do with the word of God? It suggests how dissimilar God’s word is to our own. (Fr. John Kavanaugh, SJ)

“Scriptural Homilies” Cycle C(No. 16) by Fr. Tony: akadavil@gmail.com

 Visit also https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies under Fr. Tony’s homilies and under Resources in the CBCI website: https://www.cbci.in for other website versions. (Vatican Radio website: http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html uploaded my Cycle A, B and C homilies in from 2018-2020) Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604 .

Note:  No more pictures in my website-uploaded homilies as  I am informed that it is illegal, involving heavy penalty, to use pictures in homilies published in any website, without prior permission. This is applicable also  to parish bulletin published in your parish website. But You can use any pictures in your emails.  If you would like  to get pictures to use in your emails, please  type the theme of the gospel, in Google Search under images, and press  the Enter button of your keyboard, and copy the images you want. Tr. Tony

Feb 14-19: Kindly click on https://frtonyshomilies.com/ for missed Sunday and weekday homilies, RCIA & Faith formation classes: Feb 14 Monday: (St. Cyril, Monk and Methodius, Bishop): Mk 8:11-13: The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, to test him. 12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.” 13 And he left them and getting into the boat again he departed to the other side. Additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

The context: The Pharisees of Jesus’ time had a long list of fifty extraordinary signs which they expected from the real Messiah, to distinguish the promised Messiah from false messiahs. Some of the false messiahs in the past had claimed that they could divide the Jordan River into two sections or cause the huge stony walls of Jerusalem to fall by a single word. Hence, the Pharisees demanded that Jesus show some miracles from their list of Messianic signs.

Jesus’ reply: Jesus knew that the proud, hard-hearted, prejudiced Pharisees were unwilling to accept the signs he had been working as the Messianic signs foretold by the prophets. Others of them, he knew were not interested in his message but only in seeing signs and wonders. Hence, according to Mark, Jesus unequivocally denied the demand for an additional Messianic sign. But according to Mt 12:38-42 and Lk 11:29-32, Jesus offered them another sign–the miracle of Jonah, the sign of the death and Resurrection of Christ, knowing well that not even this remarkable proof would lead the Pharisees to shed their pride.

Life messages: 1) It is very sad to see superstitious Christians travelling miles to see a miraculous statue of a Madonna shedding tears of blood or oil. At the same time, they fail to see the presence of Jesus as he promised, in the Bible, in the Holy Eucharist, in a worshipping community or in one’s fellow Christians.

2) Let us pray for the grace of increased Faith in the genuine teachings of Jesus. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

Feb 15 Tuesday: Mk 8:14-21: 14 Now they had forgotten to bring bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 And he cautioned them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” 16 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “We have no bread.” 17 And being aware of it, Jesus said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” 20 “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” 21 And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?” Additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/

The context: The Jews considered fermentation by yeast as equivalent to putrefaction and, hence, something evil. That is why Jesus equated evil influence with leaven. Jesus considered the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the immoral life of the king Herod as leaven corrupting the dough of Israel. Hence, he gave the warning against their evil influence to his disciples while they were crossing the Lake in a boat.

The misunderstanding and correction: The Apostles in the boat misunderstood Jesus’ warning as a scolding for their having forgotten to bring enough bread for all of them. Hence, Jesus reminded them of his miraculous provision of bread in the feedings of the five thousand and of the four thousand people as evidence that they did not have to worry about food they had forgotten to bring for their supper. The twelve baskets full of leftovers after the miraculousl feeding five thousand people represent the twelve tribes of Israel whom God first established as His chosen people to preserve the belief in the one true God. The seven baskets full of leftovers after the miraculous feeing of the the four thousand people represent the seven nations of the Gentiles to whom salvation is extended. Jesus clarifies by these miracles that while salvation is universal, the way to salvation is through him the Messiah. He warns his disciples to beware of the false ways of salvation offered by the two extreme philosophies of the Pharisees and the King Herod and the Herodians.

Life messages: 1) With trusting Faith, let us rely on the miraculous provision God has in store for us in our daily life (in the word of God and the Holy Eucharist), when we do our share of work sincerely.

2) Let us take Jesus’ warning against allowing the evil influence of the society around us to define and defile (the leaven of hypocrisy, immorality, pride and prejudice), but let us rely on the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us and guiding, protecting, and enlightening the Church. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

Feb 16 Wednesday: Mk 8: 22-26: 22 And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man, and begged him to touch him. 23 And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the village; and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands upon him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see men; but they look like trees, walking.” 25 Then again he laid his hands upon his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and saw everything clearly. 26 And he sent him away to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.” Additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/

The context: Today’s Gospel passage describes Jesus’ healing of a blind man at Bethsaida. Blindness was common in the coastal areas of Palestine because of the intense glare of the sun on the sandy beaches, the poor sense of hygiene and cleanliness among the people and the presence of a swarm of dirty flies on the seacoasts.

The healing: Jesus was moved by the miserable state of the blind man and the trusting Faith of his friends who had brought the blind man to him. So Jesus showed him special consideration by first removing him from the crowd to avoid embarrassment and then healing him by audible signs, applying saliva to his blind eyes, placing his hands on his head, praying to God the Father loudly and enquiring about the progress gain in sight at each stage. Thus, before curing the eyes of his body, Jesus gave the man time to grow in Faith step by step. The more his Faith grew and the more trusting the man became, the more sight he was able to receive from Jesus.

Life messages: 1) We, too, are often blind to the presence of Jesus in us and in all others around us, although we believe in his presence in the Holy Eucharist, in the Bible and in the praying community. 2) Hence, we, too, need to pray to experience God in our daily lives, in the events of our lives and in all the people we encounter. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

Feb 17 Thursday (The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order) (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/seven-founders-of-the-servite-order): Mk 8: 27-33: 27 And Jesus went on with his disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that I am?” 28 And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” 30 And he charged them to tell no one about him. 31 And he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter, and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God, but of men.” Additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/

The context: Today’s Gospel passage is the first of the three times Jesus foretells his passion, death and Resurrection. The passage consists of two sections, the messianic confession of Peter and Jesus’ prediction of his approaching Passion and death.

Jesus as the Christ, our Lord and Savior: Today’s Gospel explains the basis of our Faith as the acceptance of Jesus as the Christ, our Lord and Savior. It also tells us that Christ Jesus became our Savior by his suffering, death and Resurrection. This famous profession of Faith by Peter took place at Caesarea Philippi, presently called Banias, twenty-five miles northeast of the Sea of Galilee in the northeast part of Israel called the Golan Heights, in the foothills of Mount Hermon. (Caesarea Philippi was a symbolic reminder of the source of life, as it was known for its water springs. It would also become the place where Jesus would later tell Peter, “…upon this rock I will build my Church, Sacraments). Jesus realized that if his disciples did not know who he really was, then his entire ministry, suffering, and death would be useless. Hence, he decided to ask a question in two parts. 1) “What is the public opinion about me?” 2) “What is your personal opinion?” Their answer to the first question was: “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Peter volunteered to answer the second question, saying: “You are the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the living God.” Jesus confirmed Peter’s insight as a special revelation from God. “No mere man has revealed this to you, but my Heavenly Father.” (Mt 16:17). But Peter found it difficult to accept Jesus’ prediction that he would become the Savior by his suffering and death. When he tried to discourage his master from the path of suffering and death, Jesus promptly corrected Peter telling him that his temptation was from Satan.

Life messages: Let us experience Jesus as our Lord and Savior and surrender our lives to him. We experience Jesus as personal Savior by listening to him through daily, meditative reading of the Bible, by talking to him through daily, personal and family prayers, by offering to him our lives on the altar whenever we attend Holy Mass and by being reconciled with Him every night by asking his pardon and forgiveness for our sins, and by doing the same periodically in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The next step is the surrender of our lives to Jesus by rendering humble and loving service to others, with the strong conviction that Jesus is present in every person. Fr. Kadavil (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

Feb 18 Friday: Mk 8: 34- 9:1: 34 And he called to him the multitude with his disciples, and said to them, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? 37 For what can a man give in return for his life? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” 1 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.” Additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/

The context: Immediately after Jesus foretold his suffering and death for the first time, Peter pleaded with Jesus not to make heartbreaking statements like that. In response to Peter’s comment, Jesus challenged his Apostles and would-be disciples by outlining three conditions for discipleship.

The triple conditions: 1) Deny yourself. 2) Take up your cross. 3) Follow Me. 1) Denying oneself involves a) the eviction of self from the heart, cleansing it of all evil tendencies and addictions with the help of the Holy Spirit; b) the enthronement of Jesus in one’s heart as Lord and the dedicate oneself to Him; c) the surrender one’s life to the enthroned God through one’s selfless and loving service done for others to give glory to God.

2) Taking up one’s cross means not only accepting gracefully from God our pains and suffering, but also accepting the pain involved in serving others, in sharing our blessings with them, and in controlling our evil tendencies. Carrying one’s cross becomes easier when we compare our light crosses with the heavier ones given to terminally-ill patients and to the millions of exploited people living in subhuman conditions. The realization that Jesus carries with us the heavier part of our cross also makes our cross-bearing easier and more salvific for us.

3) Follow Me means following Jesus by obeying the word of God and adjusting one’s life accordingly.

The paradox of saving/losing and losing/saving life: According to Bible commentators, the word “life” is here used, clearly, in a double sense: the temporary earthly life of man in flesh and his eternal life of happiness in Heaven. Hence, what Jesus means is that whoever wishes to save his (earthly) life will lose his (eternal) life. But whoever loses his (earthly) life for Jesus and the Gospel by spending it for others, will save his (eternal) life. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

Feb 19 Saturday: (The Transfiguration of the Lord) (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/transfiguration-of-the-lord) : Mk 9:2-10: 2 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them anymore, but only Jesus. 9 ………….10Additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/

The context: Today’s Gospel describes the Transfiguration of Jesus, an event which is celebrated as a Feast on August 6. The primary purpose of this Transfiguration was to enable Jesus to consult his Heavenly Father in order to ascertain His plan for His Son’s suffering, death and Resurrection. The secondary aim was to make Jesus’ chosen disciples aware of his Divine glory, that they might discard their worldly ambitions about a conquering political Messiah and that they might be strengthened in their time of trial.

The scene: The Transfiguration took place probably on Mount Hermon in North Galilee, near Caesarea Philippi. While praying, Jesus was transfigured into a shining figure, full of Heavenly glory. Moses and Elijah the representatives of the Law and the Prophets, appeared conversing with him. Peter, overwhelmed at the scene, exclaimed how good it was it was for them to be there. Then a Cloud covered them, and a Voice was heard speaking words from the Cloud: “This is My Son, the Beloved; with Him I am well pleased; listen to Him,”

Life messages: (1) The transubstantiation in the Holy Mass is the source of our transformation and strength: In each Holy Mass, the bread and wine we offer on the altar become the Body and Blood of Jesus. Hence, our Holy Communion with Jesus in the Eucharist should be the source of our daily “transfiguration,” transforming our minds and hearts to do more good, by humble and selfless service to others.

(2) Each time we receive one of the Sacraments, we are transformed: For example, Baptism transforms us into sons and daughters of God and heirs of Heaven. Confirmation transforms us into temples of the Holy Spirit and warriors of God. By the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God brings back the sinner to the path of holiness.

(3) A message of encouragement and hope: In moments of doubt and during our dark moments of despair and hopelessness, the thought of our transformation in Heaven will help us to reach out to God and to listen to His consoling words: “This is My beloved son.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

Feb 14-19 (L-22).docx

OT VI [C] Homily (Feb 24): Eight-minute homily in one page (L/22)

Introduction: Today’s readings teach us that true happiness, or beatitude, lies in the awareness that we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father and that we will be happy only when we share our blessings with our brothers and sisters in need, and when we work to uplift them, thus declaring our “option for the poor,” as Jesus did. Contrary to the popular belief, wealth, health, power, and influence are not the sources of true happiness. The word “beatitude” means “blessedness” in a double sense: both enjoying God’s favor and enjoying true or supreme happiness.(A homily starter anecdote may be added here)

Scripture lessons: In the first reading, Jeremiah tells us that true happiness consists in our placing our trust in God and in putting our trust in His promises. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 1) finds beatitude in keeping God’s Law. In the second reading St. Paul warns us that true beatitude is obtainable only in Heaven, and that Christ’s Resurrection gives us our assurance of reaching Heaven for an everlasting life of happiness. In today’s Gospel, Jesus instructs his disciples in the paradoxical blessedness of poverty, hunger, sorrow, and persecution. “Blessed are those who are poor, hungry, weeping, hated, excluded, insulted and denounced,” because in poverty, we recognize our dependence on God; in hunger, God’s providence; in sorrow for sins, reconciliation with God; and in persecution, the true joy of standing for the Faith with heroic convictions. What makes one blessed is not simply poverty or hunger or sadness or suffering for the Faith but living these in the context of one’s commitment to Jesus and his spirit of sharing. Beatitudes consist in humble selflessness and compassionate, generous sharing of our blessings with the needy. The beatitudes must be understood as eschatological statements which see and evaluate the present in terms of the future glory and everlasting happiness.

Life Messages: 1) We need to respond to the challenge of the Beatitudes in our daily life. Millions are starving, persecuted, homeless, and leading hopeless lives. The only way the promises of the Beatitudes can become a reality for them is through the efforts of people like us. Hence, let us remember that each time we reach out to help the needy, the sick, or the oppressed, we share with them a foretaste of the promises of the Beatitudes here and now.

2) Let us light a candle instead of blaming the political set-up. God knows that 50% of His children are hungry, 80% live in substandard housing and 70% have no education. If over half our children were hungry, cold and uneducated, how would we respond to their suffering? God wants us to live as brothers and sisters who care for one another. 3) We must take care to choose our way wisely. “There are two Ways, one of Life and one of Death, and there is a great difference between the two Ways.” These are the opening lines of the “Didache” a first century Christian catechism used to teach new Christians the essence of the Christian Faith. The way of life and true happiness is the way of Jesus, the way of the beatitudes, the way of rendering loving service to God by serving our brothers and sisters.

OT VI [C] (Feb 24): Jer 17:5-8; I Cor 15:12, 16-20; Lk 6:17, 20-26

Homily starter anecdotes: 

# 1: Beatitude in puppy’s tail: Said a puppy to his old uncle dog, “From my short experience in life I have learned that the best thing for a dog is happiness and that happiness is in my tail. That is why I am chasing my tail, and when I catch it, I shall have perfect happiness.” The old dog replied, “From my research and long experience, I too, have judged that happiness is a fine thing for a dog and that happiness is in his tail. But I’ve noticed that whenever I chase it, it keeps running away from me, but when I go about my business, it comes after me.” (Here are the examples of three famous women who chased happiness as the puppy did, in the wrong places, and met with tragic ends: 1) Anna Nicole Smith (39)-model, cover girl, actress – sought happiness in drugs; died of an overdose, February 8, 2007). 2) Marilyn Monroe (36)- actress, American idol, model- who did the same in 1962, and 3) Princess Diana of England (36) who met with accidental death August 31, 1997, on her way to seeking happiness in the wrong place.) What is our picture of a happy life? According to one study conducted in the U.S.A. only 20% of Americans claim to be happy. Is the “American dream” our picture of the happy life: the ideal of owning a beautiful home with a two-car garage, having a loving and adjusting spouse, two well-behaved kids, and a dog, enjoying a decent job, and having enough money to enjoy leisure and retired life? — Where do we go in search of happiness: the movie theater, the amusement park, a hiking trail, a shopping mall, a good restaurant, a ballpark? In the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in Matthew, and in the Sermon on the Plain in Luke from which we read today, Jesus gives us a rather different picture of a happy life. Jesus tells us that we can find true and lasting happiness in ways we may never have considered. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22

# 2: Happiness Myths: Dr. Harold Treffert is the director of the Winnebago Mental Health Institute in Wisconsin. In an article entitled “The American Fairy Tale,” he discusses five dangerous ideas we have about the meaning of happiness. First, happiness is things. The more you accumulate and have, the happier you will be. Second, happiness is what you do. The more you produce and earn, the happier you will be. Third, happiness is being the same as others. The more you are fashionable and conform with the times, the happier you will be. Fourth, happiness is mental health. The fewer problems you have and the more carefree you are, the happier you will be. Fifth, happiness is communicating with electronic gadgets. The more you can communicate with a television set, a satellite, or a computer, the happier you will be. According to Dr. Treffert, these five myths about happiness are the cause of many mental health problems today. — If happiness cannot be found through these five myths of “The American Fairy Tale,” then where do we find it? Jesus gives us the answer when he outlines the beatitudes in today’s reading from Luke. (Albert Cylwicki in His Word Resounds)  (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

# 3: Don’t you believe the Bible?  Sometime before she died, someone had the audacity to ask St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa), “Why do you spend so much energy on the poor, the hungry, and the weeping of those in Calcutta?” She responded, “Jesus says the poor are the blessed ones. I take him at his word. I treat them as the royalty of God’s kingdom, because they are.” — To grow into becoming a Christian is, in no small part, to be converted into seeing the world as God sees it. It is to be given new eyes to look upon people and events from an eternally loving perspective. When that begins to happen, you begin to see that God has an opinion about how life should be lived, what Churches should be doing, and how people should act. You begin to see that the future belongs to those whom God blesses. They include the poor, the hungry, the hopeless, the damaged, and those whose only salvation is found in the God who comes to redeem. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

Introduction: Today’s readings teach us that true happiness, or beatitude, lies in the awareness of who we are and of what we are supposed to do. They remind us that we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father and that we will be  happy in this world and in Heaven only when we share our blessings with our brothers and sisters in need and work to uplift them, thus declaring our “option for the poor,” as Jesus did. The eight Beatitudes Jesus gives in Mathew and the four Woes and Blessings in Luke contradict the ideas about real happiness found in the Jewish culture and in our modern society.  According to these modern notions, wealth, health, power and influence are the true Beatitudes.    “The Beatitudes” are technically known as “macarisms”, or blessings (from the Greek makarios, meaning “blessed” or “happy.”)   Macarisms are found in the Book of Proverbs, in the Psalms, and even in the Book of Revelation.  There are thirty-seven beatitudes in the New Testament, seventeen of which are sayings of Jesus. Beatitudes appear in the Old Testament as well. The first reading tells us that true beatitude consists in placing our trust in God and in putting our trust in His promises. The Responsorial Psalm, (Ps 1), finds beatitude in keeping God’s Law. St. Paul warns us, in the second reading, that true beatitude is obtainable only in Heaven, and that Christ’s Resurrection is our assurance of reaching Heaven for an everlasting life of happiness. In today’s Gospel, Jesus instructs his disciples in the paradoxical   blessedness of poverty, hunger, sorrow, and persecution because these contradict our natural expectations in every way.  “Blessed are those who are poor, hungry, weeping, hated, excluded, insulted, and denounced,” because in poverty, we recognize God’s reign; in hunger, His providence; in sorrow, true happiness; and in persecution, true joy. Experiencing these miseries opens the way for us to receive the true riches, food, comfort, and acceptance we can find only in His love and His presence here, and in His Kingdom forever. The Beatitudes teach us how we should live, and what we should do. What makes one blessed is not simply poverty or hunger or sadness or suffering for the Faith, but living these in the context of our commitment to Jesus and in His spirit of sharing.

First reading (Jer. 17:5-8), explained: Jeremiah (sixth century BC) shows us a a curse (17:5-6), paired with its opposite, a beatitude of blessing (17:7-8), when he compares the wicked to a barren bush in a desert and the just to a well-watered tree growing near a running stream.  In essence, this “beatitude” teaches us that if we choose God as our hope, our security, and our happiness, we will be blessed, truly happy. On the other hand, if we choose human standards for our guides, ourselves as our source of security, and the meeting of our own needs and desires as our happiness, we will find ourselves living in increasing misery and confusion, that is, in woe.   Jeremiah tells us that the only source of lasting happiness is trust in God and hope in His promises. The manner in which one  personally exercises one’s freedom of choice will also determine whether one will bring upon oneself and  the  world blessings or curses. The passage is amplified in Psalm 1, today’s Responsorial Psalm.

Second reading (I Cor 15:12, 16-20), explained: St. Paul writes that trusting hope in the Resurrection of Jesus is the basis of our Faith, of our own resurrection and of our eternal bliss. Through Jesus’ death and Resurrection, believers are now welcomed into a new relationship with God as His sons and daughters, and with each other as dear brothers and sisters who have Jesus as our Elder Brother and Redeemer. This means that all the blessings of the Beatitudes are now available to us, provided we choose to follow them, for they codify, so to speak, the pattern of living Jesus established.

Gospel exegesis: Luke presents the Sermon on the Plain as following immediately upon the choosing of the twelve apostles (Lk 6:13 ff).   Therefore, one of the Fathers of the Church called this sermon “The Ordination Address to the Twelve.”  Both the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew and the Sermon on the Plain in Luke are also known as “The Compendium of Christian Doctrine,” “The Magna Carta of the Kingdom,” and “The Manifesto of the King.”    In these two sermons we have the essence of Jesus’ teachings to his chosen apostles.  The introductory portion of the sermon consists of blessings and woes that reflect the real polarity in humanity’s economic and social living conditions (the rich vs poor; the satisfied vs the hungry; those laughing  vs those grieving; the socially acceptable vs the outcast).  The “beatitude” was a specific genre found in both Greek and Jewish literature (e.g. Ps 1:1; Prv 8:24, Dn 12:12; Tb 13:14), adopted for use by Christian writers (Rom 8:34; Mt 5:3-12; Jn 20:29; Rv 14:13, 16:15, 22:7). Each  of the eight Beatitudes consisted of a pronouncement of blessedness (makarios) followed by who is blessed and why. These beatitudes of Jesus were taught in Aramaic.   In Aramaic they are not simple statements; rather, they are exclamations, i.e., “O the blessedness of the poor in spirit!” (Compare today’s Responsorial Psalm [Psalm 1], for a similar Hebrew version). In our current language it may be phrased as “Congratulations to …” the poor, the hungry etc. as a way of celebrating the blessed person’s success. Luke proposes that material poverty leads us to greater detachment from the things of this world, thereby allowing us to attach ourselves to spiritual values.  The blessings must be understood as eschatological statements which see and evaluate the present in terms of the future. In the same way, the woes pronounced upon the rich, the full, and those who laugh function as an expression of sadness, not because of the person’s present circumstances but because of what will ultimately be.

Matthew’s vs. Luke’s versions:  Matthew presents the Beatitudes as coming at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount.  Just as “the first Moses” gave teachings on a mountain in the Old Testament, Jesus is like a new Moses giving us a new sermon, a new teaching from a new mountain. In Luke’s version, Jeus stands on a plain and states the beatitudes and woes in more compact and radical terms.  Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain” is shorter than Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount,” the latter extending through three chapters.   Matthew gives eight Beatitudes (the ninth being an explanation of the eighth), while Luke gives four  “beatitudes”  and four “woess” — (“woe” is an archaic English translation for a “curse” or a “judgment.”).  Moses not only gave the people the Ten Commandments (from Mt. Sinai), but he also gave  them a list of blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience in Dt 27:12-13 and chapter 28. The wording in Luke is also quite different from that in Matthew.   In Matthew, Jesus uses   the third person (“they will be filled”), whereas in Luke, Jesus speaks in the second person (“you will be filled”).   Matthew speaks only of the reward promised to those who live according to Jesus’ message.  Luke, on the other hand, emphasizes the consequences that those who do not heed Jesus’ words will suffer.  Whereas Luke declares that the “poor,” are blessed, Matthew uses the phrase “poor in spirit,” thereby advocating a slightly different attitude, or disposition, toward God  (i.e., Blessed are those who recognize their dire need for God, for God will bring them into his Kingdom). Luke’s version seems to mark with greater severity Jesus’ warning to the “rich,” the “full,” the “laughing,” and “those who are spoken well of,” that is, to the self-centered and self-satisfied, whatever their financial or social status.

The fourth beatitude: Addressing his disciples, Jesus calls those who are persecuted for their Faith blessed because 1) they are eligible for a glorious reward (“Your reward will be great in Heaven“); 2) they are given the privilege of sharing in the pain, suffering, and rejection which Jesus himself endured for our sins; and 3) they are following in the footsteps of the martyrs of the Old Testament period and of the early martyrs of the infant Church. The thousands of Christians who courageously face persecution for their Faith in different parts of the world today share in the same beatitude.  Bearing heroic witness to their Faith in Christ Jesus, they teach and inspire us to do the same.

Liberation theology in the “Beatitudes.” Luke presents the beatitudes as reinforcing what Mary had said a few chapters earlier in the Magnificat: “He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.”  The themes of the beatitudes reappear throughout both Luke’s Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. Luke’s account, alone among the Gospels, expands on the words spoken by Jesus at his inaugural sermon in Nazareth. There, Jesus declared an “option for the poor” and a “theology of liberation” with the powerful theme of economic and social reversal clearly stated. Luke’s account also demonstrates Jesus’ solidarity with the poor, the oppressed, and the vulnerable and with women, minorities, and the socially despised. In both Matthew and Luke, the beatitudes are a “series of bomb-shells” or “flashes of lightning followed by the thunder of surprise and shock” for Jesus’ hearers. That is because Jesus reverses our “natural” assumption that happiness lies in riches, pleasure, comfort, and influence, and emphasizes the paradoxical   blessedness of poverty, hunger, sorrow, and persecution, not in themselves but in what they can do.  He also challenges his listeners to find the fulfillment of all their needs in God. Jesus teaches that, although the poor are despised, resented, or pitied by the world, God loves them deeply in their poverty, their sadness, their hunger, and their deprived status. This is the basis of the so-called “option for the poor” that we are called to have.

Liberation of the oppressed: If the poor, the hungry, the sorrowful, and the hated are all blessed, then why should anyone attempt to help them improve their lot?  The answer is that there is a difference between choosing poverty and being plunged into it without one’s choice, due to an unjust socio-political situation.   There are a few, only a few, saints, like Francis of Assisi  and Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) who freely choose the sufferings and hardships that poverty brings. That is not what the Beatitude suggests, nor what Jesus asks of most of us. It is true that we are unable to eradicate poverty from the face of the earth. But we can help, either directly or by working with others for our poor brothers and sisters, to improve their living conditions and education, so that they may choose to free themselves from the poverty thrust upon them by greedy exploiters. Luke’s account offers the rich the Good News that their salvation lies in their concern for the poor and in the good stewardship of sharing their goods with others in need. But the rich among us remain cursed as long as they remain unwilling to share their surplus with the needy. In short, in the Beatitudes, Jesus envisions a society where the resources which belong to all are divided among all according to need, making everyone blessed and happy.

Life Messages: 1) We need to respond to the challenge of the Beatitudes in our daily life.  Millions are starving, persecuted, homeless, and leading hopeless lives. The only way the promises of the Beatitudes can become a reality for them is through the efforts of people like us. That is why we are told that we will be judged on the basis of our acts of mercy and charity (Mt 25:31-46).  St. Teresa of Calcutta, (Mother Teresa) and her Missionaries of Charity have accepted this challenge and demonstrate that we can “live the Beatitudes” in the modern world.  Hence, let us remember that each time we reach out to help the needy, the sick, and the oppressed, we share with them a foretaste of the promises of the Beatitudes here and now. Just as the apostles were called to minister to society’s untouchables, all Christians are called to minister to the untouchables, the discriminated against, and the marginalized in our own modern society.

2) Let us light a candle instead of blaming the political set-up.   Suppose we put the entire human family into a microcosm of one hundred people.   Eighty of them live in sub-standard housing, fifty are malnourished, and seventy are unable to read, while only one of them has a college education or owns a computer. Six of those one hundred people possess 59% of the world’s wealth and five of them are from the United States.  This may help us to get a picture of the poverty in our world.   God, however, doesn’t need such a microcosm.   He   sees the whole human family.   He knows that 50% of His children are hungry, 80% live in substandard housing and 70% have no education. If over half our children were hungry, cold and uneducated, how would we respond to their suffering?  God wants us to live as brothers and sisters who care for one another. This is why, down through the centuries, individuals, congregations and Church bodies have practiced charity in creative, faithful ways. They have operated soup kitchens, food banks, clothing centers, homeless shelters, and housing programs.  Individuals have taken care of their neighbors, helping them out with food, clothing, and shelter when there was need

3) We must take care to choose our way wisely. “There are two Ways, one of Life and one of Death, and there is a great difference between the two Ways.” These are the opening lines of the “Didache” a first century Christian catechism used to teach new Christians the essence of the Christian Faith. The way of life is the way of Jesus, the way of the Beatitudes, the way of loving service to God and our brothers and sisters that leads to eternal life. The other way is the way of death. It is the way of self-centeredness, self-reliance, immorality, self-indulgence, and immediate gratification. It leads to death and hell. Which way are we going? The challenge of the beatitudes is: “Are you going to be happy in the world’s way or in Christ’s way?” If we choose the world’s way, we are seeking our blessings in the wrong place.

JOKE OF THE WEEK: # 1: Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God: This is taken from the national archives of the letters of pure-hearted kids to their pastors proving how pure they are in heart: Dear Pastor, I know God loves everybody, but He never met my sister. Yours sincerely, Arnold. Age 8, Nashville. Dear Pastor, please say in your sermon that Peter Peterson has been a good boy all week. I am Peter Peterson. Sincerely, Pete. Age 9, Phoenix. Dear Pastor, my father should be a minister. Every day he gives us a sermon about something. Robert Anderson, age 11. Dear Pastor, I’m sorry I can’t leave more money in the plate, but my father didn’t give me a raise in my allowance. Could you have a sermon about a raise in my allowance? Love, Patty. Age 10, New Haven. Dear Pastor, My mother is very religious. She goes to play Bingo at Church every week even if she has a cold. Yours truly, Annette. Age 9, Albany. Dear Pastor, I would like to go to Heaven someday because I know my brother won’t be there. Stephen. Age 8, Chicago. Dear Pastor, I think a lot more people would come to your Church if you moved it to Disneyland. Loreen. Age 9. Tacoma. Dear Pastor, Please say a prayer for our Little League team. We need God’s help or a new pitcher. Thank you, Alexander. Age 10, Raleigh. Dear Pastor, My father says I should learn the Ten Commandments. But I don’t think I want to because we have enough rules already in my house. Joshua. Age 10, South Pasadena. Dear Pastor, who does God pray to? Is there a God for God? Sincerely, Christopher. Age 9, Titusville. Dear Pastor, Are there any devils on earth? I think there may be one in my class. Carla. Age 10, Salina. Dear Pastor, How does God know the good people from the bad people? Do you tell Him or does He read about it in the newspapers? Sincerely, Marie. Age 9, Lewiston

2) Blessed are the peace makers: Choice of Weapons:   Little Johnny came home from the playground with a bloody nose, black eye, and torn clothing. It was obvious he’d been in a bad fight and lost. While his father was patching him up, he asked his son what happened. “Well, Dad,” said Johnny, “I challenged Larry to a duel. And, you know, I gave him his choice of weapons.” “Uh-huh,” said the father, “that seems fair.” “I know, but I never thought he’d choose his big sister!”

3) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: Religious Holidays:  An atheist complained to a friend, “Christians have their special holidays, such as Christmas and Easter; and Jews celebrate their holidays, such as Passover and Yom Kippur; Muslims have their holidays. EVERY religion has its holidays.  But we atheists,”  he said,  “have no recognized national holidays.  It’s an unfair discrimination.”  His friend replied, “Well,why don’t you celebrate April first?”

WEBSITES OF THE WEEK

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

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

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

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

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

4) New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia & news: http://www.newadvent.org/

5) Movies & TV Reviews: http://www.nccbuscc.org/movies/

 6) American Catholic: http://www.americancatholic.org/

7) Resources for Catholic educators: http://www.4catholiceducators.com/gospel-luke-6-a.htm

 8) Correct Hebrew pronunciation of Jewish feasts: https://youtu.be/91_3G7b80Ro

9) Sunday & weekday homilies

https://www.dominicancenter.org/spirituality/scriptural-reflections/

Note:  No more pictures in my website-uploaded homilies as  I am informed that it is illegal, involving heavy penalty, to use pictures in homilies published in any website, without prior permission. This is applicable also  to parish bulletin published in your parish website. But You can use any pictures in your emails.  If you would like  to get pictures to use in your emails, please  type the theme of the gospel, in Google Search under images, and press  the Enter button of your keyboard, and copy the images you want. Tr. Tony

 28- Additional Anecdotes based on Lk6: 17, 20-26 & Mt 5: 1-11

 1) Two different points of view on happiness: The “Dear Abby” Column once received a letter from a 15-year-old girl which read as follows: Dear Abby: Happiness is not having your parents scold you if you come home late, having your own bedroom, and getting the telephone call you’ve been hoping for. Happiness is belonging to a popular group, being dressed as well as anybody, and having a lot of spending money. Happiness is something I don’t have. “15 and Unhappy.” Shortly after the letter was published, “Dear Abby” received a reply from 13-year-old girl who wrote: Dear Abby: Happiness is being able to walk and talk, to see and hear. Unhappiness is reading a letter from a 15-year-old girl who can do all four things and still says she isn’t happy, I can talk, I can see, I can hear. But I can’t walk. “13, crippled and Happy.” These letters reflect two different points of view on happiness. Today’s Gospel on the beatitudes does the same. (Albert Cylwicki in His Word Resounds’). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

2) The attitude that beatifies: There was a farmer. He lived a happy life spending most of the time taking care of his farm with the aid of his horse. One day he lost his horse. Neighbors came to sympathize with him. “What a shame”, they said. “Who knows? God Knows!” He replied. A week later this horse returned with another horse. The neighbors came to share his joy. “What a blessing”, they said. “Who knows? God knows!” he replied. One day while riding the horse his son fell down from the horse and broke his leg. Again neighbors came to offer their sympathy. “What a shame”, they said. “Who knows? God knows!” he replied. A week late a war broke out in their country. The king ordered all men over 18 years of age to join the military. They spared his son because of his broken leg. Once again neighbors rushed to his house. “What a blessing?” they said. “Who knows? God Knows!” the farmer replied. (SV) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    3) Is there anybody who is really happy? According to the Center for Disease Control, in the United States  “in 2016, nearly 45,000 Americans age 10 and older died by suicide. Suicide is the 10^th leading cause of death and is one of just three leading causes that are on the rise.” Three years ago, 45,000 American people were unhappy enough to snuff out their own lives. Statistics suggest that your lifetime 15 million people in this country will attempt to end their lives. And the suicide rate is increasing the fastest among young people nearly 300 percent among those 15 to 24 in the last twenty years. Is there anybody who is really happy? (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

 4) “Happiness on easy monthly terms.” An ad appeared recently in USA TODAY for the BMW automobile. The ad begins like this: “Needless to say, you can’t buy happiness. But for a mere $299 a month, you can lease exhilaration. Simply visit your authorized BMW dealer before September 30 and lease a new BMW 325…” After extolling the virtues of the BMW, the ad concludes like this: “For a program of spiritual uplift on easy monthly terms, we recommend you visit a participating BMW dealer.” I like that: “a program of spiritual uplift on easy monthly terms.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

5) Eight laws of public health:  Some years ago, a panel of doctors was appointed by the Federal government to meet together and draw up eight laws of public health that could be printed in pamphlet form and distributed to the public. After twelve days of exhaustive meetings, the doctors were unable to come to a consensus. It seems that their areas of concern were too diverse: one was a cancer specialist, one a cardiologist, one a psychiatrist, and they all approached the problem from their own discipline. The chest expert was concerned about coal dust from the mines and lint from textile mills, while the psychiatrist was concerned about the effects of urban stress. Finally, Dr. Harold Sladen from a Hospital in Detroit came up with an appropriate idea. He said: “Let’s just republish the Eight Beatitudes of Jesus and simply replace the word Blessed with the word Healthy!” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

6) Living the Beatitudes: In the last century, a Belgian priest named Father Damien went to live on a remote island colony among people with leprosy. Father Damien tried to live the values of the Beatitudes. He was pure in heart, merciful, hungry and thirsty for righteousness. He was publicly persecuted for doing what he believed was right. His biographers also say he was often lonely, depressed, and stubborn. His immediate superiors branded him a troublemaker. (Gavan Daws, Holy Man (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1984), p. 249) — The Catholic Church had to wait a long time before it canonized him (named a saint), in 2010. But people who knew Father Damien called him “happy” or “blessed.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

7) Happiness is found in purposeful living:  In his book, Anatomy of an Illness, Norman Cousins tells a revealing story about Pablo Casals, the great cellist. Cousins describes meeting Casals shortly before his ninetieth birthday. It was almost painful for Cousins to watch the old man dress. Arthritis, emphysema, the frailty of advanced years had taken their toll. The hands swollen; the fingers clenched how could a man in such condition ever hope to play his beloved music again. And yet, even before eating, Casals made his way slowly and with much difficulty to his piano. There a miracle took place right before Norman Cousins’ eyes. As he describes it, “The fingers slowly unlocked and reached toward the keys like the buds of a plant toward sunlight. [Casals’] back straightened. He seemed to breathe more freely.” He began with a number by Bach which he played with sensitivity and control that would have been the envy of a young and agile pianist. He then launched into a Brahms concerto, and his fingers seemed to race above the keyboard. “His entire body seemed fused with music,” Cousins wrote. “It was no longer stiff and shrunken but supple and graceful and completely freed from its arthritic coils.” By the time he walked away from the piano he seemed to be an entirely different person from the tired old man who struggled out of bed and into his clothes. He stood straighter and taller. He immediately walked to the breakfast table, ate heartily, and then went out for a stroll on the beach. “The sense of uselessness,” said Thomas Huxley, “is the severest shock which our system can sustain.” — Conversely, when we have a great purpose to live for, a purpose that is high and noble, our whole being is enhanced. That is the first conclusion about happiness which we can derive from these teachings of our Lord. Happiness is found in giving ourselves to a high and noble purpose. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

8) Is anyone in this world truly happy? Samuel Johnson once wrote a novel entitled Rasselas in which the main character, an Abyssinian prince, lived on a mountaintop in peace and luxury, but he became dissatisfied with his walled-in existence and finally ventured out into the world to search for those persons who are altogether happy. To his surprise he discovered that no such person exists in the world. He returned disillusioned to his home in Abyssinia. Is anyone in this world truly happy? (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

9) “Really happy and was still in their right mind?” There was a Peanuts cartoon years ago in which Lucy asked Charlie Brown if he has ever known anybody who was really happy. Before she could finish her sentence, however, Snoopy came dancing on tiptoe into the frame, his nose high in the air. He danced and bounced his way across two frames of the cartoon strip. Finally, in the last frame, Lucy finished her sentence, “Have you ever known anybody who was really happy and was still in their right mind?” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

10) Declaration of Independence: On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, approved Richard Henry Lee’s motion that the thirteen colonies in North America declare their independence from Great Britain and from the rule of King George III.  On that July 4, celebrated now as Independence Day, the Congress approved the Declaration. Since then, human history has been punctuated with many such declarations of independence.  Over 40 countries on the continent of Africa, more than a dozen newly independent republics in the former Soviet Union, several areas in Eastern Europe and conflicting ethnic groups with differing ideologies in many countries have engaged in civil wars and declared their political independence from those who had controlled them. — The clamor for independence can be heard everywhere, from Hong Kong in the east to the Basque country in the west. Independence, self-rule, and the prerogative of determining one’s own direction, goals and priorities have perennial appeal for most human beings.  But, as is often the case, the readings for today’s liturgy invite us to consider human life on earth from a different perspective.  The inspired authors of today’s readings, Jeremiah, Paul and Luke, make a motion, as it were, a motion that each of us should consider making a Declaration of Dependence on God, to receive our true blessing. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

11) Battle of Gettysburg: Frederick Buechner tells about watching a scene in the Ken Burns film series on the Civil War. It was the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, and veterans from North and South gathered at the battleground to reminisce. At one point, the veterans decided to reenact Pickett’s Charge. All the participants took their positions, and then one side began to charge the other. Instead of swords and rifles, this time the vets carried canes and crutches. As both sides converged, the old men did not fight. Instead they embraced and began to weep. Buechner muses, “If only those doddering old veterans had seen in 1863 what they now saw so clearly fifty years later.” Then he adds: “Half a century later, they saw that the great battle had been a great madness. The men who were advancing toward them across the field of Gettysburg were not enemies. They were human beings like themselves, with the same dreams, needs, hopes, the same wives and children waiting for them to come home … What they saw was that we were, all of us, created not to do battle with each other but to love each other, and it was not just a truth they saw. For a few minutes, it was a truth they lived. It was a truth they became.” (Frederick Buechner, “Journey Toward Wholeness,” Theology Today 49/4 (January 1993), pp. 454-464.). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

12) “If only I had that, I would be happy.”  Father Louis Everly, a noted Belgian theologian, priest and writer says that so many people never find happiness because they do not know where to look for it. Too many people make the mistake of seeking one more material thing, one more pay raise, one more promotion, one more problem solved, one more handicap overcome. “If only I had that,” they often say, “I would be happy.” — Too late they learn that happiness does not come from the outside but from within. Howard Hughes was one of the wealthiest men who ever lived but he could not buy contentment or peace of mind. That is the first thing that is evident as we view the Beatitudes. Happiness is not synonymous with the pursuit of pleasure. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

13) Satan’s Beatitudes: Blessed are those who are too tired, too busy, too distracted to spend an hour once a week with their fellow Christians in Church – they are my best workers.
Blessed are those who wait to be asked and expect to be thanked – I can use them in my business.
Blessed are those who are touchy.  Soon they will stop going to Church – verily, they shall be my missionaries.
Blessed are those who sow gossip and trouble – they are my beloved children.
Blessed are those who have no time to pray – for they are MY prey.
Blessed are those who gossip – for they are my secret agents.
Blessed are you when you read this and think it has everything to do with other people, and nothing to do with you – I’ve got room for YOU at my inn. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

14) Eight principles for the measure of a person.  Some years ago, the Raleigh, North Carolina News & Observer published an article entitled: “How Do You Measure Up as a Man?” The article stated that some extensive research had been conducted on the 20th century standards for measuring a man. 1) His ability to make and conserve money. 2) The cost, style and age of his car. 3) How much hair he has. 4) His strength and size. 5) The job he holds and how successful he is at it. 6) What sports he likes. 7) How many clubs he belongs to. 8) His aggressiveness and reliability. — Jesus Christ also once set down eight principles for the measure of a person. His standards stand in stark contrast to the aforementioned. There would appear to be a wide gulf between the popular image of the successful person and what God sees as the successful person. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

15) Final happiness: I like the story of the preacher who met two little boys. After greeting them, he said, “Boys, would you like to go to Heaven?” “Yes, sir!” one responded immediately. “No, sir,” the other boy said honestly. Surprised by such honesty, the preacher asked, “Son, do you mean that eventually you don’t want to go to Heaven?” “I’d like to go eventually,” replied the boy, “but I thought you were getting up a load to go today.” — For many people, happiness, (like Heaven), is something that is going to come eventually, but it never quite arrives. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

16)  Beatitudes and the entrance ticket: An elderly man arrives at the pearly gates. St. Peter tells him that the entrance into Heaven requires 100 points and that points will be awarded on the basis of how one has lived on earth. “Well,” said the man proudly, “I was married to the same woman for 60 years and never was tempted to be unfaithful.” “Good, that’s one point” said Saint Peter. “Oh yes, and I served as lector and Eucharistic minister in my parish church, taught Sunday school for thirty years, and helped many missionaries.” “Good,” said Saint Peter, “that gives you three more points.” “Only three points for thirty years of faithful stewardship?” the man protested, “at this rate I won’t get into Heaven.   Don’t you give any points for the Beatitudes I practiced in my life by the grace of God?”  “Well, fortunately,” came the reply, “that counts for 100 points!  Come on in, good boy.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

17) “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you.”  On the morning before Bill Clinton took the presidential oath of office, he went to a nearby Church for a prayer service. Someone read the beatitudes during the service. When the reader came to the last two verses, someone observed Mr. Clinton repeating the words of Jesus: 11 “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.” — They were good words for a politician to say, particularly on the opening day of what turned out to be a rocky term of office. Any politician who tries to take an occasional stand for what is holy, just, and true can expect persecution, slander, and false accounts. The only reward may be a Heavenly one. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

 18) “Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.” U. S. News and World Report carried some sobering statistics sometime back: People who starve to death each year: 11 million. Overweight U.S. adults: 34 million. As a nation we are getting more and more obese. 38 states now have adult obesity rates above 25%. In 1991 no state had an obesity rate above 20%. Average calories consumed daily, North Americans: 3500; Africans: 2100. People who are continually hungry: Ethiopia: 20%, Sudan: 20%, Mozambique: 30-40%, American adults currently on diets: 19% (3)  — We dare not grow callous to such discrepancies. If we do, then, “Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

19) Live and enjoy the Beatitudes: I love the story that is told of a factory that was having problems with employees stealing. The company hired a security firm to help with the problem. They had guards posted at all exits and they were to check each employee as they left for the day. They searched their clothing and lunch boxes to make sure they were not taking anything out. Every day one guy came by with a wheelbarrow full of junk. Every day they stopped him and plowed through all of the junk and garbage that was in the wheelbarrow. It took several minutes every day to search through the junk. Every day the same thing – nothing but junk in the wheelbarrow. Finally, the security person said, “Look, fellow, I know something is going on. Every day you come through here and all we find in the wheelbarrow is junk. If you promise to tell me exactly what is going on, I promise not to turn you in. Tell me what is going on.” The fellow grinned and said, “I’m stealing wheelbarrows.” — That story has two truths that I want to leave with you: 1) Things may not always be what they seem to be, at least on the outside, and 2) Don’t go looking in junk and garbage for the most obvious answer to the meaning and essence of life. It’s found in God’s Word. It’s found in your heart. As you give your heart and life to Jesus Christ, as you center your entire existence around him, you will have the blissful joy and happiness, the beatitudes Jesus promised. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

 20) ) “Blessed are you who weep now” : On that tragic Tuesday, September 11, 2001, a New York City parish priest standing on the corner of 14th Street and 1st Avenue witnessed the first terrorist plane plunging into the Twin Towers. “I stood there in shock and disbelief,” says the priest. “Without fully comprehending what was happening, I walked into the Church and said the morning Mass.” Normally, about a hundred persons attend this weekday service. That morning there were several hundred. The Gospel reading for the day was, Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. “Even in the early moments of this world tragedy,” says the priest, “I wondered how these words of Christ could ever be true.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

21)  Caution: contents may be hot: Buy a cup of coffee from any fast-food restaurant and somewhere on the cup you will likely find these words, CAUTION: CONTENTS MAY BE HOT. What you need to wake you up can also scald your tongue. So beware, say the makers, and keep us all out of court. Something similar could be said about the Beatitudes of Jesus. These formulas for bliss are also bombshells for life. They are flashes of lightning across the landscape of our ordered lives. As William Barclay says, “The Beatitudes of Jesus turn standard values upside down.”–  So, now that you have been properly warned, here we go. “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

22) “Are there any air bags on this plane?” During the last presidential election, you may have seen the comic strip “Frank and Earnest” where Frank is sitting on an airplane with a worried look on his face, and he asks the stewardess, “Are there any air bags on this plane?” She replies, “There are a couple of congressmen up in first class.” By the time the presidential election campaign wound down to its final hours, most of us were eagerly looking forward to a little relief from listening to the air bags. All those speeches that said nothing. All those hours of prime-time television advertising. Really the whole thing could have been carried out much more efficiently. Each of the candidates could have boiled down all their windy rhetoric to one simple slogan. President Obama, for instance, could have just gotten up in front of the television cameras and said, ” “Time for more changes.”  Governor Romney would declare: “Taxes and trust.” Think of how much time and money and energy we could have all saved. — It’s no wonder politics has such a bad name. The reality is, however, that there’s no part of life that is not concerned with politics. That is why Jesus used condensed ideas. “Congratulations you poor, for yours is the domain of God!” would get us much closer to the real spirit of Jesus’ words. “Congratulations you who are hungry now for your turn is coming to be filled! Congratulations you who weep now, for your time of laughter and joy is coming!” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

23) Blessedness of giving: John D. Rockefeller, Sr., was a millionaire at age 23. At the age of fifty, he was a billionaire. He was the richest man in the world, but he was a miserable, rich man. At the age of 53, he was eaten up with physical diseases and ulcers. He was a grabber, not a giver. He was always trying to get more money and he was a greedy man. Greed had so consumed him, that at the age of 53, the doctors told him he had one year to live. Just one year. Here’s a billionaire, the richest man in the world, and all he could eat that year, all that his stomach could handle was milk and crackers. Milk and crackers. The man could go out and buy any restaurant in the world, buy it; he could have any food before him on the table, but it wouldn’t do him much good. It was in that year, that Rockefeller began to look at his life. He said, “I have all these possessions, and I’ve never been a giver.” That’s when he decided to become a giver. He gave to Churches, to hospitals, to foundations, and to medical research. Many of the discoveries we’ve had in medicine have come from money provided by the Rockefeller Foundation. —That man who had only one year to live at age 53, began to live, and began to give, and do you know what happened to him? He started releasing all of the internal negative things that were killing him. He got rid of his stress, his tension, and his ulcers, and he lived to the age of ninety, a saint to many.  (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

24)  Baseball player accepting tragedy as beatitude: Roy Campanella, the great baseball player, had two such road maps for his life. His successful stint as catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers was right on track, following the path he thought it should. Then, an automobile accident, which left him paralyzed and in a wheel chair, sidelined his career and proved to be a roadblock which also sidetracked his life’s journey. When he was forced to accept and follow the map which reality handed to him, he found strength in the following:

“I asked God for strength, that I might achieve.
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey . . .
I asked for health, that I might do great things.
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things. . .
I asked for riches, that I might be happy.
I was given poverty, that I might be wise. . .
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God. . .
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things. . .
I got nothing I asked for – but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken words were answered.
I am, among men, most richly blessed.”

— That Campanella was able to recognize the direction his life had taken as a blessing rather than a curse is indicative of a deep and solid Faith. In today’s Scripture readings, the community of believers is challenged to a similar Faith as it examines the blessedness of human need before God. (Sanchez Files). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Campanella  (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

25) Beatitudes experienced and lived by saints: (Rev. Steven D. Greydanus) If we want to understand the way of the Beatitudes, we must look to Christ, but also to the saints, especially those saints who walk the way of smallness and humility — like St. Francis, the “little poor man of Assisi,” whose spiritual biography is called the Fioretti or Little Flowers; and of course the Little Flower herself, Therese of Lisieux, whose spirituality is called the “Little Way,” the little way of spiritual childhood. This is a way of trust and love: of loving confidence in God’s goodness in all circumstances; of deep awareness of our total dependence on Him for all things; of abandonment or surrender of ourselves, our lives, our fortunes, our future, to God’s providence. If we walk this way, we won’t be swayed by the temptations and appeals in the cultural waters around us — for example, to fear and anxiety. A culture that idolizes wealth and strength is a culture of fear and anxiety. We’ll see more of this later in the Sermon on the Mount. To trust in God is to put aside fear and anxiety. I leave you with the words of St. Teresa of Avila:

Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

26) War treaties without God: Think about the last century.  The twentieth century began with the most terrible war mankind had ever endured.  Millions were killed in the battlefields.  They called it the Great War.  We call it World War I. In 1919, one hundred two years ago, the victorious nations gathered in Versailles to formulate a treaty which, they said, would guarantee that the Great War would be the war to end all wars.  At the time the treaty was signed, the Pope, Pope Benedict XV, said that the treaty and the peace would not work.  There was no mention anywhere in the treaty about trusting in God,  no mention of eternal, spiritual values.  The treaty trusted completely in mankind’s capability to restore peace to the world.  The Pope, as we all know, was correct.  Within twenty years the world was engaged in even a worse war, World War II. —  Ultimate reliance upon human capabilities is a sham.  It didn’t work for the people of Jeremiah’s day.  It didn’t work after World War I.  It won’t work today.  The one lesson we need to learn from history is that our only true hope must be in God. The first reading tells us this truth. The Jewish king wanted to compromise the power of the Babylonians through military treaties.  Jeremiah was told by God to proclaim that man could not solve his own problems. But the King did not listen, and the result was Babylonian invasion and Babylonian captivity for thousands of Jews for decades. (Msgr Joseph Pellegrino). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

 27) Trust in God leading to beatitude in family life:  I’d like to begin with a Valentine story. Back in 1920 a man from Bavaria, Germany, placed this ad in the newspaper: Middle-ranking civil servant, single, Catholic, 43, immaculate past, from the country, is looking for a good Catholic, pure girl who can cook well, tackle all household chores, with a talent for sewing and homemaking with a view to marriage as soon as possible. Fortune desirable but not a precondition. A woman named Maria Peintner answered the ad. She was 36 years old, a trained cook and the illegitimate daughter of a baker. She did not have a fortune, but even so, they married four months later. Despite their somewhat advanced years they had three children – two boys and a girl. The youngest child received the same name as his father: Joseph Ratzinger. He is better known today as Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. — I tell their story because today we celebrate St. Valentine’s Day. Joseph and Maria Ratzinger give a beautiful testimony to married love. Their love illustrates what we heard in today’s Scripture readings: “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord.” If one gets up into one’s mid-thirties and one has not found that special person, one can feel life has passed one by, maybe even that God has forgotten one. That was not the case with Joseph and Maria Ratzinger. From all we know, they were people of deep faith in God.  Because of their trust in God, they had an admirable marriage and deeply united family. (Fr. Phil Bloom). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22    

28) Elusive beatitude: Two old friends are catching up over drinks at a sidewalk cafe. “How is that you haven’t yet married?” one friend asks the other. “To be perfectly honest,” the friend begins, “I must tell you that I have spent years looking for the perfect woman.  In Barcelona, I met a very beautiful and extremely intelligent woman. For a brief time, I thought I had found the ideal spouse.  But soon I discovered that she was terribly vain and conceited.
“Then, in Boston, I met a woman who was outgoing and generous.  Here is the perfect woman, I thought.  But soon I discovered that she was flighty and irresponsible. “I had just about given up on ever meeting the perfect woman until, one day in Montreal, I met her.  She was incredible!  She was beautiful, intelligent, kind, generous and had a wonderful sense of humor.  She was perfect.” “So why didn’t you marry her?” his friend asked. Fingering his glass, the man replied quietly, “Because she was looking for the perfect man.” (Quoted by Fr. Tony Kayala) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22     L/22

  “Scriptural Homilies” Cycle C (No. 14) by Fr. Tony: akadavil@gmail.com

Visit my website by clicking on https://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.” Contact me only at akadavil@gmail.com. Visit also https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies  under Fr. Tony’s homilies and  under Resources in the CBCI website:  https://www.cbci.in  for other website versions.  (Vatican Radio website: http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html uploaded my Cycle A, B and C homilies in from 2018-2020)  Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604 .

O. T. VI Feb 13 (LK 6. 17, 20-26) L-22.doc

Feb 7-12:Kindly click onhttps://frtonyshomilies.com/ for missed Sunday and weekday homilies, RCIA & Faith formation classes: Feb 7 Monday:Mk 6: 53-56: 53 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized him, 55 and ran about the whole neighborhood and began to bring sick people on their pallets to any place where they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and besought him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched it were made well. Additional reflections(Click on these links) https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

The context: Gennesaret was a tract of land four miles long on the western border of the Sea of Galilee, lying between current day Tabgha and ancient Magdala. Known as the “Paradise of Galilee,” the land was rich soil for farmers to grow walnuts, dates, olives, figs, and grapes and it was a fishing center as well. Today’s Gospel passage describes the reaction of the people of Gennesaret when the healing and preaching miracle-worker, Jesus, unexpectedly landed on their shore. They considered it a golden opportunity to hear his message and to get all their sick people healed by bringing them to Jesus with trusting Faith in his Divine power. They were confident that even touching Jesus’ garment would heal the sick. Actually, they may have been more interested in using the healer to heal their sick people than in hearing Jesus’ preaching. Our innate human tendency is to use others to get something from them. We make use of God when we call Him only when we are in need or when we are sick or when tragedy strikes us. Some of us make use of the Church only to get baptized, married and buried. Often, we make use of our friends to get their company, help and support. Sometimes even grown-up children make use of their parents’ home for eating and sleeping without returning anything to their parents, who might rightly expect, but do not ask, a return, from them.

Life message: Instead of making use of God, let us learn to live in His presence, and recognize His presence in others in the community. 2) When we present our needs before Him, let us do so with expectant Faith and gratitude, and promise Him with the help of His grace that we will do His will. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

Feb 8 Tuesday (St. Jerome Emiliani )(https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-jerome-emiliani) ; St. Josephine Bakita, Virgin (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-josephine-bakhita):Mark: 7:1-13: 1 Now when the Pharisees gathered together to him, with some of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they wash their hands, observing the tradition of the elders; 4 and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they purify themselves; and there are many other traditions which they observe, the washing of cups and pots and vessels of bronze.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with hands defiled?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, `This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’ 8 You leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men.” 9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God, in order to keep your tradition! 10 For Moses said, `Honor your father and your mother’; and, `He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die’; 11 but you say, `If a man tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is Korban’ (that is, given to God) — 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God through your tradition which you hand on. And many such things you do.” Additional reflections:https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

The context: Today’s Gospel passage describes Jesus’ confrontation with the Scribes and the Pharisees sent from Jerusalem by the Jewish religion’s Supreme Court, the Sanhedrin, to assess Jesus’ “heretical teachings.” Their first question to Jesus was why he did not command his disciples to do the ritual washing of hands before meals or during a banquet. Ex 30:17ff had laid down rules for how the priests should wash their hands before offering sacrifice. Jewish tradition had extended this purification to all Jews before every meal, in an effort to give meals a religious significance. Ritual purification was a symbol of the moral purity a person should have when approaching God. One should have a clean conscience and clean mind. But the Pharisees had focused on the mere external rite. Therefore, Jesus restored the genuine meaning of these precepts of the Law, the purpose of which was to teach the right way to render homage to God.

Jesus’ explanation: Jesus shocked his questioners by accusing them of hypocrisy and giving lip-service to God while ignoring His teachings, replacing them with man-made interpretations. As an example, Jesus pointed out how they were cleverly evading God’s commandment to honor one’s parents by falsely interpreting the precept of Korban. According to their interpretation, one could be freed from taking care of one’s parents in their old age by declaring the money or property meant for their support as “Korban,” or a special offering to God. Jesus told them that the true source of defilement was a person’s heart and mind. True religion should not be mere external observances disconnected from the mind and the intentions.

Life messages: 1) We need to remember that the essence of religion is a personal relationship with God and with our fellow-human beings, not merely the external observances of religion. 2) God expects from us that generosity and good will which urge us to practice more mercy, offer more kindness, show more willingness to forgive offenses, and exercise more readiness to serve others lovingly and sacrificially. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

Feb 9 Wednesday: Mk 7:14-23: 14 And he called the people to him again, and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him.” 17 And when he had entered the house, and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters, not his heart but his stomach, and so passes on?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. 21. From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,22adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.23All these evils come from within and they defile.” All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man Additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

The context: Today’s Gospel passage continues Jesus’ explanation to the public of his revolutionary views on the ritual washing of hands before meals. The Law (Ex 30:17ff) had laid down how priests should wash before offering sacrifice. Jewish tradition had extended this to all Jews before every meal in an effort to give meals a religious significance. Ritual purification was a symbol of the moral purity a person should have when approaching God. But the Pharisees had focused on the mere external rite. For Jesus, true religion should not be mere external observances disconnected from the mind and the intentions.

Jesus’ explanation: Jesus shocked the people by his plain statement: ” … there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him.” In other words, Jesus made the shocking declaration that all the ritual food laws of the Old Testament about Kosher food were null and void! For Jesus, those laws were intended to teach the people of the Old Covenant the importance of offering acceptable sacrifice and worship to God with a clean conscience and clean mind, with clean thoughts and clean deeds. Hence, the true source of defilement is a person’s heart and mind because “out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.”

Life message: 1) We need to keep our minds filled with love, mercy, compassion, and forgiveness if we want to practice the true religion of loving God living in others. Hence, let us ask God to help us cleanse our minds of evil thoughts and desires and free them from jealousy, envy and pride. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

Feb 10 Thursday (St. Scholastica, Virgin (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-scholastica): Mark 7:24-30: 24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house, and would not have any one know it; yet he could not be hid. 25 But immediately a woman, whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children first be fed, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this saying you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home, and found the child lying in bed, and the demon gone. Additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

The context: In the Gospel, 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 the mother’s strong Faith. Thus, Jesus shows that God’s mercy and love are available to all who call out to Him in Faith.

This is one of the two miracles of healing Jesus performed for Gentiles. The other is the healing of the centurion’s servant. (Mt 8:10-12). These miracles foreshadowed the future preaching of the Gospel to the whole world. Jesus first ignored both the persistent cry of the woman and the impatient demand of his disciples that the woman be sent away. Jesus then tried to awaken true Faith in the heart of this woman by an indirect refusal. We notice that the woman was refused three times by Jesus before he granted her request. Finally, the fourth time, her persistence was rewarded, and her plea was answered. She recognized Jesus as the Messiah (the Son of David) and expressed her need in clear, simple words. She persisted, undismayed by obstacles, and she expressed her request in all humility: “Have mercy on me.” (Navarre Bible commentary). Jesus was completely won over by the depth of her Faith, her confidence and her wit, and responded exuberantly, “Woman, great is your Faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.”

Life messages: 1) We need to persist in prayer with trustful confidence. Christ himself has told us to keep on asking him for what we need: “Ask and you shall receive.” Asking with fervor and perseverance proves that we have “great Faith.” We must realize, and remember, that we do not always get exactly what we have asked for, but rather what God knows we need and what is really best for us at the most appropriate time.

2) We need to pull down our walls of separation and share in the universality of God’s love. 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 that the walls which we raise by our pride, intolerance and prejudice may crumble Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

Feb 11 Friday (Our Lady of Lourdes): https://www.franciscanmedia.org/our-lady-of-lourdes/and the 29th World Day of the Sick (introduced by Pope St.John Paul II in 1992):It was three years and two months after the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Blessed Pope Pius IX (1854) that Mary appeared for the first time on February 11, 1858, to St. Bernadette Soubirous in the grotto at Massabielle, in Lourdes, France. Bernadette, a 14-year-old peasant girl was the oldest daughter among the six children of Francois Soubirous and Louise Casterot. One day Bernadette went to the rocky area to collect firewood with her sister and a friend. It was when she was left behind by the other two near a big rock that Bernadette heard a loud noise. As she turned to investigate, she caught sight of a very beautiful Lady clothed in white with a rosary hanging on her arm standing in a grotto in the rock wall. The beautiful Lady smiled at her and summoned her to pray the rosary and they prayed together. Bernadette received 18 apparitions of our Lady starting in February and ending in July 1858. (Watch the movie: Song of Bernadette: https://youtu.be/wLKFAKIfn-w )Additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

On the 18th appearance the Holy Virgin gave the young visionary the answer to her pastor’s question, “Who are you?” In the local language Mary said, ‘I am the Immaculate Conception.”During her previous appearances, theBlessed Virgin Mary had instructed Bernadette to tell people to pray and do penance. All must pray especially for the conversion of sinners. Our Lady instructed Bernadette to go and tell her pastor that she wished a chapel to be built on the spot and processions to be made to the grotto. But it wasn’t until four years later, in 1862, that the Bishop of the diocese declared the faithful “justified in believing the reality of the apparition,” and Pope Pius IX authorized him to permit the veneration of the Virgin Mary in Lourdes. A basilica was built upon the rock of Massabielle by the parish priest in 1865. It was consecrated, and the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes was solemnly crowned. In 1883 the foundation stone of another Church was laid, as the first was no longer large enough. It was built at the foot of the basilica, was consecrated in 1901, and was named the Church of the Rosary. Pope Leo XIII authorized a special office and a Mass, in commemoration of the apparition, and in 1907 Pius X extended the observance of this feast to the entire Church to be observed on 11 February. Since apparitions are private revelation and not public revelation, Catholics are not bound to believe them. However, all recent Popes have visited the Marian shine. Benedict XV, Pius XI and St. John XXIII went there as bishops, Pius XII as papal delegate. Pope Pius XII also issued a Lourdes encyclical on the 100th anniversary of the apparitions in 1958. Pope St. John Paul II visited Lourdes three times, Pope Benedict XVI completed a visit there on 15 September 2008 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the apparitions, and Pope Francis visited Lourdes in 2015.

Life Messages: The 30th World Day of the Sick will be observed on February 11, 2022. This day serves the purpose of reminding the members of the Church of the healing ministry of the Church. It reminds us of our Christian obligation to attend to the sick and the suffering around us. 2) This is a day to show our gratitude to the caregivers, the doctors, the nurses, the health care workers, the pastoral ministers and all those who strive to restore the physical and spiritual health of the sick Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/20 Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

Feb 12 Saturday: Mark 8:1-10: 1 In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him, and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; 3 and if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come a long way.” 4 And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these men with bread here in the desert?” 5 And he asked them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven.”6 And he commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. 7 And they had a few small fish; and having blessed them, he commanded that these also should be set before them. 8 And they ate, and were satisfied; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 9 And there were about four thousand people.10 And he sent them away; and immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha. USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm;https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/

The context: The miraculous feeding described in today’s Gospel took place on a hill near the Sea of Galilee after Jesus’ return from the Decapolis. A large crowd remained with Jesus for three days, participating in his preaching and healing ministry till all the food they had carried with them was gone.

Jesus felt pity for the hungry multitude and instructed his Apostles to feed them with what they had, namely, seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. They brought these to Jesus who said a prayer of thanksgiving over them and instructed them to distribute the bread and fish to the people. After the crowd had eaten their fill, the Apostles filled seven baskets with leftover broken pieces. This passage appears to be a repetition of Mk 6:34-44. But there are two differences: the first account shows the miracle performed for the benefit of Jews, the second for Gentiles. In the first account there are twelve basketfuls of scraps left over, in the second only seven. The language is “Eucharistic”: Jesus “took the loaves and giving thanks he broke them and handed them to his disciples to distribute.”

Life messages: 1) We need to help Jesus to feed the hungry today. Jesus invites us to give him our hearts so that he may touch the lives of people in our day through us, just as he touched the lives of millions through saintly souls like Francis of Assisi, Fr. Damien, Vincent de Paul and Mother Teresa. Let us feed the spiritually hungry with words and deeds of kindness, mercy, and sharing love.

2) We need to be fed by Jesus so that we may feed others. Jesus continues to feed us in His Church with His own Body and Blood in Holy Communion and with the word of God through the Holy Bible. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/22

OT V [C] (Feb 6) Sunday homily (Eight-minute homily in one page)

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

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

Life Messages: 1) We need to pray that our encounters with the holiness of God may lead us to recognize our sinfulness and accept His call. God, who calls us and commissions us for His service, wants us to realize His presence everywhere and in everyone, to repent of our sins, and to remain in readiness to speak and act for Him in our life circumstances, as He shall direct us through His grace and His Holy Spirit. 2) We need to teach and practice expressions of reverence for the Lord. We need to express our reverence for God through appropriate bodily gestures. For example, when we come into Church, we need to show reverence for Jesus’ presence in the Tabernacle by making a deep bow or by genuflecting and blessing ourselves with sign of the cross. Then we need to honor Him by listening to the word of God and by actively participating in the liturgy’s prayers and singing. This same sense of reverence can be expressed by keeping the Bible, God’s living word to us, in a prominent place in our homes and by kissing it each time we read from it. True reverence for God naturally leads us to reverent, respectful love of our neighbors, as God dwells in them. 3) We need to remember that each of us has a unique mission in the Church. This is why God has a different call for each of us. Each of us is unique, so each of us has a mission which no one else can fulfill. Let us accomplish this mission as parents, priests, religious, and lay persons by radiating the love, mercy, and forgiveness of Jesus and by participating in the various ministries of our parish.

OT V [C] (Feb 6, 2022): (Is 6:1-2a, 3-8; I Cor 15:1-11; Lk 5:1-11)

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

# 2: “Here I am Lord, send me.” A mother and father were worried about what career their son would choose. A friend told them to place on the dining room table a $20 note, a Bible and a fifth of liquor. Then they were to hide behind the curtains and observe their son’s actions when he came in. If he took the $20 bill, he would grow up to be a banker; if he chose the Bible, a preacher, and if he chose the liquor, a drunkard. The son came in and put the $20 bill in his pocket, held the Bible under one arm and the liquor under the other, and happily walked out of the room. “Great goodness, Martha,” said the husband to his wife, “He is going to be a politician!” (Fr. Lakra). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22

# 3: “Ours is total commitment!” There was a story about the hen and the pig bragging to each other about their contribution and commitment to humanity. The hen bragged: “We hens supply thousands of eggs for the market every day. Ours is the best selfless gift.” Not satisfied, the pig countered, “And who lay down their lives so that people may eat bacon, lechon, barbecue, ham, and sausages? Pigs. Ours is total commitment of our lives in the service of humanity!”– In all the readings for today, especially the Gospel, the message is one – a Call from God and the Commitment expected from those God has called. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22

# 4: A call rejected: Reverend Billy Graham tells of a time early in his ministry when he arrived in a small town to preach a sermon. Wanting to mail a letter, he asked a young boy where the post office was. When the boy had told him, Dr. Graham thanked him and said, “If you’ll come to the Baptist church this evening, you can hear me telling everyone how to get to Heaven.” “I don’t think I’ll be there,” the boy said. “Why?” Billy Graham asked him. “Because you don’t even know your way to the post office! How can you show me the way to Heaven?” –Today’s readings tell us about the calls of the prophet Isaiah, Paul, and Peter to God’s ministry. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22

# 5: Divine call daily executed: One day, author and educator Howard Hendricks was on a plane that was delayed from takeoff. As passengers became irritated and demanding, Howard noticed how gracious one of the flight attendants continued to be with each passenger. When they were finally in the air he continued to be amazed at her poise and control. When she came by his seat, Howard asked if he could write a letter of commendation to the airline on her behalf. “I don’t work for the airline,” she replied, “I work for Jesus Christ. My husband and I prayed this morning that I would be a good representative of Jesus Christ on this flight.” — Do you have a career or a calling? You see, somewhere out on Lake Galilee, a few fishermen were transformed in such a way that they would eventually change the world, because Christ had come and had given them a mission for eternity. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Life Messages: 1) We need to pray that our encounters with the holiness of God may lead us to recognize our sinfulness. The Good News of today’s Gospel is that our sinfulness — our pride and self-centeredness – does not repel God. Our God is a God Who gives sinners a new start. It is important that we acknowledge our sinfulness. Our response must be modeled on that of the tax collector in the parable: “Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Lk 18:13). The recognition of our inadequacy and sin is necessary for us, if we are to be willing and able to receive transformation through God’s grace. Isaiah, Paul, and Peter teach us that even the greatest person among us stands in need of conversion. God, Who calls us and commissions us for His service, wants us to realize His presence everywhere and in everyone, to repent of our sins, and to remain in readiness to speak and act for Him in our life-circumstances as He shall direct.

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

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

Jokes of the week

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Note:  No more pictures in my website-uploaded homilies as  I am informed that it is illegal, involving heavy penalty, to use pictures in homilies published in any website, without prior permission. This is applicable also  to parish bulletin published in your parish website. Bu You can use any pictures in your emails.  If you would like  to get pictures to use in your emails, please  type the theme of the gospel, in Google Search under images, and press  the Enter button of your keyboard, and copy the images you want. Tr. Tony

27- Additional anecdotes:

1) Call answered as a continuous process: There is a story about a sophomore who worked in the library at Princeton, New Jersey to earn money to help with his education. One night about closing time, he was walking around the empty halls of the library when he noticed in the very back corner amid an old stack of books, an old man reading and taking notes furiously. The old man was very intent. The librarian became a little curious, so he went back to the old man and said, “My, what are you studying so intently?” The old man looked up long enough to say, “Well, I’m a student of physics.” The young librarian said, “Well, last year I took a course in physics, and I think I have all I need for an understanding of physics.” He then turned and walked back to his desk. You can imagine his chagrin a few minutes later when the old man checked out some books, and on his library-card was the name Albert Einstein. — God’s call is a calling to a process, not to a single task. Today’s Scripture readings about the calls of Isaiah, Peter, and Paul remind us that our calling is to a lifelong process of obedience, service, and surrender to God in which we grow daily more like Jesus. There is nothing in the world more joyful than that. There is nothing in the world more challenging. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22

2) Impala problem: One of the few creatures on earth that can out-jump Michael Jordon is the Impala. This is an African deer with a supercharged spring. It has a vertical leap of over 10 feet and can broad-jump over 30 feet. You would think that the zoos of the world would find it impossible to keep such an animal enclosed. Not so! It’s rather easy. The experts discovered something about the Impala. It will not jump unless it can see where it is going to land. Therefore, a solid wall even 6 feet tall is a sufficient enclosure. — Lots of Christians have the Impala problem. They won’t take a leap of Faith unless they have all the answers in advance about where the leap will take them. But God is looking for some bold believers who, even in the face of the unknown, will leap when the Spirit says leap, will fly when the Spirit says fly, will launch out when the Spirit says launch out —  all to the glory of the Lord. Why must we be willing to launch out into the deep with the Lord? Because our Lord was willing to launch out into the deep for us. Today’s Scripture passages present Isaiah, Paul, and Peter who dared to make a leap of Faith. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

3) “Hop into my wheelbarrow. I’ll wheel you across!” There’s a wonderful story of a tightrope walker, who was challenged to walk a tightrope across Niagara Falls. Everything was in place. There were huge steel struts on either side of the canyon and a strong, steel tightrope. There were television cameras, reporters and a massive crowd. But there was no safety net. The tightrope walker appeared with a wheelbarrow, which he had decided to push in front of him across the rope. The crowd cheered him on, although some begged him not to make this foolish attempt. One voice in the crowd was more vociferous than the rest: “Go on! You can do it! I know you can! Don’t listen to these pessimists. I have complete faith in you.” The tightrope walker turned to the speaker and asked, “You have faith in me? You’re certain? You know I can do it?” The speaker emerged from the crowd and nodded. “I’m absolutely certain. I have no doubts at all. You can do it!” “OK,” said the tightrope walker. “Hop into my wheelbarrow. I’ll wheel you across!” Amazingly, the speaker climbed into the wheelbarrow. And the tightrope walker wheeled him safely across to the other side. — What incredible, courageous, foolhardy faith! Today’s Gospel describes Peter’s leap to a much deeper and stronger Faith in Jesus and His ministry through Jesus’ response to Peter’s trusting obedience, His gift of a miraculous haul of fish at the Lake of Gennesaret. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

4) “Can you balance a ball on the end of your nose?” There was a man who took great pride in being a former Navy Seal. And why not? This is an elite group. It takes a special sailor to qualify as a Navy Seal. This man tells about sharing his military exploits with his grandson’s kindergarten class. This former Seal regaled the children with his war stories. After he finished, hands shot up into the air all over the classroom. The kids were eager to ask questions. “So,” asked one little girl, “can you balance a ball on the end of your nose?”  — Well, to be sure, a Navy Seal ought to be able to balance a ball on the end of his nose. Life has a way of humbling us, doesn’t it? We think we are impressing people, and all they want is to see us balance a ball on the end of our nose. Our Scriptures for today all have one thing in common: Isaiah, Paul, and Peter met God and were humbled. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

5) Failure of Leonardo da Vinci. Failure is not a dirty word–and yet we sometimes act as if it is. Every great person fails at some time in his or her life. Leonardo da Vinci did. In addition to his incredible talents in painting and sculpting, da Vinci was also a mathematician, philosopher, master chef, architect, athlete, and inventor. But even great geniuses can experience failures, sometimes, great ones. One of da Vinci’s biggest blunders occurred when he was working in the household of an Italian nobleman, Ludovico Sforza. Sforza put da Vinci in charge of planning a banquet for two hundred guests. Leonardo intended to sculpt all the food into tiny artistic masterpieces. He created a fully automated kitchen in Sforza’s mansion in order to feed that many people. But the night of the banquet, everything fell apart. The conveyor belt da Vinci had installed broke down and started a fire. Next, the sprinkler system he had created kicked in to put the fire out. Soon, the whole kitchen was flooded. The banquet had to be called off. [Michael J. Geb. How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci (New York: Dell Publishing, 1998), p. 79.] — Have you known failure? Have you felt you were a failure? Have you had nights when the fish just don’t bite? I have. I have felt I was a failure. I have been like Simon Peter toiling all night, giving my best, maybe working too hard, yet at the end of the day, my nets felt empty! (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

6) “Oh God, here am I, send me. Send me!” William Bausch tells the story of a nun who received some extra grant money. She worked as a chaplain in a women’s prison in Chicago. She went to the women and said, “I have some money that I want to spend on you and I’m going to give you some options: 1) I can hire an attorney to come and talk with you on how you can shorten your sentences; 2) I can hire a welder to come in and teach you to weld so that you can have a marketable skill when you leave the prison; or 3) I can hire a dancer and a painter to teach you how to dance and how to paint.” Ninety-five percent chose the dancer and the painter because, as they said, “They always wanted to express themselves, but never had the chance.” — That puts God’s calling where it should be and that is in a positive light. The most fulfilling, the most expressive, the most joyful experience you will ever know in your life is walking in the middle of God’s will for your life. Hear the invitation, and say, “Oh God, here am I, send me. Send me!” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

7) “Everything for sale” as Satan is going out of business: There is a legend that tells about the time the devil decided to close up shop in one part of the world and open up in another.  A “going-out-of-business” sale was announced.  One of the first customers, being quite fascinated with the various evil instruments on display, noticed that of all the devil’s tools, the highest priced one was called “discouragement.” “Why is this one so expensive?” he inquired. “Quite simple,” replied the devil.  “It’s my favorite. With the tool of discouragement, I can pry into almost everyone’s life and cause all kinds of damage.” — Today’s Scripture lessons tell us that God calls weak and sinful men like Isaiah, Paul, Peter, and us, to His ministry and fills us with His Spirit to free us from all feelings of discouragement when they attack. All we have to do is to ask for and receive His help.  (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

8) Legal permanent resident: One hundred three miles of open water separates the most southern tip of Florida from the most northern coast of Cuba. It’s a stretch of water that has claimed hundreds of lives since the Cuban revolution. Flotillas of “boat people,” seeking freedom and family in the US, have created desperate “boats” out of anything that might possibly float long enough to reach US soil. The goal of these “boat people” is simple: hit dry land. As long as these refugees are in the water, they are Cubans. As of 1995 the US has agreed either to return rescued or captured “boat people” to Cuba or transport them to a neutral third country. But once these soggy sailors’ feet hit dry land they are instantly transformed. They have the right to stay in the US for at least a year. That qualifies them to get expedited “legal permanent resident” status and eventually even perhaps US citizenship. The moment a Cuban refugee has “dry feet,” a whole new future welcomes him or her. — The first disciples Jesus calls in Luke’s Gospel are “dry feet” disciples. But they didn’t become dry-feet disciples until they were willing to be “boat people.” They launched into deep water at Jesus’ command. Once out there, they saw and experienced things over which they had no control, things they knew with their hearts and souls were sure evidence of God’s providence and sovereignty. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

9) The challenging invitation: Many years ago, the great explorer, Sir Francis Drake, was attempting to recruit a number of young men for an upcoming exploration. He gathered them around and told the group that, if they came with him, they would see some of the most marvelous things their eyes could ever behold – sandy white beaches, juicy fruits, foreign peoples, priceless treasures, and gorgeous landscapes. And he told them that this wild adventure could be theirs if they came with him. Not one of them enlisted for the journey. The next day a different group came out. Drake told them that if they came with him they would encounter storms that would terrify them to tears. Tiger winds would hammer them and blow them off course for months. Water would frequently be scarce. At times they would be so thirsty that their very souls would cry out for simply one drop of water. In short, danger would always be their constant companion. Drake concluded by declaring that if they could handle these things, the joys of exploration would exceed their wildest dreams. Every single one of them in the group joined Sir Francis Drake that day. Some did not even go home to say goodbye to their families! They just boarded the ship, eager for the journey. — What is it about Jesus’ message that made the disciples eager for the journey? They were made eager because first, Jesus offered them a change. The paths that are offered to us must promise to shape us, build our character, change our world-view, if they are to have any appeal to us at all. If we are presented with a challenge that will change us, we will be eager for the journey. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

10) Prompt response to God’s call: Dr. Paul Brand was a physician who volunteered in India as the first orthopedic surgeon to work with leprosy patients. He listed as his reference Henri Nouwen, a former professor at Notre Dame, Yale, and Harvard, who ended up devoting his life to the mentally handicapped in institutions in France and Toronto. Neither of these men had a low opinion of his own worth or abilities. In spite of that, and because of their relationship with God, they chose to serve the least and the lowest. (Philip Yancey, “Humility’s Many Faces,” Christianity Today, December 4, 2000). Isaiah writes: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!'” That was Isaiah’s response, “Send me.” Paul’s response was: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me has not been in vain.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

11) “We could change the world.” In James Goldman’s novel, The Lion in Winter, there is a scene where three sons wrestle for the right to succeed King Henry. John tells his mother Eleanor that his brother Richard has a knife. Listen as she captures the base instinct of humanity and then offers a better way: “Of course (your brother) has a knife. We all have knives–we are barbarians–we are the origins of war–we breed war. For the love of God,” she continues, “can’t we love one another–just a little? That’s how peace begins. We have such possibilities, my children. We could change the world” (James Goldman, The Lion in Winter, pp. 55-56). — After Simon and Andrew, James and John had fished all night and failed to catch any fish, Jesus came to them and made life right. Jesus’ order to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch,” is both a challenge and a promise. Challenge: We must never be afraid to try again. Promise: the long night passes into day and we live to put our nets down for another day, expecting the providence of God. We have such possibilities. We could change the world. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

12) “I’ll do it myself. I’ll do it myself.” It was just after midnight on November 20, 1988. A 19-year-old Los Angeles woman apparently fell asleep behind the wheel of her car. The car plunged through a guardrail and was left dangling by its left rear wheel. That one wheel was all that prevented the young woman from falling to a certain death. A half dozen passing motorists stopped and attempted to help. One of them had some ropes in his vehicle. They tied the ropes to the back of the young woman’s car and hung on until the fire units arrived. A ladder was extended from below to help stabilize the car while firefighters tied the vehicle to tow trucks with cables and chains. “Every time we would move the car,” said one of the rescuers, “she’d yell and scream. She was in pain.” It took almost 2 and 1/2 hours for the rescuers, about 25 of them in all, to secure the car and pull the woman to safety. “It was kinda funny,” L.A. County Fire Capt. Ross Marshall recalled later. “She kept saying, “I’ll do it myself. I’ll do it myself.” (http://www.holwick.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=679:1-samuel-18-6-12 every-crutch-kicked&catid=38:1-a-2-samuel&Itemid=11.)  — People are funny like that: “I’ll do it myself.” Against all evidence to the contrary, we somehow think we don’t need other people. And we think we don’t need God. We are going to meet three men in today’s Scripture, Isaiah, Paul, and Peter, three men who had their lives radically changed by God. We’re going to see how God changed their lives, and, with His help, we are going to ask God to do the same for us. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

13) “Atlas complex” You may have heard the expression, “He has an Atlas complex.” This usually refers to an individual who seems to have an exaggerated sense of his or her own importance. Or it may refer to the person who feels that he or she is the only one who can do a certain job, make important decisions, take care of himself/herself or other people. It is helpful for us to remember the Greek legend of Atlas. Atlas is the Titan of Greek mythology, guardian of the Pillars of Heaven who took part in the Titans’ rebellion against Zeus and the gods. The great and powerful Zeus won the battle of course, in part because he was assisted by his famous 100-handed monster. The punishment which Atlas received was the job of replacing the Pillars of Heaven and holding up the sky on his own shoulders [M. C. Howatson and Ian Chilvers, The Concise Oxford companion to Classical Literature (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), p. 72].  — The story of Atlas is, of course, a myth. However, we all know that there are many people who go through life holding the weight of the world on their shoulders. Instead, let us learn to surrender ourselves to God, receive His strength, and do what He commands us to do. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

14) “But the fog is not on the maps.” Several years ago, two land surveyors were sent from a large city in Wales to survey the mountains in North Wales. For a week, they stayed in an isolated cabin in shepherd country. Every day they went out with maps, compasses, and charts checking the countryside and the valleys. Several days into the first week, an old shepherd came up to them and said, “Might be best if I go with you tomorrow.” They said, “No, there’s no need for that. We have our maps and charts. We’ll be fine. We have everything we need.” The old shepherd said again, “It might be best if I went with you tomorrow.” “No, we have our maps and charts. We know these hills just like you. We’ll be okay.” And the old shepherd said, “You may have your maps, but the fog is not on the maps.– There come times in our lives when all the charts, maps, and other resources are insufficient. There come times when we can only do God’s work in His power and in His strength. It is an awesome, humbling, and revealing experience to stand before the Miracle Worker as He reaches out and calls us. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

15) “What fish?” A man was stopped by a game-warden in a State Park with two buckets of fish leaving a lake well known for its fishing. The game warden asked, “Do you have a license to catch those fish?” The man replied to the game warden, “No, sir. These are my pet fish.” “Pet fish?” the warden replied. “Yes, sir. Every night I take these here fish down to the lake and let them swim around for a while. I whistle and they jump back into their buckets, and I take ’em home.” “That’s a bunch of hooey! Fish can’t do that!” The man looked at the game warden for a moment, and then said, “Here, I’ll show you. It really works.” “OK. I’ve GOT to see this!” The game warden was curious. The man poured the fish into the river and stood and waited. After several minutes, the game warden turned to the man and said, “Well?” “Well, what?” the man responded. “When are you going to call them back?” the game warden prompted. “Call who back?” the man asked. “The FISH!” “What fish?” the man asked. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

16)  “Roo raf roo reep ra rums rrarm.” A cold winter day. An old man walked out onto a frozen lake, cut a hole in the ice, dropped in his fishing line, and waited patiently for a bite. He was there for almost an hour, without even a nibble, when a young boy walked out onto the ice, cut a hole in the ice next to him. The lad dropped his fishing line and minutes later he hooked a Largemouth Bass. The old man could not believe his eyes but chalked it up to plain luck. Shortly thereafter, the young boy pulled in another large catch. He kept catching fish after fish. Finally, the old man could take it no longer. “Son,” he said, “I have been here for over an hour without even a nibble. You have been here only a few minutes and have caught a half dozen fish! How do you do it?” The boy responded, “Roo raf roo reep ra rums rrarm.” “What was that?” the old man asked. Again the boy responded, “Roo raf roo reep ra rums rrarm.” “Look,” said the old man, “I can’t understand a word you’re saying.” The boy leaned over, brought his hand to his mouth and spat out a mess of bait. He said again, “You have to keep the worms warm!” — You know, there may well be a lesson in that for us too. If we are going to “catch people” as Jesus said, we had better use attractive bait. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

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

Consider another example. A middle-aged couple is heartbroken. Their 19-year-old son is hooked on drugs. He even steals items from the home in order to pawn them and buy drugs. These distraught parents cry out to God in all honesty, saying, “Lord, we don’t deserve this misery. We gave the boy every advantage. He grew up in the lap of luxury. Sure, we made some mistakes; perhaps we were overly indulgent. But, who doesn’t make mistakes? We are tempted not only to kick him out of the house, but also to kick him out of our hearts. He no longer deserves to be called our son.” Then here comes that word again! “NEVERTHELESS, if You want us to persevere with that boy, we will try. If You will help us demonstrate tough love, we will. If You can break into his hard, cold, addicted heart, we will keep up our vigil of love and prayer.”

–The Scriptural message should be abundantly clear. At crucial living, Jesus calls us to take risks, to launch out with him into the deep. Everything that is prudential, timid, and conservative tells us to play it safe. Dare we step up with Simon Peter and declare boldly, “NEVERTHELESS, I will launch out into the deep with my Lord!”? (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

18) Best Fantasy Film of the Year.” In the spring of 1978, the film, Oh God! was given an award. It was a film that portrayed the message that God cares about people, that God comes to people, and He wants people to be happy. Do you know the award that film received? “Best Fantasy Film of the Year”! —  To some people, it is a fantasy that God cares for us; that God loves us and comes to us in the ordinary affairs of our life. To some, that is a fantasy! Why? If we truly believe that God comes to us, speaks to us, calls out to us, then we, too, have to place the net where He tells us, in spite of the fact that we think we know better. That is what this Church is trying to do. When Simon saw the miracle and stood face-to-face with the miracle worker, he fell to his knees at Jesus’ feet and said, “Get away from me! I am unclean! Get away from me! I am a sinful man!” Confrontation with Jesus was not a fantasy for him.( https://youtu.be/ORgQ-i1eFdw) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

19)  Victor not vanquished: Many years ago a little boy in the U.S.A. was badly burnt in a school fire. So severe was the damage to his limbs and muscles that the doctors predicted that he would never walk again. To his good luck, however, that little boy had a mother, who, though illiterate, was staunch in her Christian faith. Against all odds she believed her son would recover and get well. Day after day, sometimes for hours, that devoted mother would massage the scarred, seemingly lifeless legs of her little boy, even as he cried with pain, and would say to him: “Don’t worry, my boy, you will not only walk someday, but you will run.” To the cynical and the pessimistic, that was mere wishful thinking, in fact absolute nonsense. But that noble mother firmly believed her son was going to be victor and not the vanquished. And he was – in 1934 he set the world’s record for running a mile in 4 minutes 6.7 seconds. His name? Glen Cunningham! –- After spending an entire night fishing without success, the apostle Peter, a seasoned fisherman, was very disappointed and depressed. He was ready to brand himself a failure. Then Jesus who was not a fisherman stepped in and urged him not to give up but try another strategy. So Peter could choose between being branded a failure or hailed a success. And Peter decided wisely on the latter – he was going to be a victor and not the vanquished. In the words of a Yiddish saying, ”From success to failure is one step. From failure to success is a long road.” (James Valladares in Your Words O Lord, are Spirit and They Are Life; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

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

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

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

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

  24) He can transform our weaknesses: There was a king who owned a large perfectly cut diamond. He was very proud of it and made it the national symbol. Unfortunately, the diamond one day got damaged and its beauty was marred by a long hair-like scratch. Its splendor was gone and its sparkle diminished. The king was very saddened. He gathered all the reputed jewelers for consultation. They all said that it had lost its splendor and value. In desperation the king sent our word throughout his kingdom, “Anyone who could repair the damaged diamond would be suitably rewarded.” Finally, just when the king was about to give up the hope of restoring the stone, a poor lapidary gem engraver came forward to restore it. “Sir” he said to the king, “this same scratch which has diminished the diamond’s worth will become its most beautiful asset.” The king entrusted the man with the stone and many weeks passed before his return. Finally, when the lapidary opened his velvet box to display his craftsmanship, the king gasped in amazement. There was the stone -more beautiful than ever, with a beautiful rose carved on it. Only the king could detect that on the rose’s graceful stem was the scratch that had once so ruined the diamond. —  Jesus is the master jeweler, who can transform the scratches, which dim and distort our lives into something that could shine and scintillate. (John Rose in John’s Sunday Homilies; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

25) “Do you know where you’re going?” Years ago, the British agnostic Thomas Huxley had to leave early one morning to go from one speaking assignment to another, so he got into a horse-drawn taxi to go from his hotel to the train station. He assumed that the hotel doorman had told the driver of the carriage that they were to go to the train station. So when he got in, he simply said to the driver, “Drive fast.” Off they went. After a short while, Huxley, who was somewhat familiar with the area, realized that they were actually going in the opposite direction from the train station. He yelled to the driver, “Do you know where you’re going?” Without looking back, the driver replied, “No, sir, but I’m driving very fast.” —  Obviously, it doesn’t do much good to go fast if you’re not going in the right direction! Yet, many people, even Christians, are like that. Their lives are busy, they are going full bore, but they haven’t stopped to evaluate which way they ought to be going. In Luke 5:1-11, we see the Lord Jesus helping some fishermen get their lives aimed in the right direction. (Bible.org). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

26) Little Transmitters: In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe “Pioneer 10.” Its main mission was to reach Jupiter and send back information about that planet. It was a bold plan because at that time no satellite had gone beyond Mars. Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and so much more. It swung past Jupiter in November 1973, then passed Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. By 1997, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun. Despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to earth. The most remarkable thing was that those signals were powered by an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night light. Not even the most optimistic scientist could have ever imagined what that little 8-watt transmitter could do. — So it is when you and I offer ourselves to God in faithful obedience. It’s just incredible what God can do through little 8-watt transmitters like me and you, when we’re turned on for Him. (Bill Bouknight, Sermons.com). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

27) This is What You Believe: On December 8, 1982, the American College in Louvain, Belgium, celebrated the 125th anniversary of its foundation. (This college is a religious residence for U.S. candidates for the diocesan priesthood.) Officials of the college invited many important personages to take part in the special Mass of Thanksgiving. The Vatican accepted the invitation to be represented; so did the U.S. government. Even more exciting was the fact that Belgium itself was to be represented by no less than the King and Queen, King Baudoin I and Queen Fabiola. Careful planning was necessary if all were to go off well – not only the reception and the dinner, but the Mass itself. The faculty planner of the liturgy, an excellent musician who appreciated Church music past as well as present, announced to the students that although the Mass would, of course, be in English, the Congregation would be asked to sing the creed in Latin – the ancient Credo III in Gregorian chant. The students, still too young to have remembered the old Latin Mass, took a dim view of having a Latin Credo. They doubtless knew that recent popes had urged Catholics of all nations to learn at least the basics of the Latin Mass and its chant for special celebrations; but they assumed that liturgical Latin had lost its relevance by 1982. Of course, the faculty won, and all College participants were given copies of the Creed and taught how to sing it. It came surprisingly easy. As it turned out Credo III was a high point in the Mass. Not only the Italian papal delegate and the American staff and students sang it with feeling. Belgian-born King Baudoin and his Spanish-born Queen chimed in with the chant that evoked for them old memories. Furthermore, Mrs. George Schultz, the Catholic wife of the U. S. Secretary of State, also sang out the old familiar tune vigorously without even looking at the music.  — “This is what we preach,” says St. Paul today and “this is what you believe” (2nd reading). The Creed we pronounce at each Sunday Mass is truly a “profession of Faith.” It states the main articles of Catholic belief. We can profess that belief in any language. But it is still nice to recite or sing it in Latin on occasion, especially at international gatherings. Latin remains a truly international tongue. Then are indeed fulfilled the Psalmist’s words, “In the presence of the angels I will sing your praise … All the kings of the earth shall give thanks … when they hear the words of your mouth.” (Father Robert F. McNamara). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)L/22   

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

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

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

Wilma qualified for the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. At 16, she was the youngest member of the track-and-field team. She won bronze in the 400-meter relay. Four years later, she entered the 1960 Olympics, in Rome, Italy. She became the first American woman to win three gold medals in one Olympics. These Games were the first to be broadcast on TV in North America, making Wilma a worldwide sensation. People said she was the fastest woman in the world. When Wilma got home to Tennessee, her city wanted to hold a segregated celebration in her honor. Wilma said she’d refuse to attend. So her parade and banquet were the first integrated events in Clarksville, Tennessee. After retiring, in 1962, Wilma became a track coach, a goodwill ambassador to French West Africa, and an activist for civil and women’s rights.Wilma published an autobiography in 1977. In the 1980s, she was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, and she established the Wilma Rudolph Foundation, which supports young athletes. (https://www.timeforkids.com/g56/this-is-wilma-rudolph/) L/22

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

Visit my website by clicking on https://frtonyshomilies.com/ for missed or previous Cycle C homilies, 141 Year of Faith “Adult Faith Formation Lessons” (useful for RCIA classes too) & 197 “Question of the Week.” Contact me only at akadavil@gmail.com. Visit also https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies  under Fr. Tony’s homilies and  under Resources in the CBCI website:  https://www.cbci.in  for other website versions.  (Vatican Radio website: http://www.vaticannews.va/en/church.html uploaded my Cycle A, B and C homilies in from 2018-2020)  Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604 .

O. T. V (Feb 6) (LK 5. 1-11) L-22.doc