DAILY HOMILIES #Children

Wish your children well even when they offend you or fail to meet your expectations. Pray for them like Saint Monica, who prayed relentlessly for her son Augustine. Pray for them as Jacob did over his twelve sons, as seen in today’s first reading.

The price of heaven is righteousness. It is not tithes, offerings or donations. It is not according to the number of times you attend church or which church you attend. Jesus said: “Many will come from east and west, and north and south, and sit at the table in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 13:29). Even though the door is narrow, it will accept many people. Some of those you have written off now (because they don’t attend your church or do not pretend like you) will enter heaven. Jesus said: “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.” (Matthew 21:31)

Jesus condemned Moses’ Law on divorce but excused Moses by saying he responded to the people’s hardness of heart. Today, the choice is up to us: whether to remain hardened in the heart (follow Moses’ instruction; obtain a certificate of divorce from the court) or to embrace Jesus’ stance on Marriage (take the path of sacrifice, remain with our spouses through thick and thin, remove divorce an option). Anyone who still wants to go with Moses today is not yet a Christian.

Job was not privileged to attend the meeting where his matter was discussed. Little did he know that his unfortunate circumstance was not coincidental. Job had no idea that he was being tested. Yet, he passed the test. We are told: “In all these, Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.” Job’s success came from his childlike attitude and his willingness to accept things as they are.

Children who grow up without any idea of God end up becoming spiritually deficient. Let your children come to God. Take them to Sunday School. Let them participate in the catechism class. For many of us, those things we learnt in catechism as children sustain our Christian faith to this day. Those who say: “I don’t want to indoctrinate my child. I want the child to grow up and decide for himself whether or not to believe in God or follow religion”, always end up having social media carry out negative indoctrination for them.

God’s kingdom does not operate like our human empires where might is right, where the poor, the weak, and the little ones are trampled underfoot. The principle of greatness before God is not how much money you have or what you have achieved in life. No. The principle of greatness in God’s sight is humility and service. Jesus says: “He who is greatest among you shall be your servant.” (Matthew 23:11)

Telling lies is very bad. Telling lies in God’s name is even worse. This is because when you claim to have received a message from God, and it turns out that the message was false, you make God look like a liar. For this, Hananiah died that year. Many so-called men of God “prophesied” great and wonderful things about this country on New Year’s Day. How many of such prophecies happened? Either they did not hear well when God spoke, or they did not hear from God

Jesus’ behaviour shows us that listening to God’s word supersedes family responsibility. In other words, if your parents (family members) are calling you and God is also calling you, answer God first before answering your parents. Jesus is not against family members, but He recognises that sometimes, those we love may act as obstacles to God’s will. On occasions when we have to choose between God and family, Jesus says: “God first.”

As a child, I never doubted God. It was very easy to believe everything I was told. The biblical stories made sense to me because I could see their lessons. Even though I had no evidence, I never asked: “Did that really happen?” The stories were real to me as long as I could imagine them. We must have this attitude about God’s kingdom: a deep sense of humility, the willingness to learn, never claiming to know more than one’s teacher, and a readiness to follow instructions to the letter with a sense of trust in God.

Reflecting on the life of Prophet Elijah, St. James concludes, "The prayer of a righteous person has great power in its effects.” It is not enough to spend a whole night praying; pay attention to what you do when you are not praying (daily life activities) and strive for righteousness.

Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to the temple to do what the law prescribed. They knew that Jesus is God, yet they obeyed the law, presenting God to God. In other words, they knew there was no need to bring the baby Jesus to the temple, but in humility (not wanting to appear like the special ones in their community), they followed the law.

Even if you are not involved, blame yourself. Ask these questions: “What if it is my fault that so and so happened? Where did I go wrong? What should I have done better?” These questions are particularly helpful if you are determined not to repeat the mistakes of others.