DAILY HOMILIES #Jesus

Don’t be foolish and cheat yourself by staying away from Holy Communion. Let your desire to receive Holy Communion daily become your greatest motivation to live above sin, avoid temptations, have a pure heart, and study the Bible. The more Communion you receive, the stronger you become spiritually, and the fewer temptations overpower you.

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.

Since there are no perfect humans, and Jesus says divorce is not an option, how can couples find joy in marriage? The answer is forgiveness. Forgive quickly. St. Paul would say: “Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26-27). If couples learn to forgive each other seventy times seven times, marriages would be blissful.

The first step Jesus recommends is to “go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone.” (Matthew 18:15). Note that this is a reconciliatory move; Jesus did not say go and quarrel (fight, insult, pour out your anger, or beat them up), He said ‘go and point out the fault.’ The person may not even be aware they have offended you. We often assume people know what they are doing, but the reverse is the case. This is why Jesus prayed for his killers, saying: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34).

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)

Aim for perfection. It is better to avoid offending others than insisting on your rights. Some wars are not worth fighting. You may be right, but sometimes, it is wiser to make peace than to stoke the fires of war. Jesus could have argued with the tax collectors or forced them to believe in His Divinity, but He chose the more convincing option: He worked a miracle to pay the tax. He did something only God could do: ask Peter to catch a fish with a coin.

Why do we quickly forget what God has done in the past when our expectations are unmet? Why do we abandon our admiration, faith, and devotion when our prayers are not granted? Bitterness, whether against God, others, or ourselves, dries up our faith. We stop seeing the brighter side of our situation and begin to wish for or expect only the worst. Every day is not Christmas Day; Life is a symphony of good and bad days.

That God is a God of the second chance is again revealed in His willingness to entrust great responsibilities to us despite his full knowledge of our human weaknesses. Jesus knew how fragile Peter’s faith was and how rash he could be in thinking, yet he made him the first pope. “You are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my Church.” (Matthew 16:18).

Why did this woman refuse to give up? What made her pass Jesus’ test? This is a woman who has suffered in the past. She knew that pride wouldn’t get you anything. Learn to be humble. Don’t interpret everything as an insult; you never can tell if the so-called insult is just a test. Maturity begins when you start seeing insult as education. No matter how highly placed you think we are, there will always be someone with something you lack. Never look down on anyone.

The Transfiguration was an eye-opening experience for Peter, James, and John that convinced them beyond doubt and strengthened their Faith. This experience can be likened to the case of Thomas after touching Jesus’ resurrected body. “My Lord and my God.” (John 20:26). After witnessing the Transfiguration, Peter, in today’s Second Reading, confessed: “It was not any cleverly invented myths that we were repeating when we brought you the knowledge and power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:16).

If the only reason you are in church today is to ask God for bread (material blessings that can pass away), then you are not different from the crowds who wanted Jesus to feed them again because they were hungry. Jesus disappointed the crowds – He refused to feed them the second time. Seeking God for bread alone brings disappointment.

Prophesying is not the same as giving a merely motivational speech. There is an aspect of prophecy that causes discomfort to its listeners. Preaching truth takes work. Anyone determined to take this path must be prepared for death.