DAILY HOMILIES #Life

Do not be afraid to embrace hard times. These are moments of planting. “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.” (Psalm 126:5-6). It takes self-discipline (tears) to sow holiness and good habits but the harvest is always pleasant.

There is nothing in this life worth killing another person for. Nothing. Today’s first reading is worth pondering to anyone involved in Yahoo Plus (ritual killing) and those considering it. What will you gain by taking another person’s life? Everything in this world is just a mere breath. You will get tired of everything one day. You may even become irritated with money. Meanwhile, you can never replace the life you have taken.

Dear friends, if all that Jesus came to do for us was to provide for our material needs, why did Jesus allow the crowds to leave Him? If all that Jesus came to do was to remove poverty from our lives, why did He say we would always have the poor among us? (Cf. Matthew 26:11). Do not make the mistake of this crowd. Let it never be that you only worship God for the passing things of this Life. As St. Paul says: “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

Jesus is inviting us to invest in eternity and live in such a manner as to be worthy of heaven after our death. If you do not attain heaven, everything else is useless. Regardless of one’s length of days or riches attained, without heaven, one has only lived a wasted life. Go to the graveyard; you will observe that you cannot tell the difference between those who lived in affluence and those who barely survived. What truly matters is where we spend eternity; it is neither how much we gather nor how much we leave for our children. To die in a state of disconnect with God is the worst kind of death.

Jesus asked: “Who touched me?” The disciples did not understand the question because there were hundreds of people around Jesus. Anyone could have touched Him, but not everyone had the faith to draw a miracle from Him. The church is packed full. Everyone is touching Jesus, but only those who touch with faith will go home with miracles.

Accept people the way they are. Stop trying to change your spouse, your children or anyone at all. Everybody is unique; no two persons (not even identical twins) can think or behave alike. There will always be something you don’t like about someone, and you can do nothing to change that.

Today, Jesus distinguishes the shepherd from the thief. The thief does not enter by the door but climbs another way (jumps the fence). Did I get into power through legitimate channels or “snatching, grabbing and running away with the ballot box”? Secondly, another quality of the thief is their intention. Am I in power to help the sheep (give them life) or steal from them? Is my continued stay in power destroying my sheep?

Lent is finally over. Am I also in haste to move on with my life? No more Stations of the Cross, no more fasting and abstinence. Am I going to return to my old habits and vices? Mary Magdalene refused to move on. Her actions proved she was a true friend of Jesus. She was among the Women of Jerusalem who wept for Jesus while the crowd cheered and mocked, but when others moved on, she went to the tomb early in the morning

This is the night that, even now, throughout the world, sets Christian believers apart from worldly vices and the gloom of sin, leading them to grace and joining them with his holy ones. This is the night Christ broke the prison bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld…

The Jews were determined to kill Jesus (just as Nebuchadnezzar wanted to kill the boys), not knowing that death was not the end but only the beginning of a greater life. The three Hebrew boys entered the fire as slaves of the King, but when they came out of the fiery burning furnace, they became gods to the King. Jesus willingly embraced death on the cross, but when He came out of the fire of death, He shone brightly.

We get to hear about Mary’s pregnancy from Elizabeth's mouth. “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Luke 1:42). Elizabeth introduces Mary to the world as the woman who is blessed among all women. Elizabeth and Angel Gabriel gave us the “Hail Mary” prayer.

In today’s first reading, God says: “O that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your prosperity would have been like a river.” In other words, if only we would trust God enough to keep His commandments, we would find the desired prosperity. Jesus would later throw more light on this point when He said: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you” (Matthew 6:33).