FR REMI HOMILIES/REFLECTIONS AND SERMONS

Do not be a bad influence to others-Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola-Homily for Monday of the 17th week in ordinary time  31st July 2023   After the successful exodus from Egypt, and having encamped at the foot of Mount Sinai, the mountain of the Lord. The next thing therefore was to seal the relationship God established with the Israelites, hence He summoned Moses  to go up the mountain and collect these written guides.    Unfortunately, before Moses could return from collecting The Law, the Israelites had already contravened the same Law, by convincing Aaron to mould for them a golden calf to worship as their god, simply because as they said; Moses was “delaying” at Mount Sinai. Aaron, in order not to offend them, obliged and asked the women to submit their jewelries, and they did. From those jewelries, Aaron fashioned for them a golden calf to whom they paid homage and served as their god.     Today, we read about the consequence of the action of the Israelites, as well as the con

The Best decision for Greatness-HOMILY FOR THE SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A 30th July 2023 1Kings 3:5.7-12; Ps.119; Rom.8:28-30; Matthew 13:44-52  _O Lord, how I love your law_ (Ps.119:97a) The Best decision for Greatness The intentions of a man’s heart can only be judged from the choices he makes. From the decisions of a person, the personality of the person can be deciphered. The readings of today dwell on decision making. As free agents, we are familiar with making decisions; but we may not have carefully thought out the governing propensity of our decisions and this has often made us not to have a good grasp of the consequences of our actions. People continue to make decisions whose consequences they abhor with all their strength. They continue to make such decisions while expecting a different result. Since such expectation can never be met, they become frustrated, blame it on others or on God. So, the pertinent questions before us today are: what are your expectatio

Do not be dismayed: Trust God still-HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE SIXTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR I STS. MARTHA MARY AND LAZARUS) Exodus 24:3-8; Ps.50; John 11:19-27 Do not be dismayed: Trust God still Today we celebrate the memorial of Sts. Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Not much is said of them in the scripture. In today’s gospel, the faith of Martha and Mary was instrumental in the raising of their brother Lazarus back to life. First they believed that Jesus is able to heal the sick and so when Lazarus was sick, they sent message to Jesus for him to come heal his friend. The statement of Martha and Mary “Lord if you have been here my brother would not have died”, showed that Jesus was expected to have arrived earlier than he actually did. Truly, message was sent to Jesus when Lazarus was sick, for him to come and heal him. The obvious delay of Jesus did not upset Martha and Mary or make them hostile to Jesus for coming “late”. They could have welcomed Jesus with a countenance filled wi

The Obedient shall be Fruitful-HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE SIXTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 28TH JULY 2023 Exodus 20:1-17; Ps.19; Matthew 13:18-23 We have all had experiences of Divine intervention in our lives and in the lives of those we know. But we may need to ponder if those experiences should simply die in the past and be overtaken by events. From the first reading of today, we realize that every experience of Divine intervention is God’s invitation to us to share in his life. Whatever God does for us is geared towards enabling us become more like Him. And so, in the first reading of today, the Lord first introduced himself as the Lord who miraculously brought the Israelites out of Egypt. This introduction was so necessary so that the Israelites will learn that their miraculous exit from Egypt was not an event to be forgotten with time. The miracle first speaks of God assuring love for them and it also indicates that they have some responsibilities towards this love. God therefore ga

The Secrets of the kingdom of Heaven!-HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE SIXTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 27TH JULY 2023 Exodus 19:1-2.9-11.16-20b; Daniel 3; Matthew 13:10-17 The Secrets of the kingdom of Heaven! The will of God is that all men should be saved. But this will respects the freewill of every individual. God brings about the salvation of man through interaction/encounter. In the Incarnation, God fully and substantially encountered man in his existential condition. In the first reading of today, the Lord expressed this innate desire for the salvation of humanity through encounter. He said to Moses: “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak, and may also believe you for ever”. Here, we find that the Lord wanted to be heard not only by Moses but also by the people. But the phrase: “and may also believe you forever”, suggests that the Lord does not intend to always speak to the people in this manner. Subsequently, He wants to speak to them thro

Tenets of Parenting-HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE SIXTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR I (STS. JOACHIM AND ANNE 26TH JULY 2023 Ex.16:1-5.9-15; Ps.78; Matthew 13:1-9 Tenets of Parenting Today, we celebrate the memorial of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Clearly no reference is made to them in the scripture. That does not mean that they are unimportant; rather it goes to show that everything is not in the Bible. The bible is not a historical book but an account of God’s gradual revelation of himself and man’s growing attempts to behold this revelation. However, Jesus says that it is from the fruits that a tree is known. We celebrate this couple for their obvious good work in training a child that God found worthy of being His mother. It is not the case that it was the training that they gave the Blessed Virgin Mary that qualified her to be the mother of God; rather, by bringing her up in uprightness, they  cooperated with the grace of God in her life. The su

A Wounded Healer-HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE SIXTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (FEAST OF ST. JAMES 25TH JULY 2023 2Cor.4:7-15; Ps.125; Matthew 20:20-28 A Wounded Healer Every good thing comes from God. To maintain this consciousness in men, God continues to use weak but docile vessels to carry out his mission. Today we celebrate the feast of St. James the greater. His first encounter with Jesus was when Jesus called him and his brother to himself and they obeyed, leaving their father Zebedee and their fishing occupation. It was a movement from the known to the unknown (sacrifice of comfort), as it is typical of every call of God. In the gospel reading, the Mother of James and John brought the children and asked for privileged seats in the kingdom that Jesus was going to establish. Although Jesus does not exactly grant this request, James and John together with Peter were already close companions of Jesus as shown in the cure of Peter’s mother-in-law (Mark 1:29-31), the raising of Jairus’ d

Desist from using others!-HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 16TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 24TH JULY 2023 Exodus 14:5-18; Ex.15; Matthew 12:38-42 Desist from using others! The readings of today call us to re-evaluate the basis of our relationship with others. The basis on which Christ instructed that we relate with one another is Love. If we are not loving one another, then whatever we are doing with the other person does not please God. In the first reading of today, Pharaoh and the Egyptians could not bear the thought of the absence of the Israelites. They couldn’t imagine themselves doing the dirty jobs they had enslaved the Israelites to do for them. Even though Pharaoh had asked the Israelites to go (after the tenth plague), he changed his mind and pursed them. They wanted the Israelites back, not to love them but to use them; not to feed them but to milk; not to cater for their welfare but to enslave them. Likewise in the gospel reading, Jesus refer to the Scribes and the Pharisees as “an evi

The Wheat and the weeds in our Hearts-HOMILY FOR THE 16TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 23RD JULY 2023 Wisdom 12:13.16-19; Ps.86; Rom.8:26-27; Matthew 13:24-43  _Let both grow together until the harvest_ (Lk.13:30a) The Wheat and the weeds in our Hearts Last Sunday, when Jesus told the parable of the sower whose seeds fell on different soils, it seemed as though the only obstruction to fruitfulness is when our hearts are not fertile soils for the seed of God’s Word to germinate. If we are not fertile, we cannot be fruitful; but when we are fertile, the battle against fruitlessness is not yet over. In the gospel reading of today, Jesus first tells a parable to draw our attention to yet another battle we must face, even as fertile soils, in order to be fruitful. The parable is a clear admittance to the reality of evil and its co-existence with the good. The problem of evil is not just that evil exists, but especially that it tends to co-habit with the good, causing tension. This was exemplifie

True Love Perseveres-HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 15TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (FEAST OF ST. MARY MAGDALENE 22ND JULY 2023 Song of Solomon 3:1-4ab; Ps.63; John 20:1-2, 11-18 True Love Perseveres There is this popular saying that: in prosperity your friends know you but in adversity you know your friends. Today, we celebrate the person of Mary Magdalene, one that Jesus knew as a friend in his time of “adversity”. The death of Jesus meant “the end of the road” for all his followers. This is because, no one anticipated His Resurrection, even though he had indirectly spoken about it. Yet, in this seemingly hopelessness, Mary Magdalene will still stay with the Lord in the grave. What a depth of pure love she demonstrated! In the state of hopelessness and fear as to what will become of Jesus’ followers, Mary Magdalene did not go into hiding or think of embarking on a new course in life. If at all she was disappointed that Jesus died without accomplishing what they expected of him (establishment

The Sign of Christianity-HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 15TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 21ST JULY 2023 Exodus 11:10-12:14; Ps.116; Matthew 12:1-8 The Sign of Christianity In the first reading of today, the Lord gave clear instructions to Moses and Aaron for the Israelites. Amongst the things that the Israelites will do, the Lord asked that they smeared their door posts and the lintel of their houses with the blood of the lamb whose meat they will eat with their household. The Lord said that any house that is smeared with the blood of the lamb will be spared when He (the Lord) shall go round striking the first born of man and animal in the land of Egypt. Since the instruction was given to the Israelites, it was to ensure that only the Egyptians suffer the death of their first born. The question now is this: does an omnipotent God need the mark of blood smeared on door post to differentiate the houses of the Israelites from those of the Egyptians? Was God so much dependent on the marking of blood s

HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 15TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Exodus 3:13-20; Ps.105; Matthew 11:28-30 God’s Time The suffering of the Israelites in the land of Egypt started before the birth of Moses. Invariably, their cry to God for redemption had begun before Moses was born. Yet it was not until Moses was born and grown into a man that was old enough to marry, that God chose to come to the aid of the suffering Israelites. Speaking through Moses, God said to the Israelites: “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt”. This means that from the very beginning of their cry, God heard them but He had his own plan and his own timing. We may not be able to understand why God chose to delay for so long a time. However, the Lord said: “I promise that I will bring you up out of affliction in Egypt”. This means that though in our eyes and calculations, the Lord may seem to delay, in the final analysis, he will not fail to come to our aid. Usually, we will associate delay with disappoi

HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 15TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Exodus 3:1-6, 9-12; Ps.103; Matthew 11:25-27 Victory through Holiness It is easier to identify a problem than solve it. While it may take just a keen observation to identify a problem, it takes more to remedy the situation. Moses grew up in the palace of Pharaoh; maybe because he was brought up by his mother, he understood that he does not belong there; he realized that the oppressed were actually his people. Having identified the problem of his people, he attempted remedying the situation. The first reading of yesterday records Moses’ failure in this regard. Infact, it landed him into trouble that he had to run for his life. In today’s first reading, we read of the call of Moses. God was calling Moses to do the very thing Moses wanted to always do – the liberation of the Israelites. As typical of every Divine call, Moses initially objected to this mission. Tomorrow we will read the full content of Moses’ objection. In the call of

Homily for Tuesday of the 15th week in ordinary time  Exodus 2:1-15a; Ps.69; Matthew 11:20-24 Never forget where you truly belong The will of God is that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. The ultimate definition of salvation is to enjoy eternal bliss with God in heaven after our sojourn here on earth. Therefore, God’s desire for all men is that we all live in this world with the consciousness that this world is not our permanent abode. This desire, constitutes the thrust of the mission of every servant of God. By virtue of our baptism, God calls us and entrusts us with the task of constantly reminding others that this world is not our permanent home. Therefore, for one to be an effective evangelizer, the person must first be heavenly conscious. This consciousness, though in a crude form, was very much in Moses as we see in the first reading of today. In his upbringing, the words of the psalmist in Ps.23:5a was fulfilled: “You prepare a banquet for me in the prese

Homily for Monday of the 15th week in ordinary time  Exodus 1:8-14.22; Ps.124; Matthew 10:34-11:1 Gratitude and Envy! One observation about some individuals that is intriguing is their ability to easily forget the good that was done to them yesterday; at the same time, they are able to remember the wrong melted against them years ago. One may begin to wonder if the human memory is wired to perfectly keep scores of wrongs but quickly forget acts of kindness. The truth is, this contradictory abilities is common with ungrateful and envious hearts. An ungrateful and envious person does not care about what to be grateful for, but is so concerned about what to get for himself, especially through covetousness. In the first reading of today, we encounter a new king of Egypt who was ungrateful and envious. It is said that he did not know Joseph. Not knowing Joseph here, means that he did not care about the salvific role Joseph played in the history of the Egyptians; for if not for Joseph, the s

Homily for 15th Sunday in ordinary time Isaiah 55:10-11; Ps.65; Rom.8:18-23; Matthew 13:1-23  _The seed that fell into good soil yielded a hundredfold_ (Lk.8:8a) What type of soil have I become? God did not create a world and abandon it; He continues to affect the affairs of men and order the working principles of the world. God intervenes in the world through His Word. If God is able to intervene in the world of men through spoken Word, it means that the spoken Word of God is not ordinary or empty. God’s Word is alive and active; having the capacity to bring about positive transformation. The power of the Word has always been, for by the Word, the world was created; by the Word, the Trinity was invoked in the creation of man; by the Word, the world was saved when it had entangled itself to the clutches of sin and death. By the Word, Jesus instituted the sacraments through which he continues to remain with us, imparting us with supernatural grace. The point here is: the Word of God is

Homily for Saturday of the 14th week in ordinary time  Genesis 49:29-32;50:15-26a; Ps.105; Matthew 10:24-33 Peace of Mind is Priceless! The first reading of today demands so much attention and reflection. The matter is about the gift of forgiveness Joseph gave to the brothers. Yesterday we reflected on how Joseph himself benefited from this forgiveness in the reunion between him and his aged father. Joseph’s brothers have always known how much Joseph and his father loved each other; infact, this was one of the reasons they hated him. For them, Joseph is forgiving them simply because of their father. Infact, they believed that Joseph had not forgiven them. So, when their father Jacob died, they thought that the reason for Joseph’s tolerance of them was gone; which means that Joseph will not deal cruelly with them. To show how much their fear was, they had to lie with their father’s name that he had requested as his death wish that Joseph should forgive the transgression of his brothers.

HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 14TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Genesis 46:1-7.28-30; Ps.37; Matthew 10:16-23 You gain from forgiving others In the first reading of yesterday, we read of how Joseph forgave his brothers who did not just do him evil but went as far as orchestrating his death. We learnt from Joseph how not to fight those who offended us with the victory God has given us. So, the first definition of forgiveness is not revenging wrongs done to us. Interestingly, another definition is that forgiveness is a gift one primarily gives himself, not the offender. When we forgive, we are first doing ourselves a favour before any other person. This truth is clearly demonstrated in the first reading of today. Today, we see the positive effects of Joseph’s forgiveness and how Joseph himself was a major beneficiary of the effects. First, because Joseph has forgiven his brothers, it became possible for Joseph’s father, Israel, to move down with his entire family to Egypt. This would mean that they

Homily for Thursday of the 14th week in ordinary time  Gen.44:18-21, 23b-29; 45:1-5; Ps.105; Matthew 10:7-15 Trust God and Forgive Joseph finally revealed himself to his brothers in the first reading of today. The brothers could not recognize him but he could recognize them. They must have been dismayed by the fact that their effort to prevent the young Joseph’s dream from actualizing, was in futility. They must have also been wearied by the fact that their evil deeds intended for Joseph, ended up bringing great pain and sorrow to their father, which they never anticipated. They must have also been dumbfounded that even before revealing himself to them, Joseph is not enraged to want to revenge the evil they have done to him. What is most intriguing was how Joseph understood the whole situation. If he had understood it as a failed attempt to victimize him, he may have been thinking towards repaying them for their evil deeds. But Joseph saw the action of his brothers as God’s special way

Homily for Wednesday of the 14th week in ordinary time  Genesis 41:55-57; 42:5-7a,17-24a. Psalm 33:2-3,10-11,18-19. Matthew 10:1-7. The story of what led Joseph to the position of the  second in command to Pharaoh in Egypt is a clear indication of the fact that no one can obstruct the plans of God in one's life. God has a mission for everyone, and that mission must be fulfilled. The dreams of Joseph to attain greatness while his brothers were bowing to him came to reality in the first reading. "And Joseph's brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground" (Gen.42:6). As the brothers plotted for this dream not to be fulfilled, they never knew they were working according to God's plan. God sent Joseph ahead of them to prepare them from not dying in hunger as a result of the famine all over the world, which led them to Egypt to buy food. In all that happened to them in the presence of Joseph, they were quick to see the hand of God in Jose

Homily for Tuesday of the 14th week in ordinary time  Genesis 32:23-33; Ps.17; Matthew 9:32-38 Dedication makes the Labourer At the ending part of the gospel reading of today, Jesus asked his disciples to pray to God to send more labourers into his harvest, for the harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few. When we consider the beginning part of the gospel, we come to realize that the “fewness” of the labourers was not in terms of number but in the matter of dedication. So, Jesus was not asking the disciples to pray to God for more labourers (in terms of number) but for God to raise more dedicated men and women who will be labourers in true sense of the word. It therefore means that without dedication, a labourer is no labourer in the sight of God. Applying this principle to the large facet of life, it implies that we are truly what we are only when we are committed to what we are. Our identity is not subsumed in nomenclatures but in our level of commitment to a noble cause. A Chr

Homily for Monday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time.  Genesis 28:10-22a. Psalm 91:1-2,3-4ab,14-15ab. Matthew 9:18-26. In the first reading, we have the dream of Jacob. In this dream, there was a divine intervention given to him through God's angels ascending and descending the ladder. This image signifies a divine sanctuary through which heaven and earth are connected. The dream also signifies that God is not far from his people. Rather, He is a God who can be accessed and reached. We see this reflected in today's Gospel in the healing of the woman who had suffered haemorrhage for twelve years and the raising of the daughter of the ruler back to life in today's Gospel. The woman with haemorrhage approached Jesus with faith. Many people touched Jesus. What made the difference in the touch of this woman was that she touched Jesus with faith. She said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I shall be made well" (Matt.9:21). In the second miracle, Jesus shows his a

HOMILY FOR THE 14TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Zechariah 9:9-10; Ps.145; Rom.8:9.11-13; Matthew 11:25-30  _You are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God really dwells in you_ (Rom.8:9) The Reign of God Ordinarily, no one cares for or loves a child more than the parents. That is why a child is always happy to behold the return of the parents even though he or she may have been under the care of another. It is this joy that the liturgy of today calls us to experience because the Lord comes to reign over us. The readings of today talk about the reign of God and the effects of this reign both around and in us. In the first reading, Zechariah asked the people to rejoice because their king is coming. He used the phrase: “your king comes to you”. The one who comes belongs to us. This belongingness is God’s love for us; and so, we rejoice that at last we are in the safest of hands. God does not care for us as his leisure activity but as his primarily responsibility. Zechar

HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 13TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Genesis 27:1-5,15-29; Ps.135; Matthew 9:14-17 Trust God to fulfil His Promises The first reading of today leaves us with so much to wonder about. Rebecca and the son, Jacob plotted against Esau and deceived Isaac in order to steal from Isaac the blessing he intended for Esau. Even as we may frown at such height of injustice, it is even more surprising that God seemed to answer the prayer of Isaac over Jacob. Ordinarily, one would have expected God to either expose the deceptive plot of Rebecca and Jacob or refuse to grant the prayer of Isaac since he was deceived. Well, God was only sticking to His plan. In Genesis chapter 25:21-23, Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife when she had no child. God heard his prayer. When the children in her womb struggled together, Rebecca consulted the Lord and the Lord said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will be born of you; one nation will be stronger than the other, and the

HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 13TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Genesis 23:14,19;24:1-8,62-67; Ps.106; Matthew 9:9-13 The strong need to support the weak Yesterday, we saw that God understands us best and always gives us what is most important. In today’s gospel, Jesus saw Matthew but not as others did. While others saw him as a tax collector who joined forces with the Roman Government to oppress the people and who would also increase the people’s tax for his personal gain, Jesus saw a candidate for conversion. Because, Jesus saw Matthew differently, he acted differently towards him: Jesus called him. Jesus called him not to condole his vices but to transform him. When the Pharisees saw this, their attention was focused on the sinfulness of Matthew and not on the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Their complaint rather revealed that they did not have a good understanding of who Jesus is and what he can do. They knew that Jesus is capable of performing miracles but they never knew that he could also c

HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 13TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Genesis 22:1b-19; Ps.115; Matthew 9:1-8 God understands us best The love of God far surpasses the love of men. In today’s gospel, Jesus attended to the paralytic man in the order of importance. The people around only understood the man to be paralyzed. Bringing him to Jesus, they expected Jesus to make him walk. Their understanding of the problem influenced their expectation. True to the words of scripture in Isaiah 55:8-9 that God’s ways and thoughts far exceeds that of man, Jesus understood the paralytic’s situation more holistically. The man was not just paralyzed, he was in need of salvation. His situation was as a result of sin. And so, the forgiveness of sins was first and most important. Sin cannot be thought to produce lesser effect in man today. How often do we consider our standing with God when trying to find solutions to our problems? In his book titled “Called to Act in Persona Christi: Reflections on Priestly life and

HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 13TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Genesis 21:5, 8-20a; Ps.34; Matthew 8:28-34 Be Kind – God always Provide The birth of Isaac was clearly an extraordinary work of Divine Grace in the life of Abraham and Sarah. While this grace was gratuitously given, all the while, it has been Abraham who has been interacting with God, who pleased God through his faith and righteousness, and who was promised a child through Sarah; a child through whom Abraham will become the father of many nations. From the action of Sarah in today’s first reading, its either she never understood how the Lord had been journeying with them or she was simply greedy. She was displeased that her son Isaac was playing with Abraham’s son from their slave woman Hagar. For Sarah, such close interaction will amount to the slave woman’s son sharing Abraham’s property with her son Isaac. Now, Abraham was very rich; but Sarah wanted everything for her son alone, not minding that the other child was Abraham’s a

HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 13TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Genesis 19:15-29; Ps.26; Matthew 8:23-27 The Presence of Jesus Usually, soldiers command great respect from people because of what they are known for. You can find a driver arguing with a policeman who is trying to control traffic; but no driver will want to try that with a soldier even when the soldier may look so calm. The mere fact that one is a soldier attracts a fierce expectation. How awesome it will be if we esteem God’s presence in our midst in such manner. When people express doubt about God or move from place to place in search of miracles, they are not oblivious of the fact that God is omnipresent; they are only looking for where he is “active” not merely “present”. The disciples of Christ, in today’s gospel reading, seem to fall into this situation. A great storm arose such that the boat was being swamped by the waves. Being a life threatening event, every possible solution must have been sought to remedy the situation. S

Homily for Monday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time. Feast of St. Thomas (Apostle).  Ephesians 2:19-22. Psalm 117:1,2. John 20:24-29. We celebrate the feast of St. Thomas, the Apostle today. According to tradition, he came to India, established Christian communities especially in Kerala, and then went to Tamil Nadu and was martyred in Chennai. In the Gospels, we owe to St. John, whatever we know about the Apostle Thomas. The other evangelists only mention his name when they draw the list of the twelve Apostles (cf. Matt.10:2; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15). St. Thomas was a dedicated but impetuous follower of Christ. When Jesus said that, He was returning to Judea to visit his sick friend, Lazarus, Thomas immediately exhorted the other Apostles to accompany him on the trip (cf. John 11:16). At the last supper, when Christ told his Apostles that He was going to prepare a place for them to which they also might come because they knew both the place and the way, Thomas pleaded that they did not un

HOMILY FOR THE THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A 2Kings 4:8-11.14-16a; Ps.89; Rom.6:3-4.8-11; Matthew 10:37-42  _He who receives you receive me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me_ (Matt.10:40) A Prophet’s Reward The gospel reading of today is the concluding part of Matthew chapter 10. The entire chapter contains the mission statement of Jesus. This mission statement is basically in two parts: first, it contains how the disciples must minister to the people. Jesus asked the disciples to preach that the kingdom of heaven is near. He gave them authority to work signs. All these they must do without placing a charge. To keep them focused, he further instructed them not to be concerned about their basic necessities of life. Not because these needs will not arise but because the second part of the mission statement assigns the meeting of these needs as the responsibility of the people towards the minister. It therefore means that this mission statement is not meant for