Holy Week 2019 - Monday - His Holy Feet

What a beautiful, intimate, tender, moment, we’ve just heard described on this Monday of the Holiest Week of the year, when Mary anoints the feet of Jesus, and washes them with her hair.

In ancient Israel, anointing was usually used for rituals of elevating one's status, such as anointing the head of one becoming a priest, prophet, or king. Priests, prophets, and kings were anointed to show that they had a special task from God. The word ‘Christ’ is the Greek Word for anointed one. Jesus is the Christ, the one anointed for the ultimate mission of human redemption.

Anointing was also done at burial. Not just the head, but the entire body would be anointed with oil.
Here in Bethany, neither Jesus’ head nor his entire body was anointed, but only his feet. Why his feet? Perhaps simply as an act of devotion and love. Perhaps Mary falls at Jesus’ feet as one would fall at the feet of a King, to show her belief that he is Christ the King.

But perhaps also to draw our attention to his Holy Feet. So that we would watch where his feet trod this Holy Week. His feet which trod the Via Crucis, the way of the cross. His feet which trod the hot and dusty roads of the Holy Land to bring the Good News to the poor, now blaze a path for his disciples to follow. His feet are pierced for our offenses.

It is at his feet, the Mary chose the better portion. Rather, than becoming busy with the things of the world, like her sister Martha, Mary sat at Jesus’ feet to listen to him, to learn from him. And unlike her sister, Martha, who complained about the odor that would come from the tomb, Mary’s anointing of Jesus’ feet fills the house with the fragrance of love and devotion.

Through the Lord’s willingness to walk the path of obedience to his Father’s Will, It is his feet which will crush the head of the ancient serpent. Because of his faithfulness, St. Paul says “God put everything under His feet.”

Sometimes as Christians, we are called to walk down paths that are terrifying, the flesh often abhors the road of the spirit, our feet want to run away from sacrifice and penance, run away from the stranger calling out for help. But as members of the Body of Christ, we are called to walk where he walked, follow where he leads, and perhaps be the feet that crushes Satan still at work in the world.
This Holy Week may our adoration of His Holy Feet, help us to walk where he has walked, to follow Him all the way to the cross, in subjection of our whole lives to His Holy Rule for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For increased faith and understanding in the catechumens and candidates who approach the sacraments of initiation in the coming Paschal Solemnity.

That those in need may find assistance in the charity of faithful Christians and that peace and security may be firmly established in all places.

For strength to resist temptation, and the humility to sincerely repent of sin.

That through fasting and self-denial, we may be ever more conformed to Christ.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.

Homily: Thursday - 28th Week in OT 2016 - Chosen by God

For the rest of the month, we’ll be making our way through the St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Ephesians is the most eloquent of the letters attributed to St. Paul and contains rich theological passages. In a way, Ephesians is to the epistles what John is to the Gospels: the most mystical, profound, and universal of them all.

Paul probably wrote Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon from prison in Rome around 60 or 62 AD. Ephesians seems to be addressed, not simply to the Christians in the city of Ephesus, but to all the Christians in that region. It’s a sort of encyclical, a letter meant to be circulated to the churches in the region of Asia minor.

Paul spent about three years in Ephesus, longer than anywhere else after beginning his missionary work. The investment of time in Ephesus was strategic: it was the fourth largest city in the Roman Empire, numbering about two hundred thousand people, it was a center of commerce, the capital of Asia minor, and was famous for its large and beautiful temple to the Goddess Artemis, which was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Besides worshiping Artemis, the Ephesians had temples to Caesar and an assortment to other deities.

In this letter, Paul is going to argue that Christ is bigger than all these false gods. Christ is the main focus of the letter: who Christ is, what he has done for humanity, how he calls his followers to unity, how Christ’s followers become beloved children of God, and therefore must live holy and righteous lives, how the members of the Church form the body of Christ, the Church, of which Christ is the head.

Again, Ephesians is a beautiful, rich letter, that you would do well to read in one setting sometime in the next few days, in order to get a sense of the whole letter, and what Paul was trying to accomplish in writing it.

We heard today the opening of the letter, Paul greets the Ephesians in a greeting which we continue to use 2000 years later in our celebration of mass: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul then offers fervent praise to God for his generosity toward those redeemed by the blood of Christ.

He reminds the church, you have been chosen by God. You and I brothers and sisters have been chosen, destined, by God himself, to live a holy life. A people who do not give in to the profane ways of acting and thinking from the surrounding culture. The way we act, the way we speak, the way we treat other people is to be different. Although, each of us have our own shortcomings, we have been chosen to make Christ known by the way we live: in our joyous singing, in our lifting up our hands in praise of God, by our charity towards others, through our sharing with others the good news of God’s kindness and love, in our quiet meditation, and humble prayer on bended-knee.

Reflect deeply on what it means to be chosen by God, and cooperate with God’s grace to become worthy of that great destiny, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.