Homily: Fr. Azam - The Healing of Ten Lepers

Homily for the Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

by Fr. Azam Vianney Mansha, CJM - STL

While on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus encountered ten lepers. Often, this Gospel passage is known as the passage of “The Healing of Ten Lepers,” but in reality, this passage reveals the Divinity of Jesus; that is, The Holy One of Israel, the Messiah.

In today’s first reading, we did not hear the full account of Naaman’s healing. In order to get the whole picture of the passage, let’s make a quick review of the fifth chapter of the 2nd Book of Kings. In this chapter, the king of Israel tore his clothes when King Aram sent him a letter to heal Naaman’s disease. The king of Israel said, “Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his skin disease?” (5:6-7). It is not only a cry, but a visible expression of faith of the king that only God can heal the lepers? Upon the action of the king, the prophet Elisha sent him a message, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel” (5:8). The English word prophet has its roots in the Hebrew word “nevi,” which means “the mouth of the Lord.” In other words, Elisha told the king that God is present in Israel and as we heard in the first reading, after his physical healing, the non- believer Naaman confessed, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel” (5:15). It is only the God of Israel who can heal the lepers.

In the passage of the ten lepers, like Naaman, they approached Jesus for healing, and as I said before, we need to go beyond the physical healing of the lepers. Therefore, it would be good to have a quick overview of the Gospel passage in the light of the Old Testament:

First, let’s see the geographical setting: Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, which means that he was somewhere between Galilee and Samaria. In other words, Jesus was not in the Holy City of Jerusalem as the Jews believed that God was always present in the temple.

Second, let’s see the allegorical meaning: Ten lepers approached Jesus. Hebrew is an alpha-numerical language, which means that every number has a corresponding letter. Now when I say “number ten,” what comes to mind? Ten Commandments. Allegorically speaking, these ten lepers represent the Ten Commandments or instructions.

Third, let’s talk about the courage of the lepers to enter the village to meet Jesus. According to the Mosaic Law, lepers were not allowed to enter the village to meet someone because their action would make the other person unclean.

Now, let’s put these three elements together: 1) Jesus is outside of Jerusalem; 2) the ten instructions and the obedience of the lepers show that God can work in our lives as we follow His instructions/commandment; and, 3) the Law of Moses was not meant to put people in a box, but rather, it was given so that through the obedience to God, the faithful can see God in their lives, particularly in their physical healing. Jesus did not come only to give physical healing, but He came so that we can have life and life in abundance (John 10:10).

Just to ask you a quick question: what is the first commandment or instruction? I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before me (Exodus 20) This is what the Samaritan did!!! The first step of obedience is to believe that “God is our Savior.” The Samaritan’s physical healing moved his heart to recognize that he encountered the Holy One of Israel, the Messiah, which we can see in his action: “[The Samaritan leper] fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.” His way of gratitude made him receive salvation as Jesus Himself said, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.” In short, it is through the obedience to Jesus that the ten lepers received their physical healing, and it is through the gratitude of the Samaritan leper that he received salvation.

Is it a joyful moment to praise the Lord when you receive salvation!!! Therefore, let us sing together the following famous Christian song (anonymous):

“Praise him, praise him,

praise him in the morning,

praise him in the noontime.

Praise him, praise him,

praise him when the sun goes down.

Thank him, thank him,

Thank him in the morning,

Thank him in the noontime.

Thank him, thank him,

Thank him when the sun goes down.”

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, the seed of obedience is placed in our hearts through the Sacred Scripture and Sacraments in order to encounter the Messiah in our lives. The fruit of obedience is gratitude, which leads us to receive salvation. As St. Therese of Lisieux teaches us, “Jesus does not ask for great achievements: only [obedience] and gratitude.” Let’s not forget that our complaints, problems and pains will end when gratitude enters our soul.

May Mary, the mother of Jesus, our mother, and the model of obedience and gratitude, intercede for us to be always obedient in listening to Jesus with an attitude of gratitude.

Homily: Fr. Azam - The Passage of the Unworthy Servant

Homily for Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

by Fr. Azam Vianney Mansha, CJM - STL

Today’s Gospel passage is known as “the passage of the unworthy servant.” Quickly reading through it might confuse us, not allowing us to grasp the real meaning of the passage because it shows that the master of the house has no concern for his servant or it seems that the master is hard on his servant. A careful reading of the passage and a reflection on the characters of the servant and his master will lead us to a different perspective and a different title for the Gospel passage.

Let’s look at the character of the servant together. He is hard-working and multi-talented as seen by the way he worked in the farm and upon returning to his master’s house, he also cooked and was willing to serve his master while the master enjoyed his meal. Indeed, we can call today’s Gospel passage “the Passage of the Dutiful Servant.” For all his service, he just said, “We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.” Before we go deeper into the character of the servant, let’s see the character of the master first.

The master owns the farm and the house. Beyond that, we know that he empowers and entrusts all his property to his servant. In other words, he depends on the servant to do many things because he knows his servant has the qualities of being hard-working and multi-talented. Above all, the master empowers and entrusts all that he owns to his servant because the servant is humble and it is through his humility that the servant wins the heart of his master.

Often, our modern society sees humility as weakness, but a man of God, St. John Eudes, tells us that “humility” is the mother of all virtues. This means that “humility” is the foundation of all virtues, which are mercy, meekness, generosity, chastity, temperance, diligence and patience. When we are humble, we bend ourselves to serve others, not with pain, but with great joy.

Indeed, humility brings joy, trust and generosity to our selfish society which does not want to share, but rather, to collect and control. As an example of “humility,” let’s take a look at the mango tree. When a mango tree has fruits, it bends so that people can enjoy its fruits. Just like a mango tree, when we humble ourselves, we bend ourselves to serve others.

There are moments in our lives when we say YES to many things, such as being in the lector ministry; organizing fund-raising projects, soup kitchens, food banks, quinceañera, etc. In addition to these volunteer services in the church, we have our personal life and family life as well. While doing all that, we sometimes feel like we can’t go on anymore. It feels like we’ve hit the bottom of the barrel and we want to quit or want to say NO to certain upcoming events or activities. No doubt, we need to take care of our health, family life and other things, but at the same time, we must not forget our Master, Jesus, will continue to empower us with the Holy Spirit. He entrusts His mission to us because...

Christ has no body but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which He looks, Compassion on this world,

Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good,

Yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,

Yours are the eyes, you are His body.

Christ has no body now but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours (St. Teresa of Ávila-attributed)

Dear sisters and brothers, if we feel overburdened with too much service in the church or serving our poor brothers and sisters, if we get tired and exhausted with our works of mercy, let us not forget that the Divine Master, our Lord Jesus, empowers us and entrusts the mission to us because we are His hands, His feet, His eyes, and His body. It is our act of humility before Jesus that actually opens our hearts to experience Divine Providence because “to be taken with love for a soul, God does not look on its greatness, but the greatness of its humility” (St. John of the Cross). In addition, humility is a fuel which leads us towards heaven because “it was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men [& women] as angels (St. Augustine of Hippo).

May Mary, the mother of Jesus and our mother, intercede for us to be more humble in order to become the hands, the feet, the eyes and the body of our Divine Master, Jesus Christ.

Homily: Fr. Azam - The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus

Homily for 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

by Fr. Azam Vianney Mansha, CJM - STL

Today’s Gospel passage is known as “The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.” This parable represents the two standards of living in our society, and that is, being rich and being poor; it also tells about the two states of our next world, and that is, hell and heaven.

Let’s begin with the rich man who was blessed with so many things, allowing him to live a very comfortable life. He did not kill; he did not break any law; he did not complain to Lazarus by saying, “Why are you staying close to my table and sleeping in front of my house?” He did not even complain about Lazarus eating his leftover food. So what’s wrong with him that he was sent to the place of fire? Before we see that, let’s quickly see the character of poor Lazarus.

Among all the parables of Jesus, Lazarus is the only character who has been given a proper name. His name stands for “God is my help.” The parable tells us that Lazarus was sick, weak, jobless, helpless and living on scraps of food. His name actually tells us that he depended on God. In other words, his poverty, sickness and dependency actually brought him close to God. In the same manner, God was close to Lazarus as seen by how God associates Himself with the poor in the Holy Bible. I believe you remember one of the famous Gospel songs that goes (Robert Kochis):

Whatsoever you do to the least of my people, that you do unto me. When I was hungry, you gave me to eat; When I was thirsty, you gave me to drink. Now enter into the home of My Father. Whatsoever you do to the least of my people, that you do unto me.

Both characters were not judged by the way they lived, but by their attitude with regards to God’s presence in their lives. Lazarus found God in his poverty as he completely depended on the Lord. On the other hand, the rich man was completely blinded with his wealth, and therefore, he felt no need for God’s presence in his life. The most important thing that the rich man was missing in his life was reaching out to Lazarus who was sick, weak, jobless, helpless and living on scraps of food. In other words, the rich man needed to go beyond his attitude of “me, myself and I.”

The rich man forgot the basic element of God’s way of life, which is, when God blesses a person, he/she does not need to raise his/her standard of living; but rather, he/she needs to raise his/her “standard of charity.” What does charity look like? As the Holy Church Father, St. Augustine of Hippo, said, “It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of [people].”

During my seminary days in Rome, my grandparents sent me a gift to buy a warm jacket for the winter season because in Rome, it gets really cold! After buying the jacket, instead of taking a bus ride home, I decided to walk back to the seminary while admiring the beautiful, faith- enriching buildings. As I was walking, I saw a homeless person on the side of the road. It was winter but he did not have a jacket. I thought of going back to my seminary room to get my old jacket to give to him, but before I could do it, there was an inner voice in me, saying, “Will you be happy to receive an old jacket or will you appreciate it more to receive a new jacket?” I immediately said to myself, “A NEW ONE!!!” After this dawned upon me, I immediately gave my new jacket to the homeless person. After doing that, I was filled with this inner joy and peace in my heart. After spending a few special moments with that homeless person (which turned out to be a great way to polish the little Italian that I knew!), I went back to the seminary.

After a couple of weeks, a couple invited me to have lunch with their family. Back then, I did not know what moved them to do what they did, but after the delicious lunch, they took me to a store. I thought that they wanted to buy something for their children, but lo and behold!...they took me to the winter collection and asked me to choose a jacket for myself as a gift from them for the winter. The couple ended up buying me two jackets! I was so amazed by their charity and, even more so, by Divine Providence!!!

Dear sisters and brothers, let us not forget that our natural vocation is not to collect, but rather, to be charitable as a river flows to give water to others; a flower gives its fragrance to others; a tree bears its fruits for others; the sun shines for others. Therefore, when we are being blessed, it is for the hungry, the naked, the oppressed, the sick, and the persecuted because “without charity, the rich man is poor and with [charity], the poor man is rich (St. Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 350, 2-3: Charity, the Hidden Meaning of Scripture).”

May Mary, the mother of Jesus and our mother, intercede for us always to raise our “standard of charity.”

Homily: Fr. Azam - The Parable of the Unjust Steward

Homily for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday In Ordinary Time

by Fr. Azam Vianney Mansha, CJM - STL

Today’s Gospel passage is called “The Parable of the Unjust Steward.” It is one of those parables which are often hard to understand because the master of the house praised the unjust steward, saying, “He had done wisely.” In other words, “Is Jesus encouraging dishonesty?”

As I encouraged you last week to re-visit our Christian Theology, I do so again this week because this parable goes beyond its title, “The Parable of the Unjust Steward.” This title does not actually define the core of the parable, which represents a picture of two worlds, as Jesus Himself said in the parable, “for the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.” In other words, this parable can be renamed as “The Parable of the Preparation for the Next World.”

Now focusing on the symbolisms of this parable, we can see some parallel images, such as honest and dishonest, world and heaven, children of darkness and children of light, good and bad. The parallel images, however, which we often forget are MATERIAL BANK and SPIRITUAL BANK.

What are these so-called MATERIAL BANK and SPIRITUAL BANK? Before I go on to explain further, a quick question first: Why do we save money in the bank? Many would say, “For a rainy day.” As you can see, the unjust steward was focusing on his material bank, which means that he was investing in people so that when he would not have a job nor a position, and he would be going through “rainy days” someday, his worldly friends would welcome him. Indeed, through earthly materials, he earned earthly friends. For his action, the master praised him and St. Augustine of Hippo (Church Father and Doctor of the Church) sees this action of the unjust steward as “foresight for the future” (Sermon 359 A.10, p. 255).

Now here comes the twist in the parable, and that is, if the children of the world can make friends with material things or can use material means to invest in earthly friendships, what about Christians? Can we not invest in our spiritual banks so that we can have spiritual friendships?

Indeed, to invest in our spiritual banks is lend to the Lord as it is written in the Sacred Scripture:

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord and will be repaid in full (Proverbs 19:17)

How do we invest in our spiritual banks? It is very easy, but very demanding as well. In reality,

Jesus Himself has given us instructions on how to invest in our spiritual banks and based on our spiritual investment, we will be judged on the last day. It is as Jesus said: “When I was hungry, you fed me; when I was thirsty, you gave me a drink; when I was naked, you gave me cloth, when I was sick, you visited me and when I was a stranger, you accommodated me.” To the question of righteous people, “When did we serve you?” God replied, “Whatever you did to the least of my brothers, you did to me” (Matthew 25). I believe you remember one of our famous Christian songs by Robert Kochis:

Whatsoever you do to the least of my people, that you do unto me. When I was hungry, you gave me to eat; When I was thirsty, you gave me to drink. Now enter into the home of My Father. Whatsoever you do to the least of my people, that you do unto me.

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, when we invest in our spiritual banks, we do not only gain friends in heaven, but God also blesses us in this world.

In February 2022, I got an email from the airlines for an upgrade in my seat to business class. I had been travelling for almost 16 years but I never had the desire to travel by business class. This time, however, I do not know why, but when I saw the email, there was this desire in me to at least see how business class looks like and how it works. I begun the process of accepting the offer, but then suddenly, I stopped because the airlines was asking me to pay $300 for the upgrade! I immediately refused to complete the process because I believe that whatever I have or whatever gifts I receive, they all belong to the poor and the mission.

The day of my flight from Karachi to Dubai to Manila arrived. After clearing all the S.O.P.’s at the Dubai airport, I boarded the plane and sat in my economy seat. As the other passengers boarded, I recited my rosary for a safe trip. Suddenly, a young girl came up to me and gazed at me, then she left and brought a flight attendant back with her. The flight attendant asked for my boarding pass. I immediately gave it to her and said, “So sorry if I am sitting in the wrong seat. She can take my seat and I can sit at the back.” The flight attendant looked at my face and went somewhere while the young girl stood by my seat. After 10 minutes, the flight attendant came back and said, “Sorry Sir, there has been a mistake. We have issued one seat to two passengers.

We are sorry for the inconvenience and we ask for an apology. As the airlines’ policy, you are now being upgraded to business class for your trip from Dubai to Manila.” What?!!! Business class!!! In my heart, I was so surprised by the action of God, which reminded me once again that if I take care of the people of God, God will take care of me. I enjoyed my first and last business class trip, and I am proud to say that I am happy with economy class.

Dear sisters and brothers, Pope Francis reminds us that “Charity is the beating heart of the Christian: just as one cannot live without a heartbeat, so one cannot be a Christian without charity” (June 05, 2021).

May Mary, the Mother of Jesus and Our Mother, intercede for us so that we may frequently invest in our spiritual banks through works of mercy in order to gain friendship with God and the saints.

Homily: Fr. Azam - The Parable of the Merciful Father

Today’s Gospel passage is made up of three parables: “The Lost Coin,” “The Lost Sheep” and “The Lost Son.” It has three themes: LOST, FOUND and CELEBRATION. Indeed, each theme invites us to experience the MERCY OF THE LORD. Among the three parables, the last one – “The Parable of the Prodigal Son,” is well received by the community of the faithful. Indeed, many scholars have agreed to say that it recapitulates the whole ministry of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke…

Homily: Fr. Azam - Humility, “the mother of all virtues.”

Homily for 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 14:1, 7-14)

 by Fr. Azam Vianney Mansha, CJM - STL 

Today’s Gospel passage calls us to be humble and generous. In the parable, Jesus teaches us to avoid the place of honour by humbling ourselves. Furthermore, Jesus corrects the host and commands him to “invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,” as well as the poor who cannot pay him back. By doing this act of generosity, Jesus tells him, “You will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” In other words, Jesus is reminding us that charity is NOT A SOCIAL CLUB. It is the work of God and we will be certainly repaid at our resurrection because we are the family of God, and not only that; God lives among the poor, as one of our famous Christian songs go (Robert Kochis):

Whatsoever you do to the least of my people, that you do unto me. When I was hungry, you gave me to eat; When I was thirsty, you gave me to drink. Now enter into the home of My Father. Whatsoever you do to the least of my people, that you do unto me.

Dear sisters and brothers, although humility and generosity are two different things, they go hand in hand. In other words, “We do charity with humility” or “We humble ourselves to do charity.” When Jesus says, “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,” He wants to in-still in us that we should not have a proud attitude at all. In other words, “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” is an expression that nothing belongs to you. You are God’s instrument of grace and God works through you; therefore, we have nothing to feel proud about. We have to be humble enough to say that the acts of charity that we do are the works of God. We must continue to do these works of God because charity is light and Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others so that they may see your deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

St. John Eudes calls humility as “the mother of all virtues.” Nature all around us actually teaches us the virtues of humility and generosity. If you notice, trees bend to give fruits, rivers flow to give life, flowers bloom to give fragrance, and the sun comes up to give light. Indeed, God’s creation teaches us to be humble and generous. Often, humility is associated with quietness and submission, but Sacred Scripture tells us that humility is a door through which we receive the graces of God. In other words, putting together these two virtues-humility and generosity, we actually open ourselves to receive Divine Providence.

In February 2022, I got an email from the airlines for an upgrade in my seat to business class. I had been travelling for almost 16 years but I never had the desire to travel by business class. This time, however, I do not know why, but when I saw the email, there was this desire in me to at least see how business class looks like and how it works. I begun the process of accepting the offer, but then suddenly, I stopped because the airlines was asking to pay $300 for the upgrade! I immediately refused to complete the process because I believe that whatever I have or whatever gifts I receive, they all belong to the poor and mission.

The day of my flight from Karachi to Dubai to Manila arrived. After clearing all the S.O.P.’s at the Dubai airport, I boarded the plane and sat in my economy seat. As the other passengers boarded, I recited my rosary for a safe trip. Suddenly, a young girl came up to me and gazed at me, then she left and brought a flight attendant back with her. The flight attendant asked for my boarding pass. I immediately gave it to her and said, “Sorry if I am sitting in the wrong seat. She can take my seat and I can sit at the back.” The flight attendant looked at my face and went somewhere while the young girl stood by my seat. After 10 minutes, the flight attendant came back and said, “Sorry Sir, there has been a mistake. We have issued one seat to two passengers. We are sorry for the inconvenience and we ask for an apology. As the airlines’ policy, you are now being upgraded to business class for your trip from Dubai to Manila.” What!!! Business class!!! In my heart, I was so surprised by the action of God, which reminded me once again that if I take care of the people of God, God will take care of me. I enjoyed my first and last business class trip and I am happy with economy class.

Dear sisters and brothers, the medicine of humility heals woundedness of pride, envy, anger and lust, while the medicine of generosity heals greed, gluttony and sloth. Let’s always keep the prayer of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta in our minds and hearts:

Lord, open our eyes that we may see you in our brothers and sisters. Lord, open our ears that we may hear the cries of the hungry. Lord, open our hearts that we may love each other as you love us. Renew in us your spirit. Lord, free us and make us one. Amen.

May Mary, the Mother of Jesus and Our Mother, intercede for us so that we may frequently practice the virtues of humility and generosity to see you in our brothers and sisters, to open our ears to hear the cries of the hungry, and to open our hearts to love one another.