2nd DAY - LUNAR NEW YEAR - REMEMBERING OUR ANCESTORS AND GRANDPARENTS - GOSPEL - (Mt 15:1-6)

“Honor your father and your mother, and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.” (Mt 15:4)

FIRST READING - Sir 44:1,10-15

Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers in their generations.

A reading from the Book of Sirach

1 Let us now praise famous men,

    and our fathers in their generations.

10 But these were men of mercy,

    whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten;

11 their prosperity will remain with their descendants,

    and their inheritance to their children’s children.[b]

12 Their descendants stand by the covenants;

    their children also, for their sake.

13 Their posterity will continue for ever,

    and their glory will not be blotted out.

14 Their bodies were buried in peace,

    and their name lives to all generations.

15 Peoples will declare their wisdom,

    and the congregation proclaims their praise.

SECOND READING - Eph 6:1-4,18-23

Honor your father and mother so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.

Excerpt from the letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians.

6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”[a]

4 Fathers,[b] do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

21 Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. 22 I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.

23 Peace to the brothers and sisters,[c] and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Mt 15:1-6

Honor your father and mother

✠A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew

15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’[a] and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

2nd DAY - LUNAR NEW YEAR - REMEMBERING OUR ANCESTORS AND GRANDPARENT GOSPEL - (Mt 15:1-6)

Dear People of God,

In today's Word of God, God teaches all mankind to live a life closely united with Him and to listen to His words.

The Word of God given to mankind today, on the second day of the Lunar New Year: we must always have a grateful heart, and filial piety towards our ancestors, towards all our loved ones who have gone before; because they are the instruments that God gives to mankind in this earthly life.

If there were no ancestors, no predecessors, there would be no present mankind. It would be impossible to build the happiness of the Kingdom of Heaven right here on earth.

God wants mankind to remember the merits of our ancestors in giving birth and nurturing us. They are the ones sent by God to collaborate with God in building the entire universe, especially in procreation.

This is to have many human children on earth.

God calls on humanity in today's world to listen to God's words: to respect and love our parents, because they are the stewards of God, they are the ones created by God so that we can be present in this world.

This is a virtuous act, an act of filial piety, a grateful heart of human children to our ancestors.

God does not teach humankind to be disrespectful and ungrateful to all those around them, especially to those who have gone before. As in today's Word of God, someone said: The offering has been offered to God, so there is nothing left to offer to parents.

This is unfilial, proving that mankind has not fulfilled God's commandment to love our ancestors and parents.

God desires that people live realistically with these earthly realities, to be in harmony, happy, and love one another, especially through acts of gratitude toward our ancestors; but above all, to be grateful to God.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, God reminds humankind not to forget our deceased ancestors. We should sacrifice more and follow God's teachings, so that through that, God will save the souls in purgatory, where our ancestors are suffering.

Once again, the Word of God today reminds mankind of the things that God lovingly teaches: to fear God above all things and to be grateful to all those who gave birth to us.

That is the effect of listening to God's words and putting them into practice.

God does not want humanity to live in disobedience to God, to disobey His words, to be ungrateful to our ancestors, to disrespect our ancestors who gave birth to us.

That is not pleasing to Him.

God wants everyone to remember that: with God, there are our ancestors; with our ancestors, we can be born, be happy, and exist in this world.

Therefore, He calls mankind to:

First, come to God to thank and praise God for creating humans in the sky of light. And when placing humans to live on this earth, He calls on humans to sacrifice and cooperate in the reproduction of species.

Spread love and gratitude to God and our ancestors all over the world, especially in places where people are being blinded by money, material things, and pleasures. Selfish people only care about themselves and abandon the elderly, considering them a burden to the family, community, and society.

God has always cared for, loved, and cared for everyone. He teaches the elderly to pray to Him: "Do not cast me aside in my old age; as my strength fails, do not forsake me." (Psalm 71:9). That is also His reminder to mankind: Please do not neglect the elderly when they are weak and sick. Because everyone eventually passes through this threshold.

-Therefore, to please God and to please our ancestors, each person living in this world must know to listen to and obey according to God's teachings.

Do not live in sinful passions anymore. Do not worry about seeking worldly wealth but rather seek the Kingdom of God.

Each family, each child, must examine ourselves over the past years.

Have we pleased God and our ancestors?

Have we carried out God's command to love, respect, care for, and sacrifice to pray for our ancestors, both those who are still alive and those who have passed away?

May God forgive my sins and weaknesses, for I have offended God and my ancestors.

Thanks be to God. Amen.