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Showing posts from August, 2025

Homily: August 1, 2025, Firday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time (Jesus Titles)

 “Is he not the carpenter’s son?”  Jesus was referred to by various titles during His lifetime on earth: Son of Man, Son of God, Son of David, Messiah, Rabbi. People also acknowledged Him as a divine healer, prophet, Savior, even as their King. But when He got back to His hometown Nazareth, people knew Him only as “the carpenter’s son.” His foster father, Joseph, must have been well known in town as the carpenter, and Jesus thus was recognized as the son of the carpenter. Traditionally, the parents would teach and train their children to learn their trade, so that they would grow to be apprentices and finally become masters of their parents’ professions. So, to the people of Nazareth, Jesus was expected to be a good carpenter like His father Joseph. They couldn’t imagine Him becoming anything else, because they did not think He would know any other trade than His father’s.  Their understanding and expectations of His capabilities were very limited and narrow, they could n...