Day: November 18, 2014

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Friday, 21 November 2014 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate together the feast of the presentation of the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, that is Mary, Theotokos or Mother of God. She was chosen by God from among many of the children of mankind, to be the one who was destined to be the vessel to bear the coming of the Saviour into this world, and in that, to bear the Lord and Master of all the creations Himself, when He was incarnate into flesh.

As our Lord is perfect and perfectly good, without sin and any taint of evil, thus His blessed mother, Mary, was also therefore conceived without the taint of sin, of the original sin of Adam and Eve, the first ancestors of mankind. She was conceived free from sin, immaculate and pure, worthy to be the Mother of our Lord and Saviour, as decreed by God. And today, we celebrate the memory of her presentation at the Temple of the Lord.

In the Jewish custom, as according to the Law of God revealed through Moses, the firstborns of Israel are dedicated to the Lord, through a presentation ceremony, as ceremonially belonging to the Lord. This is a strong reminder of what they had encountered in Egypt, during the time of their liberation from slavery. At that time, God sent ten great plagues to pressure the Pharaoh to liberate the people of Israel and allow them to go back to the land of their ancestors in freedom.

The last of the ten plagues, and the most terrifying of them all, is the death of all the firstborns of the Egyptians, including the firstborn of the Pharaoh himself. No firstborn was spared, and the firstborn of humans and animals of the Egyptians alike were destroyed, for the sins of the Pharaoh and the Egyptians. The firstborn of the people of Israel however, were spared, because of the Lord’s promise to them, and His instruction, that they be presented and offered to Him, and they ever since belonged to the Lord who spared them from the power of the angel of death.

Thus, Mary, who was the firstborn of the couple, Joachim and Anne, whom we know now as St. Joachim and St. Anne, was offered at the Temple of God, according to the Law. Thus from that day of the presentation onwards, Mary was entrusted completely to God, and she remained pure and blameless, as God had intended her to be, as the new Ark of the new Covenant, which was made through Jesus her Son.

Jesus too was presented at the Temple when He was eight days old, in the same manner of His mother Mary, as her firstborn Son. And from this offering of the blameless and pure sacrifice, Christ, who is the Lamb of God, offered Himself to be the One to bear the burdens of the sins of the world, and thus purify us from our sins and allow us to escape the claws of death, which is caused by sin.

The festival of the Jewish Passover, which commemorated the ‘passing over’ of the angel of death over the faithful people of God, who sacrificed a lamb and shed its blood on their doors’ lintels and surfaces, is therefore completed in its perfection through Jesus, the One and True Lamb, whose Blood is shed over all mankind, and therefore those of us who believe and receive His Body and Blood had been marked to be saved, and to be passed over by death, which is the lot of those who are wicked and unfaithful.

Thus, this feast of the presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, is a reminder for us all, that we who believe in Him and faithfully receive His Body and Blood, had also received grace and salvation through the death and resurrection of our Lord. However, this does not mean that this alone is enough for us to be saved.

When we present something to the Lord, certainly we do not offer something that is wicked, evil, tainted and filled with sin. We ought to offer something that is pure, filled with love and righteousness, with genuine faith and understanding of what that faith is about. Thus, let this day’s celebration be a wake-up call to all of us, so that we may look deep into ourselves and see where we have been faithful, and more importantly, where we have fallen short and where we have failed in our faith.

Let us all follow the example of Mary, the mother of our Lord, whose life is completely and totally devoted to the Lord and His ways, and in all that she did in her life, she did them with complete and full faith in God, knowing that God knows best for His servants and handmaids, and she also acted with love, justice and in accordance with all that the Lord had taught His people.

Mary is our role model, and we should follow her examples. Let us not wait any longer, lest the Lord comes again in surprise, and catch us unprepared. Remember, brothers and sisters in Christ, what is at stake, is the salvation of our souls, and whether, on the day of judgment, we will be ‘passed over’ by eternal death and then proceed into eternal life and bliss, or whether we will suffer the penalty of death for sins we have been unrepentant from.

Mary, mother of us all, pray for us all sinners, that we may learn to change our ways, to follow your examples, and therefore we will be able to offer ourselves anew and refreshed, pure and freed from the taints of sin. Pray for us that we may do our best to distance ourselves from sin and all things wicked in the sight of God. May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, bring us to eternal life. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/18/friday-21-november-2014-33rd-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-the-presentation-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/18/friday-21-november-2014-33rd-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-the-presentation-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/18/friday-21-november-2014-33rd-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-the-presentation-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-gospel-reading/

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Friday, 21 November 2014 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 12 : 46-50

At that time, while Jesus was still talking to the people, His mother and His brothers wanted to speak to Him, and they waited outside. So someone said to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside; they want to speak with You.”

Jesus answered, “Who is My mother? Who are My brothers?” Then He pointed to His disciples and said, “Look! Here are My mother and My brothers. Whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is for Me brother, sister or mother.”

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/18/friday-21-november-2014-33rd-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-the-presentation-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Friday, 21 November 2014 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 46-47, 48-49, 50-51, 52-53, 54-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God my Saviour!

He has looked upon His servant in her lowliness, and people forever will call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, Holy is His Name!

From age to age His mercy extends to those who live in His presence. He has acted with power and done wonders, and scattered the proud with their plans.

He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up those who are downtrodden. He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.

He held out His hand to Israel, His servant, for He remembered His mercy, even as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/18/friday-21-november-2014-33rd-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-the-presentation-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Friday, 21 November 2014 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Zechariah 2 : 14-17

“Sing and rejoice, o daughter of Zion, for I am about to come, I shall dwell among you,” says YHVH. “On that day, many nations will join YHVH and be My people, but My dwelling is among you.”

The people of Judah will be for YHVH as His portion in His holy land. He will choose Jerusalem again. Keep still in YHVH’s presence, for He comes, having risen from His holy dwelling.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/18/friday-21-november-2014-33rd-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-the-presentation-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Thursday, 20 November 2014 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today our Lord Jesus Christ condemned the edifice and greatness of both Jerusalem and its Temple, for they were filled with wickedness and darkness. Jesus lamented and wept over the city of Jerusalem, which represented the attitude of the people of God, Israel, who had rejected the love which God had shown them, first through the prophets, messengers and servants sent unto them, and then Jesus Himself, the very Son of God.

In the first reading, taken from the book of the revelations of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we see the glory of God in heaven, and we heard of the scroll with the seven seals, which represents the judgment to be passed onto the world. There is no one worthy to unseal the scroll except the Great Judge Himself, the One who had justified the world by the shedding of His Blood on the cross.

Jesus our Lord is the Lamb of God, the pure and unblemished Lamb of sacrifice, who gave Himself for the sake of us all, and just as lambs used in the sacrificial and sin offerings were slaughtered and had its blood shed on the Altar of the Temple, this pure and perfect Lamb was brought to the slaughterhouse of men, suffered grievously and shed His Blood upon the world, dying on the cross so that all of us whom He had made worthy by the offering of His life, may escape the eternal torment of death and enter into the everlasting life.

Such was the love of our Lord, that as the Gospel of John made it straightforward, in the famous words, ‘that God so loved the world, that He sent His only Son into the world, so that all those who believe in Him may not die but enjoy life everlasting through the acts of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ our Lord. You can therefore imagine the kind of sorrow and pain which the Lord would have felt, for the disobedience and unfaithfulness of His beloved children.

For He sent to them many prophets and messengers to remind them and to call them back into the faith, that is to abandon their old ways of sin and evil, and began to walk righteously and justly in the presence of God. And yet, the people of God refused to listen to them, and instead, they even persecuted His faithful servants and messengers, torturing them, casting them out from their society, and even shedding their blood and killing them.

It was the great sorrow of our Lord, who saw the rejection and indignancy of His children, that made Jesus to weep for the city of Jerusalem, the place where so many of the faithful were slaughtered and rejected for being faithful and just. The city had been filled with much wickedness and worldliness, and the Temple of God had also become a place of worldliness, filled with merchants and money changers, cheaters and greedy people who placed their own comfort ahead of their love for God.

Thus, Jesus was sorrowful, and also angry at the same time, for the wickedness that had crept into the holy city of God, Jerusalem, a place He had chosen to be the first of His dwelling among His people. The people at the time of Jesus did not repent from the sins and wickedness of their ancestors, and in fact sinned even more. Jesus was also sorrowful because He knew that the people would reject Him, betraying Him and crucify Him.

Yet, such is the wonder of God’s love that even though He was sorrowful and angry at His people’s infidelity and wickedness, He still wants to give each one of us a chance, to turn back from our path of sin, and be converted to the way of truth. It is necessary for us to repent from our past sins and be committed to God from now on, and abhor any more sins, that we will not commit those sins anymore.

It is essential for us to heed this warning. God sent us reminders after reminders, and messages after messages, so that we may be awakened to the reality of our sins, be disgusted at it, and lead a new life, that when our Lord comes again at the end of time, this time as a triumphant and conquering King as well as a great Judge, He will find us worthy and welcome us into His kingdom.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, it is important that we remind each other of the need for us to change, and change for the better. Do not walk the path of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who allowed themselves to be bettered by their own human desires and greed, who allowed the city of Jerusalem to continue to slide into darkness and wickedness of the world. Let us all reaffirm our faith, loving one another just as our Lord had loved us that He gave it all to save us.

If we do not do so, then what Jesus had said concerning Jerusalem, which came true, will also happen to us all. Jerusalem was destroyed and the Temple of God there was razed to the ground completely, without any sign of reminder that the magnificent edifice was ever there. It was the just punishment and result of the constant disobedience and infidelity of the people to the Lord, as they continued to live in their wickedness and follow their own hearts’ desire. I am certain that all of us want to avoid this fate, and thus, we need to change our ways.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Forgive us our sins and bring us to Your heavenly glory and grace. God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/18/thursday-20-november-2014-33rd-week-of-ordinary-time-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/18/thursday-20-november-2014-33rd-week-of-ordinary-time-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/18/thursday-20-november-2014-33rd-week-of-ordinary-time-gospel-reading/

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Thursday, 20 November 2014 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 19 : 41-44

At that time, when Jesus had come in sight of the city of Jerusalem, He wept over it, and said, “If only today you knew the ways of peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Yet days will come upon you, when your enemies will surround you with barricades, and shut you in, and press on you from every side.”

“And they will dash you to the ground and your children with you, and not leave stone upon stone within you, for you did not recognise the time and the visitation of your God.”

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/18/thursday-20-november-2014-33rd-week-of-ordinary-time-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Thursday, 20 November 2014 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 149 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b

Alleluia! Sing to the Lord a new song, sing His praise in the assembly of His saints. Let Israel rejoice in his Maker, let the people of Zion glory in their King!

Let them dance in praise of His Name and make music for Him with harp and timbrel. For the Lord delights in His people; He crowns the lowly with victory.

The saints will exult in triumph; even at night on their couches. Let the praise of God be on their lips. This is the glory of all His saints. Alleluia!

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/18/thursday-20-november-2014-33rd-week-of-ordinary-time-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Thursday, 20 November 2014 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Revelations 5 : 1-10

Then I saw in the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne a scroll written on both sides, sealed with seven seals. A mighty angel exclaimed in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open this and break the seals?”

But no one in heaven or on earth or in the netherworld was found able to open the book and read it. I wept much when I saw that no one was found worthy to open the book and read it. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Shoot of David, has conquered; He will open the book of the seven seals.”

And I saw next to the throne with its four living creatures and the twenty-four elders a Lamb standing, although it had been slain. I saw Him with seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out to all the earth. The Lamb moved forward and took the book from the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne.

When He took it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders bowed before the Lamb. They all held in their hands harps and golden cups full of incense which are the prayers of the holy ones.

This is the new song they sang : “You are worthy to take the book and open its seals, for You were slain and by Your blood You purchased for God, people of every race, language and nation; and You made them a kingdom and priests for our God and they shall reign over the land.”

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/18/thursday-20-november-2014-33rd-week-of-ordinary-time-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Wednesday, 19 November 2014 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today in the first reading we continue through the reading of the Book of the Apocalypse according to St. John the Evangelist, who received the vision of the coming of the end of time while he was exiled at the Isle of Patmos. In that reading, we see the glory of God fully revealed, the triumphant glory of our Lord and King, He who is enthroned in heaven, Jesus the Lamb of God who had shed His blood to purchase us from the hands of death.

Such was the love and care which our Lord and God had showered us with, and we have been given so many things, just as Jesus Himself explained to the people using the parable of the talents in the Gospel today, the well-known parable where Jesus told of a master of the house and his servants, to whom the master entrusted silver talents as he left to assume the kingship in a distant country.

God gave us all many gifts in us, and each of us have different sets of this gift according to our own uniqueness and abilities. That is how unique and wonderful God’s works is. We are not meant to be perfect in all things, but we are to complement each other, and to live with one another, helping each other and showing love to one another. We cannot isolate ourselves from others around us, especially those who are in need of what God had given us.

The parable of the talents is a classic example of how Jesus showed mankind of His future coming into the world, as a triumphant King and Master of all, even though He once came in the form of a humble Human being, a mere carpenter’s son. At the end of time, as we all keep strongly the faith in our Creed, we believe that He will come again as the Great Judge of all, to judge all the living and the dead for all of their deeds in life.

The master is the Lord Jesus, who came into the world, and by His life, His suffering, death and resurrection, obtained for us all who believe in Him, the grace and gift of eternal life and salvation, a gift beyond any comparison. Thus, all of us who have been baptised in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, are truly like the servants whom the master entrusted with the silver talents.

Why is this so? That is because, indeed, we have life in us, as the basic and most fundamental gift of the Lord to us, but then, when we received the sacrament of baptism, we ourselves were welcomed into the Church and were made sons and daughters of the Lord. And as the children of God and the members of His Church, we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit into us, and principal among these gifts are namely faith, hope and love.

But these gifts are dormant, brothers and sisters in Christ, and like a farmer sowing seeds in his field, if the field is not worked and tilled with hoe and effort put into the growing of the crops, then the seed will remain just that, that is as seed, and will not grow. In order for the seeds to grow into bountiful and strong plants, they need to be cared for and nourished with effort.

The same therefore applies to us all, as the gifts of God lying dormant within us are waiting for us to unleash them and release them to those around us, whom we can indeed touch and benefit with the gifts we have. We have a choice here, either to let those gifts remain dormant, because we are reluctant, or fearful, or doubtful, or simply plain lazy or selfish, that we are like the lazy and worthless servant, who hid his master’s silver talent, and in the end, the silver talent bore no profit or use.

Thus, our talents, gifts and blessings from God will be useless and worthless if we let them lie dormant in us. The other choice we have is to open up the doors of our heart, and allow these gifts to flow from us, and in the process, they will grow plenty, just like a small seed growing to such a big tree and plant, and just as the silver talent invested carefully bearing much profits and income for those who had wisely invested it.

Remember, just as in the parable, the master would return from the distant kingdom to ask all of his servants to account for the silver talents they have been entrusted with. The master who went off to a faraway kingdom, was indeed Jesus who after His resurrection, went forth to His kingdom in heaven, the everlasting kingdom, to prepare a place for all those who believe in Him. He ascended into heaven, but He will indeed come again as He had foretold.

And His return will be sudden and unannounced, so that many people will be caught unaware and unprepared. At that time, those who had lived righteously and acted according to the will of God are like the faithful and diligent servants, who worked on the silver talents and brought handsome returns with it, doubling whatever had been given to them.

These will be rewarded and blessed forever, and they will have inheritance in God’s kingdom. But for those who have failed to use whatever God had given them and blessed them with, they will suffer rejection by God and cast away into the utter darkness. The choice is ours, brothers and sisters, for it is fully in our control to utilise the gifts had given us.

May Almighty God give us the strength and courage to overcome our fears and reluctance, to put into use the various gifts, talents and abilities which He had given us, so that we may put them to good use, to benefit all those around us, our neighbours, our brothers and sisters. God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/17/wednesday-19-november-2014-33rd-week-of-ordinary-time-first-reading/

 

Psalm : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/17/wednesday-19-november-2014-33rd-week-of-ordinary-time-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/17/wednesday-19-november-2014-33rd-week-of-ordinary-time-gospel-reading/