Day: October 5, 2015

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Thursday, 8 October 2015 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we heard in the readings from the Holy Scriptures on the nature of God as our Father, who cares for us as His own children, and how the righteous will be treated differently from the wicked ones on the day of judgment, when God will come again to separate those who are worthy and good from all those who do not deserve salvation and grace of God.

Many of us are like those that the prophet Malachi spoke about in his book, which we heard as our first reading today, that is as those who are lacking in faith and understanding of the Lord and His ways. And it is not just that, but we are also ignorant of His methods and paths, which made us to think in the way of those the prophet Malachi had condemned.

These people think that God does not punish the wicked and the sinful ones, and they think that God does not reward those who have done what is good and just, and therefore, they presume that either God does not care, or that He condones whatever they were doing, or that He does not exist in the first place and thus they have no need to feel obliged to follow His laws or believe in Him.

But they are mistaken, for the ways of the Lord and the wisdom of God is far above their feeble understanding. Yes, despite all of our human achievements and intelligence, all these are still nothing compared to the wisdom of God, whose ways are beyond ours and our trials to understand them. But this is what we know, from what Jesus had revealed to us all, that those who have done what the will of God wants them to do, shall be rewarded.

We have to remember what Jesus had said about the day of judgment, when the Lord would come again to judge all the living and the dead, as our faith instructs us, that He shall separate the good from the bad, the wheat from the weeds, those who have made their lives useful and filled with goodness and love, from those who have not done so and lived their lives in sin or in ignorance.

Those who have done well asked Jesus when they had done what the Lord had expected from them, and He said that whenever they did something good for those around them who were persecuted, suffering, the least and the most ostracised among the society members, they have done it for the Lord Himself, and it is in these actions that the Lord sees their faith and rewards them.

Meanwhile, those who have not done as the Lord wills it, shall be condemned by the Lord, who will reject them because they have not shown mercy and love to those who are weak and downtrodden, to the oppressed and to all those who need God’s love. These are those ignorant ones mentioned earlier, those who think that they and their intellect and human wisdom are better than the wisdom of God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all today reflect on our own actions, and think about whether we have done what is needed to help others around us who are in need, and whether we have been truly faithful to the Lord, not just in words and proclamations, or appearances, but also in real deeds and actions. Let us also not be afraid to ask the Lord our God for His love and mercy, for He is truly our Father, who will listen to our concerns and wishes if they are genuinely for the love of Him.

Let us all seek God’s help and ask Him to strengthen us, our weary and weak hearts, minds and bodies, that He may fortify and prepare us against the assaults of the evil one. May God bless us all every days of our life, and may He as our Father, guide us as His children, to walk righteously in His path and help us when we falter and lose our way. God be with us always. Amen.

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Thursday, 8 October 2015 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 11 : 5-13

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to his house in the middle of the night and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine who is travelling has just arrived, and I have nothing to offer him.’ Maybe your friend will answer from inside, ‘Do not bother me now; the door is locked, and my children and I are in bed, so I cannot get up and give you anything.'”

“But I tell you, even though he will not get up and attend to you because you are a friend, yet he will get up because you are a bother to him, and he will give you all you need. And so I say to you, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For the one who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened.'”

“If your child asks for a fish, will you give him a snake instead? And if your child asks for an egg, will you give him a scorpion? If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.”

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Thursday, 8 October 2015 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 1 : 1-2, 3, 4 and 6

Blessed is the one who does not go where the wicked gather, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit where the scoffers sit! Instead, he finds delight in the law of the Lord, and meditates day and night on His commandments.

He is like a tree beside a brook producing its fruit in due season, its leaves never withering. Everything he does is a success.

But it is different with the wicked. They are like chaff driven away by the wind. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous but cuts off the way of the wicked.

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Thursday, 8 October 2015 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Malachi 3 : 13-20a

“You say very harsh things about Me,” says YHVH, and yet you say, “What harsh things did we say against You?” You say, “It is useless to serve God. There is no benefit in observing His commandments or in leading an austere life for His sake. Happy are the shameless! Those who do evil succeed in everything; though they provoke God, they remain unharmed.”

Those were the very words of those who fear YHVH. YHVH listened and heard what they said. He ordered at once that the names of those who respect Him and reverence His Name be written in a record. And He declared, “They will be Mine on the day I have already set. Then I shall care for them as a father cares for his obedient son. And you will see the different fates of the good and the bad, those who obey God and those who disobey Him.”

“The day already comes, flaming as a furnace. On that day all the proud and evildoers will be burnt like straw in the fire. They will be left without branches or roots. On the other hand the sun of justice will shine upon you who respect My Name and bring health in its rays.”