Month: January 2018

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Tuesday, 30 January 2018 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Samuel 18 : 9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 30 – 2 Samuel 19 : 3

Absalom was riding a mule and happened to meet the guards of David. As the mule passed under the thick branches of a big oak tree, his head was caught in the oak tree and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule has was riding went its way. Someone reported to Joab, “I saw Absalom hanging from an oak tree.”

So Joab took three spears in his hand and thrust them into Absalom’s heart while he was still alive in the oak tree. David was sitting between the two gates. The watchman posted at the roof of the gate, on the wall, saw a man running alone. So he called out and reported to the king who said, “Move away and stand here.” He moved aside and stayed there.

The Cushite arrived and said, “Good news for my lord the king! YHVH has done you justice today and saved you from all those who rebelled against you.” The king asked the Cushite, “How is the young Absalom?” The Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rebel against you end up like that young man.”

The king was greatly disturbed and, going up to the room over the gate, he wept and said, “O, my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! Would that I had died instead of you, o Absalom, my son, my son!”

It was reported to Joab, “The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.” So the victory that day turned into mourning for all the people, when they heard that the king was grieving over his son.

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Monday, 29 January 2018 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we heard about the story in which David and his loyal retainers and followers went away from the city of Jerusalem, the royal capital of the kingdom of Israel, because of a great rebellion and civil war that raged at that time, led by Absalom, the eldest son of king David, and therefore, the natural heir to the throne.

The rebellion of Absalom was supported by many people, and according to historical research, he was supported by many of the disenchanted nobles and local rulers who were against the reforms carried out by David, to strengthen his royal authority and in his strong adherence to the laws of God. Those rebels supported Absalom who had an ambition of his own.

And what is that ambition? The ambition of gaining worldly power and wealth, authority and prestige. He was to be his father’s successor, only if he waited for the right time, and following the normal order of succession, meaning that he would be king upon his father’s death. But it was likely that Absalom was impatient and he seized upon the opportunity presented to him to rebel against his father David.

Then we heard how Shimei, a member of the tribe of Benjamin, cursed David and his family, and he cursed him due to the possible feud between David and some of the Benjaminites, from whom Saul, David’s predecessor as king, hailed from. He could have done that in earlier time period, in the many years since David replaced Saul and his son as king over Israel. However, he must have taken the opportunity presented by Absalom’s rebellion, and thinking that David was about to meet his downfall, Shimei used the chance to ridicule David and curse him.

After having heard and discussed all that happened during that time of civil war in David’s kingdom, let us all remember what we heard in the Gospel passage today. In that passage, we heard about Jesus’ encounter with a man possessed by evil spirits in the area called the Gerasenes, in the wilderness. No one dared to come close to him because of his affliction. No one could control him because of the demons, and he was enslaved by those evil spirits.

And the Lord cast the demons and evil spirits out of the possessed man, freeing him from his predicament. All those evil spirits feared the Lord, because they knew Who He was, and they still had to obey Him even though they had rebelled against Him. He was after all, their Lord, Master and Creator. He freed the man from the slavery to Satan, to all those who have chained him to unjust treatments.

This is related to what we have witnessed throughout the history of God’s people, in the example of David and Absalom’s bitter feud, the civil war which engulfed his kingdom. While they might not have been afflicted in the manner the possessed man had been, but many of the people were obsessed with worldly temptations of power, wealth, influence and many more, which I am sure are quite familiar to all of us.

In the history of mankind, there had been many occasions in which people would go to a great extent, even to cause suffering to others, even death, just so that they can get what they wanted. That has been the cause of many conflicts and troubles in our world, all because of the greed and the desires of man, enslaved by their attachment to the world, and therefore, easily swayed by the devil to follow the wrong path towards their downfall.

I am sure that even many among us Christians have experienced this, and indeed, have been doing these for a while. Are we able to resist that temptation to follow the devil’s ways and resist that pull for us to sin? Are we able to try to say no to his temptations and persuasions? Are we able to call on the Lord and ask Him for mercy, to be freed from the chains that bound us, just as the Lord Jesus healed the man at Gerasenes?

Let us all put our trust in God, no longer trusting in our own human abilities. Let us all overcome the temptations of the flesh, the temptations of power and human ambitions, the temptation for glory and worldly prestige. Instead, let us all look towards the Lord and see in Him, the true hope of our life. Let us be liberated from all of our past attachments and let us be truly free from all bondage to sin, and instead be worthy of the kingdom of God, as those whom God has chosen from among this world. May God be with us always. Amen.

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Monday, 29 January 2018 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 5 : 1-20

At that time, Jesus and His disciples arrived at the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gerasenes. No sooner did Jesus leave the boat than He was met by a man with evil spirits, who had come from the tombs. The man lived among the tombs, and no one could restrain him, even with a chain.

He had often been bound with fetters and chains; but he would pull the chains apart and smash the fetters; and no one had the strength to control him. Night and day he stayed among the tombs on the hillsides, and was continually screaming, and beating himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell at His feet, and cried with a loud voice, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? For God’s sake, I beg You, do not torment me!” He said this, because Jesus had commanded, “Evil spirit, come out of the man!”

When Jesus asked the evil spirit, “What is your name?” It replied, “Legion is my name, for we are many.” And it kept begging Jesus, not to send them out of that region. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding on the hillside, and the evil spirits begged Him, “Send us to the pigs, and let us go into them.”

So Jesus let them go. The evil spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs; and immediately, the herd rushed down the cliff; and all were drowned in the lake. The herdsmen fled, and reported this in the town and in the countryside. So all the people came to see what had happened.

They came to Jesus, and saw the man freed of the evil spirits, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind; the same man who had been possessed by the legion. They were afraid. And when those who had seen it, told what had happened to the man and to the pigs, the people begged Jesus to leave their neighbourhood.

When Jesus was getting into the boat, the man, who had been possessed, begged to stay with Him. Jesus would not let him, and said, “Go home to your people, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.”

So he went throughout the country of Decapolis, telling everyone how much Jesus had done for him; and all the people were astonished.

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Monday, 29 January 2018 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 3 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7

O YHVH, how great in number are my foes! How numerous are they who rise against me! How many are they who say of my soul : “There is no help for him in God!”

But You are my Shield, o YHVH, my Glory; You lift up my head. Aloud I cry to YHVH, and from His holy hill He answers me.

If I lie down to sleep, again I awake, for YHVH supports me; no fear of the thousands standing against me.

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Monday, 29 January 2018 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Samuel 15 : 13-14, 30 and 2 Samuel 16 : 5-13a

A messenger came to report to David that the Israelites were siding with Absalom. Then David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, “Let us flee, for we cannot resist Absalom. Go quickly, lest he come hurriedly and overtake us. Surely he will put the city to the sword if he can bring disaster upon us.”

David himself went up the Mount of Olives, weeping. He was barefooted and had his head covered, and all the people who were with him had their heads covered and wept as they went. When king David came to Bahurim, a man from the clan of Saul’s family named Shimei, son of Gera, came out cursing him. He threw stones at David and his officers although the king’s men and warriors flanked the king on the right and left.

As he yelled curses, Shimei said, “Leave! Leave! You man of bloodshed, you wicked man! YHVH has brought down on your head all the blood of the family of Saul. You became king in his place, but God has now placed the kingdom in the hands of your son Absalom. Ruin has come upon you because you are a wicked man.”

Then Abishai, son of Zeruiah, said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go and cut his head off.” But the king said, “Why should I listen to you, sons of Zeruiah? If YHVH has ordered him to curse me, who shall ask him why he acts like this?”

Then David said to Abishai and his officers, “If my own son wants to kill me, how much more this Benjaminite! Leave him alone and let him curse me if YHVH has ordered him to do so. Perhaps YHVH will look on my affliction and turn to good things the curses heaped on me today.”

So David and his men went on their way while Shimei, following on the hillside opposite him.

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Sunday, 28 January 2018 : Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday as we gather together to celebrate the Holy Mass, let us all spend some time to reflect on what we have just heard in the Scripture passages today, beginning with the Book of Deuteronomy, our first reading, in which we heard Moses, the leader of the people of Israel during the time of the Exodus, spoke of a prophecy concerning the coming of a great prophet from among the people.

In fact, that prophecy was a premonition for the coming of the Messiah or Saviour promised by God to Israel, and to all of mankind, as the One in Whom God Himself would speak through, in Jesus Christ, the Divine Word Incarnate, the Saviour of the world and Son of God. But Jesus, as we all know, is also the Son of Man, as the One born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as the legal descendant and heir of David, rightful King of Israel.

And He came into the world, and fulfilled God’s promise of salvation to His people, as we heard in the Gospel passage today, when a man filled with evil spirits was at a synagogue where Jesus was teaching to the people. He taught with great authority and truth, unlike the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who were hypocrites and did not practice what they have preached. Jesus showed with true sincerity what it meant to become a disciple of God.

He had mercy on the man who was enslaved by the demons, and with authority He cast those demons out of the man, and the man was therefore healed from his sickness. The people who saw the miraculous occasion were astonished and they praised God and believed in Jesus, as they saw in Him a new hope and light amidst the darkness of the world. This had been foretold by Moses and the prophets, particularly the prophet Isaiah.

Unfortunately and ironically, those who were entrusted to safeguard the teachings and the messages of the prophets, and those who were educated and equipped with the knowledge of the coming of God’s salvation, did not enthusiastically welcome the Lord Who came into the world to save His people. Instead, they ridiculed Him and doubted Him, and even challenged His authority, failing to perceive that what Jesus taught the people was the truth.

And in fact, the evil spirits themselves recognised Jesus as Who He was, and they rightly feared Him. Why is that so? That is because even though they had power over men and that they were able to threaten us mankind and cause harm to us, just as their master Satan is able to, but they ultimately are also God’s creations, the once beautiful and just Angels who have since fallen from grace, as they followed in Satan’s rebellion, and therefore became evil spirits and demons.

It is sad to see how mankind have often refused to listen to God, and instead preferring to walk in their own path, following their own flawed judgments and desires. Right from the beginning of time, from the time of Adam and Eve, our ancestors, to the people of Israel, as recorded in the Books of the Old Testament, and also as mentioned earlier, the opposition faced by Jesus as told in the Gospels, all of these highlight the rebellious nature of man.

Yet, God has been so kind to us, so as to give us one opportunity after another, and having been patient with us, to the point of giving us the best of all gifts, by giving Himself to us mankind, that through Him, and eventually by His ultimate loving sacrifice on the cross, we may have hope through Him, and that we may be saved and forgiven from our sins. It was through Jesus that each and every one of us Christians have been saved.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, how should we then proceed from now on? How should we then live our lives so that we can be good followers of Our Lord? Then we should heed what St. Paul had mentioned in our second reading today, in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in the city of Corinth. He asked all of the faithful to live a righteous life, dedicated and committed, centred upon God, and not upon themselves.

If we are to read the message of the excerpt taken from his Epistle today, we may find it weird that St. Paul was actually discouraging the people from having marital relationships. But we have to understand what he said in the context of what the faithful believed at that time. At that time, the common consensus among many of the faithful, including among the Apostles and the disciples was that the Lord Jesus would soon come again into the world, within their lifetime. Therefore, that was why, St. Paul made such an advice to the people.

Nonetheless, what St. Paul said to the people is true, and indeed is a fact, except for his suggestion on married life. In order for us to be true disciples of the Lord, we have to centre our focus and attention on God, and He must be the focal point of our lives and our actions. St. Paul’s concern that those who have husband or wife might be distracted because they were divided between satisfying the needs of their husband or wife, and satisfying their obligations to the Lord, is also therefore justified.

In our lives today, many of us have known the Lord, thanks to the hard work of all those who devoted their lives, generation after generation, passing down the faith and the truth as preserved in the Church, and we keep alive this faith this very day, as all those who call ourselves as Christians, as those who accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah as Our Lord and Saviour.

However, many of us are often indifferent to Him, or even ignorant of Him. Many of us fulfil our obligations to go to the Sunday Mass and other celebrations of our faith, but for the sake of fulfilling our obligations or even fearing of retribution and punishment. Many of us even find it a chore to spend time with the Lord, and how many of us can relate with the experience of those who keep on looking at their watches, being impatient waiting for the time when the Mass ends and then we can continue doing our daily activities?

Brothers and sisters, if we have done all of these in the past, then we should be ashamed if we remember what happened in the past, as told by the Scriptures to us. If the evil spirits themselves feared God and bowed low before Him, then why do we not also do the same? And if God has spared nothing less than to give the very best to us, giving to us the ultimate gift of love in Jesus Christ, His Son, Who laid down His life for us all on the cross, that we may be saved, then should we not do the same as well?

There have been so many instances when we mankind have not put God as the priority and main focus in our lives. There have been so many occasions when mankind set God aside and treat Him as nobody, and even nuisance. Many of us only remember Him when we need His help, and when we did not need Him, we left Him behind and forgot about Him.

Brethren, all of us gathered here should spend some time to reflect, to think and to internalise all these things which I have just mentioned. Let us ask ourselves, how are we better able to show our gratitude to God, through our commitment and dedication, and not just empty faith. Let us all seek to change our way of life, that we should no longer be distracted by the many temptations and pressures which the devil and all of his allies had given us in order to pull us away from God’s salvation.

May the Lord be with us always, so that through Him we may strive to live ever more faithfully in His ways. May He empower all of us, that we may persevere through whatever temptations, persuasions and challenges we may face along the way. May the Lord be with all of our efforts and endeavours, and bless all of us in everything we do. Let us all live our lives worthily in the Lord from now on, always. Amen.

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Sunday, 28 January 2018 : Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 1 : 21b-28

At that time, Jesus taught in the synagogue on the Sabbath day. The people were astonished at the way He taught, for He spoke as One having authority, and not like the teachers of the Law.

It happened that, a man with an evil spirit was in their synagogue, and he shouted, “What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know Who You are : You are the Holy One of God.”

Then Jesus faced him and said with authority, “Be silent, and come out of this man!” The evil spirit shook the man violently and, with a loud shriek, came out of him. All the people were astonished, and they wondered, “What is this? With what authority He preaches! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey Him!”

And Jesus’ fame spread throughout all the country of Galilee.

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Sunday, 28 January 2018 : Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 7 : 32-35

I would like you to be free from anxieties. He who is not married is concerned about the things of the Lord and how to please the Lord. While he who is married is taken up with the things of the world and how to please his wife, and he is divided in his interests.

Likewise, the unmarried woman and the virgin are concerned with the service of the Lord, to be holy in body and spirit. The married woman, instead, worries about the things of the world and how to please her husband.

I say this for your own good. I do not wish to lay traps for you, but to lead you to a beautiful life, entirely united with the Lord.

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Sunday, 28 January 2018 : Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 94 : 1-2, 6-7, 8-9

Come, let us sing to YHVH, let us make a joyful sound to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him giving thanks, with music and songs of praise.

Come and worship; let us bow down, kneel before YHVH, our Maker. He is our God, and we, His people; the flock He leads and pastures. Would, that today, you heard His voice!

Do not be stubborn, as at Meribah, in the desert, on that day at Massah, when your ancestors challenged Me, and they put Me to the test.

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Sunday, 28 January 2018 : Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Deuteronomy 18 : 15-20

Moses said to the people of Israel, “He will raise up for you a prophet like myself from among the people, from your brothers, to whom you shall listen. Remember that in Horeb, on the day of the Assembly, you said : ‘I am afraid to die and I do not want to hear the voice of YHVH again or see again the great fire.’”

“So YHVH said to me : ‘They have spoken well. I shall raise up a prophet from their midst, one of their brothers, who will be like you. I will put My words into his mouth and he will tell them all that I command. If someone does not listen to My words when the prophet speaks on My behalf, I Myself will call him to account for it. But any prophet who says in My Name anything that I did not command, or speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’”