Day: October 7, 2018

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Tuesday, 9 October 2018 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 10 : 38-42

At that time, as Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He entered a village, and a woman called Martha welcomed Him to her house. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet to listen to His words. Martha, meanwhile, was busy with all the serving, and finally she said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the work? Tell her to help me!”

But the Lord answered, “Martha, Martha, you worry and are troubled about many things, whereas only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her.”

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Tuesday, 9 October 2018 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 138 : 1-3, 13-14, 15

O YHVH, You know me : You have scrutinised me. You know when I sit and when I rise; beforehand, You discern my thoughts. You observe my activities and times of rest; You are familiar with all my ways.

It was You Who formed my inmost part and knit me together in my mother’s womb. I thank You for these wonders You have done, and my heart praises You, for Your marvellous deeds.

Even my bones were known to You when I was being formed in secret, fashioned in the depths of the earth.

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Tuesday, 9 October 2018 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Galatians 1 : 13-24

You have heard of my previous activity in the Jewish community; I furiously persecuted the Church of God and tried to destroy it. For I was more devoted to the Jewish religion than many fellow Jews of my age, and I defended the traditions of my ancestors more fanatically.

But one day, God called me, out of His great love, He, Who had chosen me from my mother’s womb; and He was pleased to reveal, in me, His son, that I might make Him known among the pagan nations. Then, I did not seek human advice nor did I go up to Jerusalem, to those who were Apostles before me. I immediately went to Arabia, and from there, I returned, again, to Damascus.

Later, after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to meet Cephas, and I stayed with him for fifteen days. But I did not see any other Apostle except James, the Lord’s brother. On writing this to you, I affirm before God that I am not lying. After that, I went to Syria and Cilicia. The churches of Christ in Judea did not know me personally; they had only heard of me : “He, who once persecuted us, is now preaching the faith he tried to uproot.” And they praised God because of me.

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Monday, 8 October 2018 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture, reminding us that we must stay rooted and true to the core message of what the Lord has taught us to do. Our faith is about believing in God and in doing what He has showed us to do, and the core of our faith, is in truth, about love. Loving God and loving one another are the two most important commandments of the Law, which the Lord Jesus mentioned to the teacher of the Law who asked Him what is the most important commandment of the Law.

In the Gospel passage today, we listened to the parable of the Good Samaritan, in which the Lord Jesus told us about a person who was attacked as he was on his way to Jericho, and left for dead by the roadside. No one bothered to help him or to assist him, even the priest and the Levites, who were those considered to be good and worthy among the members of the community. Instead, it was a Samaritan who stopped by and helped the man.

This parable today served as a reminder at the time of the Lord Jesus, in a community which was bitterly divided among themselves and with their neighbours, that is between the Jewish people, descendants of those Israelites especially of the southern kingdom of Judah who returned from the exile in Babylon, and the Samaritans, who were descended from the people of the northern kingdom of Israel, who intermarried with some of the local people of Canaan.

The two people were bitterly divided among themselves and accused each other of not having the faith in the One Lord in Whom they each believed in their own ways. In another occasion in the Gospels, when the Lord spoke with a Samaritan woman by the well of Jacob in Samaria, the Samaritan woman explained clearly what divided and made the Jews and the Samaritans, that is, their differing views on how they ought to believe in God and on where they should worship God, a prejudice and bias that lasted hundreds of years.

That was why they were so much against each other, and refused to listen to reason in their dealings with one another. In fact, it was so bad that the Samaritans would not have anything to do with a Jew and likewise, a Jew would also ignore and not have anything to do with a Samaritan. The Samaritan woman was genuinely surprised when she was greeted by the Lord Jesus, as it was not something which was common or acceptable at the time.

Now, the Lord Jesus used the example of the Good Samaritan, in order to break down these barriers and unfortunate divisions that have kept the people of God separated, and even bitter and angry against each other for so long, for so many years. God wanted His people to come together and overcoming their differences, and all the negative emotions and balances accumulated for those years, and changing them all with love.

That is after all, what God has made it clear, as He revealed it to us through His own Son, that love, is the heart and the centre of the Law, which He has given to us. There is no more important commandment of God other than first and foremost, for us to love God with all of our strength and abilities. If we do not love God, then we cannot have faith in Him or have anything to do with Him, and then, if we love God, then we must also love our brothers and sisters in our midst, for if we love God, we must then also love our fellow men.

Why is that so? That is because, all of us have been created by God out of His great love for us, and not just a few among us, but for every single one of us. If God loves everyone, even to the greatest of sinners, then who are we to hate one another, or to condemn those who we think are less worthy than us just because of their faults and sins to us? God wants us to abandon this mentality which the Jews and the Samaritans used to have for one another, in their hatred and refusal to come together and love each other.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, many of us have plenty of blame in this regard as well, in how we live our lives as Christians and therefore as the members of the one Church of God. How many of us have often been prejudiced against others, even within our Church groups and ministries. We ended up gossiping and talking badly, or even treating others in manners which if we look back and think carefully about it, are not Christian at all in nature.

Now, let us all contemplate on this, and remember all the shortcomings we have committed thus far, all the prejudices and biases which we often have, as well as our failures to love one another as the Lord has taught us to do. Let us all overcome our human pride, our prejudices and all the other wicked behaviours within us, that we may turn away from sin, and from all the wayward attitudes we have shown in life thus far. Let us turn from now on, wholeheartedly towards God, our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

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Monday, 8 October 2018 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 10 : 25-37

At that time, then a teacher of the Law came and began putting Jesus to the test. And he said, “Master, what shall I do to receive eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What is written in the Law? How do You understand it?” The man answered, “It is written : You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind. And you shall love your neighbour as yourself.”

Jesus replied, “What a good answer! Do this and you shall live.” The man wanted to justify his question, so he asked, “Who is my neighbour?” Jesus then said, “There was a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him and went off, leaving him half-dead.”

“It happened that a priest was going along that road and saw the man, but passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite saw the man, and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan also was going that way; and when he came upon the man, he was moved with compassion. He went over to him, and cleaned his wounds with oil and wine, and wrapped them in bandages. Then he put him on his own mount, and brought him to an inn, where he took care of him.”

“The next day, he had to set off; but he gave two silver coins to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and whatever you spend on him, I will repay when I return.'” Jesus then asked, “Which of these three, do you think, made himself neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The teacher of the Law answered, “The one who had mercy on him.” And Jesus said, “Then go and do the same.”

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Monday, 8 October 2018 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 110 : 1-2, 7-8, 9 and 10c

Alleluia! I thank YHVH with all my heart in the council of the just, in the assembly. The works of YHVH are great and pondered by all who delight in them.

The works of His hands are faithful and just, trustworthy are all His precepts, ordained to last forever, bearers of truth and uprightness.

He has sent His people deliverance and made with them a Covenant forever. His holy Name is to be revered! To Him belongs everlasting praise.

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Monday, 8 October 2018 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Galatians 1 : 6-12

I am surprised at how quickly you have abandoned God, Who called you, according to the grace of Christ, and have gone to another gospel. Indeed, there is no other Gospel, but some people, who are sowing confusion among you, want to turn the Gospel of Christ upside down.

But even if we, ourselves, were giving you another gospel, different from the one we preached to you, or if it were an Angel from heaven, I would say : let God’s curse be on him! As I have said, I now say again : if anyone preaches the Gospel in a way other than you received it, fire that one! Are we to please humans or obey God? Do you think that I try to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, that the Gospel we preached to you is not a human message, nor did I receive it from anyone, I was not taught of it; but it came to me, as a revelation from Christ Jesus.