Month: July 2022

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Tuesday, 5 July 2022 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Zaccaria, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Matthew 9 : 32-38

At that time, as the two blind men were going away, some people brought to Jesus a man who was dumb, because he was possessed by a demon. When the demon was driven out, the dumb man began to speak. The crowds were astonished and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

But the Pharisees said, “He drives away demons with the help of the prince of demons.”

Jesus went around all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom; and He cured every sickness and disease. When He saw the crowds, He was moved with pity; for they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are only few. Ask the Master of the harvest to send workers to gather His harvest.”

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Tuesday, 5 July 2022 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Zaccaria, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Psalm 113B : 3-4, 5-6, 7ab-8, 9-10

There in heaven is our God; whatever He wishes, He does. Not so the hand-made idols, crafted in silver and gold.

They have mouths that cannot speak, eyes that cannot see, ears that cannot hear, noses that cannot smell.

They have hands but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk. Their makers will be like them; so will all who trust in them.

O Israel, trust in YHVH; He is your Help and your Shield! You, family of Aaron, trust in YHVH; He is your Help and your Shield!

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Tuesday, 5 July 2022 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Zaccaria, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Hosea 8 : 4-7, 11-13

Without My approval they set up kings and without My blessing appointed leaders. With their silver and gold they fashioned idols to their own ruin. To Me, Samaria, your calf is loathsome; and My anger blazes against you. How long will you remain defiled? The calf is yours, Israel, a craftsman has made it; it is not God and will be broken into pieces. As they sow the wind, they will reap the whirlwind. Stalk without flower, it will never yield flower, or if they do, foreigners will devour it.

Ephraim built many altars; but his altars made him more guilty. I wrote out for him the numerous precepts of My law; but they look on them as coming from foreigners. They offer sacrifices to Me because they are those who eat the meat; but YHVH does not accept their sacrifices, for He is mindful of their sin and remembers their wickedness. They will return to Egypt.

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Monday, 4 July 2022 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we recall the words of the Lord, we are reminded to turn wholeheartedly towards God and to remember just how much He has loved us, so graciously and wonderfully, and how through Him we shall receive the assurance of eternal life and true joy in His presence. The Lord has always been kind and loving towards us, and He has always reached out to us with love and patience, embracing us whenever we return to Him and wanting to be reconciled to Him. That is just how much God cares for us, when many of us simply often ignored Him and disregarded His love.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Hosea, we heard the Lord speaking to His people in the northern kingdom of Israel, who during the ministry of Hosea was on the last days of its existence, threatened from all sides by its neighbours, especially by the mighty Assyrians, who conquered many of the nations including Israel itself. Eventually the state of Israel itself was subjugated, crushed and utterly destroyed by the Assyrians, who destroyed their capital of Samaria and their other cities, carrying off their people into exile far away from their homeland. All these because they trusted more in themselves and in their pagan gods rather than in God.

In the past week, if we have been following the daily readings, we heard the readings from the prophet Amos, another prophet God sent to the land of Israel somewhat earlier than Hosea, telling them of this impending and unavoidable fate of destruction, because of their continued stubbornness and wickedness, and their refusal to repent their sinful ways. The Lord told them all that they would experience because of their pride, their lack of faith and evils, but at the same time, He also wanted to tell them that the path to His forgiveness, mercy and grace still remained open. He did not despise them but rather, He despised their sins and wicked way of life.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the two great miracles that the Lord performed for those who sought His help, in which one of them was a woman who had long suffered from a bleeding problem, while the other was the daughter of a synagogue official who had become sick and eventually died while the Lord was still on His way to her house. In both cases, the woman with the bleeding issue and the synagogue official himself were seeking for the Lord, wanting for healing to come from God, because they truly believed in Him. They had their own respective faith in the Lord and turned towards Him in their hour of need.

The woman had suffered from the bleeding which according to the Law would have made her unclean and unworthy of God, and as per the Jewish customs and laws, she could not have taken part in the worship and prayers at the Temple because of her unclean nature. She tried to approach the Lord discreetly because her condition understandably most likely had caused her to be somewhat a pariah or outcast within the community, and she did not want to draw attention to herself, or to the Lord. And it was by her faith that she was healed, because she sought the Lord and entrusted herself to Him, and the Lord made known her faith to everyone, and how her faith in Him saved her. This reminds us that no sinner is beyond redemption, and we should not be ashamed to seek for the Lord.

Meanwhile, what we heard from the account of the healing and resurrection of the dead daughter of the synagogue official reminded us all that there is nothing that the Lord cannot do for us, for He is the Master of all, even over live and death. Through Him and His will alone we exist, and through His love and grace we receive the gift of eternal life and the assurance of salvation and true joy, which the Lord gave to all those who are faithful to Him. The Lord has shown His compassion and kindness to those who entrust themselves to Him, and not even death could stop Him. And through His raising of the dead daughter of the synagogue official, He showed us all that there is nothing for us to worry or be afraid about, as His followers and as we embark on His path.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are called and reminded of the love and mercy of God, which He showed generously to us even though we are sinners. Each one of us are reminded of this and therefore are called to be filled with the same love that He has for us, that we may love Him with the same fervour and devotion. Today we should hence be inspired by the examples set by St. Elizabeth of Portugal whose feast we celebrate this day. St. Elizabeth of Portugal was the Queen of Portugal who although a member of the royal family, was renowned for her great piety and exemplary actions throughout her life in loving the poor and the needy all around her.

St. Elizabeth of Portugal often spent a lot of effort in caring for the need of her people, and in providing for the works of the Church, reaching out to many parties throughout her realm, renowned for her great charity and kindness. And after her husband’s death, she retired to a monastery, committing the rest of her life to a life of prayer and sanctity. St. Elizabeth of Portugal, her righteous and faithful life, her dedication to God and her obedience to Him should be inspirations and examples for all of us faithful people of God ought to follow and emulate in our own lives, in each and every moments of our present existence.

Let us all hence renew our commitment and devotion to God, so that we may draw ever closer to Him. Let us glorify Him from now on through our actions and deeds, our every words and works, and that through us more and more may come to believe in God as well and be saved. May all of us grow ever more in our faith and trust more in the Lord with each and every passing days. Amen.

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Monday, 4 July 2022 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Matthew 9 : 18-26

At that time, while Jesus was speaking to the disciples of John and the Pharisees, an official of the synagogue came up to Him, bowed before Him and said, “My daughter has just died, but come and place Your hands on her, and she will live.”

Jesus stood up and followed him with His disciples. Then a woman, who had suffered from a severe bleeding for twelve years, came up from behind and touched the edge of His cloak; for she thought, “If I only touch His cloak, I will be healed.”

Jesus turned, saw her and said, “Courage, my daughter, your faith has saved you.” And from that moment, the woman was cured. When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players and the excited crowd, He said, “Get out of here! The girl is not dead. She is only sleeping!” And they laughed at Him.

But once the crowd had been turned out, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up. The news of this spread through the whole area.

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Monday, 4 July 2022 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Psalm 144 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

I will praise You, day after day; and exalt Your Name forever. Great is YHVH, most worthy of praise; and His deeds are beyond measure.

Parents commend Your works to their children and tell them Your feats. They proclaim the splendour of Your majesty and recall Your wondrous works.

People will proclaim Your mighty deeds; and I will declare Your greatness. They will celebrate Your abundant kindness, and rejoice in singing of Your justice.

Compassionate and gracious is YHVH, slow to anger and abounding in love. YHVH is good to everyone; His mercy embraces all His creation.

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Monday, 4 July 2022 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Hosea 2 : 16, 17b-18, 21-22

So I am going to allure her, lead her once more into the desert, where I can speak to her tenderly. There, she will answer Me, as in her youth, as when she came out of the land of Egypt.

On that day, YHVH says, “You will call Me my Husband, and never again : my Baal. You will be My spouse forever, betrothed in justice and integrity; we will be united in love and tenderness. I will espouse you in faithfulness; and you will come to know YHVH.”

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Sunday, 3 July 2022 : Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we gather together to celebrate the Eucharist, all of us are reminded through the readings of the Scriptures of the calling of the Lord, Who has told us of His love, grace and kindness, and also called on us to be the witnesses of this same love and compassion to our world today. Through the Scripture passages we have heard today, we are all reminded that as members of the Church of God, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, we are all sharing in the same mission that God has entrusted to us His Church. And that mission is for us to proclaim His truth and love to all the people of all the nations, so that more and more may come to believe in God and be saved.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which God spoke to His people through Isaiah, the prophet who delivered unto them the hopeful words of the coming of God’s salvation, the coming of the Saviour or the Messiah of God, which would later on come true in the coming of Christ into this world. The words of God’s salvation and truth have been revealed to His people, telling them that despite all the trials and challenges they have faced and were going to face, the Lord would one day show His saving help and bring them deliverance much in the same manner as how He had once freed their ancestors from the land of Egypt.

Back then, during the time of the ministry of the prophet Isaiah, the nation of Israel had been long divided into two parts, the northern kingdom, called Israel, centred in Samaria and the southern kingdom, called Judah, centred in Jerusalem, the City of God. And by that time, the northern kingdom had been crushed and utterly destroyed by the Assyrians, who destroyed Samaria and carried off most of its populations to far-off exile in Assyria, Babylon and beyond. And thus, the people of God was scattered all over the world, exiled from and losing their homeland, the land that God had given to their ancestors.

All these were due to the disobedience and infidelity of the people who often hardened their hearts and minds against God. God sent them many prophets and messengers, to remind them, guide them and help them to find their way back so that they might be reconciled with Him. Yet, many of these prophets, messengers and servants of God were persecuted, rejected and killed, all because they told the people of the sins and wickedness that they had committed before God and men alike. The Lord has shown His kindness and mercy, His ever generous love and compassion, and that was met by many of the people with apathy and indifference, or even hostility and stubbornness.

Yet, God never ceased to love His people, and still continued to reach out to them. He called on all of them to return to Him, to repent from their sinful ways and to embrace once again His ways. The Lord called on all to be His disciples and followers, which He had done through His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, through Whom the prophecies of Isaiah and the many other prophets came true. Through Christ, His Son, God revealed to us how He calls on all of us, not just the Jewish people, who were the direct descendants of the people of Israel and Judah, but also the whole entire world, the entire race of mankind, to be His people.

That was what St. Paul made clear in our second reading today, in the Epistle that he wrote to the Church and the faithful in the region of Galatia in Asia Minor. At that time, during the early Church, one of the common problems facing the Church is the divide and the disagreements existing between the Jewish converts to the Christian faith and those Gentiles who became believers, and each group frequently differed in their understanding of what the Church and the Christian faith is all about. Hence, that led to much controversies and even bitter divisions that hurt the unity of the Church, the Body of Christ, and endangering the fate of many souls.

Hence, St. Paul yet again reminded the people that each and every one of them are members of the same Church, having been called and chosen, and having decided to put their faith in the Lord and in His salvation. They should no longer be divided or be hostile against each other, or be exclusive and stubborn in their attitudes, in thinking that each one of them or their groups were better than the others, or that their way should prevail over that of other different ways and paths of believing in God. St. Paul reminded all the Christian faithful, and hence all of us today, that we are truly one people, one flock in one Church, worshipping the same one only True God.

This truth is what the Lord wanted to propagate to the whole world, as He sent out His disciples as we heard in our Gospel passage today, two by two as they went on their missions, to preach the Good News and to prepare the way for the Lord. In that Gospel passage today, we are reminded yet once again of the primary mission of the Church, which is evangelisation. The Church, composed of all of the faithful people of God, the priesthood and the laity, all alike, all have been entrusted with the same mission, and that is to proclaim the Good News of God, His salvation and to bring all peoples of all the nations to God, that they may all come to believe in God.

However, this cannot happen unless each and every one of us first live our lives well in accordance to the way which the Lord Himself had revealed to us. If we ourselves did not live our lives in the way that the Lord had taught us to do, then how can we proclaim His truth and ways to others? In fact, as it had happened many times throughout the history of the Church, the actions of those who were hypocrites and those who claimed outwardly to be Christians and yet were most un-Christian-like in their actions, words, deeds and way of life, had driven more and more people away from the Lord. That happens even right up to this very day.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through the Scripture readings that we have received and discussed earlier on, we are all called to remember that our lives ought to be reflection of our Lord’s truth and love, and we are all called to build an authentic community of believers, in which each and every one of us from every segments of the Church, in our various communities and groups, all of us are filled with the love of God, and with the desire to spread the Good News and the love of God to all people. And to that extent, all of us have to embody our beliefs in our every words, actions and deeds, to the best of our abilities, so that all who see us and witness our actions and works may believe in God as well through us.

Let us all hence seek the Lord wholeheartedly from now on, doing our best in whatever capacity we have now, and in all the opportunities that God had provided us. May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to guide us all and bless us in our every good efforts and endeavours, and may all of us be ever more worthy to walk in His Presence and to be with Him, now and always, forevermore. Amen.