Month: July 2022

by

Friday, 22 July 2022 : Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, Apostle of the Apostles (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 20 : 1-2, 11-18

Now, on the first day after the Sabbath, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning while it was still dark, and she saw that the stone blocking the tomb had been moved away. She ran to Peter, and the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and she said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

Mary stood weeping outside the tomb; and as she wept, she bent down to look inside. She saw two Angels in white, sitting where the Body of Jesus had been, one at the head, and the other at the feet. They said, “Woman, why are you weeping?”

She answered, “Because they have taken my Lord and I do not know where they have put Him.” As she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not recognise Him. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?”

She thought it was the gardener and answered Him, “Lord, if You have taken Him away, tell me where You have put Him, and I will go and remove Him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned, and said to Him, “Rabboni!” – which means Master. Jesus said to her, “Do not touch Me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to My brothers and say to them : I am ascending to My Father, Who is your Father, to My God, Who is your God.”

So Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord, and this is what He said to me.”

by

Friday, 22 July 2022 : Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, Apostle of the Apostles (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 62 : 2abc, 2d-4, 5-6, 8-9

O God, You are my God, it is You I seek; for You, my body longs and my soul thirsts.

As a dry and weary land without water. Thus have I gazed upon You in the Sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You.

I will praise You as long as I live, lift up my hands and call on Your Name. As with the richest food, my soul will feast; my mouth will praise You with joyful lips.

For You have been my help; I sing in the shadow of Your wings. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.

by

Friday, 22 July 2022 : Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, Apostle of the Apostles (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Song of Songs 3 : 1-4a

On my bed at night I looked for the one I love, I sought him without finding him; I called him and he did not answer. I will rise and go about the city, through the streets and the squares; I will seek the love of my heart…

I sought him without finding him; the watchmen came upon me, those who patrol the city. “Have you seen the love of my heart?” As soon as I left them, I found the love of my heart.

Alternative reading

2 Corinthians 5 : 14-17

Indeed, the love of Christ holds us, and we realise, that, if He died for all, all have died. He died for all, so, that, those who live, may live no longer for themselves, but for Him, Who died, and rose again for them. And so, from now on, we do not regard anyone from a human point of view; and even if we once knew Christ personally, we should now regard Him in another way.

For that same reason, the one who is in Christ is a new creature. For him, the old things have passed away; a new world has come.

by

Thursday, 21 July 2022 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we heard the reminder of how much God has loved us and how much He had done for all of us, throughout all the time. God has always shown us His patient care and love, and He was always ever patient although we have often disregarded His love, disobeyed Him and being wayward and wicked in our way of life. The Lord wants us to listen to Him, hearken to His words and to follow His path that we may not end up falling into the wrong paths, and be trapped by the whims of our desires and sin.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah in which the Lord spoke of the great and wonderful things which He had done for them, and all the love He had shown them throughout the ages, and yet at the same time, of how those same people had rejected Him and refused His love, in worshipping pagan idols and gods, offering sacrifices to them and by doing what were wicked in the eyes of the Lord. They had not been faithful to God and disregarded His reminders and calls, persecuting the prophets who had been sent to them in order to remind them to be faithful to God and to be reconciled with Him.

Today we are then presented with the words of the Lord speaking to the disciples regarding the matter why He always preferred to speak in parables, as the disciples were wondering why He did so. The Lord told all of them that He revealed the secrets and truths of the kingdom of Heaven to them, while those who have not committed themselves to Him and refused to believe in Him would not understand or appreciate those words of truth that He has spoken to them. The ones who were willing to listen to the Lord would receive the revelation and the truth, by their faith and the guidance, the wisdom and the Holy Spirit that the Lord would grant them.

All these are therefore reminders for us, that we should not harden our hearts and minds against the Lord, especially viewing how in the past, many of our predecessors had faltered and fallen off unto the path of sin precisely because they shut themselves off from the Lord, were proud and haughty, and unwilling to listen to the Lord calling in their hearts and minds, for them to seek His truth and to repent from their wayward paths. They often trusted in their own abilities, intellects and strengths rather than to trust in God and in His providence, all of which had been given freely by God to guide all people to Himself.

As such, that is why many had fallen in the past in the path towards redemption in God. That is why we are reminded that we ourselves should not fall into that same path and traps, of temptations and worldly attachments that can easily lead us astray in our journey towards the Lord. That is why we are called to live our lives from now on with greater and more genuine faith, dedicating ourselves to the service of God and glorifying Him by our lives and actions. And today, we should reflect upon the great examples and inspiration that had been shown by one of our predecessors, namely that of St. Lawrence of Brindisi.

St. Lawrence of Brindisi was a renowned priest and member of the Capuchin Franciscans, who throughout his life had dedicated himself to God and to the people he was ministering to, actively establishing monasteries and communities of the faithful, working hard to reach out to the people of God, and through his many works, helping to restore the lack of spiritual life and connection with God that many people back then often experienced. Through his many works and writings, he exposed the errors of the heretical and wayward teachings of many preachers who fell out of the Church and led to the splintering of the many factions during the ‘reformation’ period.

The commitment and hard work of St. Lawrence of Brindisi reminds us of the kind of faith and love that each and every one of us as Christians should have for the Lord. He has given his time, life and efforts to serve and glorify the Lord, regardless of the challenges and hardships that he had to encounter. Are we also capable of this kind of faith and dedication, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we able to entrust ourselves wholly in the Lord and be truly faithful and committed to Him? And are we willing to listen to Him and to welcome Him and His truth and love into our hearts? These are important questions that we should be reflecting on this day.

May the Lord continue to guide us in our journey, and may He continue to strengthen each one of us so that we may always walk faithfully in His presence, inspired by the examples of His saints, of St. Lawrence of Brindisi and that of innumerable other holy men and women, saints of God. Amen.

by

Thursday, 21 July 2022 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Matthew 13 : 10-17

At that time, the disciples of Jesus came to Him and said, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but not to these people. For the one who has will be given more; and he will have in abundance. But the one who does not have will be deprived of even what he has. That is why I speak to them in parables; because they look and do not see; they hear; but they do not listen or understand.”

“In them, the words of the prophet Isaiah are fulfilled : However much you hear, you do not understand; however much you see, you do not perceive. For the heart of this people has grown dull. Their ears hardly hear and their eyes dare not see. If they were to see with their eyes, hear with their ears and understand with their heart, they would turn back, and I would heal them.”

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For I tell you, many prophets and righteous people have longed to see the things you see, but they did not see them; and to hear the things you hear, but they did not hear them.”

by

Thursday, 21 July 2022 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Psalm 35 : 6-7ab, 8-9, 10-11

Your love, o God, reaches the heavens; Your faithfulness, to the clouds. Your justice is like the mighty mountains; Your judgement, like the unfathomable deep.

How precious, o God, is Your constant love! Mortals take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. In Your house they find rich food and they drink from Your spring of delight.

For with You is the fountain of life, in Your light we see light. Bestow on Your faithful, Your love; and give salvation to the upright of heart.

by

Thursday, 21 July 2022 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Jeremiah 2 : 1-3, 7-8, 12-13

A word of YHVH came to me, “Go and shout this in the hearing of Jerusalem. This is YHVH’s word : I remember your kindness as a youth, the love of your bridal days, when you followed Me in the wilderness, through a land not sown. Israel was holy to YHVH, the first fruits of His harvest. All who ate of it had to pay and misfortune fell on them – it is YHVH Who speaks.”

“I brought you to a fertile land to eat of the choicest fruit. As soon as you came you defiled My land and dishonoured My heritage! The priests did not ask, ‘Where is YHVH?’ The masters of My teaching did not know Me; the pastors of My people betrayed Me; the prophets followed worthless idols and spoke in the name of Baal.”

“Be aghast at that, o heavens! Shudder, be utterly appalled – it is YHVH Who speaks – for My people have done two evils : they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, to dig for themselves leaking cisterns that hold no water!”

by

Wednesday, 20 July 2022 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are being reminded that each and every one of us have been called in different ways by the Lord, to follow Him and to commit our lives to a faithful and virtuous Christian living, that each and every one of us may bear rich fruits of our faith and actions. Each one of us are challenged and called to follow the Lord in everything we say, act and do, and through Him, we may do truly wonderful things and impact many others in the way that we may never have thought possible before. All these are possible if we let the Lord guide us in our way and journey.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah of the calling of this prophet whom God had called to be His servant and messenger to the people of the kingdom of Judah. At that time, the people of Judah had slipped once again into the path of sin and evil, disobedience and wickedness, and hence, God called Jeremiah to be His instrument and as the one to deliver His will and His words to those same people, and He reassured Jeremiah that He would guide him and show him the way, giving him the wisdom and strength to persevere through whatever challenges that he would have to face when Jeremiah was doubtful and unsure about his calling.

Jeremiah was lacking in confidence because he was still relatively young and inexperienced, but by obeying God’s call and doing what the Lord had told him to do, Jeremiah would go on to become one of the greatest of the prophets, enduring a lot of trials and challenges for the sake of the Lord and His people, and patiently enduring them and continuing to do the work of God despite all that he had to go up against, all because God was with him and that God gave him the strength, wisdom and courage to endure even the worst of persecutions. Through this example, we can see how God was always faithful to the promises He made and how He was always with His faithful ones, and what a faithful servant of God can do with God’s guidance and strength.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the story of the Lord telling His followers the famous parable of the sower. In that parable, the Lord spoke of a sower who sowed seeds that fell on various places, some on the roadside, while others fell amongst the thistles and brambles, and others fell on the dry, rocky ground, while some fell on rich, fertile and good soil. Each of these led to different outcomes in the seeds being sown, as those that fell on the roadside were eaten up by the birds and were destroyed, while those that fell on the rocky ground could not grow roots or gain water and was scorched by the intense sun, while those that fell among the thistles and brambles were choked to death.

Only those seeds that fell on the rich and fertile soil managed to grow well and not only that, produced many more times than its weight and number, as they grew well and bore many fruits, and they became bountiful and great. The Lord would later on explain the meaning and significance of this parable to His disciples, telling them that the seeds represent the Word of God and the gifts that God had given and granted all of the people, such as what He had given to His prophets like Jeremiah and many others, including the Apostles and disciples, the innumerable saints and martyrs, and ultimately, all of us.

In essence, the Lord has given us all the means, the guidance, the gifts and various opportunities that He blessed us with, in our unique circumstances, that through Him and His providence, each and every one of us may find the means to contribute to the good works of the Church, in doing good things and obeying the Law and commandments of God. But this requires active participation on our side, our commitment and time, and our contribution to cultivate the gifts and talents that we have received. If we do not provide the optimal condition for our faith and actions to develop, then just like how the seeds that fell into the wrong places failed to grow, we too shall not be fruitful in faith.

Today, all of us should therefore model ourselves based on the examples set by our holy predecessors, one of whom the feast we are celebrating today, namely St. Apollinaris. St. Apollinaris was the Bishop of Ravenna who was remembered as a very dedicated shepherd to his faithful flock, working tirelessly for the evangelisation of the people, enduring and suffering persecutions for his faith. He suffered several episodes of almost death experience and hardships, and he endured them all with faith. All those did not discourage him from continuing to work hard for the sake of the Lord. His faith and continued dedication became inspiration for many others, including us in the present day.

Let us all therefore heed the good examples set by our holy predecessors, the prophets like Jeremiah and also the many saints and martyrs like that of St. Apollinaris of Ravenna. Let us all dedicate and commit ourselves to the Lord in the same way as our faithful predecessors had done, and strive to be exemplary and inspirational ourselves in our way of life, now and always. Amen.

by

Wednesday, 20 July 2022 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Matthew 13 : 1-9

At that time, that same day, Jesus left the house and sat down by the lakeside. Many people gathered around Him. So He got into a boat, and sat down, while the crowds stood on the shore; and He spoke to them in parables about many things.

Jesus said, “The sower went out to sow; and, as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path; and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil, and the seeds sprouted quickly, because the soil was not deep. But as soon as the sun rose, the plants were scorched; and they withered, because they had no roots.”

“Again, other seeds fell among thistles; and the thistles grew and choked the plants. Still, other seeds fell on good soil and produced a crop : some a hundredfold, others sixty, and others thirty. If you have ears, then hear!”

by

Wednesday, 20 July 2022 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 70 : 1-2, 3-4a, 5-6ab, 15ab and 17

In You, o Lord, I seek refuge; let me not be disgraced. In Your justice help me and deliver me, turn Your ear to me and save me!

Be my Rock of refuge, a Stronghold to give me safety, for You are my Rock and my Fortress. Rescue me, o my God, from the hand of the wicked.

For You, o Lord, have been my Hope, my Trust, o God, from my youth. I have relied on You from birth : from my mother’s womb You brought me forth.

My lips will proclaim Your intervention and tell of Your salvation all day, little though it is what I can understand. You have taught me from my youth and until now I proclaim Your marvels.