Month: January 2023

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Friday, 13 January 2023 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Hilary, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Hebrews 4 : 1-5, 11

Therefore let us fear while we are invited to enter the rest of God, lest any of you be left behind. We received the Gospel exactly as they did, but hearing the message did them no good, because they did not share the faith of those who did listen. We are now to enter this rest because we believed, as it was said : I was angry and made a solemn vow : they will never enter My rest – that is the rest of God after He created the world.

In another part it was said about the seventh day : And God rested on the seventh day from all His works. But now it is said : They will not enter My rest. Let us strive, then, to enter the rest and not to share the misfortune of those who disobeyed.

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Thursday, 12 January 2023 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that we should obey the Lord and His commandments and Law, and not harden our hearts and minds against Him as many of us and our ancestors and predecessors had done. Many of us and our predecessors had been stubborn in living our lives the way we wanted it, even against the Law and commandments of God, living in the state of sin. And this is where we are reminded and called again to turn towards the Lord full of faith and love for Him, and obedience to His words and will so that each and every one of us may always be firmly attached to His path, and will always grow ever closer to Him as we continue to proceed through life.

In our first reading today, we heard of the words from the Epistle to the Hebrews, in which the author of the Epistle spoke of the actions of the people in the past who were stubborn in their refusal to listen to God, and in challenging and disobeying Him, referring especially to the actions of the Israelites during their journey from the slavery in Egypt at the time of the Exodus. The rebellion and the wickedness that the people had committed against God brought His anger against them, and as a result of those stubborn actions, the people of Israel had to wander off in the desert for a whole period of forty years, as the just and righteous consequence of their many sins and their refusal to listen and obey the Lord despite many reminders and help from the Lord, and despite everything that God had done in delivering them out of their predicament and enslavement in Egypt.

Through all of that, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews who wrote his Epistle directed to the Jewish people, the descendants of the Israelites and the people to which the Lord Jesus and many of His early disciples belonged to, wanted them all to take heed of the actions of their ancestors and predecessors who have constantly refused to believe in God. And this can be compared to the then contemporary actions of the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law, the elders and those who belonged to the group of the Sadducees, many of the chief priests and members of the Sanhedrin, or the Jewish High Council, many of whom were opposed to the Lord and His teachings and works. The hard-hearted and stubborn attitudes of those people could indeed be compared to the stubbornness of the Israelites of the time of the Exodus.

Hence, that is why all of us are also reminded by the same author of the Epistle to the Hebrews that we must not harden our hearts and minds against the Lord, and not to indulge ourselves in the path of sin and rebellion against Him. All of us should learn to listen to the Lord and not to do things the way we wanted it, just as our Gospel passage today also highlighted to us. In that passage, we heard of the Lord healing a leper who came to Him begging Him to heal him from his leprosy, from his shame and predicament. The Lord healed the leper and made him healthy again, while telling him that he should not speak of anything regarding his healing and all that happened to anyone, but just showing himself to the priests in accordance to the Law of God.

The man did not listen to the Lord and spoke to everyone regarding what had happened to him, and this caused a very great problem for the Lord, Who then had to hide away and stay out of the towns. And why is that the case, brothers and sisters? That is because likely the Lord healed the leper by touching him, and this was something that the Law of God forbade, as lepers were considered as unclean and should not be approached, less still touched and contacted. The Lord has willingly reached out to the man and acceded to his requests to be healed and made whole again, and had his stain of leprosy removed from him. Yet, the man could not do what the Lord had asked of him, and chose to do what he wanted to do instead of what the Lord had asked and told him to do, with a negative consequence as we have heard.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all hence reflect on these words of the Scriptures and all that we have heard and discussed. Let us all reflect upon our own lives and actions, and think of how each and every one of us can be better disciples and followers of the Lord. Unfortunately, many of us have often chosen to obey the words of the devil, the tempting words and lies of the devil instead of listening to the truth, the will and the Law of God, and we often succumb to the temptations of our flesh, of the world, and chose to turn away from the Lord, shutting ourselves from His words and reminders just as those people in the past had done. We all have heard and were reminded of the consequences of their disobedience, and such consequences will be ours as well if we continue down this path of disobedience.

Hence, let us all change our way of life, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue carrying on living our lives each day. Let us all return wholeheartedly to the path that the Lord has shown us, and strive to love Him to the best of our abilities. Let us all do whatever we can to glorify the Lord through our every actions and deeds, in our every words and interactions. Let us all turn once again towards God with love and obedience, as well as with the desire to follow Him and to obey His Law and commandments once again. Each and every one of us as Christians are called and expected to do whatever we can to proclaim the Lord and His truth, His love and will in our world today, and the best way to do so is by living our lives in the most Christian and obedient ways, as much as possible.

May the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us, and may He empower each and every one of us to live ever more worthily each day, following His Law and commandments. May He strengthen and encourage us in our faith, and help us to grow ever stronger in our love and devotion for Him, and may God bless all of us in our every efforts and endeavours, in our every good works and deeds, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 12 January 2023 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 1 : 40-45

At that time, a leper came to Jesus and begged Him, “If You want to, You can make me clean.” Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I do want to; be clean.”

The leprosy left the man at once and he was made clean. As Jesus sent the man away, He sternly warned him, “Do not tell anyone about this, but go and show yourself to the priest, and for the cleansing bring the offering ordered by Moses; in this way you will give to them your testimony.”

However, as soon as the man went out, he began spreading the news everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter any town. But even though He stayed in the rural areas, people came to Him from everywhere.

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Thursday, 12 January 2023 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 94 : 6-7, 8-9, 10-11

Come and worship; let us bow down, kneel before the Lord, 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.

For forty years they wearied Me and I said, “They are a people of inconsistent heart; they have not known My ways.” So I declared an oath in My anger, “Never shall they enter My rest.”

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Thursday, 12 January 2023 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 3 : 7-14

Listen to what the Holy Spirit says : If only you would hear God’s voice today! Do not be stubborn, as they were in the place called Rebellion, when your ancestors challenged Me in the desert, although they had seen My deeds for forty years. That is why I was angry with those people and said : Their hearts are always going astray and they do not understand My ways. I was angry and made a solemn vow : They will never enter My rest.

So, brothers, be careful lest some of you come to have an evil and unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. Encourage one another, day by day, as long as it is called today. Let no one become hardened in the deceitful way of sin. We are associated with Christ provided we hold steadfastly to our initial hope until the end.

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Wednesday, 11 January 2023 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, each and every one of us as Christians are reminded yet again of the salvation and healing, redemption and reconciliation that all of us have received through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. All of us have received the assurance of eternal life and glory from the Lord, Who has sent us His Son to be our Saviour, delivering us from the precipice of destruction and annihilation. Because of Him, we now have hope once again, delivered from the path to eternal darkness, freed from the bondage to sin, evil and death. Christ’s light has triumphed and overcome the whole world, and overcome the dominion of the evil one, and all those who had kept us under the tyranny of sin and death.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews, we heard the author of the Epistle regarding how all of us have shared in the same nature as Our Lord Jesus, all thanks to Him, Who is the Son of God, willingly taking up our human nature and existence, becoming Incarnate in the flesh as the Son of Man, coming down into our midst to gather us all into His loving embrace as our Good Shepherd, and reconcile us with His loving Father, our Master and Creator. Through Christ, all of us have received the assurance of eternal life by His suffering and death on the Cross, as well as by His glorious Resurrection, through which Christ has united us all to Himself and made us all to pass through into the new life and blessed existence, that is no longer of sin, but of the light of His grace.

How did Christ do this to us? He did so by sharing in our humanity, by becoming Man like us, so that He can be the New Adam, leading us all towards God through His obedience and love for God, and breaking us free from the bondage of sin because of the disobedience of the first Adam, and Eve, our first ancestors, through which we have entered into the state of sin and separated from God in the first place. He led us all as our High Priest and as the perfect role model for us to follow, so that by His offering of Himself, His own Most Precious Body and Blood on the Cross, by His suffering and death, all of us may receive the pardon and absolution from all of the unimaginable extent of our innumerable sins and faults, and be reconciled fully with the Lord, our most loving Father and Creator.

That is what the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews had mentioned to the faithful, reminding them all that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, Who has come into the world, has brought into our midst the love of God, the compassionate mercy of the Father manifested in the flesh, becoming tangible and approachable by all of us. The Lord has revealed His most gracious love and kindness, just as we have also heard in our Gospel passage today, where we heard of the Lord Jesus and His ministry among the people of God, healing those who were sick and dying, and also those who were possessed and were troubled by evil spirits, healing the mother-in-law of His disciple and Apostle, St. Peter, among many other deeds that He had done. He went out still, to reach out to more of the people of God, in fulfilling the missions entrusted to Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heard these readings from the Scriptures today, all of us are reminded that first of all, our lives as Christians ought to be focused and centred on our Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour and King, Who has come into our midst to deliver us from the sure destruction because of those sins and faults that we have committed. All of us have received the promise of salvation and eternal life from the Lord Himself, Who has reached out to us with His great and most gracious love, caring for us and gathering us all from being scattered all throughout the world, so that we may all be one people, of the one flock that He has assembled, His Church, the Body of Christ. By uniting all of us to Himself, He, as the Head of the Church, has made us all partakers and sharers of the eternal glory and joy that is promised for all those who are faithful to Him and all who belong to Him.

Through Him, all of us have received the healing and encouragement, strength and the power of God’s most gracious love and kindness, which we have now experienced and enjoyed. Now, all of us therefore are called as Christians to be ever more faithful to God and to obey His commandments and Law in the way that Christ, the Son of Man, the New Adam, our role model, has shown us. Each one of us have been called during this period and time to continue doing whatever we can in fulfilling our roles and obligations as those who follow the Lord, in doing what we can to proclaim God’s truth and love in the midst of our communities, among all the peoples, that more and more may also come to believe in God through us. This is our calling and responsibility as Christians, and one that we should embrace wholeheartedly.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we enter and progress through this first part of the Ordinary Time of the year, before we head into the season of Lent in over a month or so, let us all make good use of this time and opportunity that God has given us to do whatever we can in glorifying Him and in following Him wholeheartedly, so that this season and time will not be ‘ordinary’ in any sense. Instead, we have to make it truly ‘extraordinary’ by doing all that we can to glorify the Lord by our lives, our every actions, words and deeds. We should make sure that our examples may inspire others all around us to follow the Lord and to believe in Him as well, just in the manner that the Lord Himself and His saints have inspired us all to follow them in the path of righteousness and truth.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He strengthen each one of us in faith. May He empower all of us that we may always walk ever more confidently in the path that He has shown us and led us. May God bless our every works and deeds, all the endeavours and actions that we carry out in each and every moments of our lives. Wishing all of us a most blessed and fruitful Ordinary Time and season, each and every days of our lives, always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 11 January 2023 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 1 : 29-39

At that time, on leaving the synagogue, Jesus went to the home of Simon and Andrew with James and John. As Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with fever, they immediately told Him about her. Jesus went to her and, taking her by the hand, raised her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

That evening at sundown, people brought to Jesus all the sick and those who had evil spirits : the whole town was pressing around the door. Jesus healed many who had various diseases, and drove out many demons; but He did not let them speak, for they knew Who He was.

Very early in the morning, before daylight, Jesus went off to a lonely place where He prayed. Simon and the others went out also, searching for Him; and when they found Him, they said, “Everyone is looking for You.” Then Jesus answered, “Let us go to the nearby villages so that I may preach there too; for that is why I came.”

So Jesus set out to preach in all the synagogues throughout Galilee; He also cast out demons.

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Wednesday, 11 January 2023 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 104 : 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9

Give thanks to the Lord, call on His Name; make known His works among the nations. Sing to Him, sing His praise, proclaim all His wondrous deeds.

Glory in His holy Name; let those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and be strong; seek His face always.

You descendants of His servant Abraham, you sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is the Lord our God; His judgments reach the whole world.

He remembers His covenant forever, His promise to a thousand generations, the covenant He made with Abraham, the promise He swore to Isaac.

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Wednesday, 11 January 2023 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 2 : 14-18

And because all those children share one same nature of flesh and blood, Jesus, likewise, had to share this nature. This is why His death destroyed the one holding the power of death, that is the devil, and freed those who remained in bondage all their lifetime, because of the fear of death.

Jesus came, to take by the hand, not the Angels but the human race. So, He had to be like His brothers and sisters, in every respect, in order to be the High Priest, faithful to God and merciful to them, a Priest, able to ask pardon, and atone for their sins. Having been tested through suffering, He is able to help those who are tested.

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Tuesday, 10 January 2023 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today marks the beginning of the Ordinary Time of the year, the first of the two Ordinary Time periods in which this one spans the period between the Christmas season and the season of Lent that will begin later on Ash Wednesday towards the end of February for this year. During this period, while it is called Ordinary Time, it is often most typical for us to misunderstand what the ‘ordinary’ in Ordinary Time actually means. This ordinary does not imply or mean mundane or usual at all, but rather it implies the time and occasion where we are supposed to continue to live our lives faithfully and with great dedication, as good examples and role models for one another, that we may indeed be the beacons of God’s light and truth in the midst of our respective communities.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle to the Hebrews in which the author of the Epistle spoke about how mankind has been honoured and considered even greater than the Angels of God, and the author also spoke of the dominion and glory which God has given to His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, Who came down into our midst, to this world to save us all from our fated destruction due to sin and death. Through Him, all of us have received the sure guarantee of eternal life and the light of hope, all of us who believe in Him and remain in His love and grace. The Lord Jesus has come into this world so that we may directly experience the love of God, and that God’s love may become tangible and approachable by us, no longer a distant wish but having become a reality in the flesh.

Through Christ, all of us have been united to His suffering, His death on the Cross and His glorious Resurrection, through which He gathered us all and redeemed us by the most loving and selfless sacrifice He had offered and made on the Cross, both as our High Priest and also as the sacrificial Paschal Lamb. He united us all to His perfection and glory, His human nature being the same with us, and by sharing in our humanity, He has therefore shown us the path out of the darkness and into the eternal light of God. Christ, according to St. Paul, is the New Adam, Who, in contrast with the old and first Adam who led mankind into sin by his disobedience and sins, Christ as the New Adam led us all into the righteousness of God by His perfect submission and obedience to the will of God, His heavenly Father.

Through Christ, all of us have been made the children of God by adoption, as fellow brothers and sisters of the same Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Our Lord and Saviour. And that is what we have been reminded of through this day’s Scripture readings. All of us are God’s people, His children and followers, and we all belong to Him, His one flock and family. As such, all of us as Christians have the important responsibilities and obligations, duties and things that we will be expected to do and follow in our lives. We cannot be acting in ways contrary to what we believe in and what we are expected to do as Christians, or else we are acting like hypocrites and all those who have no faith in God. If our actions and works, our words and beliefs do not align with our Christian faith and teachings, then we may end up scandalising our faith and the Lord Himself.

That is why as we enter into this Ordinary Time and season, all of us are reminded and called to an active participation in the life and works of the Church, to be missionary and evangelising in our lives as disciples and followers of Christ so that in everything we say and do, at all times, we will always proclaim the truth and love of God, and be beacons of His light and hope in the midst of our darkened world full of evil and sin. As Christians, each and every one of us are called and expected to do what the Lord Himself has taught to us and revealed to us through His Church, by the works of the Apostles and the saints, and also by the Wisdom and the knowledge that the Holy Spirit has imparted upon us. Each one of us as God’s people, members of His flock and His followers should reflect well His righteousness and truth, at all times.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us ponder and discern well what our path forward will be, as we continue to progress through each and every days of our lives in this world. We should not indeed let our Ordinary Time and season be ‘ordinary’ in any sense that we are not doing anything or remaining idle. Instead, we should make good use of the opportunity provided to us by the Lord to make these days and moments truly ‘extraordinary’ by doing whatever we can in order to proclaim the truth and love of God in the midst of our respective communities, reaching out to those who have not yet heard God’s truth and love, and caring for the need of our fellow brothers and sisters, especially all those who are less fortunate than us, those who are suffering and in despair, everyone who are in need of help and love.

Let us all hence do whatever we can, in our every opportunities and at every possible moments, to glorify the Lord by our lives, to show forth the light of God’s grace, salvation and truth at all times and in all occasions, in every places and in every people. Let us all be good role models and source of inspiration to our fellow brethren all around us, and let us all do our part as Christians to do the will of God and to contribute our efforts and works for the greater glory of God and His Church. All of us are expected and reminded to be ever more faithful in carrying out ourselves and our duties as those who walk in the light of Christ’s Presence, and as those whom the Lord had called and chosen from among the nations. We have to be active in doing what is expected of us so that hopefully through our examples more and more people will be inspired and encouraged to do the same as well.

May the Lord continue to guide us each day throughout this season of Ordinary Time, so that we all may continue to live our lives most faithfully and most obediently, doing whatever we can to glorify the Lord through our lives, our actions and works, our words and interactions among many other things. May He empower each one of us and strengthen us all in faith, so that we may always draw ever closer to Him and continue to persevere and flourish in our faith in Him regardless of the challenges and trials we may have to face in our journey of faith with Him. Amen.