Day: July 2, 2023

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Thursday, 6 July 2023 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Maria Goretti, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Matthew 9 : 1-8

At that time, Jesus got back into the boat, crossed the lake again, and came to His hometown. Here, they brought to Him a paralysed man, lying on a bed. Jesus saw their faith and said to the paralytic, “Courage, my son! Your sins are forgiven.”

Some teachers of the Law said within themselves, “This Man insults God.” Jesus was aware of what they were thinking; and said, “Why have you such evil thoughts? Which is easier to say : ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? But that you may know, that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins,” He said to the paralysed man, “Stand up! Take your stretcher and go home!”

The man got up, and went home. When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe, and praised God for giving such power to human beings.

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Thursday, 6 July 2023 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Maria Goretti, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 114 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

Alleluia! I am pleased that YHVH has heard my voice in supplication, that He has not been deaf to me, the day I called on Him.

When the cords of death entangled me, the snares of the grave laid hold of me, when affliction got the better of me, I called upon the Name of YHVH : “O YHVH, save my life!”

Gracious and righteous is YHVH; full of compassion is our God. YHVH protects the simple : He saved me when I was humbled.

He has freed my soul from death, my eyes from weeping, my feet from stumbling; I will walk before YHVH in the land of the living.

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Thursday, 6 July 2023 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Maria Goretti, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Genesis 22 : 1-19

Some time later God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he answered, “Here I am.” Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I shall point out to you.”

Abraham rose early next morning and saddled his donkey and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He chopped wood for the burnt offering and set out for the place to which God had directed him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance, and he said to the young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship and then we will come back to you.”

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. He carried in his hand the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke to Abraham, his father, “Father!” And Abraham replied, “Yes, my son?” Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?” Abraham replied, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the sacrifice.”

They went on, the two of them together, until they came to the place to which God had directed them. When Abraham had built the altar and set the wood on it, he bound his son Isaac and laid him on the wood placed on the altar. He then stretched out his hand to seize the knife and slay his son. But the Angel of YHVH called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

And he said, “Here I am.” “Do not lay your hand on the boy; do not harm him, for now I know that you fear God, and you have not held back from Me your only son.” Abraham looked around and saw behind him a ram caught by its horns in a bush. He offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place ‘The Lord will provide.’ And the saying has lasted to this day.

And the Angel of YHVH called from heaven a second time, “By myself I have sworn, it is YHVH Who speaks, because you have done this and not held back your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the lands of their enemies. All the nations of the earth will be blessed through your descendants because you have obeyed Me.”

So Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba and it was there that Abraham stayed.

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Wednesday, 5 July 2023 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Zaccaria, Priest (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 Lord, each and every one of us are reminded that no one is to be excluded from the love and grace of God, from the kindness and compassion that He has always shown each one of us. No one is truly beyond the reach of God’s grace and mercy, as the Scripture passages today can attest to us and remind us what God’s love has done for many amongst us even in the times of greatest distress and hardships. He has always shown His care and attention, and none of us are ever too far from His providence. That is why we are reminded this day that we should not lose hope and we should continue to hold on fast to our faith in the Lord even amidst great tribulations and trials in our lives.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Genesis the story of the conflict that arose between Ishmael, the firstborn son of Abraham from his mother Hagar, a slave owned by Sarah, Abraham’s wife, and Isaac, the son that Sarah herself had borne for Abraham, the son that God had promised Abraham. It was logical to think that Sarah was afraid that Ishmael would try to snatch the inheritance away from Isaac, her own son, and all these ultimately happened because in his momentary weakness and moment of doubt, Abraham chose to find worldly solution to his problem rather than to trust in God for what He had promised and spoken to him about giving and granting him a son to continue his legacy and family. Abraham took Hagar, Sarah’s slave to bear a child for them, probably upon Sarah’s suggestion, a decision that would probably be regretted by the latter.

Now, despite all the problems and issues that arose from the fact that Abraham had two sons, Isaac and Ishmael, they are both still Abraham’s sons, and while Abraham did send Ishmael and his mother away, God did not abandon them but in fact took good care of them and helped them in their times of hardships, sending His Angel to take care of them and to provide for them in the wilderness. God has also promised Abraham that He would still take care of Ishmael for despite the child having been conceived against God’s will, but ultimately, as a child of Abraham, he was also still deserving of God’s blessings that God has promised his father Abraham. Ultimately, he was also one of God’s beloved children, just like all of us.

That is why, we can see how God’s love has been given so generously to us, as we have seen His blessings, love and compassion even to those who others may think as undeserving of God’s love and kindness. This He has yet again shown in our Gospel passage today as we heard of how the Lord had shown His mercy and compassion on two men who had been possessed by evil spirits in the region of Gadara beyond the Jordan River from Judea. Those two men had been living in the wilderness, shunned and rejected by the rest of the Jewish community for their condition, as they were struck by the evil spirits that made them to be very much feared by the rest of the people, who stayed away from them.

But the Lord did not abandon those two men, and He cast the demons from the two men into the herd of pigs nearby, freeing the two men from the possession by the evil spirits. The news of that miracle and exorcism astounded many of the people in the region, who have never heard or witnessed such things before. And the pig herders and owners in that area naturally were afraid of the Lord because He has caused many of their pigs to fall into their deaths, possessed by the evil spirits, and hence, they begged Him to leave their area. But in the end, the two men, who were once possessed by the evil spirits, had been freed from their bondage and from those wicked spirits, gained their freedom and position again among the people of God. The Lord did that for them, and again, we can see the love of God that has been generously shown to us.

Today, all of us are therefore reminded that we should continue to love the Lord wholeheartedly and commit ourselves totally to Him. All of us as Christians have been so fortunate that God has always watched over us and taken care of us even when He was not obliged to do so. After all, it was us who have disobeyed and abandoned Him first, betrayed Him and refusing to listen to Him. Yet, He still patiently cared for us and repeatedly sought for us, calling on us to return to Him so that we may find our way back to Him. All of us are beloved by God, and no one can indeed separate us from the love of God, unless we ourselves have consciously and repeatedly rejected His love right up to the very end.

This day, we also celebrate the feast of St. Anthony Zaccaria, a faithful priest and saint, man of God, whose life and actions hopefully can serve as inspiration for all of us to follow in our own lives, that we may indeed know how to follow the Lord faithfully as he had done in his own life. St. Anthony Zaccaria was a truly devout priest and preacher who spent a lot of time and effort to proclaim the truth of God, and calling upon the people of God to love the Lord through the devotion that now has become very popular, that is the Forty-hours devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. He laboured hard during the tough time of the Protestant reformation, leading the efforts with the Counter-Reformation, helping many among the faithful to realise the flaws and mistakes in the heretical ideas and teachings that were then running rampant all around Christendom.

St. Anthony Zaccaria dedicated himself so much to his work and ministry, and laid the foundations for not just one, but in fact three religious institutions, namely the Clerics Regular of St. Paul, the Angelic Sisters of St. Paul, as well as the lay organisation of the Laity of St. Paul. Through his establishments of these societies, and his many other works, and inspiration for many to work together for the greater glory of God, St. Anthony Zaccaria had truly brought about great good to many people, and helped many to realise their love for God, and to walk ever more faithfully in the path that God had called them to walk in. All of us as Christians therefore should also do our part in the manner that St. Anthony Zaccaria has shown us, in loving God, Who has loved us so dearly, and to show that love to one another.

Let our actions be truly Christ-like, and be the extensions of God’s love and compassion, so that we may truly, like God Himself had done, love one another, our fellow brothers and sisters with great and unconditional love. May the Lord continue to bless us in our every good works and endeavours, that we may ever grow stronger in our faith and commitment, to follow Him at all times. May God be with us all and be with Church, now and always, forevermore. Amen.