Month: January 2024

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Tuesday, 16 January 2024 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 2 : 23-28

At that time, on one Sabbath Jesus was walking through grain fields. As His disciples walked along with Him, they began to pick the heads of grain and crush them in their hands. Then the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look! They are doing what is forbidden on the Sabbath!”

And He said to them, “Have you never read what David did in his time of need; when he and his men were very hungry? He went into the House of God, when Abiathar was High Priest, and ate; the bread of offering, which only the priests are allowed to eat, and he also gave some to the men who were with him.”

Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Master even of the Sabbath.”

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Tuesday, 16 January 2024 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 88 : 20, 21-22, 27-28

In the past, You spoke in a vision; You said of Your faithful servant : “I have set the crown upon a mighty one; on one chosen from the people.”

I have found David My servant, and, with My holy oil, I have anointed him. My hand will be ever with him; and My arm will sustain him.

He will call on Me, “You are my Father, my God, my Rock, my Saviour.” I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.

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Tuesday, 16 January 2024 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Samuel 16 : 1-13

YHVH asked Samuel, “How long will you be grieving over Saul whom I have rejected as king of Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen My king from among his sons.”

Samuel asked, “How can I go? If Saul hears of this, he will kill me!” YHVH replied, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to YHVH.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice and I will let you know what to do next. You shall anoint for Me the one I point out to you.”

Samuel did what YHVH commanded and left for Bethlehem. When he appeared, the elders of the city came to him asking, fearfully, “Do you bring us peace?” Samuel replied, “I come in peace; I am here to sacrifice to YHVH. Cleanse yourselves and join me in the sacrifice.” He also had Jesse and his sons cleansed and invited them to the sacrifice.

As they came, Samuel looked at Eliab the older and thought, “This must be YHVH’s anointed.” But YHVH told Samuel, “Do not judge by his looks or his stature for I have rejected him. YHVH does not judge as man judges; humans see with the eyes; YHVH sees the heart.”

Jesse called his son Abinadab and presented him to Samuel who said, “YHVH has not chosen this one either.” Jesse presented Shammah and Samuel said, “Nor has YHVH chosen this one.” Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel who said, “YHVH has chosen none of them. But are all your sons here?”

Jesse replied, “There is still the youngest, tending the flock just now.” Samuel said to him, “Send for him and bring him to me; we shall not sit down to eat until he arrives.” So Jesse sent for his youngest son and brought him to Samuel. He was a handsome lad with a ruddy complexion and beautiful eyes. And YHVH spoke, “Go, anoint him for he is the one.”

Samuel then took the horn of oil and anointed him in his brothers’ presence. From that day onwards, YHVH’s Spirit took hold of David. Then Samuel left for Ramah.

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Monday, 15 January 2024 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scriptures in which we are all reminded that we should not blindly obey the Law and the commandments of God without understanding and appreciating their meaning, purpose and intention. We also must not obey the Law and the commandments of God with the perverted and corrupt intentions to satisfy our own greed and desires. We must never allow the temptations of our flesh, all sorts of worldly corruptions from turning us from the path of righteousness. We must be vigilant lest the temptations of sin may tempt us away into our downfall and destruction, as how it had happened to our predecessors, including what we have heard in our Scripture passages today.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Samuel, in which the story of the disobedience and sin of Saul, King of Israel was presented to us, when he did not do what the Lord had told him to do, in eliminating and destroying the Amalekites, their king and their possessions. Instead, Saul spared the king of the Amalekites, Agag, and also many of the sheep and oxen, which Saul argued to the prophet Samuel who confronted him on the matter, that those were meant to be sacrificed to God. This earned Saul a firm rebuke from God through Samuel, who told him off for his disobedience and failure to do God’s will, and for putting his own desires and judgments above that of obedience to God and His commands. Thus, that was the reason why Saul was eventually replaced as king by the more faithful David.

Why did Saul disobey God? It was not specifically or clearly mentioned, but based on the evidence from the Scripture passages and from the circumstances of the time, it was likely that Saul was tempted by the temptations of the wealth and riches that he could seize from the Amalekites, as well as other worldly recourses and matters, such as by sparing the Amalekite king, he could have gained more from the wars and conflict for his own benefits and for the treasuries of the kingdom as compared to if he followed the Lord’s words completely in obliterating the Amalekites wholly and thoroughly as he should have done. Thus, King Saul allowed himself to be tempted and swayed away from the path of righteousness and truth, falling into disobedience and committing sins against God.

Not only that, but according to the traditions of the people of God, this action of sparing the King of Amalek and part of their flocks would have repercussions in the future, as it was told that from the Queen of Amalek that escaped from the hands of the Israelites, and from Agag, the same king whom Saul spared, an Amalekite named Haman would rise in the distant future, a few centuries later, when this Haman almost managed to destroy the whole people of Israel and their descendants. From the Book of Esther, Haman did so as he used his influence and power to exact revenge against the Israelites, and if not for the intervention of God through Queen Esther of Persia and one Mordechai, the people of Israel would have been exterminated.

This is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, what the prophet Samuel told King Saul was indeed very important, as he told the latter that what God sought from him and all others were not sacrifices but obedience. There was no point for many sacrifices made to the Lord if this was done out of disobedience and sin, just as what Saul had done. King Saul chose to follow his own desires and temptations of the world rather than to trust in the Lord, and that was where his sins and faults lie, and all of us are reminded and warned of this today so that hopefully we will not end up in the same situation either. It is important reminder for us so that we do not easily allow ourselves to be swayed by all the temptations, coercions and pressures present all around us.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard about the confrontation between the Lord Jesus and the Pharisees who were there questioning Him and His disciples why they were not fasting in the manner that they and the disciples of St. John the Baptist had done. The Lord then answered them that His disciples do not fast in the manner that they were asked for, because He, the Lord Himself, was with them. There would indeed be a time when they would fast and mourn, but essentially, they would not do things in the same manner as that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, or the disciples of St. John, and this was because the way that they had practiced the Law and the commandments of God by that time, had become obsolete and wayward from what the Lord had originally intended for them.

What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that by the time of the Lord’s earthly ministry, the Law and commandments of God had been largely misunderstood and misrepresented by those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, all of whom had inherited various practices, customs, rituals and habits, all of which were additions and alterations from the true original Law of God. Many of those amendments and alterations were done without proper understanding and appreciation of what God had intended with His Law and commandments. The Lord has given us all His Law so that all of us may be able to reach Him and find our way to Him, and through His Law and commandments, we may find our path towards His salvation and grace more easily.

However, those Pharisees, teachers of the Law and elders had ended up using the Law in the wrong manner, trusting in their own traditions, practices, customs and human judgment and refusing to listen to the Lord speaking to them and explaining to them why their ways of practicing the Law and commandments of God had been wrong. It is important therefore, that all of us are again reminded that we should always put the Lord our God at the very centre and as the focus of our lives, and we should not allow the temptations of the world and all sorts of earthly ambitions and glory from distracting us from our focus on the Lord. This is why we should always keep our focus firmly on the Lord and do our best so that in each and every moments of our lives, we will always obey the Lord wholeheartedly, understand and appreciate His ways, and ultimately, be filled with love for Him all the time.

May the Lord be with us all, His beloved ones, always, and may He empower each one of us so that we may be strong and be able to persevere through the various challenges and trials in life. May God bless our every good efforts and works, all of us in everything we say and do, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Monday, 15 January 2024 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 2 : 18-22

At that time, when the Pharisees and the disciples of John the Baptist were fasting, some people asked Jesus, “Why is it, that both the Pharisees and the disciples of John fast, but Yours do not?”

Jesus answered, “How can the wedding guests fast while the Bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the Bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the day will come, when the Bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.”

“No one sews a piece of new cloth on an old coat, because the new patch will shrink and tear away from the old cloth, making a worse tear. And no one puts new wine into old wine skins, for the wine would burst the skins, and then both the wine and the skins would be lost. But new wine, new skins!”

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Monday, 15 January 2024 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 49 : 8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23

Not for your sacrifices do I reprove you, for your burnt offerings are ever before Me. I need no bull from your stalls, nor he-goat from your pens.

What right have you to mouth My laws, or to talk about My Covenant? You hate My commands and cast My words behind you.

Because I was silent while you did these things, you thought I was like you. But now I rebuke you and make this charge against you. Those who give with thanks, offerings, honour Me; but the one who walks blamelessly. I will show him the salvation of God.

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Monday, 15 January 2024 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Samuel 15 : 16-23

Samuel then told Saul, “Enough! Let me tell you what YHVH said to me last night.” Saul replied, “Please tell me.” So Samuel went on and said, “Though you had no confidence in yourself, you became chief of the tribes of Israel, for YHVH wanted to anoint you king over Israel. Then He sent you with this command, ‘Go. Completely crush the Amalekite offenders, engaging them in battle until they are destroyed.’”

“Why then did you not obey the voice of YHVH but instead swooped down on the spoil, doing what was evil in His sight?” To this, Saul replied, “I have obeyed the voice of YHVH and have carried out the mission for which He sent me. I have captured Agag, king of Amalek and completely destroyed the Amalekites. If my men spared the best sheep and oxen from among these to be destroyed, it was in order to sacrifice them to YHVH, your God, in Gilgal.”

Samuel then said, “Does YHVH take as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obedience to His command? Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission better than the fat of rams. Rebellion is like the sin of divination, and stubbornness like holding onto idols. Since you have rejected the word of YHVH, He too has rejected you as king.”

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Sunday, 14 January 2024 : Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are reminded of what each and every one of us as Christians have been called to do what God has called and told us to do, in each and every missions and works that He has entrusted to us. All of us have the been called to follow the Lord and walk in His path, to be good and faithful Christians, as examples, role models and inspirations for everyone all around us. We are reminded that our lives and our actions throughout every moments must be truly good and worthy of God, because each one of us are called to be holy just as the Lord our God is all Holy and Perfect.

In our first reading today, we heard of the reading from the Book of the prophet Samuel in which the young Samuel was called by God in the night, and how the young Samuel thought that it was his mentor, the priest and Judge Eli who was calling him. At that time, the young Samuel had been entrusted and offered by his mother Hannah to be priest and servant of God, as she had promised to the Lord Himself for his miraculous conception and birth. The young Samuel was blessed by God and was filled with his grace, and God was with him, and hence, this was when the Lord first called him and speak to him. Eli realised that it was God Who was calling the young Samuel, and he told Samuel to respond to the Lord.

Samuel had been called by God to do great things among His people, to lead and guide them all back towards Him. Unlike the the sons of Eli, who had been appointed as priests and guides over the people, which the Scriptures highlighted that they were wicked and corrupt in their ways and actions, Samuel was upright and just, and he obeyed the Lord in His commands and all that He has entrusted to him to do. We heard from the first reading today how the Lord was with him, and everything that he said became true, as a sign of Divine providence and favour, as he continued to labour hard for the glory of God and for the well-being and salvation of the people of God, which he led out of the darkness and corruption of the world, and into the light of God’s truth and love.

In our second reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city of Corinth, the Apostle reminded all of the faithful, and hence all of us that we are all the holy people of God, consecrated and dedicated to Him, and our whole beings, our bodies, hearts, minds and souls are all sacred, having been dedicated to God. Through baptism, all of us have been made members of the Church of God, partakers of the Most Holy Eucharist, the Most Holy and Precious Body and Blood of Christ, and hence, we are all truly the Temples of the Lord’s Holy Presence just as St. Paul the Apostle had reminded all of us. This is because God Himself dwells in us and amongst us, and all of us are truly like His holy Tabernacles, the Living Church.

Therefore, just as St. Paul mentioned in his Epistle, all of us should strive to keep ourselves away from all sorts of evil, fornications and sin. We must always do our best that our every words, actions and deeds, our every interactions and our way of life should always be filled with righteousness, virtue and justice, living our lives in the manner that the Lord has taught us to do, with faith and dedication to Him, and with courage in living our lives at each moment with the desire and the commitment to walk in the path that the Lord has shown and taught us. Each and every one of us must make ourselves truly worthy of God’s presence and love, as He Himself has come into our midst and dwelled in our midst. Hence, we must not allow ourselves to fall into sin and evil, and we have to strive to live our lives to the fullest with faith.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus called His disciples, who came to Him firstly through the testimony of St. John the Baptist who told two of his own disciples that the Lord Jesus is the Lamb of God, the One Whom St. John the Baptist himself has been proclaiming and labouring about. Those disciples therefore followed the Lord and sought Him, and they walked with Him, calling upon their relatives to the Lord as well. They left behind everything, listened to the Lord and embarked on the journey with Him, to wherever He led them towards. We heard how the fishermen of Lake of Galilee, Simon son of John and the sons of Zebedee followed our Lord, and He entrusted them with the works and missions to evangelise to the world, giving the name Peter, meaning Rock to Simon, signifying this new beginning in his life and that of the others whom He had called.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all have heard from the passages of the Sacred Scriptures today, let us all be reminded of what each and every one of us as Christians have been called to do in our respective lives so that our lives and actions, our every words and interactions may indeed be truly worthy of our identity as Christians, as God’s beloved people and children, those who belong to Him. All of us have been called and gathered from this world by the Lord, and He has entrusted to us His Church and the various missions which He gave to us, in bringing His light and truth, His Good News and the manifestation of His love to more and more people. Each and every one of us are the ones through whom God’s love and truth are made manifest in this world, spread and known to more and more people.

Let us all therefore renew our faith and commitment to the Lord. Let us all strive to do what is right, virtuous and just according to God’s will at every possible opportunities. Let us all be like the young Samuel and the disciples of the Lord, who put their full trust and faith in God, leaving behind everything and following Him. Let us all do what God has called us to do in our respective lives, in whatever areas and parts of life, in our various vocations and calling in life, so that our lives may truly be exemplary and good, and be the shining beacons of God’s truth and love, proclaiming Him to everyone all around us at all times. May God bless us all in our every good works, efforts and endeavours, in all that we say and do, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 14 January 2024 : Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

John 1 : 35-42

At that time, John was standing at the River Jordan, with two of his disciples. As Jesus walked by, John looked at Him and said, “There is the Lamb of God.” On hearing this, the two disciples followed Jesus. He turned and saw them following, and He said to them, “What are you looking for?”

They answered, “Rabbi (which means Master), where are You staying?” Jesus said, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where He stayed, and spent the rest of that day with Him. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.

Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard what John had said, and followed Jesus. Early the next morning, he found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah (which means the Christ),” and he brought Simon to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John, but you shall be called Cephas (which means Rock).”

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Sunday, 14 January 2024 : Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 6 : 13c-15a, 17-20

Yet the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord is for the body. And God, Who raised the Lord, will also raise us with His power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?

On the contrary, anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him. Avoid unlawful sex entirely. Any other sin a person commits is outside the body; but those who commit sexual immorality sin against their own body.

Do you not know that your body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit within you, given by God? You belong no longer to yourselves. Remember at what price you have been bought, and make your body serve the glory of God.