Ordinary Time 2023

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Friday, 13 October 2023 : 27th 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 Lord in the Scriptures, all of us are reminded that we are all truly blessed that we have the Lord our God, Who has always cared for us and never ceased to send us help whenever we need that help. He has always ever been generous with His grace and love, and He wants each and every one of His beloved and faithful ones to be reunited with Him, that we may find our way back once again towards Him. We have once been lost to God because of our disobedience and rebellion against Him, which brought about sin and our downfall. But God has never given up on us, and He has always patiently cared for us and looked out for us despite our frequent and constant rebelliousness and disobedience against Him.

In our first reading today, from the Book of the prophet Joel we heard of the Lord calling on all of His people through Joel to be repentant and to regret their sins and wickedness, remembering how the Lord has been kind and merciful towards them and their ancestors. The prophet Joel was sent to the people of Israel at the time of their sufferings and hardships because they had disobeyed and abandoned the Law and the commandments of God as passed down to them through their ancestors. It was not conclusive according to historical and Scriptural evidence available, whether Joel ministered to the people of God before or after the destruction of Israel and Judah, as the words and the events depicted in the Book of Joel could refer to both before and after the periods when the people of God were exiled from their lands.

Regardless of the fact and the timeline of his work and ministry, the prophet Joel brought about the much needed reminders for the people of God that they should not take God’s love for granted, because the day of God’s reckoning will come for each one of them, and if they are to be caught unprepared and unaware of, steeped in their sins and wickedness, in their evil and vile ways, then unfortunately what remains in store for them will be an eternity of regret and despair. This is because God has always been kind, patient and merciful in all of His actions and outreach towards us, but there is also a limit to how much we can be part of that love and grace, as if we constantly and repeatedly refused and rejected that mercy and love, then it is by our own conscious choice that we have landed ourselves a place in hell and eternal damnation.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the confrontation between the Lord Jesus and some of those who have accused Him of colluding with the demonic forces, that of the prince of demons, Beelzebul, in performing His miracles and works, particularly in the casting out of evil spirits and demons. The Lord immediately rebuked all those who accused Him of such falsehoods, and pointed out the utter folly of such an idea and suggestion, that the forces of evil were divided amongst themselves. As we heard, the Lord used the comparison and analogy with that of a worldly realm and kingdom that would not have been able to stand together and remain strong if its members and parts are locked in disagreements, rebellions and civil wars against each other. Hence, in the same manner, it was a folly and indeed blasphemy for those people to accuse the Lord Jesus of colluding with Beelzebul.

The fact is that, the forces of evil, of Satan, Beelzebul, of all the princes and lords of demons and other evil spirits, all of them may indeed have their own agenda and aims, and they may differ in the methods of their actions and works against us, but they are all no less united in their constant and works in striking out against us, in their campaign and efforts to lead us away from God and His salvation. It is therefore nonsense to say that the devil and his associates are conflicting and being divided against each other, as they were quite united in their hatred and efforts against us, in tearing us away from the path that God has shown us and prepared for us. They repeated and constantly tempted all of us to walk away from the Lord.

In truth, the attitudes of all those who have accused the Lord wrongly of collusion with Beelzebul was yet another effort by the evil ones in trying to divide us all and to turn us away from the path towards God. By attempting to discredit the Lord and His works, His miracles and power, the devil and all of his allies, all the forces of evil were trying and working hard to snatch us away from God and His salvation. They sowed those doubts, mistrusts, lies and all the misinformations in order to confuse us, keeping us away from the ability to fully trust in the Lord, and to hold onto faith in Him. And that is exactly where those wicked forces will come and swoop in, tempting and misleading us down the wrong paths in life.

This is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, just as we remember and reflect upon these readings from the Scriptures today, let us all do whatever we can so that we may rid ourselves of all these corruptions and temptations present all around us. Let us all strive to do our best in living our lives with ever greater zeal and effort, to do what God has taught and shown us to do, which He had done through His own Son, His prophets and servants. We are all reminded that we should always do what is right and just according to the Law of God, and keep ourselves free from the wickedness and sins present all around us, not allowing the wicked and evil spirits to dissuade, mislead and drag us away from the path of God’s salvation and grace. Let us always put our faith and trust in the Lord, now and always.

May the Lord, our most loving God and Father, continue to guide and strengthen us in our journey of faith through our lives, and may He empower each and every one of us with the courage and the willingness to walk in His path, so that in all things we may always ever be faithful and committed to His cause. May all of us dedicate our time and effort, that we may become ever better and ever more faithful role models and inspirations of our Christian faith, in all opportunities and at all times. Can we be the ever more worthy and devoted servants of God, and be His most faithful disciples, now and always, brothers and sisters in Christ? May God bless our every good efforts and endeavours, our works and dedications, at all times. Amen.

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Friday, 13 October 2023 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 11 : 15-26

At that time, some of the people said, “Jesus drives out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the chief of the demons.” Others wanted to put Him to the test, by asking Him for a heavenly sign.

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, “Every nation divided by civil war is on the road to ruin, and will fall. If Satan also is divided, his empire is coming to an end. How can you say that I drive out demons by calling upon Beelzebul? If I drive them out by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive out demons? They will be your judges, then.”

“But if I drive out demons by the finger of God; would not this mean that the kingdom of God has come upon you? As long as a man, strong and well armed, guards his house, his goods are safe. But when a stronger man attacks and overcomes him, the challenger takes away all the weapons he relied on, and disposes of his spoils.”

“Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me, scatters. When the evil spirit goes out of a person, it wanders through dry lands, looking for a resting place; and finding none, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ When it comes, it finds the house swept and everything in order. Then it goes to fetch seven other spirits, even worse than itself. They move in and settle there, so that the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

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Friday, 13 October 2023 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 9 : 2-3, 6 and 16, 8-9

The wicked are in power; the weak suffer harassment; the poor become victims of evil schemes. Exploiters boast in their power and greed; the covetous blasphemes and defies God.

All of them saying in their heart, “Nothing will trouble me. I am secure, powerful and happy.” YHVH is King forever and the pagans have vanished from His land.

They lie in ambush near the villages, murdering the innocent and the unfortunate, spying upon their next victim. The evil one lurks in secret, like a lion in its covert, waiting to seize his prey and drag him off in a net.

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Friday, 13 October 2023 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Joel 1 : 13-15 and Joel 2 : 1-2

Gird yourselves, o priests, and weep; mourn, o ministers of the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, o ministers of my God! For the house of your God is deprived of grain and drink offering.

Proclaim a fast, call an assembly. Summon the elders, and all who live in the land, into the house of your God, and cry out to YHVH, “What a dreadful day – the day of YHVH, that draws near, and comes as ruin, from the Almighty!”

Blow the trumpet in Zion, sound the alarm on My holy mountain! Let all dwellers in the land tremble, for the day of YHVH is coming. Yes, the day is fast approaching – a day of gloom and darkness, a day of clouds and blackness. A vast and mighty army comes, like dawn spreading over the mountain : such as has never occurred before, nor will happen again in the future.

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Thursday, 12 October 2023 : 27th 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 Lord in the Scriptures, we are all reminded that all of us should always listen to the Lord, our loving Father and Creator, and be obedient to His will, His words and commandments. As Christians, each and every one of us have been adopted and made to be God’s own sons and daughters, and therefore, with God as our own Father, we should do what He has taught us to do, and we should not do things which are not in accordance to His will and His ways, or otherwise, we will be held accountable for all of our actions and way of life, and if we have not been doing what we have been asked to do, or if our actions have been wicked and sinful, then we will have to answer and face the consequences of all of those on the Day of Judgment.

In our first reading today, from the Book of the prophet Malachi, we heard of the Lord’s words to His people, reminding all of them how He has always been patient and kind towards them, and how He has always cared for them and loved them despite their many and repeated transgressions. And yet, we also heard how the people were ignorant of their transgressions, wickedness and sins, and hence, they continued to sin against Him. There were of course those who have listened to the Lord and heeded His words, and then returned back to the Lord, being repentant over their sins. The Lord then highlighted to all of the people how the righteous and just would be vindicated, blessed and receive the fullness of God’s grace, inheritance and love, while the wicked would perish by their sins and evils.

This is why all of us are today both reminded of God’s love, mercy and compassion, and at the same time, also His hatred against sin, wickedness and evil, against all sorts of disobedience and vile things of this world, His justice and the punishments that He will mete out against those who have sinned and refused to repent from those sins. God is always full and rich with His mercy, ever generous with His love, compassion and kindness, having always reached out to us, at all times and in all and every opportunities, giving us all many chances, one after another, reminding us and helping us all throughout our way that we may turn away from our wrong, mistaken and evil paths, and embrace once again the path of God’s righteousness and truth, His wisdom and love, and be filled once again with His grace, love and truth. It is our calling as Christians to embrace this path, and to help others all around us to walk down this same path.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Luke, in which the Lord compared the love of God with the love of a most loving father, who has always cared for his beloved children, no matter in what circumstances and what background they have. God had created us all with love, and He has always cared for us, at all opportunities, and hence, He loves us all, cares genuinely for us, and He wants to remind us to always be filled with the same love that He has for us, and to be ever righteous and good to one another all around us. The Lord Jesus mentioned how there is no friend who would not be moved to help should one look for assistance and help, or else, that friend is truly no real friend at all. If a friend can be moved and touched to help and assist us when we are in need, and when we ask them, then all the more that God, our loving Father will help us and assist us, when we are in need and if we ask Him.

However, more often than not, we do not turn to our Lord first, as we often sought for consolation, help and assistance from our worldly means and abilities, our various tools and other worldly methods in order to settle our problems and issues. And that is why we end up getting further and further away from the path that the Lord has set before us, as we ended up following the whim of our own desires, and the many temptations and pressures all around us. Not only that, but we are also often reluctant to ask the Lord for help and assistance, and we keep Him as a distant figure away from us, which we have only remembered whenever we are in desperate need for help, and yet, on other occasions, we tend to forget about Him and ignore Him, His words, His commandments and Law, and choose to live our lives in our own way.

Then, it is also our pride and ego which have often kept us away from the Lord and His path. We are often too proud to admit that we are flawed and imperfect, with inability to do things on our own and without God’s help and assistance. That is why we tend to follow our own path and ways, and do things in our own way, disregarded the Lord’s words and commandments, and ignoring all the advice and help which He has always provided to us all along the way. But, more often than not we ended up doing things even worse, and make things fail even further. For truly without the Lord, our loving God and Father, we cannot truly and fully realise our potential and works in this life. It is only by God’s grace and help, His guidance, wisdom and love, that each and every one can truly walk down the path of true greatness and grace, and be exemplary and great role models of our faith.

That is why all of us must always strive to be humble before the Lord, and to be open-minded and be willing to embrace God and His path, in all of our days, and in all opportunities and moments. We must always be in touch with the Lord’s will, and strive to communicate with Him, and to find out what it is that He has intended for us to do with our respective lives. Otherwise, without that close and vibrant relationship that we ought to have with the Lord, we may end up easily being swayed and tempted by the many currents of worldly temptations and evils, with all the wicked desires and all the things that had kept us away from the Lord. This is why, as Christians, all of us cannot have a shallow faith or faith that is merely superficial in nature. We must have a strong and genuine faith that is rooted in strong love for the Lord, and in the strong desire to commit ourselves to Him, at all times, and we can do that, through our good habits in cultivating a life full of prayer and virtue.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore seek the Lord faithfully from now on, deepening our relationship with Him through prayer and devotion, and by spending more quality time with Him, that we always seek to keep in touch with our loving God and Father in all things. We must not lose focus and attention on the path that God has shown us, and we should always kept Him at the centre and as the focus of our whole lives and existence. May the Lord continue to help and guide us in all of our efforts and journey throughout life. May He empower each and every one of us, and give us the courage and strength to do His will. May God bless us all in our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 12 October 2023 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 11 : 5-13

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to his house in the middle of the night and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine who is travelling has just arrived, and I have nothing to offer him.’ Maybe your friend will answer from inside, ‘Do not bother me now; the door is locked, and my children and I are in bed, so I cannot get up and give you anything.'”

“But I tell you, even though he will not get up and attend to you because you are a friend, yet he will get up because you are a bother to him, and he will give you all you need. And so I say to you, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For the one who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened.”

“If your child asks for a fish, will you give him a snake instead? And if your child asks for an egg, will you give him a scorpion? If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.”

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Thursday, 12 October 2023 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 1 : 1-2, 3, 4 and 6

Blessed is the man who does not go where the wicked gather, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit where the scoffers sit! Instead, he finds delight in the Law of YHVH and meditates day and night on His commandments.

He is like a tree beside a brook producing its fruit in due season, its leaves never withering. Everything he does is a success.

But it is different with the wicked. They are like chaff driven away by the wind. For YHVH knows the way of the righteous but cuts off the way of the wicked.

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Thursday, 12 October 2023 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Malachi 3 : 13-20a

You say very harsh things about Me, says YHVH, and yet, you say : “What harsh things did we say against You?” You say : “It is useless to serve God. There is no benefit in observing His commandments or in leading an austere life for His sake. Happy are the shameless! Those who do evil succeed in everything; though they provoke God, they remain unharmed.”

Those were the very words of those who fear YHVH. YHVH listened and heard what they said. He ordered at once, that the names of those who respect Him and reverence His Name be written in a record. And He declared, “They will be Mine on the day I have already set. Then I shall care for them, as a father cares for his obedient son. And you will see the different fates of the good and the bad, those who obey God and those who disobey Him.”

The day already comes, flaming as a furnace. On that day, all the proud and evildoers will be burnt, like straw in the fire. They will be left without branches or roots. On the other hand, the sun of justice will shine upon you who respect My Name and bring health in is rays.

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Wednesday, 11 October 2023 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are reminded of God’s great love and mercy to all of us, His beloved people, as He has always reached out to us, patiently leading and guiding all of us towards Himself, and He has never given up on us, no matter how much we have rebelled against Him and disobeyed Him, as He constantly still tried to reach out to us, loving us, caring for us and giving us help along the way so that hopefully we may be able to find our way towards Him. As our loving Father and Creator, God wants us to experience His love and kindness, just as He is also stern and serious whenever He disciplines us as we erred and made mistakes along our journey in life. In the end, those who have constantly rejected the Lord and refused His mercy and love, had condemned themselves by their stubbornness and actions.

In our first reading today, we heard the continuation of the story from the Book of Jonah in which the prophet Jonah was unhappy because everything that he had worked in going forth all the way to Nineveh, the capital and great city of the Assyrian Empire, and proclaiming its destruction and downfall, did not happen because the Lord took pity on the people of Nineveh on the account of their repentance and regret over their many sins and wickedness, and their very much public show of regret and remorse over their many sins. For the mighty and proud Assyrian Empire, which had boasted over its many achievements and power, in conquering and ruling over many cities and nations, this was indeed extraordinary and unheard of, that a whole city and its people humbled themselves before God.

The Lord wanted Jonah to understand that He never actually intended or desired the destruction of any one of us. This is because each and every one of us mankind are dear to Him, and He does not want any one of us to be lost to Him forever, unless if it is by their own choice and conscious decision that they constantly and repeatedly rejected His ever persistent and enduring offer of love, kindness, compassion and mercy. Yet, Jonah was being selfish at that time, because he was complaining to the Lord about the great heat when a castor oil plant that shaded him died, and yet, he wanted the destruction of the whole entire city of Nineveh, and its a hundred and twenty thousand people according to the Scriptures, just because it was kind of a vindication of his efforts and works in answering God’s call.

Initially, Jonah refused to do what the Lord had called and entrusted to him to do, trying to flee from the Lord, and then later on, when the Lord brought a great storm that threatened to sink his ship, he eventually continued to carry out his mission as intended. He might have felt that he was entitled to see the destruction of Nineveh as after all, that was the message that God had intended and assigned him to deliver to that city and its people. However, he was essentially making a presumption that God desired the destruction of the people of Nineveh, and assumed that he knew of what God truly wanted, when that was not the case. But what God truly wanted from all of us, even the worst among sinners, is for us to be fully reconciled and reunited with Him, by embracing the rich forgiveness that He has offered us.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the account from the Gospel of St. Luke regarding the time when the disciples of the Lord asked Him about how they ought to pray to the Lord, and then the Lord taught them all how to pray with the prayer which we all certainly know really well, that is the Pater Noster, also known as the ‘Our Father’ and as the Lord’s Prayer. Through that prayer, the Lord highlighted to us what it truly means for us to pray to God, to seek the Lord, our loving Father, and to commit ourselves to Him in prayer, and in communicating with Him, speaking and spending time with Him, asking Him for His blessing, guidance and help in all of our lives. The Lord’s Prayer is truly an example and inspiration through which all of us should follow, in committing ourselves to a life of prayer and devotion to God.

Why is that so, brothers and sisters? That is because the Lord’s Prayer is the example and the perfect prayer that we all should emulate in how we ourselves pray to the Lord. In our prayers, we should not be full of self-praise and full of litany of requests, or even demands, in asking the Lord to do things for us. Prayer is not meant for us to demand that the Lord does things for our sake, or that we ask Him to intervene for us, when we are in need and then ignore Him at other times and moments. Prayer is in fact the means through which we come to communicate with God and as we ought to do so with reverence and sincerity, and with genuine love and desire to seek the Lord. Like we heard in the Lord’s Prayer, prayer is not about us, but in fact, is about us seeking to glorify God and to thank Him for everything that He has done for us, and is a reminder for us to always listen to God and obey Him at all times.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of Pope St. John XXIII, one of the more recent Popes who have lived and reigned as the Pope, Supreme Pontiff and Vicar of Christ in the middle of the twentieth century, leading the Church through rapidly changing and turbulent times, and was especially well-known for his contributions in convoking the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, also known as the Vatican II Council. Through his examples, Pope St. John XXIII should indeed be a great role model and inspiration for all of us in how we all should live our lives as true and genuine Christians, in all the things that we say and do in life. He was born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli in a poor family of Bergamo in northern part of Italy today. Despite having been born into a poor family, the young Angelo Roncalli was brought up well in the faith by his devout parents.

Eventually the young future Pope St. John XXIII entered the seminary and after a period in formation, was ordained as a priest, in which he then experienced firsthand the challenges of the people and the workers then, under the tutelage of his mentor, Bishop Giocomo Radini-Tedeschi, the then Bishop of Bergamo, who was a champion of the rights of the workers at the time, and impacted the young Angelo Roncalli greatly, as he was Bishop Radini-Tedeschi’s secretary then, until the latter passed away. Then, the young priest experienced the ministry among the trenches and warfare during the First World War before being appointed as the Apostolic Delegate and representative of the Pope to Bulgaria, and ordained as a bishop in the years following the war.

The experiences of the earlier days Pope St. John XXIII in his years as Apostolic Nuncio to Bulgaria, and then Greece and Turkey, and finally Apostolic Nuncio to France greatly expanded his horizons and views of the world, its divergent and great variety of peoples and groups, and in his ability to negotiate and work with various parties and collaborators of the works of faith. In Bulgaria, he was instrumental in making bridges and connections with the separated brethren from the Orthodox Church, while during his tenure in France, he helped to repair the often tense relationship between the Church and the state. As Patriarch of Venice for several years, he would continue to do what he has always passionately and courageously done since his youth and earlier days as a priest, that is dedicating himself to his flock and all those who had been entrusted to him.

As Pope, Pope St. John XXIII devoted himself to many great works and efforts, in leading a reform to the Church, by convoking and announcing the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican as mentioned, helping to bring the Church, its practices and beliefs more up-to-date in responding to the challenges and the difficulties faced by the faithful due to the rapidly changing world and conditions. He was also instrumental in his efforts to bring about peace between the feuding superpowers in the Cold War, namely the United States of America and the Soviet Union, particularly during the intense crisis in Cuba that almost led the world to nuclear war and total destruction, publishing his Papal Encyclical, Pacem in Terris or ‘Peace on Earth’, calling upon peace between peoples and nations. To the very end of his life, Pope St. John XXIII continued to labour greatly for the Lord’s sake.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have all been reminded by the inspiring examples set by Pope St. John XXIII, in his life and ministry, let us all therefore strive to do our best in our own lives, in our every words, actions and deeds so that we may indeed be great role models of our Christian faith and virtues, and be the shining beacons of God’s light, truth and love. Let us all obey the Lord ever more faithfully in all of our lives and actions, entrusting ourselves to His will. May all of us continue to bear the Good News and love of God ever more faithfully in our lives, and strive to be ever more faithful in all the things we do in life, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 11 October 2023 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, Pope (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)

Luke 11 : 1-4

At that time, Jesus was praying in a certain place; and when He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught His disciples.”

And Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this : Father, may Your Name be held holy, may Your kingdom come; give us, each day, the kind of bread we need, and forgive us our sins; for we also forgive all who do us wrong; and do not bring us to the test.”