Ordinary Time 2023

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Tuesday, 21 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the occasion of the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, commemorating the moment when Mary, the Mother of God, was presented at the Temple of Jerusalem, the House of God in accordance to the rules and ways of the Law of God. She was presented and consecrated to God, as a prefigurement of the role that she would later on play in the history of our salvation. Indeed, Mary has been prepared and set aside by the Lord from the very beginning, from before she was even conceived, to be the one to bring forth the salvation into the world. She was set aside, made special, and by the singular grace of God, she was spared from the corruption of original sin and all the taints and corruptions of sin henceforth, that she was truly conceived without sin.

This is what the Church has taught and preserved from the very beginning, in the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In that Dogma, the Church teaches that Mary had been spared from the effects of sin, which had afflicted us from the very beginning of time, when our first ancestors, Adam and Eve, chose to disobey the Lord and embraced the path of sin, the path that Satan had offered and tempted them with. All mankind had been afflicted by the corruption and have to suffer the consequences of sin ever since, that is death. However, Mary was prepared special by the Lord because she has a particular destiny and purpose, that is to become the one to bear the Saviour of the whole world, as the Mother of God herself.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Zechariah in which the prophet spoke of God’s words and reassurance for all of His people that He would send them His salvation, and everyone of them would rejoice once again because He would dwell among them once again, and that they would be saved from their predicament and troubles. The Lord would once again dwell among His people, just as He had done in the days past, when the Ark of the Covenant was in the first Temple of God built by King Solomon. Ever since the people disobeyed the Lord and abandoned Him for the pagan gods and idols, they had been cast out and punished, but the Lord never did abandon or neglect them. He still continued to send out messengers, prophets and helpers in order to help and guide them in their path towards Him.

It was exactly through Mary that God and His salvation has come into this world, because as we all know and are going to prepare to celebrate later in Advent and Christmas, by the will of the Father and by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Divine Word of God Himself has become flesh, incarnate into Man, and was conceived in the hallowed womb of Mary, to become a Child and born of her. And because of this, it is essential that she is hallowed and made to be worthy of God Himself being present within her. Why is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because linking to the Ark of the Covenant which I mentioned just earlier, which is representing God’s Holy Presence among His people, Mary is the New Ark of the New Covenant which God would make and establish with His people, through the Son to be born of Mary’s womb, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

The original Ark of the Covenant contained the two stone tablets upon which the Law of God had been inscribed and written, the Ten Commandments as we are all familiar with, as well as the manna, the heavenly bread with which the Lord fed His people, the Israelites, throughout the entirety of their forty years long sojourn and travel from the land of Egypt to the Promised Land, as well as the Staff of Aaron, the staff of priestly authority and leadership, with which God had performed many of His signs and wonders through Moses and Aaron, and which represented the leadership of God’s people. And it was upon this Ark of the Covenant, crafted from the finest materials and decorated with the golden Cherubim on top, that the Lord descended upon His people, seated upon the Ark, and hence, becoming the very tangible sign of His Presence in this world.

Then, comparing this to what the Lord would bring forth through Mary, there is an even far greater Covenant and things that happened than the original Ark of the Covenant. The original Ark of the Covenant, which was made from the finest materials and wrought with human hands, was so holy that no one was allowed to directly touch it, and in one instance, when one of the priests accidentally touched it, he was immediately struck dead. Why is that so? That is because God is so Holy and perfect that no sin and imperfection, corruption and evil may exist in His Presence and remain. Hence, the same logic applies as well to Mary, who was to become the vessel of God Himself, this time truly present and tangible in the flesh, in His Holy Presence, the Almighty and all-Holy God descending into our world through Mary. That was why, she was set aside and hallowed, Immaculate, free from any taints of sin throughout her life, being full of God’s grace.

Now, on this day, as we commemorate this Feast of the Presentation of Mary, the Blessed Mother of God, let us all therefore look upon Mary, the one through whom God had done so many great and wonderful works, in bringing forth His salvation into this world. What is important is, we must also realise that Mary is not just worthy of veneration, honour and following because of her having been set aside by the Lord to be the holy vessel for Our Lord and Saviour, but she herself had lived her life worthily of the Lord, at all times throughout her life. She has shown what it means for us to live a good, holy and worthy Christian living, in all of our lives, our words, actions and deeds. And she is therefore a great inspiration and role model for all of us, just as she has also always encouraged us to remain true and faithful to the Lord as our loving Mother.

When the Lord in our Gospel passage today was talking about those who follow the Lord, obey His will and Law are those who are His mother and family members, He was not actually disrespecting His own Mother, who was there waiting on Him and following Him. Rather, on the contrary, the Lord was actually pointing to everyone who listened to Him, to follow the examples of His own loving Mother in all the things that they say and do. Therefore, all of us should also do the same in our own lives, in doing what the Lord has told and taught us to do, in living our lives, carrying out our actions and interactions, with the Lord as the focus and emphasis in them. Let our lives be the shining beacons of God’s light and truth, His love and compassion to others, that more and more may come to know Him as His love.

May the Lord, our loving God and Master continue to love us and strengthen us in faith, and may through the good examples and inspirations of His Blessed Mother, Mary, who is our mother too, we all may come ever closer to the Lord and His Holy Presence. May all of us be blessed in our every good efforts and endeavours, all for the greater glory of God, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 21 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 12 : 46-50

At that time, while Jesus was talking to the people, His mother and His brothers wanted to speak to Him, and they waited outside. So someone said to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside; they want to speak with You.”

Jesus answered, “Who is My mother? Who are My brothers?” Then He pointed to His disciples and said, “Look! Here are My mother and My brothers. Whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

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Tuesday, 21 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 46-47, 48-49, 50-51, 52-53, 54-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God, my Saviour!

He has looked upon His servant, in her lowliness, and people, forever, will call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, Holy is His Name!

From age to age, His mercy extends to those who live in His presence. He has acted with power and done wonders, and scattered the proud with their plans.

He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up those who are downtrodden. He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.

He held out His hand to Israel, His servant, for He remembered His mercy, even as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.

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Tuesday, 21 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Zechariah 2 : 14-17

Sing and rejoice, o daughter of Zion, for I am about to come, I shall dwell among you,” says YHVH. “On that day, many nations will join YHVH and be My people, but My dwelling is among you.”

The people of Judah will be for YHVH as His portion in His holy land. He will choose Jerusalem again. Keep still in YHVH’s presence, for He comes, having risen from His holy dwelling.

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Monday, 20 November 2023 : 33rd 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 of the love which God has shown to us, despite our sufferings, trials and challenges that we are constantly facing throughout our lives. We must always put our faith and trust in the Lord, and do not give up following Him because in Him alone we shall find true solace, help and consolation, freedom and liberation from all of our troubles and difficulties. We must always remind one another these truth and facts, that despite the challenges and hardships that we may have to encounter and endure in this world and in our lives, we will not easily be tempted and swayed to the wrong path, that is to give up on our faith and to conform to the ways of the world in order to save ourselves.

In our first reading passage today, taken from the Book of the Maccabees, we heard the beginning of the historic account of the Maccabean Revolt and what made that revolt happened in the first place. We heard the context of the political and societal events that happened at that time, when the Jewish people, the descendants of God’s first chosen people, the Israelites, were under the dominion of the Greek kings, especially the Seleucids. Back then, as our world history would share with us, the region was under the rule of the Greek successors of Alexander the Great, who had conquered the Persian Empire and imposed Greek hegemony over much of the region. The Seleucids and the Ptolemies were among these successor rulers, and at that time, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Seleucid King was the ruler of the region of Syria and Judea.

This same King Antiochus IV Epiphanes instituted a new harsh policy intended to unite his fractitious and expansive Empire, by enforcing Greek practices and religious customs upon all of the diverse groups of people in his Empire. This resulted in the Jewish people being persecuted for following the Law of God and for their practices and worship of the Lord. As we heard in that first reading account today, many were coerced, forced, encouraged and even threatened to follow the Greek ways and customs. Not only that, but as recorded in that same account, King Antiochus IV Epiphanes and his forces even violated the sanctity of God’s House, the Temple of Jerusalem, ransacking it and establishing altars dedicated to the pagan Greek gods there, destroying the Book of the Law of God and other aspects of the faith in God.

Essentially, what this Greek King had done was an attempt to destroy completely the faith in the Lord, and to turn everyone into the same worship and ways of the Greeks, in a vain and mistaken effort to unite his kingdom and to bolster his forces and might. Quite a few of the Jewish people acquiesced to the demands and efforts of the King, converting into the pagan ways and practices, but there were also those who refused to obey the king’s demands, and began to launch a campaign of resistance and opposition to the king, which was the advent of the Maccabean Revolt. The Maccabees belong to a family of priests, the sons of Mattathias, who rose in opposition to King Antiochus’ religious and ethnic policies, and hence, resisted the efforts and attempts by the Greek King to impose the Greek and pagan customs, and eventually, the Lord was with their forces, and while the people of God had to endure many trials and challenges, in the end, the faithful won a great victory against their enemies.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the account of the moment when the Lord encounter near Jericho a blind man who sought Him to heal him from the blindness that he had suffered from. The blind man cried out to the Lord, ‘Son of David!’ referring to Him as the One Whom the Lord had promised to be the Messiah or Saviour of the world. In proclaiming the Lord as such, the blind man had made such a profound and public expression of his faith before everyone. And we heard how despite the efforts from those around the Lord to silence him and to ridicule him, the blind man cried out the louder and sought the Lord even more fervently. This was then rewarded by the Lord, Who healed the blind man, and made him to be able to see once again. It was the blind man’s faith in God that had saved him.

In relating to our first reading passage today, the people of God during the time and reign of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes and his successors suffered greatly during the Maccabean Revolt, and not few lost their lives in the process. Yet, in the end, after a long period of struggle and dedication to God, the people of God finally had their freedom and liberation from the tyrants, and managed to regain back their ability to worship the Lord openly and freely, in the period known as the Hasmonean Kingdom, about a century or so before the coming of Christ. This was a proof that God was truly with His people, and those who are faithful to Him, just like that blind man who ceaselessly and courageously sought healing from the Lord, and was healed from his ailment in the end.

Therefore, all of us should take note that this is what we are reminded to do, to be ever faithful to the Lord and to follow Him wholeheartedly, and to keep our faith in Him regardless of the challenges, trials and difficulties that we may encounter in our lives’ journey. We must not allow the hardships, challenges and temptations present all around us to dissuade us from remaining faithful to God and we must not be easily swayed to abandon our faith in God in exchange for temporary respite and comfort in the world, for it is in the Lord alone that there is hope of eternal life and salvation, while if we follow the path of the world, we are likely going to fall into the path towards damnation and eternal suffering, for those who have condemned themselves by their sins and wickedness, in Hell.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore strive to live our lives as Christians as best as possible, and encourage one another, our fellow brothers and sisters in the same Lord, to remain steadfast in our faith. Let our words and actions be the concrete examples and inspirations of our Christian faith at all times, and let us all be the shining beacons of God’s light and truth, His love and compassion towards all of us. May the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us all, and be with us all in this journey, and bless our every good efforts and endeavours, all for His greater glory. Amen.

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Monday, 20 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 18 : 35-43

At that time, when Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road, begging. As he heard the crowd passing by, he inquired what was happening, and they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was going by. Then he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

The people in front of him scolded him, “Be quiet!” they said, but he cried out all the more, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped, and ordered the blind man to be brought to Him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the man said, “Lord, that I may see!”

Jesus said, “Receive your sight, your faith has saved you.” At once the blind man was able to see, and he followed Jesus, giving praise to God. And all the people who were there also praised God.

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Monday, 20 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 118 : 53, 61, 134, 150, 155, 158

I feel indignant at the wicked who have forsaken Your law.

The wicked have me trapped in their snares, but I have not forgotten Your laws.

Rescue me from human oppression, and help me keep Your precepts.

My persecutors close in with evil intent; they are far from Your law.

Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek Your statutes.

I look upon the faithless with loathing, because they do not obey Your ruling.

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Monday, 20 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Maccabees 1 : 10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-64

From their descendants there came a godless offshoot, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of king Antiochus, who had been held as hostage in Rome. He became king in the one hundred and thirty-seventh year of the Greek era, in the year 175 B.C..

It was then that some rebels emerged from Israel, who succeeded in winning over many people. They said, “Let us renew contact with the people around us for we had endured many misfortunes since we separated from them.”

This proposal was well-received and some eagerly went to the king. The king authorised them to adopt the customs of the pagan nations. With his permission, they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem in the pagan style. And as they wanted to be like the pagans in everything, they made artificial foreskins for themselves and abandoned the Holy Covenant, sinning as they pleased.

Antiochus issued a decree to his whole kingdom. All the people of his empire had to renounce their particular customs and become one people. All the pagan nations obeyed and respected the king’s decree, and, even in Israel, many accepted the imposed cult. They offered sacrifices to idols and no longer respected the Sabbath.

On the fifteenth day of the month of Chislev, in the year one hundred and forty-five, in the year 167 B.C., Antiochus erected the “abominable idol of the invaders” on the altar of the Temple. Pagan altars were built throughout the whole land of Judea; incense was offered at the doors of their houses and in the squares.

There wicked men tore up the books of the Law they found and burnt them. They killed anyone they caught in possession of the book of the Covenant and who fulfilled the precepts of the Law, as the royal decree had ordered. But in spite of all this, many Israelites still remained firm and determined not to eat unclean food. They preferred to die rather than to make themselves unclean with those foods prohibited by the Law that violated the Holy Covenant. And Israel suffered a very great trial.

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Sunday, 19 November 2023 : Thirty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, World Day of the Poor (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are reminded on this second last Sunday before the end of the current liturgical year, of the need for all of us as Christians to be truly faithful to God and to do what the Lord has taught, shown and commanded us all to do in our lives. All of us as Christians are encouraged and reminded of everything that we should carry out in our current livelihood, in reaching out to our fellow men, brothers and sisters, in caring and loving them, so that by our lives, actions and everything we say and do, we may truly proclaim the Lord in all of His love, truth and wonders to all the whole world. This is what we are all expected to do, brothers and sisters, in living our lives at the moment, in whatever opportunities that we have been given, to be ever more faithful and worthy of God in all things.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Proverbs, we heard from the author of this Book, the description of a righteous, virtuous and good woman, who is truly good and just in all of her works, actions and deeds. This description of a virtuous and righteous woman, who is respected and honoured by everyone is actually not just limited to that of a woman, but is a way for the Lord to tell all of us that the same attitude and behaviours are also expected of every one of us, regardless of gender, age or by whatever other parameters we tended to categorise ourselves into. Each and every one of us as Christians are expected to do what is right, virtuous, good and just in the eyes of the Lord, in doing His will and obeying every one of His Law and commandments, which He has revealed, taught and passed down to us.

This is especially important in our world today, where these virtues for either men and women had become diluted and even lost, amidst the many competing ideologies and distractions, from the secular and godless world, where many of us are accustomed to so many kinds of wickedness, evils, temptations and other attitudes that put emphasis on our own selfish wants and desires, and in all the exposure to the various paths and behaviours that directly contradict the Lord and His teachings and truth. We all live in a world where we are accustomed to these kind of thinking, behaviours and attitudes from early on in our lives. That is why we must always remind ourselves that we should not allow these corruptions and wrong ideas to distract and mislead us from the right path that God has shown and taught us.

In our second reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Thessalonians in which the Apostle spoke about how the Lord’s second coming or parousia will happen at the time when we least expect it, and hence, we have to be always prepared and ready to welcome the Lord when He comes again, with a worthy attitude and life. We must not be complacent or ignorant of what is expected of us as Christians, in how we all should live our lives. That is because every one of us will be held accountable for whatever we have said, done and acted in our lives, and also for whatever it is that we have not done and acted, when we have been given the opportunities and the abilities to do so, in caring for our fellow brothers and sisters all around us, and in living our lives worthily as Christians.

In our Gospel passage today, the same theme appears again as we heard of the parable which the Lord told to His disciples and followers, on the parable of the silver talents. In that parable, we heard of the actions of the three servants to whom their master bestowed each of them with five, two and one silver talents respectively. In that parable, we heard how the ones who were entrusted with five and two silver talents made good use of their silver talents when the master was away, invested them properly and did good with them such that when the master returned, their silver talents had doubled in amount. Meanwhile, the one who had been entrusted with one silver talent hid his silver talent until his master returned, and returned the silver talent to his master as it was.

We heard how the two servants who have done well in investing their silver talents were greatly rewarded by the master, while the servant who was lazy and did nothing to the silver talent was punished. This parable is a classic reminder for all of us that we cannot be idle in living our Christian lives, in doing what we can to follow God and His will, in obeying His Law and commandments to the best of our abilities. Those silver talents, regardless of the amounts, represent the talents, blessings, abilities, opportunities and other things that we have received from God, and which we are therefore expected to make good use of, in each and every one of our actions and deeds, in all of our interactions and dealings with one another. We should always do our part to glorify God by our lives, and to show His love and kindness to everyone, through our own lives and actions.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from our Scripture passages today, we are all reminded that as Christians, we have to be always prepared for all things, and we must always strive to be exemplary and virtuous in all of our words, actions and deeds, so that we truly become responsible, good and faithful stewards of God’s Creation, and over whatever it is that God has entrusted to us, be it opportunities and talents, abilities and other things in life. We must always strive to do God’s will in all things and at all times because in the end, we shall be asked to account for our lives and how we have lived them. If we have neglected our responsibilities and all that we have been entrusted to do, then we may end up like the lazy servant, who failed to utilise his entrusted silver talent for good use, and we may have to answer for that with condemnation for eternity.

Today, the Church also commemorates the occasion of the World Day of the Poor, instituted by our current reigning Pope, Pope Francis, in reminding us that all of us have responsibilities and obligations to care for one another, especially for the less fortunate among us. We have been given different blessings, opportunities and talents, and for those who have been given more, as the Lord highlighted in that same parable, more would have been expected. Those of us who have been blessed with more good things in life, let us all spare some of these with love, with those who have little or none, those who struggle to make ends meet, and those who have been ostracised, rejected and shunned by the community. The poor are parts of the Church as well, and they are our brothers and sisters, all the same.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore strive to live our lives ever more faithfully as Christians, in doing what God has commanded us all to do. Let us all turn towards God with our whole heart and mind, in devoting ourselves as God’s beloved people, His faithful followers and disciples, now and always. Let our lives be truly filled with God’s grace and love, and let us all follow Him from now on with ever greater commitment, dedication and love, in being generous with our love and attention especially for the less fortunate ones around us. May God bless us all and may He empower each and every one of us to live our lives in His path, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 19 November 2023 : Thirty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, World Day of the Poor (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 25 : 14-30

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Imagine someone who, before going abroad, summoned his servants to entrust his property to them. He gave five talents of silver to one servant, two talents to another servant, and one talent to a third, to each, according to his ability; and he went away.”

“He who received five talents went at once to do business with the talents, and gained another five. The one who received two talents did the same, and gained another two. But the one who received one talent dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.”

“After a long time, the master of those servants returned and asked for a reckoning. The one who had received five talents came with another five talents, saying, ‘Lord, you entrusted me with five talents, but see, I have gained five more.’ The master answered, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant, since you have been faithful in a few things, I will entrust you in charge of many things. Come and share the joy of your master.'”

“Then the one who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you entrusted me with two talents; with them I have gained two more.’ The master said, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant, since you have been faithful in little things, I will entrust you in charge of many things. Come and share the joy of your master.'”

“Finally, the one who had received one talent came and said, ‘Master, I know that you are a hard man. You reap what you have not sown, and gather what you have not scattered. I was afraid, so I hid your money in the ground. Here, take what is yours!’ But his master replied, ‘Wicked and worthless servant, you know that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered. You should have deposited my money in the bank, and given it back to me with interest on my return.'”

“Therefore, take the talent from him, and give it to the one who has ten. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who are unproductive, even what they have will be taken from them. As for that useless servant, thrown him out into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Matthew 25 : 14-15, 19-21

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Imagine someone who, before going abroad, summoned his servants to entrust his property to them. He gave five talents of silver to one servant, two talents to another servant, and one talent to a third, to each, according to his ability; and he went away.”

“After a long time, the master of those servants returned and asked for a reckoning. The one who had received five talents came with another five talents, saying, ‘Lord, you entrusted me with five talents, but see, I have gained five more.’ The master answered, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant, since you have been faithful in a few things, I will entrust you in charge of many things. Come and share the joy of your master.'”