Ordinary Time

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Friday, 11 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of everything which God had generously done for us, in all the love which He has shown and bestowed upon us. All of us should not harden our hearts against Him and we should do well to remember everything that He had done for us, in all the wonderful things He had blessed us with, in all of His providence and help, and more. He will always stand by us no matter what happen, and all of us who have faith in Him and trust in His providence and help will be protected and guarded especially in the hours of difficulties and hardships, and in the end, all of us shall be triumphant together with God. God will remember the ones who have always kept His Law and precepts, and all of us who have remained true to Him despite the challenges and trials that we may face in life.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Deuteronomy in which Moses gathered the whole people of Israel before him, and delivering God’s words unto them, to those who have witnessed God’s good and loving actions, as well as His anger and wrath directed to all those who have disobeyed His Law and commandments, and betrayed Him for the pagan and false idols. Moses reminded all of them, those whom the Lord had brought out of the land of Egypt, and their children and descendants, including those who probably had been born during the forty years sojourn in the desert, of all the things that God had done for all of them, in His kindness and compassion, in everything that He had done for their sake, in advancing before them and leading them to battle against their enemies, in crushing the enemies of God’s people and scattering them, keeping them safe throughout the way.

God has also provided them with food along the entire journey, despite their repeated and constant complaints and ungrateful attitudes, in complaining against what God had provided for them, even though God had most generously provided them with the bread from heaven itself, the manna that He sent to them every single day except for the Sabbath day, and even providing for the Sabbath itself by providing them twice as much manna on the day before the Sabbath. He also provided all of them with the flocks of birds to supplement their food, and for their drink, according to the traditions, Moses got the water to come out from the rocks, and it was even told that a rock followed the Israelites wherever they went, and pure, clean and amazing water flowed out from it, as if indeed from the Lord Himself.

God had indeed loved His people so much, despite everything that they had done to Him, in rebelling against Him and rejecting His love. He also sent His Son into our midst, to dwell and journey with us, so that by His coming before us, all of us may enter into a new relationship with God, reconciled and reunited with Him, redeemed and freed from the slavery of sin and death. But in order to follow Him, we have to be ready to embrace Him and His path wholeheartedly, that is to obey His Law and commandments, distancing ourselves from the temptations of evil and sin, from all those things that kept us away from the path of God and His salvation and grace. In the process, we may also encounter opposition and hardships, trials and attacks, hardships and challenges, just as the Lord Himself had endured when He walked in our midst.

We are all called to remember the amazing love by which Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, our Saviour had done for our sake, in carrying His Cross with ultimate love, the love with which He cared for us, in enduring for us the greatest humiliations and sufferings, the rejection and the oppression of the world, so that through all those things, we may all be reconciled to God, our loving Father and Creator. By His enduring and eternal love, He offered Himself as a most worthy sacrifice and as atonement for our many and innumerable sins, which He cleansed for us, as we are made whole once again through the breaking of His Most Precious Body and the outpouring of His Most Precious Blood. And we are therefore called to remember this great and wonderful love, and hence expected to show the same love towards Him and towards our fellow brothers and sisters.

This is why today, all of us as Christians are called and reminded to love the Lord more and more, and to do whatever we can so that in our every words, actions and deeds, we may always proclaim the glory of God, and to be the great shining examples and role models of our beliefs and faith in God, in all occasions. Each and every one of us are called to be faithful and committed disciples of the Lord, so that we may lead more and more people to the salvation in God, in the manner that many of our faithful and holy predecessors, the holy saints, men and women of God had done in their lives and examples in life. All of us should reflect brightly the light of God’s truth and grace, just in the manner how the saints’ lives reflect brightly God’s glory, hope, light and truth, proclaiming His Good News at all times.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Clare, also known as St. Clare of Assisi, a contemporary and follower of St. Francis of Assisi, another renowned holy man of God. St. Clare was a native of Assisi who was inspired by her family devout practices and commitment to God, which made St. Clare and her siblings to be deeply committed to God from their early youth. St. Clare refused to marry a young man proposed by her family later on, and chose to commit herself wholly to God by joining the life and mission of St. Francis of Assisi, gathering other like-minded individuals, which later on became known as the Order of Poor Ladies, gathering all the women who were interested in the charism and living of the Franciscans instituted by St. Francis of Assisi, with St. Clare herself as the founder.

St. Clare herself lived in a convent of Benedictine nuns for a while, living a prayerful and devout life, and eventually went on to live together with her order of religious sisters, the Order of Poor Ladies or the Order of the Poor Ladies of San Damiano, where she eventually became the Abbess of the community of the San Damiano sisters. She remained in her ascetic and holy lifestyle, caring for the needs of those in her community and lovingly reached out to those who were in need in the society. In a well-known and documented miracle later on in her life, St. Clare was renowned for her miraculous defence of her convent from the rampaging attacks of the armies of the Holy Roman Emperor that were then attacking the region where her convent was located at. St. Clare remained steadfast and trusting in the Lord despite the approaching soldiers, and entrusted herself wholly to the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, as she hoisted up the monstrance which miraculously shone with great and blinding light that terrified the attacking enemies, who thereafter left the convent and the town undisturbed.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore commit ourselves anew to the Lord in the manner that our holy predecessors had done, especially in the faith and dedication that St. Clare has shown us. Let us all remember the amazing love that God has for us, and the dedication that He has shown us, and which St. Clare and many other saints have reflected in their own lives and actions. May all of us be the shining beacons of the light of Christ’s salvation and the grace of God. Amen.

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Friday, 11 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 16 : 24-28

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “If you want to follow Me, deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow Me. For whoever chooses to save his life will lose it, but the one who loses his life, for My sake, will find it. What will one gain by winning the whole world, if he destroys his soul? Or what can a person give, in exchange for his life?”

“Know, that the Son of Man will come, in the glory of His Father with the holy Angels, and He will reward each one according to his deeds. Truly, I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death, before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

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Friday, 11 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 76 : 12-13, 14-15, 16 and 21

I remember the deeds of YHVH; I recall His marvels of old. I meditate on all Your work, and consider Your mighty deeds.

Your way, o God, is most holy. Is there any god greater than You, our God? You alone, are the God Who works wonders, Who has made known His power to the nations.

With power, You have redeemed Your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. You led Your people, as a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

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Friday, 11 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Deuteronomy 4 : 32-40

Ask of the times past. Inquire from the day when God created man on earth. Ask from one end of the world to the other : Has there ever been anything as extraordinary as this? Has anything like this been heard of before? Has there ever been a people who remained alive after hearing as you did the voice of the living God from the midst of the fire?

Never has there been a God Who went out to look for a people and take them out from among the other nations by the strength of trials and signs, by wonders and by war, with a firm hand and an outstretched arm. Never has there been any deed as tremendous as those done for you by YHVH in Egypt, which you saw with your own eyes.

You saw this that you might know that YHVH is God and that there is no other besides Him. He let you hear His voice from heaven that you might fear Him; on earth He let you see His blazing fire and from the midst of the fire you heard His word. Because of the love He had for our fathers, He chose their descendants after them, and He Himself made you leave Egypt with His great power.

He expelled before you peoples more numerous and stronger than you, and He has made you occupy their land : today He has given this to you as an inheritance. Therefore, try to be convinced that YHVH is the only God of heaven and earth, and that there is no other. Observe the laws and the commandments that I command you today, and everything will be well with you and your children after you. So you will live long in the land which YHVH, your God, gives you forever.

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Thursday, 10 August 2023 : Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate together the Feast of St. Lawrence of Rome, the great man of God who was one of the seven deacons of the city and See of Rome, and hence was a very important and prominent member of the Roman Church at that time. St. Lawrence was also the first among those seven deacons, as the Archdeacon of Rome, a position of great importance as he was indeed the right hand man of the then reigning Pope, Pope St. Sixtus II, whose feast we have just celebrated a few days ago. St. Lawrence of Rome was martyred at about the same time as Pope St. Sixtus and quite a number other Christians, who were persecuted during an episode of attack against the Church under the reign of the then Roman Emperor Valerian.

St. Lawrence himself was born in what is today part of Spain, where the later Pope St. Sixtus II met him in what is today Zaragoza, then known as Caesaraugusta. According to Church traditions, his parents were also Christians and were themselves martyrs, likely prior to the mission and works of St. Lawrence as deacon in Rome. Pope St. Sixtus II and St. Lawrence both travelled to Rome, where the former eventually became Pope succeeding his predecessor, Pope St. Stephen I. And as a trusted friend and member of his close inner circle, St. Lawrence was therefore appointed as the Archdeacon of Rome, responsible for the distribution of goods and for the care of the faithful people of God in the Diocese of Rome. He held the control and key of the treasuries and material goods of the Roman Church, and he did his duties most obediently, committing himself to care those entrusted under his supervision.

Then, at that time, the Roman state under Emperor Valerian began an intense persecution of Christians, arresting Pope St. Sixtus II and many others, who were martyred for their faith. As was customary, all those who were executed by the Roman state had their possessions and property confiscated and gathered to be added to the Imperial treasury. Hence, in order to avoid the property and goods of the Church meant for the people of God, especially the poor and the needy to fall into the hands of those who did not deserve them, St. Lawrence quickly worked to distribute the property of the Church to those who needed them, to the faithful so that they would not be seized. The Roman prefect of the city demanded and ordered St. Lawrence to hand over all the goods and properties of the Church, which was then responded by St. Lawrence who gathered the poor and the needy, and showed them as the true treasures of the Church.

That enraged the Roman prefect such that he ordered St. Lawrence to be arrested and tortured, and put on a great and hot gridiron, where this holy man of God was put to suffer terrible tortures. Yet, St. Lawrence fearlessly and courageously faced those sufferings and his upcoming martyrdom with calmness and joy, knowing that everything that he and the other martyrs had to suffer, were nothing compared to the true joy and glory that they would receive through the Lord. According to the Church traditions, St. Lawrence even cheerfully commented to his tortures to turn him over as in his own words, ‘I am well done on this side. Turn me over!’ All these showed just how courageous and brave St. Lawrence was in enduring those great persecutions and hardships, for the sake of God and His people. Eventually, he was executed and died as a martyr like many others.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all the examples which St. Lawrence, holy deacon and martyr had shown us exemplified what we have heard from our Scripture passages today. In our first reading passage, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians in which St. Paul spoke of those who sowed meagrely and how they would also reap meagrely while those who sowed generously would also reap generous harvests. This is showing how our faith in God must be truly filled with true dedication and commitment to God, and not merely an empty faith and proclamations only. Like St. Lawrence, who devoted himself to the cause of the Lord, that he risked his life in doing his mission and in ensuring that the properties and goods of the Church entrusted to his care did not fall into the wrong hands, and faced suffering and martyrdom for those, thus, we should also do our part in living our lives with true dedication and faith.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard a related account of the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples using a simple parable of comparing a grain of wheat that ought to fall to the ground and ‘die’ first so that it might bear plenty of fruits as the seed in the wheat would then germinate and grow into a new wheat plant that would bear many new wheat crops, and hence, be truly fruitful. This is related to the famous phrase of ‘the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians’ which reminded us all of the sufferings and hardships that many of our predecessors had to face in the midst of living their faith. Yet, their faith and commitment to God, their courage and bravery, like what was shown by St. Lawrence as mentioned earlier, should inspire all of us to live our lives with great faith and dedication to God, and to be inspirational in our way of life.

This means that in our every moments and in our every words, actions and deeds in life, all of us should do our best so that we may be the shining light of God’s truth and love, the light of hope for many of our fellow brothers and sisters who may be facing a lot of hardships and challenges in their lives. Like St. Lawrence, whose faith and commitment, courage and dedication had strengthened the faith of so many of those who came after him, in how they endured the challenges and persecutions against their faith. All of us should live in accordance to the Law and the path that God has shown us, the path of His righteousness so that we may all walk down this path and not be swayed easily by the temptations of worldly glory and by the fear of sufferings and death. Becoming Christians mean that we have to be prepared to suffer for the Lord, but we must always remember that we never suffer alone, for the Lord is always ever by our side.

May the Lord continue to watch over us and strengthen us in our ways, and may His wonderful saints, St. Lawrence and many of our other holy predecessors continue to inspire us by their great examples and role models, and may they intercede for us sinners, that God may deign to show His mercy and kindness upon us, especially in the moments of our hardships and challenges. May God bless us always in all things and may He empower us all to be His worthy disciples in all things. Amen.

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Thursday, 10 August 2023 : Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 12 : 24-26

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Those who love their life destroy it, and those who despise their life in this world save it even to everlasting life.”

“Whoever wants to serve Me, let him follow Me; and wherever I am, there shall My servant be also. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honour him.”

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Thursday, 10 August 2023 : Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 111 : 1-2, 5-6, 7-8, 9

Alleluia! Blessed is the one who fears YHVH, who greatly delights in His commands. His children will be powerful on earth; the upright’s offspring will be blessed.

It will be well with him who lends freely, who leads a life of justice and honesty. For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered and loved forever.

He has no fear of evil news, for his heart is firm, trusting in YHVH. His heart is confident; he need not fear; he shall prevail over his foes at the end.

He gives generously to the poor; his merits will last forever; and his head will be raised in honour.

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Thursday, 10 August 2023 : Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

2 Corinthians 9 : 6-10

Remember : the one who sows meagerly will reap meagerly, and there shall be generous harvests for the one who sows generously. Each of you should give as you decided personally, and not reluctantly, as if obliged. God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to fill you with every good thing, so that you have enough of everything, at all times, and may give abundantly for any good work.

Scripture says : He distributed, He gave to the poor, His good works last forever. God, Who provides the sower with seed, will also provide him with the bread he eats. He will multiply the seed for you and also increase the interest on your good works.

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Wednesday, 9 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we gather together to reflect upon the words of the Scripture passages we heard earlier, we are all reminded to be always full of love for one another, and never be biased or discriminatory upon anyone in our lives just because they have a different origin, background, skin colour, lifestyle, or other worldly constructs and distinctions that we might have used in the past to discriminate one against the other. We are all reminded this day that God truly loves each and every one of us, and He has blessed us most wonderfully and magnificently, in many things, and we are all called to be filled with the same love that God has for us, in how we love one another, especially for the less fortunate and the suffering amongst us. We are reminded to make sure that no one should be left out especially in our world today, when many are struggling to make their ends meet each day.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Numbers, we heard of the time when the Lord sent out through Moses, the scouts of the Israelites to take a look at the lands which He has promised to all of them and their ancestors, the Promised Land of Canaan. At that time, the Lord had led His people through the desert from the land of Egypt where they were once enslaved, and He had made a Covenant with them, revealing to them all His Law and the Ten Commandments which He gave them in order to guide and help them in their lives and journey. However, when the scouts relayed back the news from the Promised Land that they had seen, in how wonderful the lands truly were and how bountiful they were, but with all the mighty people living in them, the people became scared and fearful, afraid of going up against those people.

Hence, that was where we saw the great rebellion of Israel against God, Who had provided and cared for them all those while, and Who had patiently guided and helped them along the way. Despite having seen the great works of the Lord, His signs and wonders, and everything that He had done for their sake, all of His miracles and might before the Egyptians and all the others, the people of God frequently doubted the Lord, disobeyed Him and His Law, and disregarded His commandments and instructions. And this ridiculous abandonment of God and doubt against His providence was the final straw which eventually led to the Israelites having to endure a forty years long sojourn in the desert before they were finally allowed to enter into the Promised Land.

Then in the Gospel passage today, we heard of the interactions between the Lord Jesus and a Canaanite woman who had a daughter who was beset by evil spirits and demons, which was initially met with great apathy and indifference by the Lord, Whose words might even be considered as really offensive, because He blatantly said that He was sent only to the lost sheep of the Israelites, and then dismissed her with the words comparing her to the dogs, when He said that it is not right to take the bread from the children and feeding them to the dogs. Yes, it might indeed seem at first that the Lord was being very rude and unfair to the Canaanite woman, but the Lord Jesus actually did all those on purpose so as to highlight the folly of the biases and the common prejudices which the Israelites themselves had against the non-Jewish people all around them.

We must understand the context in which back then, the Jewish people had grown proud of their unique inheritance and status as the chosen people of God, the direct descendants of the original Israelites, to the point of looking down greatly on all the other non-Jewish people, and this was an even worse attitude shown by their leaders, like the chief priests and the elders, and the Pharisees, who prided in their exclusive right to the grace and love of God, and in the Law, customs and practices which they had zealously guarded and enforced to all the people of God. It was such that they condemned all those who did not follow the Law and practice them in the manner that they themselves had demanded it to be, as sinners and unworthy of God.

The Lord used such harsh language to refer to the Canaanite woman to highlight the uncharitable and inappropriate nature of such treatment of one’s fellow brothers and sisters, and how the people of God back then had reached such a state, that He would like to show them an example with the great faith of the Canaanite woman, to break up and to discard all those prejudices and biases. As contrasted with what we heard in our first reading today, of the faithlessness of the Israelites in the face of hardships and trials, the Canaanite woman, who was not even counted among the chosen people of God, entrusted herself and her daughter so thoroughly in the Lord that not even the Lord’s harsh words and attitude could deter or stop her from persisting in seeking His help.

This showed just how strong her faith in God was, and the Lord therefore used her faith as an example to all of His disciples as the inspiration that all of them ought to follow in their own lives. It also showed us all that we must never be biased to another person, no matter what origin and background that someone might have, as each and every one of us are equally precious and beloved by God, and all of us are truly worthy of God as long we are faithful to Him and obey Him in all of His Law and commandments, and walk in His path at all times. Each one of us have been given this reminder so that we may indeed be truly committed to the Lord and His path, just as the Canaanite woman and our many predecessors had done, all the holy men and women who had lived their lives with virtue and righteousness, all those who showed true faith in God.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, also better known by her name of Edith Stein. She was born into a religious Jewish family in Europe, in parts of what is now Poland. She became an agnostic later on in life, and during her studies and pursuit of academic career, she came to be acquainted with the story and life of St. Teresa of Avila, a great Carmelite saint and reformer, who led her to embrace God and to be baptised as a Catholic. She wanted to follow in the footstep of her patron saint, and became a member of the Discalced Carmelite, but was initially dissuaded from doing so. Instead, she became a tertiary member of the Order, dedicating herself to a life of prayer and ministry to the people all around her and to her community of the faithful.

Back then, at that time, great troubles and conflicts happened throughout Europe during the rise and hegemony of the NAZI rule in Germany, which saw the attempts of Adolf Hitler and his party and supporters to destroy and eradicate the Jewish people all throughout their dominions. St. Edith Stein, as a Jewish convert to the Catholic faith, was one of the many people deemed by the evil NAZI regime as those undesirables and those to be exterminated, by their ideology that championed the supremacy of their own racial background. She and other religious sisters were sent to the Netherlands to help safeguard them against the NAZI efforts to destroy the Jewish people, but eventually St. Edith Stein was arrested with many other Jewish Catholic converts, sent to the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp and was martyred.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through the examples of the Canaanite woman and that of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, St. Edith Stein, all of us can see how God called all of His people to holiness and greatness, and how everyone who has faith in Him will be blessed and honoured by God. Those who think that they are better than others simply because of their racial background or because of certain criteria and parameters, will likely stumble and falter because they placed their trust in their own sense of superiority and power, and not in their faith in God. This is why we should learn to trust more in the Lord and to resist the temptations of worldly pride, ambitions and our ego, which can easily lead us to our downfall. We should learn to love one another equally, and not be blinded by bias and prejudice, and do what we can to love the Lord our God, first and foremost before all else.

May God be with us always, and may He strengthen our faith and trust in Him, that we may not easily fall into doubt and fear, or uncertainties and temptations. Amen.

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Wednesday, 9 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Matthew 15 : 21-28

At that time, leaving that area, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from the area, came and cried out, “Lord, Son of David, have pity on me! My daughter is tormented by a demon.”

But Jesus did not answer her, not even a word. So His disciples approached Him and said, “Send her away! See how she is shouting after us.” Then Jesus said to her, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel.”

But the woman was already kneeling before Jesus, and said, “Sir, help me!” Jesus answered, “It is not right to take the bread from the children and throw it to puppies.”

The woman replied, “That is true, Sir, but even puppies eat the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said, “Woman, how great is your faith! Let it be as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.