Popes

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Monday, 14 October 2024 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Callixtus I, Pope and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Galatians 4 : 22-24, 26-27, 31 – Galatians 5 : 1

It says, that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman, the other by the free woman, his wife. The son of the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but the son of the free woman was born in fulfilment of God’s promise.

Here we have an allegory and the figures of two Covenants. The first is the one from Mount Sinai, represented through Hagar : her children have slavery for their lot. But the Jerusalem above, who is our mother, is free. And Scripture says of her : Rejoice, barren woman without children, break forth in shouts of joy, you who do not know the pains of childbirth, for many shall be the children of the forsaken mother, more than of the married woman.

Brethren, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman. Christ freed us, to make us really free. So remain firm, and do not submit, again, to the yoke of slavery.

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Friday, 11 October 2024 : 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 all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures we have received, we are all reminded that as Christians, as God’s holy and chosen people, we have been called and entrusted with His grace and blessings, the assurance of His love and salvation that He has provided to everyone regardless of their background and origins, reaching out to every one of us, children of mankind, showing His ever patient love and kindness, His desire to be reunited and reconciled with us, His wayward children scattered throughout the world. No one can truly separate us from the love of God unless it is we ourselves who willingly distance ourselves from Him and keep rejecting His ever generous offer of love and kindness.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in Galatia in which the Apostle exhorted the people of God there to believe truly and wholeheartedly in God and not be confined by the bounds of the Law, which was in fact referring to the Law of God that has been revealed to Moses and passed to the Israelites many centuries earlier.  St. Paul wanted to tell the people of God that the Law as practiced and observed at his time did not bind anymore as it has been made complete and the fullness of its purpose, reality and meaning had been revealed to us through God’s Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Who had taught us what the Law has truly been intended for, that is to teach us all how to love and how to direct ourselves back towards the Lord, our ever loving God.

For the context, this reference to the Law and its observances at the time was meant to refer to the way and manner how the Jewish authorities and influential elites, such as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law in particular enforced the Law of God and how they all interpreted these laws, rules and commandments of the Lord. They usually took a very literal, legalistic and strict interpretation of the Law, without fully understanding the context and purpose of those laws and rules in the first place, or why Moses made them in that manner. Not only that, but even worse still, those laws ended up dividing the people and making many of those same Pharisees and teachers of the Law to feel superior and better than the others, proud and judgmental, thinking that they were more worthy of God and His salvation.

And linking to what we have just discussed about the Law as mentioned by St. Paul in our first reading today, it was a reference to how the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law having demanded the people to follow them in the manner how they practiced and lived the Law, containing no less than six hundred and thirteen rules and precepts, many of which were additions, interpretations and expansions accumulated throughout the many centuries that the Law had been passed down and interpreted, then re-interpreted again and again by different people, with different agenda and understanding of the purpose and meaning of the Law of God, that they ended up forgetting why the Law of God was given to the people in the first place by the Lord. What was meant to help bring the people towards the Lord ended up being exclusive, to the point that the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law alleged that those who did not obey the whole Law in the manner they did, would not be saved, a fact which St. Paul was critical against.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the reading from the Gospel of St. Luke in which the Lord Jesus was accused by some among the people, likely to be Pharisees and teachers of the Law according to the similar account in the other Gospels, that He had performed His miracles and signs, works and wonders by the collusion and collaboration with the prince of demons, Beelzebul. They accused Him of having committed this as well as blaspheming against God in His words, teachings and miracle works. And the Lord patiently responded to all of them, pointing out the folly of their accusation and arguments, which did not make sense at all, as on the contrary to their claims, the devil and all of his fellow forces of darkness, evil and wickedness, all of them are always united in their efforts to strike at us.

The Lord pointed out that if the evil ones were divided against one another and attacked each other, then they would have quickly faltered and failed in their efforts to attack us, as they would have warred with each other instead of focusing their efforts and works against us. That was why to suggest that the devil and the other princes of demons would go and compete with each other, colluding with the Lord was truly nonsense, and all those allegations and accusations came about because the jealousy that they were having against the Lord, seeing how there were so many of the people who flocked to Him and listened to Him instead of following and praising the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law as they had usually done. In fact, the devil and his forces were busy there at work precisely to divide and confuse the people of God by all those baseless attacks and accusations.

It is a reminder for all of us as Christians not to be easily swayed by these worldly temptations and all the distractions present all around us which can easily sway and distract us from the true path towards God. We must always be vigilant lest the devil and all those who desire our destruction and damnation are striking at us whenever we are at our most vulnerable, and when we are divided one against another, when we are lacking compassion and love for our fellow brothers and sisters around us. We must always keep strong in our faith and help one another to remain committed as well to the Lord, doing whatever we can so that we may be ever stronger in our love and relationship with the Lord, and that we may truly understand His Law, His commandments and come to know His will, and not be distracted and swayed by our pride, but continue to remain humble and dedicated to Him instead, at all times.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of a great recent saint and man of God, one of the recent successors of St. Peter the Apostle as the Pope and the Vicar of Christ, the leader of the whole Universal Church. Pope St. John XXIII, born as Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was a figure of great importance in the recent history of the Church and Christianity in general especially for his initiatives and decisions in bringing the Church into discussion and reorientation of its role and works in the context of the modern world through the Second Vatican Council that happened about six decades ago. However, many of us might not know that Pope St. John XXIII’s life and exemplary deeds are more than just what is commonly known about him, and we should delve somewhat deeper into these details that we ourselves may be inspired to follow the Lord in the manner that he had done throughout his life.

The young Angelo Roncalli was born to a poor family and he had the help of his uncle who helped to finance his early education, which eventually led to him joining the seminary and felt the calling to follow the Lord and to be a priest. Then later on, after he had been ordained a priest, he experienced a period of encounter as his mentor, Bishop Radini Tedeschi, was confronted by the workers who were striking in demanding their rights and the protection of their beings against those who exploited them. The bishop helped his flock and showed his care for them, standing by the side of those workers and other people who were poor and suffering, and this experience helped to shape the opinions, experiences of the future Pope St. John XXIII.

He was involved in the Great War, later known as the First World War, as a military chaplain, and then the Pope, who has come to know of the qualities and efforts of this young priest, appointed him to be the Apostolic Delegate to Bulgaria, ordaining him as a bishop. During his time in Bulgaria, then Archbishop Roncalli was involved in many good works and outreach especially towards the separated brethren from among the Eastern Orthodox churches and others. He helped to bridge through the divisions that had divided the different Christian churches for centuries, and by the time he left for the next post as Apostolic Delegate to Turkey and Greece, many people were appreciative of his efforts and loved him. In his next post, he would continue to do many great works, including saving Jews who were trying to escape from the Holocaust and genocide attempted by the NAZI regime in Germany throughout Europe.

In his contribution afterwards as the Apostolic Nuncio to France, Archbishop Roncalli also helped to do a similar effort in bridging the gap between the mostly secular French state and the Church, gaining much goodwill and progress in redefining the relationship between the state and the Church, and as Patriarch of Venice afterwards, Patriarch Roncalli continued to do his best in reaching out to more and more people, as a truly good and loving shepherd to his flock, and continued to do so even after he was elected as the Pope, the Successor of St. Peter the Apostle as the Vicar of Christ. He helped to reform the Church and as mentioned, convoked the Second Vatican Council, to bring the Church into the modern era and to help the process of dialogue with the various people and communities in the world, for greater efforts of evangelisation and reconciliation among Christian believers. He was also known for his peacemaking efforts during the Cold War, culminating in his Papal Encyclical, ‘Pacem in Terris’, released at the time of great tensions between the superpowers in the Cold War.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard ourselves from the summary of the life and examples shown to us by the great and faithful Pope St. John XXIII, let us all live our lives henceforth as faithful and genuine Christians, showing true love, care and concern for our fellow brothers and sisters just as Pope St. John XXIII had done. Let us all truly understand the true meaning and purpose of God’s Law, that is the Law of love, so that we may truly learn to love the Lord our God, and also our fellow brothers and sisters, with all of our hearts, with all of our strength and might, at all times and in all circumstances in our every day lives. May the Lord, our most loving God and Father, through the examples of His holy saints like Pope St. John XXIII and many others continue to inspire us to live our lives ever more worthily in His Holy Presence from now on. Amen.

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Friday, 11 October 2024 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, Pope (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)

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, 11 October 2024 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, Pope (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)

Psalm 110 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Alleluia! I thank YHVH with all my heart in the council of the just, in the assembly. The works of YHVH are great and pondered by all who delight in them.

Glorious and majestic are His deeds, His righteousness endures forever. He lets us remember His wondrous deeds; YHVH is merciful and kind.

Always mindful of His Covenant, He provides food for those who fear Him. He shows His people the power of His arm by giving them the lands of other nations.

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Friday, 11 October 2024 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, Pope (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)

Galatians 3 : 7-14

Understand, then, that those who follow the way of faith are sons and daughters of Abraham. The Scriptures foresaw that, by the way of faith, God would give true righteousness to the non-Jewish nations. For God’s promise to Abraham was this : In you shall all the nations be blessed. So, now, those who take the way of faith receive the same blessing as Abraham, who believed; but those who rely on the practice of the Law are under a curse, for it is written : Cursed is everyone who does not always fulfil everything written in the Law.

It is plainly written that no one becomes righteous in God’s way, by the Law : by faith the righteous shall live. Yet the Law gives no place to faith, for according to it : the one who fulfils the commandments shall have life through them. Now Christ rescued us from the curse of the Law, by becoming cursed Himself, for our sake, as it is written : there is a curse on everyone who is hanged on a tree.

So the blessing granted to Abraham, reached the pagan nations in, and, with Christ, and we received the promised Spirit, through faith.

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(Apostolic Journey) On Pope Francis’ remark during the Inter-religious Dialogue with Youth at Catholic Junior College and Its Responses

I was inspired to write this during the Sunday Evening Mass at Cathedral of the Good Shepherd (Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Singapore) earlier today as I was serving at the Sanctuary:

I felt the tug in my heart to share these thoughts and reflections regarding the recent controversy and disagreements surrounding what Pope Francis had said during the Interreligious Dialogue with Youth at Catholic Junior College (in Singapore).

I am not going to repeat what had been endlessly discussed here but I would like to invite all of us to reflect upon these points and particularly the Gospel passage from Mark 8 : 27-35 today (Sunday, 15 September 2024 – Twenty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time),

Satan is always hard at work in trying to undermine the good works of the Lord through His Church. It is precisely this very moment when the Pope concluded his trip to Singapore focusing on the theme of ‘Unity and Hope’ that he is making his move on us all trying to break this unity and dampen the hope that we have kindled.

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Unity: 

I am deeply saddened by those who called out the Pope for being supposedly unfaithful to the teachings of the Church, and even the more extreme ones saying that he has committed heresy. 

First of all, the Pope stated that there is only one God, and this is true. He also stated that religions are like languages, paths to reach God. He did not say that it is not true that in Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. 

What he intended to say, if we understand the whole conversation is that, we all seek salvation in God, and he invites all the youths of different religions to continue to do good as what their beliefs state, and indirectly welcoming them to get to know more about Jesus.

If they one day may be touched by what they learnt about Him and through the encounter with the Pope who has opened the gates of their hearts and minds, then it is up to them to choose to embrace Christ fully and wholeheartedly.

We must understand the whole context of this event and why this was mentioned this way. Indeed, the Pope is also human and he is not perfect in using words to explain or elaborate his intentions – but it is clear that from the earlier parts before this, Pope Francis stated that if everyone is focusing on ‘my religion is true, and yours is not’ and starts attacking on each others’ supposed shortcomings, then indeed, ‘destruction’ and loss of unity is what will happen. We will no longer be united on our purpose and journey towards the Lord, but we’ll hating and attacking each other instead.

We can already see this at work with the attacks against the Pope’s remarks and comments, coming from within no other than the Church and her members. At Holy Communion today, as the Choir sang ‘Anima Christi’, and as I ponder upon all these, I literally teared up thinking about the tears in unity of the Body of Christ, the Church brought about by this.

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Hope:

On the matter of Hope, and with regards to this conversation – we are reminded that God’s salvation is offered for everyone, and that as Nostra Aetate mentioned clearly that there is good and truth in all religions and beliefs. And while in Jesus Christ and the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, the fullness of truth and assurance of salvation are found, but this does not mean that others are excluded from this hope of salvation in God.

Let me bring forth the example of Christ Himself, the Good Shepherd, Who used the parable of the lost sheep to highlight this as an analogy:

Imagine that you are a sheep that is lost and separated from the flock and the shepherd comes towards you, chiding and scolding you for not listening to him (and running away), won’t you flee even further away from the shepherd? The Lord as the Good Shepherd is patient, in stepping out of His comfort zone, going to the distant places in looking out for us, calling us and reassuring us of His love. This was precisely what Pope Francis had done. As the Vicar of Christ, the Good Shepherd, he went to the peripheries, to places where there are still many who misunderstood God’s teachings and words, to show what our Christian faith is all about.

Just as mentioned earlier, using this opportunity of Interreligious Dialogue to mention the superiority of the Christian faith to other religions or to ask for people to convert to the faith is not just tone-deaf but also inappropriate. Pope Francis as the Pontifex Maximus, the ‘bridge-builder’, he established the ‘bridges’ and the opportunities so that more people from other faith and beliefs may come to find out more and know the Lord, and if they so choose, then they may come to embrace Him in the future.

I saw how some of the naysayers and the media that fanned out the controversy even said that this visit and trip should not have even been done in the first place. Then let me put it this way, it would have been a big missed opportunity for this dialogue and opportunity for true evangelisation of the Good News of Christ.

Hope in God’s salvation is what we offer to all the people, and the manner how we present it, is very important.

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Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is a perspective that I am offering on this matter to those of you who are affected in mind and heart by this issue, and also to those who are not aware of this.

Feel free to disagree with what I have said earlier, and it is alright for people to have differing perspectives and opinions. But I felt the Lord calling on me earlier today to share this, and I did what He asked me to do.

May the Lord continue to strengthen the Unity in our Church, united as one Body of Christ under His Vicar, Pope Francis, and encourage us always with the Hope in His Resurrection and eternal life, which He offers to all of us, calling us all to come to Him, not by force, but by our own free will.

Amen.

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(Apostolic Journey) Farewell Ceremony of Pope Francis at Changi Airport – Singapore : Friday, 13 September 2024

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Monday, 16 September 2024 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Cornelius, Pope and Martyr, and St. Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Lord being spoken to us through the readings of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that the Lord has given us truly great grace and wonderful blessings through His Son, by which He has granted us all not just His love and kindness, manifested in the flesh and having become tangible and approachable to us, but He also gave us all none other than His own Most Precious Body and His Most Precious Blood, which He willingly and generously gave to us all from His Cross, as He laid there suffering and dying, nailed to the Cross, by which He would save and redeem each and every one of us. Through His love and ultimate sacrifice, all of us have received the assurance of salvation, and we should indeed respond to His love with our faith and trust.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city and region of Corinth in which the Apostle spoke to them all about the moment of the Last Supper, which he himself had not attended or been present in, as he was then not yet a disciple of the Lord, but which the tradition of the Apostles and their witnessing of everything that had happened were passed down to the faithful, telling them all of everything that the Lord had said and done, and which He had commanded all of them to do, to commemorate His ultimate sacrifice on the Cross, and giving them the power and authority, through the Apostles and their successors, our bishops and priests, to offer the same sacrifice of Calvary and through union to that supreme moment of selfless love and sacrifice, giving to each and every one of us, the very Most Precious Body and Blood of Our Lord.

That is what our Holy Eucharist is all about, and our firm belief that God Himself has given His own Body and Blood for us all to partake, He Who called Himself as the Bread of Life and as the Lamb of God, Who has willingly allowed Himself to be persecuted and led to the slaughter, and by Whose suffering and death had opened for us all the gates of Heaven and the path to eternal life. He Himself has said that whoever partake of His Body and Blood will not perish but have eternal life with them, and that His Body is real food and His Blood is real drink, and the Eucharist that we have received from the hands of our bishops and priests are the exact same Most Precious Body and Blood of Our Lord. This is our core tenet and faith in the transubstantiation of the bread and wine, that while both the bread and wine may still appear and seem to be bread and wine in appearance, in taste and senses, but we believe that what we partake is the Lord Himself.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the account of the interactions between the Lord Jesus and an army centurion, also described as a Roman military officer. Regardless of the exact detail, it was certain that this officer was a high ranking and very well-respected man as at that time, being a Roman and a Roman military officer no less, was something of a very high stature and standing in the area. He did not just represent the powerful and mighty Roman Empire but he also led many of its soldiers, and he was rightly powerful and feared for his prowess, position and capabilities. And yet, this same Roman military officer came to the Lord humbly, seeking Him to help him with his very sick servant, and trusted in the Lord to heal that servant and make him whole again.

We heard how the Roman military officer had such great faith in the Lord that he told the Lord that he believed that his servant would be well again if the Lord just declared it to be, and he trusted and had faith in the Lord’s power in being able to heal his dear servant. He did not require the Lord to perform the miracle before His own eyes or for himself to witness everything in order for him to believe in the Lord. This is clearly a contrast with the attitudes of many among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who kept on doubting and questioning the Lord Jesus even after they had heard Him many times and saw the miracles that He performed before them on many occasions as well. The Roman military officer also had the humility to tell the Lord that he was not worthy to welcome Him into his house.

This was because at that time, among the Jewish people it was considered taboo for a Jew to come and enter into the house of a non-Jew or Gentile or pagan, and for the Pharisees who interpreted the Law of God very strictly, it would have made them to be ritually unclean and defiled. In fact, it was kind of taboo and looked down upon for one to interact with a non-Jew or pagan at that time. Yet, that was what the Lord precisely had done, and the Roman military officer, likely aware of this custom, told the Lord humbly that he was unworthy to receive Him at his house not only because he knew the Lord to be One greater than he was, but he also likely wanted to prevent any misfortunes or difficulties to fall upon the Lord should He come to visit his house.

And this is precisely the attitude that all of us as Christians ought to have, and we should be inspired to follow in the footsteps of the Roman military officer who believed so wholeheartedly in the Lord that he did not have to see the miracle to believe in Him. Linking this to what we have just discussed earlier in the first reading today on the Institution of the Holy Eucharist and our core belief in the doctrine of transubstantiation, of the bread and wine that truly became the Most Precious Body and Blood of our Lord at every celebration of the Holy Eucharist in the Mass, let us all therefore believe in Him and in His Real Presence in the Eucharist wholeheartedly as well. And when we are shown the Lamb of God, the One Who has taken away the sins of the world just before we are about to receive Him into ourselves, let us repeat what the Roman officer had spoken with great faith, ‘Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.’

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of two of the Lord’s great saints, namely that of Pope St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage. Both of them were great leaders of the Church, and as the important Church fathers and leaders, they had shown us all great examples of faith and dedication to God, that despite all the challenges and difficulties which they had to face, they continued to be exemplary in faith and trust in God. Pope St. Cornelius was the leader of the Universal Church during a turbulent time in its history in the middle of the third century, when both the Roman Empire was troubled with a lot of wars and conflicts, while the Church and Christian believers were persecuted heavily for their faith and belief in God. Meanwhile, St. Cyprian was the influential Bishop of Carthage in North Africa at around that same time.

Both of them had to face the various persecutions of the Church and Christian believers as well as the divisions within the Church caused by the followers of one Novatian, also known as Antipope Novatian, who was a popular preacher and priest that opposed the re-admittance of Christians who had lapsed from their faith through various reasons, but especially due to the intense persecutions which forced some of them to at least publicly offered sacrifices to the Roman pagan gods and idols. Pope St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian both argued strongly against the Novatianists, and when the latter chose to elect Novatian as an Antipope, both of them worked hard to restore unity in the Church and to care and guide their flock at the same time. They were martyred for their faith under the persecutions of the Roman Emperors, but their faith and dedication to the Lord lived on in their veneration for long after their passing.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the great examples of our holy predecessors and do whatever we can so that our lives may truly be faithful to God, and that we may truly have faith in Him, believing wholeheartedly in Him and trusting in His guidance and help in all the things that we say and do in our respective lives. May all of us continue to walk faithfully in God’s Holy Presence, and do our very best so that we may always glorify Him by our exemplary lives, our every words, actions and deeds, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Monday, 16 September 2024 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Cornelius, Pope and Martyr, and St. Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 7 : 1-10

At that time, when Jesus had finished teaching the people, He went to Capernaum. A Roman military officer lived there, whose servant was very sick and near to death, a man very dear to him. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent some elders of the Jews to persuade Him to come and save his servant’s life. The elders came to Jesus and begged Him earnestly, saying, “He deserves this of You, for he loves our people and even built a synagogue for us.”

Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house, when the Roman officer sent friends to give this message, “Sir, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy to welcome You under my roof. You see, I did not approach You myself. Just give the order, and my servant will be healed. For I myself, a junior officer, give orders to my soldiers, and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to the other, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

On hearing these words, Jesus was filled with admiration. He turned and said to the people with Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” The people, sent by the captain, went back to his house; there they found that the servant was well.

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Monday, 16 September 2024 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Cornelius, Pope and Martyr, and St. Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 39 : 7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 17

Sacrifice and oblation You did not desire; this, You had me understand. Burnt offering and sin offering You do not require. Then I said, “Here I come!”

As the scroll says of me. To do Your will is my delight, o God, for Your law is within my heart.

In the great assembly I have proclaimed Your saving help. My lips, o YHVH, I did not seal – You know that very well.

But may all those who seek You, rejoice, and be glad in You; and may all who love Your saving grace continually say, “YHVH is great.”