Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 147 : 12-13, 14-15, 19-20
Exalt YHVH, o Jerusalem; praise your God, o Zion! For He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your children within you.
He grants peace on your borders and feeds you with the finest grain. He sends His command to the earth and swiftly runs His word.
It is He, Who tells Jacob His words; His laws and decrees, to Israel. This, He has not done for other nations, so His laws remain unknown to them. Alleluia!
Liturgical Colour : Red
Deuteronomy 10 : 12-22
So now, Israel, what is it that YHVH, your God, asks of you but to fear Him and follow all His ways? Love Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Observe the commandments of YHVH and His laws which I command you today, for your good.
See : the heavens, those that are seen and those that are unseen, the earth and all that is in it, everything belongs to YHVH, your God. Nevertheless, it was on your fathers that YHVH set His heart. He loved them, and after them, He chose their descendants – you – preferring you to all the peoples, as you can see this day.
Purify your hearts, then, and do not be defiant towards YHVH because YHVH is the God of gods and the Lord of lords. He is the great God, the strong and terrible God. When He judges, He treats everyone equally; He does not let Himself be bought by gifts. He renders justice to the orphan and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him bread and clothing.
Love the stranger then, because you yourselves were strangers in the land of Egypt. Fear YHVH, your God, serve Him, follow Him and call on His Name when you have to make an oath. He is your pride and He is your God, Who has done those amazing things for you. When you went down to Egypt, your ancestors were no more than seventy persons, but now, YHVH, your God, has made you as many as the stars of heaven.
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.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us as God’s people are reminded of the need for us to remain humble and also to put our trust always in the Lord. The Lord has shown His love and most generous kindness towards us, and He has always been patient in leading and guiding us, showing us the path of righteousness and justice. However, it is often that many of us gave in to the temptations of our desires and pride, our greed and ambitions, that we ended up shutting the Lord out of our lives and keeping Him away from our hearts and minds. As our Scripture readings highlighted to us, there had been many occasions in the past where man has been swayed and tempted by the temptations of worldly glory and ambitions that they fell into sin and evil.
In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Numbers, we heard of the story of the confrontation between Moses and his siblings, Aaron and Miriam, both of whom wanted a share of the limelight and the prominence of Moses’ leadership over the people of Israel, and being biased against Moses because of the woman he married while claiming that the Lord could also speak through them. Essentially, they both committed sins against God and against Moses by their slander and actions, as they were really jealous of the position and the prominence that Moses experienced in his leadership, and how he was chosen by God for this role. It was mentioned how Moses was really a very humble person, who did not seek for glory or greatness, as was evident very early on, before he even went forth for his mission to Egypt, as he was unsure and reluctant to take up the role of the leader of God’s people because of his lack of eloquence unlike that of his brother Aaron, and presumably, also his sister, Miriam.
Miriam and Aaron in turn were likely jealous of all the attention and the importance which Moses had received, and thus desired to have the same benefits and privileges that Moses had as well. Then, the Lord made it very clear to all of them and to all of the people that His favour and choice rested on Moses alone, and that it was Him Who chose and empowered Moses for his mission and ministry as the leader of the Israelites, and not the efforts and the persuasions of those who sought the same position as Moses, like that of Miriam and Aaron, or any others who attempted to usurp the leadership of the Israelites, such as in another occasion when a portion of the Israelites rebelled under the leadership of Korah and those who sided with him. And just as how God swiftly dealt with those rebels and crushed them, thus Miriam and Aaron were punished by God with a plague of leprosy to clearly show to everyone, the obvious sign of Divine displeasure.
In our Gospel passage today, the same attitude was shown by those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law and the elders of the people who criticised the Lord’s disciples because they deemed them to be unlawful in their behaviour. They criticised the Lord’s disciples as they did not wash their hands in the manner prescribed by the Law of God as revealed through Moses, which if we understand the context, had become very highly detailed and ritualised by the time of the Lord and His ministry. According to the Jewish traditions and Church history, those practices of purification and handwashing became so elaborate and complicated, that the people might very well ended up losing sight of the importance and meaning of those practices and customs altogether. While indeed, such practices had good reasons to maintain hygiene in a society living in especially crowded conditions during the Exodus, but it was more of the uncharitable and proud attitude of those same Pharisees and teachers of the Law which was criticised by the Lord.
Those people were swayed by their own pride and greed, and tempted by the allures of worldly glory and fame. Their privileged status and position within the Jewish community made them to be clouded in their judgment, as they deemed themselves to be infallible and better than all others, especially those who were not in accordance to their ideals and ways, those who did not obey and fulfil the Law of God according to their particularly strict and rigid understanding and appreciation. Hence, the Lord rebuked them and chastised them for their attitude and lack of true faith in God. They behaved exactly just like how Miriam and Aaron had done in the past, as they placed their own qualities, power and might, their own intellect and status above that of the love for their fellow men and women. Their condemnation and acts in ostracising those who need the Lord’s help the most, were particularly criticised by the Lord.
This is why, today, each and every one of us are reminded not to allow our emotions, our pride and greed, our ego and all the negative things and thoughts, the temptations and evils all around us to tempt and pull us away from the path towards God’s righteousness and grace. Instead, we should learn from many of our holy predecessors, the holy men and women who had gone before us. We should reject those excesses of worldly attachments and desires, and strive to put our focus on the Lord and place Him at the very centre of our lives and existence. Each and every one of us should be inspired by the examples of those who have answered God’s call, and embraced Him wholeheartedly, just like Moses himself, who dedicated his whole life to God, and hence God sent him to His people to be His servant and messenger, and as the leader to help His people out from the darkness of slavery and into the light of freedom.
Today, the Church celebrates together the feast of a great and renowned saint, whose life should be a great source of inspiration and strength for us as Christians, in how we ourselves should behave and live our lives as faithful and devoted followers and disciples of God. St. Dominic, also known as St. Dominic de Guzman was the great founder of the Order of Preachers or Ordo Praedicatorum, better known as the Dominicans after their founder. St. Dominic was born in what is today part of Spain where according to tradition, his mother gave birth to him after having dreamt of a dog that leapt out of her womb with a flaming torch on its mouth which set the whole earth on fire. Later on this would be part of the Dominican traditions and hagiography which linked the great courage and passion with which St. Dominic dedicated his life in preaching the Good News of God, and the charism of the Order, which is truly related to that vision which St. Dominic’s mother saw.
St. Dominic devoted his life to the Lord and soon became a priest from a young age of twenty-four, spending a lot of time travelling around and proclaiming the Good News of God to more and more people, especially to those who have fallen astray in their path and forgotten their faith in God. St. Dominic was also working with the other contemporaries of his time, who were working against the dangerous heresy of Catharism, which had befuddled many of the faithful and dragged them into the wrong path. St. Dominic and many others, and those who were inspired by his examples, ministered for many years among the areas affected by the Cathar heresy, and managed to bring many back to the Holy Mother Church and salvation in God. It was also during this mission that according to tradition, St. Dominic received a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, who gave him the rosary and therefore began the popularisation of the rosary devotion amongst Christians. St. Dominic dedicated himself to the very end of his life for the sake of the salvation of souls.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, shall we be inspired by the great examples and the dedication which St. Dominic has shown us all through his exemplary life and actions? Shall we all be renewed in our commitment to God and in our desire and willingness to walk down His path? Each and every one of us are part of God’s Church, and we all share in the same calling and commitment to live our lives worthily and to become the missionaries and witnesses of our faith in the Lord. All of us should keep in mind all that we have reflected upon today, and do whatever we can so that we may be truly God’s worthy followers, and as the great role models and inspirations for one another in faith. Let us all turn our back against the evils and temptations of this world, and all the wickedness of pride and ego which had brought about the downfall of so many of our predecessors, and return to the Lord with all our heart. May God be with us always and may He empower each and every one of us in our every good efforts and deeds, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
Matthew 15 : 1-2, 10-14
At that time, some Pharisees, and teachers of the Law, who had come from Jerusalem, gathered around Jesus. And they said to Him, “Why do Your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders? For they, they do not wash their hands before eating.”
Jesus then called the people to Him, and said to them, “Listen and understand : What enters into the mouth does not make a person unclean. What defiles a person is what comes out of his mouth.”
After a while the disciples gathered around Jesus and said, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended by what You said?” Jesus answered, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted shall be uprooted. Pay no attention to them! They are blind, leading the blind. When a blind person leads another, the two will fall into a pit.”
Alternative reading
Matthew 14 : 22-36
At that time, immediately, Jesus obliged His disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowd away. And having sent the people away, He went up the mountain by Himself, to pray. At nightfall, He was there alone.
Meanwhile, the boat was very far from land, dangerously rocked by the waves, for the wind was against it. At daybreak, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. When they saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, thinking that it was a ghost. And they cried out in fear. But at once, Jesus said to them, “Courage! Do not be afraid. It is Me!”
Peter answered, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Jesus said to him, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water to go to Jesus. But seeing the strong wind, he was afraid, and began to sink; and he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Jesus immediately stretched out His hand and took hold of him, saying, “Man of little faith, why did you doubt?” As they got into the boat, the wind dropped. Then those in the boat bowed down before Jesus, saying, “Truly, You are the Son of God!”
They came ashore at Gennesaret. The local people recognised Jesus and spread the news throughout the region. So they brought to Him all the sick people, begging Him to let them touch just the hem of His cloak. All who touched it became perfectly well.
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 50 : 3-4, 5-6a, 6bc-7, 12-13
Have mercy on me, o God, in Your love. In Your great compassion blot out my sin. Wash me thoroughly of my guilt; cleanse me of evil.
For I acknowledge my wrongdoings and have my sins ever in mind. Against You alone, have I sinned.
What is evil in Your sight, I have done. You are right when You pass sentence; and blameless in Your judgement. For I have been guilt-ridden from birth; a sinner from my mother’s womb.
Create in me, o God, a pure heart; give me a new and steadfast spirit. Do not cast me out of Your presence nor take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Liturgical Colour : White
Numbers 12 : 1-13
Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married and they said, “Has YHVH only spoken through Moses? Has He not also spoken through us?” And YHVH heard.
Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than any man on the face of the earth. Yet suddenly YHVH said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, all three of you, to the Tent of Meeting.” The three of them came out.
YHVH came down in the pillar of cloud and, standing at the door of the Tent, called Aaron and Miriam. They both went out and He said, “Listen carefully to what I say, ‘If there is a prophet among you, I reveal Myself to him in a vision and I speak to him in a dream. It is not so for My servant, Moses, My trusted steward in all My household.'”
“‘To Him I speak face to face, openly, and not in riddles, and he sees the presence of YHVH. Why then did you not fear to speak against My servant, against Moses?'” YHVH became angry with them and He departed. The cloud moved away from above the Tent and Miriam was there white as snow with leprosy. Aaron turned towards Miriam and he saw that she was leprous.
And he said to Moses, “My lord, I beg you, do not charge us with this sin that we have foolishly committed. Let her not be like the stillborn whose flesh is half-eaten when it comes from its mother’s womb.”
Then Moses cried to YHVH, “Heal her, o God, I beg of You.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the love of God which He has always provided upon us, from time to time again, that He showed us His care and providence, when we were in great need and were facing hardships. The Lord never abandoned us or ignored us when we were in need, and when we were calling out to Him, and He has patiently loved us despite our frequent disobedience and refusal to obey Him and our wayward lives and wicked actions, abhorrent and evil in His sight. He still loves us all regardless and cares for us, sending His messengers and blessings on us, hoping on all of us to be called to repentance and to embrace His rich forgiveness, mercy and love once again. He does not want any one of us to be lost to Him because of our rebellions and downfall to sin.
That is why the Lord reminded us through the Church with our Scripture readings today, of the moments when He had taken care of our predecessors, as we heard from the feeding of the people of Israel during their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land with the manna, the bread from heaven, and also then with the well-known story of the Lord Jesus miraculously feeding the five thousand men and many others with the mere five loaves and two fishes made available to Him. Through all those events, we are all being reminded of just how wonderful God’s love is for us, that He still patiently cared for us despite our frequent stubborn and rebellious attitudes, in not listening to Him and in constantly being ungrateful despite having been so blessed and beloved by the Lord in so many circumstances. God still loves us all regardless, and wants us all to know of His love.
In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Numbers, we heard of the moment when the Israelites rebelled against and disobeyed God when they were all complaining of the manna that they received daily from the Lord as sustenance and food, to help and strengthen them in the journey through the mostly lifeless and resourceless desert. They complained because they compared what they had then in the manna every morning and the other sustenance that they were having in the desert, such as the flock of birds sent to their camp every evening, and the water provided to them, with the variety of goods and food that they had when they were still enslaved in the land of Egypt. This was a classic case of ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’, as they were thinking that even their old condition of being enslaved and treated as less than human beings were better than to follow the Lord to the assurance of the Promised Land, and everything that the Lord had done for them.
Nonetheless, the Lord continued to provide for them and helped them throughout their journey, patiently, through Moses, His servant, whom we can also notice and feel of just how frustrated he was from today’s reading passage, as he had to contend and endure the rebellious and hard-hearted attitude of the people that he was leading through all those years of hard journey and sufferings. The Lord helped His servant Moses and encouraged him to continue on, despite the challenges and hardships that he had to face, the ungrateful things that he had to face. This was how the Lord kept on caring for the people that He had called and chosen, loved and shown compassion towards, despite of their lack of faith and care for Him. Many years later, when He came into this world through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, that was how He blessed the five thousand men and many others who came to listen to Him, with the bountiful food and sustenance in the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes.
At that occasion, the Lord showed pity on the people who followed him, a great multitude of them in the wilderness with no food sources nearby and they were all hungry. Hence, the Lord miraculously multiplied the five loaves of bread and the two fishes that were found and presented to Him. This showed them all what it meant to be truly loved by God and at the same time, showing forth His power and truth of His nature as the Saviour of the world and the Lord of all. It was also a premonition and prefigurement of what He Himself would do at the end and culmination of His ministry, when He would lay down His own life and offer for all of us His own Most Precious Body and Blood for us to partake and share. The Lord loved us all so much that He was willing to endure the worst of sufferings and humiliations, and to let Himself be broken and shared among all of us, as the Bread of Life, the Living Bread of Heaven, in His own words. By this, the Lord wants us to gain passage to eternal life and to be truly reunited with Him.
Today, the Church celebrates the feast of great saints, holy servants of the Lord whose lives and actions hopefully can inspire us in our own lives and actions, that we may always do our best to live our lives worthily of the Lord, and to thank Him and be grateful to Him for everything that He has always done for us. Today, we honour the glorious memories of Pope St. Sixtus II and his companions in martyrdom, who suffered during the trials and hardships, the martyrdom at the time of the persecution of Christians by the Roman Emperor Valerian, when many suffered and die died for their faith in God, and then as well as St. Cajetan, a holy priest and man of God, who was remembered for his dedication and love for the Lord, and for inspiring many others to follow in his path and examples, in living lives that are truly worthy of the Lord, good and righteous in all things.
Pope St. Sixtus II was the leader of the Universal Church during the difficult time of the middle third century when there were tumultuous events, conflicts in the world and also divisions among the faithful, due to various disagreements and heresies that were widespread during that time. According to Apostolic traditions, Pope St. Sixtus II devoted his life and efforts to reunite the Church, and led the faithful through those difficult and turbulent years, and brought back many of the wayward to the Holy Mother Church. He and many others, including another great saint, St. Lawrence of Rome, was martyred during the persecution of Christians during the reign of the Roman Emperor Valerian, faithful to the very end. Meanwhile, St. Cajetan was a lawyer and diplomat by profession in his earlier years, and then became a priest, dedicating himself to healing the sick, particularly focusing on the spiritual healing of those who have been separated from God and His love.
St. Cajetan laid the foundations for and established the Theatines, also known by its official name of the Congregation of the Clerics Regular, together with Archbishop Giovanni Petro Carafa, who would eventually elected as the Pope and leader of the Church as Pope Paul IV. He also interacted well with his contemporaries like St. Jerome Emiliani, another famous priest dedicated to the well-being of the faithful and those who were suffering, assisting the latter with the foundation of the Congregation of the Clerks Regular, or the Somaschan Fathers. Through all of his work and dedication, St. Cajetan, like that of Pope St. Sixtus II and his companions, they all showed us how we all should respond to God’s call and love, which He has always shown and lavished upon us. Each and every one of us should do whatever we can so that we may truly be faithful and worthy of the Lord.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us therefore commit ourselves with renewed zeal and faith to the Lord, following the great examples set by Pope St. Sixtus II and his companions in martyrdom, St. Cajetan and many other holy men and women of God who had devoted their lives and works for the greater glory of God. May the Lord be with us all, and may He empower each and every one of us so that we may draw ever closer to Him and His love. May God bless us all and our every good efforts and endeavours. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)
Matthew 14 : 13-21
At that time, when Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, He set out by boat for a secluded place, to be alone. But the people heard of it, and they followed Him on foot from their towns. When Jesus went ashore, He saw the crowd gathered there, and He had compassion on them. And He healed their sick.
Late in the afternoon, His disciples came to Him and said, “We are in a lonely place and it is now late. You should send these people away, so that they can go to the villages and buy something for themselves to eat.” But Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fishes.” Jesus said to them, “Bring them here to Me.”
Then He made everyone sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fishes, raised His eyes to heaven, pronounced the blessing, broke the loaves, and handed them to the disciples to distribute to the people. And they all ate, and everyone had enough; then the disciples gathered up the leftovers, filling twelve baskets. About five thousand men had eaten there, besides women and children.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)
Psalm 80 : 12-13, 14-15, 16-17
But My people did not listen; Israel did not obey. So I gave them over to their stubbornness and they followed their own counsels.
If only My people would listen, if only Israel would walk in My ways, I would quickly subdue their adversaries and turn My hand against their enemies.
Those who hate YHVH would cringe before Him, and their panic would last forever. I would feed you with the finest wheat and satisfy you with honey from the rock.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 