Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops, Holy Virgins and Doctors of the Church)
Psalm 99 : 2, 3, 4, 5
Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God; He created us and we are His people, the sheep of His fold.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless His Name.
For the Lord is good; His love lasts forever and His faithfulness through all generations.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops, Holy Virgins and Doctors of the Church)
1 Corinthians 12 : 12-14, 27-31a
As the body is one, having many members, and all the members, while being many, form one body, so it is with Christ. All of us, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, have been baptised in one Spirit, to form one Body, and all of us have been given, to drink from the one Spirit. The Body has not just one member, but many.
Now, you are the Body of Christ, and each of you, individually, is a member of it. So God has appointed us in the Church. First Apostles, second prophets, third teachers. Then come miracles, then the gift of healing, material help, administration in the Church and the gift of tongues. Are all Apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Can all perform miracles, or cure the sick, or speak in tongues, or explain what was said in tongues? Be that as it may, set your hearts on the most precious gifts.
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.
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.
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.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us listened to the words of the Lord contained in the Sacred Scriptures in which we are reminded not to be proud, arrogant or egoistic in how we carry on living our lives. Instead, the greater we are, and the more knowledgeable we are, the wiser and the better we are, the more we should be humble and willing to listen to others, especially the Lord Himself in how we should be living our lives. We must not allow our ego and pride to become our downfall and be the serious obstacles and challenges in our path, preventing us from truly being able to approach the Lord and be filled with His grace and love. If we allow ourselves to be swayed by those evils and ambitions, and if we harden and close our hearts and minds against Him and against others, then more often than not we may find ourselves falling into the wrong path in life.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and faithful people of God in Corinth in which the Apostle spoke of the matter about his ministry and how he did not boast about his accomplishments and achievements before everyone. Instead, he highlighted that being Christians, that is as the disciples and followers of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, one must be more humble and focused on the Lord in all things, rather than to be proud and full of oneself. He reminded all Christians to be always vigilant against the various temptations of worldly glory and ambitions, all of which can lead one astray and away from the Lord and His salvation unless we are careful and vigilant in how we live our lives.
Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples and followers in which He rebuked those hypocrites and those who have been blinded by their arrogance, pride and greed that they failed to see the truth of God and His love. He was clearly referring to the actions and attitudes of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, many of whom had not welcomed Him and in fact opposed Him vehemently, always making a lot of efforts to put stumbling blocks and obstacles in the path that the Lord had taken, opposing His ministry and good works, doubting Him and His authority, sowing seeds of dissension and divisions by their constant and repeated efforts at refusing to follow the Lord and what He has taught and shown to the people of God.
All these likely came about because of their great pride and sense of self-entitlement given their standing in the community of the people of God, as well as their strong sense of superiority against those others whom they deemed to be inferior and less worthy than they were, so much so that they frequently criticised and condemned many people, such as the tax collectors, prostitutes and those afflicted by diseases, thinking that those people were wicked and unworthy of God, and had been cursed by their many sins. But they failed to realise that they themselves were sinners and by their indulging in their pride, ego and ambition, they have allowed themselves to be led into the path of rebellion against God, and closed the doors of their heart from the Lord.
That was why they were ‘blind’ because they had been blinded by all that pride and ego, all of which kept them from truly being able to appreciate the truth and Good News which the Lord had brought into our midst. This is an important reminder therefore for each and every one of us not to fall into this same trap, falling into the same predicament of hardening our hearts and minds, closing ourselves off from the Lord and His ever generous offer of love and His truth. We should instead be more humble, the greater we are. We must not let all these pride and wickedness of the world to distract us from our true goal in Christ, in His truth and love, His grace and salvation. We must always be willing to let the Lord to come into our hearts and minds, while humbly seeking Him to forgive us all our own sins and imperfections.
Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. John Chrysostom, a great servant of God and bishop, who was honoured afterwards as one of the great and esteemed Doctors of the Church for his many contributions and works, and his commitment to God in the early periods of the Church’s history. St. John Chrysostom was one of the famous Early Church fathers who dedicated himself to his mission of evangelisation and care for the flock of God’s holy and beloved people and who was remembered well for his great courage and determination to stand up for his beliefs and convictions amidst the various challenges and difficulties that he might have to face in the process of his efforts and works, in his commitment as a good and faithful shepherd of the Lord’s people. St. John Chrysostom is truly a worthy role model for all of us to follow in how we ought to live our lives with faith.
St. John Chrysostom was born in a pagan family to a high-ranking military officer who died early in St. John Chrysostom’s life. His mother raised him and gave him good education in various areas of academics and other philosophical pursuits. However, he soon developed strong desire to learn more about God, devoting his time more to his Christian faith and embraced deep learning of theology. He then became a hermit for a while, adopting an ascetic lifestyle, before becoming a deacon in Antioch, gaining great popularity for his great charism and eloquence in his service and dedication, in his wonderful style of preaching and teaching to the people regarding various matters of the faith. Eventually, he was chosen as the Archbishop of Constantinople, a position of truly great influence in the Roman Empire at that time, being the Eastern capital of the Empire.
During his time as the Archbishop and shepherd of the flock of the people of God in Constantinople, St. John Chrysostom had to face a lot of challenges and difficulties, as he soon gained the enmity and the wrath of the powerful nobles, especially that of the Roman Empress Eudoxia, the wife of the Emperor Arcadius. The Empress was angry at St. John Chrysostom spoke out courageously against excesses of worldly wealth and also display of feminine elegance and ornamentations, which she presumed to be directed against her. She therefore managed to get him to be banished from his See and persecuted, which led to violent opposition by those who supported St. John Chrysostom, and this, coupled with the omen of an earthquake that struck the very night the man of God was arrested led to him being released and reinstated. However, the troubles did not end there are conflicts kept on going between the Empress and the Archbishop of Constantinople, which led him to be exiled again and persecuted to the end of his life. But all these did not dampen his efforts, and St. John Chrysostom remained firmly faithful to the very end.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the faithful examples of St. John Chrysostom, who dedicated himself wholly and thoroughly to God, and that he spoke up courageously against those who abused their power and against all those who acted with pride, ego and arrogance, and who humbly dedicated himself to God and His people despite his status and the prestige that he enjoyed. He did not allow himself to be swayed by the temptations of sin, of pride and ego, of ambition and greed. Each and every one of us should be inspired to follow in his footsteps and continue to do our best so that we may grow ever stronger in our faith and commitment to God, and we may distance ourselves from all the things that may lead to our downfall and destruction, and keeping us away from God. May the Lord be with us all and may He continue to bless us in all of our efforts and endeavours, to come ever closer to Him, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
Luke 6 : 39-42
At that time, Jesus offered this example, “Can a blind person lead another blind person? Surely both will fall into a ditch. A disciple is not above the master; but when fully trained, he will be like the master. So why do you pay attention to the speck in your brother’s eye, while you have a log in your eye, and are not conscious of it?”
“How can you say to your neighbour, ‘Friend, let me take this speck out of your eye,’ when you cannot remove the log in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the log from your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your neighbour’s eye.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 83 : 3, 4, 5-6, 12
My soul yearns; pines, for the courts of YHVH. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young, at Your altars, o YHVH of hosts, my King and my God!
Happy are those who live in Your house, continually singing Your praise! Happy, the pilgrims whom You strengthen, to make the ascent to You.
For YHVH God is a sun and a shield; He bestows favour and glory. YHVH withholds no good thing from those who walk in uprightness.
Liturgical Colour : White
1 Corinthians 9 : 16-19, 22b-27
Because I cannot boast of announcing the Gospel : I am bound to do it. Woe to me, if I do not preach the Gospel! If I preached voluntarily, I could expect my reward, but I have been trusted with this office, against my will. How can I, then, deserve my reward? In announcing the Gospel, I will do it freely, without making use of the rights given to me by the Gospel.
So, feeling free with everybody, I have become everybody’s slave, in order to gain a greater number. So, I made myself all things to all people, in order to save, by all possible means, some of them. This, I do, for the Gospel, so that I, too, have a share of it.
Have you not learnt anything from the stadium? Many run, but only one gets the prize. Run, therefore, intending to win it, as athletes, who impose upon themselves a rigorous discipline. Yet, for them the wreath is of laurels which wither, while for us, it does not wither.
So, then, I run, knowing where I go. I box, but not aimlessly in the air. I punish my body and control it, lest, after preaching to others, I myself should be rejected.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Most Holy Name of Mary)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the occasion of the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary, in which moment we praise and honour Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother, who has always been with us, interceding for us and helping us all throughout our journey of faith and life, by her constant and persistent intercessions and other efforts through which she had reached out to us and calling on us to follow her on the way towards her Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, through Whom we shall gain the assurance of salvation and eternal life. Through Mary, whose memory and holy Name we honour today, we have the surest and best path towards God and His grace, His salvation and light.
In our first reading today, taken from either the Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians or to the Ephesians, we are all reminded by the Apostle St. Paul of the nature of the coming of the salvation of God through His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, who had been brought into this world via the cooperation and acceptance which Mary had given to the whole plan of God’s salvation for all of us mankind. Mary has resolutely said yes and embraced wholeheartedly the role that she would play in the entire plan of God’s salvation, when she responded to the Archangel Gabriel, that she is indeed the handmaid of the Lord, and let all things be done to her according to His will. Through Mary’s faith and obedience therefore, God’s salvation had become incarnate and tangible to us through Christ.
Not only that, but as St. Paul also mentioned to both the Ephesians and the Galatians, through this coming of Christ, the Saviour Whom God had sent into this world, all of us through our sharing in Christ’s human nature, have become brothers and sisters to one another, and become the adopted children of God. And through that, we have been given the share in the glorious resurrection of Our Lord, and receive the assurance of eternal life beyond this world, by He Who has conquered death for us, triumphant and victorious against the forces of evil and wicked ones who sought to destroy us and lead us into the darkness. And Mary, as the Mother of God, has been standing by her Son, and all of us, whom the Lord had entrusted to her as her own children.
And if the evil forces, the demons and spirits are afraid of the Lord, because they know that He is truly the Lord and Master over all things, and that no matter what they do, they cannot overcome Him, fearing the very mention of His Name, therefore, by association to her Son, Mary’s holy Name is equally feared and has the same power over those evil spirits as well. By invoking the Most Holy Name of Mary, we bring into our presence the protection of the Mother of God herself, who has always been our greatest ally and intercessor, ever praying for and helping us sinners, guiding us all towards her beloved Son, our Lord and Saviour. She has also constantly given us all the inspiration and the help to make us find our way towards the Lord and His salvation.
In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the account of the visitation by Mary to her cousin Elizabeth, when Mary came to the place where the latter stayed having heard from the Archangel Gabriel that she was pregnant with a child, about six month earlier than Mary herself. Both of these cases involved miraculous conception and pregnancy, with Elizabeth’s case being that the pregnancy happened when she was already old and definitely beyond child-bearing age. In the meantime, Mary became pregnant without having relationship with a man, and she was not yet married to Joseph, her spouse-to-be at the moment of her conceiving her Son. This was because the Lord Himself has made the conception possible by the power of the Holy Spirit, that the Son of God, the Word of God Incarnate has entered into our world through Mary’s cooperation and faith.
We heard in that account how the Lord had truly performed great and wonderful deeds through these two women, and how He has rescued and brought them out of their respective predicaments. The Lord showed His power and might to rescue all those who have faith in Him, and He proved it to all of us through these great wonders and miracles. He will not abandon His faithful and beloved ones to the darkness, and He will always be by our side, not leaving us alone. We have heard how Mary received the great grace of God, blessed by her faith and obedience, and also the unique and special role that she has in the story of our salvation and liberation from the power of evil and darkness, through her Motherhood of Christ, Our Lord and Saviour.
Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we reflect on all these from the Scriptures and on the role that Mary has played in the story of our salvation, let us all continue to honour and respect her, as the Mother of God and also as our loving Mother, who has always looked kindly upon us, caring for each and every one of us, guiding and helping us to find our way towards the salvation in God. Mary has always committed herself to us as our loving Mother, ever always wanting us all to repent from our sinful attitudes and actions so that we may be fully reunited with her Son, and gain a place in the eternal life and receive the fullness of inheritance of what He has promised to each and every one of us from the very beginning.
May Mary, the Mother of God, the Mother of Our Lord and Saviour, our loving Mother, continue to help and intercede for our sake before her Son in Heaven, ever concerned and ever praying for us, giving us all every possible help and means for us to come closer to the Lord. May she continue to inspire us all to live our lives worthily and well in all things and at all opportunities. In times of trouble let us continue to invoke the Most Holy Name of Mary, our Mother, calling sincerely and earnestly upon her to come and help us, to assist and intercede for us all. Holy Mary, Mother of God, our loving Mother, pray for us sinners, now and always, and at the hour of our death. Amen.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 