Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 95 : 1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10
Sing to YHVH a new song, sing to YHVH, all the earth! Sing to YHVH, praise His Name.
Proclaim His salvation, day after day. Recall His glory among the nations, tell all the peoples His wonderful deeds.
Give to YHVH, you families of nations, give to YHVH glory and strength. Give to YHVH the glory due His Name.
Say among the nations, “YHVH reigns!” He will judge the peoples with justice.
Liturgical Colour : White
2 Timothy 1 : 1-8
From Paul, Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, for the sake of His promise of eternal life, in Christ Jesus, to my dear son Timothy. May grace, mercy and peace be with you, from God, the Father, and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I give thanks to God, Whom I serve with a clear conscience, the way my ancestors did, as I remember you constantly, day and night, in my prayers. I recall your tears, and I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, so like the faith of your grandmother Lois and of your mother Eunice, which I am sure you have inherited.
For this reason, I invite you to fan into a flame, the gift of God you received, through the laying on of my hands. For God did not confer on us a spirit of fearfulness, but of strength, love and good judgment. Do not be ashamed of testifying to our Lord, nor of seeing me in chains. On the contrary, do your share in labouring for the Gospel, with the strength of God.
Alternative reading
Titus 1 : 1-5
From Paul, servant of God, Apostle of Christ Jesus, at the service of God’s chosen people, so that they may believe, and reach the knowledge of truth and godliness. The eternal life we are waiting for was promised from the very beginning, by God, Who never lies, and as the appointed time had come, He made it known, through the message entrusted to me by a command of God, our Saviour.
Greetings to you, Titus, my true son in the faith we share. May grace and peace be with you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I left you in Crete because I wanted you to put right, what was defective, and appoint elders in every town, following my instructions.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we heard of the virtues and faith which we ought to have in the Lord as His followers and disciples, following the examples of our predecessors, like that of the great King David of Israel, who was truly a devoted servant of God in all things, in all of his attitudes and actions, and then none other than the Lord Jesus Himself, Our Lord and Saviour, Who has shown us all how we truly should live our lives as Christians, in spending the time and effort to carry out all that the Lord has entrusted to us to do. Each and every one of us should always be inspired to live with great courage and commitment to the path that God has led us into.
In our first reading today, we heard of the story of the moment when the account of the death of King Saul and his son Jonathan, with many other Israelites at the Battle of Mount Gilboa was told to David. For the context, David was the one whom God had chosen to succeed Saul as the next King and ruler over His people, the Israelites. Saul had disobeyed the Lord and acted without virtue in some of his actions and choices, and hence, God withdrew His approval and favour from him and his house, and chose David to be the one to lead the Israelites instead. This led to plenty of frictions and sorrow that happened between David and Saul, as the latter even tried to kill and destroy David, trying to have him killed in several occasions despite the advice and pleading from Jonathan, Saul’s son, whom David had close partnership and Covenant with.
Eventually, if we heard what Saul and David went through in these past few days of Scripture readings, we will know that although David had been grievously wronged and had his life made very difficult by Saul in several occasions, but David did not hold any grudge against Saul and forgave him. And in yesterday’s reading, when the perfect opportunity was presented to David to end Saul’s life, he did not take it and he refused to be tempted to do such a vile action even when his closest confidants and followers begged and pressured him to do so. David was truly a righteous man and while he was himself also with his own flaws, he was a man whose heart was after God’s own Heart. He truly grieved for Saul and Jonathan when he heard of their deaths at the battle against the Philistines. And all these are reminders for all of us to follow his good examples in his virtuous life.
Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Lord was carrying out His works and ministry among the people of God, something that took much of His time, and we then heard of how His own relatives came to Him and took care of Him, because the ministry took so much of the time of the Lord and His disciples that they could not even have a proper meal or time to eat. Therefore, the relatives of the Lord, probably His cousins and others, some of them likely followed Him throughout His ministry and works, were likely unhappy because of the extensive commitments that this Jesus had committed Himself into, and therefore took Him out from the crowd.
In this very short reading passage of the Gospel, there is not really much that we can talk about, but if we are to understand better the context and the intention of the author of the Gospel in writing this, we are all reminded that ultimately, what the Lord has called us to do in our lives may not necessarily be something that is popular or easily acceptable by others, even by those who are closest to us. And yet, this does not mean that we should become afraid or uncertain in doing what the Lord has called us to do. We should continue to do as the Lord has shown us, but at the same time in a measured and careful way that we still do God’s works faithfully but not in the manner that caused inconvenience to others around us. We should do our best to love God wholeheartedly and love our brethren around us in the same way as well, just as the Lord has commanded us to do.
Today, all of us should follow the examples of one great saint whose faith and dedication to the Lord can become a great source of inspiration for us to be more faithful ourselves in living our lives as Christians. St. Francis de Sales was the famous inspiration behind the later foundation of the Salesian order, and he was also a pious and devoted man of God, as a bishop and shepherd to his flock. He was always referring to God as ‘God is Love’ and was convinced that God’s Love for us was so great, which drove him to continue carrying out more missions and works for the sake of the people of God. He became a priest and missionary in opposition to his family’s insistence that he took up secular role, having been born into privileged, rich and powerful family at that time. He chose to serve the Lord rather than indulging in his or his family’s own desires.
St. Francis de Sales dedicated himself to his mission, ministering even to the hard-heartened and stubborn heretics who initially refused to listen to him and even accused him to be a sorcerer. When he was appointed as bishop, he continued to serve the people entrusted to his care with great humility, devotion and love both for the Lord and for the people. He preached with great zeal and sincerity, and with great love and compassion, which touched quite a lot among the people, who were either led closer to conversion and reconciliation with God, or drawn away from heretical teachings or being strengthened and affirmed in their faith thanks to the hard work and dedication of St. Francis de Sales. The commitment and love which St. Francis de Sales had for the Lord is something that should inspire us all to do the same as well in our own lives.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have discussed earlier from the passages of the Sacred Scriptures and from the life and works of St. Francis de Sales, let us all therefore continue to strive to live our lives well and worthily, in the manner that the Lord has prescribed for us, in everything that He Himself has shown and taught us, and everything that He has revealed to us through the Holy Spirit and the Wisdom that He has imparted upon us and His Church. Each and every one of us have been called to be good examples and role models in faith to everyone we encounter in our lives. May the Lord be with us all and may He empower us to live our lives ever more faithfully in each and every moments so that we may lead more and more people towards Him. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
Mark 3 : 20-21
At that time, Jesus and His disciples went home. The crowd began to gather again and they could not even have a meal. Knowing what was happening, His relatives came to take charge of Him, “He is out of His mind,” they said.
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 79 : 2-3, 5-7
Listen, o Shepherd of Israel, You, Who lead Joseph like a flock; You, Who sit enthroned between the Cherubim. Shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up Your might and come to save us.
O YHVH of hosts, how long will Your anger burn against the prayers of Your people? You have fed them with the bread of woe, and have given them tears to drink in their sorrow. You have made us the scorn of our neighbours and the laughingstock of our oppressors.
Liturgical Colour : White
2 Samuel 1 : 1-4, 11-12, 19, 23-27
After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, he stayed at Ziklag for two days. On the third day a man arrived from the camp of Saul with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. When he approached David, the man threw himself to the ground in homage.
David asked him, “Where are you from?” And he answered, “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.” David then said, “Tell me what happened.” And the man told him, “The soldiers fled from the battle but many of them fell and died. Saul and his son Jonathan – they too are dead.”
At this, David took hold of his clothes and tore them and his men did the same. And they mourned, weeping and fasting until evening, for the death of Saul and his son Jonathan, for all the people of Judah and for the nation of Israel.
David sang this song of lamentation for Saul and his son Jonathan, “Your glory, o Israel, is slain upon your mountains! How the mighty ones have fallen! Saul and Jonathan, beloved and cherished, neither in life nor in death were they parted; swifter than eagles they were and stronger than lions.”
“Women of Israel, weep over Saul who clothed you in precious scarlet. How the valiant have fallen! In the midst of the battle Jonathan lies slain on your mountains. I grieve for you, my brother Jonathan; how dear have you been to me! Your love for me was wonderful, ever more than the love of women. How the valiant have fallen! The weapons of war have perished!”
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all heard from our Scripture readings today, we are reminded of the danger of worldly temptations of pride, ego and ambition, as well as others, and how we should instead seek to put our trust and faith in the Lord at all times, and we should always focus our attention and lives on God, not on the ambitions we have, the greed and desires which caused us all to do things that are contrary to what God wants us to do in our lives. We should always live our lives with the courage and sincerity of faith, doing whatever we can to live virtuous lives that become great inspiration and hope for others around us, in helping more and more people to come to know the Lord and to desire to seek Him as well.
In our first reading today, we heard from the continuation of the tale of the story between King Saul and his future successor, David, from the Book of the prophet Samuel. In that story we heard how Saul become very jealous at the actions and exploits of David, who was then in the employ of Saul as his servant. David was guided by God and was blessed in his actions, winning many battles for the sake of Saul and the Israelites, and the people praised him even more wonderfully than they praised Saul. And therefore, Saul allowed his ego, pride and all the fear and jealousy to affect him, making him to fear that David would eventually take the kingdom away from him and his descendants. That was why Saul ended up plotting to end David and to destroy him.
This was then when we heard how one of the sons of Saul, possibly even his successor, Jonathan, who happened to be David’s best friend, and even partner according to the Biblical evidences, as both of them were mentioned to have made a Covenant with each other, tried to protect David from harm and the plots of his father, knowing that Saul was trying to kill David. Jonathan pleaded with his father Saul and begged him to reconsider his choice of actions, and saying to Saul that he should not contemplate such vile actions because after all, everything that David had done, were in truth done not for his own selfish glory and ambitions, but for the greatness of Saul and in faithful service to his king, Saul himself. Jonathan managed to get Saul to reconsider and to step away from the fears and jealousy that had clouded his judgment.
Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, where another account of great success had been told to us, and in this case was how many people flocked to the Lord Jesus and His disciples as they sought Him for His miraculous works and healing, and many people also came to seek Him for His teachings and Wisdom, and His popularity kept on growing, and we heard how the crowd grew to an extent such that they needed to put the Lord on a boat to prevent the crowd from crushing Him, a testament to how great a success the Lord’s works and how great His popularity had become. This can be made parallel to what we have heard in our first reading today regarding the successes of David and the praises he received.
And then we heard how the people praised the Lord and even evil spirits who obeyed Him and spoke out the truth, that He, Jesus, was indeed the Son of God, the Messiah or Saviour Who had been promised by God to His people. We heard then how the Lord expressly forbid them from speaking any further, and also in other occasions where there were those that the Lord healed whom He instructed not to speak about these before others. We must understand that if those people and those evil spirits were to speak out about everything that the Lord had done, that would have made Him even more popular, but at the same time, it might also lead to more difficulties and frictions, as the Pharisees and the Temple authorities had been always against the Lord and His works.
Therefore, this is where we are reminded yet again that like King Saul’s examples, and also that of the Pharisees and the Temple authorities, how we should not allow our pride, ego and insecurities, our jealousies and desires to become a barrier preventing us from recognising God at work and being present in our midst. All those things can lead us to do things that are contrary to God’s will, to His commandments and Law just as what King Saul had plotted against David and all the plots and complaints that the Pharisees always threw at the Lord. All these are examples of how our ambitions and human ego, pride and desires can lead us astray and prevent us from coming closer to His salvation and grace.
Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Vincent, Holy Martyr of the Church and Deacon, who was a truly great man of God and whose life and actions are great inspirations for all of us to follow at all times. St. Vincent was also known as St. Vincent of Saragossa or Zaragoza because he hailed from the region of Caesaraugusta, now known as Zaragoza in northeastern Spain today. He was an eloquent speaker, entrusted by the regional bishop to help him because of his impediments, in preaching to the people of God and others. When the local governor began launching an intense persecution against Christians in that area, arresting both the bishop, Valerius and St. Vincent, they were persecuted and tortured. St. Vincent refused to save his life by burning the Sacred Scriptures when such an offer was made to him.
And then, St. Vincent’s great faith and eloquence in proclaiming the truth of God angered the governor greatly, who ordered the former to be tortured with various sufferings, and eventually, in what he was well-known for, he was put on a grid-iron and tortured. Yet, St. Vincent remained firm in his faith and continued to proclaim the truth of God, even joking with his persecutors according to some tradition, when he said to them, asking them to turn him over because he was ‘done on that side’. St. Vincent eventually met his death in martyrdom, but his example of great courage and bravery, his exemplary and inspirational faith continue to become great inspiration for many Christians all throughout history.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore reflect upon what we have just discussed and discerned from these passages from the Sacred Scriptures, doing our very best together with the examples and courage showed by St. Vincent the Deacon, that we may always be truly faithful to God in all things, and strive to put Him at the forefront of everything that we do in our lives. May our actions be ever consistent with our faith in God, and that we may ourselves be good inspirations and role models for everyone around us. May God bless us all in our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Mark 3 : 7-12
At that time, Jesus and His disciples withdrew to the lakeside, and a large crowd from Galilee followed Him. A great number of people also came from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, Transjordan, and from the region of Tyre and Sidon, for they had heard of all that He was doing.
Because of the crowd, Jesus told His disciples to have a boat ready for Him, to prevent the people from crushing Him. He healed so many, that all who had diseases kept pressing toward Him to touch Him. Even the people who had evil spirits, whenever they saw Him, they would fall down before Him and cry out, “You are the Son of God.” But He warned them sternly not to tell anyone Who He was.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Psalm 55 : 2-3, 9-10ab, 10c-11, 12-13
O God, show Your mercy to me, for my foes are in hot pursuit; they press their attack on me all the time. My accusers pursue me all day long; many attack me.
You have a record of my laments; my tears are stored in Your wineskin. Are they not written on Your scroll? My enemies turn back when I call on You for help.
Now I know, that God is for me. In God, Whose word I praise.
In God I trust, without fear. What can mortals do against me? I am bound to You by vows, o God; I shall offer my thanksgiving.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 