Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 12 : 4-5, 6
Look upon me and answer, o YHVH my God! Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; lest my enemy say, “I have routed him,” lest my foes rejoice of my fall.
But I put my trust in Your unfailing love, my heart will rejoice on seeing Your salvation. I will sing to YHVH, for He has been good to me!
Liturgical Colour : Green
Romans 8 : 26-30
Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes for us, without words, as if with groans. And He, Who sees inner secrets, knows the desires of the Spirit, for He asks for the holy ones, what is pleasing to God.
We know that in everything, God works for the good of those who love Him, whom He has called, according to His plan. Those whom He knew beforehand, He has also predestined, to be like His Son, similar to Him, so, that, He may be the Firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And so, those whom God predestined, He called; and those whom He called, He makes righteous; and to those whom He makes righteous, He will give His glory.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scriptures speaking to us about the coming of the Lord’s salvation and His kingdom, the kingdom that He has promised us, the kingdom of God to which we are all called to enter, to receive one day the fullness of glory, true happiness and pure joy that we can only find in the Lord alone. Today we are all called to turn towards the Lord and put our hope in Him.
In our first reading today, from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Rome, the Apostle reminded them all of the hope in God’s salvation, which all of them had been promised and which they would receive, if they could be patient and remain true to their faith, acknowledging how everyone had been looking forward to and desiring the love and salvation from God, after having suffered the many trials and challenges we have to face because of our sins.
St. Paul was in fact referring to the salvation of man from their original fall into sin. Mankind had chosen to listen to Satan and his lies, and to follow the temptations of their flesh and desires rather than to trust in God. And St. Paul reminded the faithful that all of us have to be patient and to persevere through the challenges that we may face in life. We cannot allow ourselves to be swayed easily by the lies of the devil, and all of his false promises, through which he and the other forces of evil ever always tried to distract us, mislead us and bring us into our downfall.
They would always try to tempt us with an easy life, that if we want to enjoy things we have and in our lives, and find pleasures in this life, then we should walk in the path that has been shown to us. In that way, they tried to make us regret following the Lord and instead turn towards the easier and more convenient path instead, one that has been presented to us as the better path in life. The Lord’s path certainly often seems to be the more challenging and difficult one to follow.
Yet, we must not lose faith, brothers and sisters in Christ, and we have to trust in the Lord and His providence. We must believe that if we remain faithful to Him, and true to His path, then in the end, there is nothing less than true glory and happiness in following Him. The Lord has always been faithful to the Covenant that He has established with our forefathers and which He had renewed and made evident to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour.
In our Gospel passage today, we listened to the words of the Lord speaking to us, as He spoke of the parable about the kingdom of God to the people listening to Him. He compared the kingdom of God to that of the mustard seed, which is planted and then later on would grow to be a large tree, from a mere small seed, and how mighty that tree would be as compared to the very small seed that was the mustard seed, from among the smallest of the seeds to be one of the largest among the trees.
Then He also compared it to the measures of flour with yeast, which is put together into dough and let to raise. When under the right and optimum conditions, the yeast would then make the dough to rise up and enlarge greatly when the leavened bread was to be made. However, just like the germinating mustard seed and the growing young mustard plant, everything would not have happened unless the right and appropriate conditions were provided.
That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, effort and commitment is need for us to walk faithfully in the path that the Lord has set before us. There will be opposition, challenges, trials and even persecutions facing us as we commit ourselves to this path set before us by the Lord, but we must realise that it is also part of the efforts of those who sought our downfall to lead us down the wrong path, by persuading us to give up the fight. We have to persevere in faith, brothers and sisters in Christ, and seek the true joy that we can find in the Lord alone.
Let us not seek the temporary joy and fulfilment that the false path of Satan and sin have offered us, but instead let us turn towards the Lord with renewed faith and love for Him, turning away from the path of evil and sinfulness, embracing His mercy and compassionate love from now on. May God be with us always and may He strengthen each and every one of us in our journey of faith through life towards the glorious kingdom of God. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Luke 13 : 18-21
At that time, Jesus continued to say to the people, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? Imagine a person who has taken a mustard seed, and planted it in his garden. The seed has grown, and become like a small tree, so that the birds of the air shelter in its branches.”
And Jesus said again, “What is the kingdom of God like? Imagine a woman who has taken yeast, and hidden it in three measures of flour, until it is all leavened.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 125 : 1-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6
When YHVH brought the exiles back to Zion, we were like those moving in a dream. Then, our mouths were filled with laughter, and our tongues with songs of joy.
Among the nations it was said, “YHVH has done great things for them.” YHVH had done great things for us, and we were glad indeed.
Bring back our exiles, o YHVH, like fresh streams in the desert. Those who sow in tears will reap with songs and shouts of joy.
They went forth weeping, bearing the seeds for sowing, they will come home with joyful shouts, bringing their harvested sheaves.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Romans 8 : 18-25
I consider, that the suffering of our present life cannot be compared with the glory that will be revealed, and given to us. All creation is eagerly expecting the birth, in glory, of the children of God. For, if now, the created world was unable to attain its purpose, this did not come from itself, but from the one who subjected it. But it is not without hope; for even the created world, will be freed from this fate of death, and share the freedom and glory of the children of God.
We know, that the whole creation groans and suffers the pangs of birth. Not creation alone, but even ourselves; although the Spirit was given to us, as a foretaste of what we are to receive, we groan in our innermost being, eagerly awaiting the day, when God will give us full rights, and rescue our bodies as well.
In hope, we already have salvation. But, if we saw what we hoped for, there would no longer be hope : how can you hope for what is already seen? So, we hope for what we do not see, and we will receive it, through patient hope.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all called to reflect on the words we have heard reminding us to be faithful to God and to love Him as the same way as children are loving their parents, because we are God’s beloved children through baptism, by which all of us have been made sharers in God’s inheritance and received God’s grace and blessings, His love and providence.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Rome about the matter of following God and His ways, that all Christians as God’s own beloved sons and daughters ought to be truly faithful to Him and the commandments and laws which He has shown and given to them through the Church and its Apostles. They have been freed from the slavery of sin by God, and correspondingly should no longer subject themselves to the power and corruption of sin, and hence, they ought to live a life that is worthy of God.
St. Paul wrote this to the faithful in Rome with the context that there and elsewhere across the Mediterranean, in other communities of the faithful, quite a few of the Christian populations who were newly converted to the faith continued to practice pagan rituals and beliefs, and worse still, continue to live in a state of sin, full of debauchery and wickedness. Those behaviours and way of life were incompatible with the Christian faith, and in fact bring scandal upon the Church and the sanctity of our solemn faith and profession.
That is why, St. Paul reminded all of the people, and then, which includes all of us, that everyone who believe in God ought to be thoroughly converted to the path of God’s truth and righteousness. We must never allow our worldly desires and the many temptations to sin to bring and lead us to our downfall. If we are not careful, we may end up falling into those temptations and ended up sinning again, unless we make the conscious effort to reject Satan and his temptations for us to sin against God. We must realise just how blessed we are to have been beloved by God, and we should treasure how we have been saved by Him.
In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord and His healing of the woman who had been crippled for eighteen years, who had been suffering and tormented by her afflictions. And it was an evil spirit that forced her into that state. No one had been able to heal her, until that moment when she came before the Lord, and the Lord noticing her, had pity on her and showed her His most generous mercy, healed her by likely casting out the evil spirit that had tormented and troubled her. He made her whole again and liberated her.
Yet, the officials of the synagogue and the members of the Pharisees who were present there criticised the Lord for having done the healing on the day of the Sabbath, which to them was against their very strict interpretation of the Law of God. The Lord immediately rebuked them and pointed out the folly and illogical nature of their argument and their rigid attitude, as double standard quickly appeared when comparing how the people untied their donkey and oxen even on the Sabbath to provide for their needs, while the suffering woman had to wait to be healed, if the Lord had acted in the manner desired by the Pharisees and the synagogue officials.
Instead, the Lord through His action showed us that we are all truly precious for Him, as His lost sheep that He has gathered again from among the nations, from all those scattered and spread far and wide, and we are all His beloved ones that He would do nothing less than give His own life in exchange for our salvation. Through His Cross, Christ has suffered and died a most terrible, humiliating and painful death, all for our sake, that we may have new life through Him, and share in His glorious Resurrection and the eternal life promised to us.
Having been beloved in such a way, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we still willing to allow ourselves to be commanded and misguided by our desires, and by the temptations to sin? Having been rescued and redeemed from our sins, are we still insisting on following a path of sin and evil, in disobedience against God? Are we still stubborn in our refusal to open our hearts and minds, in order to welcome Him into them, that He may dwell in us and we may be made wholesome like that suffering woman? Let us all carefully consider our path in life from now on, that we will walk in the presence and grace of God.
Let us all inspire and strengthen one another to live ever more faithfully in God’s path, and let us be exemplary in our every actions and interactions in life, so that all who see us, hear us and witness our works, will come to know the Lord and will know that we are truly His beloved children, and come to believe in Him as well. May God, our loving Father and Creator, continue to bless us and our good efforts and endeavours, all for His greater glory, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Luke 13 : 10-17
At that time, Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath, and a crippled woman was there. An evil spirit had kept her bent for eighteen years, so that she could not straighten up at all. On seeing her, Jesus called her and said, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” Then He laid His hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight and praised God.
But the ruler of the synagogue was indignant, because Jesus had performed this healing on the Sabbath day, and he said to the people, “There are six days in which to work. Come on those days to be healed, and not on the Sabbath!”
But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Everyone of you unties his ox or his donkey on the Sabbath, and leads it out of the barn to give it water. And here you have a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound for eighteen years. Should she not be freed from her bonds on the Sabbath?”
When Jesus said this, all His opponents felt ashamed. But the people rejoiced at the many wonderful things that happened because of Him.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 67 : 2 and 4, 6-7ab, 20-21
Arise, o God, scatter Your enemies; let Your foes flee before You. But let the righteous be glad and exult before God; let them sing to God and shout for joy.
Father of orphans and Protector of widows – such is our God in His holy dwelling. He gives shelter to the homeless, sets the prisoners free.
Blessed be the Lord, God, our Saviour, Who daily bears our burdens! Ours is a God Who saves; our YHVH lets us escape from death.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Romans 8 : 12-17
Then, brothers, let us leave the flesh and no longer live according to it. If not, we will die. Rather, walking in the spirit, let us put to death the body’s deeds, so that we may live. All those who walk in the Spirit of God are sons and daughters of God.
Then, no more fear : you did not receive a spirit of slavery, but the spirit that makes you sons and daughters, and every time, we cry, “Abba! (this means Dad!) Father!” the Spirit assures our spirit, that we are sons and daughters of God. If we are children, we are heirs, too. Ours will be the inheritance of God, and we will share it with Christ; for, if we now suffer with Him, we will also share glory with Him.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 