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Friday, 31 August 2018 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the readings of the Scriptures again reminding us the importance for us to listen to God and to trust in His will and obey His commandments, for His ways and wisdom are far greater than the very greatest of our wisdom and intellect, and no human achievement is indeed possible without God’s blessings.

In the first reading today taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city of Corinth, we heard of St. Paul speaking of the truth which the Lord had brought to His people, His wisdom which has been revealed to the whole world. And he pointed out how there were those who refused to listen to the Lord or shutting themselves off from the truth simply because they could not get rid of their pride and arrogance.

And this is related to what we heard in today’s Gospel passage, where we heard the Lord Jesus teaching His disciples by the means of a parable. He spoke to them about the parable of the five wise women and the five foolish women, comparing them to the comparison between the wisdom of men and the wisdom of God. The five foolish women represented those who put their trust in human wisdom and refused to obey God’s truth and wisdom.

Meanwhile the five wise women represented all those who trusted in the Lord and obeyed Him. Those who were wise were prepared for the coming of the bridegroom who was delayed in coming, while the ones who were foolish were caught unprepared by the delay and were not ready when the bridegroom suddenly came in the middle of the night. This is actually a reminder of how fleeting and impermanent our human existence is.

How is that so? First of all, many of us live our lives in this world with the intention to satisfy our own desires and wants. We live our lives seeking for things that make us happy such as having more money, more material goods, more prestige, fame, glory and other parameters of ‘success’ as defined by the world.

And quite a few among us were obsessed with attaining more and more of those indicators of worldly success and to satisfy our ever growing desire. We must know, brethren, that we mankind are very difficult to satisfy with any sorts of worldly goodness and temptations, for the more that we have and gained, the more it is that we desire, for even more of what we have gained.

We must remember, brothers and sisters in Christ, that it does not matter how much money we accumulate, or how much prestige and fame we gather in the community and the society, or how many possessions and things we have with us, but none of these will matter when we are called to face the day of reckoning, when we encounter the moment of our death as the Lord willed it.

All of us spend much of our time trying to enrich ourselves in various ways, and to gather for ourselves as many worldly satisfactions as we could gather. But in the end, none of these could give us the chance to live even a moment longer than the time given to us by the Lord. And in the end of it all, many of us would come to regret that we have not done what we should have done, and instead, falling into temptation, we sinned against God and disobeyed Him.

As a result, many have fallen into damnation out of our inability to resist the many temptations the devil has prepared against us, and out of our own lack of commitment to the Lord, as well as our lack of preparation, that we are caught unprepared when the time comes for each one of us to give an account of what we have done and what we have failed to do in our respective lives.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, having heard our Scripture passages today, let us all spend some time to reflect on each and every one of our lives today. Let us all think of how we can improve our lives by living them more closely attuned with the Lord, and by devoting ourselves ever more to the Lord, Our God. Let us all seek to be more faithful, from now on, by truly living up to our faith in each and every action we do.

May the Lord strengthen us in our faith and affirm us in our commitment to live each and every day of our lives with us all being ever ready and ever prepared whenever it is the Lord wants to call us to Himself. We are called to be holy just as Our Lord is holy. Therefore, let us from now on be true Christians, filled with God’s love and faith. Let us all put our complete trust in Him and not in our worldly strengths. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 31 August 2018 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 25 : 1-13

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “This story throws light on what will happen in the kingdom of heaven : Ten bridesmaids went out with their lamps to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were sensible. The careless bridesmaids took their lamps as they were, and did not take extra oil. But those who were sensible, took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom delayed, they all grew drowsy and fell asleep.”

“But at midnight, a cry rang out, ‘The bridegroom is here, come on and meet him!’ All the maidens woke up at once, and trimmed their lamps. Then the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, ‘Give us some oil, for our lamps are going out.’ The sensible ones answered, ‘There may not be enough for us and for you. You had better go to those who sell, and buy some for yourselves.'”

“When the bridegroom came, the foolish maidens were out buying oil, but those who were ready went with him into the wedding feast, and the doors were shut. Later the other bridesmaids arrived and called out, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered, ‘Truly I do not know you.'”

“So stay awake, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”

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Friday, 31 August 2018 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 32 : 1-2, 4-5, 10-11

Rejoice in the Lord, you who are just, praise is fitting for the upright. Give thanks to Him on the harp and lyre, making melody and chanting praises.

For upright is the Lord’s word and worthy of trust is His work. The Lord loves justice and righteousness; the earth is full of His kindness.

The Lord frustrates the plans of the nations and brings to nothing the peoples’ designs. But His plan stands forever, and His heart’s design through all generations.

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Friday, 31 August 2018 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 1 : 17-25

For Christ did not send me to baptise, but to proclaim His Gospel. And not with beautiful words! That would be like getting rid of the cross of Christ. The language of the cross remains nonsense for those who are lost. Yet for us who are saved, it is the power of God, as Scripture says : I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and make fail the foresight of the foresighted. Masters of human wisdom, educated people, philosophers, you have no reply! And the wisdom of this world? God let it fail.

At first, God spoke the language of wisdom, and the world did not know God through wisdom. Then God thought of saving the believers, through the foolishness that we preach. The Jews ask for miracles and the Greeks for a higher knowledge, while we proclaim a crucified Messiah. For the Jews, what a great scandal! And for the Greeks, what nonsense! But He is Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God, for those called by God among both Jews and Greeks.

In reality, the “foolishness” of God is wiser than humans, and the “weakness” of God is stronger than humans.

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Thursday, 30 August 2018 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are all reminded of our obligations as Christians to be true to our faith, and to be worthy and ready at all times for the Lord, Our God. Each and every one of us, as St. Paul mentioned in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in the city of Corinth, have been sanctified and made worthy by the Lord Jesus Himself, Who has given His own Body and Blood in the Eucharist, and sent us the Holy Spirit.

He has given us the rich and wonderful inheritance of His grace and many blessings, and all these He has given us because of His love for us all. All of us have been entrusted by God with the stewardship of our own lives in this world, entrusted with the many things we have possessed in this life, as His stewards and caretakers of this world. And this is related to what we have heard in our Gospel passage today.

In the Gospel today, we heard about the parable of the faithful and unfaithful steward, in which the contrast was placed before those who heard the Lord, between a prudent and good servant of a master, who obeyed the master’s commands and desires, and did all that he was supposed to do, and then, with a wicked and unfaithful servant, who did not obey the commands of his master, but delayed in doing what he was supposed to do.

The good steward and servant did not delay in doing the will of his master, putting his master’s will and expectations above that of his own ones. But the bad and wicked servant enjoyed life and abused his authority and position, and put his own desires and wishes first above that of his master’s. And he even took pride in thinking that he was safe, as he thought that his master would be delayed in returning.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in what we have heard and learnt from the Gospel passage, all of us are reminded not to be like the bad, wicked and lazy servant, who only thought about himself and his own needs. In his selfishness and pride, he has led himself into his own downfall. The master caught the lazy servant unprepared, and sent him to his own doom.

Now, this is a reminder for us all, that we must be ever prepared and ever ready for the reckoning of our lives, as we must realise just how fragile our human life and existence is. All of us will one day, sooner or later experience death, that is the ending of our mortal and earthly existence. And at that moment, we will be judged on our actions and deeds in life, our obedience and disobedience against God, our fulfilment or failure to fulfil God’s will.

Now, do we want the fate like that of the wicked and lazy servant, who was caught unprepared by his master when he suddenly returned? The same fate will be ours should we ignore God’s reminders and calling for us, to repent and turn away from our sinful ways. If we do not actively resist the temptations of life and all sorts of pleasures and distractions that the devil placed on our path, then we will end up falling badly in our journey of faith.

Let us all remember this, brothers and sisters in Christ, the suffering of those who have rejected and disobeyed God, and refused to listen to Him. Let us all seek the Lord from now on with all of our hearts and with all of our strength. May God be with us all, and may He continue to watch over us and strengthen us, that we will always walk faithfully in His path, and not fall into the temptation of human pride and greed. Amen.

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Thursday, 30 August 2018 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 24 : 42-51

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Stay awake then, for you do not know on what day your Lord will come. Obviously, if the owner of the house knew at what time the thief was coming, he would certainly stay up and not allow his house to be broken into. So be alert, for the Son of Man will come at the hour you least expect.”

“Imagine a faithful and prudent servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give them food at the proper time. Fortunate, indeed, is that servant, whom his master will find at work when he comes. Truly I say to you, his lord will entrust him with everything he has.”

“Not so with the bad servant, who thinks, ‘My master is delayed.’ And he begins to ill-treat his fellow servants, while eating and drinking with drunkards. But his master will come on the day he does not know, and at the hour he least expects. He will punish that servant severely; and place him with the hypocrites. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

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Thursday, 30 August 2018 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 144 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7

I will praise You, day after day; and exalt Your Name forever. Great is YHVH, most worthy of praise; and His deeds are beyond measure.

Parents commend Your works to their children and tell them Your feats. They proclaim the splendour of Your majesty and recall Your wondrous works.

People will proclaim Your mighty deeds; and I will declare Your greatness. They will celebrate Your abundant kindness, and rejoice in singing of Your justice.

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Thursday, 30 August 2018 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 1 : 1-9

From Paul, called to be an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, and from Sosthenes, our brother, to God’s Church which is in Corinth; to you, whom God has sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called, to be holy, together, with those, who, everywhere, call upon the Name of Our Lord Christ Jesus, their Lord and ours.

Receive grace, and peace from God, Our Father, and Christ Jesus, Our Lord. I give thanks, constantly, to my God, for you, and for the grace of God given to you, in Christ Jesus. For you have been fully enriched, in Him, with words, as well as with knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you. You do not lack any spiritual gift and only await the glorious coming of Christ Jesus, Our Lord.

He will keep you steadfast to the end, and you will be without reproach, on the day of the coming of Our Lord Jesus. The faithful God will not fail you, after calling you to this fellowship with His Son, Christ Jesus, Our Lord.

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Wednesday, 29 August 2018 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of the Passion of St. John the Baptist, which marks the moment when St. John the Baptist suffered and endured death because of his righteousness and courage against the king Herod of Galilee. St. John the Baptist spoke up against the king on his adulterous behaviour with Herodias, his deceased brother’s wife, and as a result he was put in prison.

St. John the Baptist was the one whom God sent into this world to be the Herald of the Messiah, the one who would proclaim the coming of the Saviour of the world and the one who would prepare the way for the coming of Christ. He called many people to repent from their sins, and baptised them with water in the River Jordan. He spoke up against the sins and wickedness of the people, and called them to turn away from those sins.

He did not mince his words when he spoke up against the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who came to him and questioned the origin of his teachings and baptism, calling those people as brood of vipers. He acted in the same way towards the king and his entourage, speaking out on the king’s adulterous behaviour and actions. This was what St. John the Baptist had done, even though surely he must have known that it would have landed him in prison.

In the first reading today, God spoke to His prophet Jeremiah, whom He sent to the people of Judah during the last years of existence of the kingdom of Judah just prior to the destruction of the First Temple of Jerusalem. He promised and reassured the prophet that He would be with him, even when the whole world rose up against him, and despite all the challenges he had to endure.

And today, we are reminded that we can indeed learn from these experiences the servants of God had endured. First of all, we are reminded that God is always with us, and He is always on our side, even when things are not in our favour, or when seemingly everything goes against us in our lives. Many of us did not dare or were reluctant and hesitating in fulfilling God’s commandments, because we were afraid of the opposition against us.

It is natural for us to feel fear and insecurity from all these oppositions and challenges. No one, no matter how courageous or brave, will not be affected by fear in their hearts, as it is part of our human weaknesses and nature. But that is why, as Christians, all of us must remember that God is always by our side, no matter what happens. Sometimes it is just that we do not realise how He has done His works in our midst.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is also important that we also take note how easily we can fall into temptations, and therefore, fall into sin. That was what happened to the people living at the time of the prophet Jeremiah, as well as to king Herod. The people living in Judah at that time lived wickedly, following the unlawful practices of their neighbours, enticed by worldly wealth and power.

And as we all just discussed, king Herod gave in to the temptation of his flesh, the temptation of worldly beauty and sexual pleasures in committing adultery with Herodias, his deceased brother’s wife, who already had a child. Herodias herself also likely gave in to the temptation of power and glory, by agreeing to enter into an inappropriate relationship with king Herod.

We heard how Herod fell to the temptation when the daughter of Herodias danced before Herod. He was so swayed and tempted that he made easy promises that he did not think about carefully beforehand. In the end, because of that action, he ended up committing the sin of murder, when Herodias asked her daughter to ask Herod to bring her the head of St. John the Baptist on a plate right there and then.

This is where we need to be vigilant, brothers and sisters in Christ, that we guard ourselves against the advances of the devil and his forces, who are always trying to strike at us at every available opportunity, to bring us down through temptations and the many traps they carefully laid down in our path towards God and His salvation. Let us all keep this in mind as we live our lives in this world.

May the Lord strengthen us in our faith, that we may follow in the footsteps of St. John the Baptist, his courageous servant, that we will not be easily tempted and swayed by the temptations of this world, and remain true to our faith despite the challenges and difficulties we may encounter for being faithful to the Lord. May He empower us all to become His good and faithful disciples, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 29 August 2018 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Mark 6 : 17-29

At that time, this is what had happened : Herod had ordered John to be arrested; and had had him bound and put in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. Herod had married her; and John had told him, “It is not right for you to live with your brother’s wife.”

So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him; but she could not, because Herod respected John. He knew John to be an upright and holy man, and kept him safe. And he liked listening to him; although he became very disturbed whenever he heard him.

Herodias had her chance on Herod’s birthday, when he gave a dinner for all the senior government officials, military chiefs, and the leaders of Galilee. On that occasion, the daughter of Herodias came in and danced; and she delighted Herod and his guests.

The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want and I will give it to you.” And he went so far as to say with many oaths, “I will give you anything you ask, even half my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” The mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”

The girl hurried to the king and made her request, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist, here and now, on a dish.” The king was very displeased, but he would not refuse in front of his guests because of his oaths. So he sent one of the bodyguards, with orders to bring John’s head.

He went and beheaded John in prison; then he brought the head on a dish and gave it to the girl. And the girl gave it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard of this, they came and took his body and buried it.