Liturgical Colour : Green
Proverbs 30 : 5-9
Every word of God is true, He is a shield in Whom man can find refuge. Add nothing to His words lest He rebuke you and take you for a liar. O God, two things I beg of You, do not deny me them before I die. Keep lying and falsehood far away from me, give me neither poverty nor riches.
Give me just as much food as I need lest, satisfied, I deny You and say, “Who is YHVH?” Or else, out of necessity, I steal and profane the Name of my God.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all heard the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are constantly being reminded yet again and again that each and every one of us as Christians are called to be righteous and full of virtue in everything that we say and do, in our every parts of life, in all the things we take part in. All of us cannot be idle in the living of our faith and we should not ignore the things and opportunities which we have that may allow us to do more for the benefit of those around us, in loving one another most generously and tenderly just as the Lord has taught and wanted us all to do, to be truly filled with His love and kindness, His generosity and compassion at all times.
In our first reading today, we heard of the words from the Book of Proverbs in which we are reminded that if we choose the path of wickedness and evil, all these eventually will lead to destruction and death. None of these will lead us to true happiness, satisfaction and joy. At that time, many among the people of God, the Israelites and their descendants had not been truly faithful to God, and they had spent a lot of time indulging in all sorts of worldly distractions and temptations, pleasures, desires and ambitions, all the pursuits which had led them deeper and deeper into the fallen path, into the path towards their condemnation, destruction and downfall. All these things can happen to us as well if we are not careful and vigilant.
Then, in our Gospel passage today, we are reminded by the short passage from the Gospel according to St. Luke, in which the Lord told the people who informed Him that His mother and brothers, likely His relatives and not actual brothers, were there to come and see Him. He told them that every one of them are like His mother and brothers if they all do the will of God, obey Him and commit themselves to Him. On a literal interpretation and surface level, these words might have sounded as if the Lord Jesus was being very rude for His words on them and on His response to their coming before the people, however, if we truly understand better of what the Lord intended with these words, then we will appreciate better what His intention and desire is, in reminding us all to continue to obey the Lord and to do His will as we all should have.
The Lord loved His mother Mary very much, and devoted Himself to Him, and He also loves everyone without exception, and thus, it is truly not at all in His intention to snub or disrespect His mother and relatives in any way, least of all His beloved Mother. In fact, the Lord was in fact highlighting and doubling up on His respect on His mother Mary by doing so, as Mary herself was and is a perfect example of faith and obedience to God. The Lord has highlighted to every one of us that if we follow Mary’s examples, then we are going to make it towards His Presence because indeed through Mary is the most direct path towards the Lord and His salvation. That is why our Christian faith honours Mary so much and accord to her a truly respectful position as the Mother of God.
And not only that, as this is also an assurance from the Lord that everyone who is good and just, obedient and faithful to God, full of virtue and love in their lives, in their every words, actions and deeds, all shall be blessed by God and all of them shall be made worthy by Him because they all had done what God had asked them to do. He will bless them in the manner that He has blessed His own Beloved Mother, and make them all filled with His grace just as Mary herself is full of God’s grace. Thus, it is an important reminder to each and every one of us not to be idle in the living of our faith in our respective lives. As Christians, we must always embody a strong, vibrant and missionary faith, one that is based upon our strong commitment and love towards God.
Each and every one of us are reminded to love one another ever more generously and to commit ourselves to the path that the Lord has shown and taught us, and best still following the path which His Mother, Mary, our own loving Mother has treaded and persevered through in her most faithful and committed life, in doing whatever she could to follow her Son and to do God’s will. Each and every one of us have to realise that we are all also part of this same Church, this same Body of Christ, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and hence, we are part of the same missions and efforts which the Lord had entrusted to His Church. We cannot dwell anymore in indulging ourselves upon worldly pleasures and desires. Instead, we should endeavour to renew our faith, commitment, dedication and obedience to God.
As Christians, it is always important that we continue to remind ourselves to be active in reaching out to those around us, especially those who are in need and those who are struggling, either physically, mentally or spiritually. Each and every one of us are brothers and sisters in the same Lord, and we are all called to be truly loving and life-giving in all things, in each and every moments of our lives, down to the smallest things, in all of our interactions and the time we spent with one another. The Lord our God should always be at the centre of our lives and existence, and He should always be the reason why we do things with love, inspired by His own most loving and generous examples, and also through His Mother’s loving intercession and help for all of us.
May the Lord continue to help and bless us all in our every works, efforts and endeavours, and may He continue to empower each and every one of us so that by our commitments to Him and by our every exemplary and inspiring examples in life, we may continue to bear forth His light and truth, hope and love to all the people whom we encounter daily in our lives, now and always, forevermore. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Luke 8 : 19-21
At that time, the mother of Jesus and His relatives came to Him; but they could not get to Him because of the crowd. Someone told Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside and wish to meet You.”
Then Jesus answered, “My mother and My brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 118 : 1, 27, 30, 34, 35, 44
Blessed are they whose ways are upright, who follow the Law of YHVH.
Explain to me all Your ordinances, and I will meditate on Your wondrous deeds.
I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart upon Your laws.
Give me understanding, that I may observe Your Law with all my heart.
Guide me in obeying Your instructions, for my pleasure lies in them.
May I always keep Your word, forever and ever.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Proverbs 21 : 1-6, 10-13
In the hands of YHVH, the heart of the king is like running water; He directs it wherever He wishes. To the eyes of man all His ways are honest but it is YHVH Who weighs the heart. To do what is upright and just pleases YHVH more than sacrifice.
Haughty looks, proud heart, the light of the wicked is sin. The plans of a hardworking man result in earnings; poverty is for those who act too hastily. To make a fortune by means of deceit is like running after the wind; the end is death.
The soul of the wicked desires nothing but evil; not even his friend is treated with compassion. When the mocker is punished the ignorant man grows wise; when the wise man is instructed he grows in knowledge. The Just One watches the house of the evildoer and hurls the wicked into misfortune.
He who is deaf to the poor man’s cry will not be heard when he himself calls out.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures we are all reminded of the need for all of us to be truly righteous and worthy in everything that we say and do in our lives, in our every interactions with one another, so that each and every one of our works will truly be worthy of the Lord, and that we may always be the great beacons of God’s light and grace to the nations, to everyone who have encountered and been interacting with us, in each and every moments of our lives, even to the smallest actions, the seemingly least significant words, efforts and deeds. All of us should always do our part to proclaim the Lord by our exemplary actions and deeds so that everyone may experience God’s works and love through us.
In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Proverbs we heard of the reminders from the Lord to His beloved people that they must not do what is evil and wicked in the sight of God and man alike, and they should not treat their fellow brethren with wicked intentions and contempt. Instead, each and every one of them must always be righteous and full of virtue in all things, and they should always be exemplary in their actions, words and deeds so that they may not be counted among those who were wicked and unjust, and therefore would have to face the reckoning from the Lord for all of their wicked deeds and sins, which they had to account and answer for. The Lord wants each one of them to know that if they do good to others, then good things shall be given to them as well, while if they do bad and evil to others, then they too shall face the just consequences for those things.
In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the Lord speaking to His disciples using a parable to explain to them what He wanted to teach them regarding the matter of them living their lives in the manner that He has taught and shown them to do, so that in all that they have done, they may continue to proclaim the Lord faithfully in all of their whole lives, in their every actions, words and deeds, much as the author of the Book of Proverbs had said to the people of God many centuries earlier. The Lord essentially used this parable of the lamps to tell them that whatever good things He had taught and shown them to do, they should all do them faithfully and courageously in each and every moments of their lives, and not to hide them and not to ignore whatever responsibilities and missions which God had entrusted to them.
The Lord wanted them and hence all of us to know that as His disciples and followers, it is important that all of us must always be active and missionary in all the things that we do in our lives. Otherwise, our faith is truly empty and meaningless, and will not avail us on the moment of reckoning, when the Lord would ask us to account for our lives before Him, for everything that we have done and for all that we have failed to do. If we have been given many blessings, opportunities and capacities by the Lord to do what we are supposed to do as Christians, in doing His will wholeheartedly and in serving Him to the best of our abilities, then we should not be ignorant any longer of this calling that we have, and instead, we should embrace our calling and mission with great courage and with the desire to glorify the Lord ever more by our worthy living.
Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Pius of Pietrelcina, also much more commonly and famously known as St. Padre Pio, a Capuchin Franciscan saint, a holy and truly pious priest and servant of God who had been known well for his many miracles and wonders. St. Padre Pio was remembered for his great piety and commitment to God, for his humble dedication to the Lord despite the many challenges that he had to face throughout his life and ministry. St. Padre Pio did not have it easy early on in life as he had been born to a family of poor farmers, and they had faced a lot of challenges, and yet, they were all very devout and committed to God, spending a lot of time in devotion and prayer to God despite all the hardships that they had to endure in their lives.
Amidst all that background, the young St. Padre Pio has begun to discern the calling to serve God and become a priest, and at the same time, he has also begun experiencing various heavenly visions and mystical experiences that he would go on to experience through the rest of his life. Eventually, St. Padre Pio joined the Capuchin religious order and dedicated himself to the order’s way of life, but even in that he also faced struggles and hurdles, as he was not properly educated, and needed to further his studies first before he was allowed to join the order. He faced several bouts of ill health and problems during his formation years, and this problem still plagued him even after he was ordained a priest, an experience which was worsened by his mystical experience of being a stigmatist later on in life, bearing the wounds of the Lord Himself on his body.
The appearance of the stigmatq gradually made St. Padre Pio to be very famous later on in his life, but for many years and decades, he encountered a lot of doubts, opposition and also persecution from the Church hierarchy and others who cast doubts on the authenticity of the miracles and the stigmata which were associated with this holy man of God. He had to bear through periods in which he was banned from celebrating the Mass publicly and preaching to the people of God, all the while experiencing spiritual attacks from the devil. Yet, all these did not dampen his spirit, and he continued to live his life humbly, faithfully and devoutly in all things, spending a lot of time in prayer, and many more people were coming to him seeking for his help and guidance, and other occasions happened when miracles happened to those who have interacted with this man of God.
To the end of his life, St. Padre Pio continued to dedicate himself to God without cease, continuing to showcase what it truly means to be a faithful Christian disciple and follower. All of us therefore are also reminded that we should also commit ourselves and our every actions, words and deeds, our every efforts to proclaim the Lord, in each and every moments of our lives. Let us all therefore do our part to proclaim the Lord our God faithfully as how St. Padre Pio, St. Pius of Pietrelcina had lived his life, in being good and worthy beacons of God’s light and hope, His love and salvation to all others around us. Let us all continue to walk ever more worthily in God’s Holy Presence from now on, helping and inspiring our fellow brethren in faith, committing more of our efforts and time to glorify the Lord by our lives.
May the Lord be with us all and may He empower each and every one of us to live our lives henceforth with the strong zeal and fervour, to continue to love Him and to love one another ever more generously, in the manner that the Lord Himself has shown and taught us, now and always, forevermore. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
Luke 8 : 16-18
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “No one, after lighting a lamp, covers it with a bowl or puts it under the bed; rather, he puts it on a lamp stand, so that people coming in may see the light.”
“In the same way, there is nothing hidden that shall not be uncovered; nothing kept secret, that shall not be known clearly. Now, pay attention and listen well, for whoever produces, will be given more; but from those who do not produce, even what they seem to have will be taken away from them.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 14 : 2-3ab, 3cd-4ab, 5
Those who walk blamelessly and do what is right, who speak truth from their heart and control their words.
Those who do no harm to their neighbours and cast no discredit on their companions, who look down on evildoers but highly esteem God’s servants.
Those who do not lend money at interest and refuse a bribe against the innocent. Do this, and you will soon be shaken.
Liturgical Colour : White
Proverbs 3 : 27-35
Do not hold back from those who ask your help, when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbour, “Go away! Come another time; tomorrow I will give it to you!” when you can help him now.
Do not plot evil against your neighbour who lives trustingly beside you, nor fight a man without cause when he has done you no wrong. Do not envy the man of violence or follow his example. For YHVH hates the wicked but guides the honest. He curses the house of the evildoer but blesses the home of the upright.
If there are mockers, He mocks them in turn but He shows His favour to the humble. The wise will possess His glory while the foolish will inherit disgrace.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are reminded very strongly through the words of the Sacred Scriptures that each and every one of us as God’s followers, as His holy and beloved people must not allow ourselves to be easily swayed and turned into the wrong paths by the many temptations all around us which try to pander to our pride, ego and greed within us, and try to tempt and persuade us to move away from the Lord and His righteousness in making us to indulge in our desires for worldly pleasures, fame, glory, comfort and many other things in this world that had led so many of our predecessors into their doom and downfall. Each and every one of them have failed to resist those temptations and allowed those things to pull them away from the path of virtue and righteousness into evil and disobedience against God.
In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of Wisdom in which the words of the author speaking of the plots and vicious plans certain group of people attempted against the righteous and faithful people of God, and particularly, it also mentioned the Righteous One, the Son of God as the target of these vicious efforts and plans. This Book of Wisdom was written and compiled centuries before the coming of Christ, the Son of God likely referred to by this same author, and therefore, it is indeed a premonition of what was to come, proclaiming the coming of the Salvation in the Son of God, Jesus Christ Himself, Who would indeed face challenges and sufferings amidst His mission in this world, facing rejection and stubbornness from the people to whom He had been sent to, persecution and eventually death on the Cross.
In our second reading this Sunday from the Epistle of St. James, we then heard the reason for this rejection and opposition against the Lord, which is also a good reminder for us all so that we do not end up in the same fate as well. St. James mentioned about how we tend to fight and quarrel with each other over worldly desires and pursuits, all because of our clashing desires and ideals, and also our pride, ego and ambitions, our greed and jealousy, all the things which can easily lead us down the slippery slope of disobedience against God and sin. This is why it is important for us all to keep ourselves on guard against all those negative emotions and distractions, all of which had led many among our predecessors to be disobedient and sinful against God.
For example, many among the Pharisees who have frequently opposed the Lord and persistently attacked and criticised Him did so most likely because they were jealous of His many achievements and wonderful works of performing miracles, that many among the people who used to follow them and respect them as the religious and intellectual elites of the community, no longer did so and went to seek the Lord Jesus instead. Their pride and ego, their sense of superiority and self-righteousness also added on to this, as they refused to accept the fact that One could have come and revealed to them the truth and the teachings that they themselves did not about. They hardened their hearts and minds against the Lord despite having heard and seen for themselves on many occasions the truth that God has brought upon them.
Then in our Gospel passage this Sunday, we heard of the account from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist in which He first foretold to His disciples everything that He would have to suffer in the midst of His mission and works, and in how He would be betrayed and abandoned to His enemies, persecuted and oppressed to the point of death, which was indeed in alignment with what the author of the Book of Wisdom had been telling us earlier from the first reading today. This persecutions and oppressions that the Lord would endure however did not dampen His desire to reach out to us and to rescue us from our predicaments and troubles, and He doubled up the efforts He made to seek us and to help us all to be reconciled with His heavenly Father, our Lord and God.
He then also mentioned how it was foolish for them to constantly bicker, argue and quarrel among themselves regarding who among them were better and more worthy, more righteous or more virtuous in their deeds and works, as they often did at that time. Many among them must be bickering and quarrelling, hoping that they would be more favoured and honoured by the Lord and became His right hand disciple and trusted one, looking with jealousy and dislike those that had been gaining favour with the Lord. That was the same attitude which the Pharisees had shown, and which the disciples initially also had, because they were all thinking in terms of worldly matters and desires, all of which would have led them down the path of pride and downfall, as their predecessors had experienced.
This is why the Lord pointed out the folly in all those arguments and bickering, all the struggles they had with one another regarding who among them were better and more worthy. All the things that they were seeking for or craved were ultimately illusory and impermanent, and would not have led them to true satisfaction and joy, and He pointed to them that they should instead be like little children in how they believe in Him, and in their way of living. Why is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because young children besides being innocent, they also believe in something truly and with pure intention instead of being burdened and affected by various desires and concerns of the world, all of which distracted those disciples and others like us from our true focus and purpose in life that is to glorify the Lord our God.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we all have been reminded by the Lord through the words of the Scriptures, let us all therefore do our best to realign our lives back to the Lord and to devote ourselves more and more, our efforts, time and attention to follow the Lord our God ever more wholeheartedly from now on. Let us all continue to walk ever more worthily in God’s Presence, by returning ourselves to focus once more to Him and to reorientate our whole lives to His cause, doing whatever we can to obey Him and His commandments, and to seek true satisfaction and pleasure from serving and glorifying Him rather than to satisfy our selfish desires and ambitions, which would disappoint us in the end. May the Lord continue to guide and strengthen us all in faith, and help us so that we can continue to embrace Him and come ever closer to Him and His salvation, now and always. Amen.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 