10 July 2021

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Saturday, 10 July 2021 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are all called to entrust ourselves to the Lord and put our faith in Him, and not be easily worried or swayed by the temptations of worldly comfort and pleasures, or be deterred by challenges and sufferings, for the Lord has always provided for our needs. He has always been faithful to the Covenant He made with us and our ancestors, and we have nothing to fear if we trust in Him.

In our first reading today, we heard of the account of the death of Jacob, or Israel, the forefather of all the Israelites, who had passed on in the land of Egypt after being reunited with his son Joseph, surrounded by all of his extended family. Then, the brothers of Joseph were afraid that the latter would take revenge against them after their father had passed away. They were afraid that Joseph, who was the Regent of Egypt, would use his power to his advantage and take revenge on them.

Yet, Joseph reassured his brothers that he had no such intention at all. Instead, he reminded all of them of God’s most bountiful grace and guidance to all of them, His beloved ones. Joseph reminded his brothers how God had turned their malicious plan on him into a blessing for many others, as He brought Joseph into Egypt, and while initially he suffered, but God made him to be in the position to benefit so many others, all through his position as Regent, by which he saved many during the years of famine.

In the end, therefore God still wanted to reach out to His beloved ones, and be reconciled with them, just as Joseph was reconciled to his brothers. He still blessed them and loved us mankind, despite all that we had done, in our disobedience and refusal to believe in Him. He still believes in us and wants to love us all tenderly, caring for us as He has always done, all these while. It is often we ourselves who refused to trust in Him and preferred to walk our own path.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the Lord reassuring His disciples how there is nothing that they need to worry about since each one of them are precious to the Lord, and that mankind should not spend so much time worrying about themselves and their concerns. Instead, they must entrust themselves and their lives to the Lord, believing fully that the Lord will always be with them, and nothing that happens to us which is not known to the Lord. He always has our best interests in mind, and this sometimes leads to scenarios in which we may have to suffer or endure difficulties for a little while. But we have to learn to be patient in facing all these.

Are we going to let little shortcomings and obstacles to stop us in the path towards God and His salvation? This is not what we should be doing, and we should learn to trust in the Lord to guide us rather than worrying about we are to enjoy and experience in our daily living. We have to remove from our hearts and minds those obstacles and barriers of doubt, fear and indecisiveness, and learn to be more courageous in living our lives in accordance to the way of the Lord. We should be courageous and dedicated in being true to our Christian truth and ways that in all things we say and do, we will always be our Lord’s faithful and worthy witnesses.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in this world today, there is already too much darkness and wickedness, and there is not enough faith and hope, and the love of God. As we all carry on our respective journey in life, we are all called to reflect on our actions and our outlook in life, that we may strive to be ever more worthy of the Lord and be ever more committed to walk in His path, so that through us, many more people may come to be inspired by our examples and be strengthened by our resolve, to live faithfully in the same way as we have done it as well.

Let us all be great inspiration for one another, that we may strengthen each other and help support one another in our journey towards the Lord. May He continue to bless us and guide us in our every steps in life, and may He empower each and every one of us to be His most faithful followers and witnesses of this same Christian truth, hope, faith and love that we have received, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 10 July 2021 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Matthew 10 : 24-33

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “A student is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. A student should be content to become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If the head of the household has been called Beelzebul, how much more, those of his household! So, do not be afraid of them!”

“There is nothing covered that will not be uncovered. There is nothing hidden that will not be made known. What I am telling you in the dark, you must speak in the light. What you hear in private, proclaim from the housetops. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but have no power to kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of Him Who can destroy both body and soul in hell.”

“For a few cents you can buy two sparrows. Yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father knowing. As for you, every hair of your head has been counted. Do not be afraid : you are worth more than many sparrows! Whoever acknowledges Me before others, I will acknowledge before My Father in heaven. Whoever rejects Me before others, I will reject before My Father in heaven.”

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Saturday, 10 July 2021 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Psalm 104 : 1-2, 3-4, 6-7

Give thanks to YHVH, call on His Name; make known His works among the nations. Sing to Him, sing His praise, proclaim all His wondrous deeds.

Glory in His holy Name; let those who seek YHVH rejoice. Look to YHVH and be strong; seek His face always.

You descendants of His servant Abraham, you sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is YHVH our God; His judgments reach the whole world.

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Saturday, 10 July 2021 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Genesis 49 : 29-32 and Genesis 50 : 15-26a

Jacob then gave his sons these instructions : “I am soon to be gathered to my people; bury me near my fathers, in the cave in the field of Ephron, the Hittite; in the cave in the field of Machpelah, to the east of Mamre in Canaan, the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial place. It was there that Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried. There they buried Leah. The field and the cave in it were purchased from the Hittites.”

When Joseph’s brothers realised that their father was dead they said, “What if Joseph turns against us in hate because of the evil we did him?” So they sent word to Joseph saying, “Before he died your father told us to say this to you : Please forgive the crime and the sin of your brothers in doing evil to you. Forgive the crime of the servants of your father’s God.”

When he was given the message, Joseph wept. His brothers went and threw themselves down before him, “We are your slaves,” they said. But Joseph reassured them, “Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God? You intended to do me harm, but God intended to turn it to good in order to bring about what is happening today – the survival of many people. So have no fear! I will provide for you and your little ones.” In this way he touched their hearts and consoled them.

Joseph remained in Egypt together with all his father’s family. He lived for a hundred and ten years, long enough to see Ephraim’s great-grandchildren, and also to have the children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, placed on his knees after their birth.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am going to die, but God will surely remember you and take you from this country to the land He promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Joseph then made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “When God comes to bring you out from here, carry my bones with you.” Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten.