12th Week of Ordinary Time

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Thursday, 26 June 2014 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 7 : 21-29

Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My heavenly Father. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not speak in Your Name? Did we not cast out devils and perform many miracles in Your Name?’ Then I will tell them openly, ‘I have never known you; away from Me, you evil people!'”

“So then, anyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts accordingly, is like a wise man, who built his house on rock. The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house, but it did not collapse because it was built on rock.”

“But anyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act accordingly, is like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house; it collapsed, and what a terrible fall that was!”

When Jesus had finished this discourse, the crowds were struck by the way He taught, because He taught with authority, unlike the teachers of the Law.

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Thursday, 26 June 2014 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 78 : 1-2, 3-5, 8, 9

O God, the pagans have invaded Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy Temple and reduced Jerusalem to rubble. They have given Your servants’ corpses to the birds, and the flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.

They have poured out the blood of Your faithful like around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them. Mocked and reviled by those around us, we are scorned by our neighbours. How long will this last, o Lord? Will You be angry forever? Will Your wrath always burn to avenge Your rights?

Do not remember against us the sins of our fathers. Let Your compassion hurry to us, for we have been brought very low.

Help us, God, our Saviour, for the glory of Your Name; forgive us for the sake of Your Name.

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Thursday, 26 June 2014 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Kings 24 : 8-17

Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he succeeded his father, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. His mother was Nehushta, daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. Jehoiachin treated YHVH badly, as his father had done.

At that time, the officials of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to attack Jerusalem, surrounding the city. Nebuchadnezzar came while the city was being besieged by his men.

Jehoiachin, king of Judah, surrendered together with his mother, his servants, his leaders and the palace officials. It was the eighth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar captured them and he took away the treasures of the House of YHVH and of the king’s house. He also destroyed all the objects of gold which Solomon, king of Israel, had made for the sanctuary of YHVH. So the word YHVH had spoken, was fulfilled.

Nebuchadnezzar carried off into exile all the leaders and prominent men, the blacksmiths and locksmiths, all the men of valour fit for war. A total of ten thousand were exiled to Babylon. Only the poorest sector of the population was left. Nebuchadnezzar also carried away Jehoiachin, with his mother, his wives, the ministers of the palace, and the prominent men of the land.

So all the prominent people, numbering seven thousand, the blacksmiths, numbering a thousand, and all the men fit for war were deported to Babylon by the king of Babylon. He made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king of Jerusalem, in place of Jehoiachin. And he changed his name to Zedekiah.

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Wednesday, 25 June 2014 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are reminded by the Lord to be cautious, of the false prophets and leads in our lives, many of which may detract us and distract us from our true goal in life, that is to be faithful and loving disciples and children of God. Falsehoods and lies of the devil are ever present around us, and if we are not careful, they may lead us further from salvation in God.

If you are to compare between the offers of the Lord and the offer of Satan, it is quite obvious that Satan is using all of his power to subvert us to his cause, offering whatever pleasures this world can offer to us, so that we may follow in his rebellion against God and walking ever further and further away from the Lord into damnation prepared for the devil and his fellow fallen angels.

Satan himself will be the false prophet, and he will turn the hearts of many against God and His people. Already in this world today we live in a time where Satan grow ever stronger in power and dominion. And he had made the people to sin, just as the people of Israel and Judah had done earlier on throughout the history of salvation. Mankind rebelled constantly against God, and they continued to commit blasphemous things before the Lord.

Remember, brethren, I know that we recognise God as a loving and merciful God who cares for all of us, and who seeks to reunite us to Himself and reconcile us by overcoming our sins and faults. Nevertheless, we cannot forget, and indeed we cannot deny, that the Lord our God is also a vengeful and angry God, One who does not take sin and rebellion against His will lightly.

God is perfect and He is perfectly good. Sin and evil has no place in His presence, just like darkness has no place before light that penetrates everything. And God knows it all. He knows all the secrets and the things within our heart, no matter how well we try to conceal them from Him. And the more we sin, the more we depart from the grace of God and towards damnation.

We have to be like King Josiah of Judah, who, immediately after he found out about the Book of the Law in the Temple and its contents, lowered and humbled himself, and led the whole people in a concrete act of penitence and seeking the forgiveness of the Lord, promising to cast away unworthiness and sin from their lives and from the society.

We have to be like him in his zeal and dedication to the Lord. Cast far, far away our wicked lifestyle and from now on, do only things that are favourable and in the grace of God. We cannot dwell any longer in this pit of sin, or else we will likely fall into the eternal damnation and death. God does not want this to happen to us, but if we persist in our obstinate behaviour, we seal our own fate and end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us renew our faith and devotion to the Lord, that we will no longer dwell in the darkness, but instead move towards the light, that is the true light, our Lord Jesus Christ. May God be with us all, and lead us on our way to Him, into our eternal joy and redemption. Amen.

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Wednesday, 25 June 2014 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 7 : 15-20

Beware of false prophets : they come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inside they are wild wolves. You will recognise them by their fruits. Do you ever pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

A good tree always produces good fruit, a rotten tree produces bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a rotten tree cannot produce good fruit. Any tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown in the fire. So you will know them by their fruit.

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Wednesday, 25 June 2014 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 118 : 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40

Explain to me, o Lord, Your commandments, and I will be ever faithful to them.

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.

Incline my heart to follow Your will and not my own selfish desire.

Turn my eyes away from vanities and direct them to Your life-giving word.

Oh, how I long for Your precepts! Renew my life in Your righteousness.

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Wednesday, 25 June 2014 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Kings 22 : 8-13 and 2 Kings 23 : 1-3

At that moment Hilkiah, the high priest, said to Shaphan, the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the House of YHVH.” And he entrusted the Book to Shaphan who read it. Then Shaphan went to the king and said, “We have gathered the money in the House, and this has been turned over to the caretakers of the House to make the repairs.”

And Shaphan added, “The priest Hilkiah has turned over a book to me.” And Shaphan read the book to the king. When the king heard the contents of the book, he tore his clothes and commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, the secretary Shaphan, and Asaiah, his minister, to do the following, “Go and consult YHVH about the threats in this book which you have found.”

“Consult Him for me, for the people and for the whole of Judah, since our fathers did not listen to what this book says nor to its ordinances. This is why the anger of YHVH is ready to burn against us.”

The king summoned to his side all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. Then he went up to the House of YHVH followed by all the people of Judah and Jerusalem. The priests with the prophets and all the people went with him, from the youngest to the oldest. When all were gathered, he read to them the book of the Law found in the House of YHVH.

The king stood by the pillar; he made a covenant in the presence of YHVH, promising to follow Him, to keep His commandments and laws, and to respect His ordinances. He promised to keep this covenant according to what was written in the book with all his heart and with all his soul. And all the people promised with him.

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Tuesday, 24 June 2014 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the solemnity of the nativity, or the birth of St. John the Baptist, the herald and messenger of the Messiah, the Holy One, Jesus Christ. Today we celebrate this saint whose works had preceded the Lord, and who prepared Him for His eventual coming into the world, that the works of the Lord might be made ever more wonderful and glorious.

St. John the Baptist was the herald of the Messiah, and he acted as His spokesperson before the whole world, and we all certainly remember what he said to his own disciples, as he encouraged them to follow the Messiah, with the words ‘There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!’, as a proclamation of truth, that the Messiah has come, and He was in Jesus Christ, identifying Him to the world, and yet many still refused to believe and listen to St. John the Baptist.

The same thing had happened before during the time of the prophets in Israel, when Elijah walked the land, calling for the land and the people to repent their sins and follow the Lord once again, after having indulged for so long in their sinfulness. He was rejected, pursued and hunted by the king, and he was always under the threat of death.

Elijah nevertheless persevered in his works and he continued with his devotion to his mission, calling more and more people to repentance and to a renewed faith in God. He did these all the way until he was called into heaven by the Lord, who sent him away through the flaming chariot. It was well known by the people of Israel that Elijah would one day come again to declare the coming of the Messiah. However, many failed to realise that Elijah had in fact come again into the world.

Yes, St. John the Baptist is Elijah sent again into the world to be the herald and messenger of the Lord, to bring the word of salvation into mankind. St. John the Baptist yet, sadly, encountered a people not much different from the time when he was Elijah, when he laboured hard for the sake of the Lord and His people. Wickedness remained rampant, and there were much evil in the world.

Yet St. John the Baptist did not give up and continued to work hard, often against difficulties and persecutions that were laid up on his path. He was born for that purpose, to deliver the message of God to mankind, to turn their hearts to the Lord, even though eventually not all of them would believe, as the Pharisees and the elders of the people would show.

St. John the Baptist was truly exemplary in his life and in his faith. He had the opportunity to gain glory and fame through his works and missions. And yet he did not indulge in the glory of the world, but he remained true to his mission. He humbly let go of his fame when the Lord Jesus came and began His own work in the world, and his works as the herald completed, he withdrew quietly into the background.

Can we be like him, brothers and sisters? It is not easy, but if we have the will, we can certainly do it. Temptations are great, and in this world, it is especially difficult for us to overcome the temptations of glory and power. This world is in the stage where more and more temptations are growing to prevent our way to the Lord, and the path is increasingly becoming more and more arduous.

But if we never take any action, we will never be able to proceed further, and we will forever be trapped in the trap of glory and power, as well as any other obstacles we have in life. We must be proactive and be confident, and remember the Lord is always on our side, just as He had been with St. John the Baptist. Let St. John the Baptist be an inspiration for us as we live our faith.

Let us all pray, that the Lord will continue to guide us in our lives, so that our lives may be plentiful and happy, filled with love and the Holy Spirit, and that we may practice our faith openly and in a concrete manner in our own lives. Let us help one another to seek the Lord that together we may glorify Him and bring more and more of our brethren into salvation in His hands. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 24 June 2014 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 57-66, 80

When the time came for Elizabeth, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the merciful Lord had done a wonderful thing for her, and they rejoiced with her.

When, on the eighth day, they came to attend the circumcision of the child, they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.” They said to her, “But no one in your family has that name!” and they asked the father, by means of signs, for the name he wanted to give him.

Zechariah asked for a writing tablet, and wrote on it, “His name is John,” and they were very surprised. Immediately Zechariah could speak again, and his first words were in praise of God. A holy fear came on all in the neighbourhood, and throughout the hill country of Judea the people talked about these events. All who heard of it pondered in their minds, and wondered, “What will this child be?” For they understood that the hand of the Lord was with him.

As the child grew up, he was seen to be strong in the Spirit; and he lived in the desert until the day when he appeared openly in Israel.

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Tuesday, 24 June 2014 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 13 : 22-26

After that time, God removed Saul and raised up David as king, to whom He bore witness saying : “I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all I want him to do.”

It is from the descendants of David that God has now raised up the promised Saviour of Israel, Jesus. Before He appeared, John proclaimed a baptism of repentance for all the people of Israel. As John was ending his life’s work, he said : “I am not what you think I am, for after me another One is coming whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”

Brothers, children and descendants of Abraham, and you also who fear God, it is to you that this message of salvation has been sent.