13th Week of Ordinary Time

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Monday, 29 June 2015 : Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostle, Great Feast of the Church of Rome (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Acts 12 : 1-11

About that time King Herod decided to persecute some members of the Church. He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword, and when he saw how it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This happened during the festival of the Unleavened Bread. Herod had him seized and thrown into prison with four squads, each of four soldiers, to guard him.

He wanted to bring him to trial before the people after the Passover feast, but while Peter was kept in prison, the whole Church prayed earnestly for him. On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound by a double chain, while guards kept watch at the gate of the prison.

Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood there and a light shone in the prison cell. The angel tapped Peter on the side and woke him saying, “Get up quickly!” At once the chains fell from Peter’s wrists. The angel said, “Put on your belt and your sandals.” Peter did so, and the angel added, “Now, put on your cloak and follow me.”

Peter followed him out; yet he did not realise that what was happening with the angel was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first guard and then the second and they came to the iron door leading out to the city, which opened of itself for them. They went out and made their way down a narrow alley, when suddenly the angel left him.

Then Peter recovered his senses and said, “Now I know that the Lord has sent His angel and has rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from all that the Jews had in store for me.”

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Sunday, 28 June 2015 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s Scripture readings pointed out to us the nature of our Lord, who is the Lord of life and death and the Master of all things. Everything is in His power and under His authority, and to all who love Him, He would also love all back with even greater love, for even before we love Him, He had given up everything for our sake, even to strip Himself of all dignity to suffer and die on the cross for us.

All of these was because of His love for us. God did not create us all for nothing or for Him to gloat over our destruction at the hands of our sins. Death was not intended for us, as we were all intended for eternal life and glory with the Lord our God, in the happiness and pure joy in heaven, just as our first ancestors once experienced in the Gardens of Eden before the day of mankind’s fall into sin.

Death is the consequence of our disobedience, namely our sins, which have sundered us all from the love and grace of God, and because we were sundered from the Lord and Master of life, then we tasted the bitterness of suffering and death in this world. In the Book of Genesis we heard the Lord Himself spoke to Adam and Eve, that as they were born from the dust, they would return to dust again.

This is the mortal death that all of us mortals have to encounter at the end of our earthly lives, when the time came for us and our earthly existence is at its end, and many of us mankind feared death, because we see it as the end of the way, the end of our earthly existence, and separation from all the good things we have in this world. Thus from different peoples and cultures, we see how many people feared death and its unavoidable grip on us, and how we were often obsessed with trying to prolong our own lives.

And today, in the Gospel, Jesus showed all of us, what is meant by truly living, and what the faithful will receive if they keep their faith in Him. He raised from the dead the daughter of the synagogue official, because of his strong faith, placing all of his trust in Jesus, knowing that He could heal her, and brought her from the dead too if He wanted to, just as at the time when Jesus raised Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha from the dead.

What did Jesus told them on that day? He told them that, He is the Life and the Resurrection, and all who believe in Him and place their trust in Him shall not die but have eternal life. It is His right to give and take life from us mortals, and to all those whom He is pleased with, He shall give His life, eternal life filled with perfect joy and happiness, which is what was originally intended for us before we fell into sin.

They doubted at first, and the same happened with all the people who were gathered at the house of the synagogue official, all weeping and wailing loudly, because the girl had died. They thought that she had been lost forever, and they did not believe in Jesus, laughing at Him when He said to them that she was just asleep. Thus, He cast them out of the place because of their unbelief, and raised the girl back to life.

Just as the raising of Lazarus from the dead, this is a foretaste of our own resurrection. Remember what we have heard from Jesus, that the girl was just asleep and not dead? And if we notice that in the Canon of the Mass, after the Consecration and elevation of the Bread and the Wine to be the Most Precious Body and Blood of our Lord, we heard the priest saying, ‘Remember our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep before us…’, then we would see that death is not something to be feared, and it is not lasting, if we truly are faithful to the Lord.

Death is not an end, but in fact is just a transition, from our worldly and earthly life, in this imperfect and sinful world, tainted since the entry of sin into our hearts. It is a transition to the new life which our Lord Jesus Christ has promised all of us, that all those who believe in Him and live righteously according to the will of God, will receive this life everlasting, a life with God, filled with the fullness of God’s love and grace.

And what is the key to all this? Faith, and also hope, and also love, the three cardinal and most important virtues we ought to have. And faith is what the woman with bleeding had, trusting so much in the power and authority of Jesus, that she believed that even by just touching the edges of His cloak, she would be healed. And by her faith she was healed.

The same goes too for the synagogue official, whose faith we have discussed earlier, and many others whose faith Jesus had praised throughout the Gospels, namely the Syro-Phoenician woman, the army captain who said that ‘I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my servant shall be healed.’ And many other examples, which shows how the faith of these people in Jesus, in our Lord, had brought about salvation to them.

Jesus offered this freely for them, when He died on the cross. By dying on the cross for us, and through all of His suffering, He had borne our sins upon Himself, all the punishment and suffering due for us, which should have been our fate. Indeed, we ought to fear death initially because of our sins, so heinous and evil before God, that the punishment must have been severe and unimaginable, but Jesus took all that upon Himself, and He died for all, even for those who were hostile to Him.

But as long as we refuse to accept His salvation, then this salvation does not come to us and it remains outside of our reach. Faith is how we come to receive this salvation, by believing that Jesus is our Lord and God, and then knowing that we have hope in Him. Yes, we ought to hope in the resurrection, and we know that we will have it if we love Him, and if we have love in us.

Why do we fear death so much? That is because we are by our nature selfish, and we love only ourselves, and the things that make us happy. But this happiness is just temporary and it does not last beyond death. For all the wealth, things and other worldly goods we accumulate and gain in our lives, none of this will be brought with us when we go to the world that is to come.

Remember that Jesus said to His disciples and to the people for them to build not treasures that can be destroyed and perish? But rather to build up for themselves the eternal and true treasures of heaven? What is this treasure? The love of God, and the love which is inside us, the hope we have for His resurrection and the eternal life He had promised all who have faith in Him.

So what do we all ought to bring home today from these readings which we have heard? It is for us to have true and genuine faith in the Lord Jesus, our hope and our salvation. To have faith does not mean for us just to say prayers and to say before others that we believe in Him. For we know that our faith is dead as long as we do not have action based on that faith.

If the woman with bleeding just had the faith but did not have the courage to go and approach Jesus through the crowd, her problem would remain with her and no healing would have taken place. If she did not have the courage to admit what she had done, touching the hem of Jesus’ cloak, then what she had done would not be known to us either. And what is the action we all need? Love, my brethren, it is love that we need.

Love our God with all of our heart’s strength, with all of our minds and our fullest attention, and then show the same love to our brethren, our neighbours, to all others who are around us. Our true treasures do not lie in the wealth and possessions in this world, which although they may be good to have, but they do not bring us true happiness. True happiness lies in knowing that we love one another, and God loves us all too because He sees the love that is in us, and therefore we are worthy of the eternal life He had promised all of us who have faith in Him.

Let us all therefore pray, brothers and sisters, that our faith in the Lord will be ever strengthened, that we will always put our trust in He who is the Lord of all, the Lord over life and death. Let us throw away our selfishness and our desire, for all the worldly things that keep us apart from the Lord. Let us be able to move our hands and limbs to love one another, sharing the faith which we have, and so that together, at the end, our Lord will gather us all back together once again to enjoy once again the goodness which He had intended for us from the beginning.

We do not need to fear death anymore for it is a new beginning for us, for an eternal life of joy with God. His life is in us and we rejoice because of this. May God bless us all and be with us, now and forever. Amen.

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Sunday, 28 June 2015 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 5 : 21-43

At that time, Jesus crossed to the other side of the lake, and while He was still on the shore, a large crowd gathered around Him. Jairus, an official of the synagogue, came up and, seeing Jesus, threw himself at His feet, and begged Him earnestly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may get well and live.”

Jesus went with him, and many people followed, pressing from every side. Among the crowd was a woman, who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a lot at the hands of many doctors, and had spent everything she had, but instead of getting better, she was worse.

Because she had heard about Jesus, this woman came up behind Him and touched His cloak, thinking, “If I just touch His clothing, I shall get well.” Her flow of blood dried up at once, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her complaint.

But Jesus was conscious that healing power had gone out from Him, so He turned around in the crowd, and asked, “Who touched My clothes?” His disciples answered, “You see how the people are crowding around You. Why do You ask who touched You?”

But He kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, aware of what had happened, came forward trembling and afraid. She knelt before Him, and told Him the whole truth. Then Jesus said to her, “Daughter, Your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be free of this illness.”

While Jesus was still speaking, some people arrived from the official’s house to inform him, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Master any further?” But Jesus ignored what they said, and told the official, “Do not fear, just believe.” And He allowed no one to follow Him except Peter, James and John, the brother of James.

When they arrived at the house, Jesus saw a great commotion, with people weeping and wailing loudly. Jesus entered, and said to them, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but asleep.” They laughed at Him. So Jesus sent them outside, and went with the child’s father and mother and His companions into the room, where the child lay.

Taking her by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha kumi!” which means, “Little girl, get up!” The girl got up at once and began to walk around. She was twelve years old. The parents were amazed, greatly amazed. Jesus strictly ordered them not to let anyone know about it; and He told them to give her something to eat.

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Mark 5 : 21-24, 35b-43

At that time, Jesus crossed to the other side of the lake, and while He was still on the shore, a large crowd gathered around Him. Jairus, an official of the synagogue, came up and, seeing Jesus, threw himself at His feet, and begged Him earnestly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may get well and live.” Jesus went with him, and many people followed, pressing from every side.

Some people arrived from the official’s house to inform him, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Master any further?” But Jesus ignored what they said, and told the official, “Do not fear, just believe.” And He allowed no one to follow Him except Peter, James and John, the brother of James.

When they arrived at the house, Jesus saw a great commotion, with people weeping and wailing loudly. Jesus entered, and said to them, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but asleep.” They laughed at Him. So Jesus sent them outside, and went with the child’s father and mother and His companions into the room, where the child lay.

Taking her by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha kumi!” which means, “Little girl, get up!” The girl got up at once and began to walk around. She was twelve years old. The parents were amazed, greatly amazed. Jesus strictly ordered them not to let anyone know about it; and He told them to give her something to eat.

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Sunday, 28 June 2015 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Corinthians 8 : 7, 9, 13-15

You excel in everything : in the gifts of faith, speech and knowledge; you feel concern for every cause and, besides, you are first in my heart. Excel also in this generous service.

You know well the generosity of Christ Jesus, our Lord. Although He was rich, He made Himself poor to make you rich through His poverty. I do not mean that others should be at ease and you burdened. Strive for equality; at present give from your abundance what they are short of, and in some way they also will give from their abundance what you lack.

Then you will be equal and what the Scripture says shall come true : ‘To the one who had much, nothing was in excess; to the one who had little, nothing was lacking.’

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Sunday, 28 June 2015 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 29 : 2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b

I extol You, o Lord, for You have rescued me; my enemies will not gloat over me. O Lord, You have brought me up from the grave, You gave me life when I was going to the pit.

Sing to the Lord, o you His saints, give thanks and praise to His holy Name. For His anger lasts but a little while, and His kindness all through life. Weeping may tarry for the night, but rejoicing comes with the dawn.

Hear, o Lord, and have mercy on me; o Lord, be my Protector. But now, You have turned my mourning into rejoicing. O Lord, my God, forever will I give You thanks.

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Sunday, 28 June 2015 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Wisdom 1 : 13-15 and Wisdom 2 : 23-24

God did not make death, nor does He rejoice in the destruction of the living. Since He has created everything, all creatures of the universe are for our good; there is no deadly poison in them and the netherworld has no dominion over the earth, because justice is immortal.

Indeed God created man to be immortal in the likeness of His own nature, but the envy of the devil brought death to the world, and those who take his side shall experience death.

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Saturday, 5 July 2014 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Zaccaria, Priest (Scripture Reflections)

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

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listen to comforting words of the readings from the Holy Scriptures and in particular the Holy Gospels how the Lord is with us, and He is on our side at all times, and through Him salvation of all mankind, that is all of us, will come to us. He will succour and save us from our fate that was death and bring us into life. This He promised us and made full through Jesus His Son.

For we are all the Church of God, that is part of His Body. Remember that Jesus mentioned, that we are the Body of Christ the Church, and He is the Head of that Body? Therefore all of us who had been baptised in the Name of Jesus Christ and the Most Holy Trinity, and became part of the Church are indeed united intimately and very closely to Christ, who is also the Bridegroom of the Church.

The Gospel today highlighted how the disciples ought not to be sorrowful or to fast in agony because the Lord is with them. Yes, and that is what we should also do, brothers and sisters. We ought to be joyful and rejoice because God is with us and He will not leave us, even if we are to abandon Him, because He is always faithful. But if we choose to ignore and abandon Him, then we will have no part in Him when He comes again in glory.

We are often like unfaithful wives, who abandoned our husbands when things did not go our way, and we seek other sources of pleasures and comforts, which corrupts us and turn us away from God. We abandon God for the idols of this world, the idol of money, of possessions, of worldly glory and passions, and the pull of power and pride which darkens our heart and keep it away from the light of Christ.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Anthony Zaccaria, a priest and a zealous fighter of the faith, fully and completely faithful to the Lord, and in total dedication to His cause. He was part of the early Counter Reformation efforts of the Church in fighting against the heresy of the Protestant ‘reformation’, when mankind were misled by their human desires and pride, to break away from the unity of the Body of Christ and instead seek human glory and praise.

St. Anthony Zaccaria was truly devoted to the Lord and to his fellow men, giving himself totally in service to them in love and genuine faith. He preached the Good News of the Lord to many and reached out to them to bring them out into the dignity and glory of the light of God. He preached and fought for the purity of the faith, and introduced to the people strict and close devotions to the Lord through prayers and penitence.

He also founded three different religious orders, through which many people ended up following the Lord as he had once done, and which took part in defending the faith and the Church against the heresies of the Protestant rebels of the false reformation. He was truly committed to return the unity to the Body of Christ in the Church, casting away all the iniquities and sins of the people of God, and returning faithfully to the embrace of our loving God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we too today in this world must continue the hard and good works of St. Anthony Zaccaria, in defending our faith and the Church of God and all of God’s holy and beloved people. We cannot be idle and be ignorant in this age filled with danger and evil, where Satan lurked within the hearts of the faithful, waiting for the right moment to lure and drag many souls into hellfire with him.

Let us all be vigilant and strong, and with the intercession of St. Anthony Zaccaria, let us make this world a better place and a place for all the faithful to truly love God and devote themselves to Him with all of their hearts, that united as one, they may together glorify the Lord, the Bridegroom of the Church and. Lord of all the faithful. God bless us all, and be with us always till the end of time. Amen.

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Saturday, 5 July 2014 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Zaccaria, Priest (Gospel Reading)

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

Matthew 9 : 14-17

Then the disciples of John came to Jesus with the question, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast on many occasions, but not Your disciples?”

Jesus answered them, “How can you expect wedding guests to mourn as long as the Bridegroom is with them? The time will come, when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

“No one patches an old coat with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for the patch will shrink and tear an even bigger hole in the coat. In the same way, you do not put new wine in old wineskins. If you do, the wineskins will burst and the wine will be spilt. No, you put new wine in fresh skins; then both are preserved.”

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Saturday, 5 July 2014 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Zaccaria, Priest (Psalm)

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

Psalm 84 : 9, 11-12, 13-14

Would that I hear God’s proclamation, that He promise peace to His people, His saints – lest they come back to their folly.

Love and faithfulness have met; righteousness and peace have embraced. Faithfulness will reach up from the earth while justice bends down from heaven.

The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its fruit. Justice will go before Him, and peace will follow along His path.

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Saturday, 5 July 2014 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Zaccaria, Priest (First Reading)

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

Amos 9 : 11-15

“On that day I shall restore the fallen hut of David and wall up its breaches and raise its ruined walls and so build it as in days of old. They shall conquer the remnant of Edom and the neighbouring nations upon which My Name has been called.” Thus says YHVH, the One who will do this.

YHVH says also, “The days are coming when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes overtake the sower. The mountains shall drip sweet wine and all the hills shall melt. I shall bring back the exiles of My people Israel; they will rebuild the desolate cities and dwell in them.”

“They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will have orchards and eat their fruit. I shall plant them in their own country and they shall never again be rooted up from the land which I have given them,” says YHVH your God.