Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Psalm 102 : 1-2, 3-4, 6-7
Praise YHVH, my soul; all my being, praise His holy Name! Praise YHVH, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.
He forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness; He redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion.
YHVH restores justice and secures the rights of the oppressed. He has made known His ways to Moses; and His deeds, to the people of Israel.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Exodus 3 : 1-6, 9-12
Moses pastured the sheep of Jethro, his father-in-law, priest of Midian. One day he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the Mountain of God. The Angel of YHVH appeared to him by means of a flame of fire in the middle of a bush. Moses saw that although the bush was on fire it did not burn up.
Moses thought, “I will go and see this amazing sight, why is the bush not burning up?” YHVH saw that Moses was drawing near to look, and God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” He replied, “Here I am.” YHVH said to him, “Do not come near; take off your sandals because the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
And God continued, “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face lest his eyes look on God. YHVH said, “The cry of the sons of Israel has reached Me and I have seen how the Egyptians oppress them. Go now! I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”
Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the people of Israel out of Egypt?” God replied, “I will be with you and this will be the sign that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture we are all reminded of the salvation which God had brought upon His people, as He sent to them deliverers to bring His beloved ones out of their troubles and gather them back into His loving presence and grace. And yet, many did not believe in Him and His servants, and still did not acknowledge Him.
In our first reading today, we heard the story from the Book of Exodus on the coming of the Lord’s promised deliverance to His people through Moses, the one ‘born and raised from the water’ as per his name, as he was rescued from the fated destruction of all the male children of the Israelites. At that time, the Pharaoh or king of Egypt declared that all the male newborn infants of the Israelites were to be killed to prevent the continued growth and spread of the Israelites in the land of Egypt.
The Israelites had been living in Egypt for a few centuries since the days of Jacob and Joseph, and under the reign of the new Pharaoh, they were enslaved and treated horribly, used as forced labour intended to eradicate and subjugate them to the will and desire of the Egyptians and their Pharaoh. But the Lord never forgot about His people and did not abandon them. He remained with them and journeyed with them, and promised them deliverance which He fulfilled through Moses, whose birth and early life was mentioned today.
The Lord sent Moses to His people, and saved him from the waters of the River Nile so that he might be the one to shepherd all of Israel out of the land of their misery and enslavement, into the land of prosperity and true joy as promised by the Lord. God has done this so that He can bring the people all into the fulfilment of the long awaited promise He had made, to their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And yet, they would not welcome him at first, and refused to listen to him. Moses himself also fled to the land of Midian after he killed an Egyptian while protecting one of the Israelites.
In our Gospel passage today, we then heard about the Lord speaking up against the cities of the region of Galilee, the cities of Capernaum, Chorazin and Bethsaida. These were the places where the Lord performed many of His works, miracles and wonders, and where He taught in their synagogues and places of gathering. Why did the Lord speak out with such anger against those cities as we heard in our Gospel passage today? That is because they have all seen so many of God’s miracles and wonders, heard His truth and been shown His love and compassion, and yet, still refused to believe and obey Him.
Instead, many among those people living in those cities still doubted and questioned Him, together with members of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who followed Him everywhere and raised doubts against Him among the people. All these amounted to mankind’s stubborn refusal to listen to the truth of the Lord despite the very obvious truth and the love which He has shown before them through Christ. God’s love has been manifested so clearly in the flesh before all of us, and yet, many of us still refused to believe in Him.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are all reminded therefore to listen to the Lord and put our trust in Him. We should be faithful to Him and wholeheartedly commit ourselves to His cause. We can also follow the inspiring examples set by our holy predecessors, the saints and martyrs of the Church. Today in particular we celebrate the memory of St. Henry, a faithful servant of the Lord, also known as Henry II, the Holy Roman Emperor. He was a righteous and just ruler, concerned most with the well-being of his subjects and people, and was committed to the expansion and development of the Church throughout Christendom.
St. Henry spent a lot of time managing his realm with great wisdom and care, and cultivating good relationship between the Church and the state, and he spent a lot of effort improving both the physical and spiritual well-being of his people. For all of these wise and faithful rule as the most powerful ruler of Christendom, and for his faithful dedication and great personal piety, he was the only Holy Roman Emperor to be declared a saint of the Church.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, we should also be inspired by the good examples set by St. Henry, his faithfulness and commitment to the Lord, that in all things, we shall always endeavour to be good and faithful to the Lord. Let us all not be easily swayed by worldly temptations and pressures, and instead, strive to walk ever more faithfully in the Lord’s path and serve Him with all of our might and strength, at all times. May the Lord be with us all, and may He strengthen us with the courage and faith to be His good disciples, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)
Matthew 11 : 20-24
At that time, Jesus began to denounce the cities in which He had performed most of His miracles, because the people there did not change their ways.
“Alas for you Chorazin and Bethsaida! If the miracles worked in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, the people there would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I assure you, for Tyre and Sidon; it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.”
“And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? You will be thrown down to the place of the dead! For if the miracles which were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would still be there today! But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)
Psalm 68 : 3, 14, 30-31, 33-34
I am sunk in the miry depths, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, swept and engulfed by the flood.
But I pray to You, o YHVH. At a time most favourable to You, in Your great love, o God, answer me, with Your unfailing help.
But I myself, am humbled and wounded; Your salvation, o God, will lift me up. I will praise the Name of God in song; I will glorify Him with thanksgiving.
Let the lowly witness this, and be glad. You who seek God, may your hearts be revived. For YHVH hears the needy; and does not despise those in captivity.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)
Exodus 2 : 1-15a
Now a man belonging to the clan of Levi married a woman of his own tribe. She gave birth to a boy and, seeing that he was a beautiful child, she kept him hidden for three months. As she could not conceal him any longer, she made a basket out of papyrus leaves and coated it with tar and pitch. She then laid the child in the basket and placed it among the reeds near the bank of the Nile; but the sister of the child kept at a distance to see what would happen to him.
Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the Nile; her attendants meanwhile walked along the bank. When she saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maidservant to fetch it. She opened the basket and saw the child – a boy, and he was crying! She felt sorry for him, for she thought : “This is one of the Hebrew children.”
Then the sister of the child said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” Pharaoh’s daughter agreed, and the girl went to call the mother of the child. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take the child and nurse him for me and I will pay you.”
So the woman took the child and nursed him and, when the child had grown, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter who adopted him as her son. And she named him Moses to recall that she had drawn him out of the water. After a fairly long time, Moses, by now a grown man, wanted to meet his fellow Hebrews. He noticed how heavily they were burdened and he saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his own people.
He looked around and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. When he went out the next day he saw two Hebrews quarrelling. Moses said to the man in the wrong, “Why are you striking a fellow countryman?” But he answered, “Who has set you prince and judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”
Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must be known.” When Pharaoh heard about it he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the words of the Scriptures reminding all of us that the realities of life in this world can often be quite terrible and cruel, and we may very well be disappointed by the bitter truth that we encounter in life. Many people had to endure sufferings and persecutions, just as we heard in our readings today, first of all because they are prejudiced and discriminated against, like that of the Israelites in the land of Egypt, while then, as Christians, we are also often prejudiced against, and face persecutions and opposition from the world.
In our first reading today, from the beginning of the Book of Exodus we heard the story of the people of Israel, the descendants of Jacob or Israel in Egypt, a few hundred years after their ancestors first came to Egypt to live there, out of the promised land of Canaan. God had promised Jacob that He would one day lead all of his descendants out of Egypt and back to the land which He has promised and given to him and his descendants forever. Then, a Pharaoh came to power who saw the Israelites as a grave threat to Egypt due to their ever growing numbers and began to find ways to destroy and control them.
And it was hence that the Israelites were oppressed and enslaved in Egypt under the Egyptians and their Pharaoh, forced to endure tough conditions and treated with disdain and with the most brutal conditions, as even though they were oppressed, they kept on growing in numbers and spread, as a sign of divine favour and grace, as God was always with His people. The Pharaoh tried to exterminate the whole nation by attempting genocidal killing of all the male child of the Israelites, but it was through this act that God then would raise a saviour and leader of His people, namely Moses, to lead them all out of Egypt.
We then heard in our Gospel passage today, of the premonition of troubles and trials which Our Lord Himself has revealed to His disciples, that He specifically mentioned how His coming into the world was not going to bring peace to the world, and would instead bring about clashes and even violence. All of these were to happen because many among the people refused to believe in the Lord or walk along His path, and they preferred to follow their own desires and ambitions, succumbing to the temptation of worldly glory and fame.
Like the Pharaoh of Egypt who oppressed the Israelites and wanted to see them destroyed, all these were born out of desperation and fear, as mankind tended to be afraid to let go and lose of their prized possessions, their power, privileges, fame and glory. All those things therefore often clouded the judgments of man, and led to many misery against the faithful people of God, all those who still cling faithfully to the truth of God and refused to allow worldly concerns and matters to turn them away from the path of the Lord or leading them down the path of corruption.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians all of us are called to remain faithful to the Lord despite these trials and tribulations. We must not allow ourselves to be swayed or misled by fear, despair and doubt, which had led so many of our brethren down the wrong path, and led mankind to commit so many grievous sins as the ones committed by the Pharaoh in killing all the sons born of the Israelites. Instead, we have to learn to trust the Lord and to keep our gaze and focus steadily on Him.
We are all called as Christians to be the bearers of God’s truth, His love and grace, His assurance of eternal life and glory for us. We have received this same truth from the Lord through His Church and by the works of the Apostles and their successors, our bishops and priests, and all those who had laboured for the sake of the one true faith. Now, we are called to walk in their footsteps faithfully, committing ourselves each and every moments of our lives, to be the exemplary and inspirational Christian role models for one another.
Let us all therefore seek the Lord with renewed heart and mind, with a new zeal and purpose in ourselves. May the Lord be with us always and may He continue to walk the path with us, together as one people, that we may always ever be committed in all things, and grow to love Him more and more, and be ever closer to Him always. May God bless us all and our good works and endeavours, now and forevermore. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Matthew 10 : 34 – Matthew 11 : 1
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Do not think that I have come to establish peace on earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Each one will have as enemies, those of one’s own family.”
“Whoever loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me. And whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me, is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life, for My sake, will find it.”
“Whoever welcomes you, welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me, welcomes Him Who sent Me. The one who welcomes a prophet, as a prophet, will receive the reward of a prophet; the one who welcomes a just man, because he is a just man, will receive the reward of a just man.”
“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, because he is My disciple, I assure you, he will not go unrewarded.”
When Jesus had finished giving His twelve disciples these instructions, He went on from there to teach and proclaim His message in their towns.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 123 : 1-3, 4-6, 7-8
Had not YHVH been on our side – let Israel say – had not YHVH been on our side, when people rose up against us, then, they would have swallowed us alive; such was their anger against us.
A bit more, and the flood would have engulfed us; the torrent would have swept over us; the raging waters would have swept us away. Blessed be YHVH, Who did not let us be devoured.
Like a bird, our soul escaped from the snare of the fowler; the snare that was broken and we were freed. Our help is in the Name of YHVH, Who made heaven and earth.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Exodus 1 : 8-14, 22
Then a new king who had not known Joseph came to power and said to his people, “The Israelites are more numerous and stronger than we are. Let us deal warily with them lest they increase still more and, in case of war, side with our enemy, fight against us and escape from the land.”
So they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labour. In that way they built the storage towns of Pithom and Rameses. But the more they oppressed the Hebrews the more they increased and spread, until the Egyptians dreaded the Israelites and became ruthless in making them work. They made life bitter for them in hard labour with bricks and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields. In all their work the Egyptians treated them harshly.
Pharaoh then gave this order to all the people : “Every infant boy born to the Hebrews must be thrown into the Nile, but every girl may live.”
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 