16 July 2015

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Thursday, 16 July 2015 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Mass of our Lady of Mount Carmel)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate a great feast day of the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of our Lord Jesus Christ in her aspect as the Lady of Mount Carmel, which is a mountain found in the Holy Land, in what is now Israel. She is the patroness of the great Carmelite religious order which was founded at the very site of Mount Carmel during the time of the Crusades almost a millennia ago.

From there the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary represented as our Lady of Mount Carmel spread around the world as the Carmelites established their monasteries and chapels all over the earth. And the most popular part of this devotion is the wearing of the brown scapular around one’s neck, which consists of an image of the Blessed Virgin carved on a simple brown-coloured material with strings linking both sides of the scapular.

To all those who regularly wear the brown scapular, through the promises which our Blessed Mother had mentioned herself when she appeared to her servants in the Carmelite order, the protection and blessings against evil and its forces will be in power against all those who seek to corrupt and destroy us. Those who wear the scapular devoutly and live their lives in good faith will be shielded from the malice of the devil.

All these point out to one thing, why do we devote ourselves in prayer and thanksgiving for our Blessed Mother Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ? That is because she is the mother of our Lord, and she lies the closest to the presence of her Son in heaven. She is always constantly thinking about us, praying for us, and beseeching her Son to show His mercy to all of us, especially those of us who graciously seek it from her.

God had honoured His own mother, not just because of her virtue of being His mother. But if we notice in the Gospel today, how Jesus mentioned to the people, who are His brothers and sisters, and who are His mothers. He was not insulting or rebuking His mother in that case, as we would have thought if we just look at it at the surface.

In fact what Jesus did was truly pointing out the great virtues which His mother had done. Mary is great and truly blessed because she is indeed firstly the mother of our Lord, but also because of her exemplary faith, piety and devotion to her Son, and the love which she showed to all of us, whom He had entrusted to her as her own. Remember when Jesus entrusted Mary His mother to John and then entrusted John to her? In the same way, God had entrusted His own mother to be our mother, and entrusted all of us to be under her care.

This devotion to our Lady of Mount Carmel, the popular devotion of the brown scapular of Mount Carmel should be strong reminders for us, that all of us ought to lead a life that is exemplary and filled with faith, just as the life which our mother Mary had once led during her time in this world. We should look up to her and see her virtuous examples, and strive to make it as part of our own life.

Let us on this day, renew our faith and commitment to the Lord our God, through the intercession and guidance of His blessed mother Mary, our Lady of Mount Carmel. May the brown scapular we wear today with devotion be a reminder for us always, to lead a life filled with faith and real dedication to our Lord. May this be an inspiration for us to resist evil and wickedness, and take these out of our own lives, replacing them with righteousness and light of Christ.

May our Blessed Mother Mary, our Lady of Mount Carmel always intercede for us in the hour of need, and may we draw ourselves closer to her, so that through her we may get ever closer to the throne of her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 16 July 2015 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Mass of our Lady of Mount Carmel)

Matthew 11 : 28-30

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “Come to Me, all you who work hard and who carry heavy burdens, and I will refresh you. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart and you will find rest. For My yoke is good, and My burden is light.”

Alternative reading (Mass of our Lady of Mount Carmel)

Matthew 12 : 46-50

At that time, while Jesus was still talking to the people, His mother and His brothers wanted to speak to Him, and they waited outside. So someone said to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside; they want to speak with You.”

Jesus answered, “Who is My mother? Who are My brothers?” Then He pointed to His disciples and said, “Look! Here are My mother and My brothers. Whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is for Me brother, sister or mother.”

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Thursday, 16 July 2015 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Mass of our Lady of Mount Carmel)

Psalm 104 : 1 and 5, 8-9, 24-25, 26-27

Give thanks to the Lord, call on His Name; make known His works among the nations. Remember His wonderful works, His miracles and His judgments.

He remembers His covenant forever, His promise to a thousand generations, the covenant He made with Abraham, the promise He swore to Isaac.

The Lord made His people fruitful and much stronger than their foes, whose hearts He turned to hate His people, to deal deceitfully with His servants.

Then He sent Moses His servant and Aaron whom He had chosen. They performed His signs among them, His miracles in the land of Ham.

Alternative reading (Mass of our Lady of Mount Carmel)

Luke 1 : 46-47, 48-49, 50-51, 52-53, 54-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God my Saviour!

He has looked upon His servant in her lowliness, and people forever will call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, Holy is His Name!

From age to age His mercy extends to those who live in His presence. He has acted with power and done wonders, and scattered the proud with their plans.

He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up those who are downtrodden. He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.

He held out His hand to Israel, His servant, for He remembered His mercy, even as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.

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Thursday, 16 July 2015 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Mass of our Lady of Mount Carmel)

Exodus 3 : 13-20

Moses answered God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them : ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ they will ask me : ‘What is His Name?’ What shall I answer them?”

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO AM. This is what you will say to the sons of Israel : ‘I AM sent me to you.” God then said to Moses, “You will say to the Israelites : ‘YHVH, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has sent me.’ That will be My Name forever, and by this Name they shall call upon Me for all generations to come.”

“Go! Call together the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘YHVH, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob appeared to me and said : I have seen and taken account of how the Egyptians have treated you, and I mean to bring you out of all this oppression in Egypt and take you to the land of the Canaanites, a land flowing with milk and honey.'”

“The elders of Israel will listen to you and, with them, you shall go to the palace of the king of Egypt and say to him : ‘The God of the Hebrews, YHVH, has met with us. Now let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to YHVH our God.'”

“I well know that the king of the Egyptians will not allow you to go unless he is forced to do so. I will therefore stretch out My hand and strike Egypt in extraordinary ways, after which he will let you go.”

Alternative reading (Mass of our Lady of Mount Carmel)

Zechariah 2 : 14-17

“Sing and rejoice, o daughter of Zion, for I am about to come, I shall dwell among you,” says YHVH. “On that day, many nations will join YHVH and be My people, but My dwelling is among you.”

The people of Judah will be for YHVH as His portion in His holy land. He will choose Jerusalem again. Keep still in YHVH’s presence, for He comes, having risen from His holy dwelling.