18th Sunday of Ordinary Time

by

Friday, 9 August 2024 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Deuteronomy 32 : 35cd-36ab, 39abcd, 41

Their day of calamity is at hand, and swiftly their doom will come. The Lord will give justice to His people and have mercy on His servants.

Learn this now – that I alone am He; there is no god besides Me. It is I Who give both death and life; it is I Who wound and heal as well and out of My hand no one can deliver.

When I sharpen My glittering sword and My hand takes hold of judgment, I will deal out vengeance upon My foes and retribution upon those who hate Me.

by

Friday, 9 August 2024 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Nahum 2 : 1, 3 and Nahum 3 : 1-3, 6-7

See, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings Good News, one who proclaims peace. Judah, celebrate your feasts and carry out your vows. For the wicked have been destroyed, they will not attack you any more. YHVH will now restore Jacob’s magnificence, like Israel’s splendour. For they had been plundered, laid waste as a ravaged vineyard.

Woe to the bloody city, city of lies and booty, o city of unending plunder! But what! Crack of whips, rumble of wheels and clatter of hoofs! See the frenzied chargers, the flashing swords and glittering spears, the heaps of the wounded, the dead and dying – we trip over corpses!

I will pelt you with filth, I will treat you with contempt and make of you a shameful show, so that all who look on you will turn their backs in disgust and say : Nineveh – a city of lust – is in ruins. Who will mourn for her? Where can we find one to comfort her?

by

Thursday, 8 August 2024 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the Covenant which God had made with each and every one of us. He has established this most wonderful Covenant as the sign and proof of His ever enduring and wonderful love for us, which He has repeatedly shown us, again and again despite our constant rebelliousness and disobedience against Him. God has always been loving towards us and He desires for us to come back to Him with the desire to be healed and to be forgiven from our many sins and wickedness. He has always called on us to respond to His call, as He embraced us all and bringing us close to Him, giving us all His Beloved Son to reassure us all of His love and salvation, and establishing His Church to gather each and every one of us, and bringing us out of the darkness and into the light.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah in which the Lord reassured His people, those remnants of the Israelites in the southern kingdom of Judah that He would establish a new Covenant with each and every one of them, and that He still cared for them and loved them regardless of everything that He told them would happen to them. At that time, the people of Judah had been living through a hard time, pressed on all sides by their many enemies and subjugated by the Babylonians. The prophet Jeremiah had been sent as the final prophet God sent to the land and people of Judah to tell them of their coming destruction and conquest by the Babylonians, to tell them the consequences of their wickedness and sins.

That was why the prophet Jeremiah often spoke of the coming ruin of Jerusalem and Judah, the downfall of the Temple of Jerusalem, all of which drew the ire of those who refused to accept the truth of God’s words. Many among the people still thought that they did nothing wrong, and that their ways of disobeying God’s Law and commandments were not an issue. But God made it clear that while He loved each one of them, He did not condone all the wickedness and evil deeds that they had committed, and their sins had been the ones that judged and condemned them to their fate. That was why their cities would be destroyed and thrown down, all because of their hubris and sins in worshipping pagan idols and gods instead of the Lord their God, Who has cared for all of them all the while.

But God still loved His people nonetheless and desired their repentance and reunion with Him. That was why He still sent them prophets and messengers, one after another, all the way to the prophet Jeremiah himself, to help remind His people of the errors of their ways, so that they hopefully might be touched in their hearts and return once again towards God. God’s love and compassionate mercy have always been generously shown to us, but we have to embrace His love and mercy, and do what is necessary so that we may receive the fullness of His love and kindness, and be forgiven from our many sins that had separated us all from His love and grace. God reminded us all that we have been made partakers of this new Covenant He has established with us, and we ought to honour our part in it.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the Gospel according to St. Matthew in which the Lord told His disciples about Who He was, as He asked them who they think that He truly was. It was there that St. Peter spoke truthfully and courageously that the Lord Jesus was indeed the Holy One of God, the Messiah and Son of God that has come into this world to bring about its salvation. He was therefore chosen by the Lord Who knew the great faith which St. Peter had in Him, the great love and commitment that he would make, that he was entrusted with the governance and leadership of the Church that God was establishing in this world, to lead the other Apostles and disciples as the Lord’s Vicar, the very first Pope and Supreme Pontiff, whose successor now is Pope Francis, our current Pope.

Through what we heard in our Gospel passage today, we are again reminded of God’s love that He has established His Church to gather each and every one of us His lost sheep, so that we may all be found and gathered together, united as one people and flock, no longer scattered and lost from the Lord, but having been reunited with Him through the Church and the many shepherds that He had sent to help us find our path in life, like that of St. Peter and the other Apostles, the other disciples of the Lord and their many successors throughout time, right up to our bishops and priests today. But at the same time, as we heard in our Gospel passage today, the Lord also reminded us all to obey Him and His words, just as He told St. Peter when He rebuked his temptation by Satan, to dissuade Him from carrying out His ultimate duty, of His suffering and Passion on the Cross.

It reminds each and every one of us as part of this one united Body of Christ, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, we are all called to unite ourselves to the Lord, and to devote ourselves to His path, following Him and His leads, as He guides us all to the right path. Wr must always strive to do what God has taught and shown us to do, so that in everything we do, we will always proclaim God’s truth and Good News, and proclaim Him and His love to all the people around us, to the whole world. In each and every moments of our lives, we should always be committed to the Lord, be faithful to Him and be evangelising and missionary in our attitudes and actions. This is what we are expected to do as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, those whom He had called and chosen from this world to be His own.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of the great and famous St. Dominic, also known as St. Dominic de Guzman, the founder of the Order of Preachers, popularly known as the Dominicans after their founder. St. Dominic was born in what is now Spain, and he was brought up early in a monastery for his education, learning art and theology, eventually becoming a priest. It was later on that the Pope, who was sending missionaries to help against the Cathar heresy that was then rampant in southern France, sent Cistercian monks there without much success, and those monks encountered St. Dominic who was on his way back from a diplomatic mission. St. Dominic therefore went to the region of southern France, establishing himself and some others in his group in a monastery in the region of Prouille in southern France.

He spent many years there preaching to the people and ministering there, calling upon them to return to the Lord and to His Church, and eventually establishing the Order of Preachers in Toulouse during his ministry there. It was largely due to his tireless efforts and that of his fellow Dominican preachers and priests that many among the Cathars were convinced to return to the Holy Mother Church and to the orthodox Christian faith, abandoning their Gnostic-dualist heresy, and saving the souls of many among them. St. Dominic was also credited with the beginnings of the rosary devotion, as it was told that the Blessed Mother of God, Mary herself appeared to him in a vision, presenting to him the rosary, which was also instrumental in converting many of those who had fallen astray from the Lord back to His path.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have discussed earlier on from today’s Scripture passages and from the lives and examples of St. Dominic, let us therefore do our part to be good and worthy disciples and followers of the Lord, following in the footsteps of St. Dominic and the other disciples of the Lord, our holy predecessors. Let us all continue to be grateful to the Lord for His ever generous and enduring love for us, and continue to do our part so that in each and every actions we do in life, we will continue to live worthily as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, in His One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, helping our fellow brothers and sisters to come towards the Lord and His salvation. May God bless us all and be His Church always, now and forevermore. Amen.

by

Thursday, 8 August 2024 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 16 : 13-23

At that time, Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi. He asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They said, “For some of them, You are John the Baptist; for others Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”

Jesus asked them, “But you, who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “It is well for you, Simon Barjona, for it is not flesh or blood that has revealed this to you, but My Father in heaven.”

“And now I say to you : You are Peter; and on this Rock I will build My Church; and never will the powers of death overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven : whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you unbind on earth shall be unbound in heaven.”

Then He ordered His disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Christ. From that day, Jesus began to make it clear to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem; that He would suffer many things from the Jewish authorities, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law; and that He would be killed and be raised on the third day.

Then Peter took Him aside and began to reproach Him, “Never, Lord! No, this must never happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an obstacle in My path. You are thinking not as God does, but as people do.”

by

Thursday, 8 August 2024 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 50 : 12-13, 14-15, 18-19

Create in me, o God, a pure heart; give me a new and steadfast spirit. Do not cast me out of Your presence nor take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Give me again the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will show wrongdoers Your ways and sinners will return to You.

You take no pleasure in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, You would not delight in it. O God, my sacrifice is a broken spirit; a contrite heart You will not despise.

by

Thursday, 8 August 2024 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Jeremiah 31 : 31-34

The time is coming – it is YHVH Who speaks – when I will forge a new Covenant with the people of Israel and the people of Judah. It will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. For they broke My Covenant although I was their Master, YHVH declares.

This is the Covenant I shall make with Israel after that time : I will put My Law within them and write it on their hearts; I will be their God and they will be My people. And they will not have to teach each other, neighbour or brother, saying : ‘Know YHVH,’ because they will all know Me, from the greatest to the lowliest, for I will forgive their wrongdoing and no longer remember their sin.

by

Wednesday, 7 August 2024 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Cajetan, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the love of God which He generously ever poured down upon us, showing us His mercy, love and compassion, just as we have often been reminded of. At the same time, we are also reminded to seek the Lord and His mercy, His forgiveness and love, just as how the Syro-Phoenician woman had done in our Gospel passage today, that our sincere and strong desire to seek the Lord, to find His love, mercy and compassion shall liberate us from the bondage of our wickedness and sins, and deliver us into a renewed life blessed and strengthen by God and His grace. God has always loved and been kind to us, and He has also always been full of mercy and forgiveness for us, but we have to be cooperative with Him, allowing Him to come to us, to transform our lives for the better.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, in which God would restore His people, the Israelites once again, to be His blessed and beloved people, restored and empowered, saved and liberated from their troubles just as He had done for them many times previously. These words of the Lord which He spoke to His people, the remnants of the Israelites living in the kingdom of Judah, would indeed come true in the upcoming decades. And these came after the Lord has spoken of all the misfortunes, destructions and hardships that they all would have to encounter in their path, as they had disobeyed Him and disregarded His Law, His commandments and precepts, and thus, they would have to endure the consequences of their actions. This showed us all that God truly loves each and every one of His people, but He does not condone their actions.

As a loving Creator and Father to His people, as their Lord, Master and King, God has always cared for them all as He has constantly shown throughout history and as recorded in the Old Testament, but at the same time, as a just and holy God, as mentioned, He does not condone their sinfulness, wicked actions and deeds that are contrary to the way and the teachings which He had passed on to them. He does not want any one of them to be swayed into the wicked path in life, into the path of darkness from which there could be no escape or hope. That was why God chastised His people, punishing them and correcting them but with the ultimate intent of leading them all towards Himself and restoring them to the state of grace together with Him. God does not desire our destruction, as it was us who have willingly chosen to reject His salvation and grace.

God remembers the Covenant which He had made and established with His people, and through Jeremiah, He wanted to remind them with all of that, that while He abhorred their sins and wickedness, but He still wanted them all to return to Him and to repent from their many sins and evils before it was too late for them. That is why, it is also a very important reminder for all of us that we should not take God’s love, compassion and mercy for granted. God has always been very patient with us, but at the same time, we must realise that if we continue to resist Him and refuse His love and kindness, it may come to pass that it ends up too late for us to accept God’s favour, love and mercy, and when it is too late for us, it is by all those sins and wickedness that we shall be judged by, and we shall be condemned by all those wicked and evil attitudes which we have carried out in our lives.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew, as mentioned earlier we heard of the interactions between the Lord Jesus and a Syro-Phoenician woman who had come to seek His help with regards to her very sick daughter. The Syro-Phoenician region was outside the lands where the Israelites lived in, and at that time, that region was also not where the descendants of the Israelites lived in, and therefore the Syro-Phoenician woman in the reckoning of the Jews would be considered as an outsider and a pagan. And for many among the Jews, the Syro-Phoenician like the other Gentiles were considered unworthy and unclean, and it was often taboo for a Jew like the Lord Jesus Himself to mingle and interact with the non-Jews like the Syro-Phoenician woman. Not only that, but the Jews at that time also had a rather exclusive and elitist view of themselves as God’s chosen people, and looking down on others who did not believe in God as they did.

Thus, when the Lord seemingly mocked the woman and was being rude in replying harshly to her by stating that He was only sent to the people of Israel and that the food should not be given to the dogs, it was a representation of the folly of the prejudices shown by the Israelites and their descendants against those others whom they had deemed to be inferior and less worthy than them as God’s disciples and followers. But the Lord showed His disciples and others, including all of us that even among the non-Israelites, there could be great and wonderful faith too. The Syro-Phoenician woman ignored the insults and kept on asking the Lord with great faith, even humbling herself, saying that even the dogs gained the scraps of food from the table. This is a representation of just how one with great faith shall be blessed by God, and God’s love is in truth, for everyone, and not just for any particular group of people. All of us, regardless of race, background or origin, have all been called and chosen by God to be His beloved people.

Today, the Church also celebrates the feast of two great saints and holy men of God, whose lives and dedications to God can serve as great role models and inspirations for each and every one of us in how we should live our own lives as Christians. Pope St. Sixtus II and St. Cajetan both had lived truly virtuous and worthy lives that have shown us all what it truly means to be true and genuine, faithful and committed Christians, as God’s holy and committed disciples and followers. They have lived their lives with great faith in their own unique ways, that even when they faced difficulties and challenges, they continued to persevere on in trusting in the Lord and in being faithful to Him. They did not let the hardships, oppositions and all the other obstacles they encountered to dissuade them from their efforts and good works for the sake of the Lord and for His people.

Pope St. Sixtus II was one of the important and influential leaders of the early Church, who has dedicated himself as the Pope and thus as leader of the whole Universal Church, to lead the faithful and the Church through turbulent and difficult times. He led the Church through a time of challenges and divisions, as there was a particularly divisive Novatian heresy that happened just prior to his pontificate, which caused divisions in the Roman Church, and also in relationships with the Church in Africa and in the Eastern parts of the Roman Empire. Pope St. Sixtus II dedicated himself to heal the rifts and divisions in the Church, while at the same time, he also led the Church through the difficult times of persecutions and oppressions by the Roman state. It was during one of these oppressions, during the reign of Emperor Valerian that Pope St. Sixtus II was martyred. He remained firm in his faith and commitment to God, to the very end.

Meanwhile, St. Cajetan was an Italian priest who lived and ministered to the Church and the people of God during the Renaissance period, at the time when there were lots of challenges facing the Christian faithful, both from the corruption within the clergy and laity alike, and when the moral and spiritual standards of the people of God were waning. St. Cajetan committed himself thoroughly to minister to the people of God, devoting himself to reach out to those who have been lost from the Lord, calling upon them to return to Him. He established a congregation named the Theatines, gathering those who wished to follow the Lord’s call and serve the people of God, particularly those who were poor and less privileged. Through his efforts and works, St. Cajetan impacted the lives of many and brought many ever closer to God and helped them to come to God’s salvation and grace.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all remind ourselves that we all should have strong and genuine faith in the Lord, devoting our time and effort to follow Him wholeheartedly. Let us all continue to follow in the good examples and in the footsteps of our holy predecessors, like that of Pope St. Sixtus II and St. Cajetan. Let us all continue to walk in the path which the Lord has shown us, and continue to show our love for God and for our fellow brethren, in all and every one of our actions, words and deeds in life, now and always. May God be with us all, and may He empower us in faith, now and always. Amen.

by

Wednesday, 7 August 2024 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Cajetan, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Matthew 15 : 21-28

At that time, leaving that area, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from the area, came and cried out, “Lord, Son of David, have pity on me! My daughter is tormented by a demon.”

But Jesus did not answer her, not even a word. So His disciples approached Him and said, “Send her away! See how she is shouting after us.” Then Jesus said to her, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel.”

But the woman was already kneeling before Jesus, and said, “Sir, help me!” Jesus answered, “It is not right to take the bread from the children and throw it to puppies.”

The woman replied, “That is true, Sir, but even puppies eat the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said, “Woman, how great is your faith! Let it be as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

by

Wednesday, 7 August 2024 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Cajetan, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Jeremiah 31 : 10, 11-12ab, 13

Hear the word of YHVH, o nations, proclaim it on distant coastlands : He Who scattered Israel will gather them and guard them as a shepherd guard his flock.

For YHVH has ransomed Jacob and redeemed him from the hand of his conqueror. They shall come shouting for joy, while ascending Zion; they will come streaming to YHVH’s blessings.

Maidens will make merry and dance, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness, I will give them comfort and joy for sorrow.

by

Wednesday, 7 August 2024 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Cajetan, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Jeremiah 31 : 1-7

YHVH declares that when that time comes He will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be His people. Thus says YHVH : The people who survived the sword have found grace in the desert. As Israel was seeking for his rest YHVH appeared from afar saying, I have loved you with a love everlasting, so I have kept for you My mercy. I will restore you again, and you shall be rebuilt, o virgin Israel!”

“You will take up your tambourines and go out dancing joyfully. You will plant vineyards again on the hills of Samaria, and the farmers who plant them will enjoy their fruit. There shall be a day when watchmen will call out on the hills of Ephraim, “Come, let us go to Zion, to YHVH our God!”

For YHVH says this, “Shout with joy for Jacob; rejoice for the greatest of nations. Proclaim your praise and say : ‘YHVH has saved His people, the remnant of Israel!’”