19th Week

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Saturday, 17 August 2013 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today Christ reminds us that we all need to be like children. Yes, like children, but not in childish ways, but in the purity of their thoughts, their minds and their hearts, and in the true faith that they have in the Lord. Yes, if we notice it well, children, who are pure and uncorrupted, often are able to give their all, their full and undivided attention to the Lord.

This pure faith of children is what we must have in each one of us, the faith untainted by the worry of the world, or the desires of the flesh for the pleasures of this world. That is why we should not reject these children and dismiss them as naive and without wisdom, for indeed, we can learn much even from these little children! And remember that the Lord Himself had said to His disciples, and therefore to us, that those who welcome these little children, also welcome Him. Those who reject them therefore, also reject the Lord.

Compare the faith of the children to that of the people of Israel as we see in the Book of Joshua from the First Reading. Why do you think that Joshua had to repeatedly ask the people to make a choice whether they are to serve the Lord or the pagan gods of Mesopotamia of their ancestors or the pagan gods of the Amorites their neighbours? That was exactly because they have often rebelled against the Lord, in their Exodus from Egypt, when they constantly complained against the Lord their God, tested Him and even worshiped pagan gods of the Midians and their own golden calf, that made God punish them severely.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, their disobedience had brought about their death and condemnation, because they had not kept the faith of their fathers and instead putting their trust in their own power, in their own desires and evils, and in the pagan gods that the Lord had forbid them from worshiping. Yes, their disobedience truly contrasts with the faith of the little children that God had praised and God had sought for, that He also expect from all of us.

Yes, brethren, like the people of Israel, we do have a choice too, either to follow the Lord our God with all our hearts, our minds, and with our full dedication, following faithfully all of His laws and commandments, or to follow ourselves, that is we follow the path of the devil, immersing ourselves in the worldly pleasures and desires, and doing everything that we want, but brought the disgust of the Lord our God?

It is entirely within our own power, within our own conscience to make a stand, to make a choice, and indeed, to make a difference in our own lives. It is not that it is wrong to seek happiness for ourselves, pleasures and joy while we are in this world. But what is important is that we do not become overindulged on them, and lose the true focus of our lives, that is the Lord our God and His love. It is often that we become blind to God and His love, because we are simply too busy with our own selves, with our own desires, to notice Him.

That is how children have the advantage over us, brothers and sisters in Christ, not because they are smarter, and not because they are stronger, or wiser than us, but because they keep the clarity of mind that we often no longer possess. We often worry too much in our daily lives, concerning ourselves with our daily needs, wants, and desires. We often worry about what we are to eat, what we are to have, where are we to go for our outings and many other things that fill up our mind, so much that we no longer have any space reserved for the Lord, not in our minds, not in our hearts.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, after today, do we then resolve to be more like those children in our faith? That is to worry less about this world and be swayed less by the temptations and pleasures of this world, and instead seek the Lord our God with all our hearts, with all our focus, and with all our strength? Let us today renew our commitment for Him, and proclaim Him indeed, as the Lord our God, just as the people of Israel had done in Shechem with Joshua, pledging ourselves to only serve Him and worship Him and not any other god.

Yes, not any other god, and these gods are not just the pagan gods of old, but also our modern day ‘gods’, yes, the gods of money, wealth, fame, and many other things that often distract us from our path towards the Lord. Let us resolve to continue our journey of faith towards God and be not swayed by the evils of this world, remaining firm in our faith and dedication towards the Lord and towards His beloved people, our fellow brethren. God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 17 August 2013 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

Matthew 19 : 13-15

Then little children were brought to Jesus that He might lay His hands on them and pray. But the disciples scolded those who brought them.

Jesus then said, “Let them be! Do not stop the children from coming to Me, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to people such as these children.”

So Jesus laid His hands on them and went His way.

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Saturday, 17 August 2013 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

Psalm 15 : 1-2a and 5, 7-8, 11

Keep me safe, o God, for in You I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord. O Lord, my inheritance and my cup, my chosen portion – hold secure my lot.”

I bless the Lord who counsels me; even at night my inmost self instructs me. I keep the Lord always before me; for with Him at my right hand, I will never be shaken.

You will show me the path of life, in Your presence the fullness of joy, at Your right hand happiness forever.

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Saturday, 17 August 2013 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

Joshua 24 : 14-29

So fear YHVH, and be sincere and faithful in serving Him. Set aside those gods your ancestors worshiped in Mesopotamia and Egypt. Serve only YHVH. But if you do not want to serve YHVH, make known this very day whom you shall serve – whether they be the gods your ancestors served in Mesopotamia or the gods of the Amorites who formerly occupied the land in which you now live. As for me, I and my household will serve YHVH.

The people answered : “May God not permit that we ever abandon YHVH to serve other gods! For it was He who brought us and our ancestors out of Egypt, the house of slavery. It was He who did those great wonders that we have seen; He protected us on the way and through all the land where we passed, driving away before us all the nations especially the Amorites who lived in this land. So we shall also serve YHVH : He is our God!”

Joshua asked the people : “Will you be able to serve YHVH? He is a Holy God, a Jealous God who does not tolerate wickedness or faults. If you abandon YHVH to serve other gods, He will turn against you and just as He has done you so much good, so shall He punish you and destroy you.”

The people replied, “No, may it not be as you say. We will serve YHVH.” Joshua said : “You yourselves are witnesses that you have chosen YHVH to serve Him.” They answered : “We are witnesses.”

Joshua then said, “Remove now from your midst any other gods and serve YHVH, the God of Israel, with all your heart.” The people answered, “We will serve YHVH, our God, and obey His commands.” On that day at Shechem, Joshua made a covenant with the people and fixed laws and ordinances. He also wrote down everything expressed in the book of the Law of God; he chose a great stone and put it under the oak tree in the sacred place of YHVH.

Then Joshua said to the people : “This stone shall be a witness to all that YHVH said to us, for it heard all these words. It shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with YHVH.”

Joshua immediately sent the people away and everyone returned to his land. After all these deeds, Joshua, son of Nun and servant of YHVH, died at the age of a hundred and ten.

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Friday, 16 August 2013 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today Christ told us about the importance and sanctity of marriage, as something not merely a legal thing, nor it is merely a thing of this world, because marriage is a bond between man and woman, united and sealed by God Himself, and no man can divide or break this bond. That is because this bond is holy, and indeed, is one of the Seven Sacraments in the Church, that is the Sacrament of Marriage.

God made man from dust, and that was Adam, the first man. From his own flesh, bone, and blood, God created woman, Eve, the first woman. Because of that, man naturally needs woman, and God gave man to woman and vice versa. When man and woman come together, they become perfect, because in the beginning they share one another’s flesh and blood. God who created this world and all of us, had joined man and woman, in the sacred bond that made them perfect in one another, and allow them to multiply with the gift of children, to fill the earth and be prosperous, as God had commanded man to do after He created him. They are supposed to live in perfect happiness and joy for eternity, with God, in the presence of God forever.

But when mankind disobeyed the Lord and sinned against Him, they were torn away from the Lord. They were torn away because of their disobedience. And because of our sins, we should have deserved death and destruction. We have been corrupted and made unworthy of the Lord. The Lord our God loves us, and He did not want us to suffer destruction because of our faults. That was why He chose to intervene from time to time in order to bring us back to Him.

Through sin and evil, the purity of our relationship with one another had been made impure. We had been infected with the sin of lust, greed, and discord. These had corrupted the original intent the Lord had for us. We lust for pleasure and turn ourselves from the path of righteousness. In our lust and greed, we forgot the holiness and sanctity in which the bond we have between us, specifically the bonds between husband and their wives had been forged, that no man or woman should divide or ever come in between the two whom the Lord had sealed in holy matrimony.

The Lord therefore sent His help to us, to His people, through the leaders and prophets He had sent them throughout the ages past. And finally, He sent His own Son, our Lord Jesus, the Son of God, to be with us and become the source of our salvation, and also our purification and sanctification. Yes, brethren, for the Lord had become one of us, in flesh and blood, that through His incarnation, we are bound to Him in the holy bond much like the holy bond of matrimony between husband and wife as I had mentioned earlier on.

Yes, we belong to Christ and Christ belong to us, and through that same bond He had forged with us, He channeled all of our faults, our sins, and our defilements towards Him, that He may bear all of them, with great faith and courage, during His Passion, His suffering and path to the completion of His mission of salvation. He died on the cross, so that we who are bound to Christ, may also die to ourselves, to our old and sinful selves, and be reborn into a new life, a life of new beginnings, and a life in which holiness can emerge, from the old self of sin.

Through Christ’s resurrection from the dead, we too are all promised and offered the new life in Christ, not just any life, but eternal life in happiness in the presence of God. He has offered us this, and if we accept it, we will be saved. Yes, brethren, our Lord truly loves us and cares for us, that He gave us His only Son, Jesus, not only as our Saviour, but also as our Teacher, the One who reminds all of us of the need to love God and follow His will and His words.

Yes, in the Gospel today, Christ reminds the people the importance and sanctity of marriage, of the holy union between man and woman, that He reiterates the divine and holy nature of such union, that no power in heaven or on earth may disturb or dissolve. However, it is sad indeed that throughout history, too many times the people of God had disobeyed this ordinance, and hence sinned against the Lord and faced condemnation for their adulterous behaviour.

If we ask then, why do so many people commit adultery, by dissolving that holy union and marrying again after divorce? That is because, we do not commit our hundred percent attention and effort into maintaining the health and viability of the holy union, and therefore, when temptation comes, our union, that lacks strong and true love maintaining it, easily dissolves, by the wickedness of our own minds and our hearts, poisoned by lust and our love for worldly pleasures, especially dangerous nowadays, because such temptations are essentially everywhere around us.

Today, brothers and sisters in Christ, we commemorate the feast of a saint, one who played a great role in the salvation of many. Yes, that is because this saint is none other than St. Stephen of Hungary, which history knew as King Stephen I Arpad, the first King of Hungary, who converted into the faith, and brought his entire people, his entire nation, into God’s holy Church. He is also well known as the Christian King, because of his dedication to the faith and the Church of God, in ensuring that the faith reached all the peoples within the four corners of his kingdom.

The people of Hungary were known once as the Magyars, the pagan and ferocious nomadic barbarians who raided much of central Europe in the ninth and tenth century, a century before the time of St. Stephen’s rule as King. St. Stephen united the people through his rule as king, and he brought his people before the Lord into their salvation. You see, brothers and sisters in Christ, just as the Lord is united to His people, and man in united with his wife, a king and a ruler is also bound to the land and to his people, in the same way as a shepherd is bound to his sheep. He brought Christ to his own nation and opened the door of salvation to his people.

St. Stephen did many works that become the foundation of both his nation of Hungary, and also the Church, whom he greatly strengthened during his reign by ceaseless attempts to bring God to those who still close their hearts against Him. His rule of Hungary as king was filled with justice and benevolence, and he ruled his people with the grace of God and with God’s wisdom. Truly, he is an example to all of us Christians, in his dedication to the faith, to God, and to the people he is bound to in a sacred bond of kingship.

And ultimately, we must not forget that indeed, Christ Himself mentioned about the role of a special group of people, that had been appointed and chosen by God as the shepherds of His people, a special role of complete and total dedication to God and His people. Yes, brethren, it is about the celibacy of our priests and those in the religious life. God had chosen them and taken them away from the world, and taken to be the brides of our Lord.

Yes, that is why our priests and our religious brothers and sisters do not marry, precisely because they are ‘married’ first to the Lord Himself, and secondly, to the people of God, all of us, whom they serve. And if anyone contest why our priests do not marry and seemingly contradict the Lord’s command that man and woman be united as one in sacred bond of matrimony, we can then say that, yes, they are married indeed, in a sacred bond with our God Himself, and with all of us, the sheep of the flock of God, and the priests as our shepherds, bonded to us in a sacred and inviolable bond of love, just as the Lord Himself belongs to us and we belong to the Lord.

They need our prayers, brothers and sisters in Christ, because their works and responsibilities are numerous and they have many room for errors. Remember that they are also humans like us. They need our prayer, our help, and our support. They have given up marriage with another in order to be in union with us and with God, serving a greater purpose. They have given up having families of their own, that they can now be with all of us in one big family of the Church.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, from today on, let us play our respective parts in the Church, to be good and responsible in all our dealings and actions, and to follow the Lord’s will and commandments at all times. Let those who are married, renew their commitments to one another, recalling the promise they made before the Lord, and maintain the holiness of their lives and their union at all times, building up love in their union, that their marriage will be truly blessed. And for our leaders who are ‘bonded’ with us their people, may they also realise the commitment they have to us, and the dedication that they need to put in into their service.

May the Lord bless all of us, all our priests as well today, that we all may remain committed in our own vocations in life, that we will always walk in the ways of the Lord and remain in His love. God be with all of us. Amen.

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Friday, 16 August 2013 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

Matthew 19 : 3-12

Some Pharisees approached Jesus. They wanted to test Him and asked, “Is a man allowed to divorce his wife for any reason he wants?”

Jesus replied, “Have you not read that in the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and He said : ‘Man has now to leave father and mother, and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one body?’ So, they are no longer two, but one body. Let no one separate what God has joined.”

They asked Him, “Then why did Moses command us to write a bill of dismissal in order to divorce?” Jesus replied, “Moses knew the hardness of your hearts, so he allowed you to divorce your wives; but it was not so in the beginning. Therefore I say to you : whoever divorces his wife, unless it be for prostitution, and marries another, commits adultery.”

The disciples said, “If that is the condition of a married man, it is better not to marry.” Jesus said to them, “Not everybody can accept what you have just said, but only those who have received this gift. There are eunuchs born so from their mother’s womb. Some have been made that way by others. But there are some who have given up the possibility of marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who can accept it, accept it.”

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Friday, 16 August 2013 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

Psalm 135 : 1-3, 16-18, 21-22 and 24

Alleluia! Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His kindness endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, His kindness endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, His kindness endures forever.

And led His people through the desert, His kindness endures forever. He struck down great kings, His kindness endures forever, and killed mighty kings, His kindness endures forever.

He gave their land as an inheritance, His kindness endures forever, a heritage to Israel His servant, His kindness endures forever.

And freed us from our oppressors, His kindness endures forever.

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Friday, 16 August 2013 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

Joshua 24 : 1-13

Joshua summoned all the tribes of Israel in Shechem, and assembled the elders, leaders, judges, and secretaries. And together they presented themselves before God.

Addressing the people, Joshua said to them : “YHVH, the God of Israel, commands me to say to you : ‘Your ancestors lived beyond the Euphrates River – Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor – serving other gods. But I brought Abraham your father from beyond the Euphrates and led him through the whole land of Canaan. Then I gave him a son Isaac, that he might have numerous descendants. And to Isaac, I gave two sons : Esau and Jacob. Esau received the mountains of Seir as his inheritance, while Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.

Then I sent Moses and Aaron to punish Egypt in the way that you know, that you might leave. Then I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and you came to the sea. The Egyptians pursued you with chariots and horses as far as the Red Sea. Then you cried to YHVH, and He put immense darkness between you and the Egyptians.

He made the sea go back on them and they were drowned. You have witnessed all the things He did in Egypt, and then you lived in the desert for a long time. Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites who were on the east of Jordan. You fought them but it was I who gave them into your hand; you destroyed them and you seized their lands.

Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, declared war on Israel and commanded Balaam son of Beor to curse you. But I would not listen to him, so Balaam blessed you and I saved you from the hands of Balak. Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the landlords of Jericho fought against you : the Amorites, the Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites declared war on you, but I gave them to you.

The two Amorite kings fled from you because of the swarm of hornets that attacked them and not because of your sword and bow.

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Wednesday, 14 August 2013 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the word of God in the readings, in which we are told first of the greatness of God and His kindness and love for His people, in giving to His people, the full promise of His covenant by bringing them into the land promised onto them for possession, just as God had once promised Abraham, their forefather.

Today, we also listened to the end of Moses the great prophet and leader of God’s people, who acted as the conduit of God’s amazing power and brought Israel out of Egypt, through the miracles the Lord performed through Moses and his brother, Aaron. Moses was appointed to be tool through which God exercised His saving power on His beloved people. But Moses too had his flaws, and he disobeyed God in Massah and Meribah, when the people tested the Lord and complained against Him and Moses, His servant.

Through that disobedience, Moses was not allowed to enter the Holy Land, that Promised Land of Canaan, but he was indeed allowed to take a look of the land the people of Israel was about to enter, before the Lord took him into heaven into His presence at the end of his earthly life. Moses, as all men had, met the end of his life that is death. But as Christ had proven, that death is not the end, nor does it have any power over us, because, He had overcome death, and brought new life to all mankind, that is eternal life with God in heaven for those who remain faithful in God.

Although Moses had indeed gone, and no one was ever like him in this world, save for Christ, our Lord who had incarnated Himself as one of us, but there were many prophets that God had sent to His people to guide them from generations to generations. And then, our Lord Himself had commissioned His apostles, the disciples whom He had chosen, to be the new messengers and bearers of the will of God in this world. Yes, they were to be the leaders of the people of God, the shepherds of God’s beloved sheep, in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church He Himself had established and entrusted to the Apostles through Peter.

From the apostles, the authority of leadership of God’s people, as the divine shepherds, came down to bishops and priests throughout the generations, and eventually to our bishops and priests today, who minister to us and lead us in our path towards God, as our leader and guide. They are our role models and to be like Moses of old, when he led the people of Israel from the land of Egypt, to the Promised Land of Canaan.

And like Moses, our priests and bishops too have to deal with all kinds of problems, with our complaints and rejections of the Lord, that they really have much things to deal with in their hands. Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, their job is not easy, and they always need our constant prayers and assistance. And one of the task that priests need to do is to bring peace and love between one another, just as we listened in the Gospel Reading today, of the need to reconcile between ourselves, between brethren and children of the same God.

Today, we mark the feast of one of those excellent priests of the Lord, the leader of God’s people, the true shepherd, the good shepherd of God’s flock. Yes, that is Saint Maximilian Kolbe, the well-known saint of the Holocaust of Nazi Germany during the World War II era. St. Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish Franciscan friar, who in his great zeal in the service of the Lord, and after witnessing the erosion of the faith in many, established the Militia Immaculata or the Army of Mary, a group intended to foster the love and devotion to the Lord through His mother Mary, and through the work, many people rejoined the Church and had their faith strengthened.

St. Maximilian Kolbe did much good works and service during his life and as a priest of the Lord. He truly became like Moses was for the people of Israel. He ministered to the people of God and through the Militia Immaculata, spread catechism and teachings of the Church to many people, bringing them closer towards the Lord and salvation, by means of printed media and publications such as newspapers and magazines. St. Maximilian Kolbe also went to Japan and established at Nagasaki in particular a base of operations, from where the good works of St. Maximilian Kolbe and his fellow workers spread to the people still in darkness.

St. Maximilian Kolbe protected many thousands of people including the Jews, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland at the beginning of World War II. He protected them from the cruelty of the Nazi holocaust policy, but in the end he himself was captured and imprisoned by the Germans. He was incarcerated in prison with many other people, suffering under very harsh treatment and hard labour in the Nazi concentration camp. Yet, he did not give in to despair, but he in fact encouraged his fellow inmates, singing hymns and saying the Mass for them.

St. Maximilian Kolbe was not obliged to do so, but he did so because of the faith and dedication he had for the Lord and for the people of God. He truly lived his faith and made it a concrete and living faith. One day, the Germans wanted to punish a few people in the prison, because it was found that someone had managed to escape the prison, and therefore these people had to suffer in the escaped prisoner’s place. One Polish military officer who was imprisoned was chosen to be among the ones to suffer death. His pleas for mercy because he had a wife and children brought the attention of St. Maximilian Kolbe, who offered himself in exchange for the man, that is to die in his place instead.

The example of St. Maximilian Kolbe is truly praiseworthy, brothers and sisters in Christ, because through his death, much had been achieved. Yes, his death was not a waste, but it has brought much fruits, that is the fruit of love, the fruit of one’s selfless act of sacrifice, for the love of his fellow men. St. Maximilian Kolbe exemplified the very words of Christ, on who is a true and good shepherd, that is someone who love fully those who had been entrusted to him, his friends and loved ones, and one who even would die for the sake of his friends. That was what St. Maximilian Kolbe had done with his sacrifice for the poor soldier and indeed, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself had done for all of us out of His love.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, we all ought to emulate the example of St. Maximilian Kolbe in our own lives, in our giving of ourselves to our brethren in need. We can do it in a variety of ways, but basically we have to be ready to give our all for our brethren’s sake. As importantly as this, let us support our priests and those who have been appointed as shepherds over us, that they will remain faithful to the mission they have been appointed to, and faithful to the people and the flock they have been entrusted with, just as St. Maximilian Kolbe and many other great saints and martyrs had done.

May the Lord bless us, our priests, and our Church, and may through the intercession of St. Maximilian Kolbe and all the saints, more souls will find their way to heaven, and may in this world that we live in today, justice and peace can be held up ever better, and may the innocent and the weak ones be protected from harm, injustice, and evil. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 14 August 2013 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 18 : 15-20

If your brother has sinned against you, go and point out the fault, when the two of you are in private, and if he listens to you, you have won your brother. If he does not listen to you, take with you one or two others, so that the case may be decided by the evidence of two or three witnesses. And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembled Church. But if he does not listen to the Church, then regard such a one as a pagan, or a publican.

I say to you : whatever you bind on earth, heaven will keep bound; and whatever you unbind on earth, heaven will keep unbound. In like manner, I say to you : if, on earth, two of you are united in asking for anything, it will be granted to you by My heavenly Father; for where two or three are gathered in My Name, I am there among them.