Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Matthew 19 : 13-15
At that time, little children were brought to Jesus, that He might lay His hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded those who brought them. Jesus then said, “Let the children be! Do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are humble, like these children.”
Jesus laid His hands on them and went away.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Psalm 15 : 1-2a and 5, 7-8, 11
Keep me safe, o God, for in You I take refuge. I say to YHVH, “O YHVH, my inheritance and my cup, my chosen portion – hold secure my lot.”
I praise YHVH Who counsels me; even at night, my inmost self instructs me. I keep YHVH 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.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Joshua 24 : 14-29
Joshua said to the people of Israel, “So fear YHVH, and be sincere and faithful in serving Him. Set aside those gods your ancestors worshipped 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.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are reminded to stay firm in our faith and to hold onto the truth and all the teachings, commandments and the Law that God had entrusted to us, and which He had given to us in order to guide and help us out in our journey in life. All of us as Christians, as God’s faithful disciples and followers, have to follow His Law and commandments and we have to lead a life that is genuinely filled with commitment and the desire to serve Him in all the things we say and do in life, and in everything that we have given to Him, our every actions and efforts. Otherwise, how can we call ourselves as Christians? How can we consider ourselves as one of God’s beloved and chosen people if our actions and our attitude do not show that we belong to Him, or worse still, contrary to our faith in Him?
In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Joshua in which Joshua, the leader of the people of Israel, the successor of Moses, in his old age, gathered all the whole people of Israel whom God had brought into the land promised to them, their ancestors and their descendants. The Lord has driven away their enemies and those who occupied the lands before them, from their presence, and established them all firmly in the land that He has promised to them. Joshua reminded all of the people to remain firm in their faith and commitment to God, and to walk ever more worthily in His presence, by following His Law and commandments, and by teaching and passing down those Law and commandments to their descendants and those who would come after them.
Joshua reminded the people of everything that God had done for their sake, and for all those whom He had loved, in all the miracles and wonders, all the signs and the greatness that He has shown before them, and reminded all of them to stay true to their faith in God. He reminded them of everything that God had done from the days of their ancestors, from the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in how God had always been guiding them and journeying with them, and with His people in Egypt, in all the things He had sone to liberate them from the slavery in Egypt. Joshua mentioned all of these so that in the future, the people would not forget all the things which God had done for them, and how He had loved them, in such a patient and caring love, that despite the Israelites’ frequent disobedience and rebellion, He still loved them all, all the same.
Then, through what we have heard in our Gospel passage today, we are reminded of how the Israelites had not been truly faithful to the Law and commandments of God, after all those years. If we have read and known the Old Testament and the rest of the story of the Israelites after the time of Joshua, we would have realised just how often they would continue on to rebel against God and to disobey His Law and commandments, that He had to send many Judges to keep them in line, and the prophets and messengers that He repeatedly sent to them to reveal to them His intentions and His call for them to repent from their sinful and wicked ways. And finally, He sent His Son into this world, so that they all, including all of us, may see the truth of God in the flesh, and understand fully what He has commanded us to do in our lives.
In that Gospel passage, we heard the friction and tension between the Lord and the Pharisees who asked Him questions in order to make His works difficult, and to try to discredit Him through His answers, or in trying to find fault with Him and His answers so that they could arrest Him later on. The Pharisees were questioning the Lord regarding the matter of divorce and how the Law and customs of the Israelites, as handed down from Moses, allowed divorce to take place. The Pharisees wanted to test Him for His knowledge and understanding of the Law, and especially because they were always very particular with the details and the rigid applications of the Law and the customs they practiced, and hence, they wanted to see how the Lord responded to their question.
This was when the Lord revealed to them the true intention of the Law, and how the Law, over the preceding centuries, and after having experienced many changes and alterations throughout all those times, might no longer reflect the true meaning and intention of the original Law as passed down from the Lord. The Lord mentioned how Moses made the amendments to allow the divorce to take place because of the stubbornness and wickedness of the people, but such an amendment was done with a pastoral and charitable reason as for encouraging those wicked and unfaithful people to come closer to the Lord, and to repent from their sins rather than to lose them all completely altogether should the Law be imposed harshly on them. Yet, those people took it for granted and did not appreciate or understand the Law and its precepts correctly and properly.
This is why, all of us are reminded today that we should not just have mere external understanding and knowledge of God’s Law and commandments. We must also have that understanding and appreciation of His thoughts and ways, and we can only do this if we truly know the Lord, in His deeds and love for us. How do we do that then, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is by spending the time and effort to know the Lord and to devote ourselves ever more, at every possible opportunities and at every possible occasions. As Christians, it is imperative that we attune ourselves well to the Lord and His ways, and we can only do that if we have developed a good and vibrant relationship with God, and spent the time and effort to know Him, His ways and His teachings, and apply them to our lives.
Let us all therefore dedicate ourselves anew to the Lord, and commit our lives, our way of living them and our every actions and efforts for the greater glory of God. Let us all turn towards the Lord and do whatever we can so that we may inspire more and more people to follow the Lord through our own examples and good actions in life, filled with commitment to God, with righteousness and virtues of our Christian faith and beliefs, at all times. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Matthew 19 : 3-12
At that time, 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 the Creator said : Therefore, a man shall 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 immorality, 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.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 135 : 1, 2, 3, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 24
Alleluia! Give thanks to YHVH, for He is good, His kindness endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods, His kindness endures forever.
Give thanks to YHVH of Lords, His kindness endures forever.
He led His people through the desert, His kindness endures forever.
He struck down great kings, His kindness endures forever.
And He 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 He freed us from our oppressors, His kindness endures forever.
Liturgical Colour : Green
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 the 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, 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.”
“I gave you lands which you have not tilled, cities which you did not build but in which you now live. I gave you vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant but from which you now eat.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the love and kindness that God has always shown unto us, His beloved people, through the various times that He had aided us and our predecessors in the past from what we have heard in the Scriptures, and how He, our Master, has shown us His generous mercy and kindness, compassion and love, sparing us from destruction and damnation because of our sins, and therefore how He expects us all to do the same in our own lives, that we, as His disciples and followers, show the same love that He has shown us, to our fellow brothers and sisters all around us. We are reminded to forgive one another our faults, mistakes and sins to each other, just as the Lord Himself has already forgiven us ours.
In our first reading today, we heard the story from the Book of Joshua during the time when the people of Israel, under Joshua’s leadership, was finally about to enter into the Promised Land of Canaan by crossing through the River Jordan. At that time, the Lord had patiently led His people through a long forty years sojourn in the desert as a punishment for their repeated rebellions and refusal to trust in Him and in His providence, in doubting that He would lead them safe and sound into the land He has promised to them and their descendants. He has continued to care for them and loved them despite the repeated betrayals and grumblings from those ungrateful people, and in the end, the Lord was finally about to lead them into the land promised to them, and He also reassured Joshua that He would be with him in his leadership of the Israelites just as Moses had been blessed before him.
God therefore opened the River Jordan itself before the people, as He instructed Joshua and the people of Israel to put the Ark of the Covenant handled by the Levite priests to the middle of the River itself. Just as God had once opened the Red Sea before His people to lead them through the dry seabed to their freedom from their slavery in Egypt, thus He once again showed His power and might, in leading all of them through the river, opening it before their very own eyes, so that all of them might remember His deeds and love, in His guidance through all those years, and that when they finally entered into the land promised to them, they would still continue to do what He has shown and taught them all to do through His Law and commandments. As mentioned earlier, just as God has loved His people, thus He expected all of them to love one another in the same way.
In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples regarding the parable of the ungrateful servant, in which a servant who owed his master a large sum of money, ten thousand pieces of gold in total, was ungrateful and uncharitable in his actions, even though his master had shown him his mercy and compassion, in forgiving his whole debt when that servant was just begging for the master to give him more time to settle his debts. We heard how that ungrateful and uncharitable servant went to one of his fellow servants who owed him just a hundred pieces of silver, which was probably barely a thousandth or even less than what the ungrateful servant owed his master earlier. That ungrateful servant refused to forgive the debt or to give a chance for his fellow servant to pay off his debt, unlike what his master had done to him.
We heard well how the ungrateful servant was punished severely by his master for his lack of empathy and love, his lack of mercy and understanding, compassion and care for another. It is a reminder to all of us that just as the servant was expected by his master to follow in his examples in loving one another and in forgiving each other, one’s debts and faults, therefore, all of us, as God’s people, and with God as our Lord and Master, each one of us should be like Him in all of our words, actions and deeds. Hence, we should commit ourselves to walk ever more faithfully and with greater conviction to follow the Lord at all times, and to show one another the inspiration and the actions that we should be doing as faithful and committed disciples of the Lord. Each one of us should be more loving and forgiving, kind and compassionate towards one another as Our Lord Himself had done to us.
If God has forgiven us our huge and enormous sums of debts, that is our many sins and wickedness, which we have committed before Him, then how can we not forgive others who have committed faults and mistakes towards us? We ourselves must have also committed some mistakes and faults in our own lives, and we cannot pretend that we are ourselves without any blame at all. If God is willing to forgive us all these faults and debts, then we should always be ready to forgive our fellow brothers and sisters their mistakes and faults towards us as well. After all, each and every one of us must reflect the light and the love of God in our own lives, and we should be the beacons of God’s light and truth, His love and kindness in our communities and societies today. It is through us, our way of life and actions that we can show the Lord and His truth, His love and compassion to others around us, and to the world.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded therefore that each and every one of us must remember God’s love and kindness, which He has always generously shown us all these time. We must also remember just how patient He has been with us, despite our repeated iniquities, stubbornness and wicked actions, just as He had done to the Israelites. That is why, all of us should keep in mind to turn our whole heart and mind, our whole entire being towards the Lord, and commit ourselves thoroughly to Him once again. Are we able to do that, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing and able to do God’s will in our lives, and to be exemplary in our actions and lives, so that by our examples and inspirations, we may show the Lord to more and more people, and to bring them ever closer to God and His salvation? This is our calling as Christians, and what we are all expected to do, and what we should live up to, in our daily actions and lives.
May the Lord, our most loving and compassionate, patient and kind Master, continue to bless and love us all, and may He continue to guide each and every one of us as we continue to live our lives in our world today. May God be with us always and may He bless our every good efforts and works, all of our actions and dealings, our way of life. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Matthew 18 : 21 – Matthew 19 : 1
At that time, Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times must I forgive the offences of my brother or sister? Seven times?” Jesus answered, “No, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
“This story throws light on the kingdom of Heaven : A king decided to settle accounts with his servants. Among the first of them was one who owed him ten thousand pieces of gold. As the man could not repay the debt, the king commanded that he be sold as a slave with his wife, his children and all his goods, as repayment.”
“The servant threw himself at the feet of the king and said, ‘Give me time, and I will pay you back everything.’ The king took pity on him, and not only set him free, but even cancelled his debt. When this servant left the king’s presence, he met one of his fellow servants, who owed him a hundred pieces of silver. He grabbed him by the throat and almost choked him, shouting, ‘Pay me what you owe!'”
“His fellow servant threw himself at his feet and begged him, ‘Give me time, and I will pay everything.’ But the other did not agree, and sent him to prison until he has paid all his debt. Now the servants of the king saw what had happened. They were extremely upset, and so they went and reported everything to their lord.”
“Then the lord summoned his servant and said, ‘Wicked servant, I forgave you all that you owed me when you begged me to do so. Were you not bound to have pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ The lord was now angry. He handed the wicked servant over to be punished, until he had paid the whole debt.”
Jesus added, “So will My heavenly Father do with you, unless you sincerely forgive your brothers and sisters.” When Jesus had finished these sayings, He left Galilee and arrived at the border of Judea, on the other side of the Jordan River.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 113A: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Alleluia! When Israel came out of Egypt, the family of Jacob, from a people of foreign language. Judah became His Sanctuary; Israel, His possession.
At His sight, the sea fled and the Jordan retreated; the mountains skipped like rams, the hills frolicked like lambs.
Why is it, sea, that you flee? Jordan, that you turn back? Mountains, that you skip like rams? Hills, that you frolic like lambs?
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 