20th Sunday of Ordinary Time

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Sunday, 14 August 2022 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Chronicles 15 : 3-4, 15-16 and 1 Chronicles 16 : 1-2

Then David gathered all Israel together in Jerusalem to bring the Ark of God up to the place he had prepared for it. David called together the sons of Aaron and the sons of Levi. And the Levites carried the Ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had ordered according to the command of YHVH.

David then told the leaders of the Levites to assign duties for some Levites to sing and play a joyful tune with their various musical instruments : harps and lyres and cymbals. They brought the Ark of God in and put it inside the tent that David had prepared for it; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to God.

And when David had finished offering the sacrifices, he blessed the people in the Name of YHVH.

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Sunday, 14 August 2022 : Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday after we have heard all of our readings and passages from the Sacred Scriptures, it is clear that the message the Lord has given us through His Church is that, all of us as Christians must remember that being the followers of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, is something that is not trivial and which will often require from us time, effort, commitment and even the willingness to suffer and to endure persecution in the midst of us living our lives with faith. Persecution has been part and parcel of the lives of many Christians from the very beginning, and that is true even right to this very day.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah detailing to us what happened to the prophet as he was almost brought to death’s door as his many enemies, the officials of the kingdom of Judah, rose up against him and demanded the king to punish him to death for all that he had said and done in delivering the words of God’s truth, but which his enemies used as accusations to persecute him and to remove him, using accusations such as him being a traitor to the nation and to the people for his works, so that he would be put to death. It was then that the king told the men that they could do all they wanted to Jeremiah.

Contextually, Jeremiah brought God’s words to the remnants of Judah, who was then rebelling against the rule of the king of Babylon. Jeremiah warned the people of the impending destruction of Judah and Jerusalem, the city and its Temple, and how many of them would be brought into exile far away from their ancestral lands. All those things were due to the people’s own disobedience against God, their stubbornness in refusing to listen to Him and to the prophets and messengers whom God had sent to them to remind them of their obligation to follow the Law. They had closed their hearts and minds from God and refused to listen to His call.

But Jeremiah had help from God, as He sent some who were sympathetic to Jeremiah and his cause, and helped him to get out from the cistern in which the enemies of Jeremiah had hoped that the prophet would die from drowning and hunger. Not only that, one of them would also house and protect Jeremiah, even as the whole kingdom and city eventually fell just as Jeremiah himself had prophesied, and protected him from harm’s way. Nonetheless, we have heard just how terrible was the persecution and the challenges that Jeremiah had to endure in the midst of his ministry and work.

In our second reading today from the Epistle to the Hebrews, the author of this Epistle spoke of how many of the witnesses of the Lord and His truth had suffered because of what they believed in, and the author also encouraged all of them by telling them to look upon the Lord Jesus, their Lord and Saviour, Who has suffered Himself as He faced rejection and persecution from the world, from His enemies and from all those who refused to listen to Him. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews exhorted all of his target audience to be faithful and strong in enduring those challenges and trials, remembering how the Lord Himself suffered, and how they were all suffering the same thing together with the Lord. They were not alone in their suffering.

There had been many saints and martyrs, most prominently during the early days, weeks, years, decades and centuries in the history of the Church, when the Church and the faithful were still facing a lot of hardships, having to proclaim the truth of Christ, His Gospels and the Good News of His salvation against the various oppositions and hurdles from firstly the Jewish authorities, the members of the Sanhedrin composed of the Pharisees, the Sadducees and other most influential members of the Jewish community, many of whom were against the Lord Jesus and His teachings. There had been many early persecution against Christians by the Jewish authorities, and before his conversion, St. Paul the Apostle as Saul was one of the leaders of these bitter and harsh persecutions.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Lord Jesus Himself, how He revealed before His own disciples that becoming His followers would not mean having good and peaceful lives. Instead, His teachings and truths would more likely than not bring about hardships and challenges, divisions and misunderstandings to arise even between close family members, relatives and friends. The Lord highlighted that fact, saying how family members would even rise against each other just because of their differences in opinion regarding the Lord and His truth. This would in fact presage how quite a few of the martyrs came to be because they were persecuted by the members of their own families, for refusing to abandon their faith in God.

That is the reality for us as Christians, as the followers of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, in following Him and dedicating ourselves to Him. Our Christian faith and truth often come at odds against the acceptable norms and practices of the world, not only back then during the early years of the Church, but also even throughout history right up to this very day. There are still areas and parts of the world where believing in God and to be Christians may mean great sufferings and even high chance of death, from persecution and other reasons. We must never take our faith for granted, especially if we live in places where being Christians are acceptable and comfortable, or where everyone are Christians.

The Lord has revealed to us that more often than not being Christians require us to make a stand, and even at times we may have to go against those who are closest to us. But that is the reality and nature of the world, as not everyone readily accepts the Lord as their Saviour and King, while others may also be more lukewarm in their faith, accepting the ways of the world and as a result, also find our way of living our faith through life to be incompatible and unsuitable. Frictions and difficulties, disagreements and divisions are often then unavoidable, at times even when we have tried to avoid that from happening.

That is why this Sunday as we listened to these readings from the Scriptures, all of us are invited to reflect and discern on our lives as Christians. Have we as Christians been truly faithful and dedicated to God as we should have? And have we lived our lives in accordance to the Law and commandments that God has revealed and given to us through His Church and His servants? If we have lived our lives more in conformation to the world’s expectations and ways, then perhaps it is time for us to reassess the way how we lived our lives so that we may grow to be better and more committed Christians.

Let us all also keep in mind all of our fellow brothers and sisters who are suffering just because of their faith in God. May their courage and commitment to God just as what the saints and martyrs had shown us, continue to inspire us to live our lives ever more worthily in God’s path. Let us all remind one another that God is and will always be with us, His faithful servants, by our side at all times that we may be strengthened and inspired to do more for the glory of God. May all of our actions, words and deeds also always therefore be exemplary, that we may strengthen one another in faith, and perhaps even inspire more people to come to believe in God. Each and every one of us also share the same mission and expectation as God’s followers and disciples to proclaim Him and His truth to the people of all the nations.

May the Lord therefore continue to guide us and bless us, and may He strengthen and encourage us in faith that we may always be faithful to Him to the very end. May He bless our every works and good efforts, and our every dedication to His cause. Let us all strive to be ever more committed to the Lord and be good Christian role models in our everyday living, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 14 August 2022 : Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 12 : 49-53

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “I have come to bring fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and what anguish I feel until it is finished! Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on, in one house five will be divided : three against two, and two against three.”

“They will be divided, father against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

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Sunday, 14 August 2022 : Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 12 : 1-4

What a cloud of innumerable witnesses surround us! So let us be rid of every encumbrance, and especially of sin, to persevere in running the race marked out before us.

Let us look to Jesus the Founder of our faith, Who will bring it to completion. For the sake of the joy reserved for Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and then sat at the right of the throne of God. Think of Jesus Who suffered so many contradictions from evil people, and you will not be discouraged or grow weary.

Have you already shed your blood in the struggle against sin?

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Sunday, 14 August 2022 : Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 39 : 2, 3, 4, 18

With resolve I waited for YHVH; He listened and heard me beg.

Out of the horrid pit He drew me; out of deadly quicksand, He settled my feet upon a rock and made my steps steady.

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and be awed and put their trust in YHVH.

Though I am afflicted and poor, yet the Lord thinks of me. You are my Help and my Saviour – o God, do not delay!

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Sunday, 14 August 2022 : Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Jeremiah 38 : 4-6, 8-10

Then the officials told the king, “This man should be put to death, because he is weakening the will of the fighting men and the people left in the city. In fact he is not out to save the people but to do harm.”

King Zedekiah said, “His life is in your hands for the king has no power against you.” So they took Jeremiah and pushed him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, in the guard’s court. They lowered him by means of ropes. There was no water in the cistern but only mud; and Jeremiah sank into the mud.

Ebedmelech, an Ethiopian official of the king’s house, heard that they had lowered Jeremiah in the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate, Ebedmelech went and spoke to him, “My lord king! These men have acted wickedly in all they did to Jeremiah the prophet. They threw him into the cistern where he will die.”

So the king ordered Ebedmelech the Ethiopian : “Take three men with you from here, and draw Jeremiah the prophet out from the cistern before he dies.”

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Saturday, 21 August 2021 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pius X, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all called to listen to the Lord and follow Him wholeheartedly, to be righteous and good in all things, and not just paying lip service to the Lord. We should have real and genuine love, devotion and desire to follow the Lord, and to look upon good role models that we may walk in the right path and not lose our way to temptations and allures of the evil ones.

In our first reading today, we heard the story of Ruth, one of the ancestors of king David of Israel, who was in fact not counted initially among the Israelites as she was a Moabite woman that belonged to the neighbouring nation of Israel called Moab. But she followed her mother-in-law, an Israelite named Naomi back to the land of Israel after losing her husband, and she was accepted among the Israelites, as Ruth insisted to follow Naomi and accepted the latter’s God as her own God.

Ruth helped Naomi and encountered Boaz, one of Naomi’s relatives, who came to like Ruth and through what we have heard in our first reading today, they eventually married each other, by God’s blessings and guidance, and Ruth came to bear Boaz’s son, called Obed. Obed was the grandfather of king David through his father Jesse, who was Obed’s son, and Ruth’s grandson. Therefore, one of the ancestors of the greatest historic kings of Israel hailed from among the pagans, who willingly accepted the Lord and became one of His followers.

Compare this to our Gospel passage today in which we heard about the Lord speaking to the people and His disciples regarding the attitudes and behaviours of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. He spoke to them regarding how those people were outwardly pious and prayed aloud in synagogues, making show of their faith and piety in public places, as most of them did, but they did so for the wrong reasons, as they were led by their vanity and human desires to seek glory and fame rather than true love and faith in God.

The Lord highlighted this as an irony to show how those people who claimed themselves to be faithful and pious, and who liked to look down on others, on those they deemed to be unworthy and sinners, like the prostitutes, the tax collectors, and foreigners and pagans. And yet, Ruth, the pagan Moabite woman, had greater faith than they were, as she embraced the Lord wholeheartedly and was so devoted to her mother-in-law even though she had no reason to do so, as her husband and Naomi’s son had passed away.

This is therefore a reminder for all of us not to have just an external and superficial faith, like that which many of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had. And neither should we behave in the way they did, by looking down on others whom they deemed to be inferior and less worthy of God than themselves. That is not what we should be doing as Christians. On the contrary, we should be good role models of our faith in our own actions, in everything we say and do, so that all who see us and witness our works may know the Lord through us.

That is why today, we should look upon the good examples set by Pope St. Pius X, whose feast we are celebrating this day. Pope St. Pius X, born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto to a poor family in what is now northern region of Italy, and as he joined the seminary to become priest, he worked hard, and was known as a priest to be both humble and dedicated to his mission, in reaching out to the poor and the needy, and in his works to restore the churches and to advance proper education for the youth.

Eventually he was made a chancellor and rector of the local diocesan seminary, where he worked more wonders in reforming the Church administration and priest formation, and served as caretaker for the local Diocese of Treviso before being chosen as the Bishop of Mantua by the Pope. As bishop and then later on as Cardinal and Patriarch of Venice by the Pope’s appointment, Pope St. Pius X, Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto continued to do his best for his flock, in reforming the Church and in reaching out to them.

Cardinal Sarto was elected as the Successor of St. Peter as Pope Pius X, in which capacity, he immediately embarked on serious reforms, particularly against the dangers of heresies of modernism and other irregularities of the faith, began the reform the Canon Law and making important changes to the liturgy and sacred music, placing the Gregorian Chant back in its proper place as the primary form of Church music in liturgical celebrations.

Lastly, Pope St. Pius X was also remembered for his important reforms in lowering the age of the First Communion, that younger children could receive the Lord at a younger age when they have been prepared and are spiritually ready. That is why Pope St. Pius X is also known as the Pope of the Holy Eucharist, in his drive to allow more to receive the Eucharist, both at a younger age and also in the encouragement of frequent partaking of the Eucharist, while previously the people only received the Lord in few occasions throughout the year.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, having seen the faith and examples of Pope St. Pius X, let us all be inspired to follow his path and dedicate ourselves anew to the Lord, that we may indeed be inspirational in our own way of living, that we may be truly faithful to the Lord in all things, in words, deeds and actions, and not just being superficial or misguided like many among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law as we discussed earlier.

May the Lord be with us all through this journey of faith, and may He strengthen each and every one of us with the resolve and strength to follow the Lord with all of our hearts and with all of our might. May God bless us all in our every efforts and endeavours, now and always, and help us to persevere through. Amen.

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Saturday, 21 August 2021 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pius X, Pope (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 23 : 1-12

At that time, Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples, “The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees have sat down on the chair of Moses. So you shall do and observe all they say; but do not do as they do, for they do not do what they say. They tie up heavy burdens and load them on the shoulders of the people, but they do not even lift a finger to move them.”

“They do everything in order to be seen by people : they wear very wide bands of the Law around their foreheads, and robes with large tassels. They enjoy the first places at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, and they like being greeted in the marketplace, and being called ‘Master’ by the people.”

“But you, do not let yourselves be called Master, because you have only one Master, and all of you are brothers and sisters. Neither should you call anyone on earth Father, because you have only one Father, He Who is in heaven. Nor should you be called Leader, because Christ is the only Leader for you.”

“Let the greatest among you be the servant of all. For whoever makes himself great shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be made great.”

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Saturday, 21 August 2021 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pius X, Pope (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 127 : 1-2, 3, 4-5

Blessed are you who fear YHVH and walk in His ways. You will eat the fruit of your toil; you will be blessed and favoured.

Your wife, like a vine, will bear fruits in your home; your children, like olive shoots, will stand around your table.

Such are the blessings bestowed upon the man who fears YHVH. May YHVH praise you from Zion. May you see Jerusalem prosperous all the days of your life.

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Saturday, 21 August 2021 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pius X, Pope (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Ruth 2 : 1-3, 8-11 and Ruth 4 : 13-17

Naomi had a well-to-do kinsman, Boaz, from the clan of her husband Elimelech. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to pick up the left-over grain in the field whose owner will allow me that favour.” Naomi said, “Go ahead, my daughter.” So she went to glean in the fields behind the harvesters. It happened that, the field she entered belonged to Boaz of the clan of Elimelech.

Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Do not go away from here to glean in anyone else’s field. Stay here with my women servants. See where the harvesters are and follow behind. I have ordered the men not to molest you. They have filled some jars with water. Go there and drink when you are thirsty.” Bowing down with her face to the ground, she exclaimed, “Why have I, a foreigner, found such favour in your eyes?”

Boaz answered, “I have been told all about you – what you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death, how you have gone with her, leaving your own father and mother and homeland, to live with a people you knew nothing about before you came here.”

So Ruth was taken by Boaz and became his wife. YHVH made her conceive and give birth to a son. The women said to Naomi, “Blessed be YHVH Who has provided you today with an heir. May he become famous in Israel! He will be your comfort and stay in your old age, for he is born of a daughter-in-law who loves you and is worth more than seven sons.”

Naomi took the child as her own and became his nurse. And the women of the neighbourhood gave him his name, saying, “A son has been born for Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, who was David’s father.