20th Week of Ordinary Time

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Saturday, 24 August 2024 : Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 1 : 45-51

At that time, Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, and the prophets : He is Jesus, Son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”

Nathanael replied, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming, He said of him, “Here comes an Israelite, a true one; there is nothing false in him.” Nathanael asked Him, “How do You know me?” And Jesus said to him, “Before Philip called you, you were under the fig tree, and I saw you.”

Nathanael answered, “Master, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” But Jesus replied, “You believe because I said, ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ But you will see greater things than that. Truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened, and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

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Saturday, 24 August 2024 : Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 144 : 10-11, 12-13ab, 17-18

All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o Lord, will praise You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your power.

That all may know of Your mighty deeds, Your reign and its glorious splendour. Your reign is from age to age; Your dominion endures from generation to generation.

Righteous is YHVH in all His ways, His mercy shows in all His deeds. He is near those who call on Him, who call trustfully upon His Name.

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Saturday, 24 August 2024 : Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Revelations 21 : 9b-14

And one of the seven Angels who were with the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues said to me, “Come, I am going to show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

He took me up, in a spiritual vision, to a very high mountain, and he showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven, from God. It shines with the glory of God, like a precious jewel, with the colour of crystal-clear jasper. Its wall, large and high, has twelve gates; stationed at them are twelve Angels. 

Over the gates are written the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. Three gates face the east; three gates face the north; three gates face the south and three face the west. The city wall stands on twelve foundation stones, on which are written the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.

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Friday, 23 August 2024 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all heard in our Scripture readings today, we are all reminded to do our part as Christians to truly obey the Lord in all things and to follow Him ever more wholeheartedly in our way of life so that through our commitment to God and our obedience, our faith and love for Him, we will continue to be strengthened and renewed in our lives, to be blessed always with His Holy Spirit and be ever thankful for the lives which He has given to all of us. That is why we must always remember our two most important priorities in life just as contained in His many laws and commandments, to love Him first and foremost before anything else, and then to show that same love to our fellow brothers and sisters around us, to our neighbours and everyone whom we encounter in our respective lives.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel we heard of the vision of Ezekiel who saw a great valley full of dried bones in vast numbers, and how God told him to speak to those great bones, which resulted in those dry bones regaining their previous shape and structures, restoring their muscles and skin, and all the parts which was likely very remarkable to behold and to be seen by the eyes of Ezekiel, how those many bones eventually turned back into a vast host of people, albeit those without the presence of life and spirit in them. It was then that the Lord sent His Spirit to those vast throngs of the multitudes of people, returning them all back to life, a truly vast multitudes of God’s people. This vision is a representation of what the Lord Himself would do for the sake of His beloved people, to rescue them from the darkness and to restore them back to His light.

What the vision showed us is God’s desire to restore His people to righteousness and grace, showing His love and compassion to all those who have fallen into disobedience and sin, and hence fell into the darkness and suffer from the consequences of death. He has created us all good and perfect, wonderful and amazing, and yet, in our disobedience and through the sins which we have committed, we have brought the punishment for our many sins. And death came to us because of our sins as due to sin, we have been sundered and separated from God’s love and grace, from Him Who is the Master and Lord of life. That is why we have to suffer from death, to endure the consequences of our rebellion and disobedience against Him. And yet, God does not abandon us, as He loves each and every one of us, and that is why, He wants to restore life to each and every one of us. 

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard from the Lord Jesus speaking to a teacher of the Law who went to ask Him which of the commandments and rules of the Law of God was the greatest among them, that the whole entire Law can be summarised into two main rules, namely that of loving God with all of one’s heart, with all of one’s might and ability, and then to love one’s fellow men and women, one’s fellow neighbours in the same manner as well, as much as one loves oneself. This is truly what the Law of God is all about, and what He has provided to us to teach us about love, and how to love Him and practice the same love in our own everyday moments in life. And we are all called to practice this love in our lives, to be truly genuine in loving God and our fellow men, and doing whatever He has told us to do.

As Christians, each and every one of us are expected to do our part in following what the Lord has taught and shown us to do. While God has always ever been generous in loving us and in caring for each and every one of us, and while He desires to forgive us our many faults, mistakes and sins, He wants and expects us all to follow His ways, His Law and commandments, and to play our part in fulfilling our side of the Covenant which God Himself has established with us. We cannot and should not be idle in how we live our lives as Christians, in doing God’s will in each and every moments of our lives. Otherwise, we are no better than unbelievers and hypocrites who say that they believe in something and yet, they do not live their lives or act in the manner according to what they believe in.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Rose of Lima, a renowned and holy woman of God who was also the very first saint from the New World, referring to the Americas. St. Rose of Lima was born in what is today Peru in a family of mixed heritage, during the early decades of the Spanish colonisation of the region. She was born as Isabel Flores de Oliva, and only gaining her later epithet and popular name of ‘Rose’ or ‘Rosa’ from an experience where a servant apparently witnessed her face turning into a rose. She was also well-known for her great beauty which led to many men try to pursue after her as she grew up and became more beautiful. To dissuade all those suitors, St. Rose of Lima rubbed peppers on her face and did other things to discourage those men.

St. Rose of Lima was also determined to lead a life of holy virginity which was opposed by her parents as they wished for her to marry. She dedicated her time and efforts to care for the poor and the needy, those who were sick and dying. She often practiced fasting and abstinence to restrain any worldly desires and temptations, taking upon a vow of perpetual virginity. And according to a well-known story, St. Rose of Lima also wore a heavy crown made of silver adorned with small little spikes on the inside for self-mortification and in emulation of the Crown of Thorns that the Lord Himself wore at the time of His Passion, His suffering and death on the Cross. She devoted herself completely to God with great piety and devotion to the end of her life, as a sign of great holiness and great role model to everyone around her and to many more who listened to her experiences and faith.

May the Lord, our ever loving, compassionate and merciful God continue to bless us and guide us in our journey, and may He continue to empower each and every one of us so that we may always be faithful to Him in all things. Let us all do our best so that our lives, our existence and our every actions and efforts will always bring glory to God and we will continue to inspire everyone around us through our obedience and faith in God, to be faithful like how St. Rose of Lima had been faithful to God. May all of us be restored by God’s love and may His Holy Spirit continue to inflame our hearts so that we will continue to grow ever stronger in our love and commitment towards Him, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 23 August 2024 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

Matthew 22 : 34-40

At that time, when the Pharisees heard how Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled together. One of them, a lawyer, questioned Him to test Him, “Teacher, which commandment of the Law is the greatest?”

Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and the most important of the commandments. The second is like it : You shall love your neighbour as yourself. The whole Law and prophets are founded on these two commandments.”

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Friday, 23 August 2024 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

Psalm 106 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

Let the redeemed of YHVH say this, those He redeemed from the hand of the foe, those He gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.

Some strayed in the wilderness and were lost, far away from the city. They wandered about hungry and thirsty, their lives ebbing away.

Then they cried to YHVH in anguish, and He rescued them from their distress. He led them by a straight way, to a city where they could dwell.

Let them thank YHVH for His love and wondrous deeds for humans. He quenches the thirst of the soul and satisfies the hunger of the heart.

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Friday, 23 August 2024 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

Ezekiel 37 : 1-14

The hand of YHVH was upon me. He brought me out and led me in spirit to the middle of the valley which was full of bones. He made me walk to and fro among them and I could see there was a great number of them on the ground all along the valley and that they were very dry.

YHVH said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live again?” I said, “Lord YHVH, only You know that.” He then said, “Speak on My behalf concerning these bones; say to them : Dry bones, hear the word of YHVH! YHVH says : I am going to put spirit in you and make you live. I shall put sinews on you and make flesh grow on you; I shall cover you with skin and give you My Spirit, that you may live. And you will know that I am YHVH.”

“I prophesied as I had been commanded and then there was a noise and commotion; the bones joined together. I looked and saw that they had sinews, that flesh was growing on them and that He was covering them with skin. But there was no spirit in them.”

So YHVH said to me, “Speak on My behalf and call on the Spirit, son of man! Say to the Spirit : This is the word of YHVH : Spirit, come from the four winds. Breathe into these dead bones and let them live!” I prophesied as He had commanded me and breath entered them; they came alive, standing on their feet – a great, immense army!

He then said to me, “Son of man, these bones are all Israel. They keep saying : ‘Our bones are dry, hope has gone, it is the end of us.’ So prophesy! Say to them : This is what YHVH says : I am going to open your tombs, I shall bring you out of your tombs, My people, and lead you back to the land of Israel.”

“You will know that I am YHVH, o My people! When I open your graves and bring you out of your graves, when I put My Spirit in you and you live. I shall settle you in your land and you will know that I, YHVH, have done what I said I would do.”

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Thursday, 22 August 2024 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which takes place seven days after the earlier great celebration of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is to show just how connected this celebration we have today is to that of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As we celebrate it last week, the Assumption of Mary commemorates the moment when Mary, the Mother of God met the end of her earthly life and journey, when she was raised up body and soul to the glory of Heaven. And we have discussed it earlier at that time, that all this happened because she, as the Immaculate Conception, conceived without any taint of sin, and remaining sinless and full of God’s grace throughout her whole life, she could not have suffered the consequences and punishment for sin, which is death.

That was why the Church, since its very earliest days have always believed in this core belief and tenet of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, no doubt also supported by the evidences and traditions from the time of the Apostles themselves, who have experienced the events surrounding the moment of Mary’s Assumption into Heaven. This is why, although the Catholic Church has only formally defined the Dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1950, barely over seven decades ago, but it was merely a confirmation and formalisation of what the Church and the faithful had always believed in the past two millennia of our Christian history and faith. Thus, today, which follows up from that glorious celebration of Mary’s Assumption into Heaven, we honour Mary in her Queenship, in her many titles as Queen, accorded to her through her status as the Mother of God.

Mary has been known by many titles of Queen throughout history of the Church, the most well-known of which being the Queen of Heaven or Regina Caeli, which is also the name of one of the four important Marian antiphons. She is also known as the Queen of All Saints, Regina Sanctorum, as the Queen of Apostles, Regina Apostolorum, the Queen of Peace, Regina Pacis, and many others. And some of those who did not understand the significance of Mary’s importance and role in the history of our salvation misunderstood this great honour which we have given to her, in honouring her as the greatest among all of God’s created beings, being honoured with the responsibility and privilege of being the Mother of God, bearing within her the Divine Son of God Most High, and becoming hence, the Ark of the New Covenant.

Some thought that we honour Mary as if she is a goddess or a deity, like that of in other beliefs and polytheistic faith. But this mistaken belief came about from misunderstanding of how we honour Mary in her Queenship. She is not a Queen by her own power or might, but her Queenship came about because of her being the Mother of God, Who is Our Lord and King, the King of the whole entire Universe and all of Creation. Therefore, she is Queen by virtue of her being the Queen Mother of Heaven, as the one honoured by her Son, Our Lord, Saviour and King Himself. And if Our Lord Himself has honoured His mother in such a manner, how can we then refuse to honour her in a similar way as well? It is not right for us not to do so, and if we truly love and honoure the Lord our God, then how can we not honour the one whom He Himself honours as well?

In the Scriptures, we heard an example of Bathsheba, the wife of King David of Israel who was honoured after her son, Solomon, ascended the throne as King Solomon. As the king’s own mother, Bathsheba was the Queen Mother of Israel, and was accorded a position of honour in the kingdom and a truly honoured position by the side of the King, who also asked her for advice and help on matters on the ruling of the kingdom. There were other Queen Mothers referred to in the Old Testament as well in the Book of Kings and Chronicles of Israel and Judah, highlighting how in the Scriptures itself, the position of a Queen Mother is something that has been existing since the ancient times and is a well-respected position because of the association with the King and ruler of the Kingdom.

And in history, there had been many Queen Mothers and Dowagers, Empress Dowagers and others who had been respected in the similar way in various states and countries. Not only that, but even if the aforementioned Queen Mothers, Dowagers and Empress Dowagers were not royalty themselves, as some of them were of simpler birth, they were deemed as worthy to be the Queen or Empress by virtue of their motherhood of their sons, who became Kings and Rulers in their own right. For example, Emperor Constantine the Great was the renowned Roman Emperor who ended the official persecution of Christians throughout the Empire and also extended toleration to the Christian faith, and his mother, St. Helena, was a Christian of relatively lower rank who was already divorced by his father, the previous Emperor Constantius who married another high-class woman to bolster his position as Emperor.

While St. Helena was never an Empress when she was married to the father of Emperor Constantine, she was treated well by her own son, and when he became Emperor later on succeeding his father, he would honour his mother St. Helena as an Empress, officially given the title of Augusta, a great title reserved only to the Empresses of the Roman Empire. In such a manner therefore, while St. Helena herself was never a royalty by her birth or by her marriage, she gained her majesty and title, honour and respect through her son, the Emperor, and was greatly honoured throughout the Empire for her great devotion to her son, as well as her personal piety and holiness, renowned later on for her role in the discovery of the True Cross in Jerusalem.

That is why, based on all these, we truly honour Mary as a Queen, as if the world has honoured and recognised the mothers of their kings and rulers as queens and queen mothers, then how can we not honour Mary, the Mother of Our Lord and Saviour, Our King, the King of Kings from Whom all the kings and rulers of this world gained their authority from, in the same manner as well? That is why we rejoice this day because Mary is our Queen, the one who is now seated by the side of her Son’s Throne in Heaven. More importantly, through her, we have a truly great ally and a loving mother who is our greatest intercessor, as one who has always been concerned towards us, loving us and praying for us constantly, asking her Son to show us His mercy and compassion.

Let us also follow the great examples that Mary, our Mother and Queen has shown us all in her own exemplary faith, dedication and commitment to God, and to everything that had been entrusted to her. Mary’s perfect obedience and faith in the Lord allowed the salvation of God to be accomplished through the Incarnation of the Divine Word of God in her, through the descent of the Son of God Himself in the flesh, that the Saviour might be born and revealed to us. Not only that, but Mary also remained firmly committed to her mission throughout her whole life, dedicating herself to love her Son and to follow Him. We should also therefore be inspired to follow Mary’s great examples, to commit ourselves thoroughly to the Lord from now on.

May the Lord continue to give us the strength and guidance to live our lives faithfully as Christians from now on. May He empower each and every one of us to be good role models and examples in faith at all times. And may His blessed and most loving Mother, our Mother and Queen, Mary most holy and blessed, continue to pray and intercede for us sinners, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 22 August 2024 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 26-38

In the sixth month, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth. He was sent to a young virgin, who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

The Angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Mary was troubled at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean. But the Angel said, “Do not fear, Mary, for God has looked kindly on you. You shall conceive and bear a Son, and you shall call Him Jesus. He will be great, and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the kingdom of David, His ancestor; He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and His reign shall have no end.”

Then Mary said to the Angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” And the Angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the Holy Child to be born of you shall be called Son of God. Even your relative Elizabeth is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child; and she is now in her sixth month. With God nothing is impossible.”

Then Mary said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.” And the Angel left her.

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Thursday, 22 August 2024 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 112 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

Alleluia! Praise, o servants of YHVH, praise the Name of YHVH! Blessed be the Name of YHVH now and forever!

From eastern lands to the western islands, may the Name of YHVH be praised! YHVH is exalted over the nations; His glory above the heavens.

Who is like YHVH our God, Who sits enthroned on high, but also bends down to see on earth as in heaven?

He lifts up the poor from the dust and the needy from the ash heap. He makes them sit with princes, with rulers of His people.