Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 89 : 3-4, 12-14, 17
You turn humans back to dust, saying, “Return, o mortals!” A thousand years in Your sight are like a day that has passed, or like a watch in the night.
So make us know the shortness of our life, that we may gain wisdom of heart. How long will You be angry, o YHVH? Have mercy on Your servant.
Fill us at daybreak with Your goodness, that we may be glad all our days. May the sweetness of YHVH be upon us; may He prosper the work of our hands.
Liturgical Colour : White
1 Thessalonians 3 : 7-13
What a consolation for us, brothers and sisters, in the midst of our troubles and trials, this faith of yours! It is a breath of life for us, when you stand firm in the Lord. How can we thank God enough, for all the joy that we feel before God, because of you? Day and night, we beg of Him, to let us see you again, that we may complete the instruction of the believers.
May God, our Father, and Jesus, our Lord, prepare the way for us to visit you. May the Lord increase, more and more, your love for each other and for all people, as He increases our love for you. May He strengthen you, internally, to be holy and blameless before God, our Father, on the day that Jesus, our Lord, will come with all His saints.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, we must always be truly and genuinely faithful to the Lord our God, and we should not allow ourselves to be swayed by the sin of hypocrisy, of professing to believe in a certain way and yet acting and carrying out our lives in the manner that is truly different from what we professed to believe in. If that is how we live our faith as Christians, then we truly have not lived our lives genuinely as those whom God had called and chosen, and we are no better than the hypocrites whom the Lord had frequently criticised and rebuked during the time of His ministry.
In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city and region of Thessalonica, we heard of the continuation of the Apostle’s exhortation to the faithful people of God there, who had been faithful and true to the teachings of the Apostle and the other Christian missionaries. Earlier on in this Epistle, St. Paul praised the faith of the Thessalonian Christians as compared to the lack of faith and difficulties which he and the other missionaries had been encountering in Philippi, in the nearby region of Greece. Nonetheless, as we heard in that passage today, the Apostle still reminded them to remain true to the teachings of the Church as they have received through the Apostle and the missionaries.
This is because it is easy for any one of us to be easily swayed by the many temptations, pressures, coercions and all the trials and challenges that we may have to face in our journey. And if we are not careful, we may end up falling into this trap and be dragged down the wrong path in life, and hence, this is why we should continue to remind ourselves to be ever more faithful to the Lord in all the things that we do in life. Despite all the temptations and challenges present all around us in this life, we should still strive and do our best to live our lives in each and every moments, in our everyday living to be truly good examples of our Christian faith and discipleship, in being the worthy bearers of God’s truth, Good News and love to everyone around us.
Then, from our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the continuation of the series of criticisms and rebuke which the Lord Jesus presented against the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law before His disciples and all the people who were listening to His teachings. We have heard in the past few days of everything that the Lord spoke up against those supposed elders and elites of the Jewish community, who were highly respected and even feared by the people of God. Those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were the ones that were the most knowledgeable about the Law of God and the teachings and prophecies of the Lord’s prophets, the intellectual elites of the community.
And yet, they did not recognise the Lord and His miracles and wonders, all the signs which He had performed that in fact fulfilled all the prophecies which the prophets had spoken about the Messiah or the Saviour of the world. They were supposed to be the first ones to recognise the signs and miracles of the Messiah, and yet, they hardened their hearts and refused to believe in Him. Not only that, but as we have heard in that same Gospel passage today, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law often were hypocritical in their way of living their faith, as they were like whitewashed tombs and bones, looking good on the outsides but they were truly empty inside. This means that in them can be found no true and genuine faith or love for God.
While it is then easy for us to attribute the blame to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, let us all not be quick to point fingers to them, as we should all look upon ourselves and our own actions in life first and foremost. Have we ourselves lived the lives we have in this world in the manner that the Lord has taught and wanted us all to live them, or have we instead lived our lives in the similar way as those Pharisees and teachers of the Law, in hypocrisy and in self-serving, self-righteous attitudes, lacking for true and genuine concern and care for others around us? This is precisely why the Lord criticised those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law because of their selfishness and lack of concern and love for those around them, in them being biased and prejudiced against the less fortunate in their midst.
Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Monica, who is well-known for her being the mother of another great and famous saint, St. Augustine of Hippo, one of the Church’s most famous early Church fathers. St. Monica was a Christian married to a pagan Roman nobleman named Patricius in the fourth century in the region of northern Africa. St. Monica was a pious Christian who was caring and loving towards others around her, giving alms and other efforts for the less fortunate, and spending time in prayer, amidst her own turbulent family life, as her pagan husband had a violent temper and immoral habits. Their son, the future St. Augustine of Hippo grew up in worldly ways as well, and as he was educated in rhetoric and philosophy, he pursued worldly matters and became a Manichaean, to the great distress of his mother.
But St. Monica continued to have faith in the Lord and in her family, and she ceaselessly prayed and made efforts to help her son and husband to be reconciled with her and with God. Eventually, her prayers were answered as first, her ailing husband eventually accepted the Lord and was baptised as a Christian, repenting from his prior wayward way of life, and then, her son, St. Augustine of Hippo, eventually came to seek the Lord as well, abandoning his past hedonistic and materialistic way of life, which included even having a child outside of marriage. St. Monica’s great love for her family members is truly an inspiration for all of us as Christians in how we ourselves should show love and concern, care and compassion to our loved ones, and also to others whom we encounter daily in life.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the great faith and love which St. Monica has shown us all so that we too may truly be loving and genuine Christians in all things, in truly loving God with all of our heart and might, and then to do the same with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, to those whom we love and who are dear to us and also to those whom we encounter daily in life. May the Lord be with us all in our journey in faith and may He strengthen and help us to continue living our lives in the manner that is truly both worthy and faithful, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
Matthew 23 : 27-32
At that time, Jesus said to the people and to His disciples, “Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, beautiful in appearance; but, inside, there are only dead bones and uncleanness. In the same way, you appear religious to others, but you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness within.”
“Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets, and decorate the monuments of the righteous. You say : Had we lived in the time of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the blood of the prophets. So, you, yourselves, confess to be the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.”
“And now, finish off what your ancestors began!”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 138 : 7-8, 9-10, 11-12ab
Where else could I go from Your Spirit? Where could I flee from Your presence? You are there, if I ascend the heavens; You are there, if I descend to the depths.
If I ride on the wings of the dawn, and settle on the far side of the sea, even there, Your hand shall guide me, and Your right hand shall hold me safely.
Shall I say, “Let darkness hide me, I prefer the night as my light?” But darkness, for You, is not dark.
Liturgical Colour : White
1 Thessalonians 2 : 9-13
Remember our labour and toil; when we preached the Gospel, we worked day and night, so as not to be a burden to you. You are witnesses, with God, that we are holy, just and blameless toward all of you who now believe. We warned each of you, as a father warns his children; we encouraged you, and urged you to adopt a way of life worthy of God, Who calls you to share His own glory and kingdom.
This is why we never cease giving thanks to God for, on receiving our message, you accepted it, not as human teaching, but as the word of God. That is what it really is, and, as such, it is at work in you who believe.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded of the challenges that those who are faithful to the Lord often faced in the midst of their lives and ministries. It is easy for us to lose sight and focus on our direction and destination in life, and for us to be swayed by the many distractions of worldly desires and pursuits, ambitions and glory, like how many among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law during the time of the Lord Jesus had experienced, which He had criticised them for, for their lack of faith and sincere commitment to God, and for their worldliness and attachments to worldly glory, that distracted and kept them away from fulfilling what the Lord had wanted them to do.
In our first reading today, we heard of the continuation of the words of the Apostle St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city and region of Thessalonica in what is today part of Greece. St. Paul detailed how him and the other Christian missionaries faced rejection and challenges during their missions in the nearby Philippi in Greece, where they encountered refusals and obstacles, unlike the kind of treatment which they met in Thessalonica and the willingness of the Thessalonians to listen to the words of the Lord. But such indeed was the trials and the challenges faced by the early Christian missionaries which God Himself had spoken and predicted beforehand, as what His disciples and followers would have to be prepared for.
Just as they would encounter great successes and many conversions for the Lord, there would also be equally many challenges and trials, refusals and rejections which they would face from those who hardened their hearts and minds against God. They had experienced all these earlier on as they journeyed with the Lord Himself, just as there were many of those who followed the Lord and were touched by His words and actions, there were also many of those who continued to resist Him and persecuted the Lord and His disciples. St. Paul himself was one of these opponents of the Lord, who was a young ardent enemy of the earliest Christians as Saul the Pharisee. But the Lord called Saul and turned him to be one of His greatest defenders and champions instead.
Therefore, St. Paul strengthened and encouraged the faith of the Thessalonians, that their faith had been noted, and they too should be strong in faith, supporting one another just as they had supported the efforts of the Apostles and the other missionaries. He also reminded them all of what the Christian missionaries had done, in serving the Lord fearlessly and courageously, generously and wholeheartedly. They did not serve their own desires and ambitions, or any kind of worldly pleasures and pursuits. They struggled and continued to strive nonetheless, even though they had to face a lot of disappointments and difficulties, ultimately because they believed in God’s Providence and in serving Him rather than seeking their own selfish desires.
Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the continuation of the Lord’s criticism and rebuke against the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, whose actions and behaviours as mentioned were not according to what the Lord had entrusted to them and what they were expected to do as the custodians and guardians of the Law of God. Many are members of each others’ groups and both of these groups were known as the intellectuals and the elites of the community of the people of God, those who were most knowledgeable about the Law and the teachings and prophecies of the prophets of God from the time of the Old Testament.
However, ironically, despite knowing so much about the Law and the Prophets, they refused to believe in the Lord, and they were hypocrites and inconsistent in their actions and way of living their faith. They spent a lot of time worrying about the many details and intricacies of the rituals and ways how the Law and commandments of God ought to be practiced, and they were focused more on exterior appearances and aesthetics rather than true and genuine understanding and appreciation of what the Law of God is truly all about.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures and as we reflected on them, we are reminded that as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, we should always be truly faithful in Him and we should resist the temptations of worldly desires, ambitions and grandeur. We must not allow ourselves to be swayed and tempted by those things, which may result in us having unhealthy attachments to them, and therefore end up losing focus on our relationship and commitment to God. Like those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, they were more concerned and focused on their worldly matters and ambitions, their prestige and status in the community of the Jewish people rather than truly serving God.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore remind ourselves and one another that we should not be easily distracted and deluded by false treasures and happiness in this life, in all the temptations that we may be facing all around us in this world. Let us instead seek to live our lives firstly with love and devotion towards God, and then with the same love towards all those who are around us, our neighbours and all, and especially to all those whom we love. Let us all be the good inspirations and role models for each other that we may help one another in our journey together towards God and His salvation. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Matthew 23 : 23-26
At that time, Jesus said to the people, “Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You do not forget the mint, anise and cumin seeds when you demand the tenth of everything; but then, you forget what is most fundamental in the Law : justice, mercy and faith! You should have done these things without neglecting the others. Blind guides! You strain out a mosquito, but swallow a camel.”
“Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You fill the plate and the cup, with theft and violence, and then pronounce a blessing over them. Blind Pharisee! Purify the inside first, then the outside, too, will be purified.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 138 : 1-3, 4-6
O YHVH, You know me : You have scrutinised me. You know when I sit and when I rise; beforehand, You discern my thoughts. You observe my activities and times of rest; You are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is formed in my mouth, You know what it is all about, o YHVH. From front to back You hedge me round, shielding me with Your protecting hand. Your knowledge leaves me astounded, it is too high for me to reach.
Liturgical Colour : Green
1 Thessalonians 2 : 1-8
You well know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not in vain. We had been ill-treated and insulted in Philippi but, trusting in our God, we dared announce to you the message of God, and face fresh opposition. Our warnings did not conceal any error or impure motive, nor did we deceive anyone.
But, as God had entrusted His Gospel to us, as to faithful ministers, we were anxious to please God, Who sees the heart, rather than human beings. We know, nor did we try to earn money, as God knows. We did not try to make a name for ourselves among people, either with you, or anybody else, although we were messengers of Christ, and could have made our weight felt.
On the contrary, we were gentle with you, as a nursing mother, who feeds and cuddles her baby. And so great is our concern, that we are ready to give you, as well as the Gospel, even our very lives, for you have become very dear to us.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 