22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

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Monday, 4 September 2023 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 95 : 1 and 3, 4-5, 11-12a, 12b-13

Sing to YHVH a new song, sing to YHVH, all the earth! Recall His glory among the nations, tell all the peoples His wonderful deeds.

How great is YHVH and worthy of praise! Above all gods, He is to be feared. For all other gods are worthless idols, but YHVH is the One Who made the heavens.

Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound; let the fields exult and everything in them.

Let the forest, all the trees, sing for joy. Let them sing before YHVH Who comes to judge the earth. He will rule the world with justice, and the peoples, with fairness.

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Monday, 4 September 2023 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Thessalonians 4 : 13-18

Brothers and sisters, we want you not to be mistaken about those who are already asleep, lest you grieve as do those who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose; it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus. God will bring them together, with Jesus, and for His sake.

By the same word of the Lord, we assert this : those of us who are to be alive at the Lord’s coming, will not go ahead of those who are already asleep. When the command by the Archangel’s voice is given, the Lord, Himself, will come down from heaven, while the divine trumpet call is sounding.

Then, those who have died in the Lord, will rise first; as for us who are still alive, we will be brought along with them, in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the celestial world. And we will be with the Lord forever. So then, comfort one another with these words.

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Sunday, 3 September 2023 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, all of us are reminded of the need for all of us to resist the temptations and the pressures all around us, that we do not end up allowing ourselves to be swayed by worldly glory, fame, temptations, and the pleasures of the world, that we fall into the path of sin and evil. Unless we make that conscious effort and have the strong determination to keep ourselves committed to the path that the Lord has shown us, and unless we do whatever we can so that our every actions, words and works proclaim the glory of God, His truth and love in our society today, we cannot truly consider ourselves as faithful and devout Christians. Each one of us are God’s holy people, and we have been called and chosen to follow Him, and to entrust ourselves to His cause.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, in which we heard the struggle of Jeremiah in carrying out the will of God, in his predicament in facing challenges and hardships throughout his ministry, as he encountered stiff opposition and rejection from many of those whom he had been sent to minister to, that was the people of the kingdom of Judah. Back then, the kingdom of Judah was in its final days, torn between the great powers of the Neo-Babylonian Empire under King Nebuchadnezzar and the Kingdom of Egypt under Pharaoh Necho II and his successor. The kingdom of Judah was therefore in a very precarious situation where the king and the nobles were swayed by the temptations of power and glory, and the assurance of worldly powers and politics, and trusted in all those rather than to trust in the Lord, their God.

Instead, they doubled down on their disobedience and sins, in their worship of pagan idols and false gods. They refused to listen to the Lord, and they persecuted all the prophets and messengers that God had sent to them to remind them of their allegiance and obligation in following God and His Law, His commandments and ways. This included that of the prophet Jeremiah, whom the Lord sent to the people of Judah on the last days of the existence of their kingdom. The prophet Jeremiah spoke of everything that would happen to the kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem, how destruction would come upon everything because of the constant sins and wickedness of the people, who have not truly obeyed the Lord as they should and who have allowed their desires, greed and evils to corrupt them and to lead them away from the path of righteousness and virtue. They allowed the devil to tempt them and to sway them away from the path of God into the path of sin.

The prophet Jeremiah himself was also persecuted greatly, and he suffered for all that he had done for the Lord, so much so that as we heard in the same first reading passage, he was also likely tempted by the devil, who persuaded him to stop for a while in his mission and work for the Lord. Yet, the Lord kept on calling and reminding Jeremiah, who therefore heeded the Lord’s call and embrace once again the missions and works that he has been called to do. He was tempted and the devil prevailed for a short while, but eventually Jeremiah came by and remained firm in his efforts and conviction to follow the Lord wholeheartedly, and to continue to speak the truth of God, His words of warning to the people and kingdom of Judah, even if that meant hardships and challenges would come to him, and he was persecuted greatly for his courage and commitment to his calling and mission.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord speaking to His disciples, in which the Lord told them that He would eventually have to face His enemies and those who would oppress Him, and how He would suffer in Jerusalem, and faced in His Passion and death. This brought about consternation and unrest among the disciples who heard that, and St. Peter in particular, pulled the Lord and tried to dissuade Him from allowing such a thing to happen. This was then met with immediate rebuke by the Lord, not on St. Peter personally, but Satan who was manipulating St. Peter and others, so that the Lord would doubt His mission and works. Hence, He told Satan off through St. Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan!” to highlight just how susceptible any one of us are to the temptations and to the falsehoods and persuasions of the evil one, and how he has always been busy at work in trying to subvert and destroy us all.

In essence, as we compare what we heard from the prophet Jeremiah and the Lord’s stories, we can see how the works of God met the opposition and challenges from the evil one, and all those who do not desire our salvation and liberation from the tyranny and power of sin and death. Just as Jeremiah had been persecuted for speaking the truth, and how he has suffered greatly for that, like the other prophets and messengers of God, thus the Lord Himself was not spared such a fate. He also encountered stubborn attitude and hardships from those same ones that He had tried to save, and those to whom He had been sent to, in order to reveal and proclaim the salvation and Good News of God. Yet, the Lord persisted and resisted those temptations, much as how He has rejected the advances of Satan during the time when He was tempted in the desert. The Lord’s dedication and obedience to His heavenly Father’s will, and His love for us all mankind allowed Him to keep on going regardless of the hardships and trials that He would have to face.

In our second reading today, St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Rome, the Apostle told and reminded the faithful there to lead lives that were truly faithful and committed to God, resisting the worldly and pagan ways of life around them, to be always ever righteous and committed to the Law and commandments of God, in not doing things that were contrary to their faith, in embracing the pagan ways and the worship of false idols. Like that of the prophet Jeremiah, and the many other prophets, and the Lord Himself and His disciples, all of them have been called to proclaim God’s truth, as God’s holy and faithful people, that they may inspire and show everyone else, what it truly means to be followers and disciples of God. To be Christians means that we have to do what the Lord Himself had told us, that we have to carry our crosses just as He has carried His Cross.

It means that we may have to suffer injustice, oppression and rejection from the world, and challenges as well as trials throughout our lives here in this world. We may be tempted to give up our faith and struggle for the truth, just as Satan had done to Jeremiah, St. Peter, and undoubtedly many others of even our great and holy predecessors, and definitely for many others. Are we going to listen to his words of deceit and lies, the falsehoods and the wicked things that he suggested to us? Or are we going to heed instead the Lord’s persistent calling and reminders in our hearts and minds, that like Jeremiah, we may turn once again wholeheartedly towards the Lord, and dedicate ourselves once again to His cause. Each and every one of us are all the examples and the tangible signs of God’s works, in proclaiming His truth and Good News, His love and kindness in our world today.

Let us all therefore do whatever we can so that we may always be committed and focused on the Lord at all times, in living our lives well and worthily as Christians, to be holy and worthy of God, in all of the things we say and do, and in our every interactions and works. May God be with us always and may He strengthened and encouraged us in our resolve to walk ever more faithfully in His path, so that in all things and at all opportunities, we will always do what we can for the greater glory of God and for the well-being and salvation of more souls, of our fellow brothers and sisters. May God bless our every works and efforts, our every good endeavours, at all times, and may He continue to inspire us all to follow Him so that we may always do what we can to seek Him, and not for the glory of the world. Amen.

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Sunday, 3 September 2023 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 16 : 21-27

At that time, from that day, Jesus began to make it clear to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem; that He would suffer many things from the Jewish authorities, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law; and that He would be killed and be raised on the third day.

Then Peter took Him aside and began to reproach Him, “Never, Lord! No, this must never happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an obstacle in My path. You are thinking not as God does, but as people do.”

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If you want to follow Me, deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow Me. For whoever chooses to save his life will lose it, but the one who loses his life, for My sake, will find it. What will one gain by winning the whole world, if he destroys his soul? Or what can a person give, in exchange for his life?”

“Know, that the Son of Man will come, in the glory of His Father with the holy Angels, and He will reward each one according to his deeds.”

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Sunday, 3 September 2023 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 12 : 1-2

I beg you, dearly beloved, by the mercy of God, to give yourselves, as a living and holy sacrifice, pleasing to God; that is the kind of worship for you, as sensible people.

Do not let yourselves be shaped by the world where you live, but, rather, be transformed, through the renewal of your mind. You must discern the will of God : what is good, what pleases, what is perfect.

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Sunday, 3 September 2023 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 62 : 2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

O God, You are my God, it is You I seek; for You, my body longs and my soul thirsts, as a dry and weary land without water.

Thus have I gazed upon You in the Sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You.

I will praise You as long as I live, lift up my hands and call on Your Name. As with the richest food, my soul will feast; my mouth will praise You with joyful lips.

For You have been my help; I sing in the shadow of Your wings. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.

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Sunday, 3 September 2023 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Jeremiah 20 : 7-9

YHVH, You have seduced me and I let myself be seduced. You have taken me by force and prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; they all make fun of me, for every time I speak I have to shout, “Violence! Devastation!” YHVH’s word has brought me insult and derision all day long.

So I decided to forget about Him and speak no more in His Name. But His word in my heart becomes like a fire burning deep within my bones. I try so hard to hold it in, but I cannot do it.

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Saturday, 3 September 2022 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (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 constantly being reminded as we have been this whole week, to entrust ourselves to God’s wisdom and not to human wisdom and ways, to put our faith in God and His providence and not to depend on human ingenuity, power and strength. The Lord has shown us the path forward in life, and we should believe in Him and commit ourselves to His cause, allowing Him to lead and guide us down the right path, and not to allow ourselves to be distracted by worldly temptations and persuasions, all those that are able to cause us to be drawn away from the path towards God and His truth.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Corinth regarding the importance of remaining vigilant against the temptations of pride and desire, of hubris, ego and ambition that can easily mislead them away from the path towards the Lord. The Apostle spoke against those who were divided against each other, being prejudiced against their fellow brothers and sisters simply because they had differences in opinions and thoughts. At that time, the community of the faithful in Corinth were divided among several groups due to the different preferences they had between following the different missionaries and leaders like St. Paul himself, as well as Apollos, the famous Jewish Christian preacher, and others.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Lord Himself speaking to the Pharisees and others regarding the matter of the Law of the Sabbath which the Pharisees found issue with Him and His disciples when the latter were picking the grains of the field to be eaten as they were very hungry. The Pharisees adopted a very strict and rigid view of the Law and they imposed this view and version of the Law on the people, looking down on those who did not obey the Lord the way that they had done it. They criticised others whom they deemed to be unworthy while praising and looking highly on themselves, considering them as the only ones worthy of God.

It was there that the Lord made the same reminder to all of us, that we must not fall into this temptation of pride and desire, the temptation of our ego and greed which can become the source of our downfall into sin. For through their preoccupation and obsession with their rigorous observation of the Law, that had led to them idolising themselves and being self-centred instead of focusing their attention on God. The Lord and His truth no longer became the focal point of their actions and lives, and as such, they became further and further away from God’s path, and dragged many others into the wrong paths in life.

That is why each and every one of us have been constantly reminded throughout this week to guard ourselves against all sorts of temptations found in our world. We should not easily succumb to the pressures and the temptations found all around us, all of which can drag us deep into the trap of sin and evil. We must constantly be vigilant and ready to resist the pleasures and e allures of wickedness, and strive to do our best to be ever faithful to God at all times and in all things. We are all reminded today that each and every one of us have been called to a new, holy existence through God and His Son. And we can do so by looking upon the examples set by the Lord Himself, His Apostles and our holy predecessors, the saints and martyrs.

Today the Church also celebrates the Feast of Pope St. Gregory the Great, one of the great Popes, a great servant of God and reformer, who dedicated himself to the greater glory of God. Pope St. Gregory the Great reformed the Church in many different ways, reformed the Roman clergy and also influenced the greater Church community, purifying them from the excesses and corruptions of the world, enforcing a new and more rigorous practice and discipline in the Christian community. Pope St. Gregory the Great also spent his time and effort in expanding the reach of the Church and the Christian faith, sending out many missionaries to spread the Good News of God to more and more people all around the world.

Pope St. Gregory the Great spent a lot of time reforming the way the Church worshipped as well, laying the foundations of what would later be known as the Gregorian Chant, and also regulated the liturgy into a more synchronous form, and also brought the Church liturgy both in the West and the East to be more coordinated and laid the foundations of what today would become the Holy Mass as well as the Divine Liturgy in the Eastern Church. He wrote extensively in various letters and also other works, in opposing the various heresies of the day and in helping to guide the members of the faithful to turn back towards the Lord with faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to and remember the words of the Scripture and as we remember the great deeds and works, the faith and dedication with which Pope St. Gregory the Great had committed himself, each and every one of us are reminded to live our lives to the fullest, in the path that God has shown us, obeying Him and focusing our attention on Him and not to ourselves, distancing ourselves from the temptations of worldly glory and greatness, and turning away from the allures of worldly excesses and ambitions, of pride and immorality, of hubris and human greed. All of us should guard ourselves against all those temptations and do our best to inspire one another to remain true in faith in God in the way that Pope St. Gregory the Great himself had inspired us.

Let us all therefore seek the Lord with all our heart, committing ourselves at all times to glorify Him by our lives. Let us all renew our commitment to serve Him with zeal and dedication, that we will always put God as the priority and focus of our lives. May the Lord be with us always and may He empower each one of us to live ever more faithfully in His presence, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 3 September 2022 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 6 : 1-5

At that time, one Sabbath Jesus was going through a field of grain, and His disciples began to pick heads of grain, crushing them in their hands for food. Some of the Pharisees asked them, “Why do you do what is forbidden on the Sabbath?”

Then Jesus spoke up and asked them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his men were hungry? He entered the house of God, took and ate the bread of the offering, and even gave some to his men, though only priests are allowed to eat that bread.”

And Jesus added, “The Son of Man is Lord and rules over the Sabbath.”

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Saturday, 3 September 2022 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 144 : 17-18, 19-20, 21

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.

He fulfils the wish of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them. For those who love Him, YHVH has compassion; but the wicked, He will destroy.

Let my mouth speak in praise of YHVH, let every creature praise His holy Name, forever and ever.