23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

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Friday, 10 September 2021 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, reminding all of us to discern carefully our path in life, and to commit ourselves with renewed faith and sincerity in following the Lord, without hypocrisy and other things that can become hindrances and obstacles in our path as we journey on towards the Lord. We are all called to embrace the Lord wholeheartedly and be righteous in our deeds, walking alongside God in our lives, entrusting ourselves to His guidance.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to St. Timothy, as the Apostle wrote to his godson, St. Timothy, who was also renowned as one of the earliest bishops of the Church. St. Paul thanked God for His love and kindness, for His compassion and mercy in calling him, once a great sinner, to be His disciple and to be converted to the truth. The Lord had called St. Paul to follow Him, from a life of disobedience and sin, as St. Paul while he was still young as Saul was notorious for his intense persecution of Christians.

St. Paul embraced the Lord and allowed Him to lead him down the right path. Once, he has misunderstood the Law of God, as a young and zealous but ultimately misguided in his path as a young Pharisee. Through his conversion and turnaround, from the greatest enemy of the Church and the faithful, St. Paul became one of the Lord’s greatest defender instead. He humbled himself before the Lord and having been brought into darkness when he was struck down before Damascus with blindness and then restored to the light, St. Paul allowed the Lord to lead his path and to show him the truth.

That was how God called St. Paul and made him to be a great servant for His cause, and as the Apostle also humbly accepted his role and learnt from the other Apostles, and sought for their guidance throughout his ministry. St. Paul then made use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that he had received from the Lord, and became the beacon of His light among the people, helping and guiding them and many others throughout their journey of faith, including that of St. Timothy, who was encouraged and strengthened by St. Paul through his letter to him.

St. Paul himself also sent many other letters, the Epistles, to many communities of the faithful, to the Romans, the Corinthians, the Thessalonians, the Ephesians, Colossians, and many other communities of the faithful, encouraging each and every one of them to remain true and faithful to the Lord in faith, and not to give in to worldly temptations, but entrusting themselves to the Lord’s providence and care, to love Him with all of their strength and might so that they may grow ever more wonderfully in His presence, in faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are all called to heed the Lord’s call to live our lives ever more faithfully in each and every moments of our lives. All of us have been called to follow Him from the darkness we were in, and to embrace wholeheartedly the truth that He has revealed before all of us. It is now up to us, whether we want to follow Him and commit ourselves to Him, or whether we want to walk in the path of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, whom the Lord criticised in our Gospel passage today, as those who were blind leading the blind, and whose hypocrisy led to them being so focused on the faults of others that they failed to recognise their own shortcomings and faults.

Are we all able and willing to listen to the Lord with gracious heart and with newfound love for Him? Or are we too busy being immersed in our various worldly pursuits and desires, in all the temptations that we experience each day? Are we willing to allow the Lord to come into our hearts and transform us into His great instruments in the same manner that He has done so for St. Paul the Apostle, as well as for so many other holy men and women who had gone before us?

Let us all strive so that our every words, actions and deeds may be worthy of the Lord from now on, and that we may walk ever more faithfully with Him, in His presence, dedicating our time, effort and attention to glorify Him in each and every moments of our lives. Let us all do our very best to be inspiration to each other as good Christians in all things, and be the beacons of God’s light and truth in our respective communities and among all the people of God. May the Lord be with us all, and bless our every good works and endeavours. Amen.

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Friday, 10 September 2021 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 6 : 39-42

At that time, Jesus offered this example, “Can a blind person lead another blind person? Surely both will fall into a ditch. A disciple is not above the master; but when fully trained, he will be like the master. So why do you pay attention to the speck in your brother’s eye, while you have a log in your eye, and are not conscious of it?”

“How can you say to your neighbour, ‘Friend, let me take this speck out of your eye,’ when you cannot remove the log in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the log from your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your neighbour’s eye.”

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Friday, 10 September 2021 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

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.

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Friday, 10 September 2021 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Timothy 1 : 1-2, 12-14

From Paul, Apostle of Christ Jesus, by a command of God, our Saviour, and of Christ Jesus, our Hope, to Timothy, my true son in the faith. May God the Father, and Christ Jesus, Our Lord, give you grace, mercy and peace.

I give thanks to Christ Jesus, Our Lord, Who is my strength, Who has considered me trustworthy, and appointed me to His service, although I had been a blasphemer, a persecutor and a fanatical enemy. However, He took mercy on me, because I did not know what I was doing when I opposed the faith; and the grace of Our Lord was more than abundant, together with faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

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Thursday, 9 September 2021 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Lord in the Scriptures, we are all reminded to be genuine Christians in all things, in our every actions and dealings, in even the smallest things we say and do, so that we will always be the Lord’s faithful witnesses and that by our every words, actions and deeds we may glorify His Name and inspire many others to follow the path that we ourselves are walking down towards the salvation in God.

As Christians, we are all called to be filled with God’s love and to be loving as the Lord Himself has loved us, just as the Apostle St. Paul mentioned in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Colossae, in our first reading today. In that passage, we heard St. Paul encouraging the faithful to ‘clothe themselves’ in the raiments of God’s truth and virtues, to follow the Lord wholeheartedly in all things, to be filled with compassion and love for all, and to be righteous and just in all of their way of life.

Essentially, to be Christians, we have to adopt a total conversion of our hearts and minds, of our whole being and our entire way of life, embracing God and His love, and to immerse ourselves in that love, taking that up to be our own love, and our own compassionate care and concern for others whom we encounter in life and throughout our ministry and calling in this world. St. Paul asked the faithful to do everything for the glory of God, and to allow the Lord to lead them to the right path, that they may be the inspiring examples for one another, in how they remain faithful to God.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord speaking to His disciples regarding how each and every one of them ought to learn how to love one another as Christians, in the most Christ-like way, and in reaching out in love even to all those who have not loved us, and be kind and compassionate even to those who have rejected us and made us to suffer. He has revealed to us that as Christians we ought to love unconditionally, and to show that same genuine love for all of those who need them.

He told the people that loving only those who love us back, is something that even the wicked could easily do, as this kind of love is often found in a transactional and even selfish kind of love, as we desire to be loved back in the same or even greater way than how we have loved others. In that way, our love is not yet one of genuine Christian love, for we love only because we expect something in return, and not truly because we are really moved to love those who have nothing to give back to us, and has nothing to benefit us with.

That is why, as the Lord had Himself said, that true and genuine Christian love, is about a selfless and unconditional love that is rooted in giving and not in expecting returns, in the sharing of oneself and one’s joy and love, to everyone regardless of their background and origins, regardless of their status and preferences. And the best example of this kind of love is none other than the Lord’s own loving example, as He laid down His own life on the Cross for each and every one of us.

When He told the people about giving one’s cheek and offering it to be struck when one has been struck in the face, and praying for and blessing those who have cursed and made us hurt, forgiving those who have brought pain upon us, it is a reminder of how the Lord Himself was bruised and broken during the time of His Passion, as He was whipped and tortured, humiliated and spat against, ridiculed and rejected by the people and their leaders, condemned to death like a criminal and put to bear the burden of the Cross, which He willingly took up for our sake.

The Lord took it all with love, with compassion and mercy, for all those who have wronged Him, abandoned Him and rejected Him. Yes, and that was why He even prayed for all those chief priests and those who have persecuted Him and condemned Him to His death. He prayed for their sake and asked the Father not to hold their sins against them, essentially seeking all of them to be forgiven, and to be reconciled with God, that they might be willing to listen to the truth, despite all that they had done.

The Lord’s self-giving and most selfless love is a great example and He Himself is the great and perfect role model for all of us, in doing what we should do as dedicated Christians, filled with God’s love and compassionate care for others. We are all in fact challenged to love in the same manner as the Lord, and we are all called to be sincere in loving others, and be less self-centred and selfish in our attitudes. Instead, we are all called to do our best to love God first and foremost, and then to love one another just at least as much as we love ourselves.

Certainly, this is something that is much more easily said than done. That is why, we should encourage each other to pick up these crosses of our callings, to be true and faithful disciples of Our Lord, in all things especially in loving one another. And today, we should also be inspired by the examples of our holy predecessor, namely St. Peter Claver, whose feast day we are celebrating on this very day. St. Peter Claver was a truly dedicated servant of God and a great missionary and priest, who spent much of his life in seeking for the betterment of the poor and the marginalised, and whose works and efforts saw the conversion of not just few, but hundreds of thousands of unbelievers into the true Faith.

St. Peter Claver was a Spanish Jesuit priest and missionary who decided to dedicate himself to the mission of the Church and the works of evangelisation, setting for the New World, the American continent, where he dwelled ever since, where he spent many decades working among the poor and the slaves who were aplenty at that time, as they were treated badly and sold to the highest bidder from time to time, treated often less than human beings and having no rights on their own. St. Peter Claver championed their cause and ministered to many of them, an effort which eventually led to more than three hundred thousand people baptised personally by St. Peter Claver throughout his ministry.

St. Peter Claver always treated the slaves with dignity and saw in them as fellow Christians, loving them and caring for them when no one else would love them or even treated them inhumanely. St. Peter Claver dedicated his time and efforts, and through all of those, showed us all truly what true and genuine Christian love is all about, which we ourselves should be inspired to follow and emulate in our own lives. Are we willing and able to do so, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to love one another unconditionally and be as selfless as St. Peter Claver had been?

Let us all discern these things carefully and ponder on the calling that the Lord has given us all, to be loving Christians and to be dedicated to our fellow brothers and sisters, especially to those who are in need of our love, care and compassion. Let us all grow ever more generous in loving and in forgiving one another our faults, and let us be ever more sincere in how we live our lives with true Christian spirit and love. May God bless us always in our every good endeavours and works, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 9 September 2021 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Luke 6 : 27-38

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “But I say to you who hear Me : Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who treat you badly. To the one who strikes you on the cheek, turn the other cheek; from the one who takes your coat, do not keep back your shirt. Give to the one who asks, and if anyone has taken something from you, do not demand it back.”

“Do to others as you would have others do to you. If you love only those who love you, what kind of grace is yours? Even sinners love those who love them. If you do favours to those who are good to you, what kind of grace is yours? Even sinners do the same. If you lend only when you expect to receive, what kind of grace is yours? For sinners also lend to sinners, expecting to receive something in return.

But love your enemies and do good to them, and lend when there is nothing to expect in return. Then will your reward be great, and you will be sons and daughters of the Most High. For He is kind toward the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

“Do not be a judge of others and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you, and you will receive in your sack good measure, pressed down, full and running over. For the measure you give will be the measure you receive back.”

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Thursday, 9 September 2021 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Psalm 150 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Alleluia! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in the vault of heaven. Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him for His own greatness.

Praise Him with trumpet blast; praise Him with lyre and harp. Praise Him with dance and tambourines; praise Him with pipe and strings.

Praise Him with clashing cymbals; praise Him with clanging cymbals. Let everything that breathes sing praise to the Lord. Alleluia!

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Thursday, 9 September 2021 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Colossians 3 : 12-17

Clothe yourselves, then, as is fitting for God’s chosen people, holy and beloved of Him. Put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience to bear with one another and forgive whenever there is any occasion to do so. As the Lord has forgiven you, forgive one another.

Above all, clothe yourselves with love which binds everything together in perfect harmony. May the peace of Christ overflow in your hearts; for this end you were called to be one body. And be thankful. Let the Word of God dwell in you in all its richness. Teach and admonish one another with words of wisdom. With thankful hearts sing to God psalms, hymns and spontaneous praise.

And whatever you do or say, do it in the Name of Jesus, the Lord, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

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Wednesday, 8 September 2021 : Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, commemorating the birthday of the Blessed Mother of God, Mary, marking that day when the Mother of Our Lord and Saviour was born into this world, to the loving family of St. Joachim and St. Anne, her parents. As we celebrate this Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary today, all of us are called to look upon Mary, on her faith and dedication to God, on her virtuous and upright life.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, Mary is our best role model among all the children of God, as one who has been chosen and given the special grace to be free from the taints of original sin, immaculate and pure, and at the same time, full of love and commitment to the Lord. Mary is the Woman that the Lord had promised to all of us, His beloved people, through whom the salvation of this world would come from, by her role as the Mother of that Saviour of all, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Through Mary, God has fulfilled His long awaited promises to all of His people, revealing to them His salvation through a simple and humble woman, the virgin lady of Nazareth, a small and insignificant small town in Galilee, at the periphery of the Jewish world and settlements at that time. Mary was specially prepared by the Lord, by a singular grace, hallowed and made to be immaculate and pure, completely free from the taints of original sin, so that this vessel crafted by the Lord’s hands, may be worthy to bear Himself and His divine existence into this world.

Yes, just as the old Ark of the Covenant was made by the hands of men and crafted with the finest goods of the Earth, and hallowed by God, hence, the New Ark, of the New Covenant of God, Mary, the beloved daughter of God and full of grace, made not by human hands but designed and prepared by God, made to be pure and immaculate, which is possible by God’s will and power, to be hallowed and ready for the coming of His salvation, the Divine Word of God incarnate in the flesh, becoming the Son of Man dwelling in Mary’s womb.

Mary’s Nativity marked the moment when the salvation of God began to come forth into the world, as God slowly revealed to us all the truth about Himself and His plans for us. Yet, this is an even more amazing story as God chose not the rich and powerful, the influential and the great to conduct His work of salvation, but instead, He chose a mere ordinary woman, from likely a poor family in Nazareth, on the peripheries to be the one whom He chose to be the Mother of the Saviour.

And why is this significant for us, brothers and sisters in Christ? It shows us that God chose us all sinners, unworthy as we may be, and called us to be His disciples and followers, and just as He has chosen Mary, to be the one bearing the Messiah, and made her to be full of grace, we too are called to embrace God and His love, and to be filled with His grace. We have all been called from our most ordinary backgrounds, from our various occupations and lives, to be the genuine and loving disciples of the Lord.

That is what all of us must recognise as God calls all of us to be His faithful labourers and workers, in the world, in our communities and among our own circles of friends and relatives, and among those whom we encounter daily in life, to our acquaintances and neighbours, and even to strangers whom we met along the way. We have to be role models of faith, to be the bearers of God’s hope and truth to all, just as Mary has been a great role model to us. We are all reminded today, just as we celebrate her birthday, that we can also be like her, in her commitment to the Lord and in her virtuous and graceful life.

The question is, are we all willing to embrace the Lord wholeheartedly the way that Mary has done with her life? Are we willing to live our lives with sincere devotion to God and to practice our faith with genuine actions and not just mere words and formality only? Mary dedicated her life to the mission entrusted to her, and saw through many challenges throughout, having taken care of her Son, Our Lord and Saviour, protected and nurtured Him, and followed Him throughout His ministry right up to the foot of the Cross. We cannot even begin to imagine the sufferings and the sorrows she had throughout her life, and yet, Mary joyfully dedicated it all out of her love for her Son.

As we celebrate the Feast of Mary’s Nativity, her birth and appearance into this world, all of us are reminded of the hope that she had brought into this world and the faith with which she has lived her life. We are called to follow her examples and commit ourselves to the Lord as best as we can, to be the bearers of hope and light amidst this darkened world, so that our actions, words and deeds may bring life to all whose lives we have touched. This is our calling as Christians, as those who have shared in Christ the gift of His light and hope, and the assurance of salvation and eternal life.

In our daily lives, can we spend more time and effort to be faithful to the Lord, and to be exemplary and inspirational to one another so that we may help each other to be ever closer to God, and to be more attuned to His truth and ways? Are we also willing to reach out to the less fortunate and those who are suffering around us, sharing with them the love of God, and the hope of salvation. Let us discern these things carefully and remind ourselves of the many things that we can do as God’s faithful people, in keeping our faith alive and in following the good examples and inspiration from our beloved mother, Mary, the Mother of Our Lord and Saviour.

As we rejoice together celebrating her birthday, let us all continue to entrust ourselves to the Lord through His blessed mother, who is also our mother. Let us all turn towards the Lord and allow ourselves to be guided to Him by our ever patient and loving mother, who is always ever praying and interceding for our sake from Heaven, at the side of her Son’s glorious Throne. May the Lord heed her prayers for our sake, and may He have mercy on us sinners, and bring us all to Him, into His fullness of grace and eternal life of true joy. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

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Wednesday, 8 September 2021 : Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 1 : 1-16, 18-23

This is the account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (their mother was Tamar), Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron of Aram. Aram was the father of Aminadab, Aminadab of Nahshon, Nahshon of Salmon.

Salmon was the father of Boaz. His mother was Rahab. Boaz was the father of Obed. His mother was Ruth. Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David, the king. David was the father of Solomon. His mother had been Uriah’s wife. Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Then came the kings : Abijah, Asaph, Jehoshaphat, Joram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah.

Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon. After the deportation to Babylon, Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel and Salathiel of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud, Abiud of Eliakim, and Eliakim of Azor. Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, and Akim the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar of Matthan, and Matthan of Jacob.

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and from her came Jesus Who is called the Christ – the Messiah. This is how Jesus Christ was born : Mary His mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to discredit her.

While he was pondering over this, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a Son. You shall call Him ‘Jesus’ for He will save His people from their sins.”

All this happened in order to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet : The Virgin will conceive and bear a Son, and He will be called Emmanuel, which means God-with-us.

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Matthew 1 : 18-23

This is how Jesus Christ was born : Mary His mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to discredit her.

While he was pondering over this, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a Son. You shall call Him ‘Jesus’ for He will save His people from their sins.”

All this happened in order to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet : The Virgin will conceive and bear a Son, and He will be called Emmanuel, which means God-with-us.