23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

by

Tuesday, 12 September 2017 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Most Holy Name of Mary)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary, in which we honour the Mother of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, Mary the ever-blessed Virgin, through whom the Saviour of this world has been born to us. And today we celebrate the aspect of her name, which is second only to her own Son, in majesty and power, for even the devil will tremble at the holy name of Mary.

Why is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because, just as the devil and his forces fear the Lord greatly, and at the Name of Jesus, as St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Philippi mentioned, all knees shall bend and bow down before the Lord, and not even the devil can resist that, for after all, for all of his fearsome appearances and attempts to scare us, he is still a mere creature of God, and God has decreed his final defeat.

And the devil also rightly fears Mary, and at the mere uttering of her name, because he knows perfectly that through Mary, his final defeat had come. Through Mary, all of his devices and plans to ruin mankind and to drag many souls into hell have been thwarted, for through her, the world and all mankind have seen their salvation in Jesus Christ, Who came through Mary, born through her.

It was also not just that fact that Mary is the Mother of God that terrorised the devil and his demonic forces, as it was also her faith and dedication to the Lord, as shown in her devotion to her Son Jesus, throughout His whole life and ministry that the devil had seen the failure of all his well-developed plans. Just as the devil was unable to tempt Jesus as shown in his failure to tempt Him three times in the desert, he was also unable to bring down Mary in the same manner.

That is all the more reason for Satan to be terrified at the mere utterance of the holy name of Mary, as is the case for the Name of Jesus our Lord. And he knows just how active and involved Mary is in the salvation of all mankind, for she continues to remind us all, whom Jesus her Son had entrusted to her own care, to be her own adopted children, represented by the entrusting of the Apostle St. John to her as He laid dying on the cross.

Mary had appeared numerous times to the people of God, in various occasions and at various times, especially at times of war, of wickedness and great sins. She appeared to various people, calling them to repentance and to turn away from their sinfulness. She did this so that, through what she had told them, for example in Fatima, which centenary of her apparition there we celebrate this year, she told the three Fatima children of the horrors of hell, and how mankind would end up there should they continue to walk the same path as they had done.

Through her intercession and works among her children, Mary has brought forth many souls who were lost to God and under the clutches of Satan, and freed them so that they might return to the loving embrace of her Son. If only we can have faith in the Lord Jesus through His mother, and love Him wholeheartedly through our love for His mother, surely many of us would not have been lost, and would have been saved.

Therefore, let us all from now on entrust ourselves to the loving care of Mary, our mother, and when challenges and difficulties come our way, let us not be hesitant to ask her for help, that she may intercede for us, and pray for our sake, asking her Son to help us and to provide for us. And when Satan and his temptations, all of his forces come to assail us, let us not worry, but with the fullness of faith, call upon Mary and utter her holy name before all.

For she will come down hard upon Satan, and by the will of her Son, Satan will not have his way, for his final defeat has been affirmed, and he will have absolutely no power or control over any one of us. Let us all therefore, dedicate ourselves ever more to the Lord Jesus, through our devotion to His mother, and loving her all the more, just as she has loved us all and prayed for us all the time. O Blessed Mother Mary, pray for us sinners. Amen.

by

Tuesday, 12 September 2017 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Most Holy Name of Mary)

Luke 6 : 12-19

At that time, Jesus went out into the hills to pray, spending the whole night in prayer with God. When day came, He called His disciples to Him, and chose Twelve of them, whom He called ‘Apostles’ : Simon, whom He named Peter, and his brother Andrew; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alpheus and Simon called the Zealot; Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who would be the traitor.

Coming down the hill with them, Jesus stood in an open plain. Many of His disciples were there, and a large crowd of people, who had come from all parts of Judea and Jerusalem, and from the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon. They gathered to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. And the people troubled by unclean spirits were cured.

The entire crowd tried to touch Him, because of the power that went out from Him and healed them all.

Alternative reading (Mass of the Most Holy Name of Mary)

Luke 1 : 39-47

At that time, Mary then set out for a town in the hill country of Judah. She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leapt in her womb.

Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and, giving a loud cry, said, “You are most blessed among women; and blessed is the Fruit of your womb! How is it, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby within me suddenly leapt for joy. Blessed are you, who believed that the Lord’s word would come true!”

And Mary said, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God, my Saviour!”

by

Tuesday, 12 September 2017 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Most Holy Name of Mary)

Psalm 144 : 1-2, 8-9, 10-11

I will extol You, my God and King; I will praise Your Name forever. I will praise You, day after day; and exalt Your Name forever.

Compassionate and gracious is YHVH, slow to anger and abounding in love. YHVH is good to everyone; His mercy embraces all His creation.

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

Alternative Psalm (Mass of the Most Holy Name of Mary)

Luke 1 : 46-47, 48-49, 50-51, 52-53, 54-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God, my Saviour!

He has looked upon His servant, in her lowliness, and people, forever, will call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me. Holy is His Name!

From age to age, His mercy extends to those who live in His presence. He has acted with power and done wonders, and scattered the proud with their plans.

He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up those who are downtrodden. He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.

He held out His hand to Israel, His servant, for He remembered His mercy, even as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.

by

Tuesday, 12 September 2017 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Most Holy Name of Mary)

Colossians 2 : 6-15

If you have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, let Him be your doctrine. Be rooted and built up in Him; let faith be your principle, as you were taught, and your thanksgiving, overflowing.

See that no one deceives you with philosophy or any hollow discourse; these are merely human doctrines, not inspired by Christ, but by the wisdom of this world. For in Him, dwells the fullness of God, in bodily form. He is the Head of all cosmic power and authority, and, in Him, you have everything.

In Christ Jesus, you were given a circumcision, but not by human hands, which removed completely from you the carnal body : I refer to baptism. On receiving it, you were buried with Christ; and you also rose with Him, for having believed in the power of God, Who raised Him from the dead.

You were dead. You were in sin and uncircumcised at the same time. But God gave you life with Christ. He forgave all our sins. He cancelled the record of our debts, those regulations which accused us. He did away with all that, and nailed it to the cross. Victorious through the cross, He stripped the rulers and authorities of their power, humbled them before the eyes of the whole world, and dragged them behind Him, as prisoners.

Alternative reading (Mass of the Most Holy Name of Mary)

Galatians 4 : 4-7

But when the fullness of time came, God sent His Son. He came, born of woman, and subject to the Law, in order to redeem the subjects of the Law, that we might receive adoption, as children of God. And because you are children, God has sent into your hearts, the spirit of His Son, Who cries out : Abba! that is, Father!

You, yourself, are no longer a slave, but a son or daughter, and yours is the inheritance, by God’s grace.

Alternative reading (Mass of the Most Holy Name of Mary)

Ephesians 1 : 3-6

Blessed be God, the Father of Christ Jesus our Lord, Who, in Christ, has blessed us from heaven, with every spiritual blessing. God chose us, in Christ, before the creation of the world, to be holy, and without sin in His presence.

From eternity He destined us, in love, to be His adopted sons and daughters, through Christ Jesus, thus fulfilling His free and generous will. This goal suited Him : that His loving-kindness, which He granted us His beloved might finally receive all glory and praise.

by

Monday, 11 September 2017 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us heard how we should put our trust in the Lord and not to harden our hearts or to close our minds to Him. We should entrust ourselves to the care of God, Who will take care of us and bless us with whatever we need. We witnessed how the Lord healed the sick man, showing His love for the man, and His mercy for the suffering He had.

But there were still those who opposed Him and refused to listen to Him, as shown in the actions of the Pharisees who laid traps to trap Jesus in His actions, hoping that by healing on the Sabbath, they could accuse Jesus of wrongdoing and disobeying the Law, and therefore arrest Him and get rid of Him, Whom they came to see as a great rival in the sight of the people.

Yet in this, they did not do what the Lord had commanded them, and instead, they were doing what they thought was right for them. They were trying to safeguard and satisfy their own self interests, instead of obeying what God had told them to do. They were appointed as the leaders of the people and as the guardians of God’s laws and commandments, and yet, they have not done what was asked of them.

They did not work for the greater glory of God but rather for themselves. And through all of these therefore, all of us as Christians must heed what the Lord Jesus had said and done amongst His people, as He has shown us the example of what we ought to be doing as those who walk in His path and believe in Him. We cannot be hypocrites in our faith, who are outwardly pious and good, and yet God and His precepts have no place in our hearts.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all reflect upon our own lives, our actions, words and deeds in this life. Have we been righteous and loving as Christ has been righteous and loving in all of His deeds? Have we acted in the manner that the Lord had taught us to be, following what the Church had taught us? Have we shown care, love and compassion to our brethren who are in need of love?

Many of us are not taking the necessary actions that are needed for us as Christians to be truly faithful and devoted to God. Many of us think that to be Christians is something that is easily done, and require little or even no effort from us. And if we think that being a Christian is an easy one, and we have not encountered difficulties thus far, perhaps then we have not stepped outside our comfort zone and do what has been expected from us.

Therefore, let us from now on strive to be ever more like our Lord Himself, stepping out from our comfort zone and challenging ourselves at all times to be ever faithful to the Lord through our words, actions and deeds. Let us all do what we can in order to commit ourselves to God and His ways, by extending our hands to help those who are in need, and caring for those who are hungry and homeless, those who are sorrowful and those who are sick.

Let us challenge ourselves to do ever more and do not be disheartened by what we will likely to encounter in our respective lives as we become ever more faithful to God. There will indeed be opposition and even ridicule and rejection for our works and actions, but that was exactly what had happened to the Lord Jesus as well. We must take heart and not be tempted to give up or to make compromises on our faith.

May the Lord help us in our journey, and may He empower each and every one of us to become ever better disciples of His. May the Lord bless us all in our endeavours, and may all of us draw ever closer to Him. Amen.

by

Monday, 11 September 2017 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 6 : 6-11

At that time, on another Sabbath, Jesus entered the synagogue and began teaching. There was a man with a paralysed right hand, and the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees watched Him : Would Jesus heal the man on the Sabbath? If He did, they could accuse Him.

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to the man, “Get up, and stand in the middle.” Then He spoke to them, “I want to ask you : what is allowed by the Law on the Sabbath? To do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” And Jesus looked around at them all.

Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored, becoming as healthy as the other. But they were furious, and began to discuss with one another how they could deal with Jesus.

by

Monday, 11 September 2017 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 61 : 6-7, 9

Find rest in God alone, o my soul; from Him, comes my hope. He alone, is my Rock and my Salvation; with Him as my Stronghold, I shall not be overcome.

Trust in Him at all times, my people; pour out your hearts before Him; God is our refuge.

by

Monday, 11 September 2017 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Colossians 1 : 24 – Colossians 2 : 3

At present, I rejoice when I suffer for you; I complete, in my own flesh, what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the Church. For I am serving the Church since God entrusted to me the ministry to make the word of God fully known.

I mean that mysterious plan that, for centuries and generations, remained secret, and which God has now revealed to His holy ones. God willed to make known to them the riches, and even the glory, that His mysterious plan reserved for the pagan nations : Christ is in you, the hope for glory.

This Christ, we preach. We warn, and teach everyone true wisdom, aiming to make everyone perfect, in Christ. For this cause I labour and struggle, with the energy of Christ working powerfully in me. I want you to know how I strive for you, for those of Laodicea, and for so many who have not met me personally.

I pray, that all may be encouraged. May you be established in love, that you may obtain all the riches of a full understanding, and know the mystery of God, Christ Himself. For, in Him, are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

by

Sunday, 10 September 2017 : Twenty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday all of us heard from the Scriptures about the importance for each one of us as Christians to be good listeners, and to pay close attention to what the Lord had taught us, that we will not fall into the temptations of the devil, and that we will be able to live harmoniously and in peace with one another.

This is important because each and every one of us make up the living Body of Christ, the Church. And in the ages past, and even until today, disagreements and lack of peace and harmony among the faithful has become a great source of sorrow for the Lord and for all of us. We have witnessed so many periods of disunity and divisions to the Church because of the falsehoods and the heresies that the devil had struck the Church with, tempting its members to deviate away from the Lord and His truth.

Divisions in the Church has happened many times, and it is often due to the disagreements coming from personal preferences and ego, the pride and ambition of the members of the Church who refused to let go of their ego that they might listen to the voice of reason and the truth as espoused in the teachings of the Church. Instead, we saw how many people broke away from the Church over their disagreements.

Many people refused to listen to reason, and they closed their hearts and minds to the words of truth, because they felt that their way and their thoughts, opinions and methods alone were correct and others were wrong. That was exactly how and why the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law refused to believe in Jesus, as they were adamant in keeping their beliefs about the laws of Moses, and to them, Jesus and His teachings were unacceptable.

That was how many of the people embraced heresies and went into open rebellion against the teachings of the Lord in His Church, and even decided to make their own ‘churches’, as splinters being forcefully torn apart from the holy Body of Christ, His Church. Yet, from time to time again, the Lord and His Church prevailed, and all those who tried to impose their falsehoods on the faithful faltered, because God was not with them.

How should we handle these matters then, brothers and sisters in Christ? First of all, if we refer back to what we have heard in the Gospel passage today, we will see that violence or anger is not the way for us to adopt, as none of these will end up in good results. As I have just mentioned, one of the main reasons why the divisions and disagreements have occurred was because of the stubbornness and the ego of the parties involved, that they refused to listen to the reason and the truth.

If we ourselves also end up being filled with anger, violence and hatred against others simply because they disagree with us or because they believe in falsehoods of the devil and in the heresies mentioned, then it may be difficult for us to reconcile our differences and for us to show them the way to the truth of God. Instead, as what the Gospel has shown us, we should seek to communicate and have dialogue with the ones involved, through prayer and seeking guidance from the Lord.

Why is that so? That is because it is easy for us to lose ourselves to our emotions, anger and hatred if we do not let God to take charge of our actions. We should open our hearts first and listen to the Lord, asking Him what is His will for us, and how we should proceed forward, especially when dealing with those who disagree with us, or with those who espouse the false teachings and ways of heresy. That is why I emphasised earlier on the importance of listening, and not just listening, but attentive listening in all of us.

Many of us are too ready and willing to shout out our ideas and proposals, our suggestions and demands, and yet we are not ready to allow our ears and our minds to listen to what others have to say. And if we are not even able to listen to what others are saying, how can we then convince them to listen to us? How can we convince them to believe in our true faith if we do not lend them a listening ear and mind first?

I am not saying that we should compromise on our faith or allow those who have fallen into heresy to continue in their sinful ways, as that is in itself a great sin, for then we will not just end up condemning them to the fires of hell, but also ourselves for having failed to help them and by compromising our faith. Rather, what we all need to do is to show an open-minded and welcoming attitude, and through that, to bring everyone to the invitation to prayer and discernment.

That is also how we ought to resolve the disagreements that will surely come up from time to time amongst the different members in the Church, between the priests and priests, between the priests and the laity, and amongst the laity themselves. As Jesus Himself said that, when two or more are gathered together in His Name, He Himself will come among them and be with them. How can we go wrong if God is with us, and His Spirit gave us His wisdom?

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all spend some time today to think through carefully about how we have lived our lives thus far, and how we have acted in our dealings with one another. Have we thus far acted with pride and ego in our actions, and have we refused to listen to the words of others but instead being stubborn and unreasonable?

Can we heed what the Lord had told us all through the Scriptures? Shall we all restrain our ego, our pride, and the desire to be the first and the greatest in everything? Let us all also learn from the examples of our Lord Jesus Himself, Who even though He was the Almighty God and King of all kings, but He willingly lowered Himself and came upon us, that He might serve us His people and show His everlasting love.

Shall we all overcome our innate reluctance and unwillingness to be attentive listeners and open our minds and hearts to others? Shall we then do our best to bring together all the scattered children of God, all those who have been separated from God’s loving Church, by welcoming them back with love and compassion, and by gathering them to the Lord in prayer, by showing them through our own examples, that in prayer, they may come to realise the errors of their ways and come back to the Lord in repentance?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all do our very best from now on, that we may be able to listen to God as well to listen to our brethren, let us all throw far, far away all forms of ego and pride, all the things that have become obstacles on our path, all that have caused divisions and disagreements among the faithful people of God. Let us all reject all that Satan was trying to do in order to detract us and to snatch us away from God’s salvation.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He give us the strength and the courage to do His will, to surrender ourselves to what He wants us to be, and to be faithful disciples, who are concerned about our brethren, especially those who have fallen away from the path towards God’s salvation. Let us all be good and attentive listeners while at the same time being good evangelisers, through our gentle and loving actions showing the truth about God.

May the Lord bless us all and every endeavour we make, that eventually all the faithful people of God may be united together once again in His Church, without any more divisions or disagreements. May He continue to guide His Church and empower all of its members to always walk faithfully in His ways. Amen.

by

Sunday, 10 September 2017 : Twenty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 18 : 15-20

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “If your brother has sinned against you, go and point out the fault to him, when the two of you are alone; and if he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen to you, take with you one or two others, so that the case may be decided by the evidence of two or three witnesses.”

“And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembled Church. But if he does not listen to the Church, then regard him as a pagan, or a tax collector. I say to you : whatever you bind on earth, heaven will keep bound; and whatever you unbind on earth, heaven will keep unbound.”

“In like manner, I say to you, if, on earth, two of you agree in asking for anything, it will be granted to you by My heavenly Father; for where two or there are gathered in My Name, I am there, among them.”