Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 143 : 1a and 2abc, 3-4
Blessed be YHVH, my Rock, my loving God, my Fortress; my Protector snd Deliverer, my Shield; where I take refuge.
O YHVH, what are humans that You should be mindful of them, the race of Adam, that You should care for them? They are like a breath; their days pass like a shadow on earth.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes) 3 : 1-11
There is a given time for everything and a time for every happening under heaven : A time for giving birth, a time for dying; a time for planting, a time for uprooting. A time for killing, a time for healing; a time for knocking down, a time for building. A time for tears, a time for laughter; a time for mourning, a time for dancing.
A time for throwing stones, a time for gathering stones; a time for embracing, a time to refrain from embracing. A time for searching, a time for losing; a time for keeping, a time for throwing away. A time for tearing, a time for sewing; a time to be silent and a time to speak. A time for loving, a time for hating; a time for war, a time for peace.
What profit is there for a man from all his toils? Finally I considered the task God gave to the humans. He made everything fitting in its time, but He also set eternity in their hearts, although they are not able to embrace the work of God from the beginning to the end.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are reminded that in God alone we ought to trust and put our faith, and not in any form of worldly powers, wisdom and greatness, not in any mortal man but in God, Who has revealed Himself, His love and salvation by sending unto us His own Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. It is futile for us to put our trust in the world and not in God, Who has created the world Himself.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Qoheleth or Ecclesiastes beginning with a dramatic proclamation, ‘Meaningless! Meaningless! All things are meaningless!’ And the author of this Book of Qoheleth went on to say how there are many things out there in our world, that are beyond our comprehension and understanding. And God’s ways are indeed beyond our human ability to understand fully, and that is why we need to have faith and put our trust in Him.
In our Psalm today, we heard this presented with the words ‘Return o mortals! A thousand years in Your sight are just like a passing day’, highlighting just how small we are in the greater scheme of things, how many things that are elusive to our human perception and ability to understand. And yet again in our Gospel today, we heard how king Herod, who had killed St. John the Baptist in prison, was incredulous when he heard of the exploits of the Lord Jesus, trying to perceive this seeming return of John the Baptist, as if he had returned to life again.
This is what happened to those who try to put themselves above God, or those who have sidelined Him in their indulgence in worldly matters. They could not comprehend just how small they actually were in the greater scheme of things. To Herod, born into the family of kings, used to living in riches and excesses, it must have been incomprehensible that St. John the Baptist, and later on the Lord Jesus Himself would do so much for others, even to the point of sacrificing themselves for the greater good of the people and in obedience to God’s will.
Yet, unfortunately, this is what many of us are suffering these days, many of us who put worldly matters above all else, our pride and ego, our selfish desires, the desire for self-fulfilment and satisfaction above all else. And because of these, we forget that we live for God and it is by the grace of God that we have had our blessings in life. Instead, we become self-centred and desire everything for our own benefits regardless whether others suffer by our actions.
And this is also the reason why there are so many conflicts in this world today, people set up against one another, brothers against brothers, sisters against sisters, families torn apart and conflict raged within our communities. All of these were caused by our conflicting desires, the desires for worldly power and glory, for wealth and material possessions, for lust and comforts of the flesh among others.
In the end, what is the purpose and meaning of our pursuit for all these things, brothers and sisters? No matter how rich and powerful we are, none of these riches, power and glory would be brought with us when we die and depart from our earthly existence. That is why, we are constantly being reminded that we must not indulge on all those, but instead, trust it all in God, and do what we can in our lives, to serve His greater purpose rather than our own purposes.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we carry on living our lives daily, let us all discern what we can do and what we should do to be faithful to our identity and calling as Christians. Let us all turn wholeheartedly towards God, with a renewed faith and zeal that in everything we say and do, we will always proclaim the glory of God, at all times. May the Lord bless us all and our efforts, and help us in our journey of faith. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Luke 9 : 7-9
At that time, king Herod heard of all that Jesus and His disciples had done, and did not know what to think, for people said, “This is John, raised from the dead.”
Others believed that Elijah, or one of the ancient prophets, had come back to life. As for Herod, he said, “I had John beheaded. Who is this Man, about Whom I hear such wonders?” And he was anxious to see Him.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 89 : 3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 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.
You sow them in their time, a dawn they peep out. In the morning they blossom, but the flower fades and withers in the evening.
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 : Green
Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes) 1 : 2-11
All is meaningless – says the Teacher – meaningless, meaningless! What profit is there for a man in all his work for which he toils under the sun?
A generation goes, a generation comes and the earth remains forever. The sun rises, the sun sets, hastening towards the place where it again rises. Blowing to the south, turning to the north, the wind goes round and round and after all its rounds it has to blow again.
All rivers go to the sea but the sea is not full; to the place where the rivers come from, there they return again. All words become weary and speech comes to an end, but the eye has never seen enough nor the ear heard too much. What has happened before will happen again, what has been done before will be done again : there is nothing new under the sun.
If they say to you, “See, it is new!” know that it has already been centuries earlier. There is no remembrance of ancient people, and those to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are reminded through the word of God in the Scriptures that we need to put our faith and trust in the Lord. And we have been called by God to be His witnesses and to reach out to others to proclaim His truth, His love and kindness to all. We are called to follow the examples of His disciples, all those whom He had called earlier on to be His witnesses.
The calling to be a disciple is not an easy one, and the Lord told them as described in our Gospel today, to bring nothing with them, no money, no food, no spare tunic and all other comforts, and to be prepared to face rejection and hardships, because there were bound to be failures and trials that they would have to endure during their journey and mission.
The Lord told them this so that they will depend not on their own strength and on the providence of the world, but rather to draw their strength from Him, from their faith in Him and their commitment to follow Him. And they faithfully followed the Lord and what He had tasked them to do. They endured all sorts of trials and difficulties in their mission, preaching the Good News of salvation and showed God’s love by their actions.
It was definitely a tough and yet fulfilling experience for many of the disciples of the Lord, the missionaries who have dedicated their lives to God. They strived for the Lord and not for themselves, and God guided them in their path, and led them on where they were to go. And more and more people came to believe in God because of them and their works, and in turn, many among these themselves became missionaries and witnesses of the faith.
Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, in our world today, there are many who have yet to believe in God, and there are many others who have also abandoned their faith and their God. And it is indeed up to us, as God’s followers, as Christians, to be the bearers of His truth and love in our world today, to be His witnesses and bear forth the love with which He has passed on to us, in our daily actions and living.
And how do we carry out this faithfully, brothers and sisters? Perhaps we should look up to the examples showed by the famous St. Pius of Pietrelcina, also more well-known as Padre Pio, the Franciscan priest and famous bearer of the stigmata renowned for his great piety and love for God as well as for his fellow brethren. St. Pio was a humble man who was dedicated to his calling as priest.
St. Pio had been pious since his youth and it was told that he had begun having spiritual visions and experiences since the early age, and he eventually joined the Capuchin Franciscans and became a priest. St. Pio was often sickly, but he devoted much of his time to serve the people in the community at San Giovanni Rotondo, where his great shrine is located at today. He spent many hours listening to the confessions of many who flocked to see him, day after day.
Story of miracles and wonderful supernatural experiences came to make St. Pio even more famous as time went on, and even more people flocked to see him and seek healing through him. Through well-attested testimonies, some had been freed from possession of demons when St. Pio performed exorcism on them, and others received much strength in their faith through their consultation with the saint.
St. Pio did not have it easy, as not only that he had to experience difficulties at times, having even his faculty of hearing confessions taken from him during the time when the authorities were against him for his spiritual experiences and even some thinking that he was a fraud. On top of all these, he also experienced attacks from the devil in several occasions, suffered from the pain of his stigmata.
Nonetheless, St. Pio remained faithful to his mission and committed himself wholeheartedly to what God has called him into. He remained pious and devoted, each and every day, ministering to the people and in being an exemplary person in faith. Many came to believe in God through him and many were strengthened in their faith through his works and piety. And he converted many through his efforts. Until his death, St. Pio never ceased his efforts in working and striving for the greater glory of God.
The Lord has called us all to follow in the examples of St. Pio and all the others who had given their time, effort and even lives for the greater glory of His Name and for the salvation of many souls through the Church. Are we willing and able to follow in their footsteps, brothers and sisters in Christ? Let us all be exemplary in how we live our lives with faith, so that others may be touched by our faith and believe in the Lord as well.
May the Lord help and guide us in our mission in life that each and every one of us may draw ever closer to Him, be ever more faithful in reaching out to our fellow men with faith. Let us be the courageous witnesses of our faith at all times. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
Luke 9 : 1-6
At that time, Jesus called His Twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to drive out all evil spirits and to heal diseases. And He sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He instructed them, “Do not take anything for the journey, neither staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even take a spare tunic.”
“Whatever house you enter, remain there until you leave that place. And wherever they do not welcome you, leave the town and shake the dust from your feet : it will be as a testimony against them.”
So they set out, and went through the villages, proclaiming the Good News and healing people everywhere.
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 118 : 29, 72, 89, 101, 104, 163
Keep me away from deceitful paths; be gracious and teach me Your Law.
Your Law is more precious to me than heaps of silver and gold.
O YHVH, Your word stands forever, firmly fixed in the heavens.
I turn my feet from evil paths, that I may keep step with Your word.
Your precepts have given me knowledge, and I hate all that is false.
I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love Your Law.
Liturgical Colour : White
Proverbs 30 : 5-9
Every word of God is true, He is a shield in Whom man can find refuge. Add nothing to His words lest He rebuke you and take you for a liar. O God, two things I beg of You, do not deny me them before I die. Keep lying and falsehood far away from me, give me neither poverty nor riches.
Give me just as much food as I need lest, satisfied, I deny You and say, “Who is YHVH?” Or else, out of necessity, I steal and profane the Name of my God.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 