25th Sunday of Ordinary Time

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Thursday, 27 September 2018 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scriptures mentioning to us about the meaninglessness of life as we know it. In the Book of Ecclesiastes or Qoheleth, we heard this word of wisdom, speaking to us about how all of the things we do, our achievements and glories in life, are truly like rivers that can never fill up the sea, no matter how much water from them flowing into the latter.

Therefore, similarly, no matter how much we have achieved in this life, but first of all, none of them will truly be able to satisfy us from the desiring more achievement and worldly glory and fame. When we have achieved something and received satisfaction, it is part of our nature to want to achieve even more and to desire for more pleasures and satisfactions, and as a result, we will end up craving and desiring for more.

That is why we mankind are so often preoccupied by so many things in life, that end up in us spending so much time in trying to gain more of these worldly desires and objects of our cravings, be it wealth, or fame, or prestige, or human praise, glory and influence. But in the end of the day, let us ask ourselves, how will it benefit us, should we gain and hoard for ourselves, so much of this wealth, prestige, glory and fame? Will all those things last forever?

And then, the reality is that none of these things will be with us forever. The Lord Jesus mentioned this in another occasion in the Gospels with the parable of a rich man, who proudly and greedily gathered much wealth for himself, and gathered many grains in his barns, and he was indeed boastful about that fact. However, the Lord reminded that as man, all of us are mortal beings whose life and earthly existences are limited.

Nothing will last forever for us, and in the end of the day, our legacy is not in what we have achieved and in what we have gathered in life, for those things are impermanent and have limited timespans. Instead, our true legacy will be how we impact one another, and how we have touched those whom we have encountered in our respective lives. And even when we are forgotten and not remembered, it is the legacy of our Christian faith that remains down through the generations.

That is why, from now on, each and every one of us as Christians must have a thorough conversion of attitude, action and outlook in life. We can no longer be complacent or passive in how we lived our lives, or worse, if we have not even acted in accordance with our faith, as shown by what we have just discussed earlier. If our lives have been marked by our preoccupation with worldly desires and temptations, then perhaps, it is time for us to reevaluate our lives.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of St. Vincent de Paul, a renowned holy priest and holy man of God, whose life is truly exemplary and should become inspiration for each and every one of us. St. Vincent de Paul was remembered especially for his great works of charity, his personal humility and great dedication and faith in God, which inspired many others to follow in his footsteps.

St. Vincent de Paul endured slavery during the early years of his life, when he was taken captive by pirates on his journey. He was passed on from master to master, until his last master and his family were so impressed by the great faith he had, and the exemplary virtues he exhibited, that they all converted to the faith and St. Vincent de Paul regained his freedom. St. Vincent de Paul continued his works of charity, and helped the poor and the weak, remembering his own ordeals and challenges in slavery.

He showed us an example of what Christian discipleship and life is all about, through his commitment to the Lord, his pious devotion to a life of prayer and his many charitable works among the poor, the sick and the oppressed. We see for ourselves how St. Vincent de Paul showed such an exemplary actions and faith that it touched the life of his former master and converted him. We should also do the same with our own lives.

May the Lord strengthen our faith, and may He empower us all to live according to our faith, in all of our actions, words and deeds, so that we may be truly worthy as disciples of the loving God. Let us ask St. Vincent de Paul fo his intercession and prayers for our sake, that we may find the strength to live ever more devoutly and with greater courage day after day. May the Lord bless us all and our works, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 27 September 2018 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

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.

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Thursday, 27 September 2018 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

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.

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Thursday, 27 September 2018 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth) 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.

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Wednesday, 26 September 2018 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the word of God from the Scriptures, in which we heard from our Gospel passage today, of the moment when the Lord Jesus sent out His disciples to go before Him to the many towns and villages He Himself was about to go, in order to prepare His way before His coming, by preaching to the people about the truth of His salvation.

He told them all not to bring with them any spare money, provisions, or even tunic and clothings. Literally He told them to go forth into their missionary journey with the bare minimum of what they had on them, their own bodies and the least of all conveniences available to them. And why did He do so? That is because He wanted them all not to depend on all of their earthly goods and assistances.

The disciples should not put their trust in their own strength, or in their worldly resources and abilities. Instead, they should trust wholeheartedly in God, putting themselves and entrusting themselves in His care and love. They must draw upon the strength and the grace of God, which He has given to each and every one of us in our own way. In that manner then, they will truly be able to do their work and calling with the right intention in mind.

Otherwise, if they depended on their own strength and abilities, their own resources and their own efforts, then they will have vested interests in the conduct of their daily missionary works. They will then be biased in their works, depending on whether what they invested in the work give positive returns in the end. That means, our human instinct of desiring reward and affirmation will kick in, and should what we have given does not give us the return we want, then we will not be willing to give more.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, that is why the Lord sent them out with the barest minimum in everything so that they may put their complete trust in God in everything, from everything good or bad that might have happened to them, in everything they encountered in life, and throughout their mission, that God alone is the centre, the focus, the purpose and the destination of their whole effort, their works and their ministry.

And thus, God has laid for us the expectation which He made for all of us as parts and members of His Church, to be God-centric and full of faith in Him as we go about doing our works and contributions as His servants and witnesses in faith. Unfortunately, the reality is that many of us have not been true to this expectation which the Lord has given us, especially because of our attachments to the world and all of its temptations.

That is why, all of us in the Church, especially in the different Church ministries and segments ended up being embroiled in politicking and internal rivalries, because we have forgotten what it means for us to serve the Lord through His Church and as members of His Church. We make use of the Church and its ministries as springboard to our own success and self-serving goals, to be more affluent and gain more influence in the community.

But that is not what we should be doing as servants and followers of God. Instead, we should resist the temptations of our pride and human desires, for all sorts of worldly satisfaction of power, of wealth, of glory and fame. We should realise that our sole and main objective is not our personal satisfaction or achievement, but rather, the glorification of God and the advancement of His work of salvation among us.

And in doing so, we must realise that the journey will not be all smooth and good for us, as there is bound to be rejection and challenges we will encounter along the way. What the Lord said to His disciples at that time was a premonition of what they would encounter, in the various persecutions that they would endure for the sake of the Lord and His people. Many martyrs of the faith were made when the world struck back against the good and faithful workers of the Lord.

Today, we celebrate the feast of two holy martyrs, St. Cosmas and St. Damian. St. Cosmas and St. Damian were renowned physicians who took care of the maladies and sicknesses of both the flesh and the spirit, through their expertise in medicine and in the matter of the faith. Many people came to them seeking for help, and many of these were cured when the two saints touched them and worked on them.

But they had to endure horrible persecution of the faithful and the Church by the Roman Emperor Diocletian. They were arrested and tortured, and yet they remained faithful despite the offers to free and reward them should they willingly want to abandon their faith. St. Cosmas and St. Damian remained faithful unto death in martyrdom, and by their examples in faith and charity, they have become our inspiration in faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all commit ourselves to the Lord as St. Cosmas and St. Damian, as well as the many other holy men and women had done before us. May the Lord guide us in our journey of life, that we will be ever more faithful to Him, and draw ever closer to Him, each and every days of our life, enduring whatever persecution and challenges that may come our way. Amen.

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Wednesday, 26 September 2018 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

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.

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Wednesday, 26 September 2018 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

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.

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Wednesday, 26 September 2018 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

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.

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Tuesday, 25 September 2018 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are called to remember our duty as Christians, to do God’s will in our lives and to follow what the Lord has commanded us to do, to be righteous and just in all of our deeds, that all of us be examples in faith for one another, and not to act as how those wicked and evil people had acted, in their selfishness and greed, in their arrogance and prejudice against their own fellow men.

Many of us have been lukewarm in our faith, and in how we lived our respective lives. As a result, we have not been able to and we should not regard ourselves as genuine followers and disciples of the Lord, until the moment when we are able to overcome our natural selfishness, greed and pride, all the ambitions and arrogance in our hearts and minds, which are often significant obstacles in our journey towards the Lord and His salvation.

This was not of course, how we were created. God created us man, in His own image, and intended to live in perfect harmony and love with Him, and with one another. He wanted us to be like Himself, existing in perfect love and harmony between the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, the love which was so perfect that there is nothing like it exist in this world. But He wanted to share with us this love, and that was why, He created us.

Unfortunately, greed and pride entered into our hearts and minds, when we were tempted by the sweet lies and falsehoods of the evil one, who appeared to our first ancestors and tricked them to disobey God, by pulling the strings on their desire for knowledge, for greatness and for equality with God. They were swayed by those lies and as a result, they fell into temptation and sin, by disobeying God’s words.

Ever since, we have lived under the bondage and tyranny of sin and evil. We have been conditioned in this world, to follow the urge of our own desires, the pressures of our pride and the allures of worldly pleasures and goodness, which distract us from our true destination and focus in life, that is God. But, as Christians, now we are challenged to go beyond all these temptations and obstacles, and strive to be who we are supposed to be, that is, God’s beloved and righteous children.

And in order to do this, we have to realise that there are probably a lot of things that we have to do in our lives, in order to live up to the expectations of our faith. We have to overcome those natural tendencies of greed, of pride, of desires for worldly temptations and goods, and for prestige, fame, glory, as well as many other things that often distract us from God. How should we then move forward from now on?

This is where we should rediscover the depth of our faith, and commit ourselves to a renewed vigour in our relationship with God. For too many of us, faith is empty and meaningless, and we do not have a genuine relationship with God. Nay, in fact, we are so busy and were so preoccupied with our myriads of worldly businesses and works, in the various temptations we face daily, that we forget what we, as Christians, have to do.

That is why we became selfish, proud, arrogant and unloving. We became jealous at the achievements that were made by others around us, and wanted nothing but our own self-glorification and satisfaction. This is what we must avoid, that as Christians, we must instead get rid of the pride in our hearts, and resist the temptation of our desires and the allures of the pleasures of the flesh.

Let us deepen our relationship with God, through deep and genuine prayer, by spending quality time with Him, that we may know what is His will for us, and what He wants each and every one of us to do in our respective lives. We are called to be true servants of God, and we should do this, by living our lives filled with God’s love, and showing that same love to one another.

Let us follow the path which God has shown us, the path of humility and obedience, and turn ourselves, our heart, mind, body and soul, indeed, our entire being, to the Lord and serve Him from now on, wholeheartedly, and be worthy of Him and His eternal glory, which He will give all those who are truly faithful to Him. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 25 September 2018 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 8 : 19-21

At that time, the mother of Jesus and His relatives came to Him; but they could not get to Him because of the crowd. Someone told Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside and wish to meet You.”

Then Jesus answered, “My mother and My brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”