30th Week of Ordinary Time

by

Thursday, 31 October 2024 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded of the need for all of us to remain faithful, strong and vigilant amidst every moments in our lives when we may face challenges, difficulties, trials, opposition, ridicule, obstacles and other hardships that may dampen our desire to follow the Lord faithfully as His beloved and holy people, as His disciples and followers. We must not easily give up just because of these obstackes and challenges. We need to put our trust and faith in the Lord, that He is always with us in our journey and struggles. We must also realise that as Christians, it is likely that we may face persecution and oppression just as the Lord Himself has faced the same difficulties and persecutions.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in the city and region of Ephesus the exhortation that he gave to the faithful about how the people of God should always strive to put on the whole armour of God, which is a reference to all the many gifts, blessings, graces and all the guidance which we have received from the Lord, the gift of His Wisdom and the Holy Spirit, that become our source of hope and strength amidst all the difficulties hardships, trials and all the darkness surrounding us. The Lord has always provided us with the means and the help needed for us to resist the challenges and to remain strong despite the persecutions that we may face. Most importantly, we must always trust in the Lord and be open to His help, as we likely cannot overcome those difficulties by ourselves without God.

At that time, in Ephesus and in other places, the Christians in the community did face quite a bit of challenges from various sources, from the external attacks and obstacles laid by the local and Roman authorities, the opposition from the pagan worshippers who disliked the spread in popularity of the new Christian faith, as well as from the Jewish authorities and groups who wanted to curb the continuing spread of the Christian faith in proclaiming Christ despite their efforts to snuff the Church and the Christian missionary efforts from the very beginning. There were also significant divisions within the community of the faithful, from the disagreements in how they ought to follow the Lord and His Law and commandments, and also the presence of false teachers and heretical ideas that were already rampant even from those early days of the Church.

Then, in our Gospel passage today from the Gospel according to St. Luke, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus in His lamentations on Jerusalem when some of the Pharisees told Him to leave the place because Herod wanted to kill Him for what He has done in His missions among the people. In His response to Herod and the Pharisees, the Lord was in fact also showing premonition of what He would face and suffer during the time of His Passion, His suffering and death on the Cross, when He would be betrayed by one of His own disciples, rejected and accused by the elders and the leaders of the people to whom He had been sent to, with the people crying out for His punishment and death, even when He had no fault at all with Himself, or deserve any of those punishments.

The Lord lamented over Jerusalem because of the persecutions that He and the many other messengers and prophets had suffered and endured, despite the constant and persistent love and kindness, mercy and compassion that God has shown to them all, to those people who had been stubborn, obstinate and hardened in their hearts and minds, whose sins and wickedness, infidelities and lack of faith had led to them falling ever further and deeper away into the path towards damnation and destruction. God still does not want to see His people suffering and destroyed, and therefore, as we have received such a great grace from God, being loved so much by Him, it is essential and just for us to realise how our sins, wickedness and stubborn attitudes did not help at all.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are reminded that prayer is indeed very important, as the Epistle to the Ephesians had also mentioned earlier. Many of us have lost our path and way in life, falling into the path of rebellion and disobedience against God because we have allowed the temptations, pressures and coercions of the world to pull us away from the path towards God and His salvation. And most importantly, many of those people have not developed good, vibrant and active prayer life in their daily occurrences and moments. Without this important link to God, which prayer provides us, it is therefore easy for us to fall into the attacks of the evil ones, and to the many pressures of the world to push us to conform to its ways, and away from God’s path.

This is why all of us as Christians must always spend good and quality time with the Lord our God, in silent prayer and devotion to Him. Prayer is a way for us to communicate with God, and through this prayer and connection, we can come to know what the Lord wants from us, from our lives and paths going forward. Through prayer, each and every one of us can remain connected and attuned to God’s will, to His love and grace, and it will help us to persevere through the many challenges and trials we have to face in our journey. We should also open our hearts and minds, to be humble in listening to God, and to allow Him to lead us down the right path in life. We should not be like all those who have proudly put forward their greatness and achievements in life, that they end up being stubborn in opposing the Lord and His truth, as those people who have persecuted the Lord and His prophets had done.

Today, which is also the Eve of All Saints’ Day, the beginning of Allhallowtide and which we all celebrate as Halloween, we also remember all those holy and devoted people of God, our holy predecessors, whom have persevered through the many hardships and obstacles as mentioned, and they did not give up their faith in God. On the contrary, they remained faithful and committed to Him, living their lives and enduring through the many persecutions and challenges with joy, knowing that they have obeyed the Lord and lived their lives according to the path that God has shown them. We should also therefore be inspired by their good examples and inspiration, and remain strong in our own faith, remembering that all those saints and martyrs are in fact still with us, constantly praying for us and supporting us in our journey.

May the Lord, our most loving and compassionate God continue to strengthen and empower each and every one of us with the power, wisdom and guidance, the ‘armour of God’ needed for us to resist the temptations and pressures in life. May He continue to guide us in our journey of faith and life, helping us to be good role models and inspirations for everyone around us by our faithful journey and obedience to God and His will, keeping in mind at all times to maintain a good relationship with God through prayer and other means. May He continue to bless us in our every good efforts and works, our every commitments to His cause, so that by our every actions, words and deeds, truly worthy of Him, we may continue to proclaim Him as always in our communities and among all those whom we encounter in life. Amen.

by

Thursday, 31 October 2024 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 13 : 31-35

At that time, some Pharisees came to Jesus and gave Him this warning, “Leave this place and go on Your way, for Herod wants to kill You.”

Jesus said to them, “Go and give that fox My answer : ‘I drive out demons, and I heal today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish My course!’ Nevertheless, I must go on My way today, and tomorrow, and for a little longer; for it would not be fitting for a Prophet to be killed outside Jerusalem.”

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you slay the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often have I tried to bring together your children, as a bird gathers her young under her wings, but you refused! From now on, you will be left with your Temple, and you will no longer see Me, until the time when you will say, ‘Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord.'”

by

Thursday, 31 October 2024 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 143 : 1, 2, 9-10

Blessed be the Lord, my Rock, Who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.

My loving God, my Fortress; my Protector and Deliverer, my Shield where I take refuge, Who conquers nations and subjects them to my rule.

I will sing a new song to You, o God, I will make music on the ten-stringed harp, for You Who give victory to kings and deliver David, Your servant.

by

Thursday, 31 October 2024 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Ephesians 6 : 10-20

Finally, be strong in the Lord with His energy and strength. Put on the whole armour of God to be able to resist the cunning of the devil. Our battle is not against human forces but against the rulers and authorities and their dark powers that govern this world. We are struggling against the spirits and supernatural forces of evil.

Therefore put on the whole armour of God, that in the evil day, you may resist and stand your ground, making use of all your weapons. Take truth as your belt, justice as your breastplate, and zeal as your shoes to propagate the Gospel of peace. Always hold in your hand the shield of faith to repel the flaming arrows of the devil. Finally, use the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, that is, the word of God.

Pray at all times as the Spirit inspires you. Keep watch, together with sustained prayer and supplication for all the holy ones. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, I may be given words to proclaim bravely the mystery of the Gospel. Even when in chains I am an ambassador of God; may He give me the strength to speak as I should.

by

Wednesday, 30 October 2024 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, each and every one of us are presented with the reminders that all of us as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people should always strive to do our best to follow the Lord ever more faithfully at all times, to do what is good, worthy, right and just in our every words, actions and deeds. As Christians, it is important that we should always embody our faith in our every moments in life, to proclaim the Lord to everyone whom we encounter and interact with, and to be truly good and worthy beacons of His light and Good News in all of our respective communities in today’s world. 

In our first reading today from the continuation of the discourse from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city and region of Ephesus, we heard the same message which St. Paul had told the faithful in yesterday’s passage, regarding Christian families and how everyone ought to play their part and roles, with great harmony and love, both for God and for everyone within their families. And today, we have the extension of this as the Apostle continued to tell the faithful that even in their own capacities, work and other areas outside their families and relatives, friends and circles, each and every one of them should still continue to obey God’s will and to do whatever He has taught them to do, to be truly loving and generous with one another.

It is a reminder for all of us that as Christians we are all called and challenged to live a truly devout and committed life at all times, to be good and just, righteous and virtuous in our every actions and interactions with others whom we encounter in our daily living, no matter what the circumstances or occasions are, and no matter what capacity we are in. All of us must always strive to be the faithful bearers of our Lord’s love and truth, His Good News and teachings, manifested and made concrete in our midst through our own good and faithful Christian lives. How can we treat our fellow men and women with contempt and disdain, when the Lord Himself has treated us well and showed us all His mercy and love, when we erred and fell away from His grace.

Then, in our Gospel passage today from the Gospel according to St. Luke, we heard from the Lord Jesus Himself about how difficult it would be for someone to enter into the Kingdom of God, because while the Lord has always been generous in showing us all His compassion, kindness and everything that He has done to allow us to come to Him, but in the end, it is up to us to cooperate with the Lord and to embrace His love, mercy and forgiveness. It is not the Lord Who has made it difficult for us to return to Him, as He has always been willing to embrace us, to forgive us from our faults and mistakes, and He has always loved us despite all these, but it is actually our own stubbornness, arrogance, our persistence to follow the path of sin which has separated us from the Lord and kept us away from His grace and love.

It is all of our love and attachments to worldly desires and pleasures, our inability to detach ourselves from all these ultimately futile pursuits, ambitions and allures of glory and worldly fame which became our undoing and these are the main reasons why the path has become so narrow for us in our path and journey towards the Lord and His salvation, which the Lord presented in His teachings as we heard from our Gospel passage today, on how many people may desire salvation in God, and yet, only few among them may actually be able to achieve this, as too many of us are so preoccupied by all those worldly desires and temptations, all the distractions and wicked things around us that we end up losing our focus and attention on the Lord and His salvation.

And as the Lord Himself mentioned to the people, that there would be many people who thought that they deserved salvation, by saying that they had known the Lord, or supposedly were close to Him, followed His ways and been pious in their practices and way of life, which was likely an indirect reference to the Pharisees and their actions, their sense of superiority against others around them, all of which made them to have this assumption that they deserved God’s grace and salvation more than others, but unfortunately, they were so preoccupied with following the details and tenets of the Law, the customs and rituals according to their interpretation and understanding, that they had forgotten the reason and purpose of those laws in the first place. They had been so busy in doing those things that they have in fact distanced themselves from the Lord and shut their hearts and minds against Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have listened and discussed earlier on through these readings from the Sacred Scriptures, let us all therefore do our part so that we can continue to prioritise the Lord and all of His teachings and ways in our every moments in life, to be truly committed to a life that is focused not on our own selfish desires, ambitions, our pride, ego and greed, but rather on everything that God has shown and taught us through His Church and through the Scriptures He has passed down and revealed to us. Each and every one of us as Christians are called and reminded to be good examples and role models in our faith and how we live them, that through these, we may help more and more people to come ever closer to God and His grace, His salvation and eternal life. Let us all do our parts as members of the Body of Christ, the Church of God.

May the Lord, our ever loving, compassionate and merciful God continue to help and guide us in our respective lives, and help us so that in everything that we do and in all of our whole lives, our interactions with each other, we will continue to strive to be good and faithful Christians, not just in words or appearances only, but also in everything that we do, in our every interactions and cooperations with each other, in how we genuinely show God’s love, His truth and hope to everyone whom we encounter in our lives, in each and every moments and opportunities provided to us. May God continue to bless us all and strengthen us in our resolve and endeavours, our efforts to glorify Him at all times, by our faithful lives and examples, now and always. Amen.

by

Wednesday, 30 October 2024 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 13 : 22-30

At that time, Jesus went through towns and villages teaching, and making His way to Jerusalem. Someone asked Him, “Lord, is it true that few people will be saved?”

And Jesus answered, “Do your best to enter by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has gone inside and locked the door, you will stand outside. Then you will knock at the door, calling, ‘Lord, open to us!’ But He will say to you, ‘I do not know where you come from.'”

“Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets!’ But He will reply, ‘I do not know where you come from. Away from Me, all you workers of evil.’ You will weep and grind your teeth, when you see Abraham and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves left outside.”

“Others will sit at table in the kingdom of God, people coming from east and west, from north and south. Some who are among the last, will be first; and some who are among the first, will be last!”

by

Wednesday, 30 October 2024 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 144 : 10-11, 12-13ab, 13cd-14

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

That all may know of Your mighty deeds, Your reign and its glorious splendour. Your reign is from age to age; Your dominion endures from generation to generation.

The Lord is true to His promises and lets His mercy show in all He does. The Lord lifts up those who are falling and raises those who are beaten down.

by

Wednesday, 30 October 2024 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Ephesians 6 : 1-9

Children, obey your parents for this is right : Honour your father and your mother. And this is the first commandment that has promise : that you may be happy and enjoy long life in the land. And you, fathers, do not make rebels of your children, but educate them by correction and instruction which the Lord may inspire.

Servants, obey your masters of this world with fear and respect, with simplicity of heart, as if obeying Christ. Do not serve only when you are watched or in order to please others, but become servants of Christ who do God’s will with all your heart. Work willingly, for the Lord and not for humans, mindful that the good each one has done, whether servant or free, will be rewarded by the Lord.

And you, masters, deal with your servants in the same way, and do not threaten them, since you know that they and you have the same Lord Who is in heaven, and He treats all fairly.

by

Tuesday, 29 October 2024 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that as Christians, each one of us must always cultivate good faith in the Lord and inculcate in each and every actions and parts of our lives good attitudes and behaviours in accordance to what the Lord Himself had told us to do, and then also provide good and suitable condition for us all to grow ever stronger and more vibrant in our faith in God. This has been highlighted throughout our Scripture passages today, and all of us are reminded to continue to do our best to live our daily lives as good and faithful Christians in each and every moments, and in every interactions and actions we carry out so that we and many others may grow ever stronger in faith and draw closer to the Lord.

In our first reading today, taken from the continuation of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city and region of Ephesus, we heard of the words of the Apostle reminding all the faithful in that area to remain truly faithful to God and His Law, His commandments and teachings, especially in today’s passage context, is about the matter of family and relationships, between that of husbands and wives in their respective families, and how they and the other members of the family ought to react and behave in their various interactions with one another, and how all of them as parts of the Christian community and in their own Christian families should live their lives and carry out their actions to be truly faithful in all things in following God’s path and commandments.

At that time, the people of God and those who have embraced the Lord and His truth, His ways and teachings were living amidst many people whose ways were morally and spiritually corrupt, all those who allowed worldly vices and temptations to lead them astray from the path of virtue and righteousness. Hence, St. Paul told the faithful that they all ought to follow faithfully what the Lord Himself had told His disciples and passed through His Church, in all the rules and obligations that they ought to follow so that they may truly live a genuinely Christian way of living, in devoting their time and efforts to be good role models and examples for everyone around them, to show them how one ought to live as a follower of Christ and His teachings.

St. Paul also pointed out how the faithful Christian family is just like the Church in its structure, function and dynamics, and indeed up to this very day, the family is still and is always the basic unit of the Church, and are like the bricks that make up the whole structure of the Body of Christ, that is the Church. Like the Church with the various diverse people making up its parts, thus the family with the various people inside it, be it the father, mother, husband, wife, child and even extended ones like grandparents and grandchildren, all these have to work in tandem and harmony, live and coexist with love and compassion, care and concern for one another, so that not only that the family will truly function and grow well, but also the whole Church as well. If our own families are broken and are divided against each other inside, how can we expect the Church to be vibrant and strong as well?

Then, in our Gospel passage today from the Gospel according to St. Luke, we also heard about the Lord speaking to His disciples and those assembled in the crowd listening to Him with two parables by which He wanted to highlight and to teach them about the Kingdom of God, and He used the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the measures of flour to highlight these ideas. The Lord liked to use these parables because first of all majority if not most of the people at that time were uneducated and illiterate, and if He had used complicated theological and intellectual terms and ways to teach the people, then they would not have understood the meaning and significance of what He wanted to tell them.

And hence, He used the examples of mustard seed and the measures of flour and yeast in the dough because many of the people were either farmers or involved in agriculture, and many of them were involved in bread-making or were familiar with the process as bread was an important core staple food of the time of the Lord. Through these He wanted to highlight to everyone who have been waiting for and expecting the coming of the Kingdom of God, which they expected the Messiah or the Saviour to bring into their midst, has actually already existed among them with the coming of the Lord, Who showed and taught them how to cultivate the Kingdom of God, that is none other than the Church, which He has established in this world.

As the Catechism of the Catholic Church highlighted that the Church came forth from the Lord, with the outpouring of Blood and water that were shed on Good Friday, at the moment when the Lord in His Passion suffered and died for all of us. By uniting all of us to His humanity and by offering Himself as the perfect and worthy offering for the atonement for our sins, He has united us all as one Body and community of believers, all those who share in the promise of everlasting life, the Church of God, the Kingdom of God manifested in this world. However, as the parables of the Lord mentioned today showed us, that to grow and manifest the Church, there is a need for us all to cultivate lives that are truly good, righteous and worthy of God in all circumstances and occasions.

Those who are familiar with agriculture will know that for seeds to be able to grow into a healthy and good plant, those seeds will need to receive the right condition, of having enough water, warmth and oxygen from the air, and also afterwards constantly being provided with the loving care and maintenance by the one who planted it. Similarly, in order to make the bread dough to rise properly and become a good quality and delicious bread, the dough has to be put under the right condition, being added with yeast and deprived of oxygen so that the fermentation of the sugars in the bread can be done properly and the bread will rise and form into a good and proper bread, one that is truly desired, soft and full of flavour.

Therefore, in this same manner, in order for us to grow in faith and to be ever closer to God, to be better Christians we will have to strive to provide the best conditions available so that we may nurture our faith in the Lord, especially within our families and among those who are close and dear to us, linking to what we have discussed earlier from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians. We should do this through constant and meaningful prayer life and practice, both personally and together within our families, our circles of friends and relatives, and more. We should also continue to show genuine love to one another, forgiving each other our mistakes and imperfections, our faults and flaws, our trespasses and sins. As Christians we must always be full of love and compassion, mercy and kindness just as Our Lord Himself has been full of these for us.

Therefore, let us all continue to strive to grow in our faith in God, doing whatever we can so that by our lives and dedication to Him, we may always show good examples and be inspiration for everyone around us, teaching and showing all on how we should live our lives as Christians in all things. Let us all continue to nurture our faith and give ourselves the best condition that we may continue to be inspired to follow God at all times. And may the Lord continue to help and strengthen us in our path, and may He continue to bless us in all and everything that we say and do, in our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

by

Tuesday, 29 October 2024 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 13 : 18-21

At that time, Jesus continued speaking, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? Imagine a person who has taken a mustard seed, and planted it in his garden. The seed has grown, and become like a small tree, so that the birds of the air shelter in its branches.”

And Jesus said again, “What is the kingdom of God like? Imagine a woman who has taken yeast, and hidden it in three measures of flour, until it is all leavened.”