Liturgical Colour : White
Zechariah 2 : 14-17
Sing and rejoice, o daughter of Zion, for I am about to come, I shall dwell among you,” says YHVH. “On that day, many nations will join YHVH and be My people, but My dwelling is among you.”
The people of Judah will be for YHVH as His portion in His holy land. He will choose Jerusalem again. Keep still in YHVH’s presence, for He comes, having risen from His holy dwelling.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are reminded through the Scriptures of our calling as Christians, how each and every one of us have been called to proclaim the word of God faithfully at all times. Through our first reading today from the Book of the Revelations of St. John we heard of the Lord’s revelation through His Angel of his mission to evangelise to the world and what it entailed. And in our Gospel passage today we heard the moment when the Lord Jesus came to the Temple of Jerusalem not long before His Passion, and cleared the Temple grounds from all the wicked merchants dealing dishonestly there.
In that first reading passage we heard St. John seeing a vision of an Angel of God coming to him bearing a book, commanding him to eat that book. And when St. John ate the book, it tasted sweet in his mouth, but after a while he felt bitter in the stomach. Although it may seem weird to us to hear someone eating a book, but this is in fact a figurative language used by St. John to describe the meaning and importance of his vision and what he has been told by the Lord, that we too may understand this same truth.
As St. John described his vision and experience, the book was in fact a figurative representation and explanation of the gift of the Word of God to the Apostles, the disciples and the Church, the revelation of truth of God which we have all received. But why does the Word taste sweet in the mouth and yet bitter in the stomach? Again this is yet another figurative language used to describe how wonderful the truth of God is to us, as we revel and are happy in His love and care for us. And yet, it is bitter for us to stomach the fullness of truth.
Why is that so? That is because just as we know that God has loved us so much and each and every one of us are indeed so privileged to have received this great love from God, then we all also know what will happen to all those who have consciously chosen to reject this love of God, as St. John himself had seen in his apocalyptic vision of the world’s end times. There will be those who have chosen to abandon God and side with the devil while others remain faithful to God.
And those who reject God, His love and His mercy, by their rejection and by their sins are judged into the eternal suffering, not because God did not love them. Rather, they themselves had rejected God’s love and mercy, and by that rejection, they will have no part in God, and therefore, are bound to suffer with the devil and all those who have rebelled and disobeyed against God, for all eternity. It was they themselves who have chosen to walk down this path.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, God has entrusted His truth and His words to us through His Church, and it is in fact a great responsibility that brings both great joy in seeing the salvation of so many souls, but also the bitterness, sorrow and even pain in seeing the suffering of those who have rejected God and chose to walk down the path of evil and sin. This is the burden and the joy that we both carry as Christians.
Therefore, reminded of all these, let us all then also reflect on what we have heard in our Gospel passage today, of the moment when the Lord Jesus, not long before His Passion and death, chased out all the dishonest merchants who sought profits and wealth, and made lots of selfish and greedy gains on the suffering and the cheating pf the faithful pilgrims coming to the Temple to worship God.
The Lord was truly angry that the House of God has been corrupted and misused for wicked purposes and that had been allowed to continue by the Temple authorities, the chief priests and the Sanhedrin. And by clearing the Temple, the Lord has also in fact urged us all to clear our own spiritual Temple, that is our body, mind, heart and soul, in which God resides.
We have to rid ourselves off these corruptions, that is sin and all sorts of wickedness, all our pride, ego, greed, wrath and all other sorts of evils within us. We have to resist these temptations and strive to inspire and help one another to keep our faith in God strong. We have heard and discussed of what will happen to those who refuse to believe in God, and therefore, we should try our best to live up to our Christian calling and expectations.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all renew our faith in God and strengthen our convictions to walk with zeal and commitment in the path of the Lord. May all of us seek the Lord with ever greater faith and love for Him. May He bless us all in our every endeavours and efforts, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Luke 19 : 45-48
At that time, Jesus entered the Temple area and began to drive out the merchants. And He said to them, “God says in the Scriptures, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of robbers!'”
Jesus was teaching every day in the Temple. The chief priests and teachers of the Law wanted to kill Him, and the elders of the Jews as well, but they were unable to do anything, for all the people were listening to Him and hanging on His words.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 118 : 14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131
I delight in following Your laws, more so than in all riches.
Your laws are my delight, my counsellors who uphold me.
Your law is more precious to me than heaps of silver and gold.
How sweet are Your promises to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Your statutes are my heritage forever, they are the joy of my heart.
I gasp in ardent yearning for Your commandments that I love.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Revelations 10 : 8-11
And the voice I heard from heaven spoke again, saying to me, “Go near the Angel Who stands on the sea and on the land, and take the small book open in his hand.” So I approached the Angel and asked him for the small book; he said to me, “Take it and eat; although it be sweet as honey in your mouth, it will be bitter to your stomach.”
I took the small book from the hand of the Angel, and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, it turned bitter in my stomach. Then I was told, “You must again proclaim God’s words about many peoples, nations, tongues and kings.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we all heard from the Scriptures the glory of the Lord in Heaven as described in the Book of the Revelations of St. John, as well as the lamentations of the Lord over the holy city of Jerusalem as He predicted the coming of its end as what would indeed happen in a few decades after, its destruction at the hand of the Romans.
In our first reading today as we approach the end of this current liturgical year we are reminded as always of the apocalyptic end times with the readings from the Book of Revelations or Apocalypse of St. John, in which we heard of the vision received by the Apostle on the coming of the Lord, and we heard today of his vision of the great scroll with seven seals being opened by the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ Himself, seated on the Throne of God.
And he saw how the Lamb on the Throne is surrounded by the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures, the highest of the Angels of God, unceasingly praising and glorifying Him, worshipping Him, the Lord and Master of all creation. The Lamb of God has triumphed over evil and being slain as the Sacrifice on the Cross, He has been glorified and has purchased for us all our eternal salvation and life.
This is a reminder for all of us that despite the challenges and trials that we have to face, we have the Lamb of God, triumphant and victorious by our side. The Angels of God and His saints had proclaimed His glory and victory before all of us, and even though tribulations will come our way, as represented by the doom and destruction of Jerusalem, the destruction of that holy city and its Temple, but in God we shall be triumphant in the end.
This is a constant reminder for all of us that as Christians we must always glorify the Lord by our lives just as the commands at the end of each Holy Mass command us to, to glorify the Lord by our lives and to proclaim the words of the Gospel. And we do this not by loud proclamations or preaching, but rather through our lives and how we live it. If we speak of the word of God and yet our lives contradict what we have spoken and preached, does it not make us all hypocrites then? Who then will believe in God through us?
Today therefore we have been reminded and called to go the extra mile in the service of God, as His followers and faithful ones. We have to transform our lives and dedicate them to the Lord, that in each and every one of our actions in life, in how we interact with each other we shall always be filled with the love of God, obedience to His will and laws, commandments and ordinances, and exemplary in all things and deeds.
If our lives shine with the light of Christ, then Christ’s light will illuminate us and be with us even through our darkest hours and moments. And our Lord will lead us to the final victory that has been assured for us. Are we willing to commit to this path, brothers and sisters in Christ? There are many temptations and distractions in this world trying to mislead us and bring us down the wrong path. Let us not be misled by these and remain firm in our faith.
May the Lord Jesus Christ, the triumphant Lamb of God, continue to be with us, guide us in our journey of faith. May the Lord bless us in all of our endeavours and efforts to continue to journey faithfully with Him through this life we have received and the opportunities we have been given. May God bless us all, now and every moments. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Luke 19 : 41-44
At that time, when Jesus had come in sight of the city of Jerusalem, He wept over it, and said, “If only today you knew the ways of peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Yet days will come upon you, when your enemies will surround you with barricades, and shut you in, and press on you from every side.”
“And they will dash you to the ground and your children with you, and not leave stone upon stone within you, for you did not recognise the time and the visitation of your God.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 149 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b
Alleluia! Sing to the Lord a new song, sing His praise in the assembly of His saints. Let Israel rejoice in his Maker, let the people of Zion glory in their King!
Let them dance in praise of His Name and make music for Him with harp and timbrel. For the Lord delights in His people; He crowns the lowly with victory.
The saints will exult in triumph; even at night on their couches. Let the praise of God be on their lips, this is the glory of all His saints. Alleluia!
Liturgical Colour : Green
Revelations 5 : 1-10
Then I saw in the right hand of Him Who was seated on the throne a scroll written on both sides, sealed with seven seals. A mighty Angel exclaimed in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open this and break the seals?”
But no one in heaven or on earth or in the netherworld was found able to open the book and read it. I wept much when I saw that no one was found worthy to open the book and read it. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Shoot of David, has conquered; He will open the book of the seven seals.”
And I saw next to the throne with its four living creatures and the twenty-four elders a Lamb standing, although It had been slain. I saw Him with seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out to all the earth. The Lamb moved forward and took the book from the right hand of Him Who was seated on the throne.
When He took it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders bowed before the Lamb. They all held in their hands harps and golden cups full of incense which are the prayers of the holy ones. This is the new song they sang : “You are worthy to take the book and open its seals, for You were slain and by Your Blood You purchased for God people of every race, language and nation; and You made them a kingdom and priests for our God and they shall reign over the land.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of a Basilica)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the anniversary of two great Major Papal Basilica in Rome, second only in importance to the Cathedral of Rome itself, the Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran. These two great Basilicas, the Basilica of St. Peter in Vatican and the Basilica of St. Paul Outside Walls, have been dedicated to the Lord in the name of two of his great Apostles, St. Peter the Apostle, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff, as well as St. Paul, the great Apostle to the Gentiles.
The Basilica of St. Peter in Vatican was built over the exact site where St. Peter was martyred during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero at the time of the first great persecution of Christians. The site was once known as the Vatican Hills, and was the place of a great racing course. It was there that St. Peter was brought in chains, and crucified upside-down at the end of his earthly life. It was the place where the glorious life of this first Pope, Leader of the Church and faithful Apostle ended, where he entered into heavenly glory.
This was at the end of a long life of service of this Apostle who was once called from the shores of the lake of Galilee by the Lord alongside is brother St. Andrew, as well as the brothers St. James and St. John, fellow Apostles. He was a brash, illiterate and poor fisherman, a man without pedigree and power, without glory or fame, and yet the Lord chose him and called him to be His Apostle, and made him to be the leader of all of the Apostles and disciples and His Vicar over all the whole world.
It was this same St. Peter whom we heard in our Gospel passage today, coming towards the Lord walking on the water, just after he and the other disciples saw Jesus walking in the storm on the water towards them. St. Peter was the one who spoke up and asked the Lord that if that was really Him, and not a ghost, he would be able to walk on the water towards Him. But he had doubts and began to sink into the water and cried out to the Lord for help, and the Lord reached out to him and saved him from the water.
Through this, and many other occasions such as St. Peter’s thrice denial of the Lord at the moment of His arrest and Passion, showed how this man was indeed imperfect and flawed as all of us are, and was a sinner and unworthy just like all of us, all the same. Yet, deep inside his heart, the Lord knew that St. Peter had great and wonderful faith in Him, a love that is truly deep and genuine above all else. And that was why the Lord chose him to be the leader of His whole Church.
St. Peter went on to lead the whole Church, by the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit, guiding the Church on many pivotal occasions as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles as well as in the Apostolic traditions, eventually establishing many important Sees like in Antioch and Rome. He went on to Rome as its first Bishop and that is why, the See of Rome is the Apostolic See, the Seat of the Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff, the Heart of all Christendom until this very day.
Meanwhile, the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls was built at the place and house where St. Paul spent his two years or so in Rome at the end of his last missionary journey and travel to Rome as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles in our first reading today. St. Paul went to Rome as part of his appeal over his conviction by the tribunal of the Sanhedrin in Judea, to appeal to Roman Emperor for his case.
St. Paul ministered to the people in Rome, both the Jews and Gentiles alike, helping the Church there to grow and establish firm foundation. He strengthened the faith of many in that city and preached the Good News to many more people, in tandem with the efforts of St. Peter and the other disciples. And St. Paul also fell victim to the same great persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Nero, who used the Great Fire of Rome as a pretext to put the blame on Christians for what history had attributed to the Emperor himself.
St. Paul was beheaded and martyred in Rome, a faithful defender of the Christian faith. However, much like St. Peter, St. Paul was also imperfect and a sinner, being once a great enemy of Christ and His faithful in his youth. As Saul he had brought a lot of suffering and misery on the faithful in Jerusalem, Judea and other places as a zealous young Pharisee in his misguided efforts to eradicate and destroy the Church and all of Christ’s believers.
It was their respective conversions that transformed them into great champions of the Christian faith, their repentance from their faults and their acknowledgement of their love for God became bright light of inspiration for many who followed in their footsteps. They truly embody what each and every one of us as Christians are called to do, that is to be holy and to glorify our bodies and existences, which are indeed the Temple of God’s Holy Presence.
Today as we rejoice in the remembrance of the Dedication of the two great Houses of God, the Basilica of St. Peter and the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls we are reminded that we have to follow in the footsteps of the Apostles in their faith and dedication in serving the Lord. That is how we glorify our own Temple, the House of God’s Holy Presence in which the Lord Himself dwells. If we do not bring glory to God through our lives and instead bring scandal and wickedness, then we shall be judged by those and thrown into hell.
Are we willing and able to follow in the footsteps of St. Peter and St. Paul, as well as the other Holy Apostles and saints, all the holy men and women of God in dedicating ourselves to the Lord each and every moments of our lives? Let us all make holy our Holy Temple of God, our body, mind, heart and soul, so that we shall be worthy dwelling place of our God. May our actions and deeds be filled with faith and may we grow ever more in our dedication to the Lord, and be ever closer to Him. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 