34th Sunday of Ordinary Time

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Thursday, 28 November 2024 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Revelations 18 : 1-2, 21-23 and Revelations 19 : 1-3, 9a

After this I saw another Angel coming down from heaven. So great was his authority that the whole earth was lit up with his glory. In a strong voice he cried out : “Fallen is Babylon the great! Fallen! She has become a haunt of demons, a lodge for every unclean spirit, a nest for any filthy and disgusting bird.”

A powerful Angel picked up a boulder the size od a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “With such violence will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down, never again to be seen. Never again will tunes of harpists, minstrels, trumpeters and flutists be heard in you. Never again will an artisan of any trade be found in you. Never again will the noise of the mill be heard.”

“Never again will the light of a lamp shine in you. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never again be heard in you. Because your traders were the world’s great and you led the nations astray by your magic spell.”

After this I heard what sounded like the loud singing of a great assembly in heaven : “Alleluia! Salvation, glory and might belong to our God, for His judgments are true and just. He has condemned the great harlot who corrupted the world with her adultery. He has avenged His servants’ blood shed by her hand in harlotry.” Once more they sang : “Alleluia! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever!”

Then the Angel told me, “Write : Happy are those invited to the wedding of the Lamb.”

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Wednesday, 27 November 2024 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Scriptures today, we are all reminded again that our path as Christians, as those who follow the Lord and believe in His teachings and words will not be an easy one. There will definitely be plenty of challenges and obstacles in our path and journey, and the way forward may be very arduous for us, but we must not easily give up the struggle and perseverance regardless of the various oppositions and trials in our path. We must always remain firm in our faith and commitment to God, and we must never lose sight of the true happiness and joy that we shall enjoy forever with Him, as long as we remain true to Him regardless of the difficulties that we have encountered.

In our first reading today, we heard from the continuation from the Book of Revelations of St. John as we had in the earlier days, in which the Apostle related to us what he had witnessed in his vision of the end of time, with the seven great Angels of God bringing forth the seven bowls of plagues from God to the world, at the last moments before the Final and Last Judgment. In that vision, St. John saw the Angels of God bringing forth God’s punishment upon all the sinners and all those who have remained in the world and chose to side with the evil one, refusing to listen to His truth and repent from their sins. This is what the Lord has justly given to all those who have constantly rejected and refused His love and kindness, His compassion and mercy.

This does not mean that God desires any one of us to be destroyed and condemned to Hell. On the contrary, He wants all of us, every single one of us, children of mankind, His most beloved and the pinnacle of all of His creation, to share in His eternal joy and love, and to be with Him forevermore. He does not wish for any one of us to be lost to Him. Hence, He has given us so many means for us to reach out to Him and to find our way to His salvation and grace. But if by our own volition and conscious decision and choice we have made, in denying God and refusing His generous offer of love and mercy, then we have been condemned by our own sins and by our own stubbornness and desires, and this is what those people will suffer in the end times.

We are being reminded all these so that we can remain strong and vigilant in our faith and in our lives so that we do not end up falling into the slippery slope of sin. It does not mean that all of us who have been baptised as Christians can never fall again into sin. The fact is that this makes the evil one and all of his forces to be even more hardworking in trying to bring us down and to drag us into the path towards our downfall. We are all saved by our faith in God, but if that faith is not made alive and vibrant through our actions, words and deeds, then that faith is as good as empty, meaningless and dead. And such a faith will not avail us on the Day of Judgment and reckoning, when we will have to account for our lives.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the words from the Lord Jesus to His disciples in which He foretold before them everything that they would have to endure as His disciples and followers, all the persecutions, hardships and obstacles that they would have to face in the midst of their ministry and works. This is a reality that all of us as Christians must realise, that as long as we remain faithful to the Lord and His ways, from the very beginning of the Church to the present day and even in the future, there will always be oppositions that we may face in various ways from the world, which is opposed to the path and the way of the Lord.

That is the reality of becoming a Christian, brothers and sisters in Christ. Having believed in the Lord, we are all called to be prepared to face the same struggles and challenges that He Himself had faced, and all these are caused by the darkness and evils present in this world which refuse to obey the way and truth of God, and all those that present to us the divergent ways that are contrary to the Lord’s teachings and salvation. This is why we must not be easily swayed and fooled, to think that having become Christians and believers in the Lord, then our lives will be all good and smooth, blessed and without problems. Indeed, that will be our ultimate fate in the world that is to come, but at present, in our world still marred by sin and corruption of evil, we may still have to suffer persecutions and challenges.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now what matters is what we are going to do about our own lives in this world. Are we going to commit ourselves anew to the Lord, to His path and to everything that He has entrusted to us? Or are we continue to be ignorant of our calling and mission in life? Or worse still, are we still going to allow the temptations of the world and sin to lead us astray and to bring us to our downfall? If we are not careful we may end up being dragged by the sins we commit and by our disobedience, and hence, risk falling ever deeper into the path towards damnation. That is why we should always keep in mind to follow the Lord ever more faithfully in each and every moments of our lives, doing whatever we can to serve Him at all times.

May the Lord, our ever patient, loving and compassionate God continue to strengthen us in faith so that we may ever draw strength and courage from Him as we endure various challenges and difficulties in life, so that we do not easily falter in our commitment to Him, and that we will not lose sight on the focus of our lives, that is God and Him alone. May the Lord bless us and guide us in our journey, in all the efforts and works that we make, fo the greater glory of His Holy Name, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 27 November 2024 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 21 : 12-19

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Before all these things happen, people will lay their hands on you and persecute you; you will be delivered to the synagogues and put in prison, and for My sake you will be brought before kings and governors. This will be your opportunity to bear witness.”

“So keep this in mind : do not worry in advance about what to say, for I will give you words and wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death.”

“But even though, because of My Name, you will be hated by everyone, not a hair of your head will perish. By your patient endurance you will save your souls.”

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Wednesday, 27 November 2024 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 7-8, 9

Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

The Lord has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love nor His faithfulness to Israel.

Let the sea resound and everything in it, the world and all its peoples. Let rivers clap their hands, hills and mountains sing with joy.

Before the Lord, for He comes to rule the earth. He will judge the world with justice and the peoples with fairness.

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Wednesday, 27 November 2024 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Revelations 15 : 1-4

Then I saw another great and marvellous sign in the heavens : seven Angels brought seven plagues which are the last, for with these the wrath of God will end. There was a sea of crystal mingled with fire, and the conquerors of the beast, of its name and the mark of its name stood by it.

They had been given the celestial harps and they sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb : Great and marvellous are Your works, o Lord, God and Master of the universe. Justice and truth guide Your steps, o King of the nations.

Lord, who will not give honour and glory to Your Name? For You alone are holy. All the nations will come and bow before You, for they have now seen Your judgments.

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Tuesday, 26 November 2024 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Lord contained within the Sacred Scriptures we have heard today, we are all reminded that we must always be prepared and vigilant in our lives, in each and every moments of our daily living, in our every words, actions and deeds so that we may truly be prepared for the coming of the Lord and to be truly worthy of Him at all times, so that when He comes again and when we have to account for our lives, actions and deeds, all that we have carried out in this life and even things that we have not done or failed to do when we should have done them. As we come ever closer to the end of the current liturgical year we are being constantly reminded about this so that we will have the resolve and the desire to continue living our lives worthily of the Lord as we should have always done.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Revelations the continuation of the account of the events that is to come at the end of time according to the vision which St. John the Apostle received at the Island of Patmos, who recounted to us what he saw in the Angel of God being sent into the world to reap the harvest at the appointed time, referring to the moment of reckoning, the end of times and the coming of the Final and Last Judgment. In that vision, St. John saw the Son of Man sending the Angels out to the world with a great sickle, to harvest the vines of the earth for it is already time for the harvest. Then, we heard how the Angels gathered the produces and put them in the winepress of the anger of God. This is a reminder for us all to cultivate a truly good and worthy life that the Lord will truly find worthy at the time of the great harvest, the end of times.

It is also a reminder for us that while God’s love and kindness, His compassion and mercy for each and every one of us are truly great and generous, wonderful and ever made available always for us, but we must not forget that we must embrace His generous offer of love and mercy, and not to reject Him and ignore His outreach of love and grace. Otherwise, by our own disobedience and wickedness, our own constant rejection of His love and generous mercy, in the end, there will be nothing left for us, no share in God’s grace and salvation. It is often that we have disregarded and abandoned Him for many of the temptations and other pursuits and desires in the world all around us. That is why, for our wickedness and constant refusal to listen to Him and embrace His love, God’s righteous anger will be against those who reject Him.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the words of the Lord to the people gathered in the area of the Temple of Jerusalem to admire it, its magnificence and wonderful appearance. This great Temple complex was the second Temple built on the site after the first Temple originally built by King Solomon of Israel was destroyed by the Babylonians. The Temple was modest in size and appearance, but was greatly enlarged and expanded by King Herod the Great, the previous ruler of the land of Judea, who was obsessed with lots of large building works to cement his legacy, including that of the Temple of Jerusalem. But while the Temple was truly grand and mighty in appearance, but it was full of corruption and wicked things, due to the corrupt activities of the merchants and the money changers that were there.

Not only that but the beliefs and the practices of the Israelites and their descendants, the Jewish people were already astray and far from what God has intended for them, from what God had taught and shown them. The priests and those Pharisees and teachers of the Law put much greater emphasis and focus on the sacrifices at the Temple, and not truly understanding and appreciating the true meaning and purpose of the Law of God. They have grown proud and arrogant because they thought themselves as being superior and better than the others around them. They hardened their hearts and minds against the Lord, refusing to listen to the truth which the Lord Jesus Himself had brought to their midst and presented to them.

That was why the Lord told the people and everyone else assembled how no matter the greatness and the glory of the Temple and all of its appearances, everything would not last forever as they would be crushed and destroyed within a matter of decades, and this prophecy would indeed come true about thirty years or so after the Lord had said it, with the Romans destroying Jerusalem and its Temple during the first Roman-Jewish War caused by the rebellions led by the more extreme and hardline factions among the Jews at the time. It was a reminder to all of us that no matter what kind of greatness and glory in the world, ultimately all of those things are illusory and will not last forever, no matter what. That is why we must not allow ourselves to be easily swayed by all the temptations and pleasures of this world.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us remember that we are all weak and sinful people, who are in need of God’s great love and mercy, His healing and grace. Let us all remember to be humble and to desire this forgiveness and compassion, so that we may be truly reconciled with God, and be one day fully and completely reunited with Him. Let us all put our trust in the Lord instead on all worldly things and matters, so that by having this strong and genuine anchor in faith in God, we will not be easily shaken and swept by all the tides and waves around us, caused by all the temptations and challenges in our path. Let us all continue to walk ever more faithfully in God’s path, and do whatever we can to inspire many more people to come ever closer to God.

May the Lord, our ever loving and compassionate God, our merciful and just Creator and Master continue to help us to be ever stronger in our faith and commitment to Him. May He continue to give us the courage and strength to persevere through whatever challenges and trials, hardships and obstacles in our path so that we may not falter in our journey towards Him, and that we will continue to endure and be strong, and ever be committed in our desire to love Him and to follow Him at all times. May God bless our every good efforts, works and endeavours, all for His greater glory, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 26 November 2024 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 21 : 5-11

At that time, while some people were talking about the Temple, remarking that it was adorned with fine stonework and rich gifts, Jesus said to them, “The days will come when there shall not be left one stone upon another of all that you now admire; all will be torn down.” And they asked Him, “Master, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?”

Jesus then said, “Take care not to be deceived, for many will come claiming My title and saying, ‘I am He, the Messiah; the time is at hand!’ Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and troubled times, do not be frightened; for all these things must happen first, even though the end is not so soon.”

And Jesus said, “Nations will fight each other and kingdom will oppose kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and plagues; in many places strange and terrifying signs from heaven will be seen.”

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Tuesday, 26 November 2024 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 95 : 10, 11-12a, 12b-13

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” He will judge the peoples with justice.

Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound; let the fields exult and everything in them.

Let the forest, all the trees, sing for joy. Let them sing before the Lord Who comes to judge the earth. He will rule the world with justice and the peoples with fairness.

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Tuesday, 26 November 2024 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Revelations 14 : 14-19

Then I had this vision, I saw a white cloud and the One sitting on it like a Son of Man, wearing a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. An Angel came out of the sanctuary, calling loudly to the One sitting on the cloud, “Put in Your sickle and reap, for harvest time has come and the harvest of the earth is ripe.”

He Who was sitting on the cloud swung His sickle at the earth and reaped the harvest. Then another Angel, who also had a sharp sickle, came out of the heavenly sanctuary. Still another Angel, the one who has charge of the altar fire, emerged and shouted to the first who held the sharp sickle, “Swing your sharp sickle and reap the bunches of the vine of the earth for they are fully ripe.”

So the Angel swung his sickle and gathered in the vintage, throwing all the grapes into the great winepress of the anger of God.

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Monday, 25 November 2024 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour :  Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that all of us as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people should always keep our faith in the Lord firm and strong amidst all the difficulties, challenges and hardships that we may be facing in life. As we come ever closer to the end of the current liturgical year that is ending this week, we are constantly being reminded of the need for all of us to remain strong in our faith and commitment to God, in our desire to love Him and to follow Him courageously and honourably all the time. We must not be easily dissuaded and prevented from committing ourselves to the Lord by the many obstacles, trails and opposition we may have to face in our journey.

In our first reading today, we heard the continuation of the account from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle in which the great vision of St. John was told to us, about the presence of the Lamb of God, the Saviour of the whole world, Our Lord Jesus Christ, on Mount Zion, surrounded by the one hundred and forty-four thousand, a large number meant to represent the vast number of those who have been saved and made worthy by their faith in God. All those people have been found worthy in their faith and dedication to God, having lived worthily and righteously amidst all the challenges, temptations and difficulties, all the sufferings that they had to endure in the midst of their obedience and faith in God.

It is a reminder for all of us that regardless of the challenges and trials, all the persecutions and the difficult paths that we have had to traverse in order to come towards the Lord, all these perseverance and endurance in faith, obeying the will of God and doing whatever He has asked us all to do, in the end, we will share in the triumph and eternal glory, true joy and bliss that the Lord has reassured and promised us, and which He showed us all through His disciple, St. John, to share with us the hope of everlasting life, the eternal and true glory that we will enjoy with Him in His Holy Presence, freed from the bondage and dominion of evil and sin. All of us will share in the glory and joy of the saints, and be truly happy forevermore.

Then, in our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the short passage recounting to us the moment when the Lord Jesus praised the faith and commitment of the old widow who gave from her own poverty, the offering of two small coins, when many others gave to the treasury of the Temple in amounts far greater than what she has given. What the Lord truly meant by this mention of the faith of the old widow was not that He disliked or were biased against those who were rich and powerful, or favoured only those who were poor and weak. Instead, what He truly wants us to know is that even if we are facing hardships and challenges in our own lives, it does not mean that we cannot give from even our sufferings and poverty.

Instead, as Christians, we are always called to be generous with ourselves, to love even when there is nothing else we can give in terms of physical and material goods. We can still give others our time and love, our compassion and care. We must always strive to be kind and compassionate to everyone, even when we ourselves have been beset by evil and hatred by those who are around us. We must always remember the examples set by our Lord Himself, Who has forgiven those who have persecuted and oppressed Him, condemned Him to die an unjust death. He prayed for those who had hated and condemned Him, not hating or being angry against them, or seeking vengeance. This is the kind of love that we all must aspire and strive to have in us as well, brothers and sisters, love that is truly pure and selfless.

We are all reminded today that as we continue to carry on our lives in the world today, in each and every moments of our lives, we should be always be mindful of everyone around us, of all the sufferings and difficulties that each and every one of us may be facing in our own respective lives. God has shown us all what it means to be truly loving and generous, and to be truly rooted in His love and compassion. We must never ignore our calling and mission to be truly loving and compassionate towards everyone, regardless who they are, in all and every moments of our lives, doing our very best to show them all the love of God manifested through our genuine actions, deeds, all the care and concern that we have shown one another, in how we all live our lives in a selfless and loving manner.

As Christians we must never be selfish and wicked in all of our deeds and actions. Our lives should indeed reflect the light of God, His virtues and wonderful truth in everything that we say and do, in all of our interactions with one another, just as the Lord Himself has shown and taught us through His Church and His disciples. All of us must always embody our Christian faith within us, or else our faith is meaningless, empty and pointless, and will not avail us on the Day of Judgment. We are all reminded that we have been given so many opportunities by the Lord and endowed with all sorts of various blessings, talents and other things so that we may make good use of them for the benefit of everyone, for ourselves and for everyone around us, through our love and compassion.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria, a great and holy woman, and a devoted servant of God who was remembered for her great faith and commitment to God. According to Sacred tradition and history, she was the daughter of the Roman governor of Alexandria during the third century, and therefore belonged to the social elite at the time, being referred to as a ‘princess’ in the historical writings. At that time, her study of the texts about the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Church writings led her to convert to the Christian faith, and it was a time of great turmoil and difficulty for the Christians throughout the Roman Empire, as the then Roman Emperor, Diocletian and his fellow co-Emperors launched intense persecutions against Christians.

St. Catherine was a courageous and faithful woman, and she did not fear the persecutions and hardships that she would have to face amidst the intense persecution of the time, just like what we have heard in our first reading today. She went to the Emperor, then the Roman Emperor Maxentius ruling in Rome to criticise and rebuke him for his persecution of Christians, where the Emperor assembled fifty most experienced and knowledgeable pagan philosophers to debate her without avail, and even many among those philosophers were convinced of the Christian truth and converted, leading to themselves being tortured and martyred. The Emperor then had St. Catherine arrested and imprisoned afterwards. It was told that many, including the Emperor’s own wife visited her in prison, and many including the Empress became Christian converts and were martyred.

The Emperor was desperate to overcome the faith of St. Catherine, and in doing so he wanted to persuade her by asking for her hand in marriage, providing that she abandon her Christian faith. But she remained firm in her faith and refused, declaring her obedience to God and her unshakeable faith. Therefore, St. Catherine was sentenced to death, but even the spikes to be used to kill her fail and prove to be unable to take her life. Eventually, she was martyred by beheading after she willingly allowed herself to be martyred, and it was told that miraculously, a milk-like substance instead of blood poured forth from her wounds. The great examples, faith and commitment, as well as the courage and perseverance of St. Catherine of Alexandria should indeed inspire us all Christians in our own faith in God.

May the Lord, our ever loving God and Father, our wonderful Creator and King continue to guide us all in our lives today, so that we may draw ever closer to His presence, and may all of us continue to be inspired by the great examples shown by His saints, like that of St. Catherine of Alexandria whose life we have just discussed and reflected upon. May all of us continue to love Him first and foremost in our lives and do our best to glorify Him through each and every one of our actions, words and deeds in life, and may God bless our every great efforts and endeavours for His greater glory, now and always. Amen.