4th Week of Ordinary Time

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Thursday, 1 February 2024 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Kings 2 : 1-4, 10-12

When David was about to die, he gave his son Solomon this instruction, “I am about to go the way of all creatures. Be strong and show yourself a man. Keep the commandments of YHVH your God and walk in His ways. Keep His statutes, His commands, His ordinances and declarations written in the law of Moses, that you may succeed in whatever you do and wherever you go.”

If you do so, YHVH will fulfil the promise He made to me : If your sons take care to walk before Me faithfully with their whole heart and their whole soul, you shall always have one of your descendants on the throne of Israel.”

Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David. David reigned over Israel for forty years : seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. So Solomon sat on the throne of David his father and his reign was firmly established.

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Wednesday, 31 January 2024 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Bosco, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today in our Scripture passages which we have heard, we are all reminded of the need for us to restrain our human desires, pride, ego and greed, all the ambitions and worldly glory that we seek, which may lead us down the path towards ruin and destruction. We must always be mindful that if we allow our worldly and human ambitions to lead us in our lives and actions, then we may end up falling into sin, and end up losing our focus and emphasis on God, as we may end up falling into the trap of our pride and ego, and be swallowed up by the desire to satisfy our own wants and greed for pleasures and attachments for worldly things. We may end up rejecting God’s generous offer of love and kindness, and instead preferring the illusory pleasures of this world around us.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Samuel, we heard about the moment when David, the famous and great King of Israel sinned once again against the Lord, when he decided to launch a great census of the whole entirety of his kingdom, counting all the number of the people, especially the ones who are able to bear weapons and fight, and as we heard in that passage, a truly large number of people were counted by Joab, David’s commander and right-hand man, and this was David’s folly in putting his trust more in his worldly power, glory and greatness. While it may not intrinsically be wrong for a census to be carried out, which is often done by many states and countries periodically to allow for better assessment of its resources and taxes, but in this context of David carrying it out, it was a show of pride and arrogance that because God has blessed him with so much that David became temporarily swayed by all that power and worldly glory.

But in that same passage we also heard how David quickly realised his folly and mistake, and begged the Lord for forgiveness, humbling himself before Him. God was indeed ever generous and forgiving, and He forgave David from his sins. But there were still consequences that David had to bear for his mistakes, as a consequence to his poor choice of actions. We heard how David sought for him to be struck by the hands of God rather than by human hands, and that was how pestilence spread throughout the land, and the Angel of God almost destroyed Jerusalem until God withheld His punishment and judgment, sparing Jerusalem and all of its inhabitants. Through what we have heard, we are reminded that after all, no matter what kind of worldly glory and power we have, God still reigns and have dominion over all things.

This means that we should not allow ourselves to be easily swayed by the many desires and ambitions, all the temptations of pleasures and the various other corruptions present all around us. We should always be vigilant that we do not let all those things from misleading us down the path towards ruin, just as David had done. David had mostly been faithful to the Lord, and save for this occasion and the other one when he planned the death of Uriah in order to gain Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife to be his own wife, he has mostly been faithful and committed to the Lord. Yet, as the evidences showed that even this man of faith and obedience to God could still fall into the same temptations and commit grievous sins against God, and hence, we too may encounter the same problem as well.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the time when the Lord Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, which was likely in the region of Galilee near where Jesus hailed from, the small town of Nazareth. That was why we heard how the people recognised Him and then became judgmental of Him because they deemed that His supposed parents and family were humble and did not have good status in the community, as His father St. Joseph was just a carpenter, and His family members were living in the region. To the people at that time, which is something that is still true to this day, one’s background and pedigree are often taken into account and determine whether one is respected, honoured or despised and rejected. Hence, in this case, those people doubted the Lord simply because they all thought that His background was rather too humble and insignificant.

The Lord also lamented this fact, and told the people how the prophets and messengers of God from earlier times also faced similar problems, all ultimately because those people to whom they had been sent to, were easily judgmental and biased, and refused to believe in the truth of God. They often chose to dwell in their own prejudices and judgmental attitudes to others, instead of allowing themselves to listen to reason. This was why they ridiculed the messengers of God, the prophets and ultimately the Lord Himself, because they likely thought that they knew it all better, and that they could not have been wrong in their paths and ways. Unfortunately, this hardened and closed their hearts and minds from God’s grace and love. This is not something that we all should be doing in our own lives.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. John Bosco, a well-renowned saint whose life and dedication to God had been a great inspiration for many people throughout the Church, and many were touched by God through this great man’s life, works and dedications to the missions entrusted to him. St. John Bosco was renowned for his efforts in reaching out to the less privileged, especially to the juveniles and youths who had been neglected and ignored by the community, all those who had suffered from problems and various challenges in life. He himself faced a lot of hardships and struggles in his youth, having been born amidst times of famines and poverty among the people, and his own family had to endure many losses, including that of his own father early on when he was barely just two years old.

Yet, all those hard life experiences did not make St. John Bosco bitter and angry at his conditions. In fact, that might very well had laid out the foundations for his passion in reaching out to the less fortunate people around him later on, especially those neglected and delinquent youths he dedicated his life to minister and care for. St. John Bosco also experienced personally the bad attitudes the people of his age and older when he was still young and in school, and all these experiences would shape his way of thinking and also encourage him to reach out to those youths to prevent them from falling into the path of vices and wickedness of the world. Eventually, he was called to follow the Lord and become a priest, and was eventually ordained as one after many years of struggles and hardships.

And as a priest, St. John Bosco devoted himself quickly to the poor and marginalised, those who were experiencing things that he and his family had experienced themselves. He reached out to the less fortunate and the suffering ones in his community and parish, and eventually established the Oratorio of St. John Bosco, which was a charitable institution designed to care for the needy and delinquent children so that their needs may be taken care of and that they might be properly mentored and guided to prevent them from falling down the wrong path in life. St. John Bosco dedicated a lot of time and efforts to care for all those people, and helped them to remain in the right path throughout their lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are all reminded by what we heard in the Scriptures and the life and examples of St. John Bosco that we should indeed be inspired by the good examples of our holy predecessors, who have dedicated and committed their lives in service to the Lord. Let us all hence do our best to live our lives worthily in the Lord’s Presence, and do what we can so that by all of our actions and every moments in life, we will always glorify the Lord by all of those worthy and good actions. May the Lord be with us always, and may He empower us all to walk in His grace and love, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 31 January 2024 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Bosco, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Mark 6 : 1-6

At that time, leaving the place where He raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead, Jesus returned to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and most of those who heard Him were astonished.

But they said, “How did this come to Him? What kind of wisdom has been given to Him, that He also performs such miracles? Who is He but the Carpenter, the Son of Mary, and the Brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here among us?” So they took offence at Him.

And Jesus said to them, “Prophets are despised only in their own country, among their relatives, and in their own family.” And He could work no miracles there, but only healed a few sick people, by laying His hands on them. Jesus Himself was astounded at their unbelief. Jesus then went around the villages, teaching.”

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Wednesday, 31 January 2024 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Bosco, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 31 : 1-2, 5, 6, 7

Blessed is the one whose sin is forgiven, whose iniquity is wiped away. Blessed are those in whom YHVH sees no guilt and in whose spirit is found no deceit.

Then I made known to You my sin and uncovered before You my fault, saying to myself, “To YHVH I will now confess my wrong.” And You, You forgave my sin; You removed my guilt.

So let the faithful ones pray to You in time of distress; the overflowing waters will not reach them.

You are my Refuge; You protect me from distress and surround me with songs of deliverance.

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Wednesday, 31 January 2024 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Bosco, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

2 Samuel 24 : 2, 9-17

The king said to Joab and the commanders of the army who were with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and count the people that I may know how many they are.”

Joab gave the total count of the people to the king : eight hundred thousand warriors in Israel and five hundred thousand men in Judah. But after he had the people counted, David felt remorse and said to YHVH, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done, but now, o YHVH, I ask You to forgive my sin for I have acted foolishly.”

The following day, before David awoke, YHVH’s word had come to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, “Go, and give David this message : I offer you three things and I will let one of them befall you according to your own choice.”

So Gad went to David and asked him, “Do you want three years of famine in your land? Or do you want to be pursued for three months by your foes while you flee from them? Or do you want three days’ pestilence in your land? Now, think and decide what answer I shall give Him Who sent me.”

David answered Gad, “I am greatly troubled. Let me fall into the hands of YHVH Whose mercy is abundant; but let me not fall into human hands.” So YHVH sent a pestilence on Israel from morning until the appointed time, causing the death of seventy thousand men from Dan to Beersheba. When the Angel stretched forth his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, YHVH would punish no more and said to the Angel who was causing destruction among the people, “It is enough, hold back your hand.”

The Angel of YHVH was already at the threshing floor of Araunah, the Jebusite. When David saw the Angel striking the people, he spoke to YHVH and said, “I have sinned and acted wickedly, but these are only the sheep; what have they done? Let Your hand strike me and my father’s family.”

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Tuesday, 30 January 2024 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all heard from the readings of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the great love which the Lord, our loving God has for each one of us, and how He wants us all to be healed from our afflictions and hardships, the challenges and trials, all the obstacles which may come in between us and Him. All of us are reminded that God has always been kind and loving towards us, regardless of the wickedness, evils and rebelliousness of our lives and actions, which have kept many of us away from the path of the Lord, for all these time. However, too many of us are too proud and besotted by sin and evil, that we fail to realise this love and compassionate mercy which God has for all of us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Samuel of the continuation of the story of the reign of King David, which we have heard in yesterday’s passage on the rebellion of Absalom, one of David’s own sons, whose ambitions and pride led him to rebel against his own father, and attempted to seize the kingdom for himself in an attempted coup. Today’s passage told us all that this attempted coup was ultimately a failure because God was with David, while Absalom depended solely on his might and the means of the world to sustain himself. Absalom was proud and ambitious, and he sought to gain power for himself, by winning over the people and the members of the elite, and his confidence led him to his downfall and undoing.

At the Battle of Ephraim’s Wood, which was mentioned in today’s first reading passage, Absalom’s forces was routed and defeated by those who were loyal to David. Absalom himself was caught up amidst the trees while he was fleeing, and Joab, David’s army commander killed Absalom there where the latter had been trapped. Then, we heard how when the news of Absalom’s death was relayed to David, the King was beset with a great grief, and proclaimed great sorrow and mourning for Absalom. Absalom might have indeed betrayed his father, and committed a great treason and sin, but ultimately, to David, Absalom was still his son, someone whom he loved and cared for. It would not be too far to think that had Absalom survived, Absalom might have been forgiven by David.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what is significant about this turn of events is that, it actually shows us all the same kind of love and interaction which God has shown to us, His beloved ones, the ones whom He has cared for as His own beloved people and children. God has always been loving and kind towards us, and He has always desired to show His mercy and forgiveness towards us. We may have committed a lot of wicked deeds and evils in our lives, but we are still beloved by God, and while He indeed despises our sins and wickedness, but this does not change the fact that He loves each and every one of us. This was just like how David loved Absalom despite what the latter had done to him. This reminds us all of God’s love and mercy, and how we should respond to Him.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of two of the Lord’s famous miracles, which happened as He went to help a synagogue official whose daughter was very sick. At that time, the Lord was on His way to Jairus’ house, the synagogue official who knew Him and asked Him to heal his daughter, and as we heard, the crowd were all around Him, and it was then and there that a woman suffering from haemorrhage problem sought the Lord and got healed by her faith in Him. The woman had suffered from the condition for a rather long time, and according to the Law of God and the customs of the Jewish people, that condition would have made her to be unclean and unworthy, and hence ostracised from the community.

This explained why the woman tried to approach the Lord discreetly, and at that time, for a person to touch her, it would have made the person unclean as well. That was why the woman sought the Lord quietly, and her great faith in Him made her to believe in Him, in how just by touching the fringe of His cloak, she believed that it would make her better. She trusted in the Lord and put her faith in Him, believing in the love and kindness which God has for each and every one of us. Thus, we heard how she was healed by her faith, and the Lord also made her faith as a great example for others, and pointing out her unrelenting faith before all, that she was willing to brave through the crowd to be healed by Him.

In the same manner therefore, Jairus’ faith in the Lord and his trust in the Lord’s most amazing and enduring love allowed her daughter to return back to life, by the power and will of God, Who raised her back from the realm of the dead. That was also God’s way of telling us all that, we are all beloved and dear to Him, and He would not want for any one of us to be lost to Him, and He wants us all to be reconciled and reunited to Him, finding our way back to Him. Each and every one of us ought to heed these examples of great faith and trust in God, and be reminded of God’s great love which He has constantly showed us, as our most loving God and Father, Our Lord, Creator and Master. Have we shown Him some appreciation and thanksgiving for everything that He had done for us?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore spend some time to reflect upon our lives and see in what way that we can be better disciples and followers of the Lord, so that in all things we will grow ever stronger in faith, and that we will continue to be empowered, strengthened and encouraged to walk in the path of righteousness and virtue, in turning away from our sins, the wickedness and temptations of the world, which are easily found all around us. We must always be vigilant and careful lest those temptations and pressures bring us to our downfall and destruction. Let us all put our faith and trust always in the Lord from now on, and let us all continue to do His will and works at all times.

May God be with us all, and may He guide and empower us all in all the things we say and do, in our every good efforts and works, in all of our endeavours for the greater glory of God. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 30 January 2024 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 5 : 21-43

At that time, Jesus then crossed to the other side of the lake; and while He was still on the shore, a large crowd gathered around Him. Jairus, an official of the synagogue, came up and, seeing Jesus, threw himself at His feet; and begged Him earnestly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may get well and live.”

Jesus went with him, and many people followed, pressing around Him. Among the crowd was a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a lot at the hands of many doctors and had spent everything she had, but instead of getting better, she was worse. Because she had heard about Jesus, this woman came up behind Him and touched His cloak, thinking, “If I just touch His clothing, I shall get well.”

Her flow of blood dried up at once, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her complaint. But Jesus was conscious that healing power had gone out from Him, so He turned around in the crowd, and asked, “Who touched My clothes?” His disciples answered, “You see how the people are crowding around You. Why do You ask who touched You?”

But He kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, aware of what had happened, came forward, trembling and afraid. She knelt before Him, and told Him the whole truth. Then Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be free of this illness.”

While Jesus was still speaking, some people arrived from the official’s house to inform him, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Master any further?” But Jesus ignored what they said, and told the official, “Do not fear, just believe.” And He allowed no one to follow Him except Peter, James and John, the brother of James.

When they arrived at the house, Jesus saw a great commotion, with people weeping and wailing loudly. Jesus entered, and said to them, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but asleep.” They laughed at Him. So Jesus sent them outside, and went with the child’s father and mother and His companions into the room, where the child lay.

Taking her by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha kumi!” which means, “Little girl, get up!” The girl got up at once and began to walk around. (She was twelve years old.) The parents were amazed, greatly amazed. Jesus strictly ordered them not to let anyone know about it; and He told them to give her something to eat.

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Tuesday, 30 January 2024 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 85 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Listen, o YHVH, and answer me, for I am afflicted and needy. Preserve my life, for I am God-fearing; save Your servant who trusts in You.

Have mercy on me, o YHVH, for I cry to You all day. Bring joy to the soul of Your servant; for You, o YHVH, I lift up my soul.

You are good and forgiving, o YHVH, caring for those who call on You. Listen, o YHVH, to my prayer, hear the voice of my pleading.

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Tuesday, 30 January 2024 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Samuel 18 : 9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 31 – 2 Samuel 19 : 3

Absalom was riding a mule and happened to meet the guards of David. As the mule passed under the thick branches of a big oak tree, his head was caught in the oak tree and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule has was riding went its way. Someone reported to Joab, “I saw Absalom hanging from an oak tree.”

So Joab took three spears in his hand and thrust them into Absalom’s heart while he was still alive in the oak tree. David was sitting between the two gates. The watchman posted at the roof of the gate, on the wall, saw a man running alone. So he called out and reported to the king who said, “Move away and stand here.” He moved aside and stayed there.

The Cushite arrived and said, “Good news for my lord the king! YHVH has done you justice today and saved you from all those who rebelled against you.” The king asked the Cushite, “How is the young Absalom?” The Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rebel against you end up like that young man.”

The king was greatly disturbed and, going up to the room over the gate, he wept and said, “O, my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! Would that I had died instead of you, o Absalom, my son, my son!”

It was reported to Joab, “The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.” So the victory that day turned into mourning for all the people, when they heard that the king was grieving over his son.

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Monday, 29 January 2024 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are all reminded that no matter what hardships, challenges and difficulties that we may have to face in our lives, we will always have that assurance from the Lord, that He will always be with us, and He will continue to guide and protect us, and help us in His own ways throughout our journey in life. As long as we continue to hold on to our faith in the Lord and place our trust in Him, we will not be disappointed in the end, unlike if we trust in all the worldly matters and means instead. We must not be easily swayed and tempted by all of these distractions in life, which can bring us to our downfall and destruction, unless we strive to resist those temptations and remain firmly faithful in God at all times.

In our first reading, we heard from the Book of the prophet Samuel about the state of affairs in the kingdom of Israel during the middle period of David’s reign as King, when Absalom, one of his many sons, rebelled against him and attempted to seize the kingship from David. Absalom, according to the Scriptures, had always been a proud and ambitious man, and he clearly had pretensions and desires to be a king, to succeed his own father as ruler over the people and the land of Israel. He has often presented himself to the leading figures of the kingdom and to the people as the one who would succeed his father as the ruler over Israel, and had made his moves, winning over the hearts and minds of the people, and it was at this time then, that Absalom, swayed and tempted with power, decided to launch a coup effort against his own father.

Thus, as many people sided with Absalom, David had to flee from the city of Jerusalem, his capital, abandoning the city and his palace to Absalom and his forces, as he and his supporters sought for a better place from which to carry out the next plan to counter the coup by Absalom and those who supported him. We heard how there was a Benjaminite named Shimei, who cursed David along the way, harassed him verbally and mocked him. Shimei, being a fellow tribesman of Saul, the former king who David had replaced, clearly did not approve of David, and he launched that tirade of curses and attacks against David. That man likely only had the courage to do so because he saw an opportunity when David’s star and fortune seemingly waned, and at that time, it was indeed true that David’s situation was rather dire, abandoned and betrayed by many among his own family and people.

Yet, David trusted in the Lord and completely had faith in Him. He did not despair or seek to overcome his predicaments by depending on worldly means, plans and methods. Like when he was faced with the great predicament of facing Goliath earlier in his life, he placed his trust in God, and did not despair amidst the challenges, trials and difficulties that he had to face. He let God guide his path, and eventually, while at the time no one would have considered it likely, David managed to weather this round of coup and attempt to overthrow him, and the traitor Absalom lost his life in the process. Shimei himself eventually also faced justice during the reign of David’s son, Solomon, after his misdeeds and wicked words were eventually taken into account for. This shows how if we have faith and trust in the Lord, we truly should not be afraid or fearful.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the popular story of the moment when the Lord Jesus healed and freed a man who was beset and controlled by a vast horde of evil spirits, who named themselves as Legion, in the region of the Gerasenes. As mentioned in that Gospel passage, we heard how the evil spirits had made the man to live his life in the wilderness, in the areas far from habitation because of the fear that his condition brought about everyone, and no one dared to approach or help him. The man was clearly suffering and tormented physically, mentally and spiritually by those evil spirits, just as we have heard in the same Gospel passage, and it was the Lord Jesus Who ended his misery and sufferings.

The evil spirits recognised and feared the Lord, begging Him that they should not be harmed or destroyed, as they knew that the Lord would send them out of the suffering man. The Lord ordered all of the evil spirits to get out of the man and they went to the horde of pigs that happened to be nearby that area, and they all cast themselves into the water, and perished. This healed and freed the man from all of his sufferings and afflictions, and henceforth, he could return once again to the community without being ostracised and feared anymore for his condition. But the people of the region feared the Lord for what He had done, and as we heard, they begged the Lord to leave the area, implying that He was not welcome in their place, and also likely for the loss of economic and monetary means they suffered because of what happened to the horde of pigs.

The significance of what we have heard in our Gospel passage today, and linking to what we have heard in the earlier first reading is that, first of all, as pigs were known among the Jews to be unclean animals, therefore as a matter of figurative meaning, the Lord wanted to highlight how the devil and all of his forces belong to the darkness, and as the pigs all rushed to their deaths, it was also a kind of premonition of the fate which awaits the devil and all of those wicked forces seeking for our destruction. They will all eventually meet their destruction and end, and they will no longer be allowed to exert their dominion and power over us. And the fact that about two thousand pigs died for the man who was saved and freed from his afflictions, it also showed us all that, symbolically, the Lord was telling us just how precious all of us are to Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today let us all therefore ponder these words from the Scriptures and remind ourselves that we should not easily allow ourselves to be swayed and tempted by the wickedness of this world. We should remind ourselves that like Absalom, our ambitions and desires can lead us down the path of ruin and destruction if we are not careful. We must always be vigilant that we are not dragged down into the path of evil and sin, and hence, we should always be faithful to God, and place Him at the centre of our lives. Let us all truly live righteously and worthily according to our faith in God and do our part so that, in everything that we do, we will always be worthy of the Lord, and that by our examples, many more will come to follow our footsteps in following the Lord, our God.

May the Lord be with us all and may He strengthen us in our resolve and commitment to do what He has asked us all to do. May He bless our every efforts, good works and endeavours, our every moments in life. May God bless our lives, and help us to be His better disciples and followers, now and always. Amen.