6th Week of Ordinary Time

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Sunday, 11 February 2024 : Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday each and every one of us are reminded first of all that we have to seek the Lord and put Him at the centre and as the focus of our lives, as it is in Him alone that we can find liberation and freedom from all of our troubles, sufferings and pains, which is represented by the problem of leprosy highlighted in our Scripture readings today. That leprosy is a representation of all of the things which have kept us from the fullness of grace in God, and it is in the Lord alone that we can find total and complete freedom from all these taints and corruptions, and find true satisfaction and joy.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Leviticus in which the matter of leprosy and how it should he handled and treated are presented to us. However, first of all, we must understand that the kind of disease now known as leprosy, is probably different from what was indicated and known in the time of the Exodus and in the historic Israel. The skin diseases that are infectious and showing external signs easily visible to others at that time were generally all called leprosy, and this kind of infection was greatly feared at the time especially because during the time of the Exodus and the journey from the land of Egypt to the Promised Land of Canaan, many of the people were living together in close and cramped quarters, in which any disease outbreak would have been deadly.

That was why, as part of the laws and customs established then by the Law of God and Moses, it was settled that those who suffered from leprosy ought to distance themselves from others, and they were to be sent out from the community for the good of the whole community. At the same time, those who suffered from the leprosy could eventually return once they have recovered and been cured from the leprosy, which is yet another sign that this kind of leprosy is not exactly the same as the leprosy we commonly know today, which is mostly incurable. Nonetheless, it has always been the intention of the Lord to help manage, safeguard and protect His people through the Law that He has given to them, so that they could remain safe and healthy throughout their long journey.

However, this Law in time became a source of prejudice and discrimination against those who suffered from leprosy and other diseases, as those who suffered from them became ostracised and were treated badly against, as they were deemed to be unclean and even treated as if they had committed bad things and deeds in life, in which the leprosy became some sorts of Divine retribution or punishment for their wickedness and sins. This was where the Lord came in and showed that this attitude was not helpful and charitable, and is something that they should not be doing, as ultimately, everyone who suffered from those diseases and afflictions, are also equally beloved by God, and are our own brothers and sisters in the same Lord and Father.

In our second reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, we heard the Apostle exhorting the faithful people of God in the city of Corinth reminding that they all should be following the examples of the Lord, in doing what He had taught and commanded them to do, not to seek their own interests or to offend anyone. This also implied that they should also not differentiate anyone by their background or origins, as what St. Paul had often championed, in highlighting the equality between the Jewish people and the non-Jewish people or the Gentiles, how everyone ought to be treated equally, and not be prejudiced or biased against each other.

To understand this better, once again we have to understand the context of what happened at that time, and the dynamics of the community of the faithful then. At that time, the Jewish people, who were directly descended from the people of Israel and Judah, had considered themselves to be better and more privileged than others by virtue of them and their ancestors being the chosen people, the ones descended from Abraham and Israel, God’s first chosen people. However, some among them like the Pharisees, took this to the extreme, by considering that any association or contact with the Gentiles or pagans would have made them to be unclean and unworthy, stained and corrupted in some form.

This is why the Lord reached out to the leper in our Gospel passage today, as He showed His mercy and compassion on him as the leper begged the Lord to heal him and to make him healthy once again. No one among the Jewish people, especially the Pharisees would have even come close to the leper, less still to help and heal him. The Gospel passage was also very clear in pointing out that the Lord stretched out His hand and touched the leper, which caused the leprosy to be healed immediately. The Lord wanted the leper, His disciples and all of us to know that, nothing came separate or come in between us and the love of God, no matter what. He came to heal us and to gather us all back to His loving Presence, and to liberate us from all of our trials and troubles.

Now, in today’s Scripture readings, there is one more topic and important point highlighted in them, that is the matter of obedience. In the same Gospel passage today, we heard how the Lord told the healed leper that he ought to show himself to the priest in the manner prescribed by the Law, and not to tell anyone else how he had been healed. Yet, that same leper disobeyed Him and did the exact opposite. It was likely that the Lord knew that the leper was going to disobey Him and therefore He gave him a reminder that he should not do so. The healed leper chose to disobey the Lord anyway, and that brought difficulties to the Lord and His works. Why is that so? That is because if everyone found out that the Lord had been touching a leper, although He did heal the latter from his leprosy, but some would have considered the Lord to be unclean and hence ought to be ostracised like the leper himself.

Another possibility was that when everyone found out about the miraculous healing, all the people would have wanted to seek the Lord and be healed by Him as well, and this would have made it really difficult for Him to go into any towns because of the immense crowds that would have sought Him. But regardless of the reasons why the Lord had to stay in the wilderness, the reality is that, despite knowing that the leper was going to disobey Him, the risks involved in doing His works and all, the Lord still chose to heal the leper anyway, showing the great love and compassion which He has always had for every one of us, regardless of who we are and what kind of conditions we have, and He patiently reached out to us sinners, to gather us all and to bring us all back to Him.

And this is also a reminder for us that God alone has the power to heal and save us from our own ‘leprosy’ that is our sins. Yes, sin is the leprosy of our souls, which afflicts and corrupts our body, mind, heart and soul, essentially our whole being. And unlike other kinds of diseases and afflictions, which can be cured and settled by doctors and medicines, by the technology and advancements in this world, even that of the usual leprosy, but the leprosy of our sins cannot be cured and healed save that of by God’s grace and healing. Yes, the Lord alone has the power and authority to free us all from our many sins and evils, from our wickedness and corruptions. He can forgive and heal us from the power of darkness, and bring us all into the Light of salvation and grace.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore spend some time to reflect on these readings from the Scriptures and see in what way that we can be better disciples and followers of Our Lord and God. Let us all restrain ourselves from the path of sin and evil, and do our part so that we may always continue to grow in faith in Him, and come to be good role models and examples in faith at all times. Let us all be humble and seek the Lord’s forgiveness and healing, liberating us from the shackles and slavery to sin. May the Lord in His great love and compassion for all of us continue to love us and bless us in each and every moments of our lives, and may He guide us in our journey of faith and life, and be with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 11 February 2024 : Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 1 : 40-45

At that time, a leper came to Jesus and begged Him, “If You want to, You can make me clean.” Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I do want to; be clean.”

The leprosy left the man at once and he was made clean. As Jesus sent the man away, He sternly warned him, “Do not tell anyone about this, but go and show yourself to the priest, and for the cleansing bring the offering ordered by Moses; in this way you will give to them your testimony.”

However, as soon as the man went out, he began spreading the news everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter any town. But even though He stayed in the rural areas, people came to Him from everywhere.

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Sunday, 11 February 2024 : Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 10 : 31 – 1 Corinthians 11 : 1

Then, whatever you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do it for the glory of God. Give no offence to the Jews, or to the Greeks, or to the Church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything. I do not seek my own interest, but that of many, this is : that they be saved.

Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.

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Sunday, 11 February 2024 : Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 31 : 1-2, 5, 11

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.

Rejoice in YHVH, and be glad, you who are upright; sing and shout for joy, you who are clean of heart.

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Sunday, 11 February 2024 : Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Leviticus 13 : 1-2, 44-46

YHVH said to Moses and Aaron, “If someone has a boil, an inflammation or a sore on his skin which could develop into leprosy, he must be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of the priests, his descendants.”

“This means that the man is leprous : he is unclean. The priest shall declare him unclean; he is suffering from leprosy of the head. A person infected with leprosy must wear torn clothing and leave his hair uncombed; he must cover his upper lip and cry, ‘Unclean, unclean.’”

“As long as the disease lasts he must be unclean; and therefore, he must live away from others : he must live outside the camp.”

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Saturday, 18 February 2023 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of our faith in God, which underlines our very existence and life, and which we ought to take seriously if we have not yet done so. Faith is very important for us as without genuine faith, it is very easy for us to fall into the temptations of Satan and all the other persuasions, temptations and pressures for us to abandon God’s path and to disobey Him, leading to us falling ever further away from the salvation and grace of God. Without faith, our existence will become meaningless and sundered from God’s grace and love, and hence, through what we heard in our Scripture passages today, we are yet again reminded to have true, genuine faith in God.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews, we essentially heard the summary of what we have been listening to in the past two weeks if we have been attending weekday liturgies and Masses, in which the history of the salvation of mankind had been put up in detail, showing us all the history of how mankind had fallen and then rose again from the depth of sin and their wickedness. We have heard in those preceding days how mankind was created out of the greatest love from God, and how they fell into sin through their disobedience and refusal to listen to God, preferring instead to follow their own pride, ego, ambitions and worldly desires that eventually led them down the path of sin and to their downfall. This had been highlighted again and again in these past two weeks, as we heard how our ancestors fell into sin against God.

However, amidst all the sins that our ancestors committed, the sins of Adam and Eve in disobeying God, the murder of Abel by his own brother Cain, the wickedness of mankind that led to the Great Flood, and also the hubris and pride of man that led to the events surrounding the Tower of Babel, there were still moments of goodness, reminding us all that we mankind have the capacity to do good if we so desire it and make the effort to do so, as we heard of the faith of Abel who devoted his whole offering to God, giving Him only the best of what he had. Then we have also heard of the story of Enoch, while not highlighted in the readings of the previous days, but Enoch was the only one among all mankind back then not to suffer death, but raised up to Heaven because of his righteousness and obedience to God.

And of course we heard again and are reminded of the faith of Noah, who remained faithful to God when the rest of the world were full of wickedness and refused to listen to God. Noah devoted his life and all his efforts to build the Great Ark, through which God saved him and his family while the rest of the wicked men and women were destroyed by the Great Flood. All those examples highlighted to us all share the same pattern and characteristic, in that all these people, our holy predecessors, had great faith in God and listened to Him, while allowing Him to do His will through them, and they consequently received great grace and help from God, reminding us yet again that we are all beloved by God, despite our many sins and disobedience. God wants to be reconciled with us and to forgive us our sins, and to this extent, He has given us His own beloved Son, to be our Saviour.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of that same Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Saviour of the whole world, Who revealed Himself to three of His disciples, St. Peter, St. James and St. John on top of Mount Tabor, in the event known as the Transfiguration of the Lord, when Jesus revealed the truth about Himself before His disciples, how He was not merely just the Son of Man and a Prophet of God, but was also the Son of God Most High, the Holy One, Who has come down into this world, the Divine Word of God, incarnate in the Flesh to be the Son of Man. As He revealed Himself, being present with Moses and Elijah atop Mount Tabor, He revealed to the disciples and to all of us, how He has fulfilled everything that He Himself had said through His servants, in promising salvation and liberation to all of them.

Moses represented the Law that God had given to all of us, which Christ would indeed renew and remind to all of the people, reminding everyone of the true purpose, intention and meaning of the Law, which is God’s Love for each and every one of us, and also the love that mankind ought to have for Him, as well as for one another. Without faith in God, we cannot be truly obedient to Him and His Law and commandments, and that is why we are reminded to always be willing to listen to the Lord, in His reminders to us to obey His Law and commandments wholeheartedly and sincerely, and not just paying mere lip service or obeying things just for appearances like many of the people in Lord Jesus’ time liked to do. All of us are reminded to be truly devoted to the Lord, doing our best to follow the ways of the Lord as He has taught us through His Church.

Meanwhile, Elijah represented the Prophets of God, and all that the Lord has spoken and promised to His people throughout time. The Lord came into this world as the proof and fulfilment of all of His past promises, and through this example, all of us are reminded that God is forever faithful to the Covenant which He has made with us, and He will not abandon any of us to darkness and destruction, unless we ourselves have chosen to side with the devil and disobey the Lord willingly, as many of our predecessors had done. Just as Abel, Enoch, Noah, as well as Abraham, David and many others of the worthy and holy people in the Scriptures have shown us, God will reward all those who have been faithful to Him, while He also still patiently called and wanted all those who have not walked in His path to follow Him, right up to the very end. But should we still choose to disobey Him to the end, then there is nothing else that awaits us other than eternal damnation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we reflect upon the Scripture readings we have heard from today, all of us are called and reminded of the responsibilities that we all have as Christians to be the bearers of God’s light and truth, as the ones to proclaim His love and mercy to the world, and to help one another in our journey of faith that we all may be ever closer to God and His salvation. May the Lord continue to help us and strengthen us all in our faith, so that we do not lose our faith and trust in God even through the darkest and most difficult moments of our lives. May God be with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 18 February 2023 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Mark 9 : 2-13

At that time, six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain. There His appearance was changed before their eyes. Even His clothes shone, becoming as white as no bleach of this world could make them. Elijah and Moses appeared to them; the two were talking with Jesus.

Then Peter spoke and said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say : they were overcome with awe. But a cloud formed, covering them in a shadow, and from the cloud came a voice, “This is My Son, the Beloved; listen to Him.”

And suddenly, as they looked around, they no longer saw anyone except Jesus with them. As they came down the mountain, He ordered them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept this to themselves, although they discussed with one another what ‘to rise from the dead’ could mean.

Finally they asked Him, “Why then do the teachers of the Law say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus answered them, “Of course Elijah will come first, so that everything may be as it should be. But why do the Scriptures say that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be despised? I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they have treated him as they pleased, as the Scriptures say of him.”

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Saturday, 18 February 2023 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Psalm 144 : 2-3, 4-5, 10-11

I will praise You day after day and exalt Your Name forever. Great is the Lord, most worthy of praise; and His deeds are beyond measure.

Parents commend Your works to their children and tell them Your feats. They proclaim the splendour of Your majesty and recall Your wondrous works.

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.

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Saturday, 18 February 2023 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Hebrews 11 : 1-7

Faith is the assurance of what we hope for, being certain of what we cannot see. Because of their faith our ancestors were approved. By faith we understand that the stages of creation were disposed by God’s word, and what is visible came from what cannot be seen.

Because of Abel’s faith his offering was more acceptable than that of his brother Cain, which meant he was upright, and God Himself approved his offering. Because of this faith he cried to God, as said in Scripture, even after he died.

By faith Enoch was taken to heaven, instead of experiencing death : he could not be found because God had taken him. In fact, it is said that before being taken up he had pleased God. Yet without faith it is impossible to please Him : no one draws near to God without first believing that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him earnestly.

By faith Noah was instructed of events which could not yet be seen and, heeding what he heard, he built a boat in which to save his family. The faith of Noah condemned the world and he reached holiness born of faith.

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Friday, 17 February 2023 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scriptures that highlighted to us the importance of obedience to God and entrusting ourselves to the Lord and His path, and we have to walk in God’s path while obeying His will and commandments as Christians, or else we cannot truly call or consider ourselves as genuine people of God or His followers, as each one of us will be expected to do what is right and just in our every actions and deeds throughout our lives, in even the smallest and least significant things we may do in our lives, in our every moments, we may always put the Lord at the forefront and centre of our lives and existence, and not to fall into the temptations of evil and sin, which had led our predecessors down into the wrong paths.

In our first reading for example, we heard the well-known story and tale of the building of the Tower of Babel, a great tower that man planned on building and which supposedly would rise to reach the Heaven itself. Back then, probably just a few generations since the Great Flood of Noah, which we have heard in the past few days of Scripture readings, mankind had once again flourished and prospered, and rebuilt the civilisation and the communities that had been completely destroyed and eradicated by the Great Flood, which God sent into the world to cleanse it from all the wickedness of all the sons and daughters of man, which was so great that except for Noah and his family, no one else deserved to be saved.

However, as we evidently can notice from what we heard in our first reading passage today, the descendants of man through Noah did not learn much from the lessons of their ancestors, as they began to commit sin once again, disobeying God and growing proud upon their power and achievements, and they began to plan to ascend even to the heights of Heaven itself, which would indeed mirror and is a parallel of what happened when Satan, our great enemy and the Deceiver, fell from grace and power, as he tried to supplant and overthrow God as the Lord and Master of all the Universe. Back then, Lucifer, as Satan was commonly known before his fall, became full of pride and ambition, and rebelled against God, only to be defeated and thrown down from Heaven.

In a similar manner therefore, we heard how those people at that time tried to build the mighty Tower of Babel and attempted to scale the heights of Heaven itself, going proud and haughty from their powers and accomplishments, and thinking that they had no need for God anymore, and that they could therefore do anything as they liked. God therefore reminded them all of their place, and sent upon them a great punishment and something which was meant to disturb and stop their foolish plan, by confusing their language and ability to understand each other. Hence, ever since then, everyone had been speaking their own languages, and no one in this world could perfectly understand everyone else in their tongues and speeches.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the Lord Jesus telling His disciples and therefore to all of us, what we all need to do as His disciples and followers, that we all need to carry our crosses in life and follow Him faithfully, and not allowing our pride, ego, ambition, worldly desires and all sorts of temptations present all around us to distract us and to draw us away from the salvation and grace in God. The Lord reminded all of His disciples and all of us that we all need to be faithful and committed to God and His path, and resist the wickedness of the world, so that we may truly be found worthy by Him upon His coming once again into the world, and not to end up in the damnation and destruction reserved to those who are proud and haughty, like the devil himself and all others who followed his path.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, today, as Christians, each and every one of us are reminded as always of the need for each and every one of us to align ourselves to God and His path, resisting the many temptations and efforts from the devil and all of his temptations, persuasions and pressures for us to abandon our faith and obedience to God. All of us have to remember that we need to be truly faithful and committed to God, and we have to do our best to glorify Him by our lives, and live our lives daily with faithful and good intentions, with actions that are centred on God’s path and His commandments, so that we may inspire many others on how they all can follow the Lord faithfully as well in every possible opportunities in life.

Today, all of us should follow the good examples set before us by the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, who have been called by God to a great and holy existence, and to a great mission in evangelising and inspiring the members of the Body of Christ, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, in everything that they said and did. These Seven Holy Founders, whose feast we celebrate today, dedicated their lives to answer God’s call through a vision that they all shared and received from God, which encouraged them to leave the wickedness of worldly ways and to dedicate themselves wholly to God, as they endeavoured to build and establish a new community of the faithful people of God, eventually known as the Servites or the Servite Order. Their great personal piety and sanctity and devotion to the Lord, as well as their love for their fellow brethren are great inspiration to all of us.

Let us all hence follow the great examples shown by these saints, so that hopefully each and every one of us may also come ever closer to God and may become good role models and sources of inspiration to each other, in our every moments and opportunities throughout life. May the Lord continue to guide us and help us, and strengthen us in our resolve to live our lives faithfully in His path. May God bless us all and bless our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always, forevermore. Amen.