6th Week of Ordinary Time

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Sunday, 12 February 2023 : Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 5 : 17-37

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples and to the people, “Do not think that I have come to annul the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to annul them but to fulfil them. I tell you this : as long as heaven and earth last, not the smallest letter or dot in the Law will change until all is fulfilled.”

“So then, whoever breaks the least important of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be the least in the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, whoever obeys them, and teaches others to do the same, will be great in the kingdom of heaven.”

“I tell you then, if you are not righteous in a much broader way than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to our people in the past : Do not commit murder; anyone who does kill will have to face trial. But now I tell you : whoever gets angry with a brother or sister will have to face trial.”

“Whoever insults a brother or sister deserves to be brought before the council. Whoever calls a brother or a sister, ‘Fool!’ deserves to be thrown into the fire of hell. So, if you are about to offer your gift at the altar, and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with him, and then come back and offer your gift to God.”

“Do not forget this : be reconciled with your opponent quickly when you are together on the way to court. Otherwise he will turn you over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, who will put you in jail. There you will stay, until you have paid the last penny.”

“You have heard that it was said : Do not commit adultery. But I tell you this : anyone who looks at a woman too lustfully has in fact already committed adultery with her in his heart. So, if your right eye causes you to sin, pull it out and throw it away! It is much better for you to lose a part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell. If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is better for you to lose a part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell.”

“It was also said : Anyone who divorces his wife, must give her a written notice of divorce. But what I tell you is this : if a man divorces his wife, except in the case of unlawful union, he causes her to commit adultery. And the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

“You have also heard that people were told in the past : Do not break your oath; an oath sworn to the Lord must be kept. But I tell you this : do not take oaths. Do not swear by the heavens, for they are God’s throne, nor by the earth, because it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. Do not even swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. Say yes when you mean yes, and say no when you mean no. Anything else you say comes from the devil.”

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Matthew 5 : 20-22a, 27-28, 33-34a, 37

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples and to the people, “I tell you then, if you are not righteous in a much broader way than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to our people in the past : Do not commit murder; anyone who does kill will have to face trial. But now I tell you : whoever gets angry with a brother or sister will have to face trial.”

“You have heard that it was said : Do not commit adultery. But I tell you this : anyone who looks at a woman too lustfully has in fact already committed adultery with her in his heart. You have also heard that people were told in the past : Do not break your oath; an oath sworn to the Lord must be kept. But I tell you this : do not take oaths. Say yes when you mean yes, and say no when you mean no. Anything else you say comes from the devil.”

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Sunday, 12 February 2023 : Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 2 : 6-10

In fact, we do speak of wisdom to the mature in faith, although it is not a wisdom of this world or of its rulers, who are doomed to perish. We teach the mystery and secret plan of divine wisdom, which God destined from the beginning to bring us to Glory.

No ruler of this world ever knew this; otherwise they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. But as Scripture says : Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it dawned on the mind what God has prepared for those who love Him. God has revealed it to us, through His Spirit, because the Spirit probes everything, even the depth of God.

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Sunday, 12 February 2023 : Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 118 : 1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34

Blessed are they whose ways are upright, who follow the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who treasure His word and seek Him with all their heart.

You have laid down precepts to be obeyed. O, that my ways were steadfast in observing Your statutes!

Be kind to Your servant, that I may live to follow Your word. Open my eyes that I may see the marvellous truths in Your law.

Explain to me, o Lord, Your commandments, and I will be ever faithful to them. Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law with all my heart.

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Sunday, 12 February 2023 : Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Sirach 15 : 16-21 (Greek Septuagint – Sirach 15 : 15-20)

If you wish, you can keep the commandments and it is in your power to remain faithful. He has set fire and water before you; you stretch out your hand to whichever you prefer.

Life and death are set before man : whichever a man prefers will be given him. How magnificent is the wisdom of the Lord! He is powerful and all-seeing. His eyes are on those who fear Him. He knows all the works of man.

He has commanded no one to be godless and has given no one permission to sin.

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Saturday, 19 February 2022 : 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 we listened to words of great wisdom from the Scriptures reminding us to be careful and vigilant in our words, actions and deeds, so that we do not end up falling into the path of sin and evil. That is why we have to listen to the Lord and His teachings, His truth and love. We have to heed the teachings and all that He has given to us and revealed through His Church, so that we do not end up going down the wrong path in life and be separated again from the Lord.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. James the Apostle regarding the importance for all of us as Christians to be careful with our words, with our actions and deeds, for it is all too easy for us to make mistakes through our tongues and our hands, and the things that we have received and been blessed with, our words, wisdom and talents can be easily used for both things that are good or wicked, depending on our intentions.

As St. James wisely said, that we must not underestimate our words and actions, for even with the seemingly least significant and smallest of those words and actions, we can cause truly great and wonderful deeds, as well as very wicked and terrible acts that can bring about a lot of pain and suffering on others, whether directly or indirectly, or whether physically or mentally or even both. Such is the nature of our words and actions, that even in the seemingly smallest and least significant of things, we can end up causing great harm on others as well as causing great good if only we desire it and choose to do what is good instead of what is evil.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard then of the Lord Who was transfigured before the eyes of His three important disciples, Peter, James and John at Mount Tabor. At that occasion, the three of them saw the Lord glorified, revealing His true nature to them, as the Divine Word Incarnate, as One Who was not just the Son of Man, as the Saviour of the world, but also as the Son of God, the Divine Word of God, the Logos, incarnate in the flesh, showing His truly great glory and majesty at that occasion on the mountaintop.

Having seen all that they had witnessed, the three disciples were reminded by the Lord to listen to the words that His Son has spoken, and to follow Him in whichever path that He would be leading them towards. The Lord wanted all of them to trust in His words, in His wisdom, truth and love. And that is exactly how they would be able to find their way through life, and doing what the Lord had taught them to do. It is by putting God as the focus of their lives, and allowing Him to lead them and guide them in their path.

Unfortunately, brothers and sisters in Christ, more often than not, many of us prefer to trust in our own ideas and judgments, ignoring the reminders and the wisdom that God has given to us. We prefer to do things that we think is the best for us, and in doing so, we may end up causing hurt and suffering to others through our words, our actions and deeds just as I mentioned earlier. And that is because many if not most of us will tend to think about ourselves and our needs first, before even thinking about others or considering about them.

Therefore, that is why today all of us as Christians are reminded that each and every one of us need to redirect our attention and focus towards God. We are all reminded that we need to have faith and trust in the Lord, and allow Him to guide us in our actions and in all things, or else, otherwise, we may end up falling in our path towards God and His salvation, and end up in the wrong path in life, as we follow the temptations of our desires and our whims rather than following the true path towards God and His salvation.

All of us are called to be more vigilant against the many temptations all around us, and the allures of sin. We have to deepen our relationship with God, and the best way is for us to always spare some quality time with the Lord, communicating with Him, speaking with Him while at the same time, making the effort to listen to Him speaking in the depths of our hearts and minds. Too often we have been distracted by the many things that happened all around us, our ego, greed and desire among many other distractions that kept us away from finding out the path to God and His love.

Let us therefore do our best to follow the Lord and deepen our faith and relationship with Him from now on. May the Lord continue to watch over us and remain with us, guiding us through in our journey towards His grace and love. May God be with us and bless us in our every good works, efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 19 February 2022 : 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, 19 February 2022 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

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

Psalm 12 : 2-3, 4-5, 7-8

Help us, o YHVH, none of the godly are left, the faithful have vanished. Everyone lies; with flattering lips they speak from a double heart.

May YHVH cut off insincere lips, every glib tongue that utters deceit. Many say, “Our strength lies in our tongue, we know how to speak, who will YHVH it over us?”

The promises of YHVH are sure and lasting – silver refined in the furnace seven times and freed from dross. Hold us, o YHVH, in Your keeping; protect us always from this generation.

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Saturday, 19 February 2022 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

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

James 3 : 1-10

My brothers and sisters, do not all be teachers! You know that, as teachers, we will be judged most strictly; in fact, we make mistakes, like everybody else. A person who commits no offence in speech is perfect, and capable of ruling the whole self.

We put a bit into the horse’s mouth to master it and, with this, we control its whole body. The same is true of ships : however big they are, driven by strong winds, they are guided by a tiny rudder. In the same way, the tongue is a tiny part of the body, but it is capable of great things.

A small flame is enough to set a huge forest on fire. The tongue is a similar flame; it is, in itself, a whole world of evil. It infects the whole being, and sets fire to our world, with the very fire of hell. Wild animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures of every kind are, and have been ruled, by the human species.

Nobody, however, can control the tongue; it is an untiring whip, full of deadly poison. We use it to bless God, our Father, and also, to curse those made in God’s likeness. From the same mouth come both blessing and curse. Brothers and sisters, this should not be the case.

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Friday, 18 February 2022 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard from the Scriptures a reminder for us of the need for us to be active in our faith, in the way we live our lives. All of us have been called to contribute whatever we can to the efforts and works of the Church. That is what is meant for us to walk faithfully in life and following in the path of God, and what being true Christians is all about. We have to be doing our best in our every day moments through life, even in the smallest things that we do and say.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. James the words of the Apostle regarding the matter of faith and good works related to that faith. This is a continuation of what St. James the Apostle had spoken in these past few days of readings this week, regarding the matter of faith and works, which in essence cannot be separated from each other. Without faith, works are meaningless, and at the same time, without works, and indeed, good works rooted in that faith, then our faith is dead and meaningless too.

St. James and his Epistle is well known for this stance, as it is a reminder that Christians and faithful people of God, we cannot be idle and think that once we have received baptism, then we are already fine and have no need for any effort, just needing to wait for God to grant us the salvation and eternal life He has promised us. That is not what the Lord intended for us, brothers and sisters in Christ. Most importantly, we must also realise that the Lord has always told us to do good, to obey His Law and commandments and to be righteous in all things, and all these cannot be done with idleness and ignorance.

In one occasion we heard the words of the prophet Ezekiel that even the righteous who commits sin shall have to answer for those sins that were committed and shall have to suffer the consequences and perish should those sins remain unrepented and unforgiven, and conversely, sinners who sought to be forgiven and were forgiven their sins shall be saved. This goes on to show just how our faith in the Lord does not guarantee us salvation without us living that faith in life with genuine desire to love God and without the effort to seek the Lord at all times.

Having faith in God does not prevent us from sinning, and even after baptism, we can still commit sin against God. Indeed, many of the great sins committed in our world past and present were sins committed by baptised Christians. Temptations and the pressures to commit sin will still be present in our midst, and unless we keep our guard on and remain vigilant in resisting those temptations, we may find ourselves falling again and again into sin. That is why our faith must be active and full of daily contributions and efforts. Baptism is not the end of the journey but rather the beginning of a new life in God.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord spoke of something similar as we listened to Him telling His disciples and followers that unless they pick up and carry their crosses in life, then they were not truly His disciples and followers. If they want to follow Him, then they have to take up their crosses in life and bear them, altogether with Him. The Lord therefore reminds us of the same words that St. James had said, that faith without good works is as good as dead. There can be no genuine faith without dedication and there can be no salvation unless our faith is genuine and true.

That is why today, as we heard today’s Scripture passages, we are all challenged to be better Christians, and to be more faithful to God, more than just in name or formality only. As Christians all of us have the obligation to follow the Lord, to be faithful to Him and to dedicate our every living moments to glorify Him and His Name. Today, let us all discern carefully how we are going to proceed further in life, thinking of how we should act in ways that are worthy of us as God’s own beloved people, as those whom He has considered to be His own children.

Let us all therefore help one another to do our best in living our lives with the fullness of desire to do the will of God, to put Him and His truth above all else, dedicating ourselves and our every living moments to glorify Him and to bring forth the salvation in our Lord to many more people. For it is through us and our own exemplary lives, actions and deeds that we can do what God had told us to do, in making use of our talents and gifts, in order to bring God and His light ever to each one of us, His beloved ones.

May the Lord be with us all as we continue to walk through this journey in life so that we may be found worthy at the end of it all. May the Lord continue to watch over us, strengthening us with the resolve and courage to resist the temptations to sin, and at the same time, granting us the courage and strength to live virtuously from now on, if we have not yet done so. May God bless us all and our every good works and endeavours, full of faith in Him, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 18 February 2022 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 8 : 34 – Mark 9 : 1

At that time, Jesus called the people and His disciples, and said, “If you want to follow Me, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me. For if you choose to save your life, you will lose it; and if you lose your life for My sake and for the sake of the Gospel, you will save it.”

“What good is it to gain the whole world, while destroying your soul? There is nothing more precious than your soul. I tell you : If anyone is ashamed of Me and of My words among this adulterous and sinful people, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the Glory of His Father with the holy Angels.”

And He went on to say, “Truly I tell you, there are some here who will not die before they see the kingdom of God coming with power.”