after Pentecost

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Wednesday, 1 November 2017 : Solemnity of All Saints (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 5 : 1-12a

At that time, when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up the mountain. He sat down and His disciples gathered around Him. Then He spoke and began to teach them :

“Fortunate are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Fortunate are those who mourn; they shall be comforted. Fortunate are the gentle; they shall possess the land.”

“Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied. Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy. Fortunate are those with pure hearts, for they shall see God.”

“Fortunate are those who work for peace; they shall be called children of God. Fortunate are those who are persecuted for the cause of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”

“Fortunate are you, when people insult you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you because you are My followers. Be glad and joyful, for a great reward is kept for you in God.”

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Wednesday, 1 November 2017 : Solemnity of All Saints (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 3 : 1-3

See what singular love the Father has for us : we are called children of God, and we really are. This is why the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

Beloved, we are God’s children, and what we shall be has not, yet, been shown. Yet, when He appears in His glory, we know, that we shall be like Him, for, then, we shall see Him as He is. All who have such a hope, try to be pure, as He is pure.

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Wednesday, 1 November 2017 : Solemnity of All Saints (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 23 : 1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

The earth and its fullness belong to YHVH, the world and all that dwell in it. He has founded it upon the ocean and set it firmly upon the waters.

Who will ascend the mountain of YHVH? Who will stand in His holy place? Those with clean hands and pure heart, who desire not what is vain.

They will receive blessings from YHVH, a reward from God, their Saviour. Such are the people who seek Him, who seek the face of Jacob’s God.

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Wednesday, 1 November 2017 : Solemnity of All Saints (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Revelations 7 : 2-4, 9-14

I saw another Angel, ascending from the sunrise, carrying the seal of the living God, and he cried out with a loud voice, to the four Angels empowered to harm the earth and the sea, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads.”

Then, I heard the number of those marked with the seal : a hundred and forty-four thousand, from all the tribes of the people of Israel. After this, I saw a great crowd, impossible to count, from every nation, race, people and tongue, standing before the Throne, and the Lamb, clothed in white, with palm branches in their hands, and they cried out with a loud voice, “Who saves, but our God, Who sits on the Throne, and the Lamb?”

All the Angels were around the Throne, the elders and the four living creatures; they, then, bowed before the Throne, with their faces to the ground, to worship God. They said, “Amen, Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honour, power and strength to our God forever and ever. Amen!”

At that moment, one of the elders spoke up, and said to me, “Who are these people clothed in white, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, it is you who know this.” The elder replied, “They, are those who have come out of the great persecution, they have washed, and made their clothes white, in the Blood of the Lamb.”

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Tuesday, 31 October 2017 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the Word of God in the Sacred Scriptures today, we heard first of all, the exhortation by St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city of Rome, about the strong desire, the pangs and the want in many people, for God, for His love, kindness, mercy and compassion. All of us have been created by God through love, and because of love, the love He has shown us.

And because of this love, which we can feel and relate to, we also have that desire in each and every one of us, to love God equally in the same way that He has loved us. The question is then, why is it that there are still so many people in this world, who profess to be Christians and yet, in their actions, words and deeds, they completely show otherwise? In order to understand this better, let us discuss the Gospel passage we have just heard today.

In the Gospel passage, Jesus our Lord spoke of two parables, first of all, the parable of the mustard seed, and then secondly, the parable of the yeast hidden in three measures of flour. Jesus liked to use parables in order to help the people to understand better about His teachings, and He used these parables to show them what it is like in the kingdom of heaven, or rather, to put it plainly, what it will be like for those who have listened to the Word of God, and apply it in their lives.

The mustard seed is a very small type of seed, which is often very insignificant and often ignored. Yet, once it grows into a plant, it becomes a plant of sizeable proportion, a few metres tall, that no one would have imagined possible. Similarly, yeast are very small, microscopic organisms that cannot even be seen by the naked eyes. Yet, it is because of the yeast, placed inside a piece of dough, that fluffy and nice bread can be created.

But all these are not possible without the right conditions, as without those favourable conditions, none of the processes will work. Mustard seed being a plant, must be placed in the right type of soil to be able to grow, or else, the seeds will remain as seeds and nothing will happen to them. Similarly, the yeast without warm water will not be able to perform its function, and also if air is allowed into the mixture, the process of fermentation will also cease, and the bread dough will not rise.

In the same manner, therefore, the mustard seed and the yeast represent the seeds of faith that God has given us and put in our hearts and minds. All of us have been given the same gifts and the same blessings from God, but how they bear the good fruits in our lives depend entirely on whether we allow what the Lord has given us and provided us to grow and bear the good fruits of faith.

That is why there are many Christians who have lapsed in their faith, or even doing things that are contrary to the faith, ending up causing scandal for the Church and for the faith alike. They have not been truly faithful, and they allowed the temptations of this world, the allures of sin to corrupt them and to strangle the gift of God’s faith in our hearts. That is why they are not yet able to give themselves wholeheartedly to God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, today, let us all reflect on our lives, how we have lived it thus far, and what are the things which each and every one of us can do, in order to grow in faith, and to realise the vision of the kingdom of God, which the Lord Jesus has brought upon us, and now lives in our hearts, in our minds, in our souls and indeed in our entire being.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He guide us in our journey of faith, so that we will be able to draw ever closer to Him, be ever more gracious, generous and loving, especially to those with whom we have been angry before, jealous at, or those who despises and hates us. Let us all throw all these things far away off from our lives, from our hearts and minds, that we may be able to purify ourselves and grow ever more dedicated to God day by day.

May God continue to guide us on our path and this journey of faith we embark on, and may His blessings continue to be with all of our endeavours. May God bless us all, our families and our loved ones, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 31 October 2017 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 13 : 18-21

At that time, Jesus continued to say to the people, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? Imagine a person who has taken a mustard seed, and planted it in his garden. The seed has grown, and become like a small tree, so that the birds of the air shelter in its branches.”

And Jesus said again, “What is the kingdom of God like? Imagine a woman who has taken yeast, and hidden it in three measures of flour, until it is all leavened.”

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Tuesday, 31 October 2017 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 125 : 1-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6

When YHVH brought the exiles back to Zion, we were like those moving in a dream. Then, our mouths were filled with laughter, and our tongues with songs of joy.

Among the nations it was said, “YHVH has done great things for them.” YHVH had done great things for us, and we were glad indeed.

Bring back our exiles, o YHVH, like fresh streams in the desert. Those who sow in tears will reap with songs and shouts of joy.

They went forth weeping, bearing the seeds for sowing, they will come home with joyful shouts, bringing their harvested sheaves.

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Tuesday, 31 October 2017 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 8 : 18-25

I consider, that the suffering of our present life cannot be compared with the glory that will be revealed, and given to us. All creation is eagerly expecting the birth, in glory, of the children of God. For, if now, the created world was unable to attain its purpose, this did not come from itself, but from the one who subjected it. But it is not without hope; for even the created world, will be freed from this fate of death, and share the freedom and glory of the children of God.

We know, that the whole creation groans and suffers the pangs of birth. Not creation alone, but even ourselves; although the Spirit was given to us, as a foretaste of what we are to receive, we groan in our innermost being, eagerly awaiting the day, when God will give us full rights, and rescue our bodies as well.

In hope, we already have salvation. But, if we saw what we hoped for, there would no longer be hope : how can you hope for what is already seen? So, we hope for what we do not see, and we will receive it, through patient hope.

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Monday, 30 October 2017 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of God from the Sacred Scriptures, and we are reminded that first of all, God is our loving Father, the One Who created us and cared for us, every single moments of our lives. Yet, many of us are unaware of this love which God has for everyone. In fact, we even doubted His love.

That is why today each and every one of us are called to remember our nature as the sons and daughters of God, as those whom God had called from the world, and chosen to become enlightened and as children of the light, turning away from all the darkness of our lives in this world. God wants each and every one of His children to be united with Him, and to receive the fullness of His love, and that is why we heard what happened in the Gospel today.

Jesus healed a woman who had been sick for eighteen years, because she was possessed by evil spirits, who kept her chained to the darkness and made her to suffer. God, seeing one of His children suffering in that manner certainly was moved to mercy and to the desire to forgive her from her faults and sins. That was why, Jesus stretched out His hands and cast the evil spirits from the woman, even though it was a Sabbath day, a day when according to the Jewish traditions and rules, it was forbidden to do anything.

But that was exactly why we have ended up being disobedient and distant from God, because we no longer do what is necessary for us to draw closer to God, our loving Father. Instead, we become distracted and are drawn away by our own temptations of greed, personal desires and ambition, and many more things that have become obstacles in our journey towards the Lord.

For example, as mentioned, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law immediately criticised Jesus the moment He performed the healing on the woman. They rebuked Him and protested that Jesus had disobeyed the laws of the Sabbath. But that was exactly because they failed to understand the true meaning of the Sabbath day, its intention and purpose when the Lord instructed His people to keep it holy.

The Sabbath is a day set aside in the week, much as Sundays are for us now, to be a holy day of the Lord, when the people would set aside their daily businesses and occupations, and instead focused their attention and commitment to the Lord. That is the true intention why the Lord instituted the Sabbath, much like the Sundays we have. Yet, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law have enforced the rules without proper understanding of the meaning and purpose.

Instead, they have ended up glorifying themselves and made use of the Sabbath as means to show the people that they were devout and holy. To them, if someone is to obey the entirety of the Sabbath rules, by staying dormant and inactive throughout the day, not even doing what is good, ignoring the needs of the poor and those who are in need of assistance, then they were considered holy and pious.

But Jesus our Lord made things straight, and plainly spoke to them, rebuking their wrong attitudes and thoughts, reminding them that God loves all of His children, and desires that each and every one of them should be saved and freed from the bondage and slavery to sin. To that extent, He reminded the people that the Sabbath was created for the people of God, as way to ensure and encourage them to give themselves to God, to reorientate themselves and refocus their attention to God.

If God has loved us so dearly and if He had generously given His care and attention, then it is only right and just that we also love Him in the same manner. But this is easier said than done. As the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had shown, there are always many reasons for us mankind to make excuses when we are supposed to love God. And especially when God is not at the centre of our lives, then we will end up drifting away from Him, and we will be lost from Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have, therefore, this important takeaway today, that all of us should come to realise more in our very own lives, just how loving and caring God has been for us, in various occasions in our lives, be it in good times or in not so good times, or at the time when we are lonely and troubled. God is and has always been there, caring for us and showing His love for us. Can we not love Him back in the same manner?

Let us all therefore love the Lord our God more wholeheartedly from now on, devoting ourselves, our time and effort to care for our needy brethren, because we must remember that, as the Lord Himself said, that whatever we have done for the least, the last and the weakest among our brethren, we have done it for the Lord Himself. May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to guide our paths in the way towards His everlasting love and grace. Amen.

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Monday, 30 October 2017 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 13 : 10-17

At that time, Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath, and a crippled woman was there. An evil spirit had kept her bent for eighteen years, so that she could not straighten up at all. On seeing her, Jesus called her and said, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” Then He laid His hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight and praised God.

But the ruler of the synagogue was indignant, because Jesus had performed this healing on the Sabbath day, and he said to the people, “There are six days in which to work. Come on those days to be healed, and not on the Sabbath!”

But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Everyone of you unties his ox or his donkey on the Sabbath, and leads it out of the barn to give it water. And here you have a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound for eighteen years. Should she not be freed from her bonds on the Sabbath?”

When Jesus said this, all His opponents felt ashamed. But the people rejoiced at the many wonderful things that happened because of Him.