Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 99 : 2, 3, 5
Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God; He created us and we are His people, the sheep of His fold.
For the Lord is good; His love lasts forever and His faithfulness through all generations.
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 16 : 1-10
Paul travelled on to Derbe and then to Lystra. A disciple named Timothy lived there, whose mother was a believer of Jewish origin but whose father was a Greek. As the believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him, Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him. So he took him and, because of the Jews of that place who all knew that his father was a Greek, he circumcised him.
As they travelled from town to town, they delivered the decisions of the Apostles and elders in Jerusalem, for the people to obey. Meanwhile, the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number every day.
They travelled through Phrygia and Galatia, because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit from preaching the message in the province of Asia. When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to do this. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.
There one night Paul had a vision. A Macedonian stood before him and begged him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” When he awoke, he told us of this vision and we understood that the Lord was calling us to give the Good News to the Macedonian people.
Liturgical Colour : White
Brothers and sisters in Christ, continuing from yesterday’s catechesis on love and forgiveness, today’s readings continue to touch on this love that the Lord had shown us, and which we need to replicate in our lives. Love and forgiveness are easy to be mentioned and said, but indeed are difficult to carry out and implement in our lives.
The Lord Himself taught His disciples to love and how to do so. He did not just say it, but He also meant it and showed them by example. We too therefore should follow the same example as shown by the Holy Scriptures, which proved to us God and His love. Our faith must always be vibrant and living, and we have to show love in our lives to be truly faithful to God.
Yes, as I have also mentioned in the earlier catechesis this week, linked to the same issue which we read today in the first reading, on whether the Gentiles or the non-Jews must follow the laws of Moses and the entirety of the humongous Jewish restrictions, customs and rules or not to be saved, it is imperative that we see out of this, that the heart of salvation in God lies in love.
The heart of the Lord’s laws and commandments, which He had revealed to Moses is love, that is first to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts and with all of our strengths, and then secondly, to love others, our fellow men, be it our parents, our families, our relatives or our friends, or acquaintances, or even strangers whom we do not know, with all of our heart and dedication as well.
We cannot ignore this basic and central tenet of our faith. If we do not love, it is just the same as that our faith is dead and useless. And if our faith is dead, then we will have no part in the Lord’s salvation. What is important is for us to ensure the worthiness and purity of our hearts, and not just of appearance and for others to see our faith superficially. If we do merely just that, that is the latter, then we are no better than the Pharisees and the elders of Israel who were only concerned about their external piety and observations.
Jesus came to straighten the message God had given to the people through Moses, which had been twisted and corrupted through centuries of faithlessness and confusion of the faithful, as they grew more and more corrupted by the world and all the temptations of the devil that were present in this world, which resulted in the excessively rigorous and strict rules and regulations that form the law of Israel at the time of Jesus, and which the Pharisees and the elders strictly reinforced.
Reinforcing a very strict and rigorous laws and regulations as the Pharisees had done is not necessarily bad, but when that very likely results in the people forgetting the true intention of the Law and even became worse than that, by committing sins due to their ignorance, this is bad, and Jesus came to change all of that. He revealed the complete truth about all things that God had planned for mankind, and He showed that all through His own love.
Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we progress through life, we must remember this always, that in all things, we must exhibit and show love in all our actions and deeds. We must be faithful and having a living faith founded on strong foundation of love, and we must be inclusive, seeking others and helping one another on our way towards salvation in God and His offer of everlasting life.
May God Almighty continue to sow the seeds of love within us and allow them to grow that love may prosper in mankind, and that all of us will be brought ever closer to the salvation in God. God be with us all. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
John 15 : 12-17
This is My commandment : Love one another as I have loved you! There is no greater love than this, to give one’s life for one’s friends; and you are My friends, if you do what I command you.
I shall not call you servants anymore, because servants do not know what their master is about. Instead I have called you friends, since I have made known to you everything I learnt from My Father.
You did not choose Me; it was I who chose you and sent you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. And everything you ask the Father in My Name, He will give you. This is My command, that you love one another.
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 56 : 8-9, 10-12
My heart is steadfast, o God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and make music. Awake, my soul, awake, o harp and lyre! I will wake the dawn.
I will give thanks to You, o Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praise to You among the nations. For Your love reaches to the heavens, and Your faithfulness, to the clouds. Be exalted, o God, above the heavens! Let Your Glory be over all the earth!
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 15 : 22-31
Then the Apostles and elders together with the whole Church decided to choose representatives from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. These were Judas, known as Barsabbas, and Silas, both leading men among the brothers.
They took with them the following letter : “Greetings from the Apostles and elders, your brothers, to the believers of non-Jewish birth in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. We have heard that some persons from among us have worried you with their discussions and troubled your peace of mind. They were not appointed by us.”
“But now, it has seemed right to us in an assembly, to choose representatives and to send them to you, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have dedicated their lives to the service of our Lord Jesus Christ. We send you then Judas and Silas who themselves will give you these instructions by word of mouth.”
“We, with the Holy Spirit, have decided not to put any other burden on you except what is necessary : ‘You are to abstain from blood from the meat of strangled animals and from prohibited marriages. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.’
After saying good-bye, the messengers went to Antioch, where they assembled the community and handed them the letter. When they read the news, all were delighted with the encouragement it gave them.
Liturgical Colour : White
Brothers and sisters in Christ, the love of God is eternal, and it is non-discriminatory, for God loves all, without looking at whether we are this or that certain race or upbringing or background. He knows all of the things inside our hearts and minds, and He knows all of us perfectly, and thus to those whom He know that we are obedient and true to His will, He will grant us His love and grace.
The Apostles in the first reading, revealed to the people, how the Lord loved all without differentiating between them, and how He loved the Gentiles as much as He had loved the Jews, so long as they believe in the Lord, and trust in His ways. The Lord blesses all who put their trust in Him and walk in His ways. He shows His favour to all of them.
Brethren, this is why it is essential for us to listen to God’s will and be with Him in all our dealings and actions in the future. We must adhere to the commandments and precepts of the Lord that we may always remain in the favour of God. Focus on the obedience of our hearts and minds more than the obedience of our bodies. This is because as I mentioned yesterday, the purity of the heart matters much more than mere purity of the exterior.
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Rita of Cascia, a holy, pious and fervent religious who was also a wife and a mother, who decided to join the consecrated life to God after the death of her husband and her sons. St. Rita of Cascia is truly an example to all peoples through her actions, as although she had a very wicked and immoral man as a husband, and enduring the torture and abuse that her husband heaped on her, she managed to convert him through her exemplary actions and deeds, which brought about a conversion in her husband into a much better man.
St. Rita of Cascia had quite a difficult life, as she lived through a period in Italy when feuds were very common among leading aristocratic families in different city-states of Italy. The feuds claimed the life of her husband, and while her husband’s family desired for revenge and they encouraged her sons to take revenge for their father, but St. Rita of Cascia tried in vain to persuade them not to do so.
She prayed to God to take her sons away rather than seeing them commit a mortal sin in their revenge and risk falling into hell. Her prayers were answered by the Lord who took them away when they died of dysentry just a year after that. In that, they were taken away to God’s presence and did not commit a sin that would have resulted in them falling into hell.
St. Rita of Cascia devoted herself to God after all that, and in her love, she united and reconciled the feuding families that had been involved in the death of her husband and many others in the city where she lived. She lived as a religious nun faithfully until the end of her life on earth. She received in a vision, the mystical and spiritual wound of Christ, the stigmata of our Lord Jesus Christ, on her forehead, at the site where the Lord wore His crown of thorns during His Passion.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, St. Rita of Cascia showed us, that we have to love, and propagate that love, and also promote forgiveness of others, especially those who had hurt us and caused troubles for us. We too should ask for forgiveness from others whom we have hurt and caused troubles for. We must not discriminate between peoples, but love all equally, for we are all children of the same God.
Let us now therefore pray, and with the intercession of St. Rita of Cascia that we may be genuinely transformed into beings of love, who follow the Lord in all His ways, seeking to love and to forgive, that we may ever bring goodness into this world. May God be with us and keep us in His grace, always. God bless us all. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
John 15 : 9-11
As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Remain in My love! You will remain in My love if you keep My commandments, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.
I have told you all this, that My own joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 95 : 1-2a, 2b-3, 10
Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless His Name.
Proclaim His salvation day after day. Recall His glory among the nations, tell all the peoples His wonderful deeds.
Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” He will judge the peoples with justice.
Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 15 : 7-21
As the discussion became heated, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that from the beginning God chose me among you so that non-Jews could hear the Good News from me and believe. God, who can read hearts, put Himself on their side by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as He did to us. He made no distinction between us and them and cleansed their hearts through faith.”
“So why do you want to put God to the test? Why do you lay on the disciples a burden that neither our ancestors nor we ourselves were able to carry? We believe, indeed, that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are.”
The whole assembly kept silent as they listened to Paul and Barnabas tell of all the miraculous signs and wonders that God had done through them among the non-Jews. After they had finished, James spoke up, “Listen to me, brothers. Symeon has just explained how God first showed His care by taking a people for Himself from non-Jewish nations.”
“And the words of the prophets agree with this, for Scripture says, ‘After this I will return and rebuild the booth of David which has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins and set it up again. Then the rest of humanity will look for the Lord, and all the nations will be consecrated to My Name. So says the Lord, who does today what He decided from the beginning.'”
“Because of this, I think that we should not make difficulties for those non-Jews who are turning to God. Let us just tell them not to eat food that is unclean from having been offered to idols; to keep themselves from prohibited marriages; and not to eat the flesh of animals that have been strangled, or any blood. For from the earliest times Moses has been taught in every place, and every Sabbath His laws are recalled.”
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 