Allhallowtide

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Tuesday, 2 November 2021 : Feast of All Souls (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Black or Purple/Violet

Isaiah 25 : 6-9

On this mountain YHVH Sabaoth will prepare for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, meat full of marrow, fine wine strained. On this mountain He will destroy the pall cast over all peoples, this very shroud spread over all nations, and death will be no more.

The Lord YHVH will wipe away the tears from all cheeks and eyes; He will take away the humiliation of His people all over the world : for YHVH has spoken. On that day you will say : This is our God. We have waited for Him to save us, let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.

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Monday, 1 November 2021 : Solemnity of All Saints (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the great Solemnity of All Saints, celebrating the memory of the Lord’s innumerable great saints, all those who have been found worthy and been officially canonised as saints by the Church, and therefore worthy of veneration by the entire Church and all the faithful. Today we remember the glorious deeds and the lives of those saints, our own holy predecessors, all those who have given themselves and their whole lives in the service of God, who lived worthily of God.

In our first reading today, we heard of the words from the Book of Revelation of St. John the Apostle which detailed his glorious vision of Heaven as he received it during his exile at the island of Patmos. St. John saw a great number of the descendants of Israel, as well as innumerable people of every nations and races, all gathered and brought together in the presence of God. They were all those whom according to the Angel that guided St. John, had lived their lives with faith in God, and there were still many among them who had been persecuted for the Lord.

What St. John had seen in his vision was a proof that there is life and existence beyond death, and the saints represent all those whom the Lord had deemed to be worthy to join Him in the glorious kingdom He had prepared for them in Heaven, where they would be all His people and He would be their God forevermore. Sin and death would no longer come between Him and them, and those saints, some suffering persecution before they gained the promised eternal glory, all have been faithful to God to the very end.

In our second reading today, we then heard from St. John the Apostle in his Epistle, the same St. John who had seen the heavenly vision at Patmos. Whether St. John wrote this Epistle before or after his exile at Patmos and the vision, he knew, after having journeyed with the Lord and receiving the truth through the Holy Spirit and Wisdom of God, that all of us are truly beloved children of God, and therefore as God’s own children, therefore, we are called to be more like our heavenly Father in all things.

What does that mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that since God is our Creator and our Father, and as He considered us all His own children, then naturally all of us as His children must be like Him in all things, just as children usually follow after the example of their parents, especially their fathers. It is just right and fitting that as God’s children that we walk in the path of righteousness and justice, to be good just as our Lord and God, our heavenly Father is all good and perfect.

St. John therefore exhorted all the faithful and the Church to follow the Lord faithfully and commit themselves to a new life and existence centred and focused on God, one in which we, the children of God, are living our lives with virtue and goodness, with faith and devotion to God, that we truly belong to God and everyone who sees us, hears us and our words, witnesses our actions and interactions, all shall know that we come from the Lord, and may come to believe in Him as well through us.

How do we then do this, brothers and sisters in Christ? Then remember what we have heard in our Gospel passage today, in which Our Lord spoke to the people in His Sermon on the Mount or the Beatitudes, detailing the eight ways in which we can be truly blessed living our lives with faith, and when the Lord Jesus praised all those who have lived their lives virtuously according to the Eight Beatitudes, in fact He was exhorting and telling all of us to do the same with our lives.

To be poor in spirit does not mean for us to be physically and materially poor, but rather, it refers to an attitude that we must have in life, to be humble in our disposition and way of life, to be humble and meek in seeking God’s love and fulfilment, to be poor and truly in need of help and guidance from God. We ought not be proud and haughty, ambitious and selfish in our way of living and interaction with each other. Instead, we should always seek the Lord and His love and providence at all times. This is what is meant by being poor in spirit.

Then as we seek justice and righteousness in life, just as we all seek to be merciful in our actions and deeds, in our words and interactions with one another, and in being pure in our hearts, in our conviction and path, we are all called to be exemplary in how we live and act towards our fellow brothers and sisters, our neighbours and those whom we encounter in life. We should strive to be good and righteous and caring towards those who need our love, care and attention.

And then as the Lord also mentioned, we should all seek to make peace and bring harmony in our communities, and wherever we are. We must also be prepared to be persecuted, rejected and oppressed, challenged and our lives made difficult by those who still refused to listen to the Lord and believe in Him. That is because our Christian faith and way of life are often incompatible to the ways and the norms that this world is accustomed to, and many will come to oppose us because they disagree with our faith and way of life.

We must not be afraid, brothers and sisters in Christ. Remember what St. John had seen in his vision? Those martyrs who had shed their blood in the Lord in martyrdom had been blessed and taken up to Heaven for their faith and endurance in their commitment to Him, sharing in the Blood of the Lamb of God, washed clean and purified by their faith in God, as they shed their blood and suffered for the Lord’s sake. And there were many others who suffered other forms of martyrdom as well, such as white martyrdom that does not involve death, but full of suffering.

Listening to the Beatitudes and all that the Lord had revealed to us, we may then become skeptical and doubtful if our lives can become like the saints. After all, having known the lives of many saints, do they not seem like so holy, so good and much more worthy as compared to us? Many of us may think and feel that we are unworthy unlike those saints and martyrs who had done so much for the sake of the Lord and for the sake of the Church and God’s people. Yet, we forget that they too once were sinners just like us.

Saints were not superhumans unlike what some of us often misunderstood. They had their share of troubles and downfalls, moments when they faltered and failed in faith. Some of the saints were even once great sinners and enemies of the Lord, such as St. Paul the Apostle, once a young zealous Pharisee who was number one enemy of the Lord and His Church, persecuting many Christians throughout Judea and Jerusalem before he was called by God and converted to the true faith. Some others like St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Ignatius of Loyola and many others led a sinful and worldly lives in their younger days.

What matters is that, in the end, they turned away from their sins, committed themselves to the Lord and devoted their time, effort and attention on Him, such that they sanctified their lives through God’s grace and by their fervent dedication, in each of their own ways, in how they led lives truly worthy of God, and which we ourselves can also follow as well. By looking at the examples of the saints, we are all challenged to follow the Lord and to change our lives, much like how the Lord called Levi, the tax collector, who later on became a great Apostle and Evangelist, St. Matthew, as well as St. Mary Magdalene, who according to some traditions, was a prostitute.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God called us all to be holy, to be His beloved children and therefore, as holy as we should be. All of us have the potential in us to be holy and to end up like the saints, who are now enjoying the glorious inheritance promised to all, as their efforts and deeds were deemed worthy by God and His Church. God wants us all to realise that each and every one of us have the capability and the opportunity to be like the saints, if only we follow what our holy predecessors had done, as described in the Beatitudes.

Let us all therefore reform ourselves and change our way of life so that from now on we will live for the greater glory of God and to shine with the brilliance of God’s light and truth. Saints are indeed like the beautiful stained glass in our churches, not only because they are often depicted on them, their lives and ministry, but the fact that they do not produce light on their own, but are beautiful because of the light that shines through them. In the same manner therefore, the saints have no glory on their own save for the glory they have gained through the Lord, in their actions and deeds that are a reflection of God’s righteousness and justice, His truth and love.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are like that stained glass, and we are all given the opportunity to shine with the light of Christ. But as long as we live in sin, sin is like a dark and thick grease that sticks onto that glass and prevents any light from passing through. As such, a dirty stained glass that is our lives will not be able to shine forth with the light of Christ. How do we then proceed? It is by following the examples of the saints, and asking them for their intercession on our behalf just as we strive to do our best to live our lives in a most Christian manner. In that way, we are making that ‘stained glass’ which is our lives, clean and able to shine with the light of God.

Just as our holy predecessors had done, we have to strive to reject sin and all of its vile influences in our lives. We have to do our best to carry out God’s will and to do His commandments, to be righteous and just in our actions and dealings, to be selfless and loving in our every interactions. Are we able to do this, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to live our lives from now on as dedicated Christians, modelling ourselves after the great many saints that are our role models? Let us ourselves be role models and inspirations for others to follow, by our own dedicated faith in life.

Let us no longer be saddled by the burden of sin, and instead, let us all, as Church Militant in this world, do our very best to live virtuously in the constant struggle against sin and evil, to be as good and worthy as possible, with the help of those saints, the Church Triumphant, who have already won their struggle, and ask them sincerely for their intercession and help, as they are closer to the Lord than us, that God will grant us His strength and grace to overcome the obstacles and the challenges we may encounter in life. And let us not forget to pray for the Church Suffering as well, our departed brothers and sisters who are still now suffering in Purgatory.

May God bless us all and strengthen us, that we may imitate and follow in the good examples of His saints, all those who have lived their lives worthily in the Lord. May God help us to live our lives worthily like His saints, that we too may share in eternal glory and true joy that is our inheritance, at the end of time. O Holy Saints of God, Holy men and women, our blessed brothers and sisters, the Church Triumphant in God, pray for us sinners! Amen.

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Monday, 1 November 2021 : 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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Monday, 1 November 2021 : 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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Monday, 1 November 2021 : 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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Monday, 1 November 2021 : 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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Sunday, 31 October 2021 : Thirty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday we are reminded through the readings of the Sacred Scriptures of the Law of God, the commandments and tenets that we have received from God Himself, Who passed down the Ten Commandments through Moses, His servant and then revealed in its fullness through Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Saviour of the world, Who brought the fullness of truth into our midst, completing and making perfect the Law and commandments of God. Today, we are called to reflect on our attitude towards the Law of God, and whether we have lived our lives faithfully in following God’s Law and commandments.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, we heard the exhortation which Moses made to the people of Israel, as he presented before them God’s Law and commandments, how they, as the people with whom God had made His Covenant, were supposed to follow and obey, as part of this Covenant. Just as God is faithful to the Covenant and the promises that He had made to His people, thus the people also had to be faithful and committed to the same Covenant, and put their hearts and minds wholly focused and centred on God, and God alone, as Moses told them.

Contextually, what we heard in today’s readings must be understood in terms of how the Law of God and the Commandments, the Ten Commandments and the other rules and regulations were practiced and applied by the people of Israel and their descendants. The Law of God had been passed down from one generation to another, and went through various modifications and reinterpretations to adjust to the changing conditions of the time and also because there were many different people in charge of preserving the Law, and the fact that the Law and the commandments were not really written down until later in history.

Unfortunately, over time this led to the change in the meaning and the intention of the Law and the commandments. The Law became more and more divergent from its original intention, purpose and meaning, as after the destruction of Israel and Judah, and the return of the remnants of the Israelites from their exile in Babylon, the laws and regulations had been made much more strict and rigorous. Then, the people experienced the struggle against Hellenism during the years of their subjugation under the Seleucids, as we heard in the Book of Maccabeus, where the people under the Maccabees family rose up in revolt, and overthrew those who sought to destroy the Jewish traditions and culture.

After the Jews regained their independence, it is natural that they would become much more zealous and stricter in enforcing their traditions and way of life against those who sought to live in ways of the Gentiles or in any other ways incompatible with the Jewish traditions and customs. However, this led to the rise of the group known later as the Pharisees by the time of Jesus, over a century later, representing those who zealously guarded the laws and customs of the Jewish people, bloated and exaggerated they were by centuries of changes and in reaction to the sins and waywardness of the people.

However, what made it an issue for the Lord, which He often addressed before the people, was that the Law had not been used properly, and ended up becoming tool for those same Pharisees, members of the teachers of the Law and elders who subscribed to a very strict interpretation of the Law, burdening the people of God with very difficult expectations of the Law, and even more troublesome was their attitude with regards to the Law and their faith in God. Instead of having the Law to help them and others to place their focus on the Lord, they instead used the Law, either consciously or unconsciously, to advance their own status and influence in the community.

That was why the Lord often rebuked and criticised many of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for the manner that they had observed the Law, in their mistaken focus and intention, and in the way that they carried themselves, in how they pridefully paraded their piety and supposedly better observance of the Law as compared to the others, whom they then looked down on, and even despised, in the case of prostitutes, tax collectors and others whom they deemed to be sinners, unworthy of God and unredeemable, while ignoring their own sins and faults.

The Lord wanted everyone, including those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law that this is not what the Law is all about, and as we heard in our Gospel passage today, one of those teachers of the Law realised through his interaction with the Lord Jesus, what the Law is truly all about. The Law of God is ultimately all about love, the love that God first and foremost has for each and every one of us, and therefore, naturally, which we should also have for Him, and then, just as we love the Lord, then we should also love one another in the same way.

God revealed to us His Law not to oppress us, or to make it to become a tool of discrimination against one another, or as something to be prideful of in our way of observing it. Otherwise, like many of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, their focus were no longer on the Lord but on themselves, on the glory, fame and influence that they accrued from their way of living the Law, rather than using the Law for the benefit of all and for the conversion of all to the path of God. And by condemning others and looking down on those deemed unworthy, as well as by imposing the very strict observance of the Law, they had in fact prevented many from coming to the Lord and turned people away from Him.

In this manner therefore, they had failed in their duty as the custodians of the Law, in that they had not been dutiful in their efforts to lead others to righteousness in God. Instead, they sought self-righteousness and self-justification, and even condemning others who disagreed with them, or those whom they disliked and opposed, like that of the Lord Himself and His disciples, whom they feared as rivals and threats to their influence and position within the Jewish community and the people of God.

How are all these then relevant to us, brothers and sisters in Christ? All these serve as an important reminder to all of us in God’s Church, that we cannot follow the same misguided path as those who had misinterpreted, misunderstood and misused the Law for their own selfish benefits, or in justifying themselves over others. Instead, we have to follow the Lord’s own examples, as we all know, that the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Son of Man, joined to us in His humanity, just as He is fully Divine as the Son of God, loved His heavenly Father totally and completely, obeying His will perfectly.

And it is also by that act of supreme love, both of His Father and also for each and every one of us, His brothers and sisters, that He, as our True and Eternal High Priest, offered Himself as a loving and worthy Sacrifice, the Lamb of God, made to suffer and was slain for us on the Altar of the Cross, as mentioned in our second reading from the Epistle to the Hebrews. The author of that Epistle, aimed at the Jewish converts to Christianity and other Jewish people in general, wanted to remind all of them that the Law of God in its true essence, is what the Lord Himself had done, in His supreme act of love in His Passion, suffering and death for us.

Hence, all of us are all called to reflect on our own attitudes in life and our actions. Have we, as God’s faithful and Church, acted in ways that are uncharitable and lacking in love, being exclusivist and elitist in our attitude, thinking that we are better than others, and condemning others who do not share our opinion or whom we dislike or deem to be less holy and worthy than us? Have we made use of our own Church teachings and traditions as an excuse to attack others and to mislead others in justifying ourselves and trying to promote our own ideals and interpretations rather than understanding what our faith is truly about?

This is exactly what some segments in our Church today are doing, on both extremes of ideas and ideologies. On one side, you have those who were very adamant in living their faith in a most Pharisaical manner, rigidly attaching themselves to the traditions and teachings of the Church but not allowing the Holy Spirit to guide them in discerning the truth about God’s will and intentions, in their self-justification and self-righteous attitude, thinking that their version of the faith is better than others, and that those who do not subscribe to their way of living the Christian faith, are unworthy or even damnable.

On the other hand, on the other side of the spectrum, we also have those that sought to radically alter every teachings, traditions and all the ways of how our Christian faith are practised, to suit our own interpretation and agenda, and most importantly to suit our own selfish needs as well. These are those that the Popes past and present had warned against, especially that of Pope St. John Paul II as the relativistic attitudes of some Christians who sought to align Church teachings with worldly ways and to accept things that are not in accordance to the truth of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, these are the forces arrayed against the Church, and which sadly happened even from within the Church and in our own faithful communities, just as it happened two millennia ago in the Jewish community, and which also had happened throughout all of our Christian history, in the history of the Church and its past developments. However, this cannot be a reason for us to give up, as the devil is all the happier to try to divide us and to mislead us further by his temptations and lies, and instead of being angry against each other or being divided, let us return our focus to the Lord.

This Sunday, as we recall the Law of God, the Ten Commandments and are reminded of what God’s Law and His teachings are all about, let us all be willing to listen to God, and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, to guide the Church and its leaders, that we may journey together with Him in faith, and not allow our own selfish desires and individual preferences, ideologies and prejudices to mislead us down the wrong path. And most importantly, let us stay united against the efforts of those who tried to divide the Church and our communities, so that, united as we are, we shall not fall and remain firm and resolute in our struggles against sin and evil.

Let us all discern carefully our path in life, as one people of God united in His one Church, the united Body of Christ. Let us all learn to love God with all of our hearts and with all of our strength and capacity, by deepening our relationship with Him and by spending more important and precious time with Him, and then, also learning to love one another, as our own fellow brothers and sisters, just as much as we ought to love the Lord and ourselves. Let us all learn to forgive one another’s wrongdoings and learn to live together with harmony and faith, and as one united people, let us all seek the Lord together and be saved in Him.

May God bless us all and may He remain with His Church, that no matter what challenges and trials we may encounter, the gates of hell will not prevail against God’s Church, against our faith, truly genuine and full of love, a love that we all profess and show in our every daily moments and interactions, as we grow together as a community of God’s faithful, ever directed and journeying towards God, always. Amen.

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Sunday, 31 October 2021 : Thirty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 12 : 28b-34

At that time, a teacher of the Law came up and asked Jesus, “Which commandment is the first of all?”

Jesus answered, “The first is : Hear, Israel! The Lord, our God is One Lord; and you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. And after this comes a second commandment : You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these two.”

The teacher of the Law said to Him, “Well spoken, Master; You are right when You say that He is one, and there is no other besides Him. To love Him with all our heart, with all our understanding and with all our strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves is more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.”

Jesus approved of this answer and said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask Him any more questions.

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Sunday, 31 October 2021 : Thirty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 7 : 23-28

The former priests were many, since, as mortal men, they could not remain in office. But Jesus remains forever, and the priesthood shall not be taken from Him. Consequently, He is able to save, for all time, those who approach God, through Him. He always lives, to intercede on their behalf.

It was fitting, that our High Priest be holy, undefiled, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens; a Priest, Who does not, first, need to offer sacrifice for Himself, before offering for the sins of the people; as high priests do. He offered Himself in sacrifice, once, and for all. And, whereas, the Law elected weak men as high priests, now, after the Law, the Word of God, with an oath, appointed the Son, made perfect forever.

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Sunday, 31 October 2021 : Thirty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 17 : 2-3a, 3bc-4, 47 and 51ab

I love You, o YHVH, my strength. YHVH is my Rock, my Fortress, my Deliverer and my God.

He is the Rock in Whom I take refuge. He is my Shield, my powerful Saviour, my Stronghold. I call on YHVH, Who is worthy of praise : He saves me from my enemies!

YHVH lives! Praised be my Rock! Exalted be my Saviour God. He has given victories to His king; He has shown His love to His anointed ones.