Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 104 : 6-7, 8-9, 42-43
You descendants of His servant Abraham, you sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is the Lord our God; His judgments reach the whole world.
He remembers His covenant forever, His promise to a thousand generations, the covenant He made with Abraham, the promise He swore to Isaac.
For He remembered His promise to Abraham, His servant. So He led forth His people with joy, His chosen ones with singing.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Romans 4 : 13, 16-18
If God promised Abraham, or rather his descendants, that the world would belong to him, this was not because of his obeying the Law, but because he was just and a friend of God through faith.
For that reason, faith is the way and all is given by grace; and the promises of Abraham are fulfilled for all his descendants, not only for his children according to the Law, but also for all the others who have believed. Abraham is the father of all of us, as it is written : I will make you father of many nations. He is our father in the eyes of Him who gives life to the dead, and calls into existence what does not yet exist, for this is the God in whom he believed.
Abraham believed and hoped against all expectation, thus becoming father of many nations, as he had been told : See how many will be your descendants.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard in the first reading from the Book of Exodus, how God called Moses His chosen servant while he was in exile in Midian, so that He might reveal to him the truth about the mission which He had entrusted to him. It was His will that He would deliver His people from their suffering and oppression by the Egyptians who made them their slaves.
He called Moses in the wilderness, on top of His own holy mountain, Mount Horeb, in a bush burning as if burnt by fire, and yet it is not burnt. It is the Lord Himself who revealed Himself to the world through Moses. This is echoed in the Gospel today, where our Lord Jesus Christ praised His Father in heaven, for revealing the truth and the wisdom of God to simple and humble men, and not to the prideful and the haughty.
If we note, God called Moses not as a mighty prince of Egypt, but as a humble shepherd who lived in simplicity in exile. He called this seemingly hopeless and futureless person who had once fallen from grace and glory, outcast and downtrodden, poor in speech and trembling in the sight of a great challenge which God had placed before him.
But this is exactly what God had done, for His plans and His ways are not like what we always like our think. God’s wisdom and ways are beyond the ways of men, and the mightier and more powerful we are, the less likely we are to understand the ways of our God. Our Lord does not go about as we often do. He does not boast His might over the weak and the downtrodden, and He does not despise those who are poor, unloved and dejected.
Thus He called Moses, His servant, from amongst his sheep and goats, and sending him to liberate a people living in great poverty and oppression as slaves. He sent his servant not at the head of a great and conquering army to liberate His people, but with a stick and nothing more. It may seem ridiculous to most human observers at the time, but God does things in marvellous ways indeed.
Through Moses God did His many wonders, a simple and humble man, a prince no longer but one counted among the slaves, who with his walking stick challenged the mighty Pharaoh of Egypt, one of the mightiest secular rulers at the time. And God raised His hands against Pharaoh and Egypt such that, after witnessing the true power and strength of God, let the people of Israel go.
And in the same way therefore, God had called and chosen us all from among the nations to be His people. We have been called from our various origins, all to be His people and to follow Him hopefully for the rest of our days in faith. And through us God will work His great wonders to the people, as by our actions, words and deeds we will bear witness to our Lord’s might and call many peoples to come to His presence.
On this day, we celebrate the feast of St. Bonaventure, a great bishop, preacher and a notable Doctor of the Church, who was a Franciscan Cardinal of the Church, a simple man, who gave himself to a simple life in a life dedicated to the service of the Lord and His people, and yet he was called for something even greater, and through his many works and teachings, which inspired so many people, he was also renowned by his title of the Seraphic Doctor.
St. Bonaventure joined the Franciscans, a religious order renowned for its simplicity, holiness and filled with devotion to God. He would have been content with such a simple, prayerful life, and yet God called him to a greater purpose. He preached against heresies and published many of his writings which became a great source of inspiration in the faith. Eventually, the Church recognised his great efforts and he was made a bishop and then a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, giving him even greater reach and responsibility.
The example of St. Bonaventure shows us that while we are perhaps simple and small in comparison with others we see around us, and even though our achievements seem to be minuscule compared to that of mankind combined together, but it is exactly what God needs. He calls not the mighty and the prideful, but the simple, to be moulded into His tools, for the good of all mankind.
May Almighty God inspire in us and awaken in us the fullness of love and faith in Him, so that we may devote ourselves ever more to His cause just as His servants Moses and St. Bonaventure had been. We may be small and insignificant, but God reveals His wisdom precisely to those like us, so that by our actions and deeds, filled with the goodness and truth of our Lord, we may be deemed righteous and just, and be worthy of the glory of heaven that awaits us. God bless us all. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
Matthew 11 : 25-27
At that time, on that occasion Jesus said, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I praise You, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to simple people. Yes, Father, this is what pleased You.”
“Everything has been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 102 : 1-2, 3-4, 6-7
Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless His holy Name! Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.
He forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness; He redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion.
The Lord restores justice and secures the rights of the oppressed. He has made known His ways to Moses and His deeds to the people of Israel.
Liturgical Colour : White
Exodus 3 : 1-6, 9-12
Moses pastured the sheep of Jethro, his father-in-law, priest of Midian. One day he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the Mountain of God. The Angel of YHVH appeared to him by means of a flame of fire in the middle of a bush. Moses saw that although the bush was on fire it did not burn up. Moses thought, “I will go and see this amazing sight, why is the bush not burning up?”
YHVH saw that Moses was drawing near to look, and God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” He replied, “Here I am.” YHVH said to him, “Do not come near; take off your sandals because the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
And God continued, “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face lest his eyes look on God. God said, “The cry of the sons of Israel has reached me and I have seen how the Egyptians oppress them. Go now! I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”
Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the people of Israel out of Egypt?” God replied, “I will be with you and this will be the sign that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops) or Red (Martyrs)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the calling of Abram out of his homeland in the Ancient Mesopotamia, and he followed the Lord’s calling to the lands of Canaan, and because of his unshaken faith, later he was known as Abraham, the father of nations and one blessed by God to be an example to many of his own descendants, as a paragon of true faith and devotion in God.
Then in the Gospel we heard how Jesus our Lord chastised the people for their shortsightedness and inability to look at their own sins, while judging and being condescending on others who have sinned, by using His parable on the speck and plank of wood. He was comparing those who could not see the tiny speck in their own eyes and yet these people could see the big plank in other’s eyes.
How are these two readings related to each other? And how are they relevant to us? We have to understand first, that what Jesus had told the people, also has an important bearing for us. Why is this so? The parable that Jesus used spoke of how mankind often easily find fault in others, and yet, they were totally inept at discovering their own shortcomings and they were unable to realise their own sinfulness.
We are often quick to point fingers at others whenever something goes wrong, but do we realise that when we point our index finger on someone else, the other three or four fingers are pointed back at us? This should be a reminder for us that, when we accuse others of wrongdoing, we should first examine ourselves and see if it is not actually our fault first before we cause harm and trouble for others around us.
Many of this world’s sorrows were born out of this inability for us to look deep into ourselves and introspect on our own actions, before we accuse others and be judgmental upon others. These ruin and destroy relationships, break apart the unity and harmony of the faithful, and bring great sorrow and distress upon many, where then Satan could enter and manipulate things according to what he wishes.
We should indeed follow the example of our forefather, Abraham, who listened to God and walked faithfully and humbly in His ways. He showed us the example how to live our lives correctly, righteously and justly, unlike that of the people whom Jesus had chastised. This is because Abraham laid low his pride and his human desires, and instead, he opened himself completely to God and surrendered his entire being to Him.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, pride and our other human traits often come in the way of our ability to listen to God and walk in His ways. We are unable to let go of many things and distractions that come our way, to the point that we end up accusing others, being judgmental and irrational in our ways. We think not with the wisdom of God planted in our hearts, but instead through our human desires and fragility.
Today we celebrate the feasts of several saints, whose lives hopefully will make us more aware of what we are expected to do in life. St. Paulinus of Nola, the first of them, was a Roman saint and bishop, who was born from an affluent and noble family, and had such a great career in the secular world, with power and authority, and yet, he voluntarily left all of that behind, in order to pursue a life more attuned to the will of God, in seclusion and prayer to God, and served then as a bishop, whose works continued to inspire many even until today.
St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More were both the martyrs of the so-called English ‘reformation’, the false and wicked attempt by the fallen King Henry VIII of England to separate the churches and the faithful in England from the true authority and jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, the Vicar of Christ as St. Peter’s successor, as a pretext to cover up his own adulterous life and sin, marrying eventually six times in the pursuit of an heir, as well as his unbridled lust.
Both St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More stood up for the true faith and refused to budge to the orders and wishes of the king, even while knowing that doing so would mean certain death and suffering for them. St. Thomas More even resigned from his powerful position of the Chancellor of the kingdom to show that he could not continue to tolerate the sinful ways of the king, and his readiness to stand up for the Lord.
Even when the king offered position, pardon and favour if they would just recant their opposition to the king’s ways and wishes, but they refused them all, preferring to suffer and die rather than to betray the Lord by following the worldly wishes of the king. Eventually they were martyred for their faith, and their memories were celebrated and are indeed still celebrating till today as the paragons of the true faith, just as Abraham once was.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore let us all from now on follow the examples of these faithful saints, and also by walking in the same path as Abraham, our father in faith, that we may become ever more faithful to the Lord our God, that at the end of time, God who sees our faith will bless us and grant us His everlasting happiness and the promises of grace He had given us. God bless us all. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops) or Red (Martyrs)
Matthew 7 : 1-5
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. In the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and the measure you use for others will be used for you. Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, and not see the plank in your own eye?”
“How can you say to your brother, ‘Come, let me take the speck from your eye,’ as long as that plank is in your own? Hypocrite, take first the plank out of your own eye, then you will see clearly enough to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops) or Red (Martyrs)
Psalm 32 : 12-13, 18-19, 20 and 22
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord – the people He has chosen for His inheritance. The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole race of mortals.
But the Lord’s eyes are upon those who fear Him, upon those who trust in His loving kindness to deliver them from death and preserve them from famine.
In hope we wait for the Lord, for He is our help and our shield. O Lord, let Your love rest upon us, even as our hope rests in You.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops) or Red (Martyrs)
Genesis 12 : 1-9
YHVH said to Abram, “Leave your country, your family and your father’s house, for the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse, and in you all peoples of the earth will be blessed.”
So Abram went as YHVH had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. Abram took Sarai, his wife, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran. They set out for the land of Canaan.
They arrived at Canaan. Abram travelled through the country as far as Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. YHVH appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” There he built an altar to YHVH who had appeared to him.
From there he went on to the mountains east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There also he built an altar to YHVH and called on the Name of YHVH. Then Abram set out in the direction of Negeb.
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