Church of Rome

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Thursday, 29 October 2015 : 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 the Sacred Scripture telling us about the opposition that Jesus had encountered in His mission as among the people of God He was sent to, many refused to believe in Him, and some even tried openly and actively to disturb and destroy His works, to the point of constantly harassing Him and opposing Him at every corner of His way.

And we heard how Jesus lamented about the behaviour of the people, represented by Jerusalem, the Holy City, where so many of the prophets and messengers of God were sent to, and yet, again and again, the people there showed their adamance and stubbornness in refusing to listen to the word of God, and in their disobedience against the will of God made clear and revealed to them through these prophets.

And Jesus was in fact speaking and prophesying about His own upcoming suffering, agony and death at the hands of the same people who rejected Him, cursed Him, tortured Him and cast Him out to be crucified along with criminals, intending to harm Him and destroy Him, not knowing and realising what Jesus’ true intention for them was.

In fact, what Jesus wanted was the salvation of the very same people that had rejected Him and despised Him, and He wanted nothing else but the repentance of these people from their sins, and so that they would turn back towards Him, and embrace Him once more as their Lord and their God. Yet, for this, He encountered so much difficulty and resistance, and He even had to suffer grievously.

And yet, the suffering He bore was in fact ours, and the blows He bore, are the blows intended for us, the punishment for our sins. It should have been ours to suffer grievous sufferings, pain and torment for our trespasses and disobedience, for the price of sin is death. But God who loves us all, despite His hatred for our sins and wickedness, continues to love all of us as individuals, as the beloved ones of His creations.

This is why St. Paul in his Apostolic letter today spoke about how we cannot be separated from the love of God, that is great and everlasting, unless we ourselves choose to be separated from Him, that is by our constant and continued disobedience, just as those shown by the Israelites, including the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, most of whom constantly and persistently opposed Jesus.

They thought that they did what was right, and they thought that they were being pious and faithful in opposing this Man who seemed to be bent on destroying the Law and the teachings of the prophets. But they misunderstood Him completely, as they failed to understand that Jesus came to complete and perfect the Law, and He came to dismantle all the lies and untruths that lie around the implementation of the laws at the time of Jesus.

For instead of following what God intended from them, they instead followed their own whims and desires. They corrupted God’s Law with their own human laws and observances, which while these might not be necessarily bad, but their implementation of these laws made them to be bad stewards of God’s laws and people.

But God’s love transcended all these, and despite knowing that going up to Jerusalem would mean His suffering and certain death, just as the prophets did, He also went up there to show God’s love to all, and His desire that all of His people can be awakened from their slumber in the darkness. He wants us all to be redeemed from all the sins and wickedness that we have committed in our lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all reflect on our own lives. Shall we all commit ourselves to a life that is filled with righteousness, justice and upright attitude? Shall we renew our faith in God, and no longer be so self-centred in ourselves, but rather open ourselves to listen to the Lord and to walk with God in His ways, that in the end of days, we may be found righteous and glorious in the sight of God.

May Almighty God bless us all, forgive us all our sins, and bring us all to everlasting life. May He help us to understand how great is the love and care that He has for all of us. Amen.

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Thursday, 29 October 2015 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 13 : 31-35

At that time, some Pharisees came to Jesus and gave Him this warning, “Leave this place and go on Your way, for Herod wants to kill You.”

Jesus said to them, “Go and give that fox My answer : ‘I drive out demons, and I heal today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish My course!’ Nevertheless, I must go on My way today, and tomorrow, and for a little longer; for it would not be fitting for a Prophet to be killed outside Jerusalem.”

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you slay the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often have I tried to bring together your children, as a bird gathers her young under her wings, but you refused! From now on, you will be left with your Temple, and you will no longer see Me, until the time when you will say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.'”

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Thursday, 29 October 2015 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 108 : 21-22, 26-27, 30-31

But as for me, o God my Lord, for Your Name’s sake, act on my behalf, deliver me, in the goodness of Your love. For I am poor and needy, my heart is stricken within me.

Help me, o Lord my God, and save me for the sake of Your love. Let them know that this is Your hand, that it is You, Lord, who do this.

To the Lord, I will give my thanks; I will praise Him in the great assembly. He stands at the right hand of the needy, to save them from those who condemn them.

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Thursday, 29 October 2015 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 8 : 31b-39

If God is with us, who shall be against us? If He did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not give us all things with Him? Who shall accuse those chosen by God : He takes away their guilt. Who will dare to condemn them? Christ Who died, and better still, rose and is seated at the right hand of God, interceding for us?

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Will it be trials, or anguish, persecution or hunger, lack of clothing, or dangers or sword? As the Scripture says : For Your sake we are being killed all day long; they treat us like sheep to be slaughtered.

No, in all of this we are more than conquerors, thanks to Him who has loved us. I am certain that neither death nor life, neither angels nor spiritual powers, neither the present nor the future, nor cosmic powers, were they from heaven or from the deep world below, nor any creature whatsoever will separate us from the love of God, which we have in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

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Wednesday, 28 October 2015 : Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the great feast of two of our Lord’s chief disciples, the Holy Apostles, namely St. Simon and St. Jude. St. Simon was also known as Simon the Zealot, while St. Jude here is different from Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would eventually betray Jesus and died in sin, but rather, St. Judas Thaddeus or St. Judas son of James.

On this day we heard about the role of the Apostles, whom God had called and chosen from among His people, so that they might be the extension of the works of His hands, as His chief deputies and representatives in this world. Through the disciples and the Apostles, Jesus continues His works on earth, even long after the end of His earthly existence, when He ascended in glory into the glorious Heaven.

The Apostles went forth in accordance with the mission that Jesus had given to all of them, and they went to the various places on earth, spreading further the Word of God and the salvation that Jesus Christ our Lord offers to all those who have faith in Him. They are truly the foundations of the Church, which Jesus our Lord had established on this world, based on Peter, the cornerstone, upon which He had established His Church.

God had built a strong foundation for His Church, and the Apostles are also like the pillars that strengthened the building and structure of the entire Church. For not only that they had evangelised and spread the words of the Gospel and the Good News, but they have established a solid and strong core of support structures for the Church, namely by providing many bishops and other servants of the Lord, that gave strength to the Church.

Through them, God made His will and works visible to all of the world, by providing the means through which many of the souls that still lie in darkness are able to listen to the word of God, and be saved as a result of the works of these faithful servants of our Lord. The Apostles were the catalysts of God’s work of salvation, in bringing mankind ever closer to God, and in their hard labours, they even laid down their lives and shed their blood for His sake, and for the sake of His Church.

Thus, the saying is true, that the blood of martyrs are the seeds of Christians. For all of the Apostles except for one were martyred and died in great and excruciating agony for their faith. Yet, they accepted their deaths willingly and openly as they knew that their reward in heaven is truly very, very rich, for God will not forget about all those who have given up everything for His sake.

St. Simon the Zealot himself is often associated with St. Jude the Apostle, and that is why their feast days are celebrated together as one on this day. St. Simon together with St. Jude went to many places, from Egypt and then to Persia and lands of the east, before returning to the region now known as Lebanon, where they were martyred for their faith.

They did not give up until the end, and even unto the end, unto their own deaths, they still strove hard to work for the benefit and for the good of the people to whom they had been sent to by the Lord. They opened the eyes of many, healed many of their afflictions, both body and soul, and ultimately, they saved countless souls from the gates of hell, and brought these instead to the gates of heavenly glory.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, what is it that we all must take note of so that whatever we have heard on this day will benefit us all? It is the attitude of the Apostles and their perseverance that we all can model from, and we all have to also realise that the works of the Apostles and disciples of Christ are truly far from over. In fact, their works are still ongoing now, just as Jesus commissioned them to deliver the Good News to all the nations.

Yes, we are all modern day Apostles and disciples of our Lord, as we have been tasked in a similar manner, to bring as many souls as possible, to the salvation present only in the Lord Jesus our Saviour, and to His light so that all mankind, every people may receive redemption and forgiveness from their sins, and be found righteous and just, that they will be worthy of eternal life.

Let us all realise this mission that we have, so that each and every one of us may realise our roles in the Church of God, as the bearers of God’s will and as His servants, to deliver God’s words to all, not just by mere words or proclamations only, but also through real and genuine action grounded firmly in faith and love for our Lord and for His laws.

Let us all commit ourselves anew to Him, and devote ourselves ever more to our Lord’s way, that we may bring one another to salvation, and we ourselves will grow ever richer in God’s grace. Do not despise those who are still living and darkness, and do not hate them for their wickedness, but instead, let us try to bring them closer to God, and help them in their path of repentance, so that like the Apostles of old, like St. Simon and St. Jude, we may also bring about God’s healing to all of them.

May Almighty God bless us all, forgive us all our sins, and may we all through the intercession of His holy saints and Apostles, be ever more devoted and committed children of our Lord and loving Father. Amen.

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Wednesday, 28 October 2015 : Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 6 : 12-19

At that time, Jesus went out into the hills to pray, spending the whole night in prayer with God. When day came, He called His disciples to Him, and chose twelve of them, whom He called ‘Apostles’ : Simon, whom He named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alpheus and Simon called the Zealot; Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who would be the traitor.

Coming down the hill with them, Jesus stood in an open plain. Many of His disciples were there and a large crowd of people, who had come from all parts of Judea and Jerusalem, and from the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon. They gathered to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. And people troubled by unclean spirits were cured.

The entire crowd tried to touch Him, because of the power that went out from Him and healed them all.

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Wednesday, 28 October 2015 : Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 18 : 2-3, 4-5

The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. Day talks it over with day; night hands on the knowledge to night.

No speech, no words, no voice is heard – but the call goes on throughout the universe, the message is felt to the ends of the earth.

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Wednesday, 28 October 2015 : Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Ephesians 2 : 19-22

Now you are no longer strangers or guests, but fellow citizens of the holy people : you are of the household of God. You are the house whose foundations are the Apostles and prophets, and whose cornerstone is Christ Jesus.

In Him the whole structure is joined together and rises to be a Holy Temple in the Lord. In Him you too are being built to become the spiritual sanctuary of God.

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Tuesday, 27 October 2015 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the promise of God’s salvation to us all, amidst all the difficulties, challenges and sufferings that are present in this world. Today we witnessed how God gave hope to His people who had been beleaguered by all of those obstacles and pains, and how He promised deliverance and salvation through His Messiah and the coming of His kingdom.

Why is there suffering in the first place, brothers and sisters in Christ? Suffering was not intended for us, and neither was it that we were created to endure such pain and difficulties, but it was because of our own sins and wickedness that we have brought suffering upon ourselves, as due to these sins and the disobedience we showed to the Lord, we have separated ourselves from the love and grace of God, and therefore, there is nothing left for us but to endure bitter suffering on earth.

It is our punishment and our due for the disobedience, that ever since the days of our forefathers, we have been subjected to the consequences of our sins, that is suffering and pain of hard labour, and also ultimately, death, the end of our mortal life on earth. But God did not entirely leave us to our fate, and instead He promised salvation and liberation through Jesus, His Son, Whom He had sent into the world.

And through Jesus we heard the parables He mentioned with regards to the kingdom of God. These parables were meant to explain using terms that were easy for the people at that time to understand. The examples that Jesus used to describe the kingdom of God include the measures of yeast in a measure of flour, that is kept until the whole dough is rising, and also the small mustard seed that grows to become a large mustard tree.

All these spoke clearly of a very important point that we all have to take note as we live our lives, that is about the ‘potential’ that is present in each and every one of us, and what we ought to do in order to fulfil and realise that potential to the fullest. In this, we can see the clear parallel between the mustard seed and the flour with ourselves, the state we have before we embark on the path towards the Lord and His salvation.

All of us have been given the potential by the Lord to grow and become great and mighty in His eyes, not the might and power of the world, but rather great in love, in mercy and in our faith. This is represented by the growth potential in the mustard seed, the food stored in the seed to provide for its growth, and the yeast that is placed within the measures of flour and the dough.

All who have planted a plant before, or even a farmer or gardener will definitely know how seeds can be stored for many years, and yet they would not grow or germinate, unless certain conditions are fulfilled. Unless the seeds are placed on a rich and fertile soil, and provided with sufficient amount of water, air and also later on, sunlight, the seeds will not germinate, or even though they germinate, they will not last long and die.

Then, with regards to the yeast, all those who have made bread or cake before would have known that yeast that we have will need water to be able to function, and then the mixture must also be covered, like how Jesus put it, the yeast is ‘hidden’ within the dough mixture. If the dough and the yeast mixture is not covered, then the dough will not rise, since the yeast need to be free from oxygen in the air in order to be able to ferment the starch in the flour and the dough to form what we know as the leavened bread or the cake.

How are all these relevant to us, brothers and sisters in Christ? This is because it is the same for all of us! Without proper action and genuine sincerity in living our faith, we shall never be able to cultivate and let the gifts of God, the potential for great things inside us to grow and develop. Instead, as long as we dwell in sin and live in darkness, then we will be just like the seed that never grows or the flour and dough that never rises to become bread or cake.

Let us all therefore from now on reflect on our own lives’ actions and deeds. Have we been true disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, not just in words or on paper only, but also through real action and commitment? Let us all love one another and show genuine care for each other, and let us all walk faithfully in the holy presence of our God. May God show us His love and bless us richly and abundantly always, now and forever. Amen.

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Tuesday, 27 October 2015 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 13 : 18-21

At that time, Jesus continued speaking to His disciples and 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.”