devotion to God

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Tuesday, 28 June 2016 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles, Great Feast of the Church of Rome and the Universal Church (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Galatians 1 : 11-20

Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, that the Gospel we preached to you is not a human message, nor did I receive it from anyone, I was not taught of it but it came to me as a revelation from Christ Jesus. You have heard of my previous activity in the Jewish community; I furiously persecuted the Church of God and tried to destroy it. For I was more devoted to the Jewish religion than many fellow Jews of my age, and I defended the traditions of my ancestors more fanatically.

But one day God called me out of His great love, He Who had chosen me from my mother’s womb; and He was pleased to reveal in me His Son, that I might make Him known among the pagan nations. Then I did not seek human advice nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were Apostles before me. I immediately went to Arabia, and from there I returned again to Damascus.

Later, after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to meet Cephas, and I stayed with him for fifteen days. But I did not see any other Apostle except James, the Lord’s brother. On writing this to you, I affirm before God that I am not lying.

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Tuesday, 28 June 2016 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 5 : 5-6, 7, 8

You are not a God Who delights in wickedness; evil has no place in You. The arrogant cannot stand before You. You hate all who do evil.

You destroy all who speak falsehood, who thirst for blood and live on lies; all of them the Lord detests.

But I, by Your love and grace, may come into Your house. In reverence I bow down and worship at Your holy Temple.

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Monday, 27 June 2016 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the great anger of God which He had raised against His own people, all because of their disloyalty, their insubordination and extremely rebellious attitude, refusing to listen to the Lord their God and preferring to walk on their own decided paths. They sold themselves to debauchery and to the pagan idols of their neighbours, and turned a deaf ear to the Lord and to His prophets.

God had done so much for their sake, destroying their enemies before them and protecting them from all those who desired for their destruction, and He also brought them to deliverance from their suffering and slavery in the land of Egypt, giving them land to stay and dwell in, showing His great power and majesty in carrying them out into freedom.

And yet, through the generations, they had been unfaithful. They complained when God brought them out of Egypt into the desert, raising up a golden calf for themselves to worship as a god. And they disobeyed and complained on the harsh laws and rules which the Lord gave to them, because they were themselves lazy, poisoned by the laziness of this world, and the complacency which led to the raise of temptations of the flesh.

Thus, that was why even many of the people of God eventually slid down the slippery slope of sin and disobedience, abandoning the Lord their God, because they found the world and its temptations to be more appealing and attractive to them rather than what the Lord offered them in the discipline of the faith. They found that following the Lord was too difficult and too demanding for them, and thus, they faltered.

And that is the same reality which our Lord Jesus mentioned to the teacher of the Law and to His disciples about following Him and His ways. When two of them came up to Him and said that they needed to do so and so first before following Him, and saying that they would follow Him wherever He went, He mentioned to them that to follow the Lord, one cannot be divided or to be distracted in his or her heart.

It was those distractions and temptations which had led the people of Israel in the past to wander and to drift away from the Lord into wickedness and sin, and that was what Jesus had warned His disciples about, that following Him is a difficult matter, and challenges and oppression would come upon all those who professed their faith in Him, for He was taking them out of the world, and the world controlled by Satan does not like that.

It is a reminder to us all that being a Christian is not a part-time job, and neither should it be a mere formality. To be a Christian means for us to commit ourselves, body, heart, mind and soul in obeying the Lord and His commandments, and to devote ourselves, our time and our commitment to transform ourselves and others around us by righteousness and through our devotion to the ways of God.

It is a reminder also that we have to be the bearers of the truth of Christ, by showing love to one another and by showing that we truly belong to the Lord through our ways. We should no longer say things or act in the way which would identify us as those who do not belong to God. We have to persevere and stand by our faith even though it will indeed be difficult for us, and we will be ridiculed, rejected and even persecuted for doing so. But great is our reward in the Lord.

Let us all see the example of St. Cyril of Alexandria, the holy saint whose feast we are celebrating today. St. Cyril of Alexandria was the Bishop and Patriarch of Alexandria, one of the greatest early centres of Christianity. St. Cyril of Alexandria lived and served the Lord and His people at a time of great turmoil and trouble for the faithful, a truly difficult time to live in.

St. Cyril lived at the time when the faithful and the Church in Alexandria were divided among the different groups, where several of these were in open heresy against the true faith. He was in constant struggle over the supporters of the heretic Nestorius and his false teachings, known to us as the Nestorians. Those people alleged that the divine and the human nature of Jesus was separate as two distinct beings, which were false and untrue.

And thus St. Cyril of Alexandria worked hard through his works, writings and preachings to condemn the false teachings of the heretics and convinced the people of God to remain faithful to God and His truth, even though his enemies made his life difficult and challenged him wherever he went. He endured persecutions and oppositions, and to the very end, he remained faithful and committed to save the people of God from the falsehoods of Satan.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, St. Cyril of Alexandria remained faithful and true to the Lord even though he suffered rejection, ridicule and even persecution for his faithfulness. Are we able to do the same as well? Are we all able to commit ourselves to God just as he had committed himself fully to the Lord his God and Saviour? Let us all discern and ponder all these deep in our hearts.

May God our Lord and Master help us to find the courage to stand up for Him and for the Church, that we will not tolerate or be complacent in our faith, that in all things, we may always remain true to He Who loves us all and Who will bless us the faithful ones with the eternal glory and joy of heaven. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 27 June 2016 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Matthew 8 : 18-22

At that time, when Jesus saw the crowd press around Him, He gave orders to cross to the other shore. A teacher of the Law approached Him and said, “Master, I will follow You wherever You go.” Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

Another disciple said to Him, “Lord, let me go and bury my father first.” But Jesus answered him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

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Monday, 27 June 2016 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Psalm 49 : 16bc-17, 18-19, 20-21, 22-23

What right have you to mouth My laws, or to talk about My covenant? You hate My commands and cast My words behind you.

You join a thief when you meet one; you keep company with adulterers. You have a mouth of evil and a deceitful tongue.

You speak ill of your brother, and slander your own mother’s son. Because I was silent while you did these things, you thought I was like you. But now I rebuke you and make this charge against you.

Give this a thought, you who forget God, lest I tear you to pieces with no one to help you. Those who give with thanks offerings honour Me, but the one who walks blamelessly, I will show him the salvation of God.

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Monday, 27 June 2016 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Amos 2 : 6-10, 13-16

YHVH says this, “Because Israel has sinned, not once but three times and even more, I will not relent. They sell the just for money and the needy for a pair of sandals; they tread on the head of the poor and trample them upon the dust of the earth, while they silence the right of the afflicted; a man and his father go to the same woman to profane My Holy Name; they stretch out upon garments taken in pledge, beside every altar; they take the wine of those they swindle and are drunk in the house of their God.”

“It was I Who destroyed the Amorites before them, whose height was like the height of the cedar, a people as sturdy as an oak. I destroyed their fruit above and their roots below. It was I Who brought you up from the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness to take possession of the land of the Amorites.”

“Behold, I will crush you to the ground, as a cart does when it is full of sheaves. The swift shall be unable to flee and the strong man shall lose his strength. The warrior shall not save himself nor the bowman stand his ground. The swift of foot shall not escape nor the horseman save himself. Even the most stout-hearted among the warriors shall flee away naked on that day,” says YHVH.

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Sunday, 26 June 2016 : 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 15 : 1-2a and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11

Keep me safe, o God, for in You I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “O Lord, my inheritance and my cup, my chosen portion – hold secure my lot.”

I bless the Lord Who counsels me; even at night my inmost self instructs me. I keep the Lord always before me; for with Him at my right hand, I will never be shaken.

My heart, therefore, exults, my soul rejoices; my body too will rest assured. For You will not abandon my soul to the grave, nor will You suffer Your Holy One to see decay in the land of the dead.

You will show me the path of life, in Your presence the fullness of joy, at Your right hand happiness forever.

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Saturday, 25 June 2016 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)

Psalm 73 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-7, 20-21

O God, have You rejected us forever? Why vent Your anger on the sheep of Your own fold? Remember the people You have formed of old, the tribe You have redeemed as Your inheritance. Remember Mount Zion where You once lived.

Climb and visit these hopeless ruins, the enemy has ravaged everything in the sanctuary. Your foes have roared triumphantly in the holy place, and set up their banner of victory.

Like lumberman felling trees, they smashed the carved panelling with hatchets, hammers and axes. They defiled Your sanctuary and set aflame the dwelling place of Your Name.

See how they keep Your covenant in the dark caves of the land. Do not let the oppressed be put to shame; may the poor and needy praise Your Name.

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Friday, 24 June 2016 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 138 : 1-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15

O Lord, You know me : You have scrutinised me. You know when I sit and when I rise; beforehand You discern my thoughts. You observe my activities and times of rest; You are familiar with all my ways.

It was You Who formed my inmost part and knit me together in my mother’s womb. I thank You for these wonders You have done, and my heart praises You for Your marvellous deeds.

Even my bones were known to You when I was being formed in secret, fashioned in the depths of the earth.

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Friday, 24 June 2016 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Isaiah 49 : 1-6

Listen to me, o islands, pay attention, peoples from distant lands. YHVH called me from my mother’s womb; He pronounced my name before I was born. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword. He hid me in the shadow of His hand. He made me into a polished arrow set apart in His quiver.

He said to me, “You are Israel, My servant. Through you I will be known.” “I have laboured in vain,” I thought and spent my strength for nothing.” Yet what is due me was in the hand of YHVH, and my reward was with my God. I am important in the sight of YHVH, and my God is my strength.

And now YHVH has spoken, He Who formed me in the womb to be His servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, to gather Israel to Him. He said, “It is not enough that you be My servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob, to bring back the remnant of Israel. I will make you the light of the nations, that My salvation will reach to the ends of the earth.”