Divine Liturgy

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Sunday, 16 July 2017 : Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, all of us gather together listening to the words of the Scriptures, which are indeed the Word of God, which in accordance with what we heard from the first reading taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah. The Word of God has come into the world, and the Word had been sent from God to dwell among us, He Who is none other than Christ, Son of God and Word of God incarnate in flesh of Man.

The entire theme of this Sunday’s readings is about the growth of seeds and plants, in which the Word of God is likened to seeds that God planted in each and every one of us. In the Psalm, we sing to the glory of God, remembering how He nurtures the earth and cares for it. In the same manner, He nurtured us all and allow us to flourish in this world. But how about that seed, the Word of God which He planted inside each one of us?

In the Gospel passage today, we heard the well-known parable of the sower, in which Jesus our Lord spoke to His disciples about how the sower of the seeds sowed his seeds in various places, only for the seeds to end up in various end results. Some of the seeds ended up on the roadside, eaten up by the birds, while some others fell on a rocky soil, unable to grow because they were unable to establish their roots, and while some others fell among thistles and brambles, which choke the life out of the newly grown plants, and last of all, some fell on rich soil, where the seeds grew and bore in multiples of what had been planted.

The Lord Himself has explained the meaning of each of the segments of this parable, explaining to His disciples what they all need to do in order to blossom in their faith, allowing the Word of God to grow in them and to encompass them completely. However, it is also important for us all that we must heed its message, so that each and every one of us know how we ourselves should live in accordance with God’s will, and be able to flourish best in our faith.

First of all, we heard of the case where the seeds fell on the roadside and were eaten up by the birds of the sky. The Lord Jesus explained that this is the case when the devil came by and took the Word away from the people, who therefore did not believe because of that. It is a clear reminder for every one of us that we have a great adversary in the devil, the one who is always active, prowling about seeking to drag our souls into damnation. He is always active and continue to plot for the downfall of all mankind, God’s beloved creation.

We must be careful lest the devil comes to us and snatches from us the Word of God, because of all his lies and all the things that he tempted us with, pulling us away from the path to salvation and leading us into the path of ruin. He is always ever active seeking for those whose faith in the Lord are weak, and all those who do not have a good relationship with God, whose faith is superficial and lacking in strength.

How should we strengthen our faith in God then? It is by deepening our relationship with Him, through prayer and time which we spend with Him. We should not be too busy with ourselves and whatever it is that we are doing in life. It is often that we leave the Lord to the last priority in our lives, and as a result, we open ourselves to the devil to come into our hearts and snatch whatever it is that God had placed in us. We end up falling into sin and evil, because of our inability to strengthen that relationship we ought to have with God, and God is not at the centre of our lives.

This is related with what we then heard about the seeds that fell on the rocky ground, where they were able to grow quickly and yet, they were unable to form proper roots due to the rocky soil, and they ended up being scorched and destroyed from the lack of water and the intense heat. This is what happened when all of us are closing up ourselves to the Lord, because of what I had just mentioned, when we ended up being so busy with ourselves and our daily business, that we end up shoving God away from the centre of our lives.

Let us ask ourselves, how many of us find going to the Holy Mass to be tedious and as a chore? How many of us are always looking at our watches, wondering when the celebrant of the Mass will finish his long homily or when we will be able to leave the Mass to continue with our daily proceedings and business? How many of us grumble because we have to go to the church on Sundays and on certain Holy Days of Obligation?

If we do not prioritise God in our lives, and if we find serving and worshipping the Lord as a chore, that is exactly when we have the seeds spread by God landing on a rocky soil, on our souls, hearts and minds that are filled with so many distractions and other preoccupations that we do not allow the Word of God to take roots and grow deep inside each one of us. That is when we start to wander off, away from God’s salvation and into damnation, since the Word of God has no place in us and thus we also will have no place in God’s kingdom

Then, for the case when the seeds fell among the thistles and brambles, as the Lord Jesus explained to His disciples, were those who have accepted the word of God, and yet when challenges and troubles come, when the concerns of this world come, they ended up losing the faith and the Word of God was cast out from them, as they abandon God when they were unable to commit to Him wholeheartedly as they should have.

This is quite clear cut for us, as it is often that as Christians, we will encounter difficulties and challenges, when those who are around us, even from our friends and families, who do not agree with us and with what we believe in our faith in God. There will be difficulties, obstacles and even rejection, and there will be moments when we will stumble and be tempted to give up, to compromise our faith and to appease those who demand that we change our ways and abandon our faith.

It is our human nature for us all to think about ourselves first, and to preserve ourselves. And it is also our human nature for us to want to feel accepted by others, and that is why, many of us will be tempted to make compromises and to abandon tenets of our faith. That is when we falter, and when we fail in our faith. If we do not have the courage to stand up for our faith and continue to walk righteously before God, how then will God find us worthy of Him, if we are not capable of committing ourselves to Him?

There will be plenty of temptations awaiting us the faithful people of God, from the temptation of physical goods such as money, wealth and possession, that had indeed kept many of us occupied, in how we spent so much time in our career, trying to accumulate for ourselves all these worldly goods, or in order to achieve acclaim and worldly fame and glory. These are some of the common temptations that had caused so many among us to stumble in our way.

Rather, all of us as Christians are called to be like the case where the seeds fell onto rich soil, grew healthily and produce tremendous amounts of returns in the form of products, in many multiples, thirtyfold, sixtyfold, hundredfold or even more than these. This is when all of us do not just receive the Word of God and remain passive, ignorant or lukewarm in our faith, but instead, we must embody what we believe in and be genuine with our faith.

This is how we provide a good soil for the Word of God to grow and blossom, by providing an environment filled with faith, hope and love. All of us are called to be true and living disciples of the Lord, filled with compassion and love for others, with mercy and forgiveness for our brethren who have caused us pain and suffering, those who have hurt us or hated us, and then also for us to be truly just and righteous in all of our ways and actions.

Just as farmers need to toil the soil, to provide ample amount of air in the soil, and as they also need to place animal droppings or chemical fertilisers on the soil in order to keep the plant healthy, in the same manner, our faith and the Word of God within us, the seeds of faith God has planted in us require us to commit ourselves to action that accentuates our faith and make what we believe no longer just mere words but also a reality.

That is how we make ourselves to be fruitful in the sight of the Lord, by devoting ourselves to do what He wants us to do, to walk in His path and to do what His will is for us. It is how we take what God had given to us, and then make it into a rich harvest, which the Lord will reap at the end, and seeing our great and bountiful faith, He shall bless us all with everlasting life and eternal glory.

May the Lord be with us all, and may He empower us all to live in accordance with His will, filled with joy knowing that because all that we have done, all the hard work and toiling we have given for the sake of the Lord, all of these are meant for the glorification of God, as what St. Paul in his Epistle in our second reading today mentioned. We await for the coming of the Lord, Who will come in His glory and reward all those who are faithful to Him. May He look favourably on our faith in Him, and bless all of our works. Amen.

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Sunday, 16 July 2017 : Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Matthew 13 : 1-23

At that time, Jesus left the house and sat down by the lakeside. Many people gathered around Him. So He got into a boat, and sat down, while the crowds stood on the shore; and He spoke to them in parables about many things.

Jesus said, “The sower went out to sow; and, as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path; and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil, and the seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was not deep. But as soon as the sun rose, the plants were scorched; and they withered, because they had no roots.”

“Again, other seeds fell among thistles; and the thistles grew and choked the plants. Still, other seeds fell on good soil and produced a crop : some a hundredfold, others sixty, and others thirty. If you have ears, then hear!”

Then His disciples came to Him and said, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but not to these people. For the one who has will be given more; and he will have in abundance. But the one who does not have will be deprived of even what he has. That is why I speak to them in parables; because they look and do not see; they hear; but they do not listen or understand.”

“In them, the words of the prophet Isaiah are fulfilled : However much you hear, you do not understand; however much you see, you do not perceive. For the heart of this people has grown dull. Their ears hardly hear and their eyes dare not see. If they were to see with their eyes, hear with their ears and understand with their heart, they would turn back, and I would heal them.”

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For I tell you, many prophets and righteous people have longed to see the things you see, but they did not see them; and to hear the things you hear, but they did not hear them.”

“Now listen to the parable of the sower. When a person hears the message of the kingdom, but does not take it seriously, the devil comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed that fell along the footpath. The seed that fell on rocky ground stands for the one who hears the Word, and accepts it at once with joy. But such a person has no roots, and endures only for a while. No sooner is he harassed or persecuted because of the Word, than he gives up.”

“The seed that fell among the thistles is the one who hears the Word; but then, the worries of this life and the love of money choke the Word; and it does not bear fruit. As for the seed that fell on good soil, it is the one who hears the Word and understands it; this seed bears fruit and produces a hundred, or sixty, or thirty times more.”

Alternative reading (shorter version)
Matthew 13 : 1-9

At that time, Jesus left the house and sat down by the lakeside. Many people gathered around Him. So He got into a boat, and sat down, while the crowds stood on the shore; and He spoke to them in parables about many things.

Jesus said, “The sower went out to sow; and, as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path; and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil, and the seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was not deep. But as soon as the sun rose, the plants were scorched; and they withered, because they had no roots.”

“Again, other seeds fell among thistles; and the thistles grew and choked the plants. Still, other seeds fell on good soil and produced a crop : some a hundredfold, others sixty, and others thirty. If you have ears, then hear!”

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Sunday, 16 July 2017 : Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Romans 8 : 18-23

I consider, that the suffering of our present life cannot be compared with the glory that will be revealed, and given to us. All creation is eagerly expecting the birth, in glory, of the children of God. For, if now, the created world was unable to attain its purpose, this did not come from itself, but from the one who subjected it.

But it is not without hope; for even the created world, will be freed from this fate of death, and share the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know, that the whole creation groans and suffers the pangs of birth. Not creation alone, but even ourselves; although the Spirit was given to us, as a foretaste of what we are to receive, we groan in our innermost being, eagerly awaiting the day, when God will give us full rights, and rescue our bodies as well.

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Sunday, 16 July 2017 : Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 64 : 10abcd, 10e-11, 12-13, 14

You water the land and care for it, enriching it with natural resources. God’s stream is filled with water.

So You prepare the earth to give us its fruits. You drench the furrows in the land and level the ridges; You soften the soil with showers and bless its crops.

You crown the year with Your goodness; abundance flows everywhere. The deserts have become pasture land, the hills are clothed with gladness.

The meadows, covered with flocks, the valleys, decked with grain – they shout and sing for joy.

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Sunday, 16 July 2017 : Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Isaiah 55 : 10-11

As the rain and snow come down from the heavens and do not return till they have watered the earth, making it yield seed for the sower and food for others to eat, so is My Word that goes forth out of My mouth : It will not return to Me idle, but It shall accomplish My will, the purpose for which It has been sent.

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Sunday, 9 July 2017 : Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Bible Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday we are reminded through the readings from the Sacred Scriptures of the great love which our God has for us, that He gave us the means to our salvation, that is none other than through our Lord Jesus Christ, His own Beloved Son, through Whom He had brought salvation upon all of us mankind.

By His own will He has willingly sent us His own Son, Jesus Christ, through Whom we have received the perfect revelation of God’s truth and teachings, calling us to turn ourselves completely, body, heart, mind and soul towards Him and turning our back from the burdens and chains of our old selves, which had been enslaved to sin and wickedness, to disobedience and aberrations from the path of God. He wants to free us from our current state of suffering and sin.

In the second reading today, St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Rome mentioned how all of the faithful ought to leave behind their existence in the flesh and embrace their new existence in the spirit. This is what all of us Christians are called to do, that is for us to abandon our past sinfulness and all the temptations and obstacles that had prevented us from truly being able to commit ourselves to God.

But what is the existence in the flesh? What does it mean and what is its significance for us? Existence of the flesh means that we mankind live in accordance to the desires of our flesh, succumbing to the demands of our human desires and wishes, by listening to the temptations of Satan instead of listening to the word of God calling us to righteousness.

It means that we succumb to the desires to sin, to covet what others have but we do not have, satisfying our greed for worldly goods and material wealth. To lust for others and to have improper sexual conduct outside of marriage, among many other things. It also means that we strive to gain the satisfaction of the flesh, amassing for ourselves the treasures of this world, often at the expense of our own souls.

We often bicker and become angry with one another, when we are engulfed and overcome by greed, and thus hatred become part of us. This is how many of our unfortunate human conflicts have sprung up in this world. We are never satisfied because what we seek are merely temporary happiness that can only satisfy us for a while, but then after that, cause us to be even more hungry and desiring for what we want.

This is the existence in the flesh, which all of us mankind are surely quite familiar with, as that is what we all grew up with. And this has become our burden, the burden which bears down upon us, the burden of sin. Yet, this is where the Lord comes, offering to us a different existence, that is existence in the Spirit, where we no longer obey the desires of our flesh and of worldly demands, but instead, we obey only the Lord, Who leads us and guides us to the true path.

That is what the Lord offered to us, a new path that leads not to ruin but instead to salvation and liberation, eternal joy and happiness, where all of us will be reconciled with God and receive forever the grace of His love. This is the new path that God pointed to us and showed us through Jesus, Who taught us of this truth. Yet, many of us mankind still refused to follow Him and obey Him, and many of us still closed our hearts against Him.

Why is that so? That is because we often prefer the easier path, and one that appears easier to us, is the path that is not the path shown by the Lord. It is the status quo, our existence in the flesh, which brings us temporary happiness, a ‘quick fix’ for us, a fleeting moment of joy and pleasure, but one which unfortunately do not last. Satan is always at work out there, trying to keep us in this state, tempting us to sin against God, offering us his false promises and showering us with worldly pleasures.

That is not, however, what the Lord told us. He clearly told His disciples, and therefore all of us, that His way is the true way, the way that leads to true joy and happiness. He said, “Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Indeed, this is the truth that Satan wants to keep away from us, by tempting us without ceasing and persecuting us, that we end up turning away from God and fall into sin.

Through this, all of us Christians must know that if we follow the Lord, walk in His path and obey Him, we will indeed not have an instant gratification and eternal joy right away, for there is indeed a burden which He imposed on us, none other than the burden of our crosses in life. All of us, Christians, who believe in the Lord Jesus and His salvation, are called to carry our crosses with us in our lives, and to follow the Lord with faith and obedience.

What is this cross we have, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is the cross of love, the challenge for us all to love one another, and to show generosity and mercy to our fellow brethren, even towards all those who hate us and all who have brought upon us ridicule, persecution and suffering. It is easy for us to hate those who have hated us, but it is far more difficult for us to love those who hate us and persecute us. Yet, that is what the Lord called us to do and wanted us to do in our lives.

And we will indeed be rejected and ridiculed by others because of how we lived our lives in accordance with the will of God. For instance, while others desire to serve their own needs first and be selfish, all of us Christians are called to be selfless and to show our love to our brethren as much as we love ourselves. We are called to this way of life, this existence in the Spirit, just as the Lord had shown us how to do so.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we all able to devote ourselves to the Lord in this manner? Are we all able to walk in the path which He had shown us? Let us all no longer doubt or be hesitant, but instead, let us all seek the Lord with joy, just as the prophet Zechariah in our first reading urged the people to rejoice and to be filled with jubilation, at the coming of the Lord, Who will save His people and bring glory to His Name.

Let us all henceforth, from now on, put our complete trust in the Lord, and become His true disciples and followers. Let us all exorcise and cast away from ourselves all that is wicked, impure and unworthy of God. We do not have to do great things in order to do this, but we can begin from ourselves, from every small and little deeds we do in our daily lives, one at a time.

Let us all show love and compassion to each other, caring for those who are in need, showing forgiveness and tenderness to those who have wronged us, and praying for all those who hate us and who have persecuted us and caused us pain. Let us all be like the Lord, Who have shown us all how to love, and how to be more like Him, so that in the end, we may be found worthy of the Lord, and He will grant us His eternal rest, that we will be forever joyful in His presence.

May God bless us all, remain with us and strengthen our faith in us always. May all of us grow ever stronger in our devotion to Him, and grow ever more generous with our love and compassion. Amen.

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Sunday, 9 July 2017 : Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Bible Sunday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Matthew 11 : 25-30

At that time, 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 was Your gracious will. 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.”

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart; and you will find rest. For My yoke is easy; and My burden is light.”

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Sunday, 9 July 2017 : Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Bible Sunday (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Romans 8 : 9, 11-13

Yet, your existence is not in the flesh, but in the spirit, because the Spirit of God is within you. If you did not have the Spirit of Christ, you would not belong to Him. And if the Spirit of Him, Who raised Jesus from the dead, is within you, He, Who raised Jesus Christ from among the dead, will also give life to your mortal bodies. Yes, He will do it, through His Spirit, Who dwells within you.

Then, brothers, let us leave the flesh and no longer live according to it. If not, we will die. Rather, walking in the spirit, let us put to death the body’s deeds, so that we may live.

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Sunday, 9 July 2017 : Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Bible Sunday (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 144 : 1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13cd-14

I will extol You, my God and King; I will praise Your Name forever. I will praise You, day after day; and exalt Your Name forever.

Compassionate and gracious is YHVH, slow to anger and abounding in love. YHVH is good to everyone; His mercy embraces all His creation.

All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o YHVH, will praise You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom; and speak of Your power.

YHVH is true to His promises and lets His mercy show in all He does. YHVH lifts up those who are falling and raises those who are beaten down.

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Sunday, 9 July 2017 : Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Bible Sunday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Zechariah 9 : 9-10

Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout for joy, daughter of Jerusalem! For your King is coming, just and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

No more chariots in Ephraim, no more horses in Jerusalem, for He will do away with them. The warrior’s bow shall be broken when He dictates peace to the nations. He will reign from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.