faith in God

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Tuesday, 2 August 2016 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop and St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops or Priests)

Matthew 14 : 22-36

At that time, immediately Jesus obliged His disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowd away. And having sent the people away, He went up the mountain by Himself to pray. At nightfall, He was there alone. Meanwhile, the boat was very far from land, dangerously rocked by the waves for the wind was against it.

At daybreak, Jesus came to them walking on the sea. When they saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, thinking that it was a ghost. And they cried out in fear. But at once Jesus said to them, “Courage! Do not be afraid. It is Me!” Peter answered, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You walking on the water.”

Jesus said to him, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water to go to Jesus. But seeing the strong wind, he was afraid and began to sink; and he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately stretched out His hand and took hold of him, saying, “Man of little faith, why did you doubt?”

As they got into the boat, the wind dropped. Then those in the boat bowed down before Jesus, saying, “Truly, You are the Son of God!” They came ashore at Gennesareth. The local people recognised Jesus and spread the news throughout the region. So they brought all the sick to Him, begging Him to let them touch just the hem of His cloak. All who touched it became perfectly well.

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Tuesday, 5 July 2016 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Zaccaria, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Hosea 8 : 4-7, 11-13

Without My approval they set up kings and without My blessing appointed leaders. With their silver and gold they fashioned idols to their own ruin. To Me, Samaria, your calf is loathsome and My anger blazes against you. How long will you remain defiled?

The calf is yours, Israel, a craftsman has made it; it is not God and will be broken into pieces. As they sow the wind, they will reap the whirlwind. Like the erect ear of corn they will bear no grain and produce no flour, or if they do, foreigners will devour it.

Ephraim built many altars but his altars made him more guilty. I wrote out for him the numerous precepts of My Law, but they look on them as coming from foreigners. They offer sacrifices to Me because they are those who eat the meat, but YHVH does not accept their sacrifices for He is mindful of their sin and remembers their wickedness. They will return to Egypt.

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Friday, 1 July 2016 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 118 : 2, 10, 20, 30, 40, 131

Blessed are they who treasure His word and seek Him with all their heart.

I seek You with my whole heart; let me not stray from Your commands.

My soul is consumed with desire for Your ordinances at all times.

I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart upon Your laws.

Oh, how I long for Your precepts! Renew my life in Your righteousness.

I gasp in ardent yearning for Your commandments that I love.

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

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Kings 19 : 16b, 19-21

YHVH said to Elijah, “And Elisha, son of Shaphat, from Abel Meholah, you shall anoint as prophet in your place.”

So Elijah left. He found Elisha, son of Shaphat, who was plowing a field of twelve acres and was at the end of the twelfth acre. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak over him. Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah and said, “Let me say goodbye to my father and mother; then I will follow you.”

Elijah said to him, “Return if you want, do not worry about what I did.” However, Elisha turned back, took the yoke of oxen and slew them. He roasted their meat on the pieces of the yoke and gave it to his people who ate of it. After this, he followed Elijah and began ministering to him.

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Monday, 13 June 2016 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the story of the wicked king of Israel, Ahab who desired the vineyard of Naboth to become his own, and when Naboth refused the king bluntly on the consideration that the land belonged to him and to his ancestors, king Ahab became angry and with the complicit help of his wife, Jezebel, Ahab managed to gain the vineyard by the means of false accusation and murder of Naboth.

If we look at this passage from the Book of Kings, we may find it difficult to reconcile with what we heard in the Gospel today. In the first reading, God spoke to king Ahab through His prophet Elijah regarding the wickedness of his actions in causing the death of Naboth for his own gain, unlawfully gaining the vineyard through trickery and lies. And God said that what happened to Naboth would also happen to Ahab.

It means that whatever evil things Ahab had done would also befall him as the consequence for his sins. But in the Gospel we heard about Jesus our Lord who told His disciples that they should not seek vengeance or to get retribution from those who have mistreated them or hurt them. It seems that the two passages contradict each other if we read them at the face value, but in reality, they actually complement each other.

How is this so? It is because both of them speak of the same thing. All of us human beings have been created with love and out of love by our God, and we were all intended for good things. And thus the very important rule that all of us have to understand is that if we want others to treat us kindly and nicely, then we ourselves must start to treat others in the same manner too.

If we treat others badly, then it will bring about pain and anger in their hearts and minds, and as a result, they too will want to treat us in the same manner too, seeking vengeance against us. And when vengeance has been accomplished, the cycle is not over but in fact continues on, as when we become the object of that vengeance and suffered because of it, then we ourselves will want to enact our own revenge. The end result is a never-ending cycle of revenge and vengeance that bring about nothing but suffering, more suffering, pain and evil.

On the other hand, if we love one another, and even love and forgive those who have hurt us or hated us, then in fact we are breaking that endless cycle of hatred and suffering, by opening up the floodgates of God’s love to fill our hearts, and the hearts of those who have despised us and hated us, so that we stop that continuation of hatred and all the evil emotions, and instead spread and spawn the seeds of love.

And when we love even our enemies and those who have loathed us and persecuted us, what we hope is that we may bring their hearts to know the love which God has given to them through us, and that they may repent their ways and turn back to those evil deeds and into the light of God. And thus, we may bring one another into the love of God, and receive His grace and blessings.

And how about what we heard with regards to king Ahab and Naboth? Brothers and sisters in Christ, there is a crucial difference between that case and what our Lord is asking us to do. What king Ahab had done was definitely very wicked, and it was not just on that occasion, but also on numerous other occasions, where Ahab had disobeyed the Lord and brought the whole people of Israel into sin.

And unlike us all who have in our tendency not to love our enemies and those who hate us, God loves everyone equally, as He has created all of us without discrimination, whether they eventually became good or evil based on their own conscious choices. And He has loved us all even though many of us if not most or all of us, have disobeyed Him and rejected His love from time to time.

And God offered Ahab and the Israelites the same love, and yet they rejected it. And thus, in the end, those who refuse to love, and refuse the love which God had generously presented to us, and choose instead to act on our own whim and desires, then we have to part in God’s love and inheritance, and our fate will be like that of king Ahab, whom God had rejected and cast out from His presence. Remember brethren, that God loves us, but He hates our sins and wickedness.

Thus, let us today heed the example of a great saint whose feast we celebrate today. St. Anthony of Padua, the renowned Franciscan friar and preacher was a very famous saint whose works in Italy and in many places have brought numerous if not countless souls back from the periphery of death and darkness and back into the light and the love of God.

St. Anthony of Padua showed great devotion to the Lord, and then correspondingly a great commitment for the people of God, to whom he had devoted himself fully, caring for the weak, the ostracised and the downtrodden, teaching to them the word and the truth of God, and revealing God’s love to them through his own loving actions.

He inflamed the hearts of many people with his preaching, and he inspired many of them to rediscover their faith and to commit themselves anew to God. And he often led by example, showing many people how they should act as those who believe in the Lord our God. It is very important for us all to follow his examples, and also have love in our own actions and deeds.

Let us all renew our faith for the Lord, and be loving and be merciful in all the things we say and do. May God strengthen the love within our hearts, and allow us to be filled with His gracious love and mercy, that we will always endeavour for the good and for the salvation of all mankind, each and every one of us. May God bless us all, now and forever. Amen.

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Saturday, 11 June 2016 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6

Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

The Lord has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love nor His faithfulness to Israel.

The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you lands, make a joyful noise to the Lord, break into song and sing praise.

With melody of the lyre and with music of the harp. With trumpet blast and sound of the horn, rejoice before the King, the Lord!

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Sunday, 5 June 2016 : 10th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 7 : 11-17

At that time, a little later after Jesus healed the servant of a captain, He went to a town called Naim. He was accompanied by His disciples and a great number of people. As He reached the gate of the town, a dead man was being carried out. He was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; there followed a large crowd of townspeople.

On seeing her, the Lord had pity on her and said, “Do not cry.” Then He came up and touched the stretcher, and the men who carried it stopped. Jesus then said, “Young man, I say to you, wake up!” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

A holy fear came over them all, and they praised God saying, “A great Prophet has appeared among us; God, has visited His people.” This news spread throughout Judea and the surrounding places.

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Monday, 30 May 2016 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 90 : 1-2, 14-15ab, 15c-16

You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High, Who rest in the shadow of the Almighty, say to the Lord, “My stronghold, my refuge, my God in Whom I trust!”

“Because they cling to Me, I will rescue them,” says the Lord. “I will protect those who know My Name. When they call to Me, I will answer; in time of trouble I will be with them.”

“I will deliver and honour them. I will satisfy them with long life and show them My salvation.”

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Monday, 16 May 2016 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 18 : 8, 9, 10, 15

The Law of the Lord is perfect : it gives life to the soul. The word of the Lord is trustworthy : it gives wisdom to the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right : they give joy to the heart. The commandments of the Lord are clear : they enlighten the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is pure, it endures forever; the judgments of the Lord are true, all of them just and right.

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart find favour in Your sight, o Lord – my Redeemer, my Rock!

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Wednesday, 16 March 2016 : 5th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Daniel 3 : 14-20, 91-92, 95

King Nebuchadnezzar questioned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden statue I have set up?”

“If you hear now the sound of horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and other instruments, will you fall down and worship the statue I made? If you will not, you know the punishment : you will immediately be thrown into a burning furnace. And then what god can deliver you out of my hands?”

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we need not defend ourselves before you on this matter. If you order us to be thrown into the furnace, the God we serve will rescue us. But even if he will not, we would like you to know, o king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

Nebuchadnezzar’s face reddened with fury as he looked at Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of his strongest soldiers to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the burning furnace.

Then king Nebuchadnezzar suddenly rose up in great amazement and asked his counsellors, “Did we not throw three men bound into the fire?” They answered, “Certainly.” The king said, “But I can see four men walking about freely through the fire without suffering any harm, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego Who sent His angel to free His servants who, trusting in Him, disobeyed the king’s order and preferred to give their bodies to the fire rather than serve and worship any other god but their God.”