Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Luke 1 : 69-70, 71-72, 73-75
In the house of David His servant, He has raised up for us a victorious Saviour; as He promised through His prophets of old.
Salvation from our enemies and from the hand of our foes. He has shown mercy to our fathers; and remembered His holy Covenant.
The oath He swore to Abraham, our father, to deliver us from the enemy, that we might serve Him fearlessly, as a holy and righteous people, all the days of our lives.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Romans 4 : 20-25
Abraham did not doubt, nor did he distrust the promise of God, and, by being strong in faith, he gave glory to God : He was convinced, that, He Who had given the promise, had power to fulfil it.
This was taken into account, for him to attain righteousness. This was taken into account : these words of Scripture are not only for him, but for us, too, because we believe in Him, Who raised Jesus, our Lord, from among the dead, He, Who was delivered for our sins, and raised to life, for us to receive true righteousness.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Scripture we are reminded to live our lives as Christ-like as possible, that is heeding what St. Paul and the Lord had told us through the readings of the word of God today. In his Epistle to the Ephesians, St. Paul exhorted the faithful to live faithfully as members of the one Church of God, while the Lord in our Gospel passage today told us to be always ever ready for everything.
In our first reading today, we heard the conclusion of a relatively long series of discourses the past few weekdays from this Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians, which centred a lot of attention on the divisions within the Christian community and Church, as the many among Jewish converts disagreed with the non-Jews or Gentiles who had also become converts as well.
The Jewish converts who belonged to the Pharisees group wanted to impose the strict observance of the laws of Moses and their even stricter interpretation and impose all these on all the Christian faithful. As I mentioned earlier, many of these practices and rigours would have made it very difficult and even impossible for the Gentiles to follow the Lord as that would have made them having to adjust immensely, which was not easily done or acceptable at that time.
Hence, St. Paul came to be the peacemaker and also intermediary between these two groups, and reinforced the same decision of the Apostles made earlier that the old observances of the Law should only be done in its utmost essentials, and removing the obligation to all the unnecessary excesses of the old Law and the Pharisees’ interpretation of it.
St. Paul reminded the faithful community in Ephesus that God loved all of them equally, all of mankind without any prejudice or favouritism. And what God wanted was not the excessively harsh application of the laws of Moses, but rather for His people to love Him wholeheartedly, sincerely and genuinely, and for them to show the same love to their fellow men, no longer divided by categories like whether they were Jews or Gentiles, or whether they were servants or free.
This is what the Lord has told us all that we need to be exemplary in our Christian way of life, in how we interact with one another with actions founded upon the basic Christian principles and tenets. In the Gospel passage today, the Lord told us all to be vigilant and ready, that is to live our lives in the most Christian manner from now, and not to delay any longer.
We can see this from how He rebuked the people for recognising the signs of nature, of seasons and others, and yet implying that they could not recognise the imminent coming of the kingdom of God through Christ. And in the latter part, He said that those who had not made peace ought to settle their matter beforehand, before they reached the judge, or otherwise, they would have to account for their mistakes and wrongdoing.
Therefore, it is a kind reminder from the Lord that we must be reconciled to Him, abandon our sinful ways and adapt His truth so that we will be found worthy on the day of Judgment. And we should do our best to live up our lives to the fullest, as Christians, dedicating ourselves to walk in God’s path, in being virtuous and just. We have to be the shining beacons of our Christian faith and calling, and we cannot be ignorant or lukewarm about these.
How do we do this, brothers and sisters in Christ? We should seek inspiration from our holy predecessors, the saints, and kkwtoday, in particular we should look upon the examples of St. John of Capestrano, the Franciscan priest who was once the governor of Perugia and a diplomat, who received a calling to religious life, when he received a vision of St. Francis of Assisi which inspired him to follow his calling as a Franciscan, and devoted himself from thereafter to the mission of the Church.
St. John of Capestrano was a renowned reformer of the Church, who was involved in the purification of the Church and in the reforms of many of its practices, helping the Church and the faithful to rediscover their true faith. Many people were helped by his efforts, and in his role as a frequent papal diplomat and emissary, St. John of Capestrano also helped to reconcile the opposing and conflicting factions in the Church. In the end, he was also a soldier who was involved in the defence of Christendom, fighting against the enemies of the faithful with great courage and devotion.
Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all discern how each and every one of us can be more dedicated to the Lord, in each and every moments of our lives, following the examples of St. John of Capestrano and other multitudes of saints. May the Lord be with us and may He continue to guide us in our journey of life, that we may always ever walk with Him in His grace and love, at all times. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Luke 12 : 54-59
At that time, Jesus said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it happens. And when the wind blows from the south, you say, ‘It will be hot’; and so it is. You superficial people! You understand the signs of the earth and the sky, but you do not understand the present times.”
“And why do you not judge for yourselves what is fit? When you go with your accuser before the court, try to settle the case on the way, lest he drag you before the judge, and the judge deliver you to the jailer, and the jail throw you into prison. I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the very last penny.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Psalm 23 : 1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
The earth and its fullness belong to YHVH, the world and all that dwell in it. He has founded it upon the ocean and set it firmly upon the waters.
Who will ascend the mountain of YHVH? Who will stand in His holy place? Those with clean hands and pure heart, who desire not what is vain.
They will receive blessings from YHVH, a reward from God, their Saviour. Such are the people who seek Him, who seek the face of Jacob’s God.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Ephesians 4 : 1-6
Therefore, I, the prisoner of Christ, invite you, to live the vocation you have received. Be humble, kind, patient and bear with one another in love. Make every effort to keep among you, the unity of spirit, through bonds of peace. Let there be one body, and one Spirit, just as one hope is the goal of your calling by God. One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God, the Father of all, Who is above all, and works through all, and is in all.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the Sacred Scriptures in which we are reminded of the importance for us to stay vigilant and resist the temptation to sin. Sin is a very dangerous threat to us and if we allow sin to have its way with us, we will end up being dragged deeper and deeper into the darkness and in the end, we have nothing left but eternal regret and despair.
And St. Paul reminded us all in his Epistle to the Romans in our first reading today that all of us truly belong to God, and as Christians, we who believe in God and take Him as our Lord and Master should only obey and listen to Him alone, and not to any other things. It is when we allow ourselves to be tempted and swayed that we end up falling into sin, and from sin into eventually damnation.
We are all called to resist the temptation and urge to sin, restraining the desires of our body and mind. As these temptations can easily lead us astray and make us to forget what it is that we, God’s people ought to be doing with our lives, just as the Gospel passage today elaborated further to us. In that passage we heard the Lord Jesus teaching His disciples using a parable describing the actions of the stewards of a master.
In that parable, the actions of a lazy steward was described, as that steward delayed in doing the will of his master when the master was away on a journey. The lazy steward indulged in all sorts of things, in drunkenness and gluttony, and also abused the other male servants and maids. He thought that he could get away with all that because of his position and thinking that the master would not return so soon.
That was when he was truly very wrong, as the master returned and caught that lazy steward in all of his wickedness and he got his well-deserved punishment. This is something that all of us must keep in mind as we go on living our own lives, as the Lord’s way to remind us to be truly faithful to Him. The stewards represent all of us, God’s people and His servants, just as the master is a representation of the Lord, our God.
And sin leads us to fall astray just as the lazy steward fell into those temptations, disobeying his master and failed to do as he has been told and instructed to do. In the end, the lazy steward met a terrible reckoning as he delayed on and assumed that the master would not have come in time for him to rectify everything and sort things out first. He was wrong, and we can be wrong too, if we choose to follow the example of the lazy steward.
What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that we must not delay any longer in rejecting sin and in turning away from the path of sin and wickedness we have been walking along all these while. We must embrace God and obey Him from now on, for we do not know when the end of our mortal existence in this world will come to us. If we keep on delaying and dragging our feet, it will come eventually to the point when we will regret for not having done something much earlier.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must realise just how much God loves each and every one of us and how He is always willing to welcome us back to His presence and how He wants to embrace us all with love, forgiving us our sins. But are we willing to be forgiven and to take the necessary steps needed to embrace His love fully by being repentant of all of our sins and by leading a holy life from now on.
Today perhaps we can imitate the good examples of St. John of Capestrano, a holy priest and dedicated servant of God who can show us what it truly means to be a good, dedicated and faithful steward and servant of God. St. John of Capestrano was a member of the Franciscan Order dedicated to the service of God, ministering to the people of God, calling them to a renewed faith and a holy life in God.
He was also remembered for his dedication to God, that he zealously opposed the falsehoods of the many heresies that sprung up during the years of his ministry in the fifteenth century, a few hundred years ago. He went about spreading the truth of God and wrote extensively against the heresies. On top of this, he was remembered for his courageous participation in the Crusade against the enemies of the faithful.
St. John of Capestrano showed us all what it means to be a true disciple and servant of God, and we are all therefore called to follow in his footsteps. Are we able to dedicate ourselves in the same manner as this faithful and holy servant of God? Let us all discern our lives carefully and think of what we can do from now on to serve the Lord ever more courageously and faithfully, delaying no more and embracing fully His ways. May God bless us all in our journey of faith and remain with us always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Luke 12 : 39-48
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Pay attention to this : If the master of the house had known at what time the thief would come, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.”
Peter said, “Lord, did You tell this parable only for us, or for everyone?” And the Lord replied, “Imagine, then, the wise and faithful steward, whom the master sets over his other servants, to give them wheat at the proper time. Fortunate is this servant if his master, on coming home, finds him doing his work. Truly, I say to you, the master will put him in charge of all his property.”
“But it may be that the steward thinks, ‘My lord delays in coming,’ and he begins to abuse the male servants and the servant girls, eating and drinking and getting drunk. Then the master will come on a day he does not expect, and at an hour he does not know. He will cut him off, and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful.”
“The servant who knew his master’s will, but did not prepare and do what his master wanted, will be soundly beaten; but the one who does unconsciously what deserves punishment, shall receive fewer blows. Much will be required of the one who has been given much, and more will be asked of the one who has been entrusted with more.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Psalm 123 : 1-3, 4-6, 7-8
Had not YHVH been on our side – let Israel say – had not YHVH been on our side, when people rose up against us, then, they would have swallowed us alive; such was their anger against us.
A bit more, and the flood would have engulfed us; the torrent would have swept over us; the raging waters would have swept us away. Blessed be YHVH, Who did not let us be devoured.
Like a bird, our soul escaped from the snare of the fowler; the snare was broken and we were freed. Our help is in the Name of YHVH, Who made heaven and earth.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Romans 6 : 12-18
Do not allow sin any control over your mortal bodies; do not submit yourselves to its evil inclinations, and do not give your members over to sin, as instruments to do evil. On the contrary, offer yourselves, as persons returned from death to life, and let the members of your body be as holy instruments, at the service of God. Sin will not lord it over you again, for you are not under the Law, but under grace.
I ask again : are we to sin because we are not under the Law, but under grace? Certainly not. If you have given yourselves up to someone as his slave, you are to obey the one who commands you, are you not? Now, with sin, you go to death, and by accepting faith, you go the right way.
Let us give thanks to God, for, after having sin as your master, you have been given to another, that is, to the doctrine of faith, to which you listen willingly. And being free from sin, you began to serve true righteousness.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 