Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 99 : 2, 3, 4, 5
Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God; He created us and we are His people, the sheep of His fold.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless His Name.
For the Lord is good; His love lasts forever and His faithfulness through all generations.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Colossians 1 : 15-20
He is the image of the unseen God, and for all creation He is the Firstborn, for in Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible : Thrones, rulers, authorities, Powers… All was made through Him and for Him. He is before all and all things hold together in Him.
And He is the Head of the Body, that is the Church, for He is the First, the First raised from the dead that He may be the first in everything, for God was pleased to let fullness dwell in Him. Through Him God willed to reconcile all things to Himself, and through Him, through His Blood shed on the cross, God establishes peace, on earth as in heaven.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we heard the Lord who showed to His Apostles and inspired them to be the fishers of men. Through the miracle of the fish caught on the net, God showed them what they would do to bring glory to God and what they would do to bring many lost souls to the grace and the presence of God. And through all these, God wants to show us what all of us can do to be part of this mission He had given all of us as well.
The example shown in the Gospel today represents the world as it was, and also even now, as it is today. The Apostles fishing for the fish represent the disciples and followers of the Lord, members of His Church, which is represented by the boat. Indeed, the Church of God is often likened to a boat, an ark, similar to the Ark of Noah of old. The Church is the new Ark bringing all mankind to the salvation from God, away from all the storms and troubles of the world of darkness and sins.
The fishes refer to all of us, big and small, of different kinds and shapes, all of us mankind with all of our uniqueness and specialties, and from our various origins and backgrounds. And all of us are gathered together into the net into the boat, that is the Church of God, by the hard works of the Holy Apostles and the disciples of Christ. This is the mission which God had given to them before He went back to heaven at His Ascension, and this mission continues still even to this day.
Why is this so, brothers and sisters in Christ? This is because there are still so many people who have not yet heard of the truth of Christ, of His Good News and salvation, which He readily provided for all those who trusted in Him. God wants to save all of us, and through His servants, He brought the wonderful salvation to all of us. Many people still live in darkness and in the ignorance of the revelation of truth, which God had made to them, and they still dwelled in their old, sinful lives.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we all have to realise what a great love and devotion that the Lord our God has for all of us. When the disciples had not been able to get any fishes throughout the entire night, they were tired and exhausted, and they certainly would have wanted to give up the fishing entirely. Who after all, in a right mind, would want to try again after many hours of fruitless effort?
But the Lord did not give up on mankind, for He told the disciples to cast out into the deep, in Latin, ‘Duc in Altum’, which means that cast into the deep, placing the net further out and deeper into the waters. Thus, instead of backing out or giving up, the Lord went on to push even harder and worked even harder for our salvation. It is only by reaching out further and with greater effort that many of the souls can be saved.
Today, we celebrate the feast of Pope St. Gregory the Great, San Gregorio Magno, one of the greatest Popes that the Church had that he was honoured as the few Popes who were granted the title ‘Great’. But this greatness did not come about from his status or standing in the society, and neither did it come from wealth or any forms of worldly possessions.
He was great because of the contributions which he had made for the sake of the Church and for the sake of the faithful ones entrusted under his care as the chief shepherd of all of Christ’s flock. He was credited with the great reform of the faith, especially in terms of Christian monasticism and lifestyle, regulating the way how the faithful lived their lives faithfully, and then more importantly, in the way how the faithful worship the Lord.
Pope St. Gregory the Great was credited with the reform in the liturgy of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, codifying and developing the parts of the Holy Mass that truly bring the Holy Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ truly real and alive in the Mass, and making the Holy Mass itself like the personification of heaven brought down to the earth.
Pope St. Gregory the Great’s greatest contribution is in the area of Church and worship music, where his name was immortalised in the Gregorian Chant, the immemorial and immeasurable treasure of the Faith and the Church, which we still use even until today in our worthy praise of the Lord in the noble and holy celebration of the Mass.
Through all these contributions, and principally through the Gregorian Chant, indeed Pope St. Gregory the Great had shown us great examples on how to be a devoted and faithful servant of God, in reaching out to the lost souls and those who have dwelled long in the darkness of this world. Indeed, to reach out further into the deep, ‘Duc in Altum’, as an inspiration for us to also do the same for the sake of our brethren in need.
Therefore, let us all walk in the footsteps of Pope St. Gregory the Great and the Holy Apostles and disciples of Christ. Let us all increase further the reach of the Church and get as many as possible to the salvation which our Lord is offering us, and gather them together as one people, all rescued from sins and the darkness of the world. May God our Father unite us all in His grace and love, and bring us all into the joy of eternal life. God bless us all. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
Luke 5 : 1-11
At that time, one day, as Jesus stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, with a crowd gathered around Him listening to the word of God, He caught sight of two boats, left at the water’s edge by fishermen, now washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to pull out a little from the shore. There He sat and continued to teach the crowd.
When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon replied, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing. But if You say so, I will lower the nets.” This they did, and caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.
They signalled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came, and they filled both boats almost to the point of sinking. Upon seeing this, Simon Peter fell at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For he and his companions were amazed at the catch they had made, and so were Simon’s partners, James and John, Zebedee’s sons.
Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. You will catch people from now on.” So they brought their boats to land and followed Him, leaving everything.
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 97 : 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6
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!
Liturgical Colour : White
Colossians 1 : 9-14
Because of this, from the day we received news of you, we have not ceased praying to God for you, that you may attain the full knowledge of His will through all the gifts of wisdom and spiritual understanding.
May your lifestyle be worthy of the Lord and completely pleasing to Him. May you bear fruit in every good work and grow in the knowledge of God. May you become strong in everything by a sharing of the Glory of God, so that you may have great endurance and persevere in joy.
Constantly give thanks to the Father who has empowered us to receive our share in the inheritance of the saints in His kingdom of light. He rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son. In Him we are redeemed and forgiven.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about how the fruits of the Gospel and the Good News brought to the people in the city of Colossae have blossomed and bore a lot of great results. The people turned towards the Lord and they abandoned their past sinful lives. And in the Gospel we also heard then how Jesus healed many people from their sickness and diseases, how He made them whole once again.
In this, we have to realise a simple fact, which many of us tend to overlook and forget. We often do not realise this until it is too late, and quite a few of us refused to recognise this truth, that is we are all afflicted and diseased, for all of us share that same affliction and disease that had affected all of mankind, namely sin. Sin is the disease of the soul, which causes everything inside of us to be rotten and wicked.
And we have dwelled on in this state for a long time, ever since we threw aside our obedience to God for the comfort and pleasures of the world, listening and obeying our own selfish desires instead of listening to the word of God. We who were once destined for good things and to enjoy forever the goodness of life as God had created it, had become marred and spoilt by the darkness of the sins inside of us.
Therefore, the Lord who loves us and who is merciful, He gave us another chance, a new opportunity, by sending His own Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Saviour, to be our Healer, the One who will make us all whole once again. He laid His hands on His people so that by His power, He may heal them from their afflictions. For it is not by our own power only that we have saved ourselves, but through the grace of forgiveness that God had extended to us, and which we receive with open arms.
But it was very often that we refused to accept God’s forgiveness and grace, because the doors of our hearts are closed up tight against Him. He came to us, knocking on those doors, but we did not respond. This is just as at the time of His birth in Bethlehem, when all the inns and places were full and no place opened their doors to welcome the Lord and Saviour when He came into the world, and He was born in a simple and humble stable.
It is a good thing and a good lesson for us to take note. How many of us realise that we ought to be humble and open our hearts, baring our souls open for the Lord to come in and dwell in us? Many of us are too full of ourselves, filling our hearts with ego, desire, pride, hubris, lust and many other things that keep us away from the Lord, all the wickedness that had made us all unworthy before God.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, have we made the effort to make ourselves better and draw ourselves closer to God? Or are we going to continue to live in sin and wickedness that we have accumulated all these while? We have a clear choice, brothers and sisters, and just as we cannot serve both God and Satan, we cannot be ambiguous in our choices. If we are truly faithful to the Lord, then we should take action to show it in reality.
Our Lord had been so generous in His love and mercy for us, and thus it is only right that we should thank Him for that. If not for His mercy and love, we may have no hope with us, and everything would be meaningless, including our existence in this world, because of our sins, we were heading into certain annihilation without hope of getting out of that destruction. Yet, because the Lord in Jesus Christ had extended His hands to us and rescue us, we now have a new hope once again.
May Almighty God, our loving Father, ever forgiving and merciful, our Healer and our Lord, bless us and keep us always in His grace. May He keep us in His love, and may all of us also be awakened in our heart and soul to devote ourselves to Him more and love Him ever more. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Luke 4 : 38-44
At that time, leaving the synagogue, Jesus went to the house of Simon. His mother-in-law was suffering from high fever, and they asked Him to do something for her. Bending over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and waited on them.
At sunset, people suffering from many kinds of sickness were brought to Jesus. Laying His hands on each one, He healed them. Demons were driven out, howling as they departed from their victims, “You are the Son of God!” He rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, for they knew He was the Messiah.
Jesus left at daybreak and looked for a solitary place. People went out in search of Him, and finding Him, they tried to dissuade Him from leaving. But He said, “I have to go to other towns to announce the Good News to the kingdom of God. This is what I was sent to do.”
And Jesus continued to preach in the synagogues of Galilee.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 51 : 10, 11
But I am as a green olive tree that thrives in the house of God : I trust in God’s unfailing love forever and ever.
I will praise You forever for all You have done, and proclaim Your good Name before the faithful ones.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Colossians 1 : 1-8
Paul, Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and Timothy our brother, to the saints in Colossae, our faithful brothers and sisters in Christ : Receive grace and peace from God our Father, and Christ Jesus our Lord. Thanks be to God, the Father of Christ Jesus, our Lord!
We constantly pray for you, for we have known of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints. Indeed you await in hope the inheritance reserved for you in heaven, of which you have heard through the word of truth. This Gospel, already present among you, is bearing fruit and growing throughout the world, as it did among you from the day you accepted it and understood the gift of God in all its truth.
He who taught you, Epaphras, our dear companion in the service of Christ, faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, has reminded me of the love you have for me in the Spirit.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 