Friday

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Friday, 11 June 2021 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the great Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, celebrating the most wonderful love that God has shown to all of us, to each and every one of us from His Most Sacred Heart, the heart being the representative of one’s love and emotions, feelings and thoughts. Thus, we remember today the great love that God has for each and every one of us, the love that comes outpouring from His most loving heart.

In our first reading today, we heard of the passage from the Book of the prophet Hosea, in which we heard the Lord speaking to His people through Hosea, referring to Ephraim as the son whom God had brought up and led out of Egypt. This was a reference to the Israelites in the northern kingdom of Israel, which capital of Samaria is in the land of the tribe of Ephraim. The prophet Hosea has been sent to the people of the northern kingdom, to remind them of God and to repent from their wicked ways.

However, the people of the northern kingdom continued to sin against God as they had done multiple times previously, and this is what was referred by the prophet Hosea as ‘Ephraim’ having forgotten about God Who had done so much wonders for them and Who had cared for them all those while. And yet, God would not destroy them, as He truly loved them more than He despised their sins and wickedness. He still loved them, and the fact that He sent them the prophet Hosea, it was proof that He still wanted them to be saved.

God loves every single one of us, and He created us all because He loves us all and wants us to share in this love. Unfortunately, due to our disobedience we fell into sin, as we listened to the falsehood and lies of the devil rather than to trust in the Lord. The Lord could have annihilated us and crushed us there and then, willing us out of existence just as easily as He willed creation into being. Yet, He did not do that, and why? That is because He loves us, from His heart.

It is this same love that St. Paul referred to in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus, our second reading today, how God has revealed to all of us, His most generous and wonderful love. And He revealed this love in the person of Jesus Christ, His own Beloved Son, sent into this world to reveal before all of us the full extent of that love, and it was that same love which St. Paul and the other Apostles and disciples had preached about, and testified, for all the wonderful love He has shown to everyone.

They themselves had witnessed and seen the Lord’s ultimate expression of true love for each and every one of us, as He picked up His Cross and bore it upon His own shoulders, bearing upon them all of the punishments and the sufferings that are due for our sins and disobedience. He willingly laid down His own life, and was tortured and suffered for us that all of us may live. This action of Our Lord’s Most Holy Passion reminds us all that His love for us is truly vast and boundless, and enduring even despite our constant disobedience and refusal to believe in Him.

God’s most loving Heart continue to ache because of all of us being distanced from Him, separated by the chasm of sin. He wants to reach out to us and to embrace us with His mercy and compassion. However, unless we embrace that same mercy and compassion, by turning wholeheartedly towards Him, then we will still remain sundered from Him. That is why, He has always sent us reminders and His servants to call us to embrace Him and His loving Heart, to repent from our faults and sins, and to be forgiven from those sins.

As He lay dying on the Cross, He showed us all the most compassionate and loving face of God, a reminder of just how blessed and fortunate each and every one of us are. Through Him, we have received the assurance of eternal life and true joy, and we are all called to devote ourselves to this most loving aspect of Our Lord, His love being outpoured from His wounded and bleeding Heart, a vision seen by one of the most famous visionaries of the Church, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque saw a vision of the Lord and His Most Sacred Heart, calling on all mankind to turn towards Him and to seek Him, to be forgiven their sins and to find refuge in Him. Through this, the Lord wants us all to know just how wonderful His love for us is, and how blessed we are to be so beloved in such a manner by the Lord, Who generously showered us with His love and kindness despite us having betrayed Him, abandoned Him and refused to listen to Him and obey Him all these while.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we still going to be stubborn and refuse to believe in Him, although He has shown us all of His love? Do not forget that He has died for all of us, the testimony of which has been made by the pouring of blood and water from His pierced heart at the moment of His death, as mentioned in our Gospel passage today. Scientifically and medically, that is the sign that someone has truly died, and hence, the soldier who pierced the side of the Lord showed that the Lord died, on the Cross, all for our sake.

And through His Precious Blood, we have been washed clean from the taints of our sins and evils. We have been cleansed and purified from those wickedness and impurities that tainted our hearts, the taints of our sins. Yet, many of us remain in the stranglehold of sin, because we still allow sin reign over us, and we allow ourselves to be swayed by its many temptations. This is why we are all called to put our trust in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, to come to Him and to open our own hearts, and to find Him that we may enjoy the fullness of His love and mercy.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we also celebrate the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests. As all of our priests have been called to be in the person of Christ ‘Alter Christus – in persona Christi’ in the celebration of the Eucharist and the Sacraments, they have been called to model themselves after the one Eternal High Priest, Christ Himself. We therefore pray that just as we all trust in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, they too shall always trust in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and model themselves and their hearts after Him.

We pray for holy and dedicated priests, who is as enthusiastic and passionate in reaching out to the people of God as the Lord has tirelessly sought each and every one of us for such a very long time. We pray that they will all be as patient and loving as the Lord has been patient and loving towards us. And last of all, we pray that we ourselves may be ever more faithful to the Lord and that we may be ever closer to His Most Holy and Sacred Heart, to be forgiven by Him and to be filled with His love and grace.

May God be with us all, and may He strengthen each and every one of us to live faithfully in love, and may He empower all of us to remain faithful despite the challenges and trials we may encounter in life. May God bless us all in each and every one of our good endeavours, in our every good works and efforts, for the love of His Most Sacred Heart. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us! Amen.

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Friday, 11 June 2021 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 19 : 31-37

At that time, as it was Preparation Day, the Jews did not want the bodies to remain on the cross during the Sabbath, for this Sabbath was a very solemn day. They asked Pilate to have the legs of the condemned men broken, so that the bodies might be taken away.

The soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other man, who had been crucified with Jesus. When they came to Jesus, they saw that He was already dead, so they did not break His legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced His side with a lance, and immediately there came out blood and water.

The one who saw that, has testified to it, and his testimony is true; he knows he speaks the truth, so that you also might believe. All this happened to fulfil the words of Scripture : Not one of His bones shall be broken. Another text says : They shall look on Him Whom they have pierced.

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Friday, 11 June 2021 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Ephesians 3 : 8-12, 14-19

This grace, was given to me, the least, among all the holy ones : to announce to the pagan nations, the immeasurable riches of Christ, and to make clear to all, how the mystery, hidden from the beginning, in God, the Creator of all things, is to be fulfilled.

Even the heavenly forces and powers will now discover, through the Church, the wisdom of God in its manifold expression, as the plan is being fulfilled, which God designed from the beginning, in Christ Jesus, Our Lord. In Him, we receive boldness and confidence to approach God.

And, now, I kneel in the presence of the Father, from Whom, every family in heaven and on earth has received its name. May He strengthen in you, the inner self, through His Spirit, according to the riches of His glory; may Christ dwell in your hearts, through faith; may you be rooted and founded in love.

All of this, so that you may understand, with all the holy ones, the width, the length, the height and the depth – in a word, that you may know the love of Christ, that surpasses all knowledge, that you may be filled, and reach the fullness of God.

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Friday, 11 June 2021 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Isaiah 12 : 2-3, 4bcd, 5-6

He is the God of my salvation; in Him I trust and am not afraid, YHVH is my strength : Him I will praise, the One Who saved me.

You will draw water with joy from the very fountain of salvation. Then you will say : “Praise to the Lord, break into songs of joy for Him, proclaim His marvellous deeds among the nations and exalt His Name.”

“Sing to the Lord : wonders He has done, let these be known all over the earth. Sing for joy, o people of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

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Friday, 11 June 2021 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Hosea 11 : 1, 3-4, 8c-9

I loved Israel when he was a child; out of Egypt I called My Son. Yet, it was I Who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; yet, little did they realise that it was I Who cared for them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with leading strings of love, and I became for them as One Who eases the yoke upon their neck and stoops down to feed them.

My heart is troubled within Me and I am moved with compassion. I will not give vent to My great anger; I will not return to destroy Ephraim, for I am God and not human. I am the Holy One in your midst: and I do not want to come to you in anger.

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Friday, 4 June 2021 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are called to reflect on the most amazing and wonderful love of God which He has expressed from time to time again, by giving us His love as evident in the readings we have just heard. In our first reading today, we have the story of how Tobit was healed by God through His Archangel Raphael, concluding the amazing story of God’s providence to His servants in their hour of need. Then in the Gospel, we heard of the revelation that Jesus made to the people gathered, how He was indeed the Messiah, the Son and Heir of David, as promised and prophesied.

In our first reading, Tobit was one of the Israelites who had been brought into exile by the Assyrians who destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel, its cities and brought most of its people into exile. He was righteous and God-fearing, and an accident caused him to lose his eyesight. Nonetheless, he remained firm in his faith and never lost hope. He prayed to the Lord and the Lord heard his prayers and remembered his virtues and charitable actions to his fellow brothers and sisters, and thus, God sent Archangel Raphael to assist Tobit and to heal him from his blindness.

After helping Sara, the wife of Tobit’s son, Tobias, freeing her from the influence of a powerful demon, the Archangel Raphael then administered God’s healing for Tobit, opening his eyes and allowing him to see once again after what must have been quite some time. His sight restored and his energy restored, Tobit became whole once again, by the grace of God. Tobit and his whole household henceforth praised and glorified the Lord for all of His wonderful deeds, for His love and His faithfulness to the Covenant that He had made with His people.

What we heard in our Gospel then is an even more powerful reminder for us of God’s love, for that time, God sent not just one of the Archangels, but His own Begotten Son, the One and only promised Saviour of the world, that by His entry into this world, He has brought healing and salvation to us all. He is the fulfilment of all the prophecies and all the promises of God made through His messengers and prophets. And through Christ, all of us have been healed and made whole, the veil of darkness and the power of sin had been lifted up and away from all of us.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, having been reminded as such of God’s generous love and kindness, have we realised and appreciated just how fortunate all of us are to have been beloved in such a manner by God? We are mere sinners, weak and unworthy, wicked and terrible, corrupted and dirty, and yet, God willingly embraced us, sought us and wanted us all to be healed, made whole and rejuvenated, reconciled fully and completely with Him.

That is exactly just how beloved and how fortunate all of us are, and many of us unfortunately still do not yet recognise this fact and reality. And we continue to disregard the Lord and His generous love for us. We focus on ourselves and our worldly desires, and we turn away from God’s truth and way, following our own selfish desires and wants, our ambition and pride. Today we are all called to discern carefully our path going forward in life, that we do not end up in the wrong path.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all seek the Lord therefore with renewed faith and conviction, and let us all turn towards Him with new dedication. We are all called to be genuine in how we live our lives, full of Christian charity and faith. Because God has loved us so much then it is only right and just that we also love Him and dedicate ourselves to Him. It is a constant reminder for us that we must not be idle or ignorant of our Christian faith and calling. As much as we are able to, in every opportunity, we should show good examples in our actions in life.

Let us ask the Lord for strength and courage, that we may persevere in being faithful and good throughout life. May all of us draw ever closer to the Lord and commit ourselves wholeheartedly to Him, and may all of us grow ever stronger in our Christian faith and commitment. May God bless us all and our many works, and may He remain with us always, through every moments of our lives. Amen.

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Friday, 4 June 2021 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 12 : 35-37

At that time, as Jesus was teaching in the Temple, He said, “The teachers of the Law say that the Messiah is the Son of David. How can that be? For David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, declared : The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies under Your feet!'”

“If David himself calls Him Lord, in what way can He be his Son?” Many people came to Jesus, and listened to Him gladly.

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Friday, 4 June 2021 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 145 : 1-2, 6c-7, 8-9a, 9bc-10

Alleluia! Praise the Lord, my soul! I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to God while I live.

The Lord is forever faithful; He gives justice to the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free.

The Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord straightens the bent. The Lord loves the virtuous, but He brings to ruin the way of the wicked. The Lord protects the stranger.

He sustains the widow and the orphan. The Lord will reign forever, your God, o Zion, from generation to generation. Alleluia!

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Friday, 4 June 2021 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Tobit 11 : 5-17

Now Anna was sitting there, scanning the road along which her son should return. She saw Tobias and Raphael coming in the distance and said to the father of Tobias, “Your son is coming with the man who accompanied him.”

While Tobias and Raphael were still going along the road, Raphael said to Tobias, “I am sure that your father will regain his sight. Rub his eyes with the fish gall and when he feels his eyes itching, he will rub them and the film will come away like scales from his eyes. He will regain his sight and see the light.”

Anna ran to meet Tobias and threw her arms around his neck saying, “At last I have seen you again, my child. Now I can die!” And both of them began to cry. Tobit also got up and, stumbling, arrived at the door of the courtyard. Tobias ran to him with the fish gall in his hand. He breathed on his father’s eyes, embraced him and said, “Father, have confidence!”

Then he spread the fish gall on Tobit’s eyes. Tobias waited. When his eyes began to itch, Tobit rubbed them and with both hands scaled off the film from the corners of his eyes. When Tobit saw his son he threw his arms around Tobias’ neck and began to weep. He said, “Blessed be You, o God. Blessed be Your Name forever. Blessed be Your holy Angels. You have punished me, but You have taken pity on me, and now I can see my son, Tobias.”

Tobias was very happy. After entering the house he told his father about the important things that had happened in Media. He told his father about the successful outcome of his journey, how he got his money, and how he married Sara, daughter of Ragouel, who just then was approaching the gates of Nineveh.

Tobit, happy and praising God, went out to meet his daughter-in-law at the gates of Nineveh. All those who saw him walking alone and unaided, were amazed that he could see. Tobit proclaimed to them that God had taken pity on him and cured him. Then he went to Sara and blessed her saying, “Welcome, daughter! May God be blessed for having brought you to us and may your father and mother also be blessed.”

It was a day of great rejoicing for all Tobit’s relatives who lived in Nineveh.

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Friday, 28 May 2021 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the words of the Lord reminding us that if we remain faithful to Him and are righteous and just in our way of life, faithful and obedient to the commandments and the Law that God has given to us, we shall be blessed and filled with grace, while if we abandon His path and follow the path of sin, we shall have nothing left to ourselves in the end. The path may seem easier for us if we walk in the path of worldliness and sin, but in the end, if we realise it, there will be nothing for us but regret if we walk down that path.

The path of the Lord is filled with great challenges and trials, and it requires us to commit ourselves, to follow the Lord wholeheartedly, and to bear fruits of our faith, which means that we cannot remain idle or ignorant of the truth of God, and as Christians we cannot be passive and think that we have nothing to do in life. We are all called to have faith in the Lord and not to put our trust in our worldly strength, wealth and possessions, prestige and power in all of their forms and sorts.

Instead, as we heard in our Gospel passage today, we must have faith in the Lord, and through faith, as symbolically and metaphorically explained by the Lord, we should keep that faith as through faith even what seemed to be impossible, like moving mountains and others, can be possible. For God will be our Guide and source of strength, and He will be with us through whatever it is that we are doing in life, in every moments of our time and in our every efforts. Nothing will go to waste so long as we trust in the Lord and dedicate ourselves to Him.

Today through that same Gospel reading we are also reminded to be careful of the trap of worldly temptations, the temptations of wealth and power, of fame and glory, as highlighted in the action of the Lord chasing out all the merchants and money changers that did their businesses in the courtyard of the Temple of the Lord. Many among them were dishonest in their actions, in cheating the pilgrims and others from their money by overcharging their services and products for the sake of gaining more money and profits for themselves.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is where we need to realise that we have to choose between serving God and serving the world and Satan, and all of those temptations that they had brought down to us. We have to make a firm decision to resist the pressure and the coercions by which the devil, Satan, is always trying to lure us into destruction through the false promises and sweet lies which he has always made to us. We must be careful lest we end up falling into his traps as he is always ever so persuasive and crafty.

This is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, through the Scripture readings we have received today, we are all called to deepen our spirituality and relationship with God. We should anchor ourselves strongly on the Lord and resist the allures, temptations, coercions and false promises of the devil and his allies, and endeavour and strive as much as possible to walk faithfully in the path that the Lord has shown before us, obeying Him and committing ourselves to His cause.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians are we all willing to commit our time and effort to the Lord? Are we willing and able to give ourselves as a worthy offering, all our whole being to glorify the Lord by our every actions and dedications? This is our calling and vocation as Christians, to be the witnesses of the Lord and to be His disciples, through our every moments in life, in our every words, deeds and actions. We are called to proclaim the Good News of the Gospels through even the smallest things we do in life, and if we have not done so yet, then we really should push ourselves to do so.

Let us all reorientate ourselves and our lives, that we may become ever closer to God and be ever more faithful in each and every moments of our living in this world. May all of us be true to our faith, and dedicate ourselves to the cause of the Lord, to be truly faithful as Christians, as those whom God had called and chosen to be His own. May God bless us all, and may He remain with us always. Amen.