Friday

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Friday, 2 September 2016 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green


1 Corinthians 4 : 1-5

Let everyone then see us as the servants of Christ and stewards of the secret works of God. Being stewards, faithfulness shall be demanded of us; but I do not mind if you or any human court judges me. I do not even judge myself; my conscience indeed does not accuse me of anything, but that is not enough for me to be set right with God : the Lord is the One who judges me.

Therefore, do not judge before the time, until the coming of the Lord. He will bring to light whatever was hidden in darkness and will disclose the secret intentions of the hearts. Then each one will receive praise from God.

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Friday, 26 August 2016 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are reminded again firstly by St. Paul who wrote in his letter to the Corinthians, that the message of Christ, the Good News, is not a message of comfort and joy as what many would immediately associate it with. Rather, the message and truth of Christ, while these offer comfort and happiness to all those who have believed, but to those who refuse to listen to Him, these made no sense at all.

This is to highlight the differences between putting our trust on the wisdom of God or to put our trust instead in our own human power and wisdom. St. Paul made the distinctions clear, by comparing the attitudes of those who believe in God, with the attitudes of the Jews and the Greeks, among those who refused to believe, namely the Pharisees, the elders and the teachers of the Law, and the philosophers among the Greeks.

These people were highly educated and intelligent people. And they also occupied very important positions in the society, highly respected and regarded by others around them. However, because of these, they became proud of themselves and became haughty, refusing to listen to the Lord and to the truth that He brought with Him into the world.

God showed this in the Gospel in the parable of the five wise and five foolish women, which story must be very familiar to us. The five women who were wise did not represent the wisdom of the world, as possessed by the Pharisees, the elders, the teachers of the Law and the Greek philosophers, who instead were represented by the five foolish women.

Why is this so, brethren? That is because just as the five foolish women just brought barely enough oil for their lamps to last a while, thus in the similar way those supposedly wise people in the world depended on their own intellect and human wisdom which were imperfect and limited in order to perceive and understand this world. But when they tried to use the same to explain the Lord, they were not able to understand His actions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, do we also put too much of trust in our own powers and abilities? Have we become proud just because we are capable of great feats and deeds in this world? Well, we ought to be happy for the good things that we have accomplished, and yet, we should not be swallowed and be taken over by the pride and greed that are found within us.

Sin is born when we close our hearts and minds to God, because we think that we do not need Him, or that because we think that we can do everything without Him. That is the foolishness of our human wisdom and pride. And because of that Lucifer had fallen from his grace and became the wicked being he is now, the devil, rejected and cursed for all eternity.

Do we also want to share his fate? Certainly we should avoid such a fate. Rather than putting our trust in our own feeble and untrustworthy human abilities, we should trust in them knowing that God alone is the One Who gives us the grace to be successful in this life, for He is indeed the very One Who gave us those wonderful deeds and abilities.

Let us all therefore renew our devotion to the Lord, and learn to give of ourselves entirely to Him. Let us fear no longer, or be doubtful, for God our Lord and Father will protect us and give us the wonders of His love, that we may not be orphans anymore, but instead be filled with eternal grace and happiness. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 26 August 2016 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 25 : 1-13

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “This story throws light on what will happen in the kingdom of heaven : Ten bridesmaids went out with their lamps to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were careless, and the the others were sensible.”

“The careless bridesmaids took their lamps as they were, and did not bring extra oil. But those who were sensible, brought with their lamps flasks of oil. As the bridegroom delayed, they all grew drowsy and fell asleep. But at midnight, a cry rang out, ‘The bridegroom is here, come out and meet him!'”

“All the maidens woke up at once, and trimmed their lamps. Then the careless ones said to the sensible ones, ‘Give us some oil, for our lamps are going out.’ The sensible ones answered, ‘There may not be enough for us and for you. You had better go to those who sell, and buy some for yourselves.'”

“They were out buying oil when the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him to the wedding feast, and the doors were shut. Later other bridesmaids arrived and called out, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered, ‘Truly I do not know you.'”

“So stay awake, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”

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Friday, 26 August 2016 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 32 : 1-2, 4-5, 10-11

Rejoice in the Lord, you who are just, praise is fitting for the upright. Give thanks to Him on the harp and lyre, making melody and chanting praises.

For upright is the Lord’s word and worthy of trust is His work. The Lord loves justice and righteousness; the earth is full of His kindness.

The Lord frustrates the plans of the nations and brings to nothing the peoples’ designs. But His plan stands forever, and His heart’s design through all generations.

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Friday, 26 August 2016 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 1 : 17-25

For Christ did not send me to baptise, but to proclaim His Gospel. And not with beautiful words! That would be like getting rid of the cross of Christ. The language of the cross remains nonsense for those who are lost.

Yet for us who are saved, it is the power of God, as Scripture says : I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and make fail the foresight of the foresighted. Masters of human wisdom, educated people, philosophers, you have no reply! And the wisdom of this world? God let it fail.

At first God spoke the language of wisdom, and the world did not know God through wisdom. Then God thought of saving the believers through the foolishness that we preach. The Jews ask for miracles and the Greeks for a higher knowledge, while we proclaim a crucified Messiah.

For the Jews, what a great scandal! And for the Greeks, what nonsense! But He is the Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God for those called by God among both Jews and Greeks. In reality, the “foolishness” of God is wiser than humans, and the “weakness” of God is stronger than humans.

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Friday, 19 August 2016 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Eudes, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the message from the the Word of God speaking to us about the Law of God, what that Law is about, and what we ought to do as those seeking to obey the Lord, giving of ourselves to fulfil His commandments and walk in His ways, through the one kind of act and through that one word which meaning constantly elude our ability to comprehend it, that is love.

What is love? Do we really understand what it is and what it means? Love is not just the joy and happiness that two people, between male and female have for one another. It is not just the kind of material love that this world is trying to promote love as, and neither it is about the attraction or the worldly and flesh lust that existed between two lovers.

True love is just as what the Lord Himself had shown us, the example of the perfect love. He has given His love for us even though we have repeatedly spurned that love and left to seek other idols and other things to worship and adore. And as a result, in our rebelliousness that led to sin, we have deserved to die and to be cursed forever in darkness. Yet, God did not let go of His love for us.

And that was what He showed to Ezekiel His prophet, when He showed him the great vision of the land filled with an immense number of skeletons, which He gave life back to, transforming the dead and lifeless skeletons back into living beings, humans with their flesh and their breath in them. Through this vision, all of us see how God is the Master and Lord over our lives, and our lives are indeed the greatest gifts to us from our God.

Without God and the life He has given to us, we are nothing but bones and dust. We are truly nothing without God in our lives, and yet that is what exactly many of us were unable to comprehend. Many of us thought that we really are great and our deeds are wonderful, but all of them are in reality the greatness of God expressed through us all, His masterpieces in this world.

At the time of Jesus, the common misconception that prevented many of the people from seeing the truth which Jesus spoke to them was that they were too preoccupied with themselves, with their wants and desires, and they were too busy serving and trying to please the world and the society they were in, that they have largely forgotten about God. And when they tried to obey the Law and the commandments of God, they forgot that it was not about themselves, but really about God and about serving others who live around them.

Let us all look at the examples of St. John Eudes, the holy saint and holy priest whose feast day we are celebrating today. St. John Eudes was a French missionary who lived and worked around a few hundred years ago, renowned for his devotion to the Lord and to His mother Mary, and spreading that devotion by establishing several renowned congregations of religious life, the Sisters of our Lady of Charity of the Refuge, from which the Sisters of the Good Shepherd would come from, as well as the Congregation of Jesus and Mary.

In his daily life and in his works, St. John Eudes was particularly devoted to the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ, immersing himself in the greatness of the loving heart of our Lord, meditating for many hours and spending his time to devote himself wholly to God and knowing His love. And he spread that devotion to those around him, telling them to love the Lord with all of their hearts, for the Lord Himself had first loved all of them without any hesitation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, I think it is really time for us to realise that God loves us all unconditionally, and He alone is the One Who truly loves us all dearly from the depths of His marvellous and wonderful Heart. While we mankind may falter and fail each other, as history had often shown us, but God never disappointed us. If we think that He had disappointed us in any way, it is likely because we do not understand how His love works.

Let us reflect on this matter, and see in our own lives just how God had in fact blessed us and helped us along the way over the years. When we are able to take a step back and let ourselves to think for a while, certainly we will be able to see that there are many things that we have to appreciate in this life, and we need to show that same love to each other, and that is how exactly we shall fulfil our obligation to obey the Lord.

For if God is love, then how can it be that His people, His disciples and His followers do not practice them? How can we be God’s people if our ways are filled with corruption and evil deeds, with hatred and with anger? Let us all find our ways anew to the Lord, and commit ourselves wholeheartedly to be ever more loving and be ever more faithful disciples of our Lord. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 19 August 2016 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Eudes, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Matthew 22 : 34-40

At that time, when the Pharisees heard how Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. One of them, a teacher of the Law, tried to test Him with this question, “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the Law?”

Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and the most important of the commandments. But after this there is another one very similar to it : You shall love your neighbour as yourself. The whole Law and the Prophets are founded on these two commandments.”

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Friday, 19 August 2016 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Eudes, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Psalm 106 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

Let the redeemed of the Lord say this, those He redeemed from the hand of the foe, those He gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.

Some strayed in the wilderness and were lost, far away from the city. They wandered about hungry and thirsty, their lives ebbing away.

Then they cried to the Lord in anguish, and He rescued them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could dwell.

Let them thank the Lord for His love and wondrous deeds for humans. He quenches the thirst of the soul and satisfies the hunger of the heart.

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Friday, 19 August 2016 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Eudes, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Ezekiel 37 : 1-14

The hand of YHVH was upon me. He brought me out and led me in Spirit to the middle of the valley which was full of bones. He made me walk to and fro among them and I could see there was a great number of them on the ground all along the valley and that they were very dry.

YHVH said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live again?” I said, “Lord YHVH, only You know that.” He then said, “Speak on my behalf concerning these bones; say to them : Dry bones, hear the word of YHVH! YHVH says : I am going to put Spirit in you and make you live. I shall put sinews on you and make flesh grow on you; I shall cover you with skin and give you My Spirit, that you may live. And you will know that I am YHVH.”

I prophesied as I had been commanded and then there was a noise and commotion; the bones joined together. I looked and saw that they had sinews, that flesh was growing on the, and that He was covering them with skin. But there was no Spirit in them.

So YHVH said to me, “Speak on My behalf and call on the Spirit, son of man! Say to the Spirit : This is the word of YHVH : Spirit, come from the four winds. Breathe into these dead bones and let them live!”

I prophesied as He had commanded me and breath entered them; they came alive, standing on their feet – a great, immense army! He then said to me, “Son of man, these bones are all Israel. They keep saying : ‘Our bones are dry, hope has gone, it is the end of us.’ So prophesy! Say to them : This is what YHVH says : I am going to open your tombs, I shall bring you out of your tombs, My people, and lead you back to the land of Israel.”

“You will know that I am YHVH, o My people! when I open your graves and bring you out of your graves, when I put My Spirit in you and you live. I shall settle you in your land and you will know that I, YHVH, have done what I said I would do.”

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Friday, 12 August 2016 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about God Who told His people through His prophet Ezekiel, how He was disappointed at them for having broken their covenant with Him, not having been faithful despite having been blessed and taken care of for many years, the nourishing and the caring love with which God had patiently provided for through many, many years.

But the people of God were incapable of remaining firm and faithful to the covenant which they have established with God. Instead, they became wayward and gave themselves to the temptations of the world. They prostituted themselves and put themselves into the temptation of money and the pleasures of the flesh. And thus, in the Gospel today, Jesus offered a scathing rebuke of what they and their ancestors had done.

And it is a particular topic which many of us have been found wanting, lacking knowledge in, or be totally indifferent in, while it is a very important of our faith. And what is it I was referring to, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is about the sanctity and indissolubility of marriage. And we know that marriage and the institution of the family has come under many attacks in the recent years and decades.

The reason why our resolution to keep marriage holy and good is that as Jesus had said that we are all obstinate people, easily swayed by persuasion and by temptations of the devil. We give in easily to the pleasures of the flesh, so much so that we ended up being distracted and becoming unfaithful and wayward. The people sought for divorces and annulment of their marriages and committed many other wicked sins because of their inability to resist such advances.

If we have not been faithful even to our own spouse, and thus to our own families, and seek to break those bonds, then how can we be faithful to the Lord our God? That is why it is not surprising that we have been unfaithful and wayward in our lives. If we cannot be entrusted with small and simple matters, how can we be expected to be trusted with larger and greater matters? That was exactly what Jesus said to His disciples as well.

It is important to remember this, as the family and the institution of marriage are the bedrock foundations of our Faith and our Church. Take away those foundations, and the whole edifice, the whole structure will fall down and be destroyed. And that is why the enemies of the Church are so adamant in trying to undermine those important foundations of our faith and our Church.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore heed the examples of the holy saints, especially the saint whose feast we are celebrating today, St. Jane Frances de Chantal, a holy woman whose faith was exemplary, who devoted her entire life serving the Lord and His people, committing herself to holiness and to a life of piety, free from the temptations of sin, and free from the wickedness of the world.

Once, she was married to a loving husband and had a wonderful family and married life. But disease and other things took many of her families from her, including her husband and children. But instead of being drowned and being incapacitated with sorrow, and rather than giving herself into the ways of debauchery, or by committing adultery through remarriage, she devoted herself to the Lord and joined a prayerful life committed to Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, St. Jane Frances de Chantal showed the great example of how one ought to be faithful and be devoted towards the Lord. She served the Lord and the poor, the weak and the downtrodden of the society, even founding a religious order composed of like-minded women who wanted to devote themselves to a life of chastity.

May the Lord help us and guide us so that we may find our way to Him, that we may be able to follow in the footsteps of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, keeping us holy and committed to the sanctity of life designed for us by the Lord. God bless us all. Amen.