Friday

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Friday, 24 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 19 : 45-48

At that time, Jesus entered the Temple area and began to drive out the merchants. And He said to them, “God says in the Scriptures, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of robbers!”

Jesus was teaching every day in the Temple. The chief priests and teachers of the Law wanted to kill Him, and the elders of the Jews as well, but they were unable to do anything, for all the people were listening to Him and hanging on His words.

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Friday, 24 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

1 Chronicles 29 : 10, 11abc, 11d-12a, 12bcd

May You be praised, YHVH God of Israel our ancestor, forever and ever!

Yours, YHVH, is the greatness, the power, splendour, length of days, glory; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is Yours. Yours is the sovereignty forever, o YHVH.

You are supreme Ruler over all. Riches and honour go before You.

You are Ruler of all; in Your hand lie strength and power. You are the One Who gives greatness and strength to all.

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Friday, 24 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

1 Maccabees 4 : 36-37, 52-59

Then Judas and his brothers said : “Our enemies are defeated, so let us go up and purify the Holy Place and consecrate it again.” And all the army assembled and went up to Mount Zion.

On the twenty-fifth day of the month of Chislev, in the year one hundred and forty-eight (in the year 164 B.C.) they arose at dawn and offered the sacrifice prescribed by the Law on the new altar of holocausts which they had built. It was precisely at that same time and date that the pagans had profaned it before; but now they consecrated it with songs, accompanied by zithers, harps and cymbals. All the people fell prostrate and blessed Heaven that had given them happiness and success.

They celebrated the consecration of the altar for eight days, joyfully offering holocausts and celebrating sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise. The front of the Temple was adorned with crowns of gold and shields; and the gates and the rooms had been restored and fitted with doors. There was no end to the celebration among the people; and so profanation of the Temple by the pagans was forgotten.

Finally, Judas, his brothers and the whole assembly of Israel agreed to celebrate the anniversary of the consecration of the altar annually for eight days, from the twenty-fifth of the month of Chislev, in high festivity.

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Friday, 17 November 2023 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the coming of the time of reckoning for all of us in the end of time, when God will judge all the living and the dead, over all of Creation. He is our Lord and Master, the Master over all the whole Universe. Everything that is present all around us in this Universe, in our world are merely the wonderful things that God had created to be part of His Creation. However, we must always keep in mind that it is Him Who is the One we ought to worship and focus our attention towards. Unfortunately, more often than not, we got distracted by the temptations present all around us, and by the marvels and wonders of what God had created, which unfortunately led us to focus our attention on them instead on the Lord, as we should have done.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Wisdom in which the author highlighted the foolishness of all those people who disregarded the one and only True God, and instead sought to worship the things that God had created, such as the Sun, the Moon, the stars, the sky and the sea, and any other objects in this universe, and even men themselves, instead of the One Who had made and created all of them. They worshipped the things that were inferior to the One Who is supreme over all, and far exceeding those things that mankind had worshipped throughout time instead of God, because of their limited understanding and lack of Wisdom and knowledge of the truth of God. They instead depended on their own intellect, power, wisdom and understanding, and in their lack of ability to appreciate God’s truth, they instead focused their attentions on the wrong ones.

This was why so many of our predecessors, from many different parts of the world, in their incomplete and flawed understanding of how the world works, and the lack of knowledge of the Lord, Who is in fact behind everything and is the reason why everything is present, this is why so many of them chose to worship pagan gods and idols, worshipping inanimate objects and living things alike, especially those that were beyond our comprehension. God reminded all of us that this is not how we should live our lives, and this is not the correct path that we are to follow. Instead, we should return our attention and focus on the Lord, and commit ourselves wholeheartedly to His cause, entrusting ourselves to His Wisdom and Providence at all times.

In today’s Gospel passage, we heard of the reminders of the Lord to all of His disciples that everything will come to a moment of reckoning as mentioned earlier, when the time comes for the Lord to return and restore everything to perfect order and when He would gather all of us once again into His Presence. And this will come at a time most unexpected for everyone, and no one but God Himself knows when this moment exactly will happen. Again, this is an important reminder for all of us that we must not be ignorant of the truth of God and everything that He had revealed to us. Too many people, as highlighted in that Gospel passage today, were swayed by various worldly temptations that they failed to realise their sinfulness and wicked state of life, and thus fell into damnation.

We must always be wary lest we may be tempted by the same kind of temptations, the temptations that could bring us into our downfall if we are not careful. If we allow ourselves to be swayed by those desires and pleasures of the world, the comforts of life and all the wonders of this earthly existence, while ignoring and forgetting God’s presence in all of them, then we may end up being like so many of our predecessors, who have fallen into the path of sin, disobeying God and His Law, His will and commandments. And as Christians, who follow the Lord and believe in Him, we must always put Him first and foremost at the very centre of our life and as the focus and emphasis of our very existence in this world. We should not allow any other things to become distractions, keeping us away from God.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, a great and holy woman, a faithful servant of God, whose life and devotion, commitment and worthy life should be source of inspiration for all of us to follow, in how we should be truly faithful in our whole lives as Christians. St. Elizabeth of Hungary was a princess of Hungary who was married to a noble landowner and ruler of Thuringia in Germany. She had to marry at a young age and raise a family. But at the same time, she also lived a life of piety and virtue, inspired by the examples and reforms carried out by her contemporary, St. Francis of Assisi. St. Elizabeth of Hungary was renowned for her great charitable actions and care for the poor and the sick throughout her husband’s lands, which was approved by her husband, the ruler of the land. Her action also influenced him greatly, as her husband Louis often stood by the Church and the efforts the Church did.

Later on, when St. Elizabeth of Hungary was widowed quite early on, just a few years after her marriage, she made a vow of chastity akin to that of those who have joined the religious orders, and resisted any efforts by her family and others to have her remarry because of her still relatively young age. She continued to do plenty of works of charity, caring for the needy and those who were suffering, as much as she could do. Her great charity and love for others were even shown in miracles such as the famous ‘miracle of the roses’ attributed to her. In that miracle account, St. Elizabeth of Hungary was caught by her husband in one of her times sneaking out to give alms and food for the poor, with her cloak containing food from her husband’s mansion. When she was confronted and asked of the cloak’s contents, the contents were miraculously transformed into that of roses.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired and encouraged by the faithful examples of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, in doing what we can so that we may always be ever faithful to God in all things. We should not allow temptations of this world and our wicked desires and ambitions, attachments and other things from leading us into our downfall through sin. Let us instead inspire one another to be ever righteous, virtuous and worthy in all of our works and dealings in life, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 17 November 2023 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 17 : 26-37

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be on the day the Son of Man comes. In those days people ate and drank and got married; but on the day Noah entered the Ark, the flood came and destroyed them all.”

“So it was in the days of Lot : people ate and drank, and bought and sold, and planted and built; but on the day Lot left Sodom, God made fire and sulfur rain down from heaven, which destroyed them all. So will it be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.”

“On that day, if you are on the rooftop, do not go down into the house to get your belongings; and if you happen to be in the fields, do not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to save his life will lose himself, but whoever gives his life will be born again.”

“I tell you, though two men are sharing the same bed, it might happen that one will be taken, and the other left; though two women are grinding corn together, one might be taken and the other left.” Then they asked Jesus, “Where will this take place, Lord?” And He answered, “Where the body is, there too will the vultures gather.”

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Friday, 17 November 2023 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 18 : 2-3, 4-5

The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. Day talks it over with day; night hands on the knowledge to night.

No speech, no words, no voice is heard – but the call goes on, throughout the universe, the message is felt to the ends of the earth.

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Friday, 17 November 2023 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Wisdom 13 : 1-9

The natural helplessness of humans is seen in their ignorance of God. The experience of good things did not lead them to the knowledge of Him Who is. They were interested in His works, but they did not recognise the Author of them.

Fire, wind, air, the sphere of the stars, rushing water and the lights in the sky were held as the rulers of the world. If, charmed by such beauty, they took them for gods, let them know how far superior is their sovereign. And if they were impressed by their power and activity, let them understand from this how much mightier is He Who formed them. For the grandeur and beauty of creatures lead us to ponder on their Author, greater and more magnificent.

No doubt these people are not to be blamed severely, for possibly they strayed though they searched for God and desired to find Him. They pondered over the created things that surrounded them and were captivated by the sight of such beauty. Even so they are not to be excused, for if they were able to explore the world, why did they not discover first the world’s Sovereign?

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Friday, 10 November 2023 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the need for all of us to be faithful to God in all things and to do His will at all times. We must always strive to be truthful, virtuous and righteous in our ways and in our dealings so that we can truly be good and worthy in all of our actions, words and deeds so that we may not end up falling into the path of sin and evil, which may lead us to our downfall and destruction in the end. God has shown and taught us all how we should live in accordance with His ways, and we must always therefore seek to carry out God’s will, be obedient to His Law and commandments, in everything that we say and do so that we may always be exemplary and worthy of Him, at all times.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Romans, we heard of the Apostle St. Paul who wrote to the faithful there in Rome of everything that he had done in the service of God, in spreading the Good News and the truth of the Lord in Rome and in many other places, in serving the cause of the Lord and in seeking to bring about His greater glory. He elaborated on some of his works and ministry, in spreading the Good News to more and more places, bringing the knowledge of God to those who have not yet heard of them, and at the same time, also spoke of how everything were done for the greater glory of God and not for his own pride and ambitions.

St. Paul also highlighted how he did not go to those places where the other Apostles and missionaries had gone before, so that his efforts and works would not overlap those who had come earlier. This was a reminder yet again, that everything that St. Paul and the other Apostles and missionaries had done, were not for their own personal ambition, achievements and renown, but instead for the advancement of the cause of the Lord, and the spread of the Good News, the Gospels of the Lord, which He had entrusted to all of them, to His Church, to be propagated and spread to all the whole entire world, so that more and more people may come to know about His salvation and grace, and that many more souls will be saved because of the revelation of truth and God’s love that they all had received.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord teaching His disciples and followers, and all those who were present using the parable of the dishonest steward. In that parable, the Lord highlighted the actions of a steward who had been dishonest with his dealings and works, and when he was discovered in his deeds by his master, he was dismissed from his work and employment, and we heard how this dishonest steward began making arrangements quickly to ensure that he had a means to survive despite him having about to lose his employment with the master. He made use of whatever tricks he knew, and told the others who owed his master some money and materials to change the amounts they owed, so that by doing so, he might gain favour with those people, and thus allowed him to survive somehow.

Then, in that same parable, the master seemed to be praising the dishonest servant for his astuteness and actions, for having done what he did, in ensuring his own safety and well-being before he was about to be unemployed. It is the reason why this passage from the Gospels is one of the most controversial among them all, as it might seem to some people that the Lord was condoning the behaviour of the dishonest steward, or might even be praising his dishonesty. However, this is where we need to realise that what the Lord Jesus referred to in His parable, in the master praising the dishonest steward, was rather that the master praised the astuteness and the calculative actions and efforts that his dishonest steward had done, not so much his dishonesty and wickedness.

It was a reference to the astuteness, awareness and efforts which the master praised the dishonest steward for, that all of us should take heed of. Neither the master or the Lord Jesus were condoning the wicked and dishonest acts of the steward, as those deeds were still vile, wicked and unworthy of those who call themselves God’s faithful people. But it was the planning and preparation, and all the efforts and the thinking that the steward made to safeguard for himself a living afterwards that we are all called to take note and follow. What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that each and every one of us should follow in being prepared and ready for whatever it is to come, at the time of our reckoning, when God will call on us to account for our lives and our efforts, or for our failure to do what He has asked us to do.

All of us will face death in the end, the moment when our earthly existence comes to an end, and we shall have to account for our lives, for each and every things we have done, and for what we have also failed to do in our everyday living and moments. God had given us many opportunities, talents, gifts and abilities, blessings and chances, which we should have made good use of in our lives, in how we interact with others all around us, and in how we carry out our actions and live in accordance to everything that God had taught and shown us. All of us should therefore be inspired, not by the evils and the dishonesty of the steward, but rather by his astute mind, his preparedness and preparations, for what was to come. Thus, in our own lives, we should also always be prepared for the end, and do our best at every moment, to live our lives ever worthily of God.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of Pope St. Leo the Great, one of the great leaders of the Church and a renowned Pope, whose contributions and deeds were so great that he was indeed one of the very few Popes known with the epithet, ‘the Great’. Pope St. Leo the Great was one of the longest reigning Popes in the Church, reigning over the whole Church over a period of over two decades, during an important and tumultuous time both for Christendom and in the secular world. His efforts, works and deeds had inspired many and helped many people to remain firmly faithful to the Lord despite the many trials and challenges facing them at that time. Pope St. Leo the Great helped to lead the Church through those difficult times, and his leadership, actions and numerous writings, which made him to be honoured as a Doctor of the Church, should inspire us all to be ever more faithful to God as well.

Pope St. Leo the Great led the Church through a divisive time in Christendom, as there were numerous heresies and disagreements which had not been completely resolved and settled by the preceding Ecumenical Councils, such as the ones at Nicaea, Constantinople and Ephesus. Pope St. Leo the Great wrote extensively and sent his ambassadors and legates to the Ecumenical Council at Chalcedon in the Year of Our Lord 450, ten years into the reign of Pope St. Leo the Great, condemning the heresies of monophysitism that were rampant in the eastern parts of the Roman Empire. Then, in the secular side, Pope St. Leo the Great was also well-renowned for having led the Church and the city of Rome through two difficult time periods, first was when the King of the Huns, Attila, came to the city, and the Pope came to see him personally, and managed to make the Hunnic king to turn away back to his lands, sparing Rome from destruction. He was less successful with the Vandals that came few years afterwards and sacked Rome, but he managed to reduce the extent of the destructions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore strive to live our lives to the best, in obedience and adherence to God, at all times. Let us all be inspired by Pope St. Leo the Great and his examples, and do our very best so that we may indeed live our lives worthily, in seeking not our own glory and ambition, but instead, as St. Paul reminded us all earlier on, to live our lives for the greater glory of God. Let us all turn away from the path of sin and evil, and do our best to inspire others by our good, worthy and holy lives and examples, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 10 November 2023 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 16 : 1-8

At that time, Jesus told His disciples, “There was a rich man, whose steward was reported to him because of fraudulent service. He summoned the steward and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? I want you to render an account of your service, for it is about to be terminated.'”

“The steward thought to himself, ‘What am I to do now? My master will surely dismiss me. I am not strong enough to do hard work, and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I will do : I must make sure that when I am dismissed, there will be people will welcome me into their homes.'”

“So he called his master’s debtors, one by one. He asked the first debtor, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ The reply was, ‘A hundred jars of oil.’ The steward said, ‘Here is your bill. Sit down quickly and write fifty.’ To the second debtor he put the same question, ‘How much do you owe?’ The answer was, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ Then the steward said, ‘Take your bill and write eighty.'”

“The master commended the dishonest steward for his astuteness : for the people of this world are more astute, in dealing with their own kind, than are the people of light.”

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Friday, 10 November 2023 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

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

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

YHVH 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 YHVH, break into song and sing praise.