Friday

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Friday, 19 August 2022 : 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 them 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 2022 : 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, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures we are all presented with the words of the Lord calling on us to guard ourselves against all sorts of worldly temptations, and in particular today we are called to focus our attention on the sin of the flesh, the desire that we mankind often have for the pleasures of the body, which led us down the path of sin and wickedness as we are often tempted to seek for the worldly pleasures first and ignoring the Lord’s truth and teachings. That is also why many people had ended up being deep in the state of sin, as well as breaking up families and relationships.

In our first reading today taken from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel, we heard the Lord speaking to His people through Ezekiel regarding all that He had done for them, for all the years and ages, throughout all the generations. He had made His Covenant with them, blessed them and gave them and their ancestors much blessing and bounty, providence and help, as He rescued them, took good care of them, guided them, purified and made them clean again when they had erred and fallen into the wrong paths. He rescued them from their enemies and struck their enemies down before them, guarding and strengthening them, giving them glory and joy.

Yet, as we heard the Lord spoke, He showed His frustrations and lamentations at how those same people continued to be wayward, rejecting Him and His ways, choosing instead to forge their own path and committing whatever is wicked in the sight of God and men alike. They worshipped the pagan idols and gods, persecuted God’s prophets and messengers who had been sent to them to guide them and remind them to stay faithful to the truth of God. The people had chosen to trust in their own strength and judgment, turning deaf ear to the Lord’s call. Yet, the Lord was still ever patient and continued to reach out to them nonetheless.

That was what He told the people through Ezekiel, as He presented this truth to the people in exile in Babylon, reminding them that God still loved all of them regardless, and wanted to reach out to them, embracing them with love and forgiving them their sins. He would renew His Covenant with them, which He had always ever been faithful to, all those years, if only the people were willing to listen to Him, hearken to His call and answer Him with faith. The Lord has always been generous with His love, compassion and mercy, and in the end it is really up to those people to embrace what God had generously given and presented to them.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Lord speaking to the Pharisees with regards to their question whether divorce was lawful or not according to the Law and whether it should be allowed or not. The Lord then highlighted the fact that the Law of God as revealed through Moses had been modified and changed according to the preferences of the people, as even Moses himself was scandalised by the behaviour of the Israelites back then, who hardened their hearts against God and gave them some concessions so as to help them accept the Law of God better, but those concessions ended up making them even more complacent and in the end, misunderstanding the whole purpose and intention of the Law.

And as today we focus on the matter of familial relationship, marriage and also obedience to God, we are all reminded how God had always intended for us to do His will, and each one of us as the Lord highlighted in His words, had our own particular calling and vocation in life. For those who have been called to married life, that bond of marriage as the Lord had defined it, is everlasting and unbreakable, and one who sought to break that bond with the reason other than that is acceptable, such as the desire to marry another person, is essentially committing a sin against God, the sin of adultery for both parties involved.

The Lord highlighted that there are also others called to different calling and purposes in life, such as those who are destined for a life of service to God, and many among them will remain unmarried, and instead dedicating themselves wholly to God and His people. What is important here is that, whatever it is that God has called us to do, in our various vocation and calling in life, each one of us are called to listen to God and to dedicate ourselves more to Him, and to listen to Him earnestly, not hardening our hearts and minds against Him as our predecessors had often done. We should also resist the many temptations present all around us, in the desire and pressure to seek worldly pleasures and satisfaction among other things.

Today, all of us should be inspired by the examples shown by St. Jane Frances de Chantal, who was once a mother to several children and was widowed in early age due to her husband’s unfortunate early death, and she dedicated herself to God from then on through charitable works and missions, and she was inspired through an encounter with another saint, St. Francis de Sales. She eventually founded a religious congregation known as the Congregation or Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary. All its members are called to live the charism and works of its founder, St. Jane Frances de Chantal who desired to care for the needy and the less fortunate in the community, and they were remembered as the sisters who spent more of their time in mission than cloistered in a monastery.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as St. Jane Frances de Chantal and surely many other saints, holy men and women of God had shown us by their own lives, their dedication and commitment to God, we are all reminded and called to do our best in whatever capacity and opportunity we have been presented with by God, and to be exemplary and source of inspiration ourselves to our fellow brethren, in how we live our lives and in how we seek the Lord with faith, in each and every moments of our daily living. May God be with us all and may He strengthen each one of us with the resolve to live ever more courageously in His path. Amen.

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Friday, 12 August 2022 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Matthew 19 : 3-12

At that time, some Pharisees approached Jesus. They wanted to test Him and asked, “Is a man allowed to divorce his wife for any reason he wants?”

Jesus replied, “Have you not read that, in the beginning, the Creator made them male and female? And the Creator said : Therefore, a man shall leave father and mother, and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one body. So, they are no longer two, but one body. Let no one separate what God has joined.”

They asked him, “Then why did Moses command us to write a bill of dismissal in order to divorce?” Jesus replied, “Moses knew the hardness of your hearts, so he allowed you to divorce your wives; but it was not so in the beginning. Therefore, I say to you : whoever divorces his wife, unless it be for immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”

The disciples said, “If that is the condition of a married man, it is better not to marry.” Jesus said to them, “Not everybody can accept what you have just said, but only those who have received this gift. There are eunuchs born so, from their mother’s womb. Some have been made that way by others. But there are some who have given up the possibility of marriage, for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who can accept it, accept it.”

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Friday, 12 August 2022 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

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, 12 August 2022 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Ezekiel 16 : 1-15, 60, 63

The word of YHVH came to me in these terms, “Son of man, make known to Jerusalem its sins. You say on My behalf : Your beginning was in Canaan; there, you were born. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. On the day you were born, your cord was not cut; you were not bathed in water to make you clean; you were not rubbed with salt, nor were you wrapped in cloth.”

“There was no one to look with pity on you; or compassionate enough, to give you any of these attentions. You were left, exposed, in the open fields; because you were looked upon with disgust, on the day you were born. But I passed by; and saw you, immersed in your blood. I said to you, in the midst of your blood, ‘Live!’”

“I made you grow, like a plant of the field. You grew up and became tall; and were becoming of marriageable age. Your breasts were formed and your hair had grown; but you were naked and exposed. I passed by later, and saw, you were at the age of love; and spread part of My garment over you, to cover your nudity. I made a Covenant with you with an oath – word of YHVH – and you were Mine.”

“Then I bathed you in water; I cleansed you of your blood and anointed you with oil. I clothed you with embroidered cloth and put soft leather sandals on your feet. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with silk. I adorned you with jewelry, putting bracelets on your arms, a necklace around your neck and a ring in your nose. I gave you earrings and a magnificent crown for your head.”

“You were adorned with gold and silver; your clothing was fine linen, silk and embroidered cloth. You were fed on finest flour, honey and oil; you became very beautiful and rose to be queen. Your beauty was perfect; and your renown spread through the nations, because of the splendour I had given you – word of YHVH.”

“But you relied on your beauty; you trusted in your fame; and you began to give yourself to every passerby, like a prostitute. But I will remember My Covenant with you in the days of your youth, and, make in your favour, an eternal Covenant, so that you may remember, be ashamed, and never open your mouth again, because of your humiliation, when I have pardoned you for all you have done,” word of YHVH.

Alternative reading

Ezekiel 16 : 59-63

For thus says YHVH : “I will treat you as you deserve; you, who despised the oath and broke the Covenant. But I will remember My Covenant with you in the days of your youth, and, make in your favour, an eternal Covenant. You will be mindful of your ways and be ashamed, when I take your sisters, both the elder and the younger; and give them to you as daughters, without prejudice to My Covenant with you.”

“For I will uphold My Covenant with you; and you will know that I am YHVH, so that you may remember, be ashamed, and never open your mouth again, because of your humiliation, when I have pardoned you for all you have done,” word of YHVH.

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Friday, 5 August 2022 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate as the Universal Church, the feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, also more commonly known in Italian as Santa Maria Maggiore. This is one of the four great Papal Major Basilicas, and the greatest of all the Marian churches and basilicas dedicated to Mary, the Blessed Mother of God. This great celebration of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major should serve as a moment for us all to recall the role of the Blessed Mother of God, Mary, in the history of our salvation. Through her, we have received the Saviour of the world, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The story of the Basilica began over seventeen centuries ago, at the time when persecutions against the Christian faith were just ended thanks to the Edict of Milan by Roman Emperors Constantine the Great and Licinius, marking the end of the era of persecutions and the beginning of era of rapid growth of the Christian faith. It was then that the first great Basilicas of Rome were built, including that of the old St. Peter’s Basilica, the Lateran Basilica which is the Cathedral of the Pope, and then finally this great Basilica of St. Mary Major dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God.

This Basilica was built from the miraculous occasion known as the Miracle of the Snows, in which snow fell on the height of summer in early August, on this date which became the time of its dedication all those centuries ago. The history went as follows, because a devout and elderly Christian noble couple wanted to donate and offer their properties to the Church back then and offered them to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, but they did not know what to do and where to offer it, they asked her to help them to find a way to properly make their offerings in her honour.

As the sign of her help, snow fell atop the Esquiline hill on the fifth day of August, at the height of the Roman summer as mentioned earlier. That became the site where this great Basilica dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God was built, and over the subsequent centuries, many people came to this great House of God, seeking the Lord and also asking for the intercession of His Blessed Mother Mary on their behalf. In the Basilica there also exists the very popular icon of Salus Populi Romani, an icon of the Blessed Mother of God as the Protectress of the Roman people and the city of Rome, to which our current Pope Francis always paid a visit before and after each one of his Apostolic Journeys.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we rejoice and celebrate in memory of the Dedication of this great Marian Basilica, let us all focus on the role of Mary in the story of our salvation. Mary as the Mother of God has always been full of love, nurturing care and attention to her Son Jesus, and in the same way, as each and every one of us have been entrusted by the Lord to His own mother, that she may also be our mother, hence naturally she also shows us the same love and attention, the same caring nature of a mother for her children. For all these years, Mary has always shown her care for us, appearing from time to time to her children, to remind all of us to be faithful to her Son and to turn away from our sins.

Mary has shown us what it means to be a true, genuine and virtuous Christian, and she showed us the most direct way to her Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Through her and by following her examples in faith and life, all of us can and will get ever closer to God and His salvation. On this day as we rejoice and celebrate in the memory of the Dedication of a great House of God dedicated to the Mother of God, all of us are called to put ourselves under the protection of our beloved Mother as well, constantly asking for her intercessions and prayers on our behalf, for us sinners who are in need of God’s mercy and healing.

Today, our world and societies need to grow deeper in faith, as many of us Christians had become lapsed and lukewarm in how we live our faith. We no longer commit ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord, and we become ignorant and closed against God’s calling in our lives. And even when His Mother Mary called on us, we often closed off our hearts and minds as well. We spent much more time, effort, focus and attention in trying to seek other pleasures and satisfactions in life, our many desires and pursuits rather than to follow the Lord our God faithfully as we should have done.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today let us all remind ourselves and each other that we are all God’s children, and His mother is also our mother. All of us should follow the examples that our Lord Himself and His blessed Mother have shown us, and refrain ourselves from continuing to live in the state of sin and disobedience against God. The Lord and His mother Mary have called us all to leave behind our past wickedness and sins, and come once again into the loving embrace and His saving grace, and through Mary’s help we truly can make this a reality.

May the Lord our God continue to love us and bless us each day, and may through the intercessions of His mother Mary, we may all be strengthened and encouraged to live our lives with ever greater faith from now on. Holy Mary, Holy Mother of God, pray for us your children, we who are sinners and unworthy, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 5 August 2022 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Matthew 16 : 24-28

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “If you want to follow Me, deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow Me. For whoever chooses to save his life will lose it, but the one who loses his life, for My sake, will find it. What will one gain by winning the whole world, if he destroys his soul? Or what can a person give, in exchange for his life?”

“Know, that the Son of Man will come, in the glory of His Father with the holy Angels, and He will reward each one according to his deeds. Truly, I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death, before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

Alternative reading (Mass for the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Luke 11 : 27-28

At that time, as Jesus was speaking, a woman spoke from the crowd and said to Him, “Blessed is the one who gave You birth and nursed You!”

Jesus replied, “Truly blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it as well.”

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Friday, 5 August 2022 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Deuteronomy 32 : 35cd-36ab, 39abcd, 41

Their day of calamity is at hand, and swiftly their doom will come. The Lord will give justice to His people and have mercy on His servants.

Learn this now – that I alone am He; there is no god besides Me. It is I Who give both death and life; it is I Who wound and heal as well and out of My hand no one can deliver.

When I sharpen My glittering sword and My hand takes hold of judgment, I will deal out vengeance upon My foes and retribution upon those who hate Me.

Alternative reading (Mass for the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Judith 13 : 18bcde, 19

My daughter, may the Most High God bless you more than all women on earth. And blessed be the Lord God, the Creator of heaven and earth, Who has led you to behead the leader of our enemies.

Never will people forget the confidence you have shown; they will always remember the power of God.

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Friday, 5 August 2022 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Nahum 2 : 1, 3 and Nahum 3 : 1-3, 6-7

See, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings Good News, one who proclaims peace. Judah, celebrate your feasts and carry out your vows. For the wicked have been destroyed, they will not attack you any more. YHVH will now restore Jacob’s magnificence, like Israel’s splendour. For they had been plundered, laid waste as a ravaged vineyard.

Woe to the bloody city, city of lies and booty, o city of unending plunder! But what! Crack of whips, rumble of wheels and clatter of hoofs! See the frenzied chargers, the flashing swords and glittering spears, the heaps of the wounded, the dead and dying – we trip over corpses!

I will pelt you with filth, I will treat you with contempt and make of you a shameful show, so that all who look on you will turn their backs in disgust and say : Nineveh – a city of lust – is in ruins. Who will mourn for her? Where can we find one to comfort her?

Alternative reading (Mass for the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Revelations 21 : 1-5a

Then, I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and no longer was there any sea. I saw the new Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God, out of heaven, adorned as a bride prepared for her husband.

A loud voice came from the throne, “Here is the dwelling of God among mortals : He will pitch His tent among them, and they will be His people; He will be God-with-them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death or mourning, crying out or pain, for the world that was, has passed away.”

The One seated on the throne said, “See, I make all things new.”

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Friday, 29 July 2022 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus (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 presented with the words of wisdom from God on how each one of us can serve and follow Him better, through the inspirations of the saints, St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus. The three of them were siblings and according to the Scriptures, they were friends of the Lord Jesus. Lazarus was the one whom the Lord raised from the dead, and Mary and Martha were the ones to whom the Lord visited, as we heard from the Scripture passages today. Each one of them brought about inspiration for all of us Christians.

Lazarus, one of the siblings, according to the Scriptures, was very sick at one time and was on the verge of death in Judea, when the news of this came to the Lord and His disciples were in Galilee. Mary and Martha begged Him to come over and help their brother because they believed that the Lord could do something to help and heal their ailing brother. The Lord truly cared for them all, and nonetheless, He abided by His Father’s will, and waited a while as mentioned in the Gospel, until the appointed time, when He came to Judea after Lazarus had passed away from the sickness.

It was there that the Lord revealed His glory and power to all the assembled people, and opened their eyes to His truth, as He raised Lazarus from the dead after affirming both his sisters, Mary and Martha, that He is indeed the Lord and Master of life and death, and that He Himself is the Resurrection. Through Him, Lazarus gained a new lease of life, and God’s Name glorified through what the Lord Jesus had done that day. He showed His love for Lazarus, shown clearly when He even wept publicly for Lazarus, as he had to suffer and experience suffering and death first before God would be glorified through his resurrection.

That showed us just how close Lazarus, Mary and Martha were to the Lord, as very good and close friends, confidants and likely later on, important members of the Church. Meanwhile for Martha and Mary, we knew them more from another occasion in which the Lord visited both of them at their house, which prompted Martha to immediately be busy preparing all that was necessary to welcome the Lord, while Mary spent the time by the Lord’s side, listening to Him teaching and speaking to her. Through those actions, both of them actually showed their love for God in their own way.

Martha, while she was indeed distracted by her hectic and busy preparations to welcome the Lord, she was indeed doing so because she loved the Lord and wanted to care for Him in the way that she knew of doing. Mary on the other hand, also cared for the Lord in her own way, by listening to Him attentively and focusing on everything that He said. We can see from the examples set by the two sisters, as what each one of us as Christians should be doing in our lives in following and serving God. As Martha and Mary had done, we are all called to focus our attention to the Lord and devote ourselves to Him wholeheartedly.

Unfortunately, in our Church and world today, more often than not we encounter a lot of infidelity and lack of commitment to the Lord, because we are always distracted and busy with many other commitments and attachments in life. And unlike Martha, we are busy not because we are preparing to welcome the Lord into our midst. Instead we are busy pursuing our various worldly desires and ambitions, our many desires and concerns, our pursuit for power, fame, glory, wealth, influence among many other things. And we are also often too busy to listen to the Lord speaking to us and calling on us to communicate with Him.

That is why many of us kept on slipping down the path towards damnation and hell. Many people kept on failing to follow the Lord and to dedicate themselves as they should, because they were all too busy serving their own wants and desires, and in ignoring God’s calling and truth. The Lord has always patiently reached out to us in order to help us in our journey towards Him. However, it is up to us whether we are willing to listen to Him or not. If we continue on closing our hearts and minds against Him, then that is why the Lord’s words fell on deaf ears and we may end up getting further and further away from the path to salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, inspired by the good examples of the siblings, St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus, their love for God and faith in the Lord, in all that they had done in following and obeying God’s will, let us all also do the same in our own lives as well. All of us should do whatever we can to seek the Lord from now on, and do our best to live our lives worthily in all things, committing our time, effort and attention on the Lord. May the Lord continue to guide us in our journey and may He empower and strengthen each and every one of us to live as good and devout Christians, now and always, evermore. Amen.