Gospel of St. Matthew

by

Thursday, 1 December 2016 : 1st Week of Advent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Matthew 7 : 21, 24-27

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My heavenly Father.”

“So then, anyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts accordingly, is like a wise man, who built his house on rock. The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house, but it did not collapse because it was built on rock.”

“But anyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act accordingly, is like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house; it collapsed, and what a terrible fall that was!”

by

Wednesday, 30 November 2016 : Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Matthew 4 : 18-22

At that time, as Jesus walked by the lake of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come, follow Me, and I will make you fish for people.”

At once they left their nets and followed Him. He went on from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them. At once they left the boat and their father and followed Him.

by

Monday, 28 November 2016 : 1st Week of Advent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Matthew 8 : 5-11

At that time, when Jesus entered Capernaum, an army captain approached Him to ask His help, “Sir, my servant lies sick at home. He is paralysed and suffers terribly.” Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

The captain answered, “I am not worthy to have You under my roof. Just give an order and my boy will be healed. For I myself, a junior officer, give orders to my soldiers. And if I say to one, ‘Go!’ he goes; and if I say to another, ‘Come!’ he comes; and if I say to my servant, ‘Do this!’ he does it.”

When Jesus heard this He was astonished, and said to those who were following Him, “I tell you, I have not found such faith in Israel. I say to you, many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the kingdom of heaven.”

by

Sunday, 27 November 2016 : First Sunday of Advent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Matthew 24 : 37-44

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “At the coming of the Son of Man, it will be just as it was in the time of Noah. In those days before the Flood, people were eating and drinking, and marrying, until that day when Noah went into the Ark. Yet they did not know what would happen, until the flood came and swept them away.”

“So will it be at the coming of the Son of Man : of two men in the field, one will be taken and the other left; of two taken and the other left; of two women grinding wheat together at the mill, one will be taken and the other left. Stay awake then, for you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”

“Obviously, if the owner of the house knew at what time the thief was coming, he would certainly stay up and not allow his house to be broken into. So be alert, for the Son of Man will come at the hour you least expect.”

by

Monday, 21 November 2016 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Matthew 12 : 46-50

At that time, while Jesus was still talking to the people, His mother and His brothers wanted to speak to Him, and they waited outside. So someone said to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside; they want to speak with You.”

Jesus answered, “Who is My mother? Who are My brothers?” Then He pointed to His disciples and said, “Look! Here are My mother and My brothers. Whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is for Me brother, sister, or mother.”

by

Friday, 18 November 2016 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Papal Basilica of St. Peter the Apostle and the Papal Basilica of St. Paul-outside-the-Walls (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of a Basilica)
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.

Alternative reading (in Mass for Dedication of the Basilicas)
Matthew 14 : 22-33

At that time, immediately Jesus obliged His disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowd away. And having sent the people away, He went up the mountain by Himself to pray. At nightfall, He was there alone. Meanwhile, the boat was very far from land, dangerously rocked by the waves, for the wind was against it.

At daybreak, Jesus came to them walking on the sea. When they saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, thinking that It was a ghost. And they cried out in fear. But at once Jesus said to them, “Courage! Do not be afraid. It is Me!”

Peter answered, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You walking on the water.” Jesus said to him, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water to go to Jesus. But seeing the strong wind, he was afraid and began to sink; and he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately stretched out His hand and took hold of him, saying, “Man of little faith, why did you doubt?”

As they got into the boat, the wind dropped. Then those in the boat bowed down before Jesus, saying, “Truly, You are the Son of God!”

by

Tuesday, 1 November 2016 : Solemnity of All Saints, All Saints’ Day (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Matthew 5 : 1-12a

At that time, when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up the mountain. He sat down and His disciples gathered around Him. Then He spoke and began to teach them :

“Fortunate are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Fortunate are those who mourn, they shall be comforted. Fortunate are the gentle, they shall possess the land.”

“Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied. Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy. Fortunate are those with a pure heart, for they shall see God.”

“Fortunate are those who work for peace, they shall be called children of God. Fortunate are those who are persecuted for the cause of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

“Fortunate are you, when people insult you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you because you are My followers. Be glad and joyful, for a great reward is kept for you in God.”

by

Saturday, 1 October 2016 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, Patroness of Missions (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Matthew 18 : 1-5

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

Then Jesus called a little child, set the child in the midst of the disciples, and said, “I assure you that, unless you change and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes lowly like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives such a child in My Name receives Me.”

by

Wednesday, 21 September 2016 : Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate together the feast day of St. Matthew the Apostle, one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ our Lord, His principal disciples, who was also one of the four writers of the Holy Gospels as St. Matthew the Evangelist. Today we glorify the memory of this holy Apostle of God, who have worked hard and contributed so much to the advancement of the cause of the Lord, and through whom many souls have been saved.

But as we all should notice in the Scripture readings and in what we knew of the history of St. Matthew, which he wrote himself in his own Gospel, is that he was once a great sinner and even was rejected by his own people. He was known also as Levi, a tax collector, whose task in those times was to collect the taxes on behalf of the Romans, who have come to rule over the land of Judea and Israel. And many resented him and his fellow tax collectors for this very reason.

The tax collectors were seen as people of greed and money, and they were resented and despised by many because they were seen as collaborators and even traitors to the nation of the Jews, as they served the needs and wishes of the Roman conquerors, and even collected taxes on their behalf. No one certainly like to pay taxes, and not least to those who have been seen as pagan overlords by the Jews who that time had strong desire to be free.

And the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law in particular resented them and looked down on them because they saw these tax collectors as sinners beyond the mercy of God. They scorned and treated these tax collectors with contempt, thinking that they alone deserve salvation from God because of their piety and faith in observing all the commandments of God in the laws of Moses.

And yet, God through His Apostle St. Matthew and his other disciples, including St. Mary Magdalene wanted to show these people, that His salvation is extended to all peoples, and all who desire to be forgiven and to be redeemed from their sins have equal chance in gaining the eternal life and grace promised to mankind by God. He wanted to let us know that as long as we are willing to change ourselves, the way will always be open for us.

We have to realise, brothers and sisters in Christ, that even great saints were once great sinners too. There is no man who has been born without sin, save for our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, for He is God ever perfect and good, and His mother Mary, whom the Lord had prepared specially to be the bearer and Ark of the New Covenant in Christ our Lord. All others have sinned in their lives, be it small or major.

What matters is that they, that is all of us as well, have to change our ways, that we sin no more and commit no more abhorrent and wicked things in the sight of God. St. Matthew was once a tax collector named Levi, but once the Lord called him as He passed by his booth, he left everything behind, his workplace, his work, his money, possessions, and even his old name, taking up for himself the greater reward found in the Lord alone.

We too can follow in his footsteps, and in our own way, dedicate ourselves to help the Lord and His cause in His Church. St. Matthew used his great intellect and the gift given to him by the Lord, the guidance of the Holy Spirit in order to write the account of the life and the works of Jesus and His Apostles, which we now know as the Gospel of St. Matthew, through which many have been saved and brought to the justification in God.

We ourselves can devote our time, effort and attention to serve the Lord and His people, evangelising His Good News to the whole world, through our own words, actions and deeds. And in this, it is imperative that all of us take heed that our own actions and deeds matter a lot, since how else would people believe in what we are preaching and teaching to them about the Lord, if we ourselves do not practice and do what the Lord had asked us to do?

Therefore, brethren, as we rejoice in the glory of St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, and in all of God’s holy saints and people, let us all follow the Lord with all of our heart and minds, following the example of St. Matthew who left everything in order to follow the Lord his God, giving his all to the new cause to which he has been called.

Let us all renew our faith and commitment to God, and devote ourselves ever more to help the works of the Church, caring for the less fortunate and the needy, loving those who have been ostracised and hated, and showing mercy on our brethren, forgiving those who have brought us pain, misery and suffering. May the Lord help us in these endeavours. Amen.

by

Wednesday, 21 September 2016 : Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Matthew 9 : 9-13

At that time, as Jesus moved on from where He cured a paralytic man, He saw a man named Matthew at his seat in the custom house, and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And Matthew got up and followed Him.

Now it happened, while Jesus was at table in Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners joined Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is it that your Master eats with sinners and tax collectors?”

When Jesus heard this, He said, “Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do. Go and find out what this means : What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”