Holy Day of the Lord

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Sunday, 3 September 2017 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 62 : 2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

O God, You are my God, it is You I seek; for You, my body longs and my soul thirsts, as a dry and weary land without water.

Thus have I gazed upon You in the Sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You.

I will praise You as long as I live, lift up my hands and call on Your Name. As with the richest food, my soul will feast; my mouth will praise You with joyful lips.

For You have been my help; I sing in the shadow of Your wings. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.

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Sunday, 3 September 2017 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Jeremiah 20 : 7-9

YHVH, You have seduced me and I let myself be seduced. You have taken me by force and prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; they all make fun of me, for every time I speak I have to shout, “Violence! Devastation!” YHVH’s word has brought me insult and derision all day long.

So I decided to forget about Him and speak no more in His Name. But His word in my heart becomes like a fire burning deep within my bones. I try so hard to hold it in, but I cannot do it.

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Sunday, 27 August 2017 : Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday all of us heard about the Church of God, established by the power and the authority of God in this world. The Church of God was established by none other than Jesus Christ, our Lord Himself, Who is also the Head of the entire Church. And He established it on the foundation He has built through the Apostles, entrusting everything to His Apostle St. Peter, whom He made to be His Vicar or representative in this world.

And what is the Church of God? Does it refer to the buildings or the structures which we have built as places of worship, in our churches and chapels, in our Cathedrals and Basilicas? No, brothers and sisters in Christ, for the Church of God refers to each and every one of us who believe in God, who have made the profession of faith and then have been baptised and brought into the full communion with the entire Church, with all the other people faithful to God.

That is the meaning and the real nature of the Church of God. And the Church of God is not just a meaningless or empty being or organisation, for as we heard in the Gospel today, to His Church, God has granted the power and authority over souls of mankind, the power to forgive sins and the authority to open the gates of the kingdom of heaven to whoever it deems to be worthy and close it from all those whom it deems to be unworthy.

The Church has been given a great authority and with it comes a great responsibility. This authority has been granted to the Apostles as the leaders of the Church, who are the pillars of the Church and whose centre is the faith of St. Peter and his successors, who are our Popes as the Vicar of Christ. The Church is the guide for all the faithful, the means through which God calls all of His people to return to Him.

The Church is often compared to a boat or a ship, which is why our churches are also a representative of a ship, and the reason why the centre passage and main body of the church buildings are called nave, from the word navis or ship in Latin. When all of us are gathered together to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we all symbolise and continue to remember this link to all of us being gathered together in God’s Ship, His Church, as we journey together through the storms and troubles of this world.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, however, at this time, the Church is often under attack from the world, from all those who resist the works of God and from all those who refused to listen to Him and those who did not understand the works of God which He has done through His Church. There are many of those who did not understand the purpose and the meaning of the Church, and many are misled by the falsehoods and the lies of the devil. He is always active seeking to undo the good works of God and His Church.

Indeed, if we recall the earlier days of the Church, during the time of its earliest existence, we remember how the Church and the faithful were even persecuted for their faith, and they had to suffer greatly for what they believe in the Lord. It was truly a very difficult time to be a Christian and as a member of the Church. And by our human logic, all of them should have saved their own selves and seek to safeguard their own lives by abandoning the Church and its teachings, leaving behind the comfort of God’s salvation for the false comfort of money, worldly glory and possessions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, is it not then the same with many of us living in this world today? In our world today, we may not encounter the same kind of persecutions as what the early Christians and martyrs have experienced. Yet, many of us may not realise that there are still many of the faithful who are persecuted daily for being the members of God’s Church and for keeping their faith in Him alive without compromise. And they did not give up their faith, while many of us grumble and groan at the thought of going to the Holy Mass each and every Sundays.

And many of us readily give in to the temptations of worldliness, and all of the persuasions with which the devil is trying to lure us away from the path towards God’s salvation by snatching us away from the hands of God’s Church. Why is that so? That is because our faith in God was not strong enough. And we also need to ask ourselves, whether we have been truly faithful to God, in all words, actions and deeds, or if we have been lukewarm all these while. Which of these two categories do we belong to?

Yet, at the same time, all of us cannot and should not come to the conclusion that God’s Church is a perfect Church for the perfect. Yes, the Church is divine because it was founded by God and given the authority over souls and to forgive sins through its priests, but at the same time, it is also made of us humans, who are members of the Church and who are also sinners. Even the Apostles themselves were sinners as well, and we knew how St. Peter even denied the Lord three times at the time of His Passion, and the other Apostles also fled from the Lord.

Through the Church, all of us are called together by God, and lifted up from the darkness of this world, that together, as the whole Church likened to as a large ship, we may persevere through the challenges and difficulties in this world through our faith and obedience to God, by following the teachings of the Church, which itself have received from the hands of the Apostles, who received it from none other than the Lord Himself.

Therefore, let us remember, that as Christians, all of us are not just those who are concerned about our own salvation, but also the salvation of all the peoples, by our work and commitment, by our contributions to the Church of God, by which we may bring greater glory to God and perform His works among His people. And through the Church, we are going through this journey of faith together, no longer staying on and living in a state of sin, but through a conscious effort seeking for change and conversion, that while we were once sinners, we may become worthy of God through repentance and good deeds.

Let us today as we reflect on the Scripture passages we have just heard, and through all the discourse I have just spoken about, think of what are the things and ways in which we as Christians can contribute more, as members of God’s Church, that we will be able to stand firmly and faithfully amidst the challenges facing us, that following in the footsteps of the saints and martyrs, we will no longer be lukewarm in our faith, but from now on, give our hundred percent to the Lord.

Let us no longer take our faith and the Church for granted, but instead, work together as His one united Church, as one people of God, seeking to do God’s will and fulfil what He has commanded us all to do, that is to become His witnesses and bring forth His Word to all the nations, and bring them to the salvation of God in His Church. This is our mission, and this is what we need to do. Let us be inflamed by zeal in our lives, that our faith will be true and living for all to see, that all those who see us, hear us and witness us, they may also believe in God.

In that way, we will be fishers of men, and many more souls will be saved, and not even the gates of hell can stand against God’s Church and all the multitudes of those who have been saved. Let us all now pray for all of our sake, and for the sake of God’s Church: May the Lord bless us all and guide us all in this journey of faith, and bless His Church in this world. May He bless our Pope, the successor of St. Peter, that he may continue to lead us all, leading us to Christ, with the help of the bishops and the priests, those who have been called to follow the footsteps of the Apostles and the servants of God. Amen.

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Sunday, 27 August 2017 : Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 16 : 13-20

At that time, Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi. He asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They said, “For some of them, You are John the Baptist; for others Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”

Jesus asked them, “But you, who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “It is well for you, Simon Barjona, for it is not flesh or blood that has revealed this to you, but My Father in heaven.”

“And now I say to you : You are Peter; and on this Rock I will build My Church; and never will the powers of death overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven : whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you unbind on earth shall be unbound in heaven.”

Then He ordered His disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Christ.

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Sunday, 27 August 2017 : Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 11 : 33-36

How deep are the riches, the wisdom and knowledge of God! His decisions cannot be explained, nor His ways understood! Who has ever known God’s thoughts? Who has ever been His adviser? Who has given Him something first, so that God had to repay him? For everything comes from Him, has been made by Him and has to return to Him. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.

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Sunday, 27 August 2017 : Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 137 : 1-2a, 2bc-3, 6 and 8bc

I thank You, o YHVH, with all my heart, for You have heard the word of my lips. I sing Your praise in the presence of the gods. I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your Name.

For Your love and faithfulness, for Your word, which exceeds everything. You answered me when I called; You restored my soul and made me strong.

From above, YHVH watches over the lowly; from afar, He marks down the haughty. Your kindness, o YHVH, endures forever. Forsake not the work of Your hands.

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Sunday, 27 August 2017 : Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Isaiah 22 : 19-23

You will be deposed, strongman. I will hurl you down from where you are. On that day I will summon My servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah. I will clothe him with your robe, I will strengthen him with your girdle, I will give him your authority, and he will be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the people of Judah.

Upon his shoulder I will place the key of the house of David : what he opens, no one shall shut; what he shuts, no one shall open. I will fasten him like a peg in a sure spot, and he will be a seat of honour in the house of his father.

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Sunday, 20 August 2017 : Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures speaking to us a very important message which all of us should heed, that we as Christians will be better able to appreciate our faith and understand it. It is about God calling all of His people to His salvation, to receive the mercy, forgiveness and love from His own hands, through their repentance and coming to Him.

This is the theme of this Sunday’s Scripture passages, that God as the Lord of all the nations and all the peoples are calling us to follow Him, that no matter what race belong to, what background or nationality we have, and no matter whether we are rich or poor, powerful or weak, famous or unknown, all these do not matter at all before the Lord. What matters is that, all of us mankind are considered by God to be His children, His beloved ones, and He wants us all to be reconciled to Him.

In the Gospel passage today, we heard of the interaction between the Lord Jesus and a Canaanite woman, or a Syro-Phoenician woman, as that woman came not from the land of Judea, where the Jewish people live, and neither did she belong to the nation of the Jews, not counted among the direct descendants of Jacob or Israel. And as the woman begged the Lord Jesus to heal her daughter who had been tormented by a demon, it must have seemed very strange indeed that the Lord Jesus would refuse her request.

And even more so, He also seemingly denigrated her and mocked her by saying the words such as, ‘It is not right to take the bread from the children, and throw it to the puppies, or dogs.’ Did Jesus just compare the woman to a mere animal as opposed to a human being? Were we right in what we have just listened to? Was there a mistake in the writing of the Scriptures and the Gospels?

No, brothers and sisters in Christ, this is not the case. In fact, this is where we should take note of the real intention of the Lord as He said those words to the Canaanite woman, in front of His disciples and the people. As the Lord Who knows everything in the minds and in the hearts of His people, Jesus clearly know what it is that the woman believed in, and how she would respond to His words. And Jesus wanted to show His disciples and the people, how foolish it is for them to believe in what they were believing in at that time.

For you see, that the Jewish people at that time believed that they were the ones whom God had chosen just as their ancestors have been God’s chosen people, from the time of Abraham to his descendants, and then to the time of the Exodus from Egypt and finally to the time of the kingdom of Israel and Judah. They were the descendants of the Israelites and the people of Judah, and therefore, they were very proud of their heritage and history.

However, over time they ended up becoming proud and egoistic about their special privileges and status, and they looked down on the other peoples, those pagan peoples living around them, treating them as inferior to themselves, and even as those who are not worthy of the love and grace of God. They considered those people to be hopeless and without any opportunity to be saved by God. They became exclusivist in their faith and closed the doors of the faith from others.

That was why they showed that attitude, the haughtiness and the lack of respect for others, which the Lord Jesus wanted to point out to the people, through His interaction with the Canaanite woman. What Jesus showed the people through His own words was that they often thought that they alone were worthy of God’s goodness and salvation, and that they treated others literally like that of dogs, or less than humans, as Jesus showcased it perfectly through His interaction with the woman.

At that time, for someone of Jewish origin to sit together or be around a Gentile, or a non-Jew was considered to be inappropriate. The Jews did not want to have anything to do with the Gentiles, and rejected them and dismissed the faith that they actually had in the Lord. The Jews were not even allowed to enter into the house of the Gentiles and also to the house of those considered as sinners.

That was why the army centurion, likely to be a Gentile or non-Jew, kindly requested the Lord to just say the word to heal his servant, as he considered himself unworthy to have a Jew like Jesus to enter his house, considered taboo at that time among the Jewish society. And in the same manner, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law criticised Jesus severely when He went to eat in the house of tax collectors and prostitutes.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, yet, those people forgot that God is not just God over the people of Israel, but in fact, He is God over all of mankind, over the entire race of man. He is the Lord and Master of all, and He created all of us out of love, without exception. Otherwise, why would He create us in the first place if He does not love us or have concern about us?

God loves each and every one of us, and wants everyone to love Him with equal intensity and zeal. In fact, as the Gospel showed us, the love and faith which the supposedly pagan and non-Jewish Canaanite woman was greater than the faith which many of the Israelites had shown towards Jesus. While many of the Jews were skeptical and some were even downright hostile in opposition against Jesus, His teachings and His truths, the woman put herself completely in the hands of God, trusting that Jesus would hear her and heal her daughter. This shows that what matters is faith, and not one’s origins or backgrounds.

The same applied to the army centurion, and many other cases of the Gentiles and the pagans who came to love and be faithful towards God, even exceeding beyond what the Jewish people themselves had done. In this manner, God wanted to show them, and also all of us, that He does not favour anyone by the manner of their racial background, by their appearances, status, or by their worldly standings, or by their connections, but rather, by the faith which the people have in Him, and by the righteousness that they have shown in life.

God wants to remind each and every one of us, that we must not be shortsighted in life, that we become prejudiced against others just because we think that we are better than so and so because of our wealth, riches, power, privileges and all the other things that led us to be biased and be prejudiced against our brethren. This is what we must not do, brothers and sisters in Christ, because as Christians all of us are called to love one another equally as fellow brothers and sisters, children of the same God.

This is important as in our world today, as it had been in the past, mankind have caused great grievances and sufferings because of their prejudice and hatred, bias and anger against each other. We have seen how people used race and background as an excuse to oppress others, to impose one’s will on another, and to exploit and manipulate those who are weak, less fortunate and less powerful. We have seen just how the NAZIs and the many other wicked organisations in our history had committed blatant and great injustice against all humanity, in their genocidal pursuits, destroying the livelihood of others in the name of their prejudices.

And we have certainly heard of what had just happened very recently in the city of Charlottesville in the United States of America, where violent riot had arisen because of the actions of those who championed prejudice and injustice in order to advance their own selfish and irresponsible desires. We heard about those who used racism, prejudice and hatred against people of different backgrounds and beliefs, even those who do not shy away from violence while doing so.

And what should we do then, brothers and sisters in Christ? Perhaps the Scripture readings we heard today and the recent events are reminders sent to us by God, in order to tell us that as Christians it is our duty and obligation to stand up against all these attitudes and wickedness, against all those who have shown prejudices, biases and racist or divisive acts in their lives. We cannot be silent or be ignorant against all these people, and we cannot remain quiet in the face of those who cause suffering on others because of their wicked and distorted way of life.

At the same time, we should also inspect our own lives and recall our actions and deeds in life. Have we been prejudiced against others because we thought that we are better than them? Have we ever been angry against others as we saw them receive things we did not have, because we thought they did not deserve it and we deserved it better than them? If we have done all these, then perhaps it is time for us to move on and turn away from all those jealousies, prejudices and hatred, and instead embrace each other in love, peace and harmony.

Let us all from now on be bearers of God’s love into this world, reminding ourselves always that God loves each and every one of us without exception, and all of us are created and considered equal before Him. Let us all not be filled with our ego, our pride and haughtiness, thinking that we are in any way superior to others, but instead let us be loving and be compassionate to others, especially those who are struggling in their faith. Let us stand up to be different from those who advocated hatred and prejudice, and pray for them, that God may change their darkened hearts into new hearts filled with love. May God bless us all and bring us to grow ever stronger in our faith in Him. Amen.

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Sunday, 20 August 2017 : Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 15 : 21-28

At that time, leaving that area, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from the area, came and cried out, “Lord, Son of David, have pity on me! My daughter is tormented by a demon.”

But Jesus did not answer her, not even a word. So His disciples approached Him and said, “Send her away! See how she is shouting after us.” Then Jesus said to her, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel.”

But the woman was already kneeling before Jesus, and said, “Sir, help me!” Jesus answered, “It is not right to take the bread from the children and throw it to puppies.”

The woman replied, “That is true, Sir, but even puppies eat the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said, “Woman, how great is your faith! Let it be as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

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Sunday, 20 August 2017 : Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 11 : 13-15, 29-32

Listen to me, you who are not Jews : I am spending myself, as an Apostle to the pagan nations, but I hope my ministry will be successful enough to awaken the jealousy of those of my race, and, finally, to save some of them. If the world made peace with God, when they remained apart, what will it be, when they are welcomed? Nothing less than, a passing from death to life.

Because the call of God, and His gifts, cannot be nullified. Through the disobedience of the Jews, the mercy of God came to you who did not obey God. They, in turn, will receive mercy, in due time, after this disobedience, that brought God’s mercy to you. So, God has submitted all to disobedience, in order to show His mercy to all.