Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 111 : 1-2, 7-8, 9
Alleluia! Blessed is the one who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commands. His children will be powerful on earth; the upright’s offspring will be blessed.
For his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is confident, he needs not fear, he shall prevail over his foes at the end.
He gives generously to the poor, his merits will last forever and his head will be raised in honour.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Tobit 2 : 9-14
That same night, after I had buried the body, I returned home. I washed myself and went out into the courtyard to sleep against the wall; my face was uncovered because of the heat. I did not see that there were sparrows on the wall of the courtyard and, as my eyes were open, the hot droppings from the sparrows fell into my eyes and formed a white film on my eyes.
I went to find doctors to attend to me for medical treatment but the more ointments they smeared on my eyes, the more blind I became because of the film. Finally I became totally blind. I suffered from blindness for four years. All my brothers were burdened because of me. Ahikar kept me for two years before he departed for Elymiade.
My wife Anna worked hard at a woman’s task, weaving. On the seventh day of the month of March she cut the cloth and delivered it to her employers. They paid her wages and gave her, over and above, a young goat for food. When she returned home the kid began to cry. I said to her, “Where does the little kid come from? Did you steal it? Return it to its owners for we are not allowed to eat anything that is stolen.”
But she said, “It is a gift which has been given to me in addition to my wages.” “I do not believe it. I tell you to return it to its owners.” I was ashamed of her. She replied, “What about your own almsgiving and your good deeds? I have to put up with all this from you.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures we are reminded that as Christians we are all called to glorify the Lord through our lives and follow in the examples of the Apostles and the saints, in all that they had done for the greater glory of God. The Lord has come into this world proclaiming His truth and revealed everything about Himself to us through His Church, and yet, there were still plenty of obstacles that He encountered because of the stubbornness of those who refused to believe in Him.
For example, the chief priests and the Pharisees opposed the Lord and questioned His motives and works, when whatever He had done clearly came from God. He had performed many miracles, signs and wonders before them, just as many among the Pharisees and the priests had witnessed the works of the Lord as they followed Him from place to place, some among them hoping to catch the Lord in making mistakes and that they could then charge Him and destroy His reputation among His followers.
Why were the chief priests and the Pharisees refused to believe in the Lord and in all the truth and things that He has brought into this world? That is because of their pride and worldly attachments, so much so that they also refused to believe in the servant whom God had sent to go before Him, namely that of St. John the Baptist, precisely because he was so popular and so many people went to him seeking to be baptised and converted to the Lord, that the chief priests and the Pharisees were afraid that everyone were turning away from them, toward St. John the Baptist earlier on, and then, towards the Lord Jesus.
The Lord yet did not allow all these to stop Him or to dissuade Him from continuing on with His ministry and works. On the contrary, He continued to push on and persevere through the challenges He faced, and refuted the chief priests and the Pharisees such that they were not able to respond back to Him in kind, as shown in our Gospel passage today. He showed all of us that to be Christians, we have to be first and foremost be committed to the Lord and resist the temptations to give up our commitment and struggles just because we may encounter challenges and trials along the way.
Instead, we have to deepen our commitment, and share in the sufferings of Christ, as we walk through our journey of faith in life. This is what we should be doing with our lives, and today, we can also be further inspired by the examples of a great saint and Pope, whose lives and works through a difficult and turbulent time faced by the Universal Church can help us to remain firm in our own faith in the Lord, and also to discover the calling and the mission entrusted to us by Him, by our renewed conviction and faith.
Pope St. Paul VI, born Giovanni Battista Montini, was one of the more recent Popes, the predecessor of Pope St. John Paul II and his own predecessor, Pope John Paul I, who passed away just over forty years ago in the Year of Our Lord 1978. Pope St. Paul VI lived through difficult times, surviving through two World Wars that devastated much of Europe and other parts of the world. He was born into a small noble Italian family, who joined the seminary with the intention to become a priest during the midst of the First World War. He went on to complete his studies and was ordained a priest a few years after he joined the seminary.
Later on he would then continue to serve the Church in the Holy See, as part of the Secretariat of State through which he worked closely with Pope Pius XII and other prominent members of the Roman Curia and the diplomatic service of the Holy See. During the difficult years of the Second World War, he helped the Pope in his numerous efforts and missions to mediate between the warring sides and to save many people who were suffering persecutions, as well as managing the affairs of the Church in places that were devastated by conflict and war.
It was later on after many years of service then that the Pope appointed then Father Montini as Archbishop of Milan, tasked with the governance and guidance of the largest Archdiocese in Italy and one of the most important in the whole world. During this tenure as the Archbishop of Milan, and later on as Cardinal under Pope St. John XXIII, the future Pope St. Paul VI laboured hard in dedicating himself to his flock in the Archdiocese of Milan, and was also deeply involved in many other projects and charitable works of the Church.
Then as one of the key members of the Ecumenical Second Vatican Council and as the succeeding Pope, in leading the Church in completing the Ecumenical Council and the management of the Church during those times of transitions, Pope St. Paul VI worked hard to help the Church to survive through those difficult years, when many left the Church and abandoned their faith in God. His landmark Humanae Vitae papal encyclical, widely praised for his staunch defence of Church teachings was condemned and rejected by many segments of the Church. Nonetheless, Pope St. Paul VI continued to labour hard and to persuade those who have erred in their path and faith, to the very end.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, having heard the inspiring example set by Pope St. Paul VI and reminding ourselves of the good examples set by so many other wonderful holy saints and martyrs, God’s holy people, then let us ask ourselves if we have been living our lives in the manner that the Lord has taught us, like how those saints had lived their lives. Or have we allowed ourselves to be swayed by worldly temptations and ways, that we hardened our hearts and minds much like those chief priests and the Pharisees? If we have done the latter, then we must realise that it is still not too late for us to turn away from these sinful ways and return to the Lord.
Let us all therefore live our lives faithfully from now on, giving our very best to be righteous and just, to be committed to the Lord at all times. May the Lord be with us always and may He strengthen us all to remain resolute and committed to walk in His path regardless of the challenges and trials we may encounter. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)
Mark 11 : 27-33
At that time, Jesus and His disciples were once again in Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking in the Temple, the chief priests, the teachers of the Law and the elders came to Him, and asked, “What authority do You have to act like this? Who gave You authority to do the things You do.”
Jesus said to them, “I will ask you a question, only one, and if you give me an answer, then I will tell you what authority I have to act like this. Was John’s preaching and baptism a work of God, or was it merely something human? Answer Me.”
And they kept arguing among themselves, “If we answer that it was a work of God, He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’” But neither could they answer before the people that the baptism of John was merely something human, for everyone regarded John as a prophet. So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you what authority I have to act as I do.”
Alternative reading
Matthew 16 : 13-19
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 Bar-Jona, 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.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)
Psalm 18 : 8, 9, 10, 11
The Law of the Lord is perfect : it gives life to the soul. The word of the Lord is trustworthy : it gives wisdom to the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right : they give joy to the heart. The commandments of the Lord are clear : they enlighten the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure, it endures forever; the judgments of the Lord are true, all of them just and right.
They are more precious than gold – pure gold of a jeweller; they are much sweeter than honey which drops from the honeycomb.
Alternative Psalm
Psalm 95 : 1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10
Sing to YHVH a new song, sing to YHVH, all the earth! Sing to YHVH, praise His Name.
Proclaim His salvation, day after day. Recall His glory among the nations, tell all the peoples His wonderful deeds.
Give to YHVH, you families of nations, give to YHVH glory and strength. Give to YHVH the glory due His Name.
Say among the nations, “YHVH reigns!” He will judge the peoples with justice.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)
Sirach 51 : 12a-20
I will give You thanks and praise and bless the Name of the Lord. In my youth, before I set out on my travels, I openly sought wisdom in prayer; before the Temple I asked for her and I will pursue her to the end of my days. While she blossomed like a ripening cluster, my heart was delighted in her; my feet followed the right path, because from my youth I searched for her.
As soon as I began listening to her, she was given to me, and with her, much instruction. With her help I made progress and I will glorify Him Who gives me wisdom, for I decided to put it into practice and ardently seek what is good. I shall not regret it. My soul has struggled to possess her. I have been attentive to observe the Law, and after my faults I have stretched out my hands to heaven and lamented my ignorance of her.
My love for her increased and I found her in repentance. It was through her from the beginning that I learnt to possess my heart. She will not forsake me.
Alternative reading
1 Corinthians 9 : 16-19, 22-23
Because I cannot boast of announcing the Gospel : I am bound to do it. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel! If I preached voluntarily, I could expect my reward, but I have been trusted this office against my will. How can I, then, deserve a reward? In announcing the Gospel, I will do it freely without making use of the rights given to me by the Gospel.
So, feeling free with everybody, I have become everybody’s slave in order to gain a greater number. To the weak I made myself weak, to win the weak. So I made myself all things to all people in order to save, by all possible means, some of them. This I do for the Gospel, so that I too have a share of it.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are reminded of the most wonderful works of God in our midst, that exist all around us and which He has done for our sake, providing for us and blessing us with many wonderful things, which unfortunately often ignored by many of us. Many among us have not realised just how much God has done for us, and just how wonderfully beloved we have been. We have not opened our eyes and our hearts to recognise God’s love for us.
That is why then in the Gospel reading today we heard about the Lord healing the blind beggar, Bartimaeus, who begged Him to heal him and restore his sight. And despite the ridicule and the efforts of the crowd to silence him, Bartimaeus continued to ask for the Lord, shouting out for Him and calling on Him to show mercy towards Him because he truly believed that the Lord could heal him and make him whole again. And that was how Bartimaeus, the blind beggar was healed and restored his sight, by his great faith in the Lord.
Bartimaeus was blind, and he was unable to see any light, as his eyes had failed him. The Lord opened his eyes again and restored his ability to see the light and all things surrounding him. He sought the Lord for healing, and the Lord healed him. And through what we have heard about Bartimaeus and his healing by the Lord, we are actually reminded to seek God’s healing for our own predicament and illness, that we too may be healed and may be made whole again just as Bartimaeus had been made whole.
Why do we need healing, brothers and sisters in Christ? Some of us may wonder why we need healing or why we have the need to seek the Lord. That is in fact because we are all, even though we may be perfectly good in health and in our physical selves, but we are suffering from sin, afflicted by this disease that is affecting us and will end up destroying us unless we have them resolved by none other than the Lord. The Lord alone has the power to heal us from our sins, as unlike any other ailments of this world, no one can forgive sin but God alone.
Hence, we need to seek the Lord and ask Him for His healing and forgiveness for our sins, so that we may be freed from bondage to those sins and be brought to a new life filled with grace, in the presence of God. We should also realise that we are really fortunate that God Himself always wants us to be reconciled to Him and to be freed from our sins, just as He wanted to heal Bartimaeus and how He recognised the faith that the blind beggar had in Him. Hence, we too need to have that faith in the Lord as well.
Today we are all called as Christians to have genuine faith in the Lord and to devote ourselves, our efforts and attention, our time and our energy to serve the Lord, to walk on His path and to remain true to Him, even when we may encounter trials and challenges, ridicule and sufferings along the way. Just as Bartimaeus was insistent despite being ridiculed and opposed by all those who were around him, we also have to be insistent and committed in our faith, as best as we are able to.
Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Augustine of Canterbury, a great missionary and servant of God, the first Bishop of Canterbury in England, as he went to that land, reestablishing the Church hierarchy and presence in England after barbarian invasions in the preceding centuries destroyed much of the Church infrastructures and presence established earlier during the Roman times. Pope St. Gregory the Great sent St. Augustine of Canterbury to England with the mission for the conversion of souls, and St. Augustine of Canterbury dedicated himself to his mission.
Through his tireless works, St. Augustine of Canterbury did not just manage to establish a firm foundation of the Church in England, but he also managed to convince even some of the local rulers and kings to convert to the Christian faith. St. Augustine of Canterbury spent a lot of time in patiently reaching out to the pagans and the believers alike, and beginning many other missions that would end up in converting the entirety of England to the faith within a century or so. St. Augustine of Canterbury is therefore remembered for his great contributions and faith, which should become source of inspiration for all of us.
Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we willing and able to follow the Lord wholeheartedly from now on? Are we able to commit ourselves like St. Augustine of Canterbury and so many other saints and our holy predecessors had done? Let us all seek the Lord with all of our hearts from now on, and be like Bartimaeus in his faith and belief in the Lord’s love and providence. May the Lord be with us all and may He strengthen all of us with faith. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Mark 10 : 46-52
At that time, Jesus and His disciples came to Jericho. As Jesus was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth passing by, he began to call out, “Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!”
Many people scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he shouted all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying, “Take heart! Get up, He is calling you!” He immediately threw aside his cloak, jumped up and went to Jesus.
Then Jesus asked him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said, “Master, let me see again!” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way, your faith has made you well.” And, immediately, he could see, and he followed Jesus along the road.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Psalm 32 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Give thanks to Him on the harp and lyre, making melody and chanting praises. Amid loud shouts of joy, sing to Him a new song and play the ten-stringed harp.
For upright is YHVH’s word and worthy of trust is His work. YHVH loves justice and righteousness; the earth is full of His kindness.
The heavens were created by His word, the breath of His mouth formed their starry host. He gathered the waters of the sea into a heap, and stored the deep in cellars.
Let the whole earth fear YHVH; let the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke and so it was, He commanded, and everything stood firm.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Sirach 42 : 15-25
Now I shall remind you of the works of the Lord and relate what I have seen. The Lord’s works depend on His word, and creation obeys His will. The sun shines on everything and the work of the Lord is filled with His glory. Not even to His holy ones has the Lord given full knowledge of all His marvellous works. The Lord, Master of the Universe, has ordained that all should stand firm in His glory.
He penetrates both the depth of the abyss and the human heart and knows their secrets. For the Most High has full knowledge and ordains the signs of the heavens. He knows the past and foretells the future and reveals the traces of the world’s mysteries. No thought escapes Him, no word is hidden from Him.
He has ordered the marvellous works of His wisdom, from ever and forever. Nothing can be added, nothing can be taken away and He has no need of counsel. All His works are beautiful, even to the smallest spark of light. All this lives and endures forever : all is useful and obedient to His will. All things are in pairs, one opposite the other, and nothing He makes is in any way deficient. One thing emphasises the excellence of the other; who could ever weary of admiring His glory?
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 