Liturgical Colour : Red
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.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Romans 10 : 9-18
You are saved, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and, in your heart, you believe that God raised Him from the dead. By believing from the heart, you obtain true righteousness; by confessing the faith with your lips, you are saved.
For Scripture says : No one who believes in Him will be ashamed. Here, there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; all have the same Lord, Who is very generous with whoever calls on Him. Truly, all who call upon the Name of the Lord will be saved.
But how can they call upon the Name of the Lord without having believed in Him? And how can they believe in Him, without having first heard about Him? And how will they hear about Him, if no one preaches about Him? And how will they preach about Him, if no one sends them?
As Scripture says : How beautiful are the feet of the messenger of Good News. Although, not everyone obeyed the Good News, as Isaiah said : Lord, who has believed in our preaching? So, faith comes from preaching, and preaching is rooted in the word of Christ.
I ask : Have the Jews not heard? But, of course, they have. Because the voice of those preaching resounded all over the earth, and their voice was heard, to the ends of the world.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the need for each and every one of us to heed the call of the Lord for us to obey His Law and commandments, to follow His ways and to love in the way that He has shown and taught us because in the end, we will be held accountable for all of our actions and deeds, our show of love to our brothers and sisters around us or any lack of love instead. If we have not loved our fellow brothers and sisters if we should have done, then we shall also be held accountable for our lack of action and love for our brethren. We have to keep all this in mind as we all continue living our lives as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, at all times.
In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. John, we heard of the reminder from the Apostle to the faithful and hence to all of us, of the need for us to show love in al of our every actions and deeds, in our every interactions and works with one another because ultimately, our God is Love, and if He is Love Himself, the manifestation of perfect and most selfless love, then all of us must also be manifestation of God’s love, embodied in our every actions and deeds, in all the words we speak and in every moments of our lives. God Himself has shown His love to us through His beloved Son, Whom He had sent into the world, into our midst so that He may show us all the manifested and most perfect love of God in the flesh, becoming tangible and approachable for all of us.
As Christians, it is imperative that we keep reminding ourselves that we have been called to love most generously and sincerely to our fellow brothers and sisters around us. We should not ignore those who need our love and kindness, our help and compassion. There are many out there who have not been loved, ignored and ostracised by those who are around them, and if we are in the position to show love to these brethren of ours, then we should really make good use of the opportunities that God has given us so that we may truly love our brothers and sisters in the same way that the Lord Himself has first loved us all, in all the kindness and patient love and care that He has shown us all these while. We should therefore show the same love in each and every moments of our lives too.
Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke in which the Lord Jesus gave truly grim premonition to His disciples about the coming of the time of reckoning at the end of time, when the moment will come all of a sudden, without anyone knowing or realising it, making use of the examples of past catastrophes and events like that of the Great Flood of Noah, which happened suddenly without warning, destroying the whole entire world and civilisations that existed prior to that, and for those people who had rejected the call of the Lord to repent and follow Noah and his family, it was too late for them once the rain poured down and the waters flood the whole earth. Similarly, the example of Sodom and Gomorrah was also presented, when the rain of fire and brimstone destroyed both cities and their people for their wickedness and sins, and their refusal to repent.
Everything will happen in the same manner as the destructions that happened in the past, swift and without warning, and no one save the Lord Himself knows when the exact time of this happening is. No one among us, past, present and future will ever know the time of the Lord’s Second Coming, which He Himself has predicted and reassured us, just as none of us can ever know the exact time of our passing from this world, the end of our earthly life through death. And just like death, which is a certainty that is definitely going to happen, the Lord’s coming into this world and the time of reckoning, of the Final Judgment is something that is a sure certainty, and having been reminded, all of us should make sure that we prepare ourselves and make ourselves ready for that moment.
And how do we do that, brothers and sisters? We should therefore make sure that we practice our faith and whatever it is that we believe in actively in our lives. We should not merely be making lip service of our faith, but we must always be loving and generous just as our Lord and God has always been kind, generous and loving towards us. That is the mark of a true Christian, and one that we have always been reminded of and been challenged to do, to be truly like God in all things, to be loving and compassionate just as He has been towards us. Let us all hence commit ourselves anew to the Lord in our loving actions towards one another, just as St. John the Apostle had exhorted and reminded the faithful back then. Through our actions and efforts, many more people will come to know of the Lord and His love.
Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Albert the Great or Albertus Magnus, a great and renowned bishop and faithful servant of God who had devoted his life to the Lord and to all the people and the flock which God has entrusted to him as bishop and shepherd. St. Albert the Great, also known as St. Albert of Swabia or St. Albert of Cologne, was a Dominican priest who dedicated himself to a lifelong learning of all sorts of matter of the faith, involved in the teaching and formation of many other priests and religious who encountered him in his many academic efforts and pursuits, devoting himself to explore more about the Lord, His nature of love and to reveal more about the teachings of the Christian faith to many people who sought to know Him better. Among his students was another famous theologian and saint, St. Thomas Aquinas.
And later on, as he was appointed by the Pope himself as the Bishop of Regensburg in Germany, he was known for his great humility and piety, in his dedication to his flock, traversing the whole of his large diocese not on horse or carriage as was common for bishops of his time, but on foot instead. He resigned after a period of three years, humbly returning to the academic and intellectual pursuits that had made him to be so influential at that time and even long after his time. For his great faith in the Lord and his many contributions to the Church, he was later not only honoured and canonised as a saint, but was also made as one of the esteemed Doctors of the Church, as a great role model and inspiration for many of us as Christians.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from the Scriptures and the life of St. Albert the Great that we have just discussed earlier, we are all reminded to commit ourselves to a life of faith and dedication to God. We should always walk ever more faithfully in the Lord’s path, and do our best so that in each and every moments of our lives, we will continue to glorify the Lord by our every actions and deeds, our every efforts and works, like St. Albert the Great and so many of our other holy predecessors had done. May all of us be able to follow them in their footsteps as well, and strive to live our lives worthily as Christians, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
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.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Psalm 118 : 1, 2, 10, 11, 17, 18
Blessed are they whose ways are upright, who follow the law of the Lord.
Blessed are they who treasure His word and seek Him with all their heart.
I seek You with my whole heart; let me not stray from Your commands.
In my heart I have kept Your word, that I may not sin against my Lord.
Be kind to Your servant, that I may live to follow Your word.
Open my eyes that I may see the marvellous truths in Your law.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
2 John 4-9
I rejoiced greatly on meeting some of your children who live in accordance with the truth, according to the command we have received from the Father. And now, I ask you, Lady – I write to you not a new commandment but that which we had from the beginning – I ask you : let us love one another.
This is love : to walk according to His commandments. And this is the commandment : that you walk in love as you have learnt from the beginning. Many deceivers have gone out into the world, people who do not acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ Who came in the flesh. They are impostors and antichrists.
Take care of yourselves that you do not lose the fruit of your labours, but receive a perfect reward. Everyone who goes beyond and does not remain within the teaching of Christ does not have God. The one who remains in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded to be ever faithful and committed to God, to be full of God’s grace and love in all of our actions, words and deeds, in all of our dealings and works, so that we will always be truly righteous and just in all of them, so that we may truly be the worthy, good and committed bearers of our Christians truth and Good News, to be the beacons of God’s light in our world today, in the midst of our communities and among all those whom we encounter in life in each and every moments of our lives. We should always strive to be good role models and inspirations for everyone around us in how we live our faith.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to St. Titus, one of his protege in which the Apostle spoke of the matter of the overseers of the faithful, which would eventually be known as the bishops of the dioceses once the administration and management of the ever growing Christian community developed further. Those overseers were chosen by the Apostles and their successors, as the ones to take care of the needs of the people of God, especially in their spiritual needs, to help and guide the people on their way towards the Lord and salvation in Him, and hence, as St. Paul mentioned to St. Titus, it is very important that they all must be of good character and truly worthy of such a role, and hence, they ought to be selected carefully from among the people of God.
Such was the demand placed on those who were to be entrusted with the position of overseers, the precursor to the office of bishops, as they would be the ones to shepherd the people of God. If the shepherds were corrupt and wicked in their lives and actions, then the people would be very easily misled down the wrong path, become corrupted and misguided into the wrong path, or they might have led the people to be disillusioned and discouraged to follow the Christian path and ways any further, due to the scandals and the wicked living of their leaders, overseers and elders. This had happened in many occasions throughout the history of the Church, and we are all reminded therefore that we have to strive to be truly faithful in all things, especially those among us who have been called to give our service to the Lord and to guide others towards Him.
Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke in which the words of the Lord to His disciples were recounted to us. And echoing what St. Paul had told St. Titus regarding the quality of the candidates and those who were to be chosen as overseers of the faithful, therefore, the Lord also spoke to us about the matter of how we should truly be faithful as well in our every words, actions and deeds. All of us must also practice what we believe in our lives and in every actions that we do, in our every interactions with one another, or else we are no better than hypocrites who did not truly believe in God or paying only lip service to the Lord, having no real love or faith, commitment and dedication to God.
All of us must live a good and virtuous life, and to avoid any scandals or behaviours that are contrary to our faith in the Lord, so that we do not end up misleading others away from the path towards God, or to discourage people from following the Lord, which can very well happen if our actions and deeds are not in accordance to the Lord and His path, His commandments and will. All of us are representatives of the Lord’s works, His truth and teachings, His Good News and the face of His Church in this world, and if we do not practice our faith in the manner that we should have done, how can we expect others then to believe in the same manner? That is why we are all reminded that we should always be truly full of faith in the Lord, to trust Him ever more wholly in our lives, to be filled at all times with the great love and mercy from God.
The expectation and difficulties are even greater for those who have been called to the higher office, of those who have given themselves in service to God, to be His priests and even more so as the bishops of the Church, as the shepherds of the Lord’s flock. As we heard from the words of St. Paul to St. Titus, the expectations for those who have been called and chosen to be bishops are truly great, and no matter how pious, holy and devout they are, they can still falter and fall into sin, as quite a number of bishops and priests in the past have fallen into the path of sin, which led to great scandals of the Church, causing untold harm and destruction, for many souls to be lost away from the Lord and His salvation. It is important therefore that each and every one of us continue to support them and to help them, to pray for them all so that they may all truly remain faithful to their missions.
Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Martin of Tours, a renowned and holy bishop whose life and great dedication to the Lord and to his flock is an inspiration to all of us the faithful people of God. St. Martin of Tours was born during the late era of the Roman Empire after the persecution of Christians by the state had ended, and Christianity had become tolerated and further widespread throughout the Empire. He was born into a military family and according to Church tradition, at the young age of ten, he became a catechumen against the wishes of his family, but he persisted on in this desire to become a Christian. As he continued to grow up, he became a member of the military, and eventually become a respected centurion or army captain in the military.
He was conflicted throughout his ministry as an army officer, and according to one popular hagiographic tradition, St. Martin of Tours encountered the Lord Himself in one occasion when on a cold winter night, he saw a poor old man by the roadside who had nothing to protect him against the bitter cold. St. Martin of Tours took his sword and cut off half of his officer’s cloak, giving it to the old man to help him cover against the cold. Later on, the Lord would appear in a vision to St. Martin, showing that the old man was none other than the Lord Himself in disguise, and He came appearing in the cloak that St. Martin had given Him. This is a truly nice reminder of the Lord’s own words in the Gospels, namely, ‘Whatever you have done to the least of your brothers and sisters, you have done it unto Me.’
The generosity and great faith of St. Martin would lead him later on in life to be entrusted with the governance of the region of Tours, and later on, having won the support and admiration of the people of the region, he would be acclaimed as the successor to the position of the Bishop of Tours, becoming the third bishop to guide the flock of the Lord there. As the bishop of Tours, St. Martin would continue to do his best in dedicating himself to the Lord and to His people, showing loving care and concern to their needs, and standing up for the truth and genuine teachings of the Lord against those heresies that were rampant at the time, as a courageous and most dedicated shepherd, standing ever ready to guard his flock against all those seeking to destroy and bring ruin to the Lord’s flock.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, today therefore as we remember the words of wisdom from the Scriptures and the life of St. Martin of Tours, let us all continue to strive to do our best to live our lives in the manner that is truly holy and worthy of God. All of us should always continue to live our every day living with genuine devotion and commitment to God, showing the love of God manifested through our actions, through our genuine care and concern for those around us, much as St. Martin of Tours and the many other holy men and women of God had done, those who are our inspirations and role models to follow. May we all also become good and worthy role models for our fellow brethren as well, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
Luke 17 : 1-6
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Scandals will necessarily come and cause people to fall; but woe to the one who brings them about. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone around his neck. Truly, this would be better for that person, than to cause one of these little ones to fall.”
“Listen carefully : if your brother offends you, tell him, and if he is sorry, forgive him. And if he offends you seven times in one day, but seven times he says to you, ‘I am sorry,’ forgive him.”
The Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” And the Lord said, “If you have faith, even the size of a mustard seed, you may say to this tree, ‘Be uprooted, and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it will obey you.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 23 : 1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord, the world and all that dwell in it. He has founded it upon the ocean and set it firmly upon the waters.
Who will ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who will stand in His holy place? Those with clean hands and pure heart, who desire not what is vain.
They will receive blessings from the Lord, a reward from God, their Saviour. Such are the people who seek Him, who seek the face of Jacob’s God.
Liturgical Colour : White
Titus 1 : 1-9
From Paul, servant of God, Apostle of Christ Jesus, at the service of God’s chosen people, so that they may believe and reach the knowledge of truth and godliness. The eternal life we are waiting for was promised from the very beginning by God Who never lies, and as the appointed time had come, He made it known through the message entrusted to me by a command of God, our Saviour.
Greetings to you, Titus, my true son in the faith we share. May grace and peace be with you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I left you in Crete because I wanted you to put right what was defective and appoint elders in every town, following my instructions. They must be blameless, married only once, whose children are believers and not open to the charge of being immoral and rebellious.
Since the overseer (or bishop) is the steward of God’s house, he must be beyond reproach : not proud, hot-headed, over-fond of wine, quarrelsome or greedy for gain. On the contrary he must be hospitable, a lover of what is good, wise, upright, devout and self-controlled. He must hold to the message of faith just as it was taught, so that, in his turn, he may teach sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 