holy people of God

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Tuesday, 9 August 2016 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Matthew 18 : 1-5, 10, 12-14

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 middle 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.”

“See that you do not despise any of these little ones, for I tell you : their Angels in heaven continually see the face of My heavenly Father. What do you think of this? If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hillside, and go to look for the stray one?”

“And I tell you : when he finally finds it, he is more pleased about it than about the ninety-nine, that did not get lost. It is the same with your Father in heaven : your Father in heaven does not want even one of these little ones to be lost.”

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Tuesday, 9 August 2016 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 118 : 14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131

I delight in following Your laws, more so than in all riches.

Your laws are my delight, my counsellors who uphold me.

Your Law is more precious to me than heaps of silver and gold.

How sweet are Your promises to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Your statutes are my heritage forever, they are the joy of my heart.

I gasp in ardent yearning for Your commandments that I love.

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Tuesday, 9 August 2016 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Ezekiel 2 : 8 – Ezekiel 3 : 4

YHVH spoke to Ezekiel, “Listen then, son of man, to what I say and do not be a rebel among rebels. Open your mouth and take in what I am about to say.”

I looked and saw a hand stretched out in front of me holding a scroll. He unrolled it before me; on both sides were written lamentations, groanings and woes. He said to me, “Son of man, eat what is given to you. Eat this scroll and then go; speak to the people of Israel.”

I opened my mouth and He made me eat the scroll and then He said to me, “Eat and fill yourself with this scroll that I am giving you.” I ate and it tasted as sweet as honey. He said, “Son of man, go to the Israelites; speak to them with My words.”

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Sunday, 31 July 2016 : 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, we heard a very strong theme in the Scripture Readings, which told us about the impermanence of all things. Beginning from the Book of Ecclesiastes or Qoheleth, the one speaking in the Book told about the uselessness of and meaninglessness of the many things which we have in life.

And this ties in nicely with what we heard in the Gospel passage today, where our Lord Jesus Himself spoke to His disciples about the cautiousness that people should adopt in the way of their life, lest they be trapped into the trap of human greed and pride. The parable which Jesus told His disciples, reflected clearly this warning, should any of us fall into the temptations of worldly pleasures and desires.

In that parable, Jesus spoke about a rich man who had many possessions, barns after barns of crops and the results of bountiful harvest, which he stored until they were all in full capacity. And he planned to tear those barns down and create even bigger barns so that he might accumulate even more crops, grains and thus wealth. And thus he in his moments of pride and self-praise thought that he would gain even more and became greater, but he forgot that he is not the master of his life.

Indeed, all of us, each and every one of us are accountable to the One Who is the only Master of all our lives, the Lord and Master of all. He alone has the jurisdiction and power over us, over our life which we have no control over. And yet, many of us unfortunately fell into the thinking that we have that illusory degree of control, and thinking that we can do what we like with our lives because we should get what we want in this life.

But in case we think in that manner, then we should know that such a way of thinking is mistaken. Let us just ask ourselves, how often is it that we go out of our way to seek for more things in this world which satisfy our wants and our ego? How many of us spend much time just so that we may gain more of the wealth of the world for its various reasons?

Indeed in this world there are uses for our possessions and our wealth. We do use them for a variety of purposes, and in many cases, even for good purposes. But when that becomes an addiction and a pursuit of the flesh, then it is where the pursuit of more worldliness becomes our greatest obstacle on this path in which we are walking towards God now.

We are all mortals, all of whom live at the mercy and at the will of God. It is God Who gave us life and it is God again Who will take it back, when He calls us all to return to Him, and receive the judgment, whether we are worthy to receive His promised glory, or if we are unworthy and thus should be cast out into the utter darkness and eternal suffering in hell.

This is the fact that many of us are unaware of. We continue our pursuit of wealth, fame and human pride, satisfying our ego and wants, but at what price? Are all these going to be any help for us at the end? Just a gust of wind, a bonfire of flames, the shaking of the earth, the power of rust and other worldly forces, and in the blink of an eye, all of these may perish.

If we put our trust in these perishable things, then are we not then like those whom the Lord mentioned in another parable, that we built our houses upon the weak foundations of sand? One moment and everything may just come tumbling down. That is how meaningless and useless it is for us to be so preoccupied with worldly things that do not last, that we end up forgetting about our true goal in life, that is the Lord our God.

If we put our trust in God, we surely will not be disappointed, for God Himself is forever faithful to His people. And to all those who keep their faith in Him, He will also show His grace and love. And that was what exactly happened to the great saint whose feast happened to be on this day as well, the great founder of the Society of Jesus, more commonly known as the Jesuit order, that is St. Ignatius of Loyola.

St. Ignatius of Loyola was born into a Spanish noble family, a family of high esteem and prestige, of high social status and expectation. And as a member and heir of that family, he was brought up in a life of privilege, and grew up aspiring for greater honour and glory for himself. And thus he became a knight and went through battles after battles seeking greater glory for himself.

But during one of the battles, at the siege of the castle called Pamplona in northeastern Spain, he was injured and therefore was left out of much of the battle. And at that time, he had a revelation and received the calling from God which changed his life forever. From then on, he devoted himself to a new cause, one that was far more worthy than what he did previously.

Instead of seeking personal glory and honour, St. Ignatius of Loyola from then on sought to bring forth the greater glory of God, as shown in his personal motto, which is also the motto of the Jesuits, that is ‘Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam’ or ‘For the Greater Glory of God’. It was no longer human glory and worldly desires that St. Ignatius of Loyola sought for, but instead the true treasure that can be found in God alone.

And when he gathered together like-minded people, he helped to establish one of the most influential and largest contributor to the efforts of the Church in combatting and countering the terrible heresies and damages of the so-called Protestant ‘reformation’. In the Counter-Reformation, St. Ignatius of Loyola and his Jesuit order were often at the forefront of the effort to reclaim many souls back for the Lord.

St. Ignatius of Loyola and many others who have followed in his footsteps have made their choice, to abandon behind the worldly desires of the flesh, and to take up their crosses and follow the Lord their God. Shall we all also follow the same then? Shall we not also reject the temptations of the devil, who tempted us with the temptations of pleasure and flesh to distract us from finding our true treasure in God?

May the Lord help us in discerning our path and help strengthen our faith, so that we may devote ourselves more to the Lord, and commit ourselves thoroughly to His ways. May He bless our endeavours and may He strengthen us always, be our Guide and help us to reach Him at the end of our journey. May St. Ignatius of Loyola also be our intercessor and be our inspiration on how we ought to live our lives. For the greater glory of God. Amen.

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Sunday, 31 July 2016 : 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 12 : 13-21

At that time, someone in the crowd spoke to Jesus, “Master, tell my brother to share with me the family inheritance.” He replied, “My friend, who has appointed Me as your Judge or your Attorney?” Then Jesus said to the people, “Be on your guard and avoid every kind of greed, for even though you have many possessions, it is not that which gives you life.”

And Jesus continued with this story, “There was a rich man, and his land had produced a good harvest. He thought, ‘What shall I do, for I am short of room to store my harvest? Alright, I know what I shall do : I will pull down my barns and I will build bigger ones, to store all this grain, which is my wealth. Then I will say to myself : My friend, you have a lot of good things put by for many years. Rest, eat, drink and enjoy yourself.'”

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be taken from you. Tell Me who shall get all you have put aside?’ This is the lot of the one who stores up riches for himself and is not wealthy in the eyes of God.”

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Sunday, 31 July 2016 : 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Colossians 3 : 1-5, 9-11

So then, if you are risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on earthly things. For you have died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, Who is your life, reveals Himself, you also will be revealed with Him in Glory.

Therefore, put to death what is earthly in your life, that is immorality, impurity, inordinate passions, wicked desires and greed which is a way of worshipping idols. Do not lie to one another. You have been stripped of the old self and its way of thinking to put on the new, which is being renewed and is to reach perfect knowledge and the likeness of its Creator.

There is no room for distinction between Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, foreigner, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all.

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Sunday, 31 July 2016 : 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 89 : 3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17

You turn humans back to dust, saying, “Return, o mortals!” A thousand years in Your sight are like a day that has passed, or like a a watch in the night.

You sow them in their time, at dawn they peep out. In the morning they blossom, but the flower fades and withers in the evening.

So make us know the shortness of our life, that we may gain wisdom of heart. How long will You be angry, o Lord? Have mercy on Your servant.

Fill us at daybreak with Your goodness, that we may be glad all our days. May the sweetness of the Lord be upon us; may He prosper the work of our hands.

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Sunday, 31 July 2016 : 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes) 1 : 2 and Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes) 2 : 21-23

All is meaningless – says the Teacher – meaningless, meaningless! For here was a man who tolled in all wisdom, knowledge and skill and he must leave all to someone who has not worked for it. This is meaningless and a great misfortune.

For what profit is there for a man in all his work and heart-searching under the sun? All his days bring sorrow, his work grief; he has not, moreover, peaceful rest at night : that too is meaningless.

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Friday, 29 July 2016 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martha (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of St. Martha, one of the close friends of our Lord Jesus Christ, who went with Him and provided support to Him and His disciples. She was one of the holy women mentioned in the Gospels and in the Bible. But in the beginning, which story we heard today, she kind of lost her focus and attention on the Lord, when she welcomed the Lord for the first time into her house.

St. Martha was so busy with her chores, preparing everything for the benefit of her guests, while her sister Mary sat at the side of the Lord, listening to Him as He spoke and taught her and others there about the Lord. When St. Martha complained to the Lord that her sister was leaving her to do all the work and preparation alone, He rebuked her by saying that in her business, she had forgotten about the most important thing of all, as she was distracted by all the things she was doing.

It was not that St. Martha was doing something wrong or wicked in the sight of God, and neither was it that she intentionally ignored the Lord or refused to listen to His teachings, but rather, because of all the things that occupied her, all these things have distracted her, shut her off from the Lord, made her unable to appreciate and sense the importance of what the Lord is telling Mary and the other disciples.

Let us all ask ourselves, have we been like St. Martha? How many of us in our own lives have those occasions when the Lord called on us, and yet we ignored Him, tried to shut Him off, or trying to walk away from Him. God has been so kind to us so as to provide us with so many good things, including the best gift of all, the gift of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of all of our salvation and redemption.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God has given us the best of everything, and He even provided us with all that we need. But we tend to surround ourselves, either intentionally or unintentionally with the many things and occupations in this world that distract us from our true goal in finding our way to the Lord. Be it money, pleasures of the flesh, the temptation of power and human praise, worldly fame and many other things, we are often distracted by them.

We are so busy in our pursuit for money, possessions and other things. Just think about it, brethren, how many times is it in our lives that we place our focus on the wrong things? We spend hours after many hours trying to get for ourselves ever more comfortable lives, and we desire many things, all the things that this world are pushing upon us, all the materialism weighing down upon us, and all the temptations that the devil is trying to drown us with.

Sometimes, it is good for us to take a step back and reflect. Yes, we should reflect about many things, not least of which is the actions we take in this life, and the choices which we made. Let us ask ourselves, do we choose what we want, or do we rather choose the Lord? Which one is more trustworthy, to put our trust in the Lord or to put our trust in our feeble human power?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we all live in this important time when all that we do and everything that we have are influenced heavily by how we choose our focus in life. We have to discern and be careful in thinking and deciding how we are to devote our time and attention. Do we want to put our trust in the untrustworthy and easily lost treasures of this world, or do we rather trust in the promise of salvation from the One Who is always forever faithful?

We should be like St. Martha, who was once so busied by the daily chores and routines, by worries and other things that she was not able to see the Lord and understand Him. But eventually, she became an ardent believer, that when her brother Lazarus died from an illness, she trusted that Jesus would heal him and bring him back even from death.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, may the Lord bless us and help us. May He keep us and strengthen our faith, so that we may draw ever closer to Him and find our way to His glory and presence. May we all receive worthily the promise of eternal salvation and life that God had promised all those who placed their trust in Him. Let the examples and lessons of St. Martha and the other holy saints of God be our guide and example. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 29 July 2016 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martha (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 11 : 19-27

At that time, many Jews had come to Martha and Mary, after the death of their brother, to comfort them. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him, while Mary remained sitting in the house.

And she said to Jesus, “If You had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You.” Jesus said, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha replied, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection, at the last day.” But Jesus said to her, “I am the Resurrection. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, shall live. Whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Martha then answered, “Yes, Lord, I have come to believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, He Who is coming into the world.”

Alternative reading

Luke 10 : 38-42

At that time, as Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He entered a village, and a woman called Martha welcomed Him into her house. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet to listen to His words. Martha, meanwhile, was busy with all the serving, and finally she said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the work? Tell her to help me!”

But the Lord answered, “Martha, Martha, you worry and are troubled about many things, whereas only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her.”