Liturgical celebrations

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Thursday, 14 November 2024 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 17 : 20-25

At that time, the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God was to come. He answered, “The kingdom of God is not like something you can observe, and say of it, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘See, there it is!’ for the kingdom of God is within you.”

And Jesus said to His disciples, “The time is at hand, when you will long to see one of the glorious days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. Then people will tell you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go with them, do not follow them. As lightning flashes from one end of the sky to the other, so will it be with the Son of Man; but first He must suffer many things, and be rejected by this generation.”

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Thursday, 14 November 2024 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 145 : 6c-7, 8-9a, 9bc-10

The Lord is forever faithful; He gives justice to the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free.

The Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord straightens the bent. The Lord loves the virtuous, but He brings to ruin the way of the wicked. The Lord protects the stranger.

The Lord sustains the widow and the orphan. The Lord will reign forever, your God, o Zion, from generation to generation. Alleluia!

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Thursday, 14 November 2024 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Philemon 7-20

I had great satisfaction and comfort on hearing of your charity, because the hearts of the saints have been cheered by you, brother. Because of this, although in Christ I have the freedom to command what you should do, yet I prefer to request you in love. The one talking is Paul, the old man, now prisoner for Christ. And my request is on behalf of Onesimus, whose father I have become while I was in prison.

This Onesimus has not been helpful to you, but now he will be helpful both to you and to me. In returning him to you, I am sending you my own heart. I would have liked to keep him at my side, to serve me on your behalf while I am in prison for the Gospel, but I did not want to do anything without your agreement, nor impose a good deed upon you without your free consent.

Perhaps Onesimus has been parted from you for a while so that you may have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but better than a slave. For he is very dear brother to me, and he will be even dearer to you. And so, because of our friendship, receive him as if he were I myself.

And if he has caused any harm, or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, write this and sign it with my own hand : I will pay it…. without further mention of your debt to me, which is you yourself. So, my brother, please do me this favour for the Lord’s sake. Give me this comfort in Christ.

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Wednesday, 13 November 2024 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded to seek the Lord Who is our ever loving, compassionate and merciful God, the One Who has always shown His patient love and grace, attention and kindness towards us, despite us having constantly and consistently been disobedient towards Him, not listening to Him and disobeying His will, His Law and commandments. As our loving Father, the Lord has always been patient in loving us and in caring for us, forgiving us all of our sins and mistakes, our faults and all the things which we have done in defiance against His will, patiently reaching out towards us, helping and guiding us to walk in the right path, and showing us the path towards salvation and eternal life, hoping that we will turn away from our wicked path and return towards Him with renewed love and faith.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to St. Titus in which the Apostle spoke about the matter of how everyone of the faithful and holy people of God ought to be truly faithful to the Lord, and to distance themselves from all sorts of vices, evils and corruptions of the world. As Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, those whom He had called and chosen from this world, we are essentially expected to follow the path that the Lord has presented and guided us through, the path of His righteousness and virtue, through which we shall find the path to salvation in God. All of us are called to be good role models and inspirations for each other in faith, to be thoroughly dedicated to Him and to be the shining beacons of God’s light and truth from now on, if we have not yet done so.

That is because all of us have been saved by what the Lord had done for us in Jesus Christ, His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, just as St. Paul had reminded his protege, St. Titus and all of us, the faithful people of God. We must not take for granted everything that God had done for us, all the love that He has shown us most patiently and wonderfully. God has shown us all His love and generosity, compassion and kindness so that we can also follow His examples instead of as St. Paul said, hating one another and be filled with anger and malice in our hearts, thinking of nothing but ruin and destruction for others around us. As God’s holy and beloved people, each and every one of us are called to be those who are always filled with genuine love and kindness to one another, to be concerned with the needs and the plight of those who are suffering in our midst.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke in which the Lord Jesus encountered ten lepers that came to Him seeking for Him to heal them from their affliction. By that time, they certainly have heard well of the Lord and all the miraculous deeds and works that He had performed, and they hoped that they could heal them from their condition. At that time, as it had been since the time of Moses and the Exodus from the land of Egypt, those who suffered from leprosy had been ostracised and had to stay away from the cities and towns, having to wander off in the wilderness, and they could not rejoin the community and the other people of God until they had been healed from their afflictions and problems, showing themselves to a priest who could certify that they had been healed.

The Lord did indeed want to heal them all, but He also instructed them beforehand to show themselves to the priest according to the Law of God revealed through Moses. Those ten men obeyed His instruction, and on their way to the priest as we heard, they became healed and their leprosy left them. However, as all of them realised their fortune and became overjoyed, only one of the ten lepers bothered to come back to the Lord to thank Him for everything that He had done for them, while the other nine went on their way, presumably to resume their lives now that they were already free from their leprosy and problems. This is all a reminder for each and every one of us that we often seek God’s help, compassion and love, His mercy, forgiveness and grace, and we often cry out for His help, guidance and strength, and yet, we often forget about Him when things are good again for us.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, it is the sad nature of our faith and way of living our Christian existence that we frequently put God as secondary importance in our lives. We ignore and abandon Him whenever we do not have need for Him or His help, and we only remember Him whenever we have any need for help and assistance. And is that how we treat God’s generosity and kindness, brethren? Have we stooped so low so as to ignore our loving Father’s kindness and love, His ever patient and enduring love for us? Let us all really think and reflect about all these, as we remember the love and mercy which the Lord has shown us through His Son, in healing those ten lepers, just as He has healed us all from the affliction of our sins, the corruptions that had darkened our souls and separated us from God.

Sin is indeed a leprosy of the soul, as one would have put it and compared it rightly, as just like leprosy that eats upon the flesh and corrupts it, sin is a far more dangerous affliction on us. For what can harm the body can be cured by worldly means, by doctors and other methods known to us, but there is no cure and healing for sin save that of the healing and forgiveness provided by God alone. And the Lord willingly provides us this healing and cure, calling upon all of us to come back to His ever loving and comfortable embrace, in His Holy Presence. However, we need to make the commitment for this, to commit ourselves to follow Him and to dedicate ourselves to His cause, in recognising that each and every one of us have the part to play in our salvation, by accepting God’s generous offer of mercy and salvation, and by cooperating with Him and being grateful at all the love that He has shown us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all hence strive to live our lives worthily as Christians, to listen to and obey the Lord’s words and will, to heed His call for us to follow Him, and to realise just how blessed and fortunate we are to have been beloved by God. Let us all contemplate God’s generous love and then strive to embody the same love in all of our actions and dealings, interactions and works. Let our love be generously given as well then, in our love for the Lord and also in our love for our fellow brothers and sisters, so that by our love, people will indeed know the Lord and His love, and that they will also know that we are all His holy and beloved people. May God bless each one of us in our journey of faith and life, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 13 November 2024 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 17 : 11-19

At that time, on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus passed through Samaria and Galilee, and as He entered a village, ten lepers came to meet Him. Keeping their distance, they called to Him, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

Jesus said to them, “Go, and show yourselves to the priests.” Then, as they went on their way, they found they were cured. One of them, as soon as he saw that he was cleansed, turned back, praising God in a loud voice; and throwing himself on his face before Jesus, he gave Him thanks. This man was a Samaritan.

Then Jesus asked him, “Were not all ten healed? Where are the other nine? Did none of them decide to return and give praise to God, but this foreigner?” And Jesus said to him, “Stand up and go your way; your faith has saved you.”

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Wednesday, 13 November 2024 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 22 : 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.

He guides me through the right paths for His Name’s sake. Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are beside me : Your rod and Your staff comfort me.

You spread a table before me in the presence of my foes. You anoint my head with oil; my cup is overflowing.

Goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life. I shall dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.

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Wednesday, 13 November 2024 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Titus 3 : 1-7

Remind the believers, to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, and to be ready for every good work. Tell them to insult no one; they must not be quarrelsome, but gentle and understanding with everyone. We ourselves were once foolish, disobedient and misled. We were slaves of our desires, seeking pleasures of every kind. We lived in malice and envy, hateful, and hating each other.

But God, Our Saviour, revealed His eminent goodness and love for humankind, and saved us, not because of good deeds we may have done, but for the sake of His own mercy, to the water of rebirth and renewal, by the Holy Spirit poured over us through Christ Jesus, Our Saviour, so that, having been justified by His grace, we should become heirs, in hope of eternal life.

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Tuesday, 12 November 2024 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that we must always continue to live our lives well in the manner that the Lord has shown and taught us. We must always be righteous and good in all of our words, actions and deeds, so that the Lord will find us all to be worthy and just, worthy of the eternal life and true happiness that He has promised to each one of us. As Christians, it is expected that all of us should always be full of faith and zeal in living our lives, in each and every moments in them to be truly shining and worthy beacons of God’s light and grace. And if we are truly God’s people, His followers and disciples, then we should always live our lives with God’s teachings and truth at the forefront in our lives at all times.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to St. Titus, we heard of the words of St. Paul to his protege, who was one of the first bishops of the Church as the successors of the Apostles that they and all the other faithful people of God must always be good, virtuous and faithful to the Lord so that in all their daily living, each and every one of them, in their own respective capacities and parts of the community they were living in that they may become worthy bearers of Christ’s truth and Good News to everyone they encountered and interacted with. They have to be truly devoted to God through their faithful observance and living of the Lord’s Law and commandments, and by showing Christian charity and virtue in all the things that they say and do.

To be Christians, it is always important for all of us to be truly faithful to God, not just in appearances and formality, not just in words and proclamations, but also in all of our every actions and deeds, in our every good works and contributions, our every encounter with everyone around us, those whom we meet in our daily lives. As Christians, all of us ought to be good, worthy and righteous in all things, to strive to do what the Lord has called and commanded us all to do, to be truly devoted to Him in all things, doing our very best so that our whole lives may indeed be full of virtue and goodness, that through us, many more people will come to know the Lord and believe in Him, experiencing His love and grace, His kindness, compassion and mercy through our own loving actions, words and deeds.

Then, in our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples highlighting the fact and reality that we are all servants of the Lord, our Master and each and every one of us should always remember that we should only do what our Lord and Master has wanted and called us to do, and then at the same time, we should not be conceited and proud, thinking that we deserve more things or that we ought to have more just because of our actions, works and deeds, or end up demanding the Lord to reward us for whatever we have done in His Name, in our obedience and contributions to the Church and the works of salvation, our many missions and outreach to everyone around us.

It is a reminder for us that salvation in a grace from God for us, and we are saved by our faith in Him, which we make alive and genuine through our actions and works, our contributions and efforts in life. But we are not saved solely through our own efforts and works, as without true and genuine faith in God, those efforts and works are meaningless. Similarly, faith that is not made alive, real and manifest through active contributions, actions and genuine Christian virtues, efforts and works is also dead and meaningless. Hence, we are all reminded today that we must always put the Lord our God at the centre and as the focus of our whole lives and existence. Then, at the same time, we must also actively live our lives as Christians, in following the Lord ever more courageously and faithfully at all times, obeying Him in all the Law and commandments He had presented to us, and answering His call to us, that He made to each one of us.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Josaphat Kuntsevych, a faithful and holy servant of God, who as bishop of the Church was truly a courageous and dedicated servant of God, being martyred for his faith against all those who refused to listen to reason and embrace the true teachings of the Church and the unity of the Church against all the divisions that had brought about much harm to the Church and the faithful. St. Josaphat was one of the Eastern Orthodox bishops in Ruthenia, what is today part of Poland and Ukraine, where he was one of the leaders of the faithful people of God. Amidst the efforts of the time in that region to reconcile the divided Church and the Christian communities between those who are in communion to the Pope and those who have separated themselves from the communion of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, St. Josaphat rose to prominence in his efforts to bridge this gap.

St. Josaphat Kuntsevych was one of the bishops who accepted the agreements of reunion between the Churches, which was also known as the Union of Brest, about four centuries ago. He worked hard to bridge the differences between all those who supported and those who refused to embrace the efforts at reunification and reconciliation between the faithful members of the Body of Christ, the Church. But he still faced a lot of opposition and rejection from many of those who refused to listen to reason and truth, and in the end, he was martyred and suffered a terrible fate as those who opposed him and his efforts at reunion of the churches mobbed and attacked him, and brutally murdered him. Nonetheless, the inspiration and courageous examples of St. Josaphat Kuntsevych continues to inspire many people even to this day.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have discerned and discussed from the passages of the Sacred Scriptures and as we have heard from the life and inspiring examples of St. Josaphat Kuntsevych, let us all therefore be resolved to live a good and worthy life in the manner that God has called us to in each and every moments, opportunities and occasions throughout our lives. Let us all be the shining examples and role models for one another in faith in all things, and help one another to remain firmly faithful to the Lord, to be truly committed in actions and deeds, to be courageous despite all the challenges and difficulties, trials and hardships we may encounter in our journey in life. May God continue to bless us all, and may He empower us all to remain ever always in His loving presence, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 12 November 2024 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 17 : 7-10

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Who among you would say to your servant, coming in from the fields after plowing or tending sheep, ‘Go ahead and have your dinner?’ No, you tell him, ‘Prepare my dinner. Put on your apron, and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink afterwards.'”

“Do you thank this servant for doing what you told him to do? I do not think so. And therefore, when you have done all that you have been told to do, you should say, ‘We are no more than servants; we have only done our duty.'”

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Tuesday, 12 November 2024 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 36 : 3-4, 18 and 23, 27 and 29

For they will fade as any green herb and soon be gone like withered grass.

The Lord watches over the lives of the upright; forever will their inheritance abide. The Lord is the One Who makes people stand, He gives firmness to those He likes.

Do good and shun evil, so that you will live secure forever. The righteous will possess the land; they will make it their home forever.