Liturgy of the Mass

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Friday, 12 June 2015 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, World Day of Prayer for the Sanctity of Priestly Life (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Hosea 11 : 1, 3-4, 8c-9

YHVH said, “I loved Israel when he was a child; out of Egypt I called My Son. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; yet little did they realise that it was I who cared for them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with leading strings of love, and I became for them as One who eases the yoke upon their neck and stoops down to feed them.”

“My heart is troubled within Me and I am moved with compassion. I will not give vent to My great anger; I will not return to destroy Ephraim for I am God and not human. I am the Holy One in your midst and I do not want to come to you in anger.”

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Thursday, 11 June 2015 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the great feast day of one of the Holy Apostles, namely St. Barnabas the Apostle, the Apostle who worked together with St. Paul in his various journeys to the cities in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Through his works, many people converted to the true Faith, as we heard in the first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles.

The work of the Apostles were not easy, for they were sent by the Lord against the world that had rejected Him. As Jesus Himself had said, that if the world had hated Him, then it would also hate and reject all of His followers as well. And just as the world had persecuted and made the Lord suffer, thus the disciples and the Apostles would also face the same kind of persecution and suffering.

One example of this we had seen in the same passage from the Acts of the Apostles, where it was mentioned how the first of the Apostles was martyred. St. James the Greater, son of Zebedee and brother of St. John the Evangelist, was martyred at the hand of king Herod, who wanted to please the Jewish authorities and thus did so by persecuting the faithful.

St. Paul himself was once Saul, the great enemy of the Church and the faithful, who persecuted and brought suffering to countless thousands of the faithful, both men and women alike. And there were many other stories and tales of how the faithful were persecuted through the many years of tribulations and difficult times. The world indeed truly hated and rejected the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, and showed it by attacking His faithful people.

Yet, the Lord sent His Apostles and disciples, as we heard in the Gospel today, to proclaim His Good News to the nations, and to bring about the healing of both body and soul to many people in many nations, that they may be saved and brought to the eternal life God had promised all those who are faithful and true to Him. These poor and hardworking servants of the Lord were sent by the Lord to bring about goodness to the world even though the world itself rejected them.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the work of the Apostles were not yet done, and indeed, what Jesus had commanded them throughout His ministry remain still true throughout the ages that had passed since then until now. There is always a need for the disciples of the Lord to go forth and preach the Good News and the truth of God to the people who still live in darkness.

Therefore, all of us who are the members of God’s Church are called to be faithful and devoted servants of our God, through our actions, words and deeds, that we may also bring about the evangelisation of the world and the nations. The duty and responsibility now falls on us, to carry on the works of the Apostles, for the good of many and for the good of the world.

Indeed, the path would not be easy, as shown in the readings today, that there will be always rejection just as there will be acceptance. And therefore, there will also be sufferings and persecutions, where the world that rejected Christ will try to silence us by various means. We should not be afraid, brethren, for God Himself is with us and He will reward us for all the faithful works we have done.

But we must also be wary and be careful of the lures of the world, the temptations of evil that the devil is placing on our way, trying to distract us and lure us away from our mission. Therefore, as the Apostles had done, each of us should help one another in this work of evangelisation, and we have to pray as well. This is because prayer is our link with the Lord our God, the source of our strength.

If we all depend on the Lord and draw our strength from Him, we truly have no need to fear, for nothing that the world do can bring eternal and lasting harm to us. Let us all remember this, and show our love to one another, particularly those who still have not yet heard the word of God and the truth of salvation in God. May all of us be ever more faithful and dedicated in our faith to our Lord. Amen.

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Thursday, 11 June 2015 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 10 : 7-13

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Go and proclaim this message : The kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. You received this as a gift, so give it as a gift. Do not carry any gold, silver or copper in your purses. Do not take a traveller’s bag, or an extra shirt, or sandals, or a staff : workers deserve their living.”

“When you come to a town or a village, look for a worthy person, and stay there until you leave. When you enter the house, wish it peace. If the people in the house deserve it, your peace will be on them; if they do not deserve it, your blessing will come back to you.”

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Thursday, 11 June 2015 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6

Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

The Lord has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love nor His faithfulness to Israel.

The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you lands, make a joyful noise to the Lord, break into song and sing praise.

With melody of the lyre and with music of the harp. With trumpet blast and sound of the horn, rejoice before the King, the Lord!

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Thursday, 11 June 2015 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Acts 11 : 21b-26 and Acts 13 : 1-3

A great number believed and turned to the Lord. News of this reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem, so they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the manifest signs of God’s favour, he rejoiced and urged them all to remain firmly faithful to the Lord; for he himself was a good man filled with Holy Spirit and faith. Thus large crowds came to know the Lord.

Then Barnabas went off to Tarsus to look for Saul and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they had meetings with the Church and instructed many people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.

About that time King Herod decided to persecute some members of the Church. He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword, and when he saw how it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This happened during the festival of the Unleavened Bread.

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Wednesday, 10 June 2015 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the words of the Scriptures reminding us all on the matter of obedience to the Law and to the will of God. Jesus mentioned how the entirety of the Law has to be obeyed and followed if we truly belong to the Lord, and if we truly profess our faith in Him. And what is this Law that all of us should obey?

Is it all the rituals and details that we all ought to remember? Is it all the ordinances and rules that the Church had taught us and stipulated for us all to follow? Is it the things which we have heard and which we have been instructed by our teachers in faith and by our priests? Yes, indeed they are, but we also have to question ourselves, with this question, “Are we following the rules and the laws because we are told to do so? Or do we follow them because we understand the Law and its intention for us?

God had first given His Law to His people through Moses His servant while they were in the journey towards the Promised Land. But the people failed to understand the true meaning of the Law, and with the addition of how many people who refused or failed to comply with the observance of the Law. And this is shown by how many of the people of God who followed the Law blindly and without understanding, as shown by the actions of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law.

Do you all remember or notice how Jesus mentioned that the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law are like the blind ones leading the blind? It is exactly this very fact which He had mentioned there. They were blind because they demanded blind obedience to the Law without understanding. They were strict and inflexible in how they taught to the people, in the manner of how the Law should be observed.

They focused on all the wrong things, by focusing on the minute details of the Law, on the externals in particular, but they completely forgot and ignored the true meaning of the Law itself. They were unable to comprehend the meaning of the Law because their hearts and minds had been hardened against the Lord, and in their stubbornness they have sinned and caused people to also sin against God.

Therefore, Jesus made it clear to the people through the revelation of truth which He brought to the people, by teaching them that the Law of God is truly Love, for God Himself is Love. The purpose of the Law is to bring mankind closer to God through love, by firstly loving God with all of their might and strength, and then to show the same kind and intensity of love to their fellow brethren, that is loving one another.

This is true obedience to the Law of God. The laws and rules which the Church had established and taught to us for obedience have been designed to help us to remain true and obedient in our Faith, so that we may hopefully grow in understanding and in our observance in the Laws of the Lord. Therefore, we too should obey them and follow them with understanding. If we are not sure, we can always ask and look for assistance.

Our faith is one of action, brothers and sisters in Christ. We cannot be passive or ignore the laws and rules which had been placed for us, for our own good. Let us therefore seek to be more active in our participation in our faith and devotion to the Lord, and let us all truly be obedient to the Lord our God, following His commandments, by showing love and care to both Him as well as to our fellow men. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 10 June 2015 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 5 : 17-19

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Do not think that I have come to annul the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to annul them but to fulfill them. I tell you this : as long as heaven and earth last, not the smallest letter or dot in the Law will change until all is fulfilled.”

“So then, whoever breaks the least important of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be the least in the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, whoever obeys them, and teaches others to do the same, will be great in the kingdom of heaven.”

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Wednesday, 10 June 2015 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 98 : 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Extol the Lord, our God; worship at His footstool. Holy is He! And mighty!

Among His priests were Moses and Aaron, and Samuel among those who called on His Name. They called to the Lord, and He answered them.

In the pillar of cloud He spoke to them, and they kept His statutes and the decrees He gave them.

O Lord our God, You responded to them; You were a patient God for them, but You punished their wrongs.

Extol the Lord our God; worship at His holy mountain. Holy is the Lord our God!

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Wednesday, 10 June 2015 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Corinthians 3 : 4-11

This is how we are sure of God, through Christ. As for us we would not dare consider that something comes from us : our ability comes from God. He has even enabled us to be ministers of a new Covenant no longer depending on a written text but on the Spirit. The written text kills, but the Spirit gives life.

The ministry of the Law carved on stones brought death; it was nevertheless surrounded by glory and we know that the Israelites could not fix their eyes on the face of Moses, such was his radiance, though fleeting. How much more glorious will the ministry of the Spirit be!

If there is greatness in a ministry which uses to condemn, how much more will there be in the ministry that brings holiness? This is such a glorious thing that in comparison the former’s glory is like nothing. That ministry was provisory and had only moments of glory; but ours endures with a lasting glory.

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Tuesday, 9 June 2015 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Doctors of the Church)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the two phrases that we surely are familiar with, namely the salt of the earth and the light of the world. These two are the qualities that our Lord Jesus Christ described as those that are part of the virtues of the faithful ones.

All of us have been given our respective skills and talents, which differ from one to another person. Each of us were given unique abilities so that we may be able to use them to complement each other and help each other. Each of us have our own strengths and weaknesses. This is important to take note because many of us do not realise the gifts which had been given to us, or on the other hand, we just use them to satisfy our own needs and wants.

What is the meaning of salt of the earth and light of the world? Just as Jesus Himself had explained it to His disciples, it means that we have a duty and indeed responsibility, to use the gifts which had been given to us, for the sake of the Lord, in serving our community and helping each other in the larger community of the faithful in the Church and in the world at large.

And on top of that, we who have been baptised and received into the Church of God, and having been confirmed in faith gave received the Holy Spirit from God Himself, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit itself are plenty in form, and abundant in nature. If we who have received the Holy Spirit in us do not make use of the gifts in us, then indeed, we are like salt that has lost its saltiness and light that had been hidden under the table.

For salt and light have their uses, and each of them are used to add flavours and goodness to whatever they are used in. When there is blandness in the food, the salt gives it good taste and flavours, while when there is darkness, the light reveals things in the darkness otherwise not visible to our eyes. If salt is no longer salty then it is useless and it adds no flavour to the food, and if light is hidden, it does not help anyone who need it in the darkness, and thus they become useless.

Remember, brethren, that one commonly forgotten and overlooked form of sin, is the sin of ignorance, of omission and of the lack of action. We do not sin just because we do something wicked and obviously in direct opposition to God’s ways, but also when we see an opportunity to do something good, and when we are in position to help and contribute when there is someone who needs us and fail to do so.

Jesus said that at the Last Judgment, the righteous will be separated from the wicked and the condemned. Do we remember what Jesus rebuked the wicked ones with? He rebuked them for having ignored the plight of others around them, particularly that of the least and weakest in the society, the ones most hated and unloved. They had not shown love and compassion, and neither have they lifted up their hands to help. And thus they receive their just reward.

Today, we commemorate the memory of St. Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor of the Church. If we examine his life and work, we can see how this faithful servant of God had done so much good things for the benefit of many of the faithful, through his numerous writings and works that discussed and explained many tenets and teachings of the Church.

St. Ephrem used his writings and his other works to combat heresies in the Church and among the faithful. Through them, he explained the true faith in great clarity and depth, to bring the people who had fallen into darkness into realisation of their sins and mistakes, that they may repent and be saved. St. Ephrem had therefore done what God had asked us to do, and he was truly a genuine salt of the earth and light of the world.

Let us all be inspired by his examples and commit ourselves to an ever stronger faith to our God. May we all be more active in our faith and commit it through real actions, showing love for each other, so that we may truly become salt of the earth and light of the world. God bless us all. Amen.