Marian feast

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Saturday, 4 June 2016 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on thus say we celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. If yesterday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the loving heart of our God, then today, we celebrate the loving and tender heart of His mother Mary. Jesus and His mother Mary were inseparable and were very close, and thus, her heart is a reflection of her Son’s own Most Sacred Heart.

And in this we see how Mary was loving and kind, compassionate and filled with God’s love just as her Son showed us His everlasting love. She has shown great care and love for her Son, and the same love now she is showing to us as well. It was in that love that she endured great pain and suffering, to see with her own eyes how her Son Jesus suffered tremendously at the hands of His persecutors, as He went to save mankind through His crucifixion.

All these were foretold by the prophet Simeon, when Jesus was circumcised in the Temple eight days after His birth into the world. He said to Mary, that her Son would be a force of great change, through Whom the world and all mankind would come to see their salvation and hope. And at the same time, Simeon gave Mary a warning and premonition of what was to come. A sword would pierce her own heart.

And it was in seeing her own Son enduring His sufferings and carrying His cross to Calvary, even though He was blameless, innocent but charged with false charges, and mocked and rejected by the very people to whom He had been sent to, that her heart endured such a great pain, as mentioned by Simeon at the time of Jesus’ presentation at the Temple of God.

And in the Gospel today, which tells us about Jesus when He was only twelve years old, and went to the Temple of God in Jerusalem, surely we all know the story, how Jesus were left behind in the Temple, or rather, purposely staying behind at the Temple, the House and dwelling-place of His Father. And when Mary and Joseph returned to Jerusalem and found Him among the teachers and elders, she heard Him telling her about how He had to be in His Father’s house.

Anyone else who heard such things would have been scared, or become unsure and doubtful, or dismiss all these things as nonsense. But it was not so for Mary, for she kept everything in her heart, even things which she did not really understand. And just as at the time when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her in Nazareth, even though she did not understand everything, but she kept everything in her heart and put her complete trust in God and His plan.

How many of us have done what she had done, brothers and sisters in Christ? Certainly, very few among us would have done what Mary did. And it is not surprising considering that we mankind are creatures who often find it difficult to trust another, and we often trust and believe in only ourselves, and we act in ways that preserve ourselves and achieve our own wants and desires.

And that is why we often find it difficult to go forward in our journey towards the Lord, because we are by our nature tend to be distracted by many things, including all the temptations of this world that are hard for us to resist. We tend to sway and to be doubtful whenever we are presented with challenges that are against our faith in God.

This is where we should imitate the examples of Mary, the mother of our Lord. She was faithful despite all the things and experiences which she had encountered throughout her life. She placed all her trust in God, even though at times there were many things which she was unsure of. And she gave it all in the mission which God had entrusted her with, namely to be the mother and bearer of the Saviour of the world.

She loved her Son with all her might, even following Him wherever He went to. And when the disciples and the Apostles were scattered after Jesus was arrested by the Jewish authorities, it was Mary His mother who remained faithful and steady, watching by closely how the people rejected her Son and tortured Him, and condemned Him to death.

And for that faith and that love, indeed, Mary is truly worthy as the Mother of God, and as what we all believe in, as the Co-Redemptrix of mankind, through whose works and actions, the redemption of us all by Jesus our Lord was made perfect and complete. And He gave us the greatest form of help, by granting to us the gift of His own mother Mary.

He did this when He was hung between the heavens and the earth on the cross. He entrusted Mary to His disciple St. John the Apostle, and entrusted him to Mary as well. Through this act, He had entrusted His mother to us all mankind, and all of us to her care vice versa. And therefore, from then on, we have Mary as our guide to find the way to Jesus our Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us ask Mary our mother to pray for our sake, that as she has loved her Son, she too may love us and care for us sinners in danger of death and eternal damnation. Let us all through her help and guidance, find our way to the Lord and to the eternal life and salvation He has promised all those who keep their faith in Him. God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 4 June 2016 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 2 : 41-51

At that time, every year the parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover, as was customary. And when Jesus was twelve years old, He went up with them, according to the custom of this Feast. After the festival was over, they returned, but the Boy Jesus remained in Jerusalem, and His parents did not know it.

They thought He was in the company, and after walking the whole day they looked for Him among their relatives and friends. As they did not find Him, they went back to Jerusalem searching for Him, and on the third day they found Him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. And all the people were amazed at His understanding and His answers.

His parents were very surprised when they saw Him, and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Your father and I were very worried while searching for You.” Then He said to them, “Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?” But they did not understand this answer.

Jesus went down with them, returning to Nazareth, and He continued to be subject to them. As for His mother, she kept all these things in her heart.

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Saturday, 4 June 2016 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Samuel 2 : 1, 4-5, 6-7, 8abcd

My heart exults in YHVH, I feel strong in my God. I rejoice and laugh at my enemies for You came with power to save me.

The bow of the mighty is broken but the weak are girded with strength. The well-fed must labour for bread but the hungry need work no more. The childless wife has borne seven children but the proud mother is left alone.

YHVH is Lord of life and death; He brings down to the grave and rises up. YHVH makes poor and makes rich, He brings low and He exalts.

He lifts up the lowly from the dust, and raises the poor from the ash heap; they will be called to the company of princes, and inherit a seat of honour.

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Saturday, 4 June 2016 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Isaiah 61 : 9-11

Their descendants shall be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a race YHVH has blessed. I rejoice greatly in YHVH, my soul exults for joy in my God, for He has clothed me in the garments of His salvation, He has covered me with the robe of His righteousness, like a bridegroom wearing a garland, like a bride adorned with jewels.

For as the earth brings forth its growth, and as a garden makes seeds spring up, so will the Lord YHVH make justice and praise spring up in the sight of all nations.

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Sunday, 26 July 2015 : Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Joachim and St. Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we heard the Scripture readings which spoke of our Lord as a loving God who is caring and loving for all of His people, and who gave them all that they need, food and nourishment, so that they may live, be filled and satisfied without hunger or worry. In this, we see how much God has loved us, which He manifested through His many works.

In the first reading, we heard how Elisha the prophet fed a hundred man with a mere twenty loaves of bread. His servant did not believe that such a feat was possible, and he asked him, “How can we feed a hundred men with this?” But Elisha showed his servant that what for man is impossible, is possible for God, and the hundred men ate until they were full with loaves left over.

And certainly we can see the clear link with our Gospel today, that when Jesus taught the huge multitudes of people coming to listen to Him, He fed the five thousand men and countless thousands more of women and children, with just five loaves and two fishes. The disciples of Jesus were similarly astounded at first, and even asked the same question as what Elisha’s servant had asked, but God again showed His love and made the whole people to eat until full with twelve full baskets of leftover bread.

In all these things, certainly if our eyes are open, if our ears can listen, and if our hearts are opened, then surely we should be able to see how great is the love which our Lord had shown us, not just in what we have just heard, but in our daily lives, in every things we have enjoyed which had come from the Lord. It is often that we do not realise the extent of the many things we have enjoyed which without the Lord and His love for us, it would not have been possible.

And God had not just given us tangible food as in loaves and fishes to eat and be satisfied with, but even much more than that. Remember that Jesus rebuked Satan when he tempted Him with food when He fasted for forty days in the desert? He said that men did not live on bread alone, but on every words that came from the mouth of God.

This went on to show how God nourishes us not just with the food of the earth, that is to fill our stomachs, but also gives us the nourishment and food for the soul, that is His words and teachings, which He had revealed through His prophets and servants, and last of all, which He revealed in all its fullness, through Jesus, the Word Himself made flesh for all to witness and see.

And then last of all, God gave Himself as the ultimate nourishment of all, through the sharing of His own Body and His own Blood for all to receive and have life in them. For He said that ‘My Body is real food and My Blood is real drink, and although your ancestors who ate the bread of heaven, or manna died in the desert, those who eat of My Body and drink of My Blood will have eternal life.’ Such is the promise which God had given to all who partake and share in Him and His nourishing gift for us.

For it is through His suffering on the way to Calvary, by the scourging of many lashes, by the nails that pierced His hands and legs, and thus by His death on the cross that He had shed His Body and poured out His Blood for all of us to share, so that for all those for whom Christ had died for, that is for all mankind, we may receive Him and He will dwell in us, so that He may nourish us and give us a new and blessed life, no longer afflicted by our past sinfulness and wickedness.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, having seen all these, have we realised again how much God has loved and cared for us? And most importantly, how have we reacted to the love which God had given us? Have we shown gratitude and thanks to Him? Have we uttered even a word of thanks, and not just from our mouth but from the depths of our hearts?

The word thank you is something which we may take for granted, and which is in fact a very difficult word to utter with meaning and with proper purpose. How many of us actually give thanks for something good which had been done by others upon us? How many of us are grateful for every blessings and good things that come our way? Certainly many of us would see that in many occasions, we have not give due thanks for what we have enjoyed.

And how much more we should therefore thank our Lord, for He has given us so much, providing us all that we need, the nourishment of the flesh as well as the soul, and the blessing of everlasting life which God had given us who share in His Body and Blood, which is the Eucharist. He is God our Father, who cares for us like a parent caring for his or her child.

And today we also commemorate the feast of St. Joachim and St. Anne, who are the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was under their tutelage and loving care that Mary was brought up to be such a pious and devoted child of God, who then became an example to all of us as the mother of our God and the one closest to her Son in heaven, our greatest intercessor.

Their loving care of Mary, which in turn is also shown by Mary to Jesus her Son, should remind us of the love which our Lord had poured and lavished upon us. But the question remain the same, as we should ask ourselves, how many of us are grateful to what our parents had done for us? How many of us had given proper and due thanks to them who had given and sacrificed so much for our sake?

Therefore, let us all ponder on this, and think of how we can honour and give thanks to our Lord, who had cared for us, He, our Father, whose thoughts and gaze are always fixed upon us all the days of our lives. It does not mean anything if we do not mean what we say when we give thanks to Him and to others, as words are easy to come out with, but in order to be truly capable of showing thanks for all who have given us good things, especially that of our Lord, it must come from the heart.

May Almighty God, our Father, Lord and Saviour help us all to realise the great extent to which He had blessed us and granted us goodness in all things, that deep in our hearts a great sense of gratitude may swell and we may give thanks due to be given to He who had provided us with everything that we need, nourishments for our body, spirit and soul, so that we have nothing lacking and be fully satisfied. Let us from now on be thankful for every single moments of our lives, for every breath that we take, which is also a gift from God. May we be forever devoted to Him, our Lord and Father. Amen.

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Sunday, 26 July 2015 : Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Joachim and St. Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

John 6 : 1-15

At that time, Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, near Tiberias, and large crowds followed Him, because of the miraculous signs they saw, when He healed the sick. So He went up into the hills and sat down there with His disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

Then lifting up His eyes, Jesus saw the crowds that were coming to Him, and said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread so that these people may eat?” He said this to test Philip, for He Himself knew what He was going to do. Philip answered Him, “Two hundred silver coins would not buy enough bread for each of them to have a piece.”

Then one of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass there, so the people, about five thousand men, sat down. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were seated.

He did the same with the fish, and gave them as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten enough, He told His disciples, “Gather up the pieces left over, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with bread, that is, with pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

When the people see the miracle which Jesus had performed, they said, “This is really the Prophet, the One who is to come into the world.” Jesus realised that they would come and take Him by force to make Him king; so He fled to the hills by Himself.

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Sunday, 26 July 2015 : Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Joachim and St. Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Ephesians 4 : 1-6

Therefore I, the prisoner of Christ, invite you to live the vocation you have received. Be humble, kind, patient and bear with one another in love. Make every effort to keep among you the unity of Spirit through bonds of peace. Let there be one body and one spirit, for God, in calling you, gave the same Spirit to all.

One Lord, one Faith, one baptism. One God, the Father of all, who is above all and works through all and is in all.

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Sunday, 26 July 2015 : Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Joachim and St. Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 144 : 10-11, 15-16, 17-18

All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o Lord, will praise You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your power.

All creatures look to You to be fed in due season; with open hand You satisfy the living according to their needs.

Righteous is the Lord in all His ways, His mercy shows in all His deeds. He is near those who call on Him, who call trustfully upon His Name.

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Sunday, 26 July 2015 : Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Joachim and St. Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Kings 4 : 42-44

A man came from Baal-shal-ishad bringing bread and wheat to the man of God. These were from the first part of the harvest, twenty loaves of barley and wheat. Elisha told him, “Give the loaves to these men that they may eat.”

His servant said to him, “How am I to divide these loaves among one hundred men?” Elisha insisted, “Give them to the men that they may eat, for YHVH says : They shall eat and have some left over.” So the man set it before them; and they ate and had some left, as YHVH had said.

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Saturday, 13 June 2015 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate both the occasion of the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of our Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ and the feast of St. Anthony of Padua, the well known preacher and saint whose devotion is widespread even until now amongst the faithful.

On this day, we commemorate the loving and sacred heart of Mary, the mother of our Lord, which is celebrated very closely to that of her Son’s Heart, for the two indeed were very, very close. Not only that she was His mother, but she had also gone through a lot of things with Him together, and she also lived with Him and followed Him during much of His earthly ministry.

It began since just a few days after Jesus was born, and Mary brought Him to present Him at the Temple. The prophet Simeon and the prophetess Anna met them, and there the prophecy regarding Mary was mentioned, that a sword would pierce her heart. This is a foreshadowing of the fact that when Jesu went through His Passion on the way to Calvary, Mary was there, and she was there too on the feet of His cross, watching how her Son is dying for the sake of the world.

No mother should ever see her own child dying before her. But Mary endured all that patiently and quietly. She was truly sorrowful and anguished, but she kept everything in her heart. The same she had done when she was told of the prophecy earlier, she kept everything in her heart. She also kept everything in her heart when we heard in the Gospel today, that Jesus was left behind in the Temple of Jerusalem, He mentioned that He must be in the house of His Father.

Have we taken note, brothers and sisters in Christ? Mary and her heart is so immaculate and pure, that she does not complain or make any issue, when she encountered all these things, from the time when she received the Good News from the Archangel Gabriel, to the prophecy of her sorrow, to the time when Jesus was left at the Temple, to the time when she followed her Son in His ministry, and eventually until when she met Him on that day when He took up the cross, and followed Him to the feet of His cross.

We can imagine how strong and wonderful her heart is, for her to take everything up and endured them in her heart. She suffered in silence, in her sorrow, and she looked up to see the face of her beloved Son. And in the same way therefore she is now looking at us, for many of us are in the danger of falling into eternal damnation in hell for our sins and lack of repentance.

Jesus gave Mary to be our mother too, just as she is His mother. From the cross, Jesus entrusted Mary to John, and He also entrusted John to His mother Mary. In this manner, by the representation of John, God entrusted all of us mankind to the loving care of His mother Mary. Thus, the same pain and sorrow which she had experienced for her Son, she also experienced for us.

If we are wondering why so many of the Marian apparitions and visions occur in the world, if we understand what I had just mentioned, all of it will make perfect sense. Mary through various means continues to watch over us and she is always thinking about us. As she is the closest one to the throne of her Son in heaven, indeed we have no better person, be it men or angels, to ask for help, so that we may be freed from the depredations of evil and sin.

Today we also celebrate the feast of St. Anthony of Padua, a renowned preacher who lived during the High Middle Ages in what is now Italy. St. Anthony of Padua worked hard in his devotion to the Lord, to bring the truth of God to the people, casting out heresies and redeeming people who had lived in the darkness. He was also renowned for his great homilies that he was famously known for having a ‘golden tongue’.

Through his works many people found their way back to God, and many of them found the truth through him. St. Anthony never ceased working for the good of many in the Church, just as what our Blessed mother Mary had done for us, by reminding us again and again, to repent from our sinful ways and hearken ourselves to the words of truth found only in God. Let us be inspired by the examples of the works of St. Anthony of Padua.

Threfore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all today pray and ask for the intercession of Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ and the mother of all of us. Let us plead to her most immaculate and loving heart, which is filled with the love of a mother for her children. May our mother pray for us always before her Son, our most loving and merciful God, so that our sins may be forgiven, and may all of us be awakened to our sins, realising how great is the love that both He and His mother have for us. God bless us all. Amen.