Monday

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Monday, 15 July 2019 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 10 : 34 – Matthew 11 : 1

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Do not think that I have come to establish peace on earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Each one will have as enemies, those of one’s own family.”

“Whoever loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me. And whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me, is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life, for My sake, will find it.”

“Whoever welcomes you, welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me, welcomes Him Who sent Me. The one who welcomes a prophet, as a prophet, will receive the reward of a prophet; the one who welcomes a just man, because he is a just man, will receive the reward of a just man.”

“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, because he is My disciple, I assure you, he will not go unrewarded.”

When Jesus had finished giving His twelve disciples these instructions, He went on from there to teach and proclaim His message in their towns.

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Monday, 15 July 2019 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 123 : 1-3, 4-6, 7-8

Had not YHVH been on our side – let Israel say – had not YHVH been on our side, when people rose up against us, then, they would have swallowed us alive; such was their anger against us.

A bit more, and the flood would have engulfed us; the torrent would have swept over us; the raging waters would have swept us away. Blessed be YHVH, Who did not let us be devoured.

Like a bird, our soul escaped from the snare of the fowler; the snare that was broken and we were freed. Our help is in the Name of YHVH, Who made heaven and earth.

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Monday, 15 July 2019 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Exodus 1 : 8-14, 22

Then a new king who had not known Joseph came to power and said to his people, “The Israelites are more numerous and stronger than we are. Let us deal warily with them lest they increase still more and, in case of war, side with our enemy, fight against us and escape from the land.”

So they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labour. In that way they built the storage towns of Pithom and Rameses. But the more they oppressed the Hebrews the more they increased and spread, until the Egyptians dreaded the Israelites and became ruthless in making them work. They made life bitter for them in hard labour with bricks and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields. In all their work the Egyptians treated them harshly.

Pharaoh then gave this order to all the people : “Every infant boy born to the Hebrews must be thrown into the Nile, but every girl may live.”

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Monday, 8 July 2019 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture in which God’s love and providence is reminded to us, in how each and everyone one of us are beloved by God, and God has taken care of us all His people with such generosity and blessings, that we should truly put our trust and faith in Him, and devote ourselves wholeheartedly from now on.

In the first reading today, we heard of the vision which Jacob saw in his dream, of a great staircase leading to Heaven, and God Who appeared to him in person and saying that He would bless him just as He has blessed Abraham and Isaac, his grandfather and father respectively. God also renewed the same promise that He has given to Abraham, that his descendants will be glorified and blessed by God.

And we have to understand that at that time, Jacob was in fact a fugitive in running, escaping from the wrath of his elder brother, Esau, who was very angry with Jacob for having stolen not just his birthright but also the inheritance and the blessing which was meant for him as the eldest son of Isaac, their father. Jacob was on the run from the land of Canaan on the way to the land of his ancestors, to the relatives of his father for refuge.

God reassured His servant, Jacob, with what He has shown to Jacob at that night, reassuring him that He would be with him even during his darkest moments, during the times when he was most vulnerable and at the weakest. He would not abandon him to destruction, and He would continue to guide him as He has promised His forefathers. That was just how much God loved His people and how committed and faithful He was to the Covenant which He had made with each and every one of us.

Then in the Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord reaching out to many of the people who had been suffering, those who suffered from illness and even from death. And God, in His Son, Jesus Christ, touched all of them, and made them whole once again. He touched the woman who suffered from a terrible haemorrhage and stopped her bleeding, because of the faith that she had in looking out for Him and having faith that even by just touching His cloak, she would be healed.

And He also raised the dead daughter of the synagogue official, and returned her back to life, to show not only that because He is God, and therefore, is capable of ruling over life and death, but more importantly, to show that God is ever loving and merciful, and He will always care for His people with tender care and love, regardless of the circumstances. He is always ever faithful, and it is us mankind who have always fallen away because of our sins and disobedience.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we ought to reflect on our lives and how we have lived it thus far. Have we been faithful to God in the way that He has been committed and faithful to the Covenant which He had made with us? Have we loved Him in the way that He has loved us all these while, in the assurance which He has always given us, or have we loved the world much more than we loved Him?

Let us all think about this, and see how each and every one of us can grow stronger in our love and dedication for God. Remember how loving and generous God has been towards us all these while, and especially the gift of life He has given us. Let us grow ever stronger in our faith and become better Christians from now on. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Monday, 8 July 2019 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 9 : 18-26

At that time, while Jesus was speaking to the disciples of John and the Pharisees, an official of the synagogue came up to Him, bowed before Him and said, “My daughter has just died, but come and place Your hands on her, and she will live.”

Jesus stood up and followed him with His disciples. Then a woman, who had suffered from a severe bleeding for twelve years, came up from behind and touched the edge of His cloak; for she thought, “If I only touch His cloak, I will be healed.”

Jesus turned, saw her and said, “Courage, my daughter, your faith has saved you.” And from that moment, the woman was cured. When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players and the excited crowd, He said, “Get out of here! The girl is not dead. She is only sleeping!” And they laughed at Him.

But once the crowd had been turned out, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up. The news of this spread through the whole area.

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Monday, 8 July 2019 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 90 : 1-2, 3-4, 14-15ab

You, who dwell in the shelter of the Most High, who rest in the shadow of the Almighty, say to YHVH, “My Stronghold, my Refuge, my God in Whom I trust!”

He will rescue you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions and give you refuge under His wings.

“Because they cling to Me, I will rescue them,” says YHVH. “I will protect those who know My Name. When they call to Me, I will answer; in time of trouble, I will be with them.”

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Monday, 8 July 2019 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Genesis 28 : 10-22a

Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place the sun had set and he spent the night there. He took one of the stones that were there and using it as a pillow, he lay down to sleep.

While Jacob was sleeping, he had a dream in which a ladder stood on the earth with its top reaching to heaven and on it were Angels of God going up and coming down. And YHVH was standing there near him and said, “I am YHVH, the God of your father, Abraham, and the God of Isaac. The land on which you sleep, I give to you and your descendants.”

“Your descendants will be numerous like the specks of dust of the earth and you will spread out to the west and the east, to the north and the south. Through you and your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed. See, I am with you and I will keep you safe wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land and not leave you until I have done what I promised.”

Jacob woke from his dream and said, “Truly YHVH was in this place and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How full of awe is this place! It is nothing less than a house of God; it is the Gate to Heaven!” Then Jacob rose early and took the stone he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He named that place Bethel although before that it was called Luz.

Then Jacob made a vow, “If YHVH will be with me and keep me safe during this journey I am making, if He gives me bread to eat and clothes to wear, and if I return in peace to my father’s house, then YHVH will be my God. This stone which I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house.”

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Monday, 1 July 2019 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture in which we are reminded of just how great God’s love for each and every one of us is, and how vast is His mercy to each and every one of us. In the first reading taken from the Book of Genesis we heard of the encounter and conversation between God and Abraham, His faithful servant regarding the city of Sodom and Gomorrah, while in the Gospel we heard about the matter of following Christ.

In the first reading today, Abraham was deeply concerned that God would punish the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah as the people who lived in those cities were very wicked and sinful, and his cousin Lot was living amongst those people in that place. Partly out of concern for his cousin Lot and his family, and also party for anyone else out there in those two cities who were still faithful to God’s ways, Abraham pleaded with the Lord to spare Sodom and Gomorrah should there be righteous people found in them.

And he did not do this just once, but a few times, continuing to ask the Lord and pleading with Him to show mercy and compassion. God listened to Abraham and promised him that He would not carry out the destruction that He has planned on Sodom and Gomorrah should He managed to find the number of the righteous people in accordance to what Abraham had pleaded for.

In the Gospel passage today, we heard the story of the encounter between a teacher of the Law who came up to the Lord Jesus saying that he would follow Him to wherever He goes. The Lord responded by saying that He has nowhere to lay His head, and that all those who follow Him must truly follow Him and leave everything behind to be with Him. How does this then relate to what we have heard in our first reading passage today?

The connection is that, in both cases, we heard of the matter of following God, obeying Him and being righteous in our lives, and we cannot do anything less than what our father in faith, Abraham had done with his own life, and looking upon the examples shown by Our Lord Jesus Himself in obeying the will of His Father so perfectly that He willingly took up the Cross and bear the burdens of our sins for our salvation.

Abraham heard the Lord’s call when He called him to follow Him. He left his ancestral homeland behind and followed wherever God had led him to. He was faithful and committed to his Lord and Master in everything and because of that God blessed him and made a great Covenant with him and his descendants, promising to make them to be great nations and peoples ever blessed by God.

And that is why all of us should follow the good examples set by Abraham in his life. We should heed the commitment that Abraham had shown in everything he has done, in the trust he has in the Lord, in putting himself in the Lord’s providence. That is how we become better disciples of the Lord and following Him with all of our hearts. That is how we are called to be true Christians in everything we say and do, so that we may draw ever closer to Him.

May the Lord Who is so full of love, mercy and compassion continue to love us all and shower us with His grace as He has done all these while. May He strengthen us, our courage and our resolve to follow Him with all of our hearts and to stand up for Him in faith in everything. May God bless us all and our good endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 1 July 2019 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 8 : 18-22

At that time, when Jesus saw the crowd pressing around Him, He gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. A teacher of the Law approached Him; and said, “Master, I will follow You wherever You go.”

Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Another disciple said to Him, “Lord, let me go and bury my father first.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their dead.”

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Monday, 1 July 2019 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 102 : 1-2, 3-4, 8-9, 10-11

Praise YHVH, my soul; all my being, praise His Holy Name! Praise YHVH, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.

He forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness; He redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion.

YHVH is gracious and merciful, abounding in love and slow to anger; He will not always scold nor will He be angry forever.

He does not treat us according to our sins, nor does He punish us as we deserve. As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His love for those fearing Him.