Monday

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Monday, 18 June 2018 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 5 : 38-42

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “You have heard, that it was said : An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you this : do not oppose evil with evil; if someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn and offer the other. If someone sues you in court for your shirt, give him your coat as well.”

“If someone forces you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give when asked, and do not turn your back on anyone who wants to borrow from you.”

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Monday, 18 June 2018 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 5 : 2-3, 5-6, 7

O YHVH, listen to my words and hear my complaint, give heed to my sighs, my King and my God.

You are not a God Who delights in wickedness; evil has no place in You. The arrogant cannot stand before You. You hate all who do evil.

You destroy all who speak falsehood, who thirst for blood and live on lies; all of them YHVH detests.

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Monday, 18 June 2018 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Kings 21 : 1-16

Now Naboth, a man from Jezreel, owned a vineyard just beside the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria. Ahab asked Naboth, “Give me your vineyard which is near my house that I may use it for a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange. Or, if you prefer, I will pay you its price.”

But Naboth said to Ahab, “YHVH forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” So Ahab went home angry and sad because of what Naboth had told him, that he would not give him the inheritance of his fathers. So he lay down on his bed with his face turned toward the wall and refused to eat.”

His wife Jezebel came to him and said, “Why are you so angry that you refuse to eat?” He answered, “I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and asked him to sell me his vineyard or to exchange it for another one in exchange; but he answered : I will not give you my vineyard.”

His wife Jezebel said to him, “Are you not king of Israel? Get up and eat and be joyful, for I will give you the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel.” So Jezebel wrote letters using Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and important persons living near Naboth. This is what she wrote in the letters : “Declare a fast and put Naboth on trial. Get two scoundrels to accuse him in this way : ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”

The people, the elders and the important persons who lived in his city did as Jezebel had instructed them in the letters she sent to them. They declared a fast and put Naboth on trial. The two worthless fellows came in and sat facing him, accusing Naboth before the people, “Naboth cursed God and the king!” So the people took him outside the city and stoned him to death. They then sent word to Jezebel that Naboth had been stoned and was dead.

As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, she told Ahab, “Now take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the man of Jezreel who refused to sell it to you, for Naboth is now dead.” As soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he went down to the vineyard of Naboth and took possession of it.

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Monday, 11 June 2018 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of one of the Apostles of the Lord, namely St. Barnabas, the companion of the famed St. Paul the Apostle, during several of his missionary trips around the Eastern Mediterranean region. St. Barnabas accompanied St. Paul from cities to cities, preaching the Christian faith to the people in those places.

St. Barnabas and St. Paul were not among the Twelve Apostles, who were Christ’s chief confidants and followers. However, as an Apostle, St. Barnabas was a key component and part in the foundation of the early Christian Church. Together with St. Paul and the other Apostles, they worked tirelessly to establish the foundations of the Church and spread the faith to many places throughout the Eastern Mediterranean.

We heard about their exploits in the first reading passage today, and if we continued reading the entire Acts of the Apostles and the letters that St. Paul wrote to the various communities of the faithful, we can see how the works of St. Barnabas and the Apostles were crucial in the establishment of the faith in numerous places, despite the hardships and challenges that they had to endure.

Without their hard work and perseverance, we would not have the Church as it is today, and many souls would have been lost to damnation, as without the truth being brought forth to the masses by these faithful servants of God, they would have remained in the darkness and ignorance, and remaining in the state of sin, they would have been lost.

However, as we should have realised, that with the hard work that the Apostles had given, also came great perseverance and suffering that they had to endure. The Lord Jesus commissioned His disciples to go forth in their assigned works in our Gospel passage today, and then, He even told them of what to expect in their work, that there would be those who would refuse to believe them, and would reject them.

To the Apostles, this would mean suffering and persecution, and just as St. Paul had experienced many times, they had to go through suffering in prison, and died a painful martyr’s death. Some were crucified on crosses, while others were beheaded, shot with arrows, or thrown to the lions and wild animals in the gladiator arena, and many more were tortured to death.

Yet, they remained true to their faith and refused to give it up to secure their own lives. They would rather suffer and perish in faith rather than to betray and abandon their Lord. Their example should be our inspiration on how we should live faithfully in accordance to God’s ways, and stand up for our faith in Him, as all true Christians should. We should no longer be lukewarm in our faith, and begin from now on, to practice our faith in our lives.

That is how we can also take part in the work of evangelisation that the Apostles had begun, as preaching by word alone is just one way of evangelising the faith to others. In fact, if we do not act in the same manner as we have preached and spoken, no one will believe in us. The Apostles lived as they have believed, and they practiced the love that they had been shown in their daily lives and interactions, caring for the need of one another, and loving God with all of their might.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the works of the Apostles, as I have mentioned, are not yet complete. There are still many areas in which the faith can reach out to many more souls who are still lost from the Lord. Even within our Church there are still many of those who have lost their faith, or become lukewarm and apathetic in the living of their faith. This is where we can play our part, to be examples and inspirations to each other in faith.

May the Lord be with us all, and may through the intercession of St. Barnabas, all of us will draw ever closer to God, and be more faithful in our respective lives, day after day. May God bless us all and our endeavours. Amen.

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Monday, 11 June 2018 : 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. Freely have you received, freely give. Do not carry any gold or silver or money in your purses. Do not take a travelling bag, or an extra shirt, or sandals, or a walking stick : workers deserve to be compensated.”

“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 are worthy people, your peace will rest on them; if they are not worthy people, your blessing will come back to you.”

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Monday, 11 June 2018 : 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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Monday, 11 June 2018 : 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 the 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.

There were at Antioch – in the Church which was there – prophets and teachers : Barnabas, Symeon known as Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod, and Saul. On one occasion, while they were celebrating the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to them, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul to do the work for which I have called them.”

So, after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

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Monday, 4 June 2018 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, the Lord through His words in the Scriptures reminded us that each and every one of us as Christians must be good and faithful servants of God, and not to fall into the temptations of worldly power, glory and all the things that can lead us into sin and thus turning us away from God, as what He taught His disciples through the parable of the vineyard tenant.

In that parable we heard about a vineyard owner who lent out his vineyard to tenants, to whom the owner entrusted the guardianship of his vineyard, giving them a source of living and place to stay and live in, with the only expectation that they honour their part of the agreement, by paying the rent fee regularly and punctually. This is the agreement that they had agreed between them.

What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? This represents the Covenant which existed between God and His people, that is all of us. Each and every one of us mankind are the stewards of God, entrusted with the guardianship of this world, just as at the time when He created us, as written in the Book of Genesis, we heard of how God entrusted this world and all of creation to the hands of man.

God has given us His blessings and graces, and everything that we need. However, He also requires one thing from us, that just as He has loved us and given us His love and full attention, then each and every one of us must also love Him, and show Him our love, commitment and devotion. This is represented in the parable, by the rent payment that the tenants ought to give to the vineyard owner. The owner represents God, while we are represented by the tenants.

Now, the Lord Jesus used the parable to rebuke the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, many of whom have been thorns in His side, and who always challenged His authority and made His efforts and works very difficult. They were the evil and wicked tenants in the parable, who refused to pay the rent payment as agreed, and one after another, harassed and even killed those servants sent by the vineyard owner to remind them of their obligations.

Thus was how they and many of the leaders of the people refused to believe in the Lord and killed the messengers of God, the prophets, preferring to live according to their own way. In the time of the old kingdom of Israel and Judah, the kings and the leaders of the people worshipped the pagan gods and idols, and refused to listen to the words of the prophets such as Elijah, Elisha and many others.

And then, during the time of Jesus, while the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law professed to have deep faith in God, and were in fact very proud of their piety and dedication, but in truth, as the Lord showed the people, that they did not have true faith after all. And why is that so? That is because whatever faith it was they seemed to have, it was merely external piety rather than true faith, as they did many of their pious acts, in order to be praised by others and to gain honour and influence among the people.

They did not place God at the centre and the most honoured part of their lives, but rather themselves and their ego. They were swayed by greed and worldly desires, and this is what the evil and wicked tenants in the parable had also done. They refused to pay their due and even plotted against the servants sent to them, because they became greedy and filled with desire for what they had obtained and gained.

In the end, the parable showed how the evil and wicked tenants even struck and killed the son of the owner of the vineyard, in order to gain ownership of the vineyard. This is the Lord’s way of telling the people a premonition of what was to happen, how He would be betrayed and condemned to death by those same people who had refused to believe in Him and rejected His teachings.

But the Lord would destroy all those who have not obeyed His will, just as the owner destroyed all the wicked tenants and gave the vineyard to the other, more worthy and obedient tenants. And to whom God has entrusted anew this inheritance, taken away from His enemies and all those who have disobeyed Him? To all of us, brothers and sisters in Christ, Christians who believe in Him and walk in His ways.

Now, brothers and sisters, all of us need to realise that in our lives, God has entrusted us with many responsibilities. We cannot be idle or passive in living our lives, but instead, we must do what we are supposed to do, as the ones to whom God had entrusted this rich inheritance. This means that, each and every one of us should do our best to live our lives as good Christians, loving and caring for one another, just as we love God with all of our hearts and strength.

May the Lord be with each and every one of us, and may He strengthen and empower us, to live faithfully and worthily in His presence, devoting our effort, time and attention to serve Him, as His faithful and obedient stewards. May God see our faith and dedication, and bless us with ever more abundant blessings, and bring all of us to enjoy in the end, the glory and eternal life He has promised us all. Amen.

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Monday, 4 June 2018 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 12 : 1-12

At that time, using parables, Jesus went on to say, “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a hole for the wine press and built a watch tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenants and went abroad. In due time he sent a servant to receive from the tenants his share of the fruit. But they seized the servant, struck him and sent him back empty-handed.”

“Again the man sent another servant. They also struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent another and they killed him. In the same way they treated many others : some they beat up and others they killed. One was still left, his beloved son. And so, last of all, he sent him to the tenants, for he said, “They will respect my son.”

“But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the one who is to inherit the vineyard. Let us kill him and the property will be ours.’ So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”

And Jesus added, “Have you not read this text of the Scriptures : The stone which the builders rejected has become the keystone; this is the Lord’s doing, and we marvel at it?”

They wanted to arrest Him, for they realised that Jesus meant this parable for them, but they were afraid of the crowd; so they left Him and went away.

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Monday, 4 June 2018 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 90 : 1-2, 14-15ab, 15c-16

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!”

“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.

“I will deliver and honour them. I will satisfy them with long life; and show them My salvation.”