Monday

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Monday, 2 April 2018 : Monday within Easter Octave (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 15 : 1-2a and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11

Keep me safe, o God, for in You I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “O Lord, my inheritance and my cup, my chosen portion – hold secure my lot.”

I bless the Lord Who counsels me; even at night my inmost self instructs me. I keep the Lord always before me; for with Him at my right hand, I will never be shaken.

My heart, therefore, exults, my soul rejoices; my body too will rest assured. For You will not abandon my soul to the grave, nor will You suffer Your Holy One to see decay in the land of the dead.

You will show me the path of life, in Your presence the fullness of joy, at Your right hand happiness forever.

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Monday, 2 April 2018 : Monday within Easter Octave (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 2 : 14, 22-33

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven and, with a loud voice, addressed them, “Fellow Jews and all foreigners now staying in Jerusalem, listen to what I have to say. Fellow Israelites, listen to what I am going to tell you about Jesus of Nazareth. God accredited Him and through Him did powerful deeds and wonders and signs in your midst, as you well know.”

“You delivered Him to sinners to be crucified and killed, and in this way the purpose of God from all times was fulfilled. But God raised Him to life and released Him from the pain of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in the power of death. David spoke of Him when He said : I saw the Lord before me at all times; He is by my side, that I may not be shaken.”

“Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced; my body too will live in hope. Because You will not forsake me in the abode of the dead, nor allow Your Holy One to experience corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life, and Your presence will fill me with joy.”

“Friends, I do not need to prove that the patriarch David died and was buried; his tomb is with us to this day. But he knew that God had sworn to him that One of his descendants would sit upon his throne and, as he was a prophet, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah. So he said that He would not be left in the region of the dead, nor would His Body experience corruption.

This Messiah is Jesus and we are all witnesses that God raised Him to life. He has been exalted at God’s right side and the Father has entrusted the Holy Spirit to Him; this Spirit He has just poured upon us as you now see and hear.

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Monday, 26 March 2018 : Monday of Holy Week (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day the Scripture readings bring us ever closer to the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who would suffer and die on the cross, as we commemorate it in Good Friday in just a few days away from today. In today’s Gospel we heard of Mary, one of the constant followers of Jesus, who came up to Him during the dinner meal and anointed His feet with the most costly perfume and dried it with her own hair.

In this seemingly simple action and what happened afterwards all of us Christians are reminded in this time of the Holy Week of Who it is that ought to be the centre of our lives, that is the Lord, Our God. The Lord Jesus Who came into the world and dwelled among us, is God, and through Him God was willing to save us all mankind from our fate of destruction because of our sins.

And because He is God, that is why, as Mary showed us all, that He alone is worthy of all worship, glory and honour, and thus she used the most precious perfume to anoint His feet. At the same time, this is also a practice which is also done on the bodies of the dead, to prevent the bodies from having bad odour due to decomposition, which also therefore is a premonition of what the Lord was to go through, His suffering and death on the cross.

Mary humbled herself before the Lord, by bowing before Him and using her own hair to dry the Lord’s feet from the perfume she anointed Him with. For a woman, the hair is the most precious and the most important part of her body, her most valuable and prized possession. For Mary to make use of her hair to honour the Lord is for her to give her very best to the Lord, to do what she could, in the best way she could commit, to serve the Lord.

Let us compare this faith to what the disciple of Jesus, Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, said at the same occasion. Judas sneered at Mary and ridiculed her for what she had done, and he mentioned how the expensive perfume she had used on the Lord’s feet could have been sold for a rich sum of money, and the money given to the poor instead. And the Lord rebuked Judas for his comment against Mary, because he was mistaken in his remarks.

First of all, as mentioned in the Gospels, Judas did not make the comment because he was truly caring towards the poor and the needy. Instead, as he was in charge of the Lord and His disciples’ funds and money, he could have stolen the funds and the money obtained by the selling of the expensive perfume, and put the money into his own pockets. He was thus in fact very corrupt in his action and in his thoughts, committing sin against God by slandering his fellow men, and by putting money ahead of God, and by telling lies and having a hypocrite’s faith.

That is also why Judas later on betrayed the Lord Jesus, because he was tempted by the allure of money, as he found the opportunity to sell Him over to the chief priests and the enemies of the Lord, who priced Him at a mere thirty silver coins, the price of a slave. Later on, Judas would regret this betrayal, but it was too late for him, as what has been done, cannot be undone. This is the proof of just how dangerous it is, when we put our selfish desires foremost in our minds and in our hearts.

Instead of following Judas’ example, we should imitate Mary, who gave her all to the Lord. She did not hesitate to humble herself before the Lord, and loved Him and followed Him wherever He went. This is the kind of faith which we all should have in our own lives, not the faith of a hypocrite, not the empty faith of someone like Judas Iscariot, and all those who refused to believe in the Lord with all of their heart, but only paying lip service to Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, as we continue to progress through the Holy Week celebrations, let us all reflect on all these, and strive to live more worthily of the Lord, and by turning our hearts and minds towards God. Let us all become ever more humble like Mary, and love God with all of our hearts. Let us all realise just how sinful we have been, and in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to guide us on our way, that we will always walk in His path, and eventually find our way towards His loving embrace, and be fully reconciled with Him, Our loving God and Father. May the Lord bless us all and our endeavours of faith. Amen.

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Monday, 26 March 2018 : Monday of Holy Week (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 12 : 1-11

At that time, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where He had raised Lazarus, the dead man, to life. Now they gave a dinner for Him, and while Martha waited on them, Lazarus sat at the table with Jesus.

Then Mary took a pound of costly perfume, made from genuine spikenard and anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair. And the whole house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

Judas Iscariot – the disciple who was to betray Jesus – remarked, “This perfume could have been sold for three hundred silver coins, and the money given to the poor.” Judas, indeed, had no concern for the poor; he was a thief, and as he held the common purse, he used to help himself to the funds.

But Jesus spoke up, “Leave her alone. Was she not keeping it for the day of My burial? (The poor you always have with you, but you will not always have Me.)” Many Jews heard that Jesus was there and they came, not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead.

So the chief priests thought about killing Lazarus as well, for many of the Jews were drifting away because of him, and believing in Jesus.

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Monday, 26 March 2018 : Monday of Holy Week (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 26 : 1, 2, 3, 13-14

The Lord is my Light and my Salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the Rampart of my life; I will not be afraid.

When the wicked rush at me to devour my flesh, it is my foes who stumble, my enemies fall.

Though an army encamp against me, my heart will not fail; though war break out against me, I will still be confident.

I hope, I am sure, that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Trust in the Lord, be strong and courageous. Yes, put your hope in the Lord!

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Monday, 26 March 2018 : Monday of Holy Week (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 42 : 1-7

Here is My Servant Whom I uphold, My Chosen One in Whom I delight. I have put My Spirit upon Him, and He will bring justice to the nations. He does not shout or raise His voice. Proclamations are not heard in the streets.

A broken reed He will not crush, nor will He snuff out the light of the wavering wick. He will make justice appear in truth. He will not waver or be broken until He has established justice on earth; the islands are waiting for His law.

Thus says God, YHVH, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread the earth and all that comes from it, Who gives life and breath to those who walk on it. I, YHVH, have called you for the sake of justice; I will hold your hand to make you firm; I will make you as a covenant to the people, and as a light to the nations, to open eyes that do not see, to free captives from prison, to bring out to light those who sit in darkness.

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Monday, 19 March 2018 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate together as the whole Church, the great Solemnity of the Protector of the Church, Foster father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, that is St. Joseph, the husband of Mary, Mother of God and Our Lord. The Church places St. Joseph in a very honourable place because of his closeness to Our Lord Jesus, as the foster father who protected and guided Him in His early years of earthly life, and also because of his righteousness and faith in God.

St. Joseph was the crucial link between God and His long awaited promise to Adam, Abraham, David and all those to whom He has made His Covenants with. First of all, St. Joseph was the legal father of Our Lord even though he was not His biological father, as the Lord was incarnate by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, His mother and not conceived by earthly means unlike that of any other men. Through that legal fatherhood, Jesus Our Lord and Saviour became a descendant of Adam, Abraham, David and all mentioned earlier.

In our first reading today we heard about the exchange between the prophet Nathan and king David, who spoke about the building of the Temple of God in Jerusalem. If we read through the book of the prophet Samuel and the book of Kings we will realise that David had really wanted to build a House for God, and made lots of preparation for it. But God told him that it was not him who would build a House for him, but his son.

In this, we can see two interpretations of what God told to David through His prophet Nathan. The first one is the literal one, meaning that the son of David, king Solomon would be the one to build a magnificent Temple worthy of God, and which was indeed henceforth remembered after him as Solomon’s Temple. But there is a second, parallel meaning that if we read the entirety of the Old and the New Testament, then we will understand it better.

What is this, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is the Lord Jesus, Who was born as the legal Son of St. Joseph, who himself was the legal heir and descendant of David. As such, that was why Our Lord Jesus was also known as the Son of David. When a blind man heard that Jesus was approaching in one of the Gospel accounts, he shouted, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ highlighting this relationship that Our Lord has with His ancestor David, the king of Israel.

And if Solomon built the physical Temple of Jerusalem, the first Temple built in the honour of God and known by many as Solomon’s Temple, then the Lord Jesus came into this world as the Temple itself, for He is indeed Man and God, having human and divine natures united in His person. He spoke of this when He told the chief priests and the Pharisees that He would tear down the Temple and in three days, He would rebuild it again, which alluded to His crucifixion, death and resurrection from the dead.

So, brothers and sisters in Christ, through St. Joseph, we see there is a clear link between what God had promised to His people in the ages past, and what He has fulfilled through Jesus Christ His Son, Whom He had sent into the world for our salvation, by His death and resurrection from the dead. Through His suffering and death, He fulfilled the promises He made to us from long ago, that He would save us from our sins, and we will enjoy forever the grace of His blessings and love.

And how did St. Joseph fit in all these? St. Joseph, just as Mary is, is a role model for all of us Christians, through his exemplary lifestyle and commitment to the mission he was entrusted with by God. St. Joseph was an upright man and a steadfast believer in God, and he acted with justice and with faith, even treating Mary fairly when she apparently became pregnant before she was married to him. He did not want to disgrace her by divorcing her publicly.

But the Lord revealed to him that Mary’s pregnancy was part of God’s greater plan, the long awaited salvation of all mankind, that St. Joseph would play a big part in. St. Joseph trusted in God and followed whatever he was told to do, protecting Mary and the baby Jesus during the earliest days of His infancy, and bringing them both to Egypt when king Herod wanted to have the Baby Jesus killed.

Even though it was not mentioned explicitly in the Gospels, St. Joseph must have had a significant role in the upbringing of the young Jesus, as He grew up to be a fine and healthy adulthood, by teaching Him many crafts of the world. It was indeed possible that Jesus was a carpenter like His foster father, St. Joseph, or at least have learnt the craftsmanship of a carpenter from him.

All of these tell us that as Christians we should devote ourselves and live our lives much as St. Joseph has lived his. We should be upright in our dealings and in our actions, and put God first and foremost in our minds and in our hearts. Unfortunately many of us Christians do not live by this standard, and instead, we take part in selfish attitudes such as gossiping, plotting against one another and being conceited, above all other things. It is even often that we Christians have done all sorts of actions unbecoming of us as those who profess to be faithful to God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us are called to reflect on our own lives, and on all that we have done in our lives. Have we been faithful to the Lord in our actions and deeds? If we have not done so, then perhaps it is indeed time for us to change ourselves, by turning ourselves from our sins and wicked actions, and by spending more time with God, in prayer and in loving devotion.

And we are also called to do what we can to help our brothers and sisters, by being charitable and caring for those who are suffering and those who have no one to love them and to care for them. This is our calling as Christians, following in the footsteps of God’s saints, particularly that of St. Joseph. After all, God has loved us first, and He loved us so much that He sent us Jesus, His own beloved Son. Why can’t we love Him in the same manner, and why can’t we love one another in the same way?

Let us ask St. Joseph for his intercession, that he will always intercede and pray for us, and for the sake of God’s Church. Just as he had been entrusted with the care of the Lord Jesus in His youth and the Holy Family, let us ask him for his protection and prayers, that each and every one of us Christians may be able to draw ever closer to God, and therefore find our way to His salvation. May the Lord bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Monday, 19 March 2018 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 1 : 16, 18-21, 24a

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and from her came Jesus Who is called the Christ – the Messiah.

This is how Jesus Christ was born : Mary His mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to discredit her.

While he was pondering over this, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a Son. You shall call Him ‘Jesus’ for He will save His people from their sins.”

When Joseph woke up, he did what the Angel of the Lord had told him to do.

Alternative reading

Luke 2 : 41-51a

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.

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Monday, 19 March 2018 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Romans 4 : 13, 16-18, 22

If God promised Abraham, or rather his descendants, that the world would belong to him, this was not because of his obeying the Law, but because he was just and a friend of God through faith.

For that reason, faith is the way and all is given by grace; and the promises of Abraham are fulfilled for all his descendants, not only for his children according to the Law, but also for all the others who have believed.

Abraham is the father of all of us, as it is written : I will make you father of many nations. He is our father in the eyes of Him Who gives life to the dead, and calls into existence what does not yet exist, for this is the God in Whom he believed. Abraham believed and hoped against all expectation, thus becoming father of many nations, as he had been told : See how many will be your descendants.

This was taken into account for him to attain righteousness.

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Monday, 19 March 2018 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 88 : 2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29

I will sing forever, o Lord, of Your love and proclaim Your faithfulness from age to age. I will declare how steadfast is Your love, how firm Your faithfulness.

You said, “I have made a covenant with David, My chosen one; I have made a pledge to My servant. I establish his descendants forever; I build his throne for all generations.”

“He will call on Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, my Rock, my Saviour.’ I will keep My covenant firm forever, and My love for him will endure.