Monday

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Monday, 6 November 2017 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 14 : 12-14

At that time, Jesus also addressed the man who had invited Him, and said, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends, or your brothers and relatives, or your wealthy neighbours. For surely they will also invite you in return, and you will be repaid.”

“When you give a feast, invite instead the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Fortunate are you then, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the upright.”

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Monday, 6 November 2017 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 68 : 30-31, 33-34, 36-37

But I myself, am humbled and wounded; Your salvation, o God, will lift me up. I will praise the Name of God in song; I will glorify Him with thanksgiving.

Let the lowly witness this, and be glad. You who seek God, may your hearts be revived. For YHVH hears the needy; and does not despise those in captivity.

For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. His people shall dwell in the land and possess it. The children of His servants shall inherit it, and those who love His Name will dwell in it.

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Monday, 6 November 2017 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 11 : 29-36

Because the call of God, and His gifts, cannot be nullified. Through the disobedience of the Jews, the mercy of God came to you who did not obey God. They, in turn, will receive mercy, in due time, after this disobedience, that brought God’s mercy to you. So, God has submitted all to disobedience, in order to show His mercy to all.

How deep are the riches, the wisdom and knowledge of God! His decisions cannot be explained, nor His ways understood! Who has ever known God’s thoughts? Who has ever been His adviser? Who has given Him something first, so that God had to repay him? For everything comes from Him, has been made by Him and has to return to Him. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.

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Monday, 30 October 2017 : 30th 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 God from the Sacred Scriptures, and we are reminded that first of all, God is our loving Father, the One Who created us and cared for us, every single moments of our lives. Yet, many of us are unaware of this love which God has for everyone. In fact, we even doubted His love.

That is why today each and every one of us are called to remember our nature as the sons and daughters of God, as those whom God had called from the world, and chosen to become enlightened and as children of the light, turning away from all the darkness of our lives in this world. God wants each and every one of His children to be united with Him, and to receive the fullness of His love, and that is why we heard what happened in the Gospel today.

Jesus healed a woman who had been sick for eighteen years, because she was possessed by evil spirits, who kept her chained to the darkness and made her to suffer. God, seeing one of His children suffering in that manner certainly was moved to mercy and to the desire to forgive her from her faults and sins. That was why, Jesus stretched out His hands and cast the evil spirits from the woman, even though it was a Sabbath day, a day when according to the Jewish traditions and rules, it was forbidden to do anything.

But that was exactly why we have ended up being disobedient and distant from God, because we no longer do what is necessary for us to draw closer to God, our loving Father. Instead, we become distracted and are drawn away by our own temptations of greed, personal desires and ambition, and many more things that have become obstacles in our journey towards the Lord.

For example, as mentioned, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law immediately criticised Jesus the moment He performed the healing on the woman. They rebuked Him and protested that Jesus had disobeyed the laws of the Sabbath. But that was exactly because they failed to understand the true meaning of the Sabbath day, its intention and purpose when the Lord instructed His people to keep it holy.

The Sabbath is a day set aside in the week, much as Sundays are for us now, to be a holy day of the Lord, when the people would set aside their daily businesses and occupations, and instead focused their attention and commitment to the Lord. That is the true intention why the Lord instituted the Sabbath, much like the Sundays we have. Yet, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law have enforced the rules without proper understanding of the meaning and purpose.

Instead, they have ended up glorifying themselves and made use of the Sabbath as means to show the people that they were devout and holy. To them, if someone is to obey the entirety of the Sabbath rules, by staying dormant and inactive throughout the day, not even doing what is good, ignoring the needs of the poor and those who are in need of assistance, then they were considered holy and pious.

But Jesus our Lord made things straight, and plainly spoke to them, rebuking their wrong attitudes and thoughts, reminding them that God loves all of His children, and desires that each and every one of them should be saved and freed from the bondage and slavery to sin. To that extent, He reminded the people that the Sabbath was created for the people of God, as way to ensure and encourage them to give themselves to God, to reorientate themselves and refocus their attention to God.

If God has loved us so dearly and if He had generously given His care and attention, then it is only right and just that we also love Him in the same manner. But this is easier said than done. As the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had shown, there are always many reasons for us mankind to make excuses when we are supposed to love God. And especially when God is not at the centre of our lives, then we will end up drifting away from Him, and we will be lost from Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have, therefore, this important takeaway today, that all of us should come to realise more in our very own lives, just how loving and caring God has been for us, in various occasions in our lives, be it in good times or in not so good times, or at the time when we are lonely and troubled. God is and has always been there, caring for us and showing His love for us. Can we not love Him back in the same manner?

Let us all therefore love the Lord our God more wholeheartedly from now on, devoting ourselves, our time and effort to care for our needy brethren, because we must remember that, as the Lord Himself said, that whatever we have done for the least, the last and the weakest among our brethren, we have done it for the Lord Himself. May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to guide our paths in the way towards His everlasting love and grace. Amen.

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Monday, 30 October 2017 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 13 : 10-17

At that time, Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath, and a crippled woman was there. An evil spirit had kept her bent for eighteen years, so that she could not straighten up at all. On seeing her, Jesus called her and said, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” Then He laid His hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight and praised God.

But the ruler of the synagogue was indignant, because Jesus had performed this healing on the Sabbath day, and he said to the people, “There are six days in which to work. Come on those days to be healed, and not on the Sabbath!”

But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Everyone of you unties his ox or his donkey on the Sabbath, and leads it out of the barn to give it water. And here you have a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound for eighteen years. Should she not be freed from her bonds on the Sabbath?”

When Jesus said this, all His opponents felt ashamed. But the people rejoiced at the many wonderful things that happened because of Him.

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Monday, 30 October 2017 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 67 : 2 and 4, 6-7ab, 20-21

Arise, o God, scatter Your enemies; let Your foes flee before You. But let the righteous be glad and exult before God; let them sing to God and shout for joy.

Father of orphans and Protector of widows – such is our God in His holy dwelling. He gives shelter to the homeless, sets the prisoners free.

Blessed be the Lord, God, our Saviour, Who daily bears our burdens! Ours is a God Who saves; our YHVH lets us escape from death.

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Monday, 30 October 2017 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 8 : 12-17

Then, brothers, let us leave the flesh and no longer live according to it. If not, we will die. Rather, walking in the spirit, let us put to death the body’s deeds, so that we may live. All those who walk in the Spirit of God are sons and daughters of God.

Then, no more fear : you did not receive a spirit of slavery, but the spirit that makes you sons and daughters, and every time, we cry, “Abba! (this means Dad!) Father!” the Spirit assures our spirit, that we are sons and daughters of God. If we are children, we are heirs, too. Ours will be the inheritance of God, and we will share it with Christ; for, if we now suffer with Him, we will also share glory with Him.

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Monday, 23 October 2017 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John of Capestrano, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s Scripture readings we are presented with two very interesting contrasts in the passages we heard, both involving very rich men, who had plenty in worldly terms, blessed by God in all that they do, bountiful with all sorts of wealth and possessions, yet with very different outcomes.

In the Old Testament, we heard how Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites and father of many nations was mentioned. Then in the Gospel, we heard the Lord Jesus telling us in a parable about a rich man who had plenty of grains stored in numerous granaries, earning him great amount of riches and wealth.

But the contrast lie in the fact that while Abraham put his trust and faith in God, as he was ready to leave behind everything in the land of his ancestors to travel into an uncharted territory solely based on God’s call, the rich man mentioned in the Gospel had trust only in himself and in his riches. The rich man mentioned in the Gospel was happy with his many riches, but not satisfied, because he wanted to have more.

Abraham placed his trust and faith in God, believing that in all he has received, all of them were due to the grace and blessings from God. He was satisfied in what he had received and was willing to give back to God what He deserved, that is his love and commitment. That was why God blessed him and chose him among many others, to be the father of many nations and as the progenitor of the race of the first chosen people of God.

The rich man in the Gospel put his trust in his wealth and possessions, and loved them more than his love for God. He was thinking about them all the time, worrying that he would not have enough barns to store all of his grains and not enough storehouses to contain all of his wealth. But God rebuked him, saying that all that he had gained would be for nothing, as if his life was to be taken away that very night, all the wealth and possessions he had would not save him.

It is therefore an important reminder for each and every one of us, that we should realise that the true treasure of our life lies in God alone, and in God we have that inheritance and promise of eternal glory that last forever, and not temporary in nature. Meanwhile, all kinds of worldly assurances and matters can be easily destroyed and perish, and if we put our trust in these, we will only be disappointed in the end.

Let us all therefore spend some time to reflect on our lives. Let us all think on how we have led our lives thus far, on whether we have spent too much time trying to assemble for ourselves worldly glories, fame, wealth and renown, to the point that we have forgotten what it is that we really should be doing with our lives. We should devote ourselves, our effort, our time and attention to the Lord, so that in all the things we do, we do not do them for our own selfish gains, but for the greater glory of God.

Today, we celebrate the feast day of St. John of Capestrano, a renowned holy man and priest, who was a Franciscan friar and preacher, giving himself wholeheartedly to the Lord, abandoning behind all forms of worldly glory, as he was once an influential ruler and governor of the province of Perugia in Italy. He left everything behind and joined the Franciscan order to serve the greater purpose of God, trusting everything to Him.

St. John of Capestrano travelled through many cities and villages throughout Europe, preaching against heresies and excesses of human nature. He called many people to repent from their sins and to turn once again towards God. He was also involved in many embassies sent by the Pope to the rulers of Christendom, going from place to place to combat heresies as well as to settle matters of state, or broker peace between kingdoms and rulers.

The examples shown by St. John of Capestrano should inspire us all as Christians, that we should put God ahead of everything else in our lives. There will indeed be plenty of temptations urging us to do otherwise, but we will do well in obeying God and putting our trust in Him, as Abraham our father in faith, St. John of Capestrano and the many other holy saints had done in their lives.

Let us all therefore renew our commitment to God, by learning to be faithful in all the things we do in life, by trusting God in each and every moment of our lives, and by learning to let go of the temptations of material goods, wealth and all other things that do bring us temporary pleasure and happiness, but in the end, bring us only to disappointment and become obstacles in our journey to reach out to true happiness found in God alone.

May the Lord bless us always, and may He continue to guide us in our path, that in our journey towards Him, we shall be able to draw closer to Him and find justification through our faith and commitment in Him. Amen.

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Monday, 23 October 2017 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John of Capestrano, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Luke 12 : 13-21

At that time, someone in the crowd spoke to Jesus, “Master, tell my brother to share with me the family inheritance.” He replied, “My friend, who has appointed Me as your Judge or your Attorney?” Then Jesus said to the people, “Be on your guard and avoid every kind of greed, for even though you have many possessions, it is not that which gives you life.”

And Jesus continued, “There was a rich man, and his land had produced a good harvest. He thought, ‘What shall I do, for I am short of room to store my harvest? Alright, I know what I shall do : I will pull down my barns and I will build bigger ones, to store all this grain, which is my wealth. Then I will say to myself : My friend, you have a lot of good things put by for many years. Rest, eat, drink and enjoy yourself.'”

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be taken from you. Tell Me, who shall get all you have put aside?’ This is the lot of the one who stores up riches for himself and is not wealthy in the eyes of God.”

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Monday, 23 October 2017 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John of Capestrano, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Luke 1 : 69-70, 71-72, 73-75

In the house of David His servant, He has raised up for us a victorious Saviour; as He promised through His prophets of old.

Salvation from our enemies and from the hand of our foes. He has shown mercy to our fathers; and remembered His holy Covenant.

The oath He swore to Abraham, our father, to deliver us from the enemy, that we might serve Him fearlessly, as a holy and righteous people, all the days of our lives.