Monday

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Monday, 25 September 2017 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Ezra 1 : 1-6

In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, YHVH willed to fulfil the word He had said through the prophet Jeremiah. So He moved the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, to issue the following command and send it out in writing to be read aloud everywhere in his kingdom : “Thus speaks Cyrus, king of Persia : YHVH, the God of heavens, Who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has ordered me to build Him a Temple in Jerusalem, in the land of Judah.”

“To everyone belonging to His people, may his God be with him! Let them go up to Jerusalem with the help of their God and, there, build the House of YHVH, the God of Israel; the God Who is in Jerusalem. In every place where the rest of the people of YHVH live, let the people of those places help them for their journey with silver, gold and all kinds of goods and livestock. Let them also give them voluntary offerings for the House of YHVH which is in Jerusalem.”

Then they rose up – the heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, the priests and the Levites, and all those whose spirit God had stirred up – and they decided to go and build the House of YHVH. And all their neighbours gave them all kinds of help : gold, silver, livestock and precious objects in great quantity, besides every kind of voluntary offering.

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Monday, 18 September 2017 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us today heard about the story of the army centurion in the Gospel passage, where he requested the Lord Jesus to heal his very sick servant. Yet at the same time, feeling the uttermost unworthiness upon him, the army centurion spoke to Jesus in the words we are surely familiar with, ‘Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof.’

In this we see how each and every one of us are afflicted in our body, our mind, our heart and our soul, all of us are sinners who are unworthy of God, just like the army centurion who felt that he was unworthy that God should come to his house even though it was for the healing of his servant. He did so because, probably he was not Jewish but Greek or Roman as was custom at that time for a Roman army centurion, and it was considered taboo for a non-Jew to enter the house of a Jew and vice versa.

How about us? Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us have been tainted by sin, the affliction that is affecting all of us, corrupting our mind, heart, body and soul, our entire being. And it was because of our sins caused by our disobedience against God, beginning with the disobedience of Adam and Eve, our first ancestors that we have ended up being cast out of Eden, the gardens of God, and sundered away from His grace and love.

Therefore, in our state of sin, we have become unworthy of God, and we cannot stand in God’s presence, because He Who is all good and perfect cannot tolerate the presence of sin, just as darkness cannot withstand the bright light of the Lord. All those who sin and have been corrupted by sin are therefore supposed to be damned and rejected, to suffer the same fate as accorded to the devil and his angels, that is eternal suffering in hell fire.

Yet, that was not what the Lord wanted to happen to us, as He gave us all a new hope, through Jesus Christ, the Mediator between God and mankind, for He, having taken up the flesh of man, taking up our own human form upon Him, lies between God the Creator and Master of all, and the children of man. He is the Son of God and the Son of Man, having both divine and human natures united in the person of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Therefore, He is the bridge that has bridged the once uncrossable chasm between God and us, caused by the sins we have committed, which separated us from God. He has given us another chance to be reconciled with God, and through His cross, His suffering and death on that cross, He has brought us mankind back to the loving embrace of God, our loving Father and Creator.

Yet, many of us are reluctant to return to Him, and many of us are even ignorant or hostile to His love. We do not act in the manner the army centurion had done, but instead, first of all, many of us think that we cannot be afflicted or that we are in the wrong. We think that our way and what we have done in life cannot have been wrong, and that we are fine in whatever it is that we are doing. Yet, the reality is that many of us are heading down the wrong path.

Should we let our pride and ego to become obstacles in our journey towards reconciliation and reunion with God? Should we let our obstinance and the temptations we encounter in life to derail our effort and progress towards the salvation in God? We should not. We should instead heed the examples of the army centurion, who despite knowing that he was unworthy, but he had complete and full faith in the Lord, that the Lord will be able to do what He wills to do for those whom He loves.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are God’s beloved children, and yet we have been sundered from Him and were separated from His grace because of our sins and mistakes. Now we all need to realise just how sinful and wicked we have been, how corrupted and unworthy we have been, and then we have to realise that there is a way out of this predicament. It is through our faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, that we will be saved.

Let us all therefore from now on, draw ever closer to God’s loving embrace, and sincerely seek repentance and resolve to turn away from all of our sinful habits and actions. Let us all no longer be stubborn and prideful, but instead, humbly, like the army centurion in the Gospel today, seek God’s forgiveness and mercy, which He readily gives to all those who are willing to repent and desire reconciliation with Him. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 18 September 2017 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 7 : 1-10

At that time, when Jesus had finished teaching the people, He went to Capernaum. A Roman military officer lived there, whose servant was very sick and near to death, a man very dear to him. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent some elders of the Jews to persuade Him to come and save his servant’s life. The elders came to Jesus and begged Him earnestly, saying, “He deserves this of You, for he loves our people and even built a synagogue for us.”

Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house, when the Roman officer sent friends to give this message, “Sir, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy to welcome You under my roof. You see, I did not approach You myself. Just give the order, and my servant will be healed. For I myself, a junior officer, give orders to my soldiers, and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to the other, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

On hearing these words, Jesus was filled with admiration. He turned and said to the people with Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” The people, sent by the captain, went back to his house; there they found that the servant was well.

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Monday, 18 September 2017 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 27 : 2, 7, 8-9

Hear my cry for mercy as I call to You for help, as I lift up my hands toward Your innermost Sanctuary.

YHVH is my strength, my shield; my heart was sure of Him; I have been helped and my heart exults; with my song I give Him thanks.

YHVH is the strength of His people, the saving refuge of His anointed. Save Your people, and bless Your inheritance, be their Shepherd and carry them forever.

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Monday, 18 September 2017 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Timothy 2 : 1-8

First of all, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for everyone, for rulers of states, and all in authority, that we may enjoy a quiet and peaceful life, in godliness and respect. This is good and pleases God. For He wants all to be saved, and come to the knowledge of truth.

As there is one God, there is one Mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, Himself human, Who gave His life for the redemption of all. This is the testimony, given in its proper time, and of this, God has made me Apostle and herald. I am not lying, I am telling the truth : He made me teacher of the nations regarding faith and truth.

I want men, in every place, to lift pure hands, in prayer, to heaven, without anger and dissension.

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Monday, 11 September 2017 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us heard how we should put our trust in the Lord and not to harden our hearts or to close our minds to Him. We should entrust ourselves to the care of God, Who will take care of us and bless us with whatever we need. We witnessed how the Lord healed the sick man, showing His love for the man, and His mercy for the suffering He had.

But there were still those who opposed Him and refused to listen to Him, as shown in the actions of the Pharisees who laid traps to trap Jesus in His actions, hoping that by healing on the Sabbath, they could accuse Jesus of wrongdoing and disobeying the Law, and therefore arrest Him and get rid of Him, Whom they came to see as a great rival in the sight of the people.

Yet in this, they did not do what the Lord had commanded them, and instead, they were doing what they thought was right for them. They were trying to safeguard and satisfy their own self interests, instead of obeying what God had told them to do. They were appointed as the leaders of the people and as the guardians of God’s laws and commandments, and yet, they have not done what was asked of them.

They did not work for the greater glory of God but rather for themselves. And through all of these therefore, all of us as Christians must heed what the Lord Jesus had said and done amongst His people, as He has shown us the example of what we ought to be doing as those who walk in His path and believe in Him. We cannot be hypocrites in our faith, who are outwardly pious and good, and yet God and His precepts have no place in our hearts.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all reflect upon our own lives, our actions, words and deeds in this life. Have we been righteous and loving as Christ has been righteous and loving in all of His deeds? Have we acted in the manner that the Lord had taught us to be, following what the Church had taught us? Have we shown care, love and compassion to our brethren who are in need of love?

Many of us are not taking the necessary actions that are needed for us as Christians to be truly faithful and devoted to God. Many of us think that to be Christians is something that is easily done, and require little or even no effort from us. And if we think that being a Christian is an easy one, and we have not encountered difficulties thus far, perhaps then we have not stepped outside our comfort zone and do what has been expected from us.

Therefore, let us from now on strive to be ever more like our Lord Himself, stepping out from our comfort zone and challenging ourselves at all times to be ever faithful to the Lord through our words, actions and deeds. Let us all do what we can in order to commit ourselves to God and His ways, by extending our hands to help those who are in need, and caring for those who are hungry and homeless, those who are sorrowful and those who are sick.

Let us challenge ourselves to do ever more and do not be disheartened by what we will likely to encounter in our respective lives as we become ever more faithful to God. There will indeed be opposition and even ridicule and rejection for our works and actions, but that was exactly what had happened to the Lord Jesus as well. We must take heart and not be tempted to give up or to make compromises on our faith.

May the Lord help us in our journey, and may He empower each and every one of us to become ever better disciples of His. May the Lord bless us all in our endeavours, and may all of us draw ever closer to Him. Amen.

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Monday, 11 September 2017 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 6 : 6-11

At that time, on another Sabbath, Jesus entered the synagogue and began teaching. There was a man with a paralysed right hand, and the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees watched Him : Would Jesus heal the man on the Sabbath? If He did, they could accuse Him.

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to the man, “Get up, and stand in the middle.” Then He spoke to them, “I want to ask you : what is allowed by the Law on the Sabbath? To do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” And Jesus looked around at them all.

Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored, becoming as healthy as the other. But they were furious, and began to discuss with one another how they could deal with Jesus.

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Monday, 11 September 2017 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 61 : 6-7, 9

Find rest in God alone, o my soul; from Him, comes my hope. He alone, is my Rock and my Salvation; with Him as my Stronghold, I shall not be overcome.

Trust in Him at all times, my people; pour out your hearts before Him; God is our refuge.

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Monday, 11 September 2017 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Colossians 1 : 24 – Colossians 2 : 3

At present, I rejoice when I suffer for you; I complete, in my own flesh, what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the Church. For I am serving the Church since God entrusted to me the ministry to make the word of God fully known.

I mean that mysterious plan that, for centuries and generations, remained secret, and which God has now revealed to His holy ones. God willed to make known to them the riches, and even the glory, that His mysterious plan reserved for the pagan nations : Christ is in you, the hope for glory.

This Christ, we preach. We warn, and teach everyone true wisdom, aiming to make everyone perfect, in Christ. For this cause I labour and struggle, with the energy of Christ working powerfully in me. I want you to know how I strive for you, for those of Laodicea, and for so many who have not met me personally.

I pray, that all may be encouraged. May you be established in love, that you may obtain all the riches of a full understanding, and know the mystery of God, Christ Himself. For, in Him, are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

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Monday, 4 September 2017 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day first of all we heard the assurance which St. Paul mentioned in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in the city of Corinth, when he told them of what will happen to all those who are faithful to God and have kept His laws and commandments. God will lift them all up and together with all those who have gone before them, and were faithful, all these God will raise up together to enjoy forever His everlasting inheritance.

This is the promise which God has given us, and which He has revealed to us through His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, Who is our Lord and Saviour born from a humble virgin of Nazareth named Mary. Through His Son, God has endeavoured to bring all of His faithful and beloved people to salvation, and through Him, God has revealed His love and favour to His people. Yet, as we heard in the Gospel passage today, even His own townspeople in Nazareth rejected Him and refused to believe in Him.

Why was that, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because they refused to open themselves, their hearts and minds to the Lord Who desired to speak to them and to let them know His truth. Yet, the people of Nazareth were blinded by their presumption of knowledge, thinking that because they had seen Him growing up from a very young age, Son of the local carpenter, a job not seen by many with respect, then they had the right to consider what the Lord Jesus had proclaimed to them as something false and preposterous.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us reflect on this passage from the Scriptures and how the people of Nazareth had treated Jesus. And let us also look at our own lives, in how we have related ourselves to the Lord. Have we been truly faithful to Him in our ways? Or have we instead been like the people of Nazareth who refused to believe in Jesus and in His truth? And it is often that we do not believe in Him as we should.

We are often too busy with our daily preoccupations, and we are often too distracted with our worldly concerns, that we forgot about God, and we ignore Him. That is when we distance ourselves from Him and end up falling into sin. We have spent so much time trying to gain for ourselves positions of honour, power, glory and worldly possessions, yet what can all these things bring us, brothers and sisters in Christ?

None of them can bring us lasting satisfaction, and in the end, only God can fully satisfy us, for it is He alone Who knows all that we ever needed and will ever need. He has come into this world to reveal this truth, that He is the true source of our joy and happiness, and not in all the distractions which had prevented us from truly being able to love Him and devote ourselves to Him. And it is often our ego and pride that came between us and God.

The people of Nazareth, a small and poor village, stood by their ego and pride, refusing that such an insignificant little village like theirs could have been the place where the Messiah of God would come from, and less still, to be the One Whom they have seen growing up, the Son of a local carpenter. And thus, doubt remained in their hearts, and they refused to believe, because they had hardened their hearts and minds against God.

Is it what we should do, brothers and sisters in Christ? No, it is not. Rather, as Christians, all of us must walk a different path, that is a path of humility and obedience to God. We should open our hearts and minds to welcome the word of God speaking to us in our hearts, so that we may be able to listen to Him and realise what it is that He really wants us to do with our respective lives.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all commit ourselves to the Lord anew, and let us all be open to welcome His truth and love inside each and every one of us. Let us listen to God’s will and endeavour to walk in His path henceforth, from now on, ever faithful to His laws and ways. May God be with us always. Amen.