Monday

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Monday, 12 September 2016 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Most Holy Name of Mary)
Psalm 39 : 7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 17

Sacrifice and oblation You did not desire: this You had me understand. Burnt offering and sin offering You do not require. Then I said, “Here I come!”

“As the scroll says of me. To do Your will is my delight, o God, for Your law is within my heart.”

In the great assembly I have proclaimed Your saving help. My lips, o Lord, I did not seal – You know that very well.

But may all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; and may all who love Your saving grace continually say, “The Lord is great.”

Alternative reading (Mass of the Most Holy Name of Mary)
Luke 1 : 46-47, 48-49, 50-51, 52-53, 54-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God my Saviour!

He has looked upon His servant in her lowliness, and people forever will call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, Holy is His Name!

From age to age His mercy extends to those who live in His presence. He has acted with power and done wonders, and scattered the proud with their plans.

He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up those who are downtrodden. He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.

He held out His hand to Israel, His servant, for He remembered His mercy, even as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.

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Monday, 12 September 2016 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Most Holy Name of Mary)
1 Corinthians 11 : 17-26, 33

To continue with my advice, I cannot praise you, for your gatherings are not for the better but for the worse. First, as I have heard, when you gather together, there are divisions among you and I partly believe it. There may have to be different groups among you, so that it becomes clear who among you are genuine.

Your gatherings are no longer the Supper of the Lord, for each one eats at once his own food and while one is hungry, the other is getting drunk. Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or perhaps you despise the Church of God and desire to humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say? Shall I praise you? For this I cannot praise you.

This is the tradition of the Lord that I received and that in my turn I have handed on to you: the Lord Jesus, on the night that He was delivered up, took bread and, after giving thanks, broke it, saying, “This is My Body which is broken for you; do this in memory of Me.”

In the same manner, taking the cup after the supper, He said, “This cup is the new Covenant in My Blood. Whenever you drink it, do it in memory of Me.” So, then, whenever you eat of this bread and drink from this cup, you are proclaiming the death of the Lord until He comes.

So then, brothers, when you gather for a meal, wait for one another.

Alternative reading (Mass of the Most Holy Name of Mary)
Galatians 4 : 4-7

But when the fullness of time came, God sent His Son, He came born of woman and subject to the Law, in order to redeem the subjects of the Law, that we might receive adoption as children of God. And because you are children, God has sent into your hearts the Spirit of His Son which cries out : Abba! that is, Father!

You yourself are no longer a slave but a son or daughter, and yours is the inheritance by God’s grace.

Alternative reading (Mass of the Most Holy Name of Mary)
Ephesians 1 : 3-6

Blessed be God, the Father of Christ Jesus our Lord, Who in Christ has blessed us from heaven with every spiritual blessing. God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and without sin in His presence.

From eternity He destined us in love to be His adopted sons and daughters through Christ Jesus, thus fulfilling His free and generous will. This goal suited Him : that His loving-kindness which He granted us in His Beloved might finally receive all glory and praise.

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Monday, 5 September 2016 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Calcutta (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, what the Scriptures brought out to us today is the reminder for us that the Lord Jesus Christ brought upon us a new life, one that is free from the corruption of sin, one that is free from the old ways of wickedness and evil. He showed us the new path to tread on, as we approach the throne of His everlasting grace and mercy.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we heard in the Gospel today, the usual and common argument that often arose between Jesus and His opposers, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, whether it was right and lawful to heal a sick man on the day of the Sabbath. The Sabbath day is a day in the week which is dedicated to the Lord, and according to Jewish customs, no one is allowed to do anything or any work.

The purpose of establishing such a day was so that the people of God has a time to rest and leave behind their work and busy life behind, and then spend some time with their Lord in prayer. Otherwise, they would forget about the Lord and carried on their daily works and thus paid no heed to the One Who had freed them from the slavery by the Egyptians and Who has loved them generously.

But over time, the people forgot the intention of the Sabbath, and the elders of the people, the teachers and masters of the Law ended up using these laws to further their own gains and agenda, and in this manner they have misled the people into thinking that to obey the Lord means to follow the rules imposed upon them without question, even when they did not fully grasp or understand them.

And what was intended for good things instead became a source of suffering and difficulties. God never intended for His laws to become a hindrance for people from doing what He desires of them, that is to do good and be good, to love and to care for their fellow brethren, and ultimately, by doing these, that they may be able to show the same love to their Lord and devote their whole lives to Him.

Doing the work of God is also the same as bringing glory to the Name of the Lord. It is a disgrace indeed if the people of God did not act in the way that God had taught them to do, but instead following their own whim and their own desires, which was exactly what the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law did. Not only that they misled the people and laid on them heavy burdens, but they also stopped people from doing good on the holy day just because the law they made said so.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is important that we realise how much God loves us all, and it is important for us to appreciate that love He has for all of us. He never abandon us in our times of need, and He always treasures us all and our company. Shall we not give Him back the same kind of love that He had shown us first? We have spurned and rejected His love many times, and yet He still offered His mercy to us all. Is that not enough reason for us to repent and change our ways?

As St. Paul mentioned to the faithful in Corinth, let us all also seek to purify ourselves and make ourselves anew in God. Through baptism we have been cleansed from the original sins of man, and thus now, from now on, let our actions, words and deeds be a reflection of who we truly are, the beloved children of our Lord and God, that all who see us may know that we belong to Him, and they too shall be converted to Him.

Today we also commemorate the feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta, whom we more commonly knew as Mother Teresa. She was an Albanian by birth, born about just over a century ago in a Macedonian village, and since her youth, St. Teresa of Calcutta, then known as Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu had heard the calling of the Lord to devote herself to a life of piety and devotion in the religious life. She would went on to join the congregation of the Sisters of Loreto, where she eventually went to India, at which place she would devote the rest of her life serving and helping the poor and the least among the society.

She was touched and moved by what she had seen in the great suffering that poverty and disease had brought upon these least privileged among the community, especially those who had none to love them and care for them. Many were shunned by the society and were considered outcasts. Many suffered and died alone even in the worst of places, in slums and sewers not fit for a human being. And these were the reason why St. Teresa of Calcutta was renowned for her efforts in trying to alleviate their suffering, and ensuring that these people had someone to love and care for them.

To that extent, she established the Missionaries of Charity, where she gathered like minded individuals in a congregation to whip up the effort she had initiated to care for the last, the lost and the least of the society, ensuring that they are treated as humanely as possible, and even in dying, to die in peace and with dignity knowing that they too are counted among the children of God. We all know who St. Teresa of Calcutta is, and not because of marvellous and mighty deeds, but rather because she has endeavoured to make God’s love visible for us all, and make it available for everyone.

Through the examples of St. Teresa of Calcutta, may all of us be inspired to follow in her footsteps, caring and loving for our least loved and abandoned brethren. May God bless us all and our endeavours, and may our every actions and words be bearers of God’s salvation to many more lost souls among the nations, that all may be saved in the Holy Name of God. Amen.

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Monday, 5 September 2016 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Calcutta, Religious (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, 5 September 2016 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Calcutta, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 5 : 5-6, 7, 12

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 the Lord detests.

But for those who take refuge in You, let them ever sing and rejoice. Let Your deliverance shield them, that they may praise You in gladness – those who love Your Name, o Lord.

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Monday, 5 September 2016 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Calcutta, Religious (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
1 Corinthians 5 : 1-8

You have become news with a case of immorality, and such a case is not even found among pagans. Yes, one of you has taken as wife his own stepmother. And you feel proud! Should you not be in mourning instead and expel the one who did such a thing.

For my part, although I am physically absent, my spirit is with you and, as if present, I have already passed sentence on the man who committed such a sin. Let us meet together, you and my spirit, and in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ and with His power, you shall deliver him to Satan, for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit be saved in the day of Judgment.

This is not the time to praise yourselves. Do you not know that a little yeast make the whole mass of dough rise? Throw out, then, the old yeast and be new dough. If Christ became our Passover, you should be unleavened bread. Let us celebrate, therefore, the Passover, no longer with old yeast, which is sin and perversity; let us have unleavened bread, that is purity and sincerity.

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Monday, 29 August 2016 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of the Passion of St. John the Baptist, remembering that time when the faithful servant and messenger of God, met his end at the persecution of king Herod and his unlawful wife, Herodias. It was because of his persistent opposition and defiance against the king doing such a wicked act, that he was put to death defending his faith.

But in death, he has shown us the example of what a servant of God should be like. That is a servant of God should not be easily ready to compromise their faith and the mission which God had entrusted them with, in order to accommodate the desires of peoples and even those who are in power. We should be ready to stand up to defend the teachings of our Faith and the ways of our God when it comes to the time when it is necessary for us to do so.

At the same time, we should know that God is always there watching over us, and He will not abandon us to the darkness, and He shall not let us down, just as He has always be there for His faithful servants. God called those whom He had chosen to be His messengers and bearers of the word of truth which He has brought into the world.

The problem that exists with many Christians today, even many among us is that we tend to be silent whenever there are trespasses and sins that our peers committed among us. Many of us are afraid to step in and make comments or trying to remind them of their sins because we are too afraid to damage or ruin our relationships with them. But do we actually realise that if we do nothing, it is actually just the same as us pushing them deep into sin and damnation?

The examples of St. John the Baptist and the last episode of his earthly life, being imprisoned by Herod and Herodias, and how he met his death is a reminder to all of us, that we mankind are feeble creatures easily affected and lured into sin, as shown by Herod and his actions in the Gospel today. As a king, he has access to every worldly needs he wanted, and the beautiful daughter of Herodias mesmerised him so much so as for him to pledge with many vows everything she wanted.

That is the danger which all of us should be wary of, that as Christians we have to learn to resist the impulses of our desires, or else they may cause us to lose control over ourselves, and even lead us into sin and damnation. Herod’s great sin was that he was not only unable to resist the temptation to get Herodias as his wife, even though she was lawfully married to his deceased brother and with a daughter. And he gave in to the temptations of the pleasures of the eyes and the flesh, and resulting in him indirectly causing the death of a great saint of God.

We as Christians should learn to resist these temptations, and thus, at the same time, also help one another to do the same. And at times this will require us to be courageous and be daring, to take the initiative to point out the errors in the way of those whom we see having sinned and committed errors in front of God and His people alike. We do not need to fear about anything, since God Himself is with us in this matter.

And in the end, are we not concerned that any of our brethren are slipping away from God and His grace, and into the slippery slope of sin and temptations, that they are in danger of falling into eternal damnation and suffering? Let us all as Christians be true Christians, true friends and brethren to each other, helping all to find their way to God, and not be afraid to stand up for the truth.

May God help us in all of our endeavours, that we all, inspired by the holy Passion of the Herald of the Messiah, St. John the Baptist, will do all that we can in order to help our brethren in need of salvation and grace of God. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Monday, 29 August 2016 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Mark 6 : 17-29

At that time, this is what happened : Herod had ordered John to be arrested, and had had him bound and put in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. Herod had married her, and John had told him, “It is not right for you to live with your brother’s wife.”

So Herodias held a grudge against John; and wanted to kill him, but she could not, because Herod respected John. He knew John to be an upright and holy man, and kept him safe. And he liked listening to him, although he became very disturbed, whenever he heard him.

Herodias had her chance on Herod’s birthday, when he gave a dinner for all the senior government officials, military chiefs, and the leaders of Galilee. On that occasion the daughter of Herodias came in and danced; and she delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want and I will give it to you.” And he went so far as to say with many oaths, “I will give you anything you ask, even half my kingdom.”

She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” The mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.” The girl hurried to the king and made her request, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist, here and now, on a dish.”

The king was very displeased, but he would not refuse in front of his guests because of his oaths. So he sent one of the bodyguards with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded John in prison; then he brought the head on a dish and gave it to the girl. And the girl gave it to her mother.

When John’s disciples heard of this, they came and took his body and buried it.

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Monday, 29 August 2016 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red


Psalm 70 : 1-2, 3-4a, 5-6ab, 15ab and 17

In You, o Lord, I seek refuge; let me not be disgraced. In Your justice help me and deliver me, turn Your ear to me and save me!

Be my Rock of refuge, a stronghold to give me safety, for You are my Rock and my Fortress. Rescue me, o my God, from the hand of the wicked.

For You, o Lord, have been my hope, my trust, o God, from my youth. I have relied on You from birth : from my mother’s womb You brought me forth.

My lips will proclaim Your intervention and tell of Your salvation all day. You have taught me from my youth and until now I proclaim Your marvels.

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Monday, 29 August 2016 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red


Jeremiah 1 : 17-19

But you, get ready for action; stand up and say to them all that I command you. Be not scared of them or I will scare you in their presence! See, I will make you a fortified city, a pillar of iron with walls of bronze, against all the nations, against the kings and princes of Judah, against the priests and the people of the land.

They will fight against you but shall not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue you – it is YHVH Who speaks.