Monday

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Monday, 19 October 2015 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John de Brebeuf and St. Isaac Jogues, Priests and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Paul of the Cross, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Romans 4 : 20-25

Abraham did not doubt nor did he distrust the promise of God, and by being strong in faith, he gave glory to God : he was convinced that He who had given the promise had power to fulfil it.

This was taken into account for him to attain righteousness. This was taken into account : these words of Scripture are not only for him, but for us, too, because we believe in Him who raised Jesus, our Lord from among the dead, He who was delivered for our sins and raised to life for us to receive true righteousness.

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Monday, 12 October 2015 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the Scriptures that told us about the Saviour which we have gained and received through Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, Heir of David and the Promised One, whose coming God had predicted and promised to our ancestors, as heralding the beginning of a new time, a time for mercy and forgiveness of our sins.

Yet if we look at the Gospel today, we should realise how sad and unfortunate it is that the very ones to whom God had shown such mercy and love, had refused to believe in the One whom He sent, just as they and their ancestors had not believed in the words that His prophets and messengers had brought. And despite all the signs and wonders, and all the revelations of truth these faithful servants of God had brought to the people, yet they still refused to believe.

And they did not believe in Jesus either, even though they had seen with their own eyes, heard with their own ears and touched with their own limbs and hands, the truth of the Lord as made by the signs and miracles of Jesus, but they still remained hard and stubborn in their hearts and minds. They continued in their refusal to believe in the Lord, and consequently, they also continued to live in sin and committed wicked things before the presence of God.

This is a reminder that God also wants to tell us all, that all of us mankind have this very bad tendency of wanting ourselves to be satisfied, satisfied with the goods and desires of this world, and we are by our nature slothful and lazy, unwilling to walk in a difficult path and preferring an easier path instead. That was why the people of Israel consistently rejected the Lord and rebelled against Him.

Take for example the time when they were in the midst of the journey from Egypt, the land of their slavery to the Promised Land of Canaan, when Moses led them by the guidance of God to the happiness promised to them. During that time, God showed His power and majesty, leading His people out of Egypt with His mighty hand, casting down the Egyptians and their Pharaoh with ten great plagues when he refused to let the people of Israel to be free from their slavery.

And then, God split open the Red Sea before His people that they might walk on the dry seabed, and crushed their pursuers, the Pharaoh and his mighty chariots. And when they walked hungry and thirsty through the desert, He brought them manna from heaven, the bread of angels for them to eat, and large birds to be hunted and eaten, and brought forth sweet and crystal-clear water that sprung out of the rocks itself.

Yet, despite all these signs and wonders, that all of them had witnessed, they constantly grumbled and complained against Moses and ultimately, against the Lord who had been so loving and so generous with them. They did not give thanks to God who had cared for them for so long and gave them so much, and instead they complained with words such as that they would have had much more and better food in Egypt in slavery rather than dying in the desert.

This is to show us and to remind us that we mankind are very difficult to satisfy, as our desires and wants are essentially boundless in potential. It is in our human nature and instincts to want even more once we already have something with us. Thus, this is why we are not going to be satisfied even by wonders and signs, as superficial a people as we are. We like to look at things from the outside appearances without examining carefully the inside and the truth inside it.

To the people of Jesus’ time, they just wanted the pleasure of someone taking care of them, feeding them like when Jesus fed the five thousand men and four thousand men on another occasion with countless thousands more of women and children. But when the Lord revealed what they must do in order to become His true followers and disciples, they refused to listen and believe in Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, shall we all endeavour to resist the temptations of this life, the lies of Satan and all of his false promises? And instead, shall we devote ourselves and commit ourselves ever more to the Lord our God, and walk forever faithful in His ways? Let us open wide the doors of our hearts to God, and welcome Him into us, that He may reveal to us the truth of His grace and love, and thus by our greater understanding of His works and love, we may be drawn ever closer to Him.

May Almighty God bless us all and keep us all in His love, and may we receive the fullness of His mercy and grace. God be with us all. Amen.

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Monday, 12 October 2015 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 11 : 29-32

At that time, as the crowds increased, Jesus began to speak in this way, “People of the present time are troubled people. They ask for a sign, but no sign will be given to them except the sign of Jonah. As Jonah became a sign for the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be a Sign for this generation.”

“The Queen of the South will rise up on Judgment Day with the people of these times and accuse them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and here there is greater than Solomon. The people of Nineveh will rise up on Judgment Day with the people of these times and accuse them, for Jonah’s preaching made them turn from their sins, and here there is greater than Jonah.”

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Monday, 12 October 2015 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4

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.

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Monday, 12 October 2015 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 1 : 1-7

From Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, an Apostle called and set apart for God’s Good News, the very promises He foretold through His prophets in the sacred Scriptures, regarding His Son, who was born in the flesh a descendant of David, and has been recognised as the Son of God endowed with Power, upon rising from the dead through the Holy Spirit.

Through Him, Jesus Christ, our Lord, and for the sake of His Name, we received grace and mission in all the nations, for them to accept the faith. All of you, the elected of Christ, are part of them, you, the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy : May God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, give you grace and peace.

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Monday, 5 October 2015 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard from the Gospel reading the renowned story of the Good Samaritan as told by Jesus to the Pharisees who asked Him about how to live their lives faithfully in obedience to God. The story of the Good Samaritan certainly is familiar to all of us, and we know how the Samaritan man helped the person who had been attacked by bandits, while the teacher of the Law and the Levite passed on by without helping him.

Then in the first reading from the Book of the prophet Jonah, we yet heard again another of those famous stories from the Bible, namely Jonah and the whale, where we would have heard and remembered how Jonah spent three whole days and three nights inside the belly of a whale, and he did not die because the Lord saved him through the whale and safely brought him to the shore.

The lesson which we ought to take away from the readings of today is that firstly, we cannot be idle or escape from our responsibilities, from the mission which our Lord had entrusted us with. Jonah tried to run away from his responsibility of bringing the revelation of God to the people of Nineveh, but he was unable to, as during his journey in the sea, he encountered that great storm that eventually caused him to decide to throw himself to the sea.

And from there God called him to continue his mission to the people of Nineveh, and Jonah went on to preach to the people of Nineveh who listened to his warnings, repented together with their king, all their animals and beasts, and God spared them from punishment and destruction. And then, the Samaritan, who went on to help the man robbed on his way to Jericho, as an example of how God does His works through all of us.

How is this so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because if we act like the priest and the Levite who passed the wounded man by, then we are not doing our part as a disciple and follower of our Lord. That wounded and robbed man represent sinners and those who have been wounded by sin, living in a darkened world. If we just ignore them, then there is truly little or no opportunity for them to attain God’s salvation.

Certainly, if we look at it, the priest and the Levite portrayed in the story of the Good Samaritan clearly did not have any virtue or goodness attributed to them at all. And so, they deserved neither praise nor good things, but condemnation and the anger of God. Imagine, had they moved a finger to help the wounded man, they would have saved him and prevented him from death. Instead, when they were fully capable of helping, they ignored and abandoned him.

Therefore, today, let us all reflect on our own lives and actions. Do we want to be like the priest and the Levite who just walked past the wounded man, ignoring and abandoning him for death? If we do so, then perhaps we may have a more enjoyable and less challenging life ahead of us, as is our nature, caring about ourselves first rather than worrying about the rest and others around us.

But if we do so, then remember well what Jesus had said about those who have not done what they could, in what to expect for them in the day of judgment. Those who have failed to act and help as they were expected to will end up cast away and condemned because of their failures to provide help, and whenever they have ignored and abandoned the last, the least, the weakest and the oppressed. Their place is to be with the devil and his fellow fallen angels, in the eternity of suffering.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, let us all be touched in our hearts, so that we may be ever willing to reach out to help the less fortunate, especially our brethren who are still lost in the darkness of sin and the wickedness of evil. Let us not be ignorant to their call for help, but instead reach out to them to help them find their way to salvation. May God be with us all always. Amen.

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Monday, 5 October 2015 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 10 : 25-37

At that time, then a teacher of the Law came and began putting Jesus to the test. And he said, “Master, what shall I do to receive eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What is written in the Scripture? How do you understand it?”

The man answered, “It is written : You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind. And you shall love your neighbour as yourself.”

Jesus replied, “What a good answer! Do this and you shall live.” The man wanted to justify his question, so he asked, “Who is my neighbour?” Jesus then said, “There was a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him and went off, leaving him half-dead.”

“It happened that a priest was going along that road and saw the man, but passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite saw the man, and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan also was going that way, and when he came upon the man, he was moved with compassion.”

“He went over to him, and cleaned his wounds with oil and wine, and wrapped them in bandages. Then he put him on his own mount, and brought him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he had to set off; but he gave two silver coins to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and whatever you spend on him, I will repay when I return.'”

Jesus then asked, “Which of these three, do you think, made himself neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The teacher of the Law answered, “The one who had mercy on him.” And Jesus said, “Then go and do the same.”

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Monday, 5 October 2015 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Jonah 2 : 3, 4, 5, 8

In my distress I cried to YHVH, and He answered me; from the belly of the netherworld You heard my voice when I called.

You cast me into the abyss, into the very heart of the sea, and the currents swirled about me; all Your breakers and Your billows passed over engulfing me.

Then I thought : I have been cast out from Your presence, but I keep on looking to Your holy Temple.

When my soul was fainting within me, I remembered YHVH, and before You rose my prayer up to Your holy Temple.

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Monday, 5 October 2015 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Jonah 1 : 1 – Jonah 2 : 1, 11

The word of YHVH came to Jonah, son of Amittai, “Go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach against it, because I have known its wickedness.” But Jonah decided to flee from YHVH and go to Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, found a ship bound for Tarshish, and paid the fare. Then he boarded it and went into the hold of the ship, journeying with them to Tarshish, far away from YHVH.

YHVH stirred up a storm wind on the sea, so there was a sea tempest, which threatened to destroy the ship. The sailors took fright, and each cried out to his own god. To lighten the ship, they threw its cargo into the sea. Meanwhile Jonah had gone into the hold of the ship, where he lay fast asleep. The captain came upon him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your God. Perhaps He will be mindful of us and will not allow us to die here.”

The sailors said to each other, “Let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this disaster.” So they did, and the lot fell on Jonah. They questioned him, “So you are responsible for this evil that has come upon us? Tell us where you are from. What is your country, your nationality?” And Jonah told them his story, “I am a Hebrew and I worship YHVH, God of heaven who made the sea and the land….”

As they knew that he was fleeing from YHVH, the sailors were seized with great fear and said to him, “What a terrible thing have you done!” “What shall we do with you now to make the sea calm down?” The sea was growing more and more agitated. He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. It will quiet down, for I know it is because of me that this storm has come.”

The sailors, however, still did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea had grown much rougher than before. Then they called on YHVH, “O YHVH, do not let us perish for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us guilty of shedding innocent blood. For You, YHVH, have done this as You have thought right.”

They took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm again. At this the men were seized with great fear of YHVH. They offered a sacrifice to YHVH and made vows to Him. YHVH provided a large fish which swallowed Jonah. He remained in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.

Then YHVH gave His command to the fish, and it belched out Jonah onto dry land.

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Monday, 28 September 2015 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Wenceslaus, Martyr and St. Lawrence Ruiz and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the Lord our God who proclaimed His salvation to the nations, to all of His people who had long been oppressed and under slavery, that by His own mighty power, He would deliver us all from our slavery, that is the slavery to sin and death. He had promised this to all of us, and fulfilled it perfectly through His Son, Jesus Christ.

As what He had said to the prophet Zechariah, which we witnessed in our first reading today, God was indeed angry against all of us His people, and He despised all of our sins and wickedness. That was why He cast all of us out of His grace and blessings through our ancestors, Adam and Eve, who was cast out of the bliss of the Gardens of Eden, and had no choice but to endure and to suffer the bitter sufferings in the world.

But it did not mean that the Lord did not care about us or that He was plotting our destruction. Certainly, it is within His power to completely obliterate us out of creation and the world had He followed only His justice. It was truly just indeed for us all to suffer destruction and death as a consequence for our sins, and we truly deserved to fall into hell for eternity, which had been prepared for Satan and his angels.

It was the love He has for us, the endless and boundless love that had prevented Him from casting us out completely, and He was willing to give us another chance. This is a privilege that He did not give even Satan, once Lucifer, who was condemned once and for all for his rebellion against God, and cast down out of heaven to the earth. It is a privilege that we have received to be able to atone for our sins and be forgiven.

And the Lord Himself proclaimed His salvation that would come where the faithful and devoted ones would receive succour and rescue from the darkness and the suffering of this world, and this was perfectly fulfilled by the coming of the Messiah, none other than the Word of God Himself, made flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord. By His crucifixion, the death He suffered on the cross, He had made us all whole once again, and by His resurrection from death, He brought us all a new hope.

But, He also reminded all of us through His disciples that those who believe in Him and follow Him will also suffer as He had suffered, and the world would reject them just as it had first rejected Jesus. This is because the world is the dominion of the fallen angel, our great enemy, Satan, who had seduced the entire race of mankind into sin and disobedience against God. Certainly he would not want us to be lost to him and be saved.

That is why, today we celebrate the memory, life and death of great followers of our Lord, who had endeavoured and worked hard to spread the Good News of the Gospel, and gave their lives in the service of God in holy martyrdom. St. Wenceslaus, martyr of the faith in Bohemia, now known as the Czech Republic, and St. Lawrence Ruiz, also known as St. Lorenzo Ruiz, the first Filipino saint and his companions, the holy martyrs of Japan.

All of them suffered the rejection of the world and the persecution and torture by those who opposed the Lord and His ways. St. Wenceslaus was the ruler of Bohemia, whose rule was particularly remembered as one that was filled with justice and righteousness, and St. Wenceslaus was very committed to his role as the leader of his people, serving them as best as he could.

St. Wenceslaus however encountered great opposition by the nobles and the rich landed members of the Bohemian society, some of whom were still pagans and unbelievers, and most importantly, they all were united in their opposition to the ways and rulership. They wanted to satisfy their own wants and wishes, and they wanted to maintain the privileges and good things they had.

Therefore, they plotted against St. Wenceslaus, and eventually managed to murder him with the help of the brother of St. Wenceslaus, who benefitted by becoming his successor as the ruler of Bohemia. However, the sin of murdering such a holy servant of God was truly great, and it was not until that brother repented and atoned for his sins that he was truly welcomed back once again into the Church of God.

Meanwhile, St. Lawrence Ruiz was a Filipino who escaped to Japan during the time about more than four hundred years ago, when he was wrongly accused of the murder of a local magistrate. He boarded a ship destined for Japan, and then over there, he joined the thriving local Christian community, which at that time was tolerated and in some places, the local lords even converted to the true faith in God.

But, good times did not last long, as the mood of the government of Japan at the time changed, and under the new Tokugawa shogunate, the Christians were no longer tolerated and instead, they were persecuted and forced to choose between denying the Lord and recanting their faith, or to die a most gruesome and painful death should they choose to remain faithful in the Lord.

St. Lawrence Ruiz and many other Christians refused to deny their Lord and Master, and they refused to abandon their faith, even under the torture and the certainty of painful death. They held their faith with great pride, and they went to their martyrdom with great faith, that the Lord who is ever loving and ever faithful to those who believe in Him, will grant them everlasting glory and life with Him.

Indeed, the example of these saints we have just heard should become an inspiration to all of us as well. The way that they have lived their lives and the way that they have stood up for their faith and for God should be examples for us all to follow as well. We have to live righteously and follow the way of the Lord as He had taught us and revealed to us through His Church, obey all of His commandments and be true disciples and true shining beacons of the Faith.

Let us all reflect on this, and try our best to implement all these in our own lives. God loves us, and He wants to save us and forgive us all of our sins and trespasses, but our sins continue to come in the way between us and Him, and the only way forward is for us to repent and change our ways, sin no more and trust in Him and follow Him with all of our might. May God bless us all. Amen.