Monday

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Monday, 9 September 2013 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

Luke 6 : 6-11

On another Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and began teaching. There was a man with a paralyzed 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, 9 September 2013 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

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, 9 September 2013 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

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 and you may hope God’s 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, 2 September 2013 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we hear about how Christ was rejected and mocked by His own people, the people of Nazareth His hometown. They rejected Him when He came to proclaim the truth about Himself, as the perfect fulfillment of the prophecy of the prophets of God, including Isaiah, who made a lot of predictions about His coming, which was indeed fulfilled at that moment when Christ proclaimed the very completion of that prophecy to His own townspeople.

Why so? Why did they reject Christ? Why did they reject the very Messiah sent to save them? Precisely because of familiarity and their failure to look beyond what is apparent to them, and the failure to overcome their own prejudices and judgements, which they imposed on Christ without mercy. They knew Him to be the lowly son of a carpenter, though an upright job, but a job of the poor, and therefore, in their minds, prophets, even less so the Messiah could ever come from such backgrounds.

Yet, indeed, the Lord who is King of kings and the Messiah of all mankind, was born of a humble carpenter’s family, of Joseph His foster father, and of Mary, the humble and loving mother He had. Yet, He is truly the Messiah, the Anointed One of God, whom His own people had rejected. Yes, the people of Israel had often rejected their own prophets sent to them by God over the centuries before the coming of Christ, and they turned deaf ears to their warnings and reminders of the need to follow the Law of God and turn from their evil and wicked ways.

The same too therefore happened to Christ, that He was rejected in Nazareth, His own hometown, and even long before that, before His birth, He was rejected everywhere in Bethlehem, because all the inns were full, and He had to be born in a humble and dirty stable. He was rejected even by the people, by the Pharisees and the chief priests who saw Him as a threat to their authority and their power over the people, as a rival.

And just as the people had tortured and slaughtered the prophets of old without mercy, they too slaughtered the Lamb of God, the Messiah who was sent to ensure their own salvation and redemption from death. They had rejected Him for a lowly criminal, Barabbas. They preferred a criminal to a king, a criminal to the One who had to suffer for all of their sins, He who forgave them even fully knowing of their actions in bringing about His suffering.

Yes, brethren, our Lord Jesus bared His love and mercy to all of us, and as He lay hanging on that cross, looking with great love and mercy upon all of His people, even those who called for His death, thos who crucified and tortured Him. Why so? That is because He loves all of us so much, that He does not want us to be separated from Him by our sins, our wickedness, and our unworthiness. He died for us and shed His blood that through that sacrifice, our sins may be erased from us and that we have a new hope for a new life, a new life, eternal life of joy in Christ our Lord.

Just as St. Paul had elaborated in the First Reading that the faithful, both those who are still alive and those who have already passed away when the Lord comes again, will rise with Him into heavenly glory He had promised us who believes in Him and accepted Him as Lord and Saviour. However, the question here is, are we ready? Are we ready to welcome and greet our Saviour, when He comes again, or during our lives? Or are we going to be like the people of Nazareth, the Pharisees and the chief priests in rejecting Him?

It is clear, brethren, that we have need to open our doors for Christ, and to welcome Him into out hearts, that He may remain in us, just as we remain in His love and grace. Do not harden our hearts with prejudice, stubbornness, and fear, as the Lord comes and approaches us, and reveals to us the truth about His glorious and yet humble self. Do not be like the people of Nazareth who dismissed Him merely because he’s familiar to them as a carpenter’s son.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today in our world, there are still many people who do not welcome Christ into their lives, and even many among those are they who call themselves as Christians, which I am sure including some of us here. Let us introspect ourselves and look into ourselves, whether we have kept the doors of our heart locked tight against the love of Jesus.

If the doors are closed, then let us have the courage to open it, let Christ in, bare everything to Him, just as He had bared all of His heart and love as He lay dying on the cross out of His great love for all of us. Let the Lord come into our hearts, healing it of our afflictions, of our wickedness, of our unworthiness, erasing from them the spirit of pride, of wrath, of gluttony, of lust, of greed, of hatred, of desire, and of all evils.

In their place may the Holy Spirit of love, peace, hope, and compassion come and reside within each one of us, that we may be truly and completely transformed into a people of love, a people of hope, and a people of faith, belonging to the Lord our God who will be pleased at our faith and who will raise us up on the last day. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 2 September 2013 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 4 : 16-30

When Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, as He usually did. He stood up to read, and they handed Him the book of the prophet Isaiah. Jesus then unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written : “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me. He has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and new sight to the blind; to free the oppressed and to announce the Lord’s year of mercy.”

Jesus then rolled up the scroll, gave it to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. Then He said to them, “Today these prophetic words come true, even as you listen.” All agreed with Him, and were lost in wonder, while He spoke of the grace of God. Nevertheless they asked, “Who is this but Joseph’s Son?”

So He said, “Doubtless you will quote Me the saying : ‘Doctor, heal Yourself! Do here in Your town what they say You did in Capernaum.’” Jesus added, “No prophet is honoured in his own country.”

“Truly, I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens withheld rain for three years and six months and a great famine came over the whole land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow of Zarephath, in the country of Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha, the prophet, and no one was healed except Naaman, the Syrian.”

On hearing these words, the whole assembly became indignant. They rose up and brought Him out of the town, to the edge of the hill on which Nazareth is built, intending to throw Him down the cliff. But He passed through their midst and went His way.

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Monday, 2 September 2013 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 95 : 1 and 3, 4-5, 11-12, 13

Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord, all the earth! Recall His glory among the nations, tell all the peoples His wonderful deeds.

How great is the Lord and worthy of praise! Above all gods He is to be feared. For all other gods are worthless idols, but YHVH is the One who made the heavens.

Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound; let the fields exult and everything in them; let the forest, all the trees, sing for joy.

Let them sing before the Lord who comes to judge the earth. He will rule the world with justice and the peoples with fairness.

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Monday, 2 September 2013 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Thessalonians 4 : 13-18

Brothers and sisters, we want you not to be mistaken about those who are already asleep, lest you grieve as do those who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose; it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus. God will bring them together with Jesus and for His sake.

By the same word of the Lord we assert this : those of us who are to be alive at the Lord’s coming will not go ahead of those who are already asleep. When the command by the archangel’s voice is given, the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, while the divine trumpet call is sounding.

Then those who have died in the Lord will rise first; as for us who are still alive, we will be brought along with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the celestial world. And we will be with the Lord forever.

So, then comfort one another with these words.

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Monday, 26 August 2013 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we hear the woes that Jesus said bluntly towards the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law, and the religious leaders of God’s people, the chief priests and all who were supposedly holy and became examples for the people to follow. Yet, they abused their authority and subverted the true purpose of their works and instead of serving God and His people, they truly serve only themselves.

To be the disciples and children of God is not enough with just superficial and momentary devotion and prayers to the Lord our God. That is not enough, brothers and sisters, as these mean that most likely we do not have true faith in our hearts, we do not have true love, especially love for our God and love for all His children. Empty prayers and rituals are meaningless and do not have any relevance for our love of God.

That was exactly what the Pharisees and the chief priests, with the teachers of the Law were doing in the time of Jesus and His ministry. They were truly influential leaders of the faithful, as no king had been present in Israel ever since the fall of Jerusalem six hundred years earlier, and the exile of Judah to Babylon. Ever since, the priesthood and the priests had taken control and leadership over the society, and in the process, grow ever more excessive in their worldly excesses and things that displeased the Lord.

Doubling their role as both the religious leaders of the people, and also as leaders in the matters of the world such as politics, economics, and others had corrupted their true purpose, that is to lead the people towards the Lord, and leading them in worshipping the One God who loves them. Instead, they misused their authority to keep everyone in check, that no one should overstep their boundaries and challenge their teaching authority, which they claimed came from the Law itself.

The Lord gave His commandments and laws to His people, that they will continue to walk in His path and remain in His love, and that they will know what is love, both the love for God and the love for men, fellow brothers and sisters, the same children of God. Yet, the Pharisees had made distinctions between peoples, and looked down on those whom they deemed as not pious enough, or rather not as ‘pious’ as themselves. To them piety meant strict observation of the Law and also visible acts of piety such as holy acts and public prayers.

The Pharisees paid much attention into their rites and human-made laws. They worried so much and put so much attention into detail of such laws, such as the absurdity of the handwashing laws, which dictated that they have to observe washing their hands entirely and thoroughly without fail, a washing that entailed complete washing of the entire arm, from the tip of the finger towards the elbow. Failing to do such observances would certainly bring jeers from the Pharisees, as they precisely had done on the disciples of Christ, whom to them were not as pious as them, for not following the ‘Law’.

As you can see, brothers and sisters in Christ, the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law, and the chief priests entirely missed the point of having the Law of God in the first place. The Law is not to be followed for the sake of being followed, nor should it be a kind of obligation or punishment, a yoke placed on the shoulders of peoples, that they live under the slavery of the Law.

Indeed, the Law is intended by God for love, that the love between Him and His people become ever more perfect, stronger, and bound with the seal of that Law. That all of His children learn the value of love, and take care of one another, as the same brothers and sisters, children of the same, One God. He did not wish to add more burden to us, after we had been burdened by the yoke of slavery of sin. Yes, brethren, He in fact had come into this world in Jesus Christ, in order to save it, and free all of us from that bondage to sin and evil.

That is why, as is proper for them, the Lord Jesus rebuked the leadership, the authority, and the moral uprightness of the Pharisees, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law, before all the people, that all will learn of the true nature of the Law, and indeed the true nature of God. God is a loving God who is loving, merciful, and slow to anger, and not an angry God who presses hard on His people with strict laws and punishments.

And Jesus Himself made a great example of God’s love, through His own loving actions, teaching the Law in all its fullness, and showing His care for the people of God, in food, in fulfilling their spiritual hunger, and also satisfy their thirst with the everlasting water of life. What is this water of life? It is in all our hearts, brethren, it is none other than love! And Jesus died on the cross, shedding His own life, that we all may live and share His divine and infinite love for us, and ultimately that we may be free.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us ever be mindful of the love God had shown us, through His giving of laws to us that we may remain in His love, and by the giving of Himself for our sake through Jesus Christ our Lord, that we will uphold His Laws, the commandments of love. Let us be loving children of God, and truly be obedient to God instead of paying lip service as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done. It is not that rituals and observances are wrong, brethren, but we must always remind ourselves that we do them not for the sake of doing them, or for boasting, but for the glory of God and for the love of God. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 26 August 2013 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 23 : 13-22

Therefore, woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door to the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor do you allow others to do so.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You devour widows’ houses, even while for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you shall receive greater condemnation. Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel by sea and land to win a single convert, yet once he is converted, you make him twice as fit for hell as yourselves.

Woe to you, blind guides! You say : To swear by the Temple is not binding, but to swear by the treasure of the Temple is binding. Blind fools! Which is more worth : the gold in the Temple, or the Temple which makes the gold a sacred treasure?

You say : To swear by the altar is not binding, but to swear by the offering on the altar is binding. How blind you are! Which is of more value : the offering on the altar, or the altar which makes the offering sacred? Whoever swears by the altar, is swearing by the altar and by everything on it. Whoever swears by the Temple is swearing by the Temple and by God who dwells in the Temple.

Whoever swears by heaven is swearing by the throne of God, and by Him who is seated on it.

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Monday, 26 August 2013 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 149 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b

Alleluia! Sing to the Lord a new song, sing His praise in the assembly of His saints. Let Israel rejoice in his Maker, let the people of Zion glory in their King!

Let them dance in praise of His Name and make music for Him with harp and timbrel. For the Lord delights in His people; He crowns the lowly with victory.

The saints will exult in triumph; even at night on their couches. Let the praise of God be on their lips, this is the glory of all His saints. Alleluia!