Monday

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Monday, 8 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 144 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

I will praise You, day after day; and exalt Your Name forever. Great is YHVH, most worthy of praise; and His deeds are beyond measure.

Parents commend Your works to their children and tell them Your feats. They proclaim the splendour of Your majesty and recall Your wondrous works.

People will proclaim Your mighty deeds; and I will declare Your greatness. They will celebrate Your abundant kindness, and rejoice in singing of Your justice.

Compassionate and gracious is YHVH, slow to anger and abounding in love. YHVH is good to everyone; His mercy embraces all His creation.

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Monday, 8 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hosea 2 : 16, 17b-18, 21-22

So I am going to allure her, lead her once more into the desert, where I can speak to her tenderly. There, she will answer Me, as in her youth, as when she came out of the land of Egypt.

On that day, YHVH says, “You will call Me my Husband, and never again : my Baal. You will be My spouse forever, betrothed in justice and integrity; we will be united in love and tenderness. I will espouse you in faithfulness; and you will come to know YHVH.”

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Monday, 1 July 2024 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures all of us are reminded that each and every one of us as God’s beloved and holy people ought to listen to Him and obey His Law and commandments. We should not harden our hearts and minds, being stubborn or disobedient against God as many of us and our predecessors had done, which had led them all into sin and wicked ways, and which had brought some of them into the path towards downfall and eternal damnation. As God’s people we must truly be wholehearted in our commitment to Him, in doing what He has taught and shown us all to do, so that we are truly worthy to be called as His disciples and followers, and as His holy and beloved people.

In our first reading today, we heard the Lord speaking to His people through the prophet Amos, speaking about His grievances and anger against them because of their lack of faith in Him and their lack of virtue and their wickedness, all of the evil and unworthy deeds and actions which they had carried out in violation to God’s Law and commandments. The prophet Amos was sent to the northern kingdom of Israel, and he was entrusted with the message of God speaking to the people who have disobeyed Him for a long time, constantly and persistently refusing to follow Him and obey Him despite repeated reminders and help from the Lord through His many prophets and messengers. The people of Israel instead persecuted and oppressed those prophets and messengers that had been sent to them.

That was why the prophet Amos voiced out God’s disapproval and disappointment with the behaviour and attitude shown by His people, who have repeatedly committed all sorts of wicked and sinful actions, deeds and works which were abhorrent to God. The prophet Amos reminded the people both of everything that God had done for the sake of His beloved ones, all the works and efforts He had done in caring and bringing God’s people ever nearer to Him, from His liberation of the Israelites in Egypt, to the things He had done in protecting and providing for the people throughout their way to the Promised Land and protecting them, giving them His blessings, guidance and help throughout the time when they were dwelling in that Promised Land.

Yet, they still rebelled and disobeyed God, and God showed His displeasure by warning them of the impending disaster and hardships that they all would have to face as the consequences of their many sins, evils and wickedness. God has always been patient with His people, loving them and caring for them even despite all these wicked and unruly behaviour that they have displayed before Him and before all the other people. This is therefore a reminder for all of us that while God’s love and mercy are truly enduring and wonderful in all of their richness and perseverance, but ultimately we must embrace this love and mercy wholeheartedly, so that we can be forgiven from our sins and wickedness, and therefore gain the assurance of eternal life.

This is because no sin can exist before God, and since sin is a corruption and dark stain on our souls and our beings, we cannot truly experience the fullness of God’s love and grace as long as our lives continue to be overshadowed by sin and evil in our midst. That was also what happened to the Israelites in the past, as their sins and wickedness were great obstacles which prevented them all from truly being able to come to the Lord and gain the fullness of His grace and love. All of their sins and wickedness have to be answered for and settled, and the same applies to us all as well. If we do not get our sins and faults sorted out before the time of the reckoning of our lives, then we must suffer the consequences of our sins, just as the Israelites had suffered.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord speaking to His disciples and to the people that if they all wanted to follow Him, they must truly follow Him wholeheartedly, and they must be ready to face challenges and hardships throughout their journey in life. He told them that the Son of Man did not have even a place to lay down His head, and this is a representation of the kind of commitment that would often be required of all those who seek to follow the Lord wholeheartedly. To us, it is a reminder that we are all called to devote ourselves to the Lord and His path, embracing Him and His way fully and completely, by living lives that are truly holy and worthy of God in all the things that we say and do throughout our whole lives.

All of us are reminded to live our lives in accordance with the way of the Lord, abandoning our past sinfulness and wickedness, embracing Him and His love wholeheartedly at all times. We are all called to seek the Lord, His forgiveness, compassion and grace, all that He has ever generously presented to us. All of us are called to a life of virtue, acting in the manner that is acceptable and truly worthy of the Lord at all times. Each and every one of us have been shown how to do this by the Lord Himself and taught of His Law and commandments through His Church. Now what matters is for us to answer God’s call and renew our commitment to Him, to be a people that is truly committed and full of love and faith in Him.

May the Lord continue to bless us all and strengthen each and every one of us in our journey in life. May He continue to guide us all in His Church so that in everything that we say and do, we will continue to do so with true faith and devotion to God, that we will continue to do our best to glorify God through each and every parts of our lives. May God bless us all in our every good efforts, endeavours and works in all things, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Monday, 1 July 2024 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 8 : 18-22

At that time, when Jesus saw the crowd pressing around Him, He gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. A teacher of the Law approached Him; and said, “Master, I will follow You wherever You go.”

Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Another disciple said to Him, “Lord, let me go and bury my father first.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their dead.”

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Monday, 1 July 2024 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 49 : 16bc-17, 18-19, 20-21, 22-23

What right have you to mouth My laws, or to talk about My covenant? You hate My commands and cast My words behind you.

You join a thief when you meet one; you keep company with adulterers. You have a mouth of evil and a deceitful tongue.

You speak ill of your brother, and slander your own mother’s son. Because I was silent while you did these things, you thought I was like you. But now I rebuke you and make this charge against you.

Give this a thought, you, who forget God; lest I tear you to pieces with no one to help you. Those who give with thanks offerings honour Me, but the one who walks blamelessly, I will show him the salvation of God.

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Monday, 1 July 2024 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Amos 2 : 6-10, 13-16

YHVH says this, “Because Israel has sinned, not once but three times; and even more, I will not relent; They sell the just for money and the needy for a pair of sandals; they tread on the head of the poor and trample them upon the dust of the earth, while they silence the right of the afflicted; a man and his father go to the same woman to profane My Holy Name; they stretch out upon garments taken in pledge, beside every altar; they take the wine of those they swindle and are drunk in the House of their God.”

“It was I Who destroyed the Amorites before them, whose height was like the height of the cedar; a people as sturdy as an oak. I destroyed their fruit above and their roots below. It was I Who brought you up from the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness to take possession of the land of the Amorites.”

“Behold, I will crush you to the ground, as a cart does when it is full of sheaves. The swift shall be unable to flee and the strong man shall lose his strength. The warrior shall not save himself nor the bowman stand his ground. The swift of foot shall not escape nor the horseman save himself. Even the most stout-hearted among the warriors shall flee away naked on that day,” says YHVH.

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Monday, 24 June 2024 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Universal Church celebrates the great occasion of the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, marking the moment when St. John the Baptist, the one whom the Lord had sent before Him to prepare His path, was born into the world, approximately six months before the Nativity of Our Lord Himself, based on the Scriptural tradition that Elizabeth, the mother of St. John the Baptist and the cousin of Mary, the Mother of Our Lord, had been pregnant for about six months when the Archangel Gabriel came to visit Mary in Nazareth to announce to her the Good News of the coming of the salvation of God. Elizabeth and Mary were both recipients of great graces from God, and their pregnancies were both miraculous and wonderful, truly graces and blessings of God.

We know that Mary became pregnant with the Lord Jesus, the Son of God Most High by the power of the Holy Spirit without any human intervention, a Virgin bearing a Child within her just as prophesied by the prophets of God. Meanwhile, Elizabeth was pregnant in her old age, way beyond a woman’s childbearing age after having waited for many years if not decades for a child without any success. She had been barren for a long time, and at that time, barrenness was a sign of curse and lack of God’s blessings, and people put a lot of emphasis on the ability for a woman to bear and raise a child. While Zechariah, her husband and priest of the Temple of Jerusalem and Elizabeth had been faithful to the Lord, they were childless, but God had a truly greater plan for them, as it was through them that the Herald of the Messiah, the one to prepare the way for the Lord would be born into this world.

Initially, Zechariah, St. John the Baptist’s father did not believe in the words of the Angel of God, which tradition assigned to be the same Archangel Gabriel, who appeared before him at the Temple, proclaiming the miraculous events that would transpire, and how he would become the father of God’s messenger and herald. Thus Zechariah was rendered mute, until the occasion as depicted in our Gospel passage today happened, which was the exact moment when the baby, St. John the Baptist was born of his mother, Elizabeth, and Zechariah proclaimed the name of the child, which the Archangel had told him, that was John. Thus Zechariah’s mouth was reopened and his tongue was loosened, and he immediately proclaimed the glory of God for all the great and wonderful deeds which the Lord had done for the sake of His people.

St. John the Baptist was the one who was to prepare the Lord’s path, straightening His path and calling upon the people of God to return back towards Him, repenting from their many sins and wicked deeds. His coming has been prophesied by the prophets, like we heard from the first reading today from the prophet Isaiah, which spoke of the coming of God’s salvation, and how He was going to send His servant, through whom the scattered people of Israel, the holy people of God would be gathered back and reunited with God. St. John the Baptist would labour hard and spent a lot of effort for years, calling on all the people of God to return back to the path of righteousness, and through his famous baptisms, he would gather many who sought and desired for the healing and reconciliation with God. Thus, he was known well as St. John the Baptist or the Baptiser.

Now, on this day as we rejoice in the celebration of the Nativity of this great servant of God, let us all remind ourselves that each and every one of us have been called to follow in the faith and in the footsteps of this great man of God, St. John the Baptist, who has faithfully served the Lord and committed himself thoroughly to the missions which had been entrusted to him. As we rejoice in his birth and coming into this world, let us all remember our own calling and ministry in our own respective areas in life so that we may know what we truly ought to be doing as part of our livelihood as God’s holy and beloved people. God has chosen St. John the Baptist to echo the call to all the people to embrace His salvation and grace, and we have been reminded of this call today.

All of us have received God’s love and His wonderful grace, His compassion and forgiveness, through which He has made us all whole once again, by the works and the loving sacrifice of His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, for Whom St. John the Baptist had toiled and laboured. Therefore, each and every one of us who have been made to be parts and members of the one Church of God, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, all of us are reminded that we should always be in God’s love and grace, attuned to His will and obeying His commandments and Law. There are still plenty of areas and many people in this world who have not yet known the Lord and His truth, His Good News and salvation, and it is therefore up to all of us to proclaim Him, courageously and devotedly as St. John the Baptist had once done.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us as members of the Church are also parts of its missionary and evangelising efforts, in reaching out to more and more people who have not yet known the Lord. In our own respective areas and vocations, be it as an ordained minister, or as a layperson, as a consecrated religious or in any other form of our unique vocations, in even the smallest and seemingly least significant efforts and works which we carry out in proclaiming the Lord and His Good News, all of these are important in bringing forth the works of God made evident and tangible through His Church. No matter how small our efforts or how insignificant it may seem, each and every one of our efforts and outreach, our exemplary lives and inspirations are part of the greater efforts of the Church.

Let us all therefore strive to do our best in our daily lives, to be truly faithful to God, to listen to God and His will, obeying His Law and commandments, following Him in whatever He commands us to do and fulfilling whatever vocations and matters He has entrusted to us. Let us all no longer be idle but be active, contributing and faithful Christians in all the things that we say and do, and let us all be the shining beacons of God’s light, His hope and love in our communities today, that we may strengthen and inspire others around us to come to believe in the Lord and to follow Him as well. May God be with us all, be with His Church and bless us in our every good efforts and endeavours, for His greater glory. Amen.

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Monday, 24 June 2024 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 57-66, 80

When the time came for Elizabeth, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the merciful Lord had done a wonderful thing for her, and they rejoiced with her. When, on the eighth day, they came to attend the circumcision of the child, they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father.

But his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.” They said to her, “But no one in your family has that name!” and they made signs to his father for the name he wanted to give him. Zechariah asked for a writing tablet, and wrote on it, “His name is John;” and they were very surprised. Immediately, Zechariah could speak again, and his first words were in praise of God.

A holy fear came on all in the neighbourhood, and throughout the hill country of Judea and the people talked about these events. All who heard of it, pondered in their minds, and wondered, “What will this child be?” For they understood that the hand of the Lord was with him.

As the child grew up, he was seen to be strong in the Spirit; and he lived in the desert, until the day when he appeared openly in Israel.

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Monday, 24 June 2024 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 13 : 22-26

After that time, God removed Saul and raised up David as king, to whom He bore witness saying : I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all I want him to do.

It is from the descendants of David that God has now raised up the promised Saviour of Israel, Jesus. Before He appeared, John proclaimed a baptism of repentance for all the people of Israel. As John was ending his life’s work, he said : ‘I am not what you think I am, for, after me, another One is coming, Whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.’

Brothers, children and descendants of Abraham, and you, also, who fear God, it is to you that this message of salvation has been sent.

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Monday, 24 June 2024 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 138 : 1-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15

O YHVH, You know me : You have scrutinised me. You know when I sit and when I rise; beforehand, You discern my thoughts. You observe my activities and times of rest; You are familiar with all my ways.

It was You Who formed my inmost part and knit me together in my mother’s womb. I thank You for these wonders You have done, and my heart praises You.

For Your marvellous deeds. Even my bones were known to You when I was being formed in secret, fashioned in the depths of the earth.