Monday

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Monday, 20 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 18 : 35-43

At that time, when Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road, begging. As he heard the crowd passing by, he inquired what was happening, and they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was going by. Then he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

The people in front of him scolded him, “Be quiet!” they said, but he cried out all the more, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped, and ordered the blind man to be brought to Him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the man said, “Lord, that I may see!”

Jesus said, “Receive your sight, your faith has saved you.” At once the blind man was able to see, and he followed Jesus, giving praise to God. And all the people who were there also praised God.

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Monday, 20 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 118 : 53, 61, 134, 150, 155, 158

I feel indignant at the wicked who have forsaken Your law.

The wicked have me trapped in their snares, but I have not forgotten Your laws.

Rescue me from human oppression, and help me keep Your precepts.

My persecutors close in with evil intent; they are far from Your law.

Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek Your statutes.

I look upon the faithless with loathing, because they do not obey Your ruling.

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Monday, 20 November 2023 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Maccabees 1 : 10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-64

From their descendants there came a godless offshoot, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of king Antiochus, who had been held as hostage in Rome. He became king in the one hundred and thirty-seventh year of the Greek era, in the year 175 B.C..

It was then that some rebels emerged from Israel, who succeeded in winning over many people. They said, “Let us renew contact with the people around us for we had endured many misfortunes since we separated from them.”

This proposal was well-received and some eagerly went to the king. The king authorised them to adopt the customs of the pagan nations. With his permission, they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem in the pagan style. And as they wanted to be like the pagans in everything, they made artificial foreskins for themselves and abandoned the Holy Covenant, sinning as they pleased.

Antiochus issued a decree to his whole kingdom. All the people of his empire had to renounce their particular customs and become one people. All the pagan nations obeyed and respected the king’s decree, and, even in Israel, many accepted the imposed cult. They offered sacrifices to idols and no longer respected the Sabbath.

On the fifteenth day of the month of Chislev, in the year one hundred and forty-five, in the year 167 B.C., Antiochus erected the “abominable idol of the invaders” on the altar of the Temple. Pagan altars were built throughout the whole land of Judea; incense was offered at the doors of their houses and in the squares.

There wicked men tore up the books of the Law they found and burnt them. They killed anyone they caught in possession of the book of the Covenant and who fulfilled the precepts of the Law, as the royal decree had ordered. But in spite of all this, many Israelites still remained firm and determined not to eat unclean food. They preferred to die rather than to make themselves unclean with those foods prohibited by the Law that violated the Holy Covenant. And Israel suffered a very great trial.

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Monday, 13 November 2023 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded of the importance for all of us as Christians to be truly attuned to God and His ways, and to trust in His Wisdom and path, and do whatever we can, in every opportunities and time which we have been given, so that we may always cherish all the truth, love and the wonders that God has shown each and every one of us. All of us should always strive to be faithful to God, and to hold strong and firmly upon all the truth and revelations which He has shown us, the teachings which He has passed down unto us through His Apostles and His Church, right up to this very day, the Wisdom that He has imparted upon all of us.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Wisdom, we heard of the revelation of God’s Wisdom, and how His Wisdom has been imparted upon each and every one of us. Through God’s Wisdom, all of us have been given the revelation of truth, and the knowledge of God’s righteousness and the virtues of our Christian faith. However, as the author of the Book of Wisdom mentioned, we cannot be truly filled with God’s Wisdom if our hearts and minds are corrupted by sin, because sin severs our connection with God and turns us away from Him. If we allow sin to lead us in our lives and to corrupt us, then in the end, the Wisdom of God and His truth will have no place in our hearts and minds, and we will likely end up walking down the wrong path, one that may lead us down to damnation.

God’s Wisdom has been freely imparted and given to us, and He has also given us a lot of guidance and help, through His many servants and messengers, through which He has passed unto us the revelation of His love, all that He wants us to know so that we may indeed find our path towards Him, and be fully reconciled once again with Him. God has revealed to us His love and truth so that His light may shine forth and dispel the darkness that engulfed us and kept us from His path, and He has given us His help again and again, so that by the efforts He had made, more and more of us may find our way to Him, and thus, be saved and be gathered once again as His beloved flock, back into His loving presence, no longer separated and severed from Him because of our sins. This is why each and every one of us should always trust in the Wisdom of God and not in our own limited wisdom and understanding.

Then in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples warning them all from doing what is wicked and evil in the sight of God, and from misleading others down the wrong path, as all those wickedness and evils will likely lead to scandals that may cause the faith of those who wavered in faith to weaken, and eventually they themselves will end up in the wrong path as well. The Lord told His disciples and therefore all of us to live our lives worthily, and to do what He Himself has taught His disciples and asked them all to follow and to propagate, which they had indeed done through the Church that the Lord Himself established, and through which He has gathered us all together as one flock, and one holy, beloved and worthy people of God.

The Lord reminded His disciples and followers that they must always be filled with love, compassion and mercy in all of their ways and actions. They have to be forgiving and merciful, and they must not allow their anger and hatred to mislead them down the path of evil and sin. They should always be ready to forgive and to let bygone be bygones, just as the Lord Himself has most generously loved us and forgiven us our many sins, even when we were still sinners and acted in ways that were rebellious and ungrateful towards His love. The Lord has taught us all His path, so that we may follow Him, and have faith in Him. And if only we can have true and genuine faith in Him, then we would have been able to walk righteously in His presence, and do everything that needs to be done for us to follow Him.

Today, as we listened to all these words from the Sacred Scriptures, we are all therefore reminded that we must always strive to put God above all else, resisting the temptations and the pressures, the pull and the allures of sin, of the worldly vices, evils and wickedness, all of which are trying to turn us away from the path of God and His righteousness. We must always remember that as Christians, we cannot be idle in living our lives and our faith, and we have to continue to be good role models, inspirations and strength for one another, in inspiring more and more of our fellow brethren in how we live our lives and in how we do our part as Christians, in ensuring that our actions, words and our whole entire way of life are truly compatible with God’s path.

Now, let us ask ourselves if we have the courage and commitment to do what the Lord has told and commanded us to do, and if we are courageous and committed enough to live our lives worthily in the manner that God Himself has shown and taught us all.

May the Lord continue to bless us with His Wisdom and love, and may He empower each one of us so that by the guidance of His Wisdom and by the strength and perseverance that He has shown us, each one of us may indeed be truly worthy in all of our words, actions and deeds. May all of us be exemplary and inspirational in our every way of life, and may God bless our every good works and efforts, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 13 November 2023 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 17 : 1-6

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Scandals will necessarily come and cause people to fall; but woe to the one who brings them about. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone around his neck. Truly, this would be better for that person, than to cause one of these little ones to fall.”

“Listen carefully : if your brother offends you, tell him, and if he is sorry, forgive him. And if he offends you seven times in one day, but seven times he says to you, ‘I am sorry,’ forgive him.”

The Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” And the Lord said, “If you have faith, even the size of a mustard seed, you may say to this tree, ‘Be uprooted, and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it will obey you.”

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Monday, 13 November 2023 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 138 : 1-3, 4-6, 7-8, 9-10

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.

Before a word is formed in my mouth, You know what it is all about, o YHVH. From front to back You hedge me round, shielding me with Your protecting hand. Your knowledge leaves me astounded, it is too high for me to reach.

Where else could I go from Your Spirit? Where could I flee from Your presence? You are there, if I ascend the heavens; You are there, if I descend to the depths.

If I ride on the wings of the dawn, and settle on the far side of the sea, even there, Your hand shall guide me, and Your right hand shall hold me safely.

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Monday, 13 November 2023 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Wisdom 1 : 1-7

Love justice, you who rule over the world! Think rightly of God, seek Him with simplicity of heart, for He reveals Himself to those who do not challenge Him and is found by those who do not distrust Him. Crooked thinking distances you from God; and His Omnipotence, put to the test, confounds the foolish.

Wisdom does not enter the wicked nor remain in a body that is enslaved to sin. The Holy Spirit Who instructs us shuns deceit; it keeps aloof from foolishness and is ill at ease when injustice is done. Wisdom is a spirit, a friend to man, and will not leave the blasphemous unpunished, because God knows his innermost feelings, truly sees his thoughts and hears what he says.

For God’s Spirit has filled the whole world; and He Who holds together all things, knows each word that is spoken.

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Monday, 6 November 2023 : 31st 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 Scriptures, we are all reminded of what we, as Christians should do in our lives, in each and every moments and in everything we encounter daily so that we may always be truly faithful in all things and have a genuine faith that is strong and vibrant, full of love for God and for our fellow brothers and sisters, in following the examples that the Lord Himself had set before us. Through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, God has shown us all what it truly means for us to love Him and to love our fellow brethren. Without love, compassion and mercy, none of us can truly be called or considered as Christians, as after all, if we are God’s beloved children and people, how can we act contrary to the ways that He has shown and taught us?

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Romans, in which the Apostle how God has shown all of His people His mercy, love and kindness, which as St. Paul mentioned, many among the Jewish people had rejected, and the same love was offered and shown to the Gentiles, or the non-Jewish people as well. This has to be understood in the context that most Jewish people at the time of the Lord’s ministry and St. Paul considered that only the Jewish people were God’s chosen people and hence were deserving of salvation and grace from God, while the pagans, all the non-Jewish people who did not obey the Law and commandments of God in its entirety, as how the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law enforced them, were unworthy of God.

This could be seen in the Gospels and the other parts of the New Testament, where the attitude among the Jewish people, their prejudices and biases could be seen, in how the Jews would not enter into the house of Romans, Greeks and other Gentiles, most of whom were pagans, as according to their customs, practices and traditions, this would make them unclean and impure. That was why the chief priests and the elders during the time when they arrested and accused the Lord Jesus before Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judea, did not step into the Praetorium, the governor’s house, for that according to them would make them unclean according to the Law and hence they would be unable to partake in the Passover celebrations that was about to happen then.

But they have forgotten that external purity and appearances do not equate true purity and cleanliness, as the Lord pointed out that while the Pharisees focused on the externals and appearances, and thought that they knew better about God and His ways, their hearts and minds were still closed off to Him, and they did not let Him to enter their hearts, as they were too full of themselves, their prejudices and pride, which closed themselves off from the grace and love of God, His wisdom and truth. Instead, they chose to trust in their own power and intellect, and hardened their hearts against Him. This was why they remained away and far from the salvation which God has offered His people freely, and how those the same Pharisees had condemned and treated as unworthy, like prostitutes and tax collectors, were ahead of them on the way to God.

The truth and reality is that God loves everyone equally, and what He wants from all of us is not just obedience for formality and appearances only, but for us all to have true love and commitment towards Him, from the depth of our hearts. He does not want us to have a faith that is merely superficial, and like in the case of many among the Pharisees, a faith that is used to advance their own ambitions, pride and greed, which is not something that they should have done, and which the Lord rightfully criticised them for, as not only that they had not done what they had been entrusted to do, in caring for the well-being of the people of God, especially in spiritual matters, but they had also prevented many from coming closer towards God because of their heavy-handed imposition of an extremely strict version of the Law of God, as well as their treatment of those whom they should have reached out to, in showing them the love of God.

This is what is echoed in our Gospel passage today, as the Lord told His disciples, followers and all those who listened to Him, that each and every one of them as His followers ought to show love, care and concern for everyone, and not just to those who are dear to us, or those who can bring us the most benefits. We must always show God’s love to all, including even to those who might have hurt us, or been uncharitable to us. The Lord Himself has taught us this, and the show of that ultimate love is when He has chosen willingly to suffer, to take up His Cross and all the burdens of the punishments due for our sins, and then to die for our sake, when we are all still sinners, unworthy and wicked, so that, by loving us this way and showing us the perfect love of God, He might indeed bring us all closer to Him, and to help us to be reconciled completely with the Lord, our God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore today commit ourselves anew to the Lord, reminding ourselves of whatever it is we have just discussed and reflected upon. We should allow the Lord to show us how we can be truly faithful and committed to Him in all things. We must allow the Lord to lead us in the path of virtue, and in the path of compassion and love, which is what He has shown us, and which He has called us to walk through. We must be always ever vigilant that we do not allow the temptations of our human pride, worldly desires and pleasures to distract us from God and His grace, His path and commandments. We must resist the temptations to sin against God, and learn from Him humbly how we can indeed be good and faithful Christians in all things.

May the Lord continue to bless each and every one of us that we may always grow ever stronger in faith in God, and be ever more loving, both towards Him and to our fellow brothers and sisters, just as He Himself has loved us all so wonderfully all these while. Let us all entrust ourselves to the Lord and let us all allow Him to guide us in the path of His love and grace. May all of us draw ever closer to Him, and be ever filled with His light and truth, His love and compassion at all times, that our lives may truly shine with perfect examples of our faith, focused on God and glorifying Him, and not upon ourselves. May God bless each and every one of us, in our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 6 November 2023 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 14 : 12-14

At that time, Jesus also addressed the man who had invited Him, and said, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends, or your brothers and relatives, or your wealthy neighbours. For surely they will also invite you in return, and you will be repaid.”

“When you give a feast, invite instead the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Fortunate are you then, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the upright.”

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Monday, 6 November 2023 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 68 : 30-31, 33-34, 36-37

But I myself, am humbled and wounded; Your salvation, o God, will lift me up. I will praise the Name of God in song; I will glorify Him with thanksgiving.

Let the lowly witness this, and be glad. You who seek God, may your hearts be revived. For YHVH hears the needy; and does not despise those in captivity.

For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. His people shall dwell in the land and possess it. The children of His servants shall inherit it, and those who love His Name will dwell in it.