Monday

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Monday, 20 June 2022 : 12th 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 Lord, we are reminded of our obligation and calling as Christians to be righteous and to obey the Lord, following His Law, commandments and ways. Otherwise, we shall face the retribution and the consequence justly meted for our sins. In the end, we must realise that while God is loving and merciful, as long as we distance ourselves from Him and refused to be reconciled to Him, even though He offered us generously His kindness and compassionate mercy, we shall still be suffering the consequences of our sins, that is the possibility of eternal damnation in hell, should we continue to be stubborn and refusing God’s love and mercy.

As mentioned in our first reading passage today from the Book of Kings, we heard of the account of the downfall and destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel, as the Assyrians and their king brought their full force and bringing destruction upon Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom. That destruction was presented as the culmination of the many years, decades and centuries of the stubbornness of the Israelites in refusing the love and mercy of God, and in them rejecting the prophets and all those who had been sent their way, like the prophets Elijah, Elisha and many others, to call them to be reconciled with God, returning to the true faith.

Their wickedness and evil led then to the punishment justly deserved by those who actively and consistently refused to listen to the Lord and His mercy. For their constant transgressions and refusals to believe in God, the people of the northern kingdom of Israel faced the just retribution and consequence, of being scattered all around the world, cast aside and humiliated for having lost their homeland and forced to wander off in the foreign and distant lands. They had refused God’s ever generous mercy and kindness, handed to them and given to them freely, through the ministry of the prophets and messengers that God had sent to them, again and again over the centuries, only for the people to reject them and persecute.

But the Lord still loved His people nonetheless and continued to send His servants to call on them and to remind them to return to Him. He did so even though the people kept on stubbornly refusing His outreach and compassionate love. He kept on giving them chances, one after another, until the time of reckoning and judgment, when the sins of the people finally caught up with them. The fate of the Israelites, their capital in Samaria and what happened to the northern kingdom ought to be a lesson and reminder for us to heed the calling of the Lord, as He calls on us to be His followers and disciples.

In our Gospel passage today, all of us are presented with the Lord speaking to His disciples with regards to the matter of judgment and of what His followers ought to do with regards to reminding one another about our respective obligations and way of life. He told us all not to be judgmental towards others and to be righteous in our deeds. We must not allow ourselves to be swayed by the temptations to be self-righteous and self-aggrandising in our attitudes, and that was what we heard in our Gospel passage today, as the Lord told the disciples not to be hypocrites in their faith, and to be genuine Christians in all opportunities.

The Lord told His disciples not to judge others not because He does not want us to judge or criticise others at all. On the contrary, what He actually meant was that each and every one of us must not judge with the wrong intention and spirit, and we must not judge others thinking that we are in any way better or superior compared to others around us. The problem is that, just as what many among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done, they often considered themselves as superior to others, especially to those whom they disagreed with and were biased against, such as those they deemed as sinners and unrepentant. They deemed themselves as the moral compass of the people and refused to listen to reason, thinking that they could have done no wrong, and that those who disagreed with them were walking in the wrong path.

That kind of attitude was what prevented them from listening to God and His reminders, much as their ancestors and predecessors had done. Just as the Israelites of old had continuously disobeyed the Lord and refused to listen to His prophets, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law also continued to show disobedience and lack of willingness to listen to God and His truth, as He had delivered into our midst through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. And what the Lord wanted to highlight to us is the fact that, all the things that led those people into sin, was all their pride and arrogance. Such was indeed the dangers of pride, one of the greatest of the sins that afflicted us mankind. It was pride that brought down Satan in the past, and it was pride that brought down innumerable other children of God throughout history.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all henceforth be willing to listen to the Lord and open our hearts and minds to reason, be willing to humble ourselves before the Lord and our fellow men, and realising that each one of us are sinners in need of God’s healing and mercy. WIthout the Lord and His mercy, we will not be able to get out of our predicament, the tyranny of sin and darkness surrounding us in the world today. That is why, each and every one of us are reminded today to stop hardening our hearts and minds, and turn once again towards the Lord with renewed faith and zeal, so that by all that we may be inspiration to one another in leading a new life of virtue, as well as a life that is filled with care and concern for our fellow brethren in faith.

Let us all help one another on our way towards the Lord, and may the Lord continue to help us in our journey as well, in our perseverance to resist the temptations of sin, especially that of pride, and help remind one another to seek the Lord’s forgiveness and mercy, turning away from the path of sin and evil, darkness and destruction, remembering the lessons of the Israelites and that of the prideful Pharisees and teachers of the Law, so that we will not end up walking down the same path that they had walked. May God be with us always, and may He bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Monday, 20 June 2022 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 7 : 1-5

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples and to the people, “Do not judge; and you will not be judged. In the same way you judge others, you will be judged; and the measure you use for others will be used for you.”

“Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, and not see the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Come, let me take the speck from your eye,’ as long as the plank is in your own?”

“Hypocrite, remove the plank out of your own eye; then, you will see clearly, to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

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Monday, 20 June 2022 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 59 : 3, 4-5, 12-13

O God, You have rejected us and have broken our defences; You have been angry; but now turn back to us.

You have shaken the land and torn it open; mend its cracks, for it totters. You have made Your people suffer; You have given us wine that makes us stagger.

Have You not rejected us, o God? You no longer go with our armies. Give us aid against the foe, for human help is not worth a straw.

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Monday, 20 June 2022 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Kings 17 : 5-8, 13-15a, 18

The army of the king of Asshur subjected the whole of Israel, coming to Samaria and laying siege to it for three years. In the ninth year of the reign of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, exiled the Israelites to Asshur and made them settle in Halah, at the banks of Habor, the river of Gozan, as well as in the cities of the Medes.

This happened because the children of Israel had sinned against YHVH, their God, Who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, where they were subject to Pharaoh. But they had turned back to other gods. They followed the customs of the nations which YHVH had driven out before them.

YHVH warned Israel and Judah through the mouth of every prophet and seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments and precepts according to the laws which I commanded your fathers and which I have sent to you by My servants, the prophets.” But they did not listen and refused, as did their fathers, who did not believe in YHVH, their God. They despised His statutes and the Covenant He had made with their fathers.

So YHVH became indignant with Israel and cast them far away from His presence, leaving only the tribe of Judah.

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Monday, 13 June 2022 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are all reminded that we cannot let the desires in us and greed to bring ruin to ourselves, as the lessons of the past contained in the Scriptures should remind us. Instead, as Christians we have to heed the words that the Lord Himself had told us, that we must not be a people of greed and hatred, of anger and jealousy. Instead, we have to be filled with the same genuine love that God has for each and every one of us, and because of this, we are all called to be righteous, loving and exemplary in all of our actions, words and deeds.

In our first reading today, we heard from the First Book of Kings the account of the encounter between king Ahab of Israel and Naboth, the vineyard owner from whom Ahab wanted to purchase the vineyard from. King Ahab has strongly desired that vineyard, but Naboth refused as that vineyard was on the land that he had inherited from his forefathers. By Law, Naboth was entitled to keep the land of his inheritance, and not even Ahab as king could lawfully force Naboth to sell his land to him. This made Ahab very upset and his wicked wife, Jezebel, plotted and arranged that Naboth was to be falsely accused of blasphemy and of faults that he had not committed.

That was how Ahab managed to unlawfully and illicitly gain ownership of Naboth’s vineyard, and that was a great sin that he committed before God and men alike. That was not what the Lord had told His people to do, and as king, Ahab was expected of an even greater standard and obedience to the ways of the Lord, to His Law and commandments. But Ahab failed it all, and he allowed his wife to mislead and misguide him, and to enforce policies and practices that promoted pagan worship, idolatry, and also the act of tyranny and wickedness as what Jezebel had done in the name of Ahab in persecuting and then seizing the lands of Naboth.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord telling His disciples that while Jewish traditions and customs demanded that ‘an eye is ought to be repaid with an eye, and a tooth repaid with a tooth’, they should not be following that path any longer, as He has shown them the better path, the path that He expected all Christians to follow, the path of His love. The old customs and practices were done in accordance to the principles of divine justice and retribution according to their understanding of the old laws of Moses, which had been misinterpreted and misunderstood by the people of God.

Hence, the Lord came to reveal the true intention of His Law, and to call on everyone to turn once again back to Him, abandoning their sinful ways, their selfish desires and greed, and instead embracing His path and following what He has been revealing and showing to us by His own actions. Through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Our Lord and Saviour, we have seen the love of God manifested in the flesh, coming into our midst and dwelling among us. He did not just tell His disciples to love one another and to show genuine care and concern, doing more than what had been expected of them, and not to retaliate upon being treated badly, but He Himself did as He told His disciples, in His own actions, in what He had done in loving and forgiving even those who had persecuted Him.

For if we recall what took place during the Lord’s Passion, suffering and death, the Lord Jesus endured bitter rejection and harsh treatment from His enemies, abandoned and betrayed, and was condemned to death and accused of a crime that He was innocent of, and even after all that, He still looked lovingly upon His people, even to all those who had rejected and condemned Him, praying for them and asking His heavenly Father not to hold their actions against them. He showed how a true and genuine Christian love is like, a truly selfless and unconditional love, that does not seek one’s own comfort and benefits, but rather, truly caring for the well-being and the good of the other person.

Compare that love and path of life as compared to what king Ahab and his wife, the wicked Jezebel had plotted and done against Naboth. Then we can obviously see what we are expected to do as Christians, in obeying the will of God, and in following His love, His truth and compassionate ways. Each and every one of us have been called to follow the Lord and to walk in His path in the same manner, and today, we also have the examples of St. Anthony of Padua, the renowned saint and Doctor of the Church, whose faith and commitment to God can be great sources of inspiration for all of us Christians to follow in our own lives. All of us should look upon St. Anthony of Padua, his determination to love his fellow brethren, the poor and the sick, as our examples.

St. Anthony of Padua was a Franciscan friar and priest who was greatly remembered for his eloquent and moving sermons, inspired by the Holy Spirit and by the love that he had for both the Lord and for his fellow brothers and sisters. Many people were touched by his personal sanctity and all the efforts he did in reaching out to those who have been lost to the Lord and His Church, and also for those who were poor, sick and abandoned, ostracised and neglected by the society, and he was remembered for his many works and efforts to bring the people of God back to Him, and to bring the love of God closer to all of His people, wherever he went and ministered to.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, just as St. Anthony of Padua had inspired numerous people to follow in his examples, let us all also walk in his path, and remembering what the Lord Himself had done for our sake, in His selfless love and in His desire to be reconciled and reunited with us. Let us all ourselves be the beacons of God’s light, and the bearers of His truth, showing the genuine love of God, His compassion and kindness to all of mankind, to those whom we encounter in life daily, and doing our best to follow the Lord in all of our lives. May the Lord continue to guide us, that we may not walk down the same path that king Ahab had walked, and instead of succumbing to the temptations of our desires, let us all seek to live a better and more Christ-like lives from now on. May God be with us and bless our every endeavours and good works, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 13 June 2022 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 5 : 38-42

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “You have heard, that it was said : An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you this : do not oppose evil with evil; if someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn and offer the other. If someone sues you in court for your shirt, give him your coat as well.”

“If someone forces you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give when asked, and do not turn your back on anyone who wants to borrow from you.”

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Monday, 13 June 2022 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 5 : 2-3, 5-6, 7

O YHVH, listen to my words and hear my complaint, give heed to my sighs, my King and my God.

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 YHVH detests.

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Monday, 13 June 2022 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Kings 21 : 1-16

Now Naboth, a man from Jezreel, owned a vineyard just beside the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria. Ahab asked Naboth, “Give me your vineyard which is near my house that I may use it for a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange. Or, if you prefer, I will pay you its price.”

But Naboth said to Ahab, “YHVH forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” So Ahab went home angry and sad because of what Naboth had told him, that he would not give him the inheritance of his fathers. So he lay down on his bed with his face turned toward the wall and refused to eat.”

His wife Jezebel came to him and said, “Why are you so angry that you refuse to eat?” He answered, “I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and asked him to sell me his vineyard or to exchange it for another one in exchange; but he answered : I will not give you my vineyard.”

His wife Jezebel said to him, “Are you not king of Israel? Get up and eat and be joyful, for I will give you the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel.” So Jezebel wrote letters using Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and important persons living near Naboth. This is what she wrote in the letters : “Declare a fast and put Naboth on trial. Get two scoundrels to accuse him in this way : ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”

The people, the elders and the important persons who lived in his city did as Jezebel had instructed them in the letters she sent to them. They declared a fast and put Naboth on trial. The two worthless fellows came in and sat facing him, accusing Naboth before the people, “Naboth cursed God and the king!” So the people took him outside the city and stoned him to death. They then sent word to Jezebel that Naboth had been stoned and was dead.

As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, she told Ahab, “Now take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the man of Jezreel who refused to sell it to you, for Naboth is now dead.” As soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he went down to the vineyard of Naboth and took possession of it.

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Monday, 6 June 2022 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today on the day after Pentecost Sunday we enter once again into the season of Ordinary Time, which will continue until the end of this current liturgical year in November this year. And today, we also mark the celebration of Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, or Mater Ecclesiae. This celebration began in the recent years commemorating what had been widespread acknowledgement of the role of Mary as the Mother of the faithful people of God and hence, also the Mother of the Church. Just as St. Joseph was made the Protector of the Universal Church, it is only right then that Mary is officially accorded the honour of being the Mother of the Church.

As we listened in our Scripture passages today, Mary is the Woman who has been long awaited by the world, to be the one through whom the salvation of this world would come through. Mary is the New Eve just as Christ is represented as the New Adam, the New Man, through Whom the salvation of the world would come from. In our first reading today from the Book of Genesis we heard of the story of how mankind had fallen into sin because they chose to listen to the lies and false promises of Satan, disguised as a snake, and chose to follow him instead of keeping the commandments of God.

Our first ancestors, Adam and Eve fell into sin because they gave in to the temptations presented to them by Satan. Satan tempted them with the knowledge of good and evil that he said would make both of them to be like God. That desire and pride in our ancestors led them to be swayed to turn away from God and His righteous path. Hence, instead of obeying God, mankind instead chose to listen to Satan and his lies, committed sin against God and hence, were sundered off from the fullness of God’s grace and blessings, cast out from Heaven and forced to wander off in the wilderness of this world, to suffer the consequences of our sins.

However, God did not abandon us or cast us out into eternal damnation, as He could have done so if He wanted it. He could have crushed and destroyed us all by the power of His will alone. Yet, His love for us endured even though we had sinned against Him. He continued to love us, and just as He pronounced what man would have to endure for their sins and disobedience, He also rebuked Satan and proclaimed His triumph against the wicked one and the salvation of man which would come through the Woman. While Satan and his forces would have dominion and power over men for a while, this dominion and stranglehold they had over us would not last forever.

That was already foretold by the Lord Himself as He spoke of the coming of His salvation through the Woman, from whom the dominion of Satan and the forces of evil would be broken forever. This is the salvation that Mary had a role in bringing unto this world, that by the grace and will of God, Mary, as the New Eve, through her complete obedience to the will of God, as contrasted to the disobedience of the old and first Eve, would bring unto mankind, the salvation and new life, new existence in God that they truly needed. Christ, the Mediator of the New and Eternal Covenant between God and His people, was born through Mary, and through Him, God willed to reconcile us to Himself, once and for all.

And Mary committed herself thoroughly to the mission and calling entrusted to her, loving her Son wholeheartedly, following Him and being with Him even to the foot of the Cross. As we heard in our Gospel passage today, Mary followed her Son, Our Lord and Saviour, right up to the feet of the Cross, seeing her own Son suffering and dying for the salvation of the whole entire world. She saw it all, all of her sorrow and pain, sharing in the pain suffered by her Son on His Cross. She has always been with her Son, all the time, and the Lord entrusted her henceforth, to His beloved disciple, St. John the Apostle, while at the same time, also entrusting St. John to His own mother, Mary.

Through this act, we have to realise that the Lord was not only entrusting Mary, His mother to St. John the Apostle, and St. John to His mother. St. John was in fact representing the whole Universal Church, and all of us have been entrusted to Mary, to be our own Mother. We are all her children by this entrustment and adoption, and hence, Mary and her title of the Mother of the Church made truly perfect sense. Mary is truly our Mother, who cares for us and has always reached out to us, and through her many apparitions in the past centuries, Mary has always shown us her motherly love, always ever reminding us to turn away from our sinful path, and to return to her Son.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore seek the Lord with renewed heart, faith and commitment, following His own Mother, Mary, the Mother of the Church, who is also our own Mother. Let us all therefore also entrust ourselves to her, and remind ourselves to follow her good examples in faith, her dedication and love for God, in our own lives. Let us also continue to do the good works of the Church, in evangelisation of the whole world, revealing the truth that God has shown us, and guided by His Holy Spirit, to continue to spread the light and hope of God’s truth to more and more people. O Mother Mary, our mother and the Mother of the Church, pray for us sinners always, and guide us all towards your Son’s light and salvation. Amen.

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Monday, 6 June 2022 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 19 : 25-34

At that time, near the cross of Jesus stood His mother, His mother’s sister Mary, who was the wife of Cleophas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw the mother, and the disciple whom He loved, He said to the mother, “Woman, this is your son.” Then He said to the disciple, “This is your mother.” And from that moment the disciple took her to his own home.

Jesus knew all was now finished and, in order to fulfil what was written in Scripture, He said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of bitter wine stood there; so, putting a sponge soaked in the wine on a twig of hyssop, they raised it to His lips. Jesus took the wine and said, “It is accomplished.” Then He bowed His head and gave up the Spirit.

As it was Preparation Day, the Jews did not want the bodies to remain on the cross during the Sabbath, for this Sabbath was a very solemn day. They asked Pilate to have the legs of the condemned men broken, so that the bodies might be taken away. The soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other man, who had been crucified with Jesus.

When they came to Jesus, they saw that He was already dead, so they did not break His legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced His side with a lance, and immediately there came out Blood and water.