Most Holy Trinity

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Tuesday, 6 October 2015 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bruno, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about God and His merciful love for us, especially if we are willing to stop and spend some time for the Lord, instead of being busied and occupied with our many preoccupations, concerns and desires. This is a clear reminder that we should put God as a priority for us all, regardless of other things and concerns we may have.

In the Gospel today, we heard about how Martha, a close friend of Jesus was so busy with her chores and work, that the Lord reminded her, that even though her intention of doing so many work to prepare for the Lord and to make His stay comfortable is a good one, but at the same time, she should not forget about the most important thing of all, that is to listen to the Lord and His words.

That was what Mary, Martha’s sister had done. Martha thought that she was being lazy and not doing her part to help her, but she was in fact clinging to the one thing that she will not lose, and she has the assurance of listening to the word of life, and the Lord will not disappoint her. The case of Mary and Martha highlighted to us the importance of getting our priorities right, as it is often that we lose sight of the main goal because we are being preoccupied and distracted by other things along the way.

In the first reading, which was taken from the book of the prophet Jonah, we heard about how Jonah preached to the people of Nineveh about the upcoming punishment and ruin that God would bring about to the whole city of Nineveh and all its people for all the sins and wicked things that they had committed. But what is important for us to take note here is that, these people listened to the words of God spoken through Jonah, and they repented.

We witnessed the transformation and the effort in which they did in order to seek the mercy and forgiveness of the Lord, humbling and lowering themselves before the Lord, being penitent, whole people and the entire city, even to the animals and beasts, and even the nobles and the king. All of them showed sincere repentance for their sins and they begged the Lord for forgiveness.

In this, yet again we see how God rewards the faithful and those who have shown sincerity and ability to listen to His words and turn themselves to the path of righteousness. Had the people of Nineveh went on their usual and daily business, ignoring the Lord’s message through Jonah, they would have met their end in condemnation and destruction just as the Lord had said.

It is the same with all of us mankind. After our ancestors first sinned against the Lord, because of our disobedience, they have been cast out from the grace of God and a judgment and punishment had been declared on them. And these judgments should have been ours forevermore to, that is to roam the earth in suffering and to perish and death reclaim us just as what had happened to our ancestors.

But God showed His mercy and sent His prophets and messengers, to proclaim the coming of the salvation through which He would liberate all of His beloved ones from the tyranny of sin and death, only if they all would listen to Him, to the words spoken by the Saviour He had given us, and act on them, changing our ways from sinful ones to the acts pleasing to the Lord, and listened to what Jesus said just as how Mary did it, then all of us would achieve salvation with no issue.

Today we also celebrate the feast of St. Bruno, a holy German priest who lived during the time of the high Medieval era about a thousand years ago, also known as St. Bruno of Cologne. He is a truly devoted and dedicated servant of the Lord, who was devoted to the education of the faithful and to prayerful life in service to the Lord and to the faithful, inspiring many others to follow in his footsteps.

St. Bruno dedicated his whole life to the Lord and refused to be entangled in worldly matters. He even refused the offer and persuasion to make him the bishop of the diocese he was working in, as he wanted to devote more of his time to prayer and to serve the Lord’s people without being distracted with the many concerns of the world and with many other obligations that might have disrupted his focus away.

He wrote extensively and many of these writings, the verses and the works remained a source of inspiration for many of those who read them and study them, and his examples and lifestyle continued to become an example for many people to follow as they went on to live their lives in faith. And certainly, we too can do the same and follow in his footsteps.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all devote ourselves all the more to the Lord our God, and commit everything in our heart, mind and body to attune ourselves to the Lord and follow His will. Let us learn to keep our minds and hearts away from distraction just as Jesus our Lord reminded Martha, and let us follow the example of Mary, as well as the example of St. Bruno. May Almighty God bless us and keep us faithful and strong on our way to Him. Amen.

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Tuesday, 6 October 2015 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bruno, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Luke 10 : 38-42

At that time, as Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He entered a village, and a woman called Martha welcomed Him to her house. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet to listen to His words. Martha, meanwhile, was busy with all the serving, and finally she said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the work? Tell her to help me!”

But the Lord answered, “Martha, Martha, you worry and are troubled about many things, whereas only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her.”

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Tuesday, 6 October 2015 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bruno, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Psalm 129 : 1-2, 3-4, 7bc-8

Out of the depths I cry to You, o Lord, o Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears pay attention to the voice of my supplication.

If You should mark our evil, o Lord, who could stand? But with You is forgiveness, and for that You are revered.

For with the Lord is unfailing love and with Him full deliverance. He will deliver Israel from all its sins.

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Tuesday, 6 October 2015 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bruno, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Jonah 3 : 1-10

The word of YHVH came to Jonah a second time : “Go to Nineveh, the great city, and announce to them the message I give you.”

In obedience to the word of YHVH, Jonah went to Nineveh. It was a very large city, and it took three days just to cross it. So Jonah walked a single day’s journey and began proclaiming, “Forty days more and Nineveh will be destroyed.”

The people of the city believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. Upon hearing the news, the king of Nineveh got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth and sat down in ashes.

He issued a proclamation throughout Nineveh : “By the decree of the king and his nobles, no people or beasts, herd or flock, will taste anything; neither will they eat nor drink. But let people and beasts be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call aloud to God, turn from his evil ways and violence. Who knows? God may yet relent, turn from His fierce anger and spare us.”

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not carry out the destruction He had threatened upon them.

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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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Sunday, 4 October 2015 : Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we heard about a very clear message from the Holy Scriptures, at a very appropriate time as we as the Church are heading to a very important meeting between the bishops of the Church on the matter of the Family and Marriage, in the General Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops scheduled to begin today.

It is a very clear reminder sent by the Lord to His servants in the Church, the cardinals and bishops assembled in Rome together with our Pope, that the institution of the holy matrimony or marriage, and the institution of the family are not to be tampered with or disturbed or changed in any way comprehensible. And the Church as the custodians and the Body of the faithful must preserve these institutions as far as they are able to, and support them with all of their might.

There must be no alteration or perversion to the sacred rules which had governed how the Church treat all holy marriages and union between man and woman as decreed by the Lord since the beginning of time, and which Jesus His Son had reaffirmed through His own words. Those who dare to try to alter the laws of God and the laws of the Church to suit the world and to suit their own selfish ends, will incur the wrath of God and the condemnation of hell.

Why is this so, brothers and sisters in Christ? This is because firstly we have to realise that there have been increasingly ever greater attacks on not just our Faith and the Church, but on the very fabric and foundation that holds our faithful ones together, that is the institution of the family and by extension therefore, the institution of the holy matrimony or marriage.

Without marriage and solemn union between man and woman, there can be no family, and without family, there can be no Church, since it is through a functioning, proper and sanctified family, that new generations of the faithful can be born. These are the gifts of God, the gift of life which God has given to the union of man and woman which He had blessed.

And that is why the devil is trying to assault us all, and assault God’s Church, not only by promoting the culture of death, disrespecting life unborn and life of all people, treating unborn children as if they are not living, but he is going even further, and in trying to destroy the very foundations of our Christian communities, that is our families. Satan knows clearly that, if he can shake and weaken these foundations, he will be able to reap the fruits of his efforts, namely fallen souls which he will bring with him to hell.

This is the aim of the devil, who is always prowling about seeking souls to devour and destroy, in his hatred against God and His beloved ones, whom he would want to bring with him to his condemnation. And there are so many of his fellow fallen angels out there going about, planting the seeds of dissent and disobedience against God and His commandments, especially those relating to the sanctity of life, of holy matrimony, and of the family.

They masked their true intentions by persuading mankind to disobey the Lord in the name of free will and freedom to choose. This has been what we know as the pro-choice movement, where countless millions of life had been destroyed in the name of free choice, and then, now, even the world is trying very hard to make it the same for the institution of holy matrimony and the family, by giving alternatives, such as unnatural unions and adulterous relationships.

There are many those, even sadly within the Church who advocated accepting such perversions and such corruptions that mocked the sanctity of true marriage and true families built on the foundation of Faith. They advocated that those who have disobeyed the Lord and His laws by accepting and promoting the destruction of the families and of marriage, such as through divorce and remarriage should be given mercy and be allowed to return to the Church more easily, and be reallowed to receive the Holy Communion.

However, this is what I would call, advocating false mercy and in fact damnation to those who have sinned and disobeyed the Lord in these matters. Our world nowadays are obsessed with mercy and soft ways, and they prefer the soft application of justice and dislike punishments and harsh words, but these are simply ways for the devil to confuse us and to make us think that to sin against the Lord is acceptable, and that He will forgive us easily our sins.

But we forget the fact that just as much as God is loving and merciful, and just as much as He loves all of us, the most beloved ones of all His creations, He is also a wrathful and just God, who does not tolerate any forms of evil and sins in His presence. The devil is trying to lead us to think that God does not mind our sins, or that there is a way to be easily forgiven without repentance, or by simply fulfilling our faith obligations while continuing to live in sin.

No, that is not the way, brothers and sisters in Christ. God indeed does not hate or despise us as a person, and as someone whom He loves greatly and dearly, but He has also a great enmity against us because of our disobedience and sins. He has decreed it very clearly that He has created us man and woman, and He has created woman in the beginning from man, in order to make him complete, because she was taken from man.

This means that without the holy union between man and woman, a man is incomplete, and so is also a woman, who will also be incomplete, unless the two of them are united in the holy union blessed by God. God did not bless them to be united and then to dissolve the union later on. What Jesus had said to His disciples is true, and remains true to this day, that the holy union of matrimony is indissoluble, and no man should ever break what God had united.

God did not mince His words or being unclear or gave alternative explanations. He was truly very clear when He said the truth to His people. Moses only allowed the people of Israel to file for divorce and to break the unity of the holy union because of their stubbornness and constant bickering in disobedience against God and His laws.

These people refused to listen to God and to Moses, and they constantly wanted to follow their own ways. Therefore, in disgust and indignant moment, Moses did allow them to do such a wicked thing, but that meant that each of those who did so risk themselves in sinning against God. It was not because Moses has received God’s approval that the holiness of marriage can just be substituted with a deed of divorce.

But Jesus made it extremely clear that whoever has divorced his wife or husband when that union has been legally blessed and made one by the Lord, that is a valid Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, it is a sin against the Lord Himself. And worse still, if the person who had divorced then decide to remarry again by finding another partner, for whatever reason, it is an even greater sin against God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all use this opportunity to pray, pray hard and fervently for the guidance of the Holy Spirit to be with the bishops and the cardinals, and all the participants of the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops that will begin today and last another two weeks. Let us pray that the devil will not be able to have his way in this holy gathering, and may all who seek the destruction of the true faith and the institution of the Family and the Holy Matrimony be condemned and be destroyed.

Let us all pray for the repentance and the turning of those who have sinned against the Lord by disregarding the holiness of life, the holiness of marriage and union between man and woman, and the holiness of the family, that they may be turned from a path of sin into the path towards redemption and salvation in God. May the Lord Almighty be with all of us, guide us and keep us in His grace. Amen.

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Sunday, 4 October 2015 : Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 10 : 2-16

At that time, some Pharisees came and put Jesus to the test with this question, “Is it right for a husband to divorce his wife?” He replied, “What Law did Moses give you?” They answered, “Moses allowed us to write a certificate of dismissal in order to divorce.”

Then Jesus said to them, “Moses wrote this Law for you, because you are stubborn. But in the beginning of creation God made them male and female, and because of this, man has to leave father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one body. So they are no longer two but one body. Therefore let no one separate what God has joined.”

When they were indoors at home, the disciples again asked Him about this, and He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against his wife, and the woman who divorces her husband and marries another also commits adultery.”

People were bringing their little children to Jesus to have Him touch them, and the disciples rebuked them for this. When Jesus noticed it, He was very angry and said, “Let the children come to Me and do not stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.”

Then He took the children in His arms and, laying His hands on them, blessed them.

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Mark 10 : 2-12

At that time, some Pharisees came and put Jesus to the test with this question, “Is it right for a husband to divorce his wife?” He replied, “What Law did Moses give you?” They answered, “Moses allowed us to write a certificate of dismissal in order to divorce.”

Then Jesus said to them, “Moses wrote this Law for you, because you are stubborn. But in the beginning of creation God made them male and female, and because of this, man has to leave father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one body. So they are no longer two but one body. Therefore let no one separate what God has joined.”

When they were indoors at home, the disciples again asked Him about this, and He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against his wife, and the woman who divorces her husband and marries another also commits adultery.”