Ordinary Time season

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Wednesday, 1 November 2023 : Solemnity of All Saints (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 5 : 1-12a

At that time, when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up the mountain. He sat down and His disciples gathered around Him. Then He spoke and began to teach them :

“Fortunate are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Fortunate are those who mourn; they shall be comforted. Fortunate are the gentle; they shall possess the land.”

“Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied. Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy. Fortunate are those with pure hearts, for they shall see God.”

“Fortunate are those who work for peace; they shall be called children of God. Fortunate are those who are persecuted for the cause of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”

“Fortunate are you, when people insult you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you because you are My followers. Be glad and joyful, for a great reward is kept for you in God.”

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Wednesday, 1 November 2023 : Solemnity of All Saints (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 3 : 1-3

See what singular love the Father has for us : we are called children of God, and we really are. This is why the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

Beloved, we are God’s children, and what we shall be has not, yet, been shown. Yet, when He appears in His glory, we know, that we shall be like Him, for, then, we shall see Him as He is. All who have such a hope, try to be pure, as He is pure.

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Wednesday, 1 November 2023 : Solemnity of All Saints (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 23 : 1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

The earth and its fullness belong to YHVH, the world and all that dwell in it. He has founded it upon the ocean and set it firmly upon the waters.

Who will ascend the mountain of YHVH? Who will stand in His holy place? Those with clean hands and pure heart, who desire not what is vain.

They will receive blessings from YHVH, a reward from God, their Saviour. Such are the people who seek Him, who seek the face of Jacob’s God.

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Wednesday, 1 November 2023 : Solemnity of All Saints (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Revelations 7 : 2-4, 9-14

I saw another Angel, ascending from the sunrise, carrying the seal of the living God, and he cried out with a loud voice, to the four Angels empowered to harm the earth and the sea, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads.”

Then, I heard the number of those marked with the seal : a hundred and forty-four thousand, from all the tribes of the people of Israel. After this, I saw a great crowd, impossible to count, from every nation, race, people and tongue, standing before the Throne, and the Lamb, clothed in white, with palm branches in their hands, and they cried out with a loud voice, “Who saves, but our God, Who sits on the Throne, and the Lamb?”

All the Angels were around the Throne, the elders and the four living creatures; they, then, bowed before the Throne, with their faces to the ground, to worship God. They said, “Amen, Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honour, power and strength to our God forever and ever. Amen!”

At that moment, one of the elders spoke up, and said to me, “Who are these people clothed in white, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, it is you who know this.” The elder replied, “They, are those who have come out of the great persecution, they have washed, and made their clothes white, in the Blood of the Lamb.”

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Tuesday, 31 October 2023 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the Scripture passages, all of us are reminded that while we may suffer in this world, but in the end, all of those sufferings and hardships are not permanent, and in the end, we shall be reunited with the Lord, our most loving God and Father, Who wants us all to be reconciled and reunited with Him. The Lord has given us the assurance of salvation and eternal life through His own beloved Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, and called all of us to enter into His eternal kingdom, the kingdom of God, into which all of us have been assembled, gathered and led, so that every one of us may truly be saved, liberated and freed from the tyranny and dominion of sin and evil, which had afflicted us for so long.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, in which we heard about how the whole world and all of creation longed for the birth, in glory, of the children of God. What this means and symbolises is that, the whole creation is expecting the restoration of everything to how it is originally intended to be, when everything was still without any taints of sin and corruption, and when everything was still perfect and good just as the Lord originally created it, and sin has not yet crept up and corrupted us all due to our disobedience. The birth of the children of God refers to us all having been made to be the adopted children of God, through the grace of baptism, by which we have been rescued and delivered from the tyranny and dominion of sin, and through which sanctifying grace have been restored and given to us.

This is also an expectation of what is to come in the future, as we have not yet attained the state of perfection and fullness of grace yet in this world, and all of us are eagerly looking forward to and expecting the coming of the kingdom of God that is to come, when we shall be fully and completely reunited with God, as St. Paul has mentioned it in the same passage, although that moment will not yet come till the time of the Lord’s choosing. This is because even those who have died and passed on from this world, and even the saints in Heaven, have not yet experienced the fullness of heavenly glory in body and soul, except for that of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, who have been assumed and taken up to Heaven, body and soul. The saints experienced the joy of Heaven, the beatific vision and the happiness due to their virtues, but their bodies remained in this world.

Thus, all of us are reminded today of this world that is to come, when we all, in the state of perfection and grace, will be once again with God, which is truly apt and perfect reminder today, being the day before the All Saints Day and the beginning of the Allhallowtide. Today as the All Hallows’ Eve, the Church reminds us all through these Scripture readings and messages, so that each and every one of us remember of the life that we are going to have in this world that is to come, the bliss and the perfection of joy with God, which we will enjoy forevermore, if we are to remain faithful to Him, and obey Him in His Law, commandments and do whatever which He has asked, told and commanded us to do in our lives. Each and every one of us as Christians are expected to do whatever we can to glorify God by our lives, and to follow in the examples and the footsteps of the glorious saints.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord speaking to His disciples and all the people who were listening to Him regarding the matter of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God has already been revealed to us with the coming of Christ, and He has established it just as He has established His Church, with the Church being the tangible and real manifestation of the kingdom of God in this world. However, we must also realise that the kingdom of God, that is the Church of God does not just involve all those who are now living in this world, but also in fact, all those who have departed from this world, just as we are going to celebrate it in the next two days, with the All Saints Day, honouring and glorifying the saints, the holy men and women who have already enjoyed the bliss of Heaven, and the All Souls Day, when we remember all the holy souls who are still awaiting patiently the glory of Heaven in their current state of Purgatory.

The Lord used the parable to highlight the fact that the kingdom of God is something that is truly wonderful, as God gathered all of His beloved ones to be part of one Body, the Body of Christ. However, it is something that is to be nurtured and requires a lot of efforts and works from all of its members and parts, that is all of us. The parable mentioned the measures of flour and yeast, which when placed together, will become dough that rises and eventually become a good bread. He also used the example of mustard seed that is sowed and then germinated, and eventually grew into a large tree, that takes everything under its branches. Both of these, the dough and the mustard plant, require good conditions and investment of time and effort, in order for them to flourish and develop as expected. Thus, this is a reminder that each one of us as Christians have to do our part to follow the Lord, to do what is right and just in our every moments.

We are all reminded that each and every one of us as God’s beloved children and people, all of us must always embody our Christian faith and beliefs in our every actions, in our every words and deeds, and in everything that we interact with, with all those whom we encounter and work with. Each one of us must always be exemplary and inspirational in our lives, and be truly obedient to God, doing His will and walking in His path, being filled with love and virtue, so that all those who witness our works and interact with us, all of us may indeed be great missionaries and evangelisers of our faith, and spread ever more the Good News of God in the midst of our communities and all those whom we encounter in life. As Christians, we must be truly faithful not just in mere words only, but also in real action and commitment to God, at all times.

As we enter today into this solemn time and occasion of the Allhallowtide, beginning with this day’s All Hallows’ Eve, let us all enter into deeper realisation of our lives and reflect on whether we have truly obeyed the Lord and walked in His ways as we should have, and let us all remember that in the end, our goal and focus should be to look forward to the perfection and fullness of grace that will come one day, when the Lord will come to gather all of His faithful and worthy ones back to Him, and bring us all into His eternal kingdom, in the fullness of grace, of perfection of bliss and love. And when the world celebrates the secular celebrations of Halloween, which was inspired and actually originated from this celebration of the All Hallows’ Eve, let us all celebrate the true spirit of Halloween, that is modelling ourselves upon the examples of the virtuous and worthy saints of God, so that we too may one day be worthy of Heaven as they are.

May the Lord help us all in our journey and struggle towards Him, and empower us with the courage and strength, so that we may always be strong in our commitment and dedication to serve the Lord at all times. May God bless us all and be with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 31 October 2023 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 13 : 18-21

At that time, Jesus continued to say to the people, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? Imagine a person who has taken a mustard seed, and planted it in his garden. The seed has grown, and become like a small tree, so that the birds of the air shelter in its branches.”

And Jesus said again, “What is the kingdom of God like? Imagine a woman who has taken yeast, and hidden it in three measures of flour, until it is all leavened.”

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Tuesday, 31 October 2023 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 125 : 1-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6

When YHVH brought the exiles back to Zion, we were like those moving in a dream. Then, our mouths were filled with laughter, and our tongues with songs of joy.

Among the nations it was said, “YHVH has done great things for them.” YHVH had done great things for us, and we were glad indeed.

Bring back our exiles, o YHVH, like fresh streams in the desert. Those who sow in tears will reap with songs and shouts of joy.

They went forth weeping, bearing the seeds for sowing, they will come home with joyful shouts, bringing their harvested sheaves.

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Tuesday, 31 October 2023 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 8 : 18-25

I consider, that the suffering of our present life cannot be compared with the glory that will be revealed, and given to us. All creation is eagerly expecting the birth, in glory, of the children of God. For, if now, the created world was unable to attain its purpose, this did not come from itself, but from the one who subjected it. But it is not without hope; for even the created world, will be freed from this fate of death, and share the freedom and glory of the children of God.

We know, that the whole creation groans and suffers the pangs of birth. Not creation alone, but even ourselves; although the Spirit was given to us, as a foretaste of what we are to receive, we groan in our innermost being, eagerly awaiting the day, when God will give us full rights, and rescue our bodies as well.

In hope, we already have salvation. But, if we saw what we hoped for, there would no longer be hope : how can you hope for what is already seen? So, we hope for what we do not see, and we will receive it, through patient hope.

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Monday, 30 October 2023 : 30th 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, each and every one of us are reminded that all of us have been made to be God’s own beloved and adopted children, to be His own sons and daughters. That is why, the Lord has brought us all His light, truth and love, gathering all of us and showing us how we should live our lives that we may be truly worthy of Him, righteous and just in all of our actions, works and deeds. We should not allow ourselves to be easily swayed by worldly temptations and other distractions which may end up leading us down the wrong paths, away from the Lord, His salvation and grace. There are many things which can turn us away from this path of righteousness and grace, including pride, arrogance, greed, desires and worldly attachments, among other things that had led so many to their downfall.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans in which the Apostle highlighted to the faithful people of God in Rome how they have all been liberated from the tyranny and dominion of sin, by the power and grace of God. Hence, since the people of God had been adopted by Him to be His own beloved sons and daughters, they are no longer subjected to sin and its power and dominion, and consequently, they all should live their lives henceforth according to the path which the Lord Himself has shown to them, in obeying His Law and commandments, and in doing what is right, virtuous and just in the sight of God and mankind alike. All of us, as God’s beloved people, should have true and genuine faith in Him, and show proper understanding and appreciation of what God’s Law and commandments are, and how we should live our lives faithfully according to them.

As highlighted in our Gospel passage today, there was another confrontation between the Lord and some of the members of the Pharisees as He was carrying out His mission among the people. Those Pharisees were unhappy that the Lord performed His miracles and signs on the Sabbath day in the synagogue, as He healed a woman who had been afflicted and crippled by the possession of evil spirit for eighteen years. The Lord had pity on her and showed her His kindness, love and mercy, casting out the evil spirit from her and liberating her from the dominion of Satan and his fellow demonic forces. Yet, what those Pharisees, synagogue officials and those who opposed the Lord focused on instead, was the fact that the Lord performed His miracle and wonders on the day of the Sabbath, that was a taboo and abhorrent thing for them.

Contextually, we must understand that the Pharisees were one of the few groups of influential Jewish community leaders and powerful figures who were particularly concerned with the way how the Law of God, the rules and commandments, the rituals and practices of the people of God were to be carried out as meticulously and detailed as possible. They took a rather rigid and strict interpretation of the Law, focusing and emphasising a lot on the letter and details of the Law, which ended up distracting them and preventing them from truly appreciating and understanding the spirit of the Law, that is the reason, meaning and purpose behind the Law which God had granted to us all, His beloved people. They basically ended up obeying the Law blindly without truly understanding why they did so.

In this case, many of the actions of the Pharisees were truly hypocritical as the Lord Himself pointed it out to them. They criticised the Lord and uttered such foul words when they saw Him healing the woman who had suffered for a whole period of eighteen years, and they could not even let that one Sabbath day go. They took offense because the Lord performed His miracle on that day, as they thought of and considered the Sabbath day as being a sacrosanct day in which no action or activity can be done at all. However, this is actually a misunderstanding and confusion about the purpose and meaning of the Law of the Sabbath as the Lord originally intended it. The Lord never intended the Sabbath Law to restrict and restrain His people from doing what is necessary and good, and He certainly did not want anyone to criticise a good action being done on that day.

The Pharisees were also being hypocritical as when their own flock, sheep and goats and other things need to be settled on that day, this would be done. Hence, how could the suffering of this woman who had suffered for so long be overlooked or for her to be made to wait even for one day longer? This was why the Lord was angered and frustrated at the stubbornness that the Pharisees had shown at that time, at their refusal to listen to Him and for their stubborn opposition to God and His works. The Lord has shown them what His Law and commandments are truly about, and that is to teach, show and guide us in the path of His love, compassion and mercy. The Law should not be misused for one’s personal ambitions and desires, and they should not be misunderstood as merely sets of laws, customs, practices, rituals and all other things that are merely done out of blind obedience without proper understanding and appreciation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all hence remind ourselves of the obligation and the calling which we have received as Christians, as God’s beloved people, to do God’s will with the right intention and understanding of God’s will and intentions for us. Let us all be truly faithful and devoted to Him, by showing the love that He Himself had taught and shown us, in the love and kindness He has shown to the suffering woman, in healing and helping her to come out from her predicament. Let us all remember that great and most generous love that God has always shown us, and hence, strive to love the Lord ever more wholeheartedly and commit ourselves ever more to His cause. And as the Law and commandments of God have shown us, we should also show the same kind of love to our fellow brothers and sisters around us as well, in every opportunities and places that we are in.

May the Lord, our most loving God and Father continue to guide us all and help us to pass through the journey of faith and life, where we may have to face and endure difficulties and challenges that may appear in our path. We must not lose hope and faith in God just because of those challenges, trials and hardships. We have to keep our trust in God and follow Him ever more courageously and with greater love, knowing that God Himself has loved us all so much, and hence, passing on and showing that same love in our world today, where there are plenty of hatred and ignorance of God’s Law, commandments and ways. May all of us be the great examples of our Christian faith and beliefs, and show them through our genuine and real actions, at all times, and may God bless us all in our every good efforts and endeavours to glorify Him. Amen.

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Monday, 30 October 2023 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 13 : 10-17

At that time, Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath, and a crippled woman was there. An evil spirit had kept her bent for eighteen years, so that she could not straighten up at all. On seeing her, Jesus called her and said, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” Then He laid His hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight and praised God.

But the ruler of the synagogue was indignant, because Jesus had performed this healing on the Sabbath day, and he said to the people, “There are six days in which to work. Come on those days to be healed, and not on the Sabbath!”

But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Everyone of you unties his ox or his donkey on the Sabbath, and leads it out of the barn to give it water. And here you have a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound for eighteen years. Should she not be freed from her bonds on the Sabbath?”

When Jesus said this, all His opponents felt ashamed. But the people rejoiced at the many wonderful things that happened because of Him.