Ordinary Time

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Tuesday, 10 November 2020 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 17 : 7-10

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Who among you would say to your servant, coming in from the fields after plowing or tending sheep, ‘Go ahead and have your dinner?’ No, you tell him, ‘Prepare my dinner. Put on your apron, and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink afterwards.'”

“Do you thank this servant for doing what you told him to do? I do not think so. And therefore, when you have done all that you have been told to do, you should say, ‘We are no more than servants; we have only done our duty.'”

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Tuesday, 10 November 2020 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 36 : 3-4, 18 and 23, 27 and 29

For they will fade as any green herb and soon be gone like withered grass.

The Lord watches over the lives of the upright; forever will their inheritance abide. The Lord is the One Who makes people stand, He gives firmness to those He likes.

Do good and shun evil, so that you will live secure forever. The righteous will possess the land; they will make it their home forever.

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Tuesday, 10 November 2020 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Titus 2 : 1-8, 11-14

Let your words strengthen sound doctrine. Tell the older men to be sober, serious, wise, sound in faith, love and perseverance. The older women in like manner must behave as befits holy women, not given to gossiping or drinking wine, but as good counsellors, able to teach younger women to love their husbands and children, to be judicious and chaste, to take care of their households, to be kind and submissive to their husbands, lest our faith be attacked.

Encourage the young men to be self-controlled. Set them an example by your own way of doing. Let your teaching be earnest and sincere, and your preaching beyond reproach. Then your opponents will feel ashamed and will have nothing to criticise.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, teaching us to reject an irreligious way of life and worldly greed, and to live in this world as responsible persons, upright and serving God, while we await our blessed hope – the glorious manifestation of our great God and Saviour Christ Jesus. He gave Himself for us, to redeem us from every evil and to purify a people He wanted to be His own and dedicated to what is good.

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Monday, 9 November 2020 : Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, together with the entire Universal Church all of us rejoice together celebrating the great Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, which is the preeminent, principal and most important of all the churches in the whole world. It is the most important church and the heart of all Christendom.

The full name of the Lateran Basilica is appropriately, the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour and Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist at the Lateran. It is the only Archbasilica to signify that it is truly above all every other churches as the place where the seat of the authority of the Pope as the Vicar of Christ is at.

Although most of us would often associate the Papal Basilica of St. Peter as the seat of the Pope given that it is part of the Vatican City and the Pope himself resides within its complex in the Apostolic Palace, and although most of the Papal celebrations and liturgies take place in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, but the Cathedra of the Pope is not there.

Each of the diocesan bishops of the world has his seat of authority in a church, which is then named as the cathedral of the diocese named after the cathedra, the bishop’s seat of authority as the symbol of his jurisdiction and authority over his entire diocese. The Pope as the Bishop of Rome therefore also has his cathedra which is at the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

The Basilica of St. John Lateran was the first of the public churches of Rome to be built after centuries of often intense persecutions of Christians by the Roman government and state and the faithful in Rome had to clandestinely meet and celebrate the Mass in catacombs. There were also other churches built in Rome by the Emperor Constantine after he extended official toleration of Christians in the Edict of Milan, including the old St. Peter’s Basilica, the current one being rebuilt five hundred years ago.

It was therefore there at the very heart and centre of Imperial Rome that the Basilica of St. John Lateran was built and completed, and the Pope took it as his Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome and it has remained as such to this very day. The Pope himself lived and reigned at the adjacent Lateran Palace for many centuries before political circumstances and agreements made it such that now the Pope resides in the Vatican.

But the Cathedral of Rome remains and is always at the Basilica of St. John Lateran and the events of the inauguration of a new Pope is only complete when he assumed his cathedra at the Basilica of St. John Lateran. The possession of this cathedra makes this great Basilica as the Mother Church of the Diocese of Rome, just like in any other dioceses.

And since the Pope is not just the Bishop of Rome, but also the Successor of St. Peter the Apostle as the Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff, the leader of the entire One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, thus, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran is the Mother Church of the entire world, the Mother of all the churches. Hence, this is why all of us rejoice together today marking the anniversary of its Dedication.

But we must also not forget that even as we rejoice at the Dedication of this great House of God, the Mother and Head of all the churches of Rome and the world, we are also ourselves God’s Holy Temple, as St. Paul mentioned in his Epistle to the Corinthians. We are all the Temples of His Holy Presence and of His Holy Spirit, dwelling in us all and sanctifying us.

Just as at the Dedication of a church, the church’s Altar is blessed with holy water, anointed with holy oils, and had its candles lighted and the Altar covered with pure white Altar cloths, thus, each and every one of us at the moment of our baptism, we have been baptised with holy water in the Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, anointed with the holy oil of chrism, dressed in new, white garment and received the lighted candle.

We can clearly see the parallel between the Dedication of a church, like the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, with our own ‘dedication’ to God that is our baptism and initiation into the Faith and the Church. Just as the Dedication of the Church and its Altar sanctifies them and makes them a holy place worthy of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, then through baptism we have also been sanctified and purified to be worthy to be God’s Holy Temple.

We receive the Lord Himself into us in the Eucharist, the Real Presence of the Precious Body and Blood of the Lord, and also the Holy Spirit indwelling in us. Thus, if we keep the sanctity and purity of our churches and their Altars, then we must also keep the sanctity and purity of the Temple of our body and being, the House of God that is each and every one of us. Doing otherwise and to defile this sanctity is a sin against God.

What do we do then if we have defiled the sanctity of our Temple of God, our body, heart, mind and soul? Then we ought to try to rectify it as best as we can. The Lord has granted us through the Church, the gift of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, by which through the authority He has given to His Apostles and their successors, our bishops and priests, the authority to forgive us our sins and absolve us from our faults and wrongdoings given that we are willing to fully repent from them.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, if we have not gone for confession for a while, let us have the courage to admit our faults and sins, and have the desire to repent and turn away from those sinful ways. The Lord through His priest and the Sacrament of Reconciliation will heal us and make us whole again. And then, more importantly, we must strive henceforth to resist further temptations to sin.

It will definitely be challenging as we live in a world surrounded and filled by those many temptations. But if we do our best and keep strong our faith in God, and help one another in persevering through the challenges then we should be able to pull through the difficulties and trials together, and together we shall be found worthy of God and be glorified together with Him in the end, forever and ever.

May the Lord, our ever loving God help us to keep each and every one of us holy and filled with faith, each as glorious Temples of His Holy Presence, much like the glorious Mother of all the churches of Rome and the world, the Basilica of St. John Lateran. Amen.

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Monday, 9 November 2020 : Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 2 : 13-22

At that time, as the Passover of the Jews was at hand, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the Temple court He found merchants selling oxen, sheep and doves, and money-changers seated at their tables.

Making a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the Temple court, together with the oxen and sheep. He knocked over the tables of the money-changers, scattering the coins, and ordered the people selling doves, “Take all this away, and stop making a marketplace of My Father’s house!” His disciples recalled the words of Scripture : Zeal for Your house devours me like fire.

The Jews then questioned Jesus, “Where are the miraculous signs which give You the right to do this?” And Jesus said, “Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then replied, “The building of this Temple has already taken forty-six years, and will You raise it up in three days?”

Actually, Jesus was referring to the Temple of His Body. Only when He had risen from the dead did His disciples remember these words; then they believed both the Scripture and the words Jesus had spoken.

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Monday, 9 November 2020 : Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 45 : 2-3, 5-6, 8-9

God is our strength and protection, an ever-present help in affliction. We will not fear, therefore; though the earth be shaken and the mountains plunge into the seas.

There is a river whose streams bring joy to the City of God, the holy place, where the Most High dwells. God is within, the city cannot quake, for God’s help is upon it at the break of day.

For with us is YHVH of hosts, the God of Jacob, our refuge. Come, see the works of YHVH – the marvellous things He has done in the world.

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Monday, 9 November 2020 : Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Ezekiel 47 : 1-2, 8-9, 12

The Man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple and I saw water coming out from the threshold of the Temple and flowing eastward. The Temple faced the east and the water flowed from the south side of the Temple, from the south side of the Altar. He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside, to the outer gate facing the east; and there I saw the stream coming from the south side.

He said to me, “This water goes to the east, down to the Arabah, and when it flows into the sea of foul-smelling water, the water will become wholesome. Wherever the river flows, swarms of creatures will live in it; fish will be plentiful; and the seawater will become fresh. Wherever it flows, life will abound.”

“Near the river on both banks, there will be all kinds of fruit trees, with foliage that will not wither; and fruit that will never fail; each month they will bear a fresh crop, because the water comes from the Temple. The fruit will be good to eat and the leaves will be used for healing.”

Alternative reading

1 Corinthians 3 : 9c-11, 16-17

But you are God’s field and building. I, as good architect, according to the capacity given to me, I laid the foundation, and another is to build upon it. Each one must be careful how to build upon it. No one can lay a foundation other than the One which is already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Do you not know that you are God’s Temple, and that God’s Spirit abides within you? If anyone destroys the Temple of God, God will destroy him. God’s Temple is holy, and you are this Temple.

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Sunday, 8 November 2020 : Thirty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday all of us are brought to focus our attention on the wisdom which God has given to us, from His Divine Wisdom. God has given us His wisdom and the ability to discern in our hearts and minds, through the gift of baptism and the Holy Spirit that He has sent down unto us. And through the Holy Spirit, He has revealed His truth and the love that He has for each and every one of us.

And because we have been given wisdom and understanding, the revelation of the truth and the love of God, then naturally, we should seek the Lord and embrace Him. This is as we know that in the end, if we follow the Lord, in the end, there is the assurance of eternal life and glory, the assurance of everlasting happiness with God. Yet, the reality is sadly that many among us despite having all these given to us, we took it for granted and did not appreciate how fortunate we have been because of that.

This is what the Lord wants to remind us through our Gospel passage today as we listened to the parable of the five foolish bridesmaids and the five wise bridesmaids. Those five foolish bridesmaids were deemed foolish because they did not give everything proper thought and lacked preparation for what they were about to do. They were supposed to wait for the coming of the bridegroom as the servants of the bride, inviting and welcoming the bridegroom into the place.

At that time, wedding banquets were often held at night time because in that region during the day the weather might be too hot during certain months when weddings were usually conducted, especially in June, during the height of the summer just before the harvest and after the sowing season has been completed. But as mentioned, because the bridegroom delayed in coming to the wedding banquet, the bridesmaids who were supposed to wait for him, had to wait longer as a result.

Those five foolish bridesmaids were running out of oil for their lamps, as they were using the lamps to welcome the bridegroom, and it was inappropriate for them to have their lamps extinguished before the bridegroom. That would have been a great embarrassment for everyone, and especially so for the bridesmaids. That was why the five foolish bridesmaids tried asking the other five bridesmaids, who were wise, for oil to help them maintain their lamps.

Certainly, those other five bridesmaids, who were not just wise but also kind, wanted to help. However, it was impractical for them to share their oil with the five foolish bridesmaids, as there were limited space for the oil in the lamps, and although the wise bridesmaids must have brought extra oil as part of their preparations, but the fact that the bridegroom was coming very late to the banquet made it unlikely for them to have enough oil to share, despite the extra oil they must have prepared earlier.

That was why the five foolish bridesmaids had to go to buy the oil to top up their insufficient oil so that they could appropriately welcome the bridegroom. However, we know that it is a very late hour at night, and just as it is today, at that time, all shops and markets would have been closed at such an hour. Where could they have gone to find any oil? It would have been next to impossible to procure the oil easily. In the end, they did get the oils, but that must have been quite difficult for them to get.

And in that delay, the bridegroom came while those five foolish bridesmaids were away getting their oil. Those wise bridesmaids were ready and they rejoiced, welcoming the bridegroom as planned, and joined in the festivities together with the bride and the bridegroom. It was after that then the foolish bridesmaids came back to join the celebration. Yet, as was obvious they came too late to do what they were intended to do, and as the celebrations have already started, the door has been closed.

The bridegroom himself came out to open the door when they called for him, asking to be allowed inside. And in the end, the bridegroom said that he did not know them, and those unfortunate foolish bridesmaids had to endure the darkness, bereft of the celebrations and humiliated. And all of these are in fact a summary of how the Lord and His story of salvation for us. Through all of these, we heard how each and every one of us must make use of the wisdom that God has given us to discern carefully how we are to live our lives.

Those bridesmaids represent all of us, God’s people, all mankind living in this world. The bride is the Church of God, of which we are part of, just as the bridesmaids are part of the Church’s party. Meanwhile, as alluded in the Gospels and in the Book of Revelations of St. John, the bridegroom himself represents the Lord, Who is about to come again a second time into this world at the end of time, just as the bridegroom is coming to the wedding banquet with the bride and all those who are to celebrate together.

This is what we look forward to, brothers and sisters in Christ, the heavenly wedding banquet alluded to in the Book of Revelations, towards its end chapters, when the tribulations and trials on Earth has been concluded, the final Judgment has been made, and finally the Lamb, the Bridegroom, comes to be with His Bride, the Church of God. This marks the reunification and perfect reconciliation between mankind and God, their beloved Creator, their loving Father and their Bridegroom.

And since this has been revealed to us, the truth of what is to come, then we surely know what we are to expect. And the Lord Himself has repeatedly said in many occasions throughout the Gospels, a sentiment that is also repeated again and again by the Apostles, that the Lord is coming again as He has promised us. However, just as His coming is a certainty, the timing of His coming is most uncertain to us. None knows the exact timing of the Lord’s coming, and no one knows when the time is at hand.

So, what does this mean for us, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that we should not be complacent and think that we should not do anything. On the contrary, like the five wise bridesmaids, we must always be prepared knowing of what is to come our way. We will not want to end up like the five foolish bridesmaids who were caught unprepared and not having enough oil in their lamps. As a result, they were left out of the celebrations and were humiliated and shamed. And this means an eternity of suffering in total regret in hell, for our refusal and rejection of God’s generous love and compassionate mercy.

To us, it means that we have to keep in mind of our actions in life, the choices we make and how we move forward day after day. As Christians, we have been called to action and to make a difference in this world and in our respective communities. We cannot stand idle and do nothing, or assume that just because of our Christian faith that we have been saved and there is nothing else to be done, and we just have to wait for the glory and blessings to come.

Instead, we have to stand vigil, awaiting the Lord’s coming, and in the meanwhile doing everything that He has asked us to do, and which He has showed and taught us to do. We have to be inspiration for one another with our lives, through our every words and actions. God gave us His wisdom through the infusion of the Holy Spirit and His gifts. And because of this, we have to carefully consider how we live our lives, and whether even our small, little actions bring forth God’s love to the fore.

Have we loved our brethren in need, all around us? We live in a difficult time when everyone is suffering from all sorts of troubles, and especially more so this year. God has blessed us with His graces and blessings, and we are all called to share this love and blessings with one another. Let us all not be selfish or consider just our own self-preservation and desires for pleasure. Instead, let us all follow the Lord’s own examples in love, in how He has reached out in love to those most wretched and wicked, and those who were in most need of healing and forgiveness.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is how we should move forward in life. Let us all be filled with the zeal and enthusiasm to be genuine Christians and sincere evangelisers of truth to our fellow brethren, not through just words but also through action, so that in doing what we can, in even the smallest ways, we may touch the lives of others positively and make things better for this world, so that when the Lord comes again as promised, we will be found worthy and not be judged against our wicked actions or lack of action.

May the Lord, our loving God and Father continue to be with us, guide us in our journey of faith in life. May He bless us all and help us in our every good endeavours, as His faithful servants and followers, each and every moments of our lives. May God, the Bridegroom of the Church, be glorified forever and ever! Amen.

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Sunday, 8 November 2020 : Thirty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 25 : 1-13

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “This story throws light on what will happen in the kingdom of heaven : Ten bridesmaids went out with their lamps to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were sensible. The careless bridesmaids took their lamps as they were, and did not take extra oil. But those who were sensible, took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom delayed, they all grew drowsy and fell asleep.”

“But at midnight, a cry rang out, ‘The bridegroom is here, come on and meet him!’ All the maidens woke up at once, and trimmed their lamps. Then the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, ‘Give us some oil, for our lamps are going out.’ The sensible ones answered, ‘There may not be enough for us and for you. You had better go to those who sell, and buy some for yourselves.'”

“When the bridegroom came, the foolish maidens were out buying oil, but those who were ready went with him into the wedding feast, and the doors were shut. Later the other bridesmaids arrived and called out, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered, ‘Truly I do not know you.'”

“So stay awake, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”

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Sunday, 8 November 2020 : Thirty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Thessalonians 4 : 13-18

Brothers and sisters, we want you not to be mistaken about those who are already asleep, lest you grieve as do those who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose; it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus. God will bring them together, with Jesus, and for His sake.

By the same word of the Lord, we assert this : those of us who are to be alive at the Lord’s coming, will not go ahead of those who are already asleep. When the command by the Archangel’s voice is given, the Lord, Himself, will come down from heaven, while the divine trumpet call is sounding. Then, those who have died in the Lord, will rise first; as for us who are still alive, we will be brought along with them, in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the celestial world. And we will be with the Lord forever.

So then, comfort one another with these words.

Alternative reading (shorter version)

1 Thessalonians 4 : 13-14

Brothers and sisters, we want you not to be mistaken about those who are already asleep, lest you grieve as do those who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose; it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus. God will bring them together, with Jesus, and for His sake.