Ordinary Time

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Thursday, 27 June 2024 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Matthew 7 : 21-29

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My heavenly Father. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not speak in Your Name? Did we not cast out devils and perform many miracles in Your Name?’ Then I will tell them openly, ‘I have never known you; away from Me, you evil people!’”

“Therefore, anyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts according to them, is like a wise man, who built his house on rock. The rain poured down, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house. But it did not collapse, because it was built on rock. But anyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act accordingly, is like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house; it collapsed, and what a terrible collapse that was!”

When Jesus had finished this discourse, the crowds were struck by the way He taught, because He taught with authority, unlike their teachers of the Law.

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Thursday, 27 June 2024 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Psalm 78 : 1-2, 3-5, 8, 9

O God, the pagans have invaded Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy Temple and reduced Jerusalem to rubble. They have given Your servants’ corpses to the birds, and the flesh of Your saints, to the beasts of the earth.

They have poured out the blood of Your faithful, like water around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them. Mocked and reviled by those around us, we are scorned by our neighbours. How long will this last, o YHVH? Will You be angry forever? Will Your wrath always burn to avenge Your rights?

Do not remember against us the sins of our fathers. Let Your compassion hurry to us, for we have been brought very low.

Help us, God, our Saviour, for the glory of Your Name; forgive us, for the sake of Your Name.

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Thursday, 27 June 2024 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

2 Kings 24 : 8-17

Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he succeeded his father, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. His mother was Nehushta, daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. Jehoiachin treated YHVH badly, as his father had done.

At that time, the officials of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to attack Jerusalem, surrounding the city. Nebuchadnezzar came while the city was being besieged by his men. Jehoiachin, king of Judah, surrendered, together with his mother, his servants, his leaders and the palace officials. It was the eighth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar.

Nebuchadnezzar captured them and he took away the treasures of the House of YHVH and of the king’s house. He also destroyed all the objects of gold which Solomon, king of Israel, had made for the Sanctuary of YHVH. So the word YHVH had spoken, was fulfilled.

Nebuchadnezzar carried off into exile all the leaders and prominent men, the blacksmiths and locksmiths, all the men of valour fit for war. A total of ten thousand were exiled to Babylon. Only the poorest sector of the population was left. Nebuchadnezzar also carried away Jehoiachin, with his mother, his wives, the ministers of the palace, and the prominent men of the land.

So all the prominent people, numbering seven thousand, the blacksmiths, numbering a thousand, and all the men fit for war were deported to Babylon by the king of Babylon. He made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king of Jerusalem, in place of Jehoiachin. And he changed his name to Zedekiah.

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Wednesday, 26 June 2024 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded through the readings and passages from the Sacred Scriptures of our obligation as God’s holy and beloved people to be the good and faithful servants, followers and disciples of His cause, called and encouraged to do what is right, good and just according to God’s will. Each and every one of us must always strive to be good and worthy in all the things that we say and do, so that we will continue to be good role models and inspirations for each other, for everyone who witness us and all of our lives, that we may proclaim the Lord and His truth, His love and Good News through our lives and good examples, at all times. Each and every one of us must always be filled with God’s grace and love, His compassion and kindness at all times.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Kings of Israel and Judah, the story of the time when the Book of the Law of God was found once again in the neglected Temple of God in Jerusalem during the reign of King Josiah of Judah. The High Priest Hilkiah found the Book of the Law of God and the King, who obeyed the Lord’s commands and lived according to His ways, sought to find out what the Law of God was about, and how the people ought to live in the manner that was pleasing to God. At that time, the people of God had wandered off so far from the path of God, disobeyed and refusing to believe in Him in many occasions despite the Lord’s reminders towards them through His many prophets and messengers, and hence, the people of God faced a lot of hardships, challenges and trials, suffering all the terrible defeats and worldly hardships for their disobedience and sins.

King Josiah was the last of the kings of Judah who was considered as righteous and obedient to God, and immediately after having read through the details of the accounts of the Law and commandments of God, the king was frightened at the extent of how the people had disobeyed the Lord according to the Law which by then had been mostly forgotten and ignored, and he sought to make amends by ordering the priests and all of the people of the kingdom to do what God had commanded them to do, in obeying His Law and commandments once again, fulfilling the many things that God had called them all to do, such as observing the Passover festival again, and purifying the Temple of God, and removing from their midst all the abominations of the pagan and foreign idols that had misled so many into the path of sin.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples and followers about the dangers of the false prophets in their midst, and how every one of them ought to be careful and vigilant lest they might be persuaded and tempted to walk down the wrong path, all the falsehoods and the twisted versions of the teachings and the truths of God that could lead many into the path of sin and damnation. This is why He reminded all of them, and hence also all of us not to follow all these false and wicked ways, and not to be persuaded, swayed, tempted or coerced by all those who did not truly serve the Lord’s purpose. Instead, all of us as God’s beloved and holy people must always strive to be truly ever more faithful to God and to be truly committed to His path and truth.

This is because as Christians it is important that we truly embody our faith in everything that we say and do. We must always be sincere in our words, actions and deeds, or we are no better than hypocrites and those false prophets who outwardly may appear faithful and pious, and yet in their hearts and minds, God is not truly there, and inside them, instead are desires, ego, ambitions and all the false leads which lead us all down the path of evil, disobedience, wickedness and eventually towards our downfall through sin. Many of our predecessors, even those high in position in the Church and in the world had fallen prey to all these, to Satan’s temptations and the allures of worldly glory, fame, pleasures and ambitions, which led them to the path of damnation.

The Lord Jesus used the parable of the fruits of the tree to explain to His disciples and followers in order to make them all understand His teachings and what He meant, as He told them that good trees will inevitably bear good fruits, while rotten and bad trees will inevitably yield bad and rotten fruits. Therefore, if we do not cultivate our faith in the Lord and develop a strong love, devotion and commitment to God, in the end, eventually we will not be able to show that genuine faith and love towards God, and our faith will be empty, meaningless and dead in nature. We cannot truly obey and follow the Lord faithfully unless we truly believe in Him from our heart, and are truly sincere in dedicating ourselves, our time and effort to follow Him thoroughly as best as we can.

Each and every one of us as Christians must always be active in living up to our faith in the Lord, not through great and grandiose actions and works, but rather through even small and simple deeds that we carry out in life. Through all these small and seemingly insignificant little actions in life, we can help and inspire one another to live a better and more worthy life filled with God’s grace and love. For too long we have allowed ourselves to be swayed and tempted by the evil ones and those who seek our destruction and damnation. Now is the time for us to make our stand, to stand by our Lord and God firmly in faith, and renew our commitment to Him, that we commit to follow the Lord and dedicate ourselves to Him in each and every moments of our lives from now on, if we have not yet done so.

May the Lord continue to strengthen and empower us all in each and every one of our journeys in faith throughout our lives, and may He continue to guide us all through the many challenges and trials in life so that regardless of the hardships and obstacles that we may have to endure and experience amidst our path and journey towards Him, we will continue to persevere and carry out our lives and actions with great faith and obedience to Him, to His Law and to His will. May all of us continue to be the great and worthy bearers of God’s Good News, His light of hope, His love and truth in our society, amongst everyone whom we encounter and journey with, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 26 June 2024 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 7 : 15-20

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Beware of false prophets : they come to you in sheep’s clothing; but inside, they are voracious wolves. You will recognise them by their fruits. Do you ever pick grapes from thorn bushes; or figs, from thistles?”

“A good tree always produces good fruit. A rotten tree produces bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit; and a rotten fruit cannot bear good fruit. Any tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruit.”

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Wednesday, 26 June 2024 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 118 : 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40

Explain to me, o YHVH, Your commandments, and I will be ever faithful to them.

Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law with all my heart.

Guide me in obeying Your instructions, for my pleasure lies in them.

Incline my heart to follow Your will and not my own selfish desire.

Turn my eyes away from vanities and direct them to Your life-giving word.

Oh, how I long for Your precepts! Renew my life in Your righteousness.

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Wednesday, 26 June 2024 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Kings 22 : 8-13 and 2 Kings 23 : 1-3

At that moment Hilkiah, the high priest, said to Shaphan, the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the House of YHVH.” And he entrusted the Book to Shaphan who read it. Then Shaphan went to the king and said, “We have gathered the money in the House, and this has been turned over to the caretakers of the House to make the repairs.”

And Shaphan added, “The priest Hilkiah has turned over a Book to me.” And Shaphan read the Book to the king. When the king heard the contents of the Book, he tore his clothes and commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, the secretary Shaphan, and Asaiah, his minister, to do the following, “Go and consult YHVH about the threats in this Book which you have found. Consult Him for me, for the people and for the whole of Judah, since our fathers did not listen to what this Book says nor its ordinances. This is why the anger of YHVH is ready to burn against us.”

The king summoned to his side all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. Then he went up to the house of YHVH, followed by all the people of Judah and Jerusalem. The priests with the prophets and all the people went with him, from the youngest to the oldest. When all were gathered, he read to them the Book of the Law found in the house of YHVH.

The king stood by the pillar; he made a Covenant in the presence of YHVH, promising to follow Him, to keep His commandments and laws, and to respect His ordinances. He promised to keep this Covenant according to what was written in the Book with all his heart and with all his soul. And all the people promised with him.

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Tuesday, 25 June 2024 : 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 Sacred Scriptures, all of us are reminded that we are all called to remain true and faithful to the Lord in all things. We must not be dissuaded, swayed or tempted away from God and His path because of all the oppositions, hardships, challenges, trials and obstacles which we may encounter in our paths in life. Instead, we must always encourage one another and remain strong in our faith despite the many difficulties and obstacles that we may have to face in this path we face, and we should gain inspirations from our holy predecessors and also from supporting one another in the face of those challenges and trials so that we may remain strong in our faith.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Kings of Israel and Judah of the story of the time when the forces of King of Assyria, Sennacherib came to Jerusalem and besieged it after this same King struck at Judah and its cities likely with the intent to conquer and destroy it as he had done with many other cities and states in the region. At that time, Assyria was an ascending great power that had conquered many nations, including that of the Aramaeans and the northern kingdom of Israel, which was destroyed not long before the circumstances of today’s first reading passage. King Sennacherib brought with him a mighty army to do the same to Judah and Jerusalem, and we heard how He mocked God and His people for trusting in Him.

But God reassured His people in Judah that He would not abandon them and that He would stand by them just as He has always promised them when King Hezekiah of Judah led the people in praying to God and asking for His Divine providence and intervention. The prideful boasts and mockery of Sennacherib, the King of Assyria God turned into a sorrowful and anguished cry of defeat when He sent His Angels and destroyed all of the whole massive army of the Assyrians, supposedly numbering a hundred and eighty-five thousand, a truly large army. God rescued His people and destroyed all those who mocked Him and those who were faithful to Him, and sent this Assyrian king in shame back to his own homeland, and according to the Scriptures, the same king would soon be killed by his own sons. A truly terrible ending for a prideful and sinful man.

From what we have heard, it is clear indeed that God truly has the authority over all things, and He has the power over all nations and all earthly forces, over life and death. God was with His people and He did not leave them at the hour of their need, fighting and journeying with them as He has always done throughout time and history. He is the one and only True God, Who has defended and protected His people, marching before them and destroying their enemies. While the other gods and pagan idols of the many countries and states, cities and places which King Sennacherib ransacked and destroyed did nothing to stop all that, the Lord alone stepped in and defended His beloved and faithful people when they were in need of His help.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the words of the Lord to His disciples telling them all not to give what is holy to the dogs and throw the pearls to the pigs, using the connotations commonly known then to highlight how they should not profane the Holy Name of God, His Law and commandments, just as the King of Assyria had done in mocking Him and His power, and just as how the people of Israel disobeyed Him and refused to obey His Law and commandments, spurning His love and kindness, all of which eventually led to their destruction and tragic fates. It is an important reminder for us not to allow worldly temptations and corruptions from distracting and misleading us down the wrong path which can lead us to our downfall and destruction.

All of us are also reminded by the Lord Himself in the same Gospel passage that the path towards salvation in God, while it is always open and available for us, courtesy of His ever enduring and wonderful love for each and every one of us, but this path is truly a narrow one, and it is not an easy path for all of us to follow and walk through. Why is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? This is because there are indeed many obstacles, challenges, distractions and pressures all around us, all of which can lead us down the wrong path in life. Sin is born out of our disobedience against God, and unfortunately often, time and again, we and many of our predecessors have been swayed by the temptations, allures and corruptions present in this world.

This is why each and every one of us must always remind ourselves that we have to remain firmly anchored in faith in God, adhere closely to His teachings and truth. Each and every one of us as Christians must always strive to be the worthy and faithful bearers of the truth and Good News of God, obedient to His Law and commandments, and ever righteous, just and good in all of our words, actions and deeds. All of us should be exemplary and committed in our desire to serve the Lord in each and every moments of our lives. We should be good role models and inspirations for our fellow brothers and sisters, in resisting the allures of worldly glory and temptations, and in doing what God has commanded and willed us to do in our respective lives.

May the Lord continue to strengthen us all in faith and remind us all to stay true and strong in our faith in Him, and not be swayed or tempted to give up in exchange for the comforts and pleasures of the world. May He guide us all in our path and journey of faith through our lives, and may He continue to guide and bless us all in our every efforts and endeavours, in everything that we say and do, so that by all these, we may continue to glorify the Lord by our lives, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 25 June 2024 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 7 : 6, 12-14

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples and to the people, “Do not give what is holy to the dogs, or throw your pearls before pigs. They might trample on them, and then turn on you and tear you to pieces.”

“So, do to others whatever you would that others do to you : there, you have the Law and the prophets. Enter through the narrow gate : for wide is the gate, and broad is the road, that leads to destruction, and many go that way. How narrow is the gate that leads to life; and how rough, the road; few there are, who find it.”

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Tuesday, 25 June 2024 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 47 : 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 10-11

Great is YHVH, most worthy of praise in the City of God, His holy mountain. Beautifully elevated, it is the joy of all the earth.

Mount Zion, heavenly mountain, the City of the great King. Here, within her lines of defence, God has shown Himself to be a sure fortress.

Let us recall Your unfailing love, o God, inside Your Temple. Let Your praise, as does Your Name, o God, reach to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is ever victorious.