pleasing God

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Wednesday, 3 November 2021 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Luke 14 : 25-33

At that time, when large crowds were walking along with Jesus, He turned and said to them, “If you come to Me, unwilling to sacrifice your love for your father and mother, your spouse and children, your brothers and sisters, and indeed yourself, you cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not follow Me, carrying his own cross, cannot be My disciple.”

“Do you build a house without first sitting down to count the cost, to see whether you have enough to complete it? Otherwise, if you, have laid the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone will make fun of you : ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'”

“And when a king wages war against another king, does he go to fight without first sitting down to consider whether his ten thousand can stand against the twenty thousand of his opponent? And if not, while the other is still a long way off, he sends messengers for peace talks. In the same way, none of you may become My disciple, if he does not give up everything he has.”

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Sunday, 17 June 2018 : Eleventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Corinthians 5 : 6-10

So we feel confident always. We know, that, while living in the body, we are exiled from the Lord, living by faith, without seeing; but we dare to think, that we would rather be away from the body, to go and live with the Lord. So, whatever we have to keep this house or lose it, we only wish to please the Lord.

Anyway, we all have to appear before the tribunal of Christ, for each one to receive what he deserves, for his good or evil deeds in the present life.

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Sunday, 3 September 2017 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 12 : 1-2

I beg you, dearly beloved, by the mercy of God, to give yourselves, as a living and holy sacrifice, pleasing to God; that is the kind of worship for you, as sensible people.

Do not let yourselves be shaped by the world where you live, but, rather, be transformed, through the renewal of your mind. You must discern the will of God : what is good, what pleases, what is perfect.

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Tuesday, 28 February 2017 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Sirach 35 : 1-15

Keeping the Law is worthy many offerings. Being faithful to the commandments is like a peace offering. Returning kindness is an offering of fine flour; giving alms is a sacrifice of praise. Renouncing sin pleases the Lord, and shunning injustice is a sacrifice of atonement.

Do not appear before the Lord with empty hands. The commandment requires that you bring an offering. When the offering of the righteous is burnt on the altar, the fat drips down and a fragrant aroma rises to the Most High. The sacrifice of the just man pleases God and will not be forgotten. Honour the Lord with a generous heart and do not be stingy with the first fruits of your harvest.

Offer your gifts with a smiling face and when you pay your tithes do it gladly. Give to the Most High as He has given to you; give generously to the Lord according to what you have; the Lord will repay, He will reward you sevenfold. If you attempt to bribe Him with gifts He will not accept them; do not rely on offerings from dishonest gain.

The Lord is Judge and shows no partiality. He will not disadvantage the poor, He Who hears the prayer of the oppressed. He does not disdain the plea of the orphan, nor the complaint of the widow. When tears flow down her cheeks, is she not crying out against the one who caused her to weep?

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Friday, 5 December 2014 : First Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple or Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the reading today espoused the facts that as long as we believe in the Lord our God and be courageous to ask Him for what we need, He will listen to us and not abandon us in the darkness. He will answer us if we call, and He will give us what we need, just as the two blind men who sincerely asked for His mercy got what they asked for, and they were healed.

Those who in humility seek the Lord for His mercy will indeed be richly rewarded, namely all those who have realised the gravity of their sinfulness and the perilous state of their souls, and were committed to changing their ways so that they would no longer sin but live righteously from then on. This is what the first reading, taken from the book of the prophet Isaiah, told us about. The mighty and the powerful will be brought down, not because of their power, but because it is likely that their pride got the better of them, and it is likely to prevent them from seeking the mercy of the Lord.

The readings of today are reminders for us that our pride is often our undoing, and it often also serves as a great stumbling block on our path towards salvation. Take for example the Pharisees and the chief priests, who boasted in their dedication and observance of the numerous rituals and laws of Moses, that they thought that they alone would be worthy of God’s salvation and grace.

Yet, they were wrong. In their boasting and in their pride, in their search for human praise and worldly glory, they had not only failed to realise that they have not done what the Lord had wanted from them, but worse, that in their pride, they had not just condemned themselves but in fact also the many others who had been entrusted under their care, and those others who have been influenced by their worldly and corrupted ways.

They thought of themselves as being good and just, and they thought of themselves as deserving of honour and respect for such faith that they have. But what they ought is all about themselves, and God had no place in their hearts. At the Day of Judgment therefore, God would say to them, ‘Get lost, all of you the condemned ones, for all you ever thought of was yourselves, and you had no love for Me or for your brethren. Thus your place is among the fallen angels, with Satan to be punished for eternity.’

Pride is a disease of the soul, the same reason why Satan fell from grace, from being once as the mightiest and most wonderful of the angels, but because of his pride, he rebelled against God and fell into damnation. Where is he now? Is he exalted high above the heavens and the angels as he had boasted? No! He was cast down and his name was forever associated with those who in their pride, and destroyed themselves.

How is this important for us, brothers and sisters in Christ? This is because all of us are sinners, and we have been afflicted with sin, that is the disease of our soul. We may be physically healthy, but all of us inside us have been afflicted with sin, diseased and wicked, be it small or big, the nature of this sin. And sin is a veil which covers our eyes, preventing us from recognising the good in others and also the wickedness which we have committed in our lives.

The commitment of sin desensitised us, brethren, and the more we commit sin, the tendency is for us to feel less and less guilty about it. That is why it is just like the two blind men for us all. Indeed, they were blind in the eyes and were unable to see the world around them, but it is also the same for us all, in failing to recognise our own sinfulness and shortcomings, and instead we often acted like the Pharisees, indulging in self-praise and boasting of our so-called accomplishments, and not giving glory to God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we should all imitate the action of the two blind men. Even though they were not able to see with their eyes, yet they were able to recognise Jesus and who He is. Therefore, we too should recognise the presence of the Lord around us, in all that He had done for us. We too should recognise our Lord who has come into this world and offered Himself so that we may be forgiven and be healed from our sickness of these sins.

Therefore, let us all, brothers and sisters in Christ, commit ourselves to be humble and meek, seeking the Lord’s forgiveness for all of our sins and wickedness. Our Lord had come into this world to seek the salvation of sinners, and that is what we should make use of, by genuinely and sincerely believing in Jesus our Lord, be forgiven for our sins, and most importantly, to stop sinning and sin no more from now on.

May our Lord Jesus bless us and guide us, so that in this season of Advent, we may come to greater realisation about ourselves, and about how sinful we have been, and how urgent it is indeed for us to seek the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness, so that when He comes again, He may find us worthy and righteous to receive His blessing and the inheritance He had promised us all. God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/04/friday-5-december-2014-first-week-of-advent-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/04/friday-5-december-2014-first-week-of-advent-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/04/friday-5-december-2014-first-week-of-advent-gospel-reading/

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Wednesday, 5 November 2014 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Philippians 2 : 12-18

Therefore, my dearest friends, as you always obeyed me while I was with you, even more now that I am far from you, continue working out your salvation “with fear and trembling.”

It is God who makes you not only wish but also carry out what pleases Him. Do everything without grumbling, so that without fault or blame, you will be children of God without reproach among a crooked and perverse generation. You are a light among them, like stars in the universe, holding to the Word of Life.

I shall feel proud of you on the day of Christ on seeing that my effort and labour have not been in vain. And if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I rejoice and continue to share your joy; and you likewise should rejoice and share my joy.

 

Homily and Reflection : 
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/04/wednesday-5-november-2014-31st-week-of-ordinary-time-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Sunday, 26 October 2014 : 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 22 : 34-40

At that time, when the Pharisees heard how Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. One of them, a teacher of the Law, tried to test Him with this question, “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the Law?”

Jesus answered, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and the most important of the commandments. But after this there is another one similar to it : ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ The whole Law and the prophets are founded on these two commandments.”

 

Reflections and Homily : https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/10/25/sunday-26-october-2014-30th-sunday-of-ordinary-time-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Sunday, 6 July 2014 : 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 11 : 25-30

On that occasion Jesus said, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I praise You, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to simple people. Yes, Father, this is what pleased You.”

“Everything has been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”

“Come to Me, all you who work hard and who carry heavy burdens, and I will refresh you. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart and you will find rest. For My yoke is good, and My burden is light.”