Pontifex Maximus

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Saturday, 16 January 2016 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)

Mark 2 : 13-17

At that time, when Jesus went out again beside the lake, a crowd came to Him, and He taught them. As He walked along, He saw a tax collector sitting in his office. This was Levi, the son of Alpheus. Jesus said to him, “Follow Me!” And Levi got up and followed Him.

And it so happened that when Jesus was eating in Levi’s house, tax collectors and sinners sat with Him and His disciples; there were a lot of them, and they used to follow Jesus. But Pharisees, men educated in the Law, when they saw Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to His disciples, “Why does your Master eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

Jesus heard them, answered, “Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

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Saturday, 16 January 2016 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)

Psalm 20 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7

The king rejoices in Your strength, o Lord, and exults in Your saving help. You have granted him his desire; You have not rejected his request.

You have come to him with rich blessings; You have placed a golden crown upon his head. When he asked, You gave him life – the length of days forever and ever.

He glories in the victory You gave him; You shall bestow on him splendour and majesty. You have given him eternal blessings, and gladdened him with the joy of Your presence.

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Saturday, 16 January 2016 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)

1 Samuel 9 : 1-4, 17-19 and 1 Samuel 10 : 1a

There was a man from the tribe of Benjamin whose name was Kish. He was the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a valiant Benjaminite. Kish had a son named Saul, a handsome young man who had no equal among the Israelites, for he was a head taller than any of them.

It happened that the asses of Kish were lost. So he said to his son Saul, “Take one of the boys with you and go look for the asses.” They went all over the hill country of Ephraim and the land of Shalishah but did not find them. They passed through the land of Shaalim and the land of Benjamin, but the asses nowhere to be found.

So, when Samuel saw Saul, YHVH told him, “Here is the man I spoke to you about! He shall rule over My people.” Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and said, “Tell me, where is the house of the seer?” Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me. In the morning, before you leave, I will tell you all that is in your heart.”

Then Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on Saul’s head.

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Friday, 15 January 2016 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we see how the people of Israel were jealous of the fact that the other nations and peoples had their own kings and rulers to rule over them, while they themselves had no king to reign over them, but instead just a judge appointed to shepherd the people of God and the faithful.

The people were not satisfied with that arrangement, and they preferred to follow the ways of the world, not understanding that even though they had no king to rule over them, but they actually truly had a King, Who constantly cared for them and watched over them, that is the Lord their God, their King and Master. It was through the judges that He had made His will known to His people.

And in this manner, the kings of Israel were also like the judges, in that they represented the Lord in the completion and in fulfilling His will, as the regents and vicars for the Lord, not in advancing their own glory and power, but instead giving glory to God for all that He had done, and doing their best to fulfil whatever had been entrusted to them, in the guidance of the people of God towards the way of the Lord.

But, the kings of Israel often fell victim to their own human desires, greed and needs. They ended up serving their own needs first instead of serving the need of the people of God, and they, as what the prophet Samuel had warned in the first reading today, would oppress the people, demanding from them many things to satisfy their own desires and needs.

Yet, in the Gospel today, we see another King, One Who acts with justice and righteousness. Yes, He is Jesus our Lord and King, Whom we heard today, giving the paralytic man a new lease of life, by healing him from his afflictions. Despite the opposition from the chief priests, the Pharisees and the scribes, who endlessly criticised Him and tried at every opportunities to disturb His works, He continued to do the will of God.

This is to show that Jesus did not misuse His authority as many of the kings who ruled over Israel had done, as should be evident if we are to read the Book of Kings from the Old Testament. Those kings led the people to the wrong paths, serving idols and other gods, and they also acted with tyranny and injustice, just as the king Ahab showed, in how he unjustly gained the vineyard of Naboth, whom he falsely accused of blasphemy in order to get him out of the way.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, then, what is it there for us to learn from this then? It is that with power comes great responsibility, and with power comes also the risk of corruption and tyranny, that if we do not use power and authority given to us rightly, then we are all in danger of being taken in and being engrossed with whatever we have, the wealth, the power, the fame, the opportunities and many other things.

Let us all understand that all of us have been given the responsibility to live our lives and use whatever God has given us, our abilities and our strengths, to help one another and to lead one another ever closer to God. Let us help one another to find our way to the Lord, and put the needs of others ahead of our own selfishness, desires and all the things that prevent us from realising this potential inside each one of us.

May the Lord our God awaken in each one of us the spirit of love, to love one another, especially those who are less fortunate than us, and those who have wandered off into the darkness of the world. Let us all reach out to one another, and guide all of us together, as one people, that we may all in the end find our way to the salvation in our God. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 15 January 2016 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 2 : 1-12

At that time, after some days Jesus returned to Capernaum. As the news spread that He was in the house, so many people gathered, that there was no longer room even outside the door. While Jesus was preaching the Word to them, some people brought a paralysed man to Him.

The four men who carried him could not get near Jesus because of the crowd, so they opened the roof above the room where Jesus was and, through the hole, lowered the man on his mat. When Jesus saw the faith of these people, He said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.”

Now some teachers of the Law, who were sitting there, wondered within themselves, “How can He speak like this, insulting God? Who can forgive sins except God?”

At once Jesus knew in His Spirit what they were thinking, and asked, “Why do you wonder? Is it easier to say to this paralysed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your mat and walk?’ But now you shall know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”

And He said to the paralytic, “Stand up, take up your mat and go home.” The man rose and, in the sight of all those people, he took up his mat and went out. All of them were astonished and praised God, saying, “Never have we seen anything like this!”

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Friday, 15 January 2016 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 88 : 16-17, 18-19

Blessed is the people who know Your praise. They walk in the light of Your face. They celebrate all day Your Name and Your protection lifts them up.

You give us glory and power; and Your favour gives us victory. Our king is in the hands of the Lord; the God of Israel is our Shield.

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Friday, 15 January 2016 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Samuel 8 : 4-7, 10-22a

Because of this, all the chiefs of Israel gathered together and went to Samuel in Ramah. They said to him, “You are already old and your sons are not following your ways. Give us a king to rule over us as in all the other nations.”

Samuel was very displeased with what they said, “Give us a king to rule us,” and he prayed to YHVH. And YHVH told him, “Give to this people all that they ask for.” So Samuel answered those who were asking him for a king, and he told them all that YHVH said to him, “Look, these will be the demands of your king : he will take your sons and assign them to his chariot and his horses and have them run before his chariot.”

“Some he will assign as commanders over a thousand men and commanders over fifty. Others will till his ground and reap his harvest, make his implements of war and the equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters as well to prepare perfumes, to cook and to bake for him.”

“He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards and your olive orchards and give them to his officials. He will take a tenth portion of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your menservants and maidservants, the best of your cattle and your asses for his own work.”

“He will take the tenth of your flocks and you yourselves will become his slaves. When these things happen, you will cry out because of the king whom you have chosen for yourselves. But by then, YHVH will not answer you.”

The people paid no attention to all that Samuel said. They insisted, “No! We want a king to govern us as in all the other nations. Our king shall govern us, lead us and go ahead of us in our battles.”

Upon hearing all that his people said, Samuel repeated it to YHVH. But YHVH said to him, “Listen to them and give them a king.”

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Thursday, 14 January 2016 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the words of the Sacred Scripture about the great sorrow of the people of Israel, when during their struggle against the Philistines, they were badly beaten, and most importantly, the Ark of the Covanent itself was taken away by the Philistines, and many of the Israelites lay defeated and killed on that day.

What they did not know is how far the have fallen deep into sin and disobedience against God. They have not been entirely faithful to the commandments and laws that they were all expected to obey and follow. And even their leaders, the sons of Eli, namely Hophni and Phinehas, who was corrupt and wicked in their ways, cheating the people of God of their money and offerings, taking the best for their own.

In the Gospel we witnessed how Jesus cleansed the leper from his predicament, removing from him the taint and the shame of leprosy that had once tainted and made him rejected and outcast among his own people. Jesus appreciated his faith and He was willing to extend His mercy and forgiveness to those who sincerely seek Him and wants to be healed and purified.

The parallel between the two readings can be seen in the low state of shame, despair and the destitute state when those who have disobeyed and refused to listen to the Lord suffered because of their actions and their inability to receive the grace and blessings from God. But God did not leave them all in darkness and uncertainty, as He provided them with the means with which they would be able to find a way out of that darkness.

Through all these, all of us should come to the realisation of the fact that, even though we may have been unworthy, sinful, wicked and filled with so much pride, hubris, darkness and with all of our negative emotions, but as long as we are willing to change ourselves and commit ourselves anew in our effort to love Him and devote ourselves to Him, then there is hope for all of us.

God loves us all, and He wants us all to be reunited with Him, and thus, even though we may have been separated from Him once, but He offered us a new opportunity, and in that opportunity, if we accept the offer which He had granted us with firm heart and resolution within, then surely we will find our way towards the promise of God’s eternal salvation and the life that He promised all of us.

What matters is that, we have to be able to overcome the barriers and the obstacles of fear that often blocked our path towards the Lord. This is because of the fact that we are all sinners that sometimes prevented us from actively and directly reaching out to the Lord, because of the uncertainties in our hearts, and our inability to understand and comprehend God’s great love and mercy.

But if we fear God’s anger and punishment and therefore we do not take the path towards the Lord’s mercy, then in many cases, most of us will just remain as where we are now, living constantly in sin and darkness. This is what we cannot do, and we have to stir ourselves awake so as to push ourselves into doing what is right and just in the sight and presence of the Lord.

Let us all now therefore, go forth and seek the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness for all of our trespasses, and so that we may reorientate ourselves and our lives to be in accordance to the will of God. Let us all from now on be more active and be more devoted to God our Lord and Father, that in all the things that we do and say, we will always bring glory to the Lord and remain in His love forever. Amen.

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Thursday, 14 January 2016 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 1 : 40-45

At that time, a leper came to Jesus and begged Him, “If You want to, You can make me clean.” Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I do want to; be clean.” The leprosy left the man at once and he was made clean.

As Jesus sent the man away, He sternly warned him, “Do not tell anyone about this, but go and show yourself to the priest, and for the cleansing bring the offering ordered by Moses; in this way you will give to them your testimony.”

However, as soon as the man went out, he began spreading the news everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter any town. But even though He stayed in the rural areas, people came to Him from everywhere.

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Thursday, 14 January 2016 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 43 : 10-11, 14-15, 24-25

Yet now You have rejected and humbled us; You no longer go forth with our armies. You have let our enemies drive us back and our adversaries plunder us.

You have made us the butt of our neighbours’ insult, the scorn and laughingstock of those around us. You have made us a byword among the nations; they look at us and shake their heads.

Awake, o Lord! Why are You asleep? Arise! Reject us not forever. Why hide Your face from us? Why forget our misery and woes?