Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 18 : 2-3, 4-5
The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. Day talks it over with day; night hands on the knowledge to night.
No speech, no words, no voice is heard – but the call goes on throughout the universe, the message is felt to the ends of the earth.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Ephesians 4 : 1-7, 11-13
Therefore, I, the prisoner of Christ, invite you, to live the vocation you have received. Be humble, kind, patient and bear with one another in love. Make every effort to keep among you, the unity of spirit, through bonds of peace. Let there be one body, and one Spirit, just as one hope is the goal of your calling by God. One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God, the Father of all, Who is above all, and works through all, and is in all.
But to each of us, divine grace is given, according to the measure of Christ’s gift. As for His gifts, to some, He gave to be Apostles; to others, prophets, or even evangelists; or pastors and teachers. So, He prepared those who belong to Him, for the ministry, in order to build up the Body of Christ, until we are all united, in the same faith and knowledge of the Son of God. Thus, we shall become the perfect Man, upon reaching maturity, and sharing the fullness of Christ.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we all heard the words of the Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded to be truly focused on the Lord in our whole lives, as we are all called to be His followers and disciples, walking in the path that He has shown us all, through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ and through the Church that He has established in this world, to be the one united Body of all the believers and all the people of God. All of us have been called and chosen by the Lord, and as Christians, we are all those who have responded to the Lord’s call and embraced His path, to do His will and to carry out His works, in our every words, actions and deeds in this world. Through those Scripture passages, we are reminded that our existence and purpose should truly be to follow and to serve the Lord our God, wholeheartedly, in all things.
In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the words of the prophet calling on all the people of God to seek the Lord and to call upon Him when He is still near, calling on all the people of God to turn away from their wickedness ands sins, and to embrace once again their loving God and Master, following Him with all faith and obedience, entrusting themselves to His Wisdom and Providence, and not to question and doubt His will and ways, because ultimately, there are many things that are beyond our thoughts and understanding, our ability to comprehend and for us to realise fully in our lives. That is why we should always trust in the Lord and follow Him all our lives, doing whatever we can in order to proclaim His truth and carry out His works all the time.
Then, in our second reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Philippians, we heard of the words of St. Paul to the faithful people of God there, relating to them the dilemma that he had in wanting to go to the Lord and to die for Him, versus continuing to labour and live in this world in carrying out God’s works and will. Both of those things did have merits, and as history has shown us, many of our holy predecessors had glorified God by their exemplary lives and actions, their works and ministry, as St. Paul himself had done, and then many also inspired by their courageous suffering and martyrdom, by which they left this world and enter into the glory of Heaven, which St. Paul himself eventually went through as well, when he was martyred in Rome at the end of his long ministry.
In essence, what St. Paul told the faithful in Philippi was a reminder for all of them to trust in the Lord and in whatever He has designed for them, just as He has led St. Paul in whatever that He wanted him to do in his ministry. One may indeed desire to do certain things in life, but ultimately, it is by God’s grace and guidance, and His will that will happen in the end. Thus, aligned to what we have discussed earlier, we have to answer God’s call and entrust ourselves to Him, committing ourselves to the path that He has shown and guided us all into. As Christians, we are called to walk the path of righteousness and virtue, and the path through which each one of us are expected to live our lives in accordance to God’s ways, and to embody our faith in our every actions, words and deeds.
In our Gospel passage today, we heard the parable of the workers from the Lord, in which He spoke of a master and owner of a vineyard, who went forth to the streets and various places, calling upon people of all sorts to come and work in his vineyard. The landowner in that parable represents the Lord, our God and Master, and the vineyard represents this world, where we all labour and work in, with the workers called to work in the vineyard representing all of us whom God had called and chosen to be His people, His disciples and followers. Certainly, not all the people that the landowner called would have responded to him and accepted his offer to work in his vineyard, just as how many rejected the Lord and refused to believe in His Good News and salvation.
However, as we heard from the parable, the landowner kept on going again and again to the streets, reaching out to as many people as he could, and gathered more and more to come and work in his vineyard. It is not impossible or far fetched that some of those who have refused him earlier might have had a change of heart and mind, and therefore responded to the landowner, deciding to come and work in his vineyard. That is exactly just what the Lord would do to us, even if we were to reject Him and refuse Him. He will still call us and offer us His truth and guidance, as long as the time and opportunities are still available to us. Only those who persisted to refuse to the very end, will therefore be cast out into the darkness and eternal damnation, which by their own free will, they have rejected God and His generous love and mercy.
Then, we heard about how all those who have answered the landowner’s call and worked in his vineyard, all were rewarded the same amount in the end, whether those who started their work early or whether they joined at the very last hour. We heard how those who have joined earlier grumbled because they compared their work to those who have joined the work at the last moment, but the landowner told them all that everything had been done in accordance to what he had agreed with all of them, since the time when they had joined the work. Hence, they should not be grumbling or complaining that they were not being paid their dues. This must be better understood in the context that the landowner, being a representation of the Lord Himself, having called all of us to Himself, will give us all the same gift, since we are all equally beloved by Him.
It is also an important reminder that we should not live our lives and faith in comparing ourselves with one another, or thinking that just because we have responded to the Lord’s call earlier, then we are somehow superior or better than those who have answered the Lord’s call later on in their lives. This is the attitude that many of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law adopted at the time of the Lord and His ministry, in which their self-righteous and selfish attitudes ended up closing their hearts and minds against the Lord and His truth, in their repeated refusal to believe in Him and in their stubborn oppositions to His works. That is why, we must always remind ourselves that it is by God’s grace and love that we have been saved, and not by our own power, might and abilities.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore as we have heard from our Scripture passages today, we are all called to live our lives wholeheartedly for the Lord and commit ourselves thoroughly to Him and to His cause. As Christians, God’s holy and beloved people, we should not prioritise our own selfish desires and worldly concerns and attachments above that of serving God and doing His will. Rather, all of us should always put the Lord at the centre and as the focus of our whole entire lives and existence. That is how we can then truly live our lives more attuned to God and His ways, and that is how we can be better and more worthy disciples and followers of our Lord. Unless we do our best to trust in the Lord and allow Him to lead us down the right path, and unless we put the conscious efforts to obey Him in all and every one of our words, actions and deeds, we may end up falling away into sin and damnation.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore strive our best this Sunday and henceforth to be true and genuine Christians, in doing what the Lord has called and entrusted us to do, in all available opportunities. Let us all do our best in our own ways and in our various respective areas in life, so that in each and every things we do, in our every interactions with one another, we will always proclaim the glory of God and reveal His truth and love to more and more people. That is what each and every one of us are expected to do, as the workers of the Lord’s vineyard, that is this world where we are living in. Let us all be great role models and inspirations for one another, that God’s light and truth may be shown to all around us. May God be with us always, and may He empower and strengthen us at all times. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Matthew 20 : 1-16a
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “This story throws light on the kingdom of heaven : A landowner went out early in the morning, to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay each worker the usual daily wage, and sent them to his vineyard.”
“He went out again, at about nine in the morning, and, seeing others idle in the town square, he said to them, ‘You also, go to my vineyard, and I will pay you what is just.’ So they went. The owner went out at midday, and, again, at three in the afternoon, and he made the same offer.”
“Again he went out, at the last working hour – the eleventh – and he saw others standing around. So he said to them, ‘Why do you stand idle the whole day?’ They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ The master said, ‘Go, and work in my vineyard.'”
“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wage, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ Those who had gone to work at the eleventh hour came up, and were each given a silver coin. When it was the turn of the first, they thought they would receive more. But they, too, received one silver coin. On receiving it, they began to grumble against the landowner.”
“They said, ‘These last, hardly worked an hour; yet, you have treated them the same as us, who have endured the heavy work of the day and the heat.’ The owner said to one of them, ‘Friend, I have not been unjust to you. Did we not agree on one silver coin per day? So take what is yours and go. I want to give to the last the same as I give to you. Do I not have the right to do as I please with what is mine? Why are you envious when I am kind?'”
“So will it be : the last will be first.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Philippians 1 : 20c-24, 27a
Christ will be exalted through my person, whether I live or die. For to me, living is for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I am to go on living, I shall be able to enjoy fruitful labour. Which shall I choose?
So I feel torn between the two. I desire greatly to leave this life and to be with Christ, which will be better by far, but it is necessary for you that I remain in this life. Try, then, to adjust your lives according to the Gospel of Christ.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 144 : 2-3, 8-9, 17-18
I will praise You, day after day; and exalt Your Name forever. Great is YHVH, most worthy of praise; and His deeds are beyond measure.
Compassionate and gracious is YHVH, slow to anger and abounding in love. YHVH is good to everyone; His mercy embraces all His creation.
Righteous is YHVH in all His ways, His mercy shows in all His deeds. He is near those who call on Him, who call trustfully upon His Name.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Isaiah 55 : 6-9
Seek YHVH while He may be found; call to Him while He is near. Let the wicked abandon his way, let him forsake his thoughts, let him turn to YHVH for He will have mercy, for our God is generous in forgiving.
For My thoughts are not your thoughts, My ways are not your ways, says YHVH. For as the heavens are above the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Lord in the Scriptures, we are reminded yet again on our faith in the Lord and our beliefs in Him, in how we should have faith in us, which He has sown in us, and we should bear rich fruits of faith, through our exemplary lives and actions. Each and every one of us should do our best to love and serve the Lord at every moments throughout life, so that we may truly live our lives as good and dedicated Christians, worthy of being the ones who have been made and created in the image of God Himself, and Whom God had called and willingly made to be His own beloved children and people. And we are all called to nurture in us this faith, such that our faith will continue to mature and blossom, becoming ever stronger and more vibrant with time and experiences.
In our first reading today taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city of Corinth we heard the Apostle St. Paul spoke to the people there regarding the matter of the resurrection from the dead and the resurrection of the body as there were still members of the faithful who did not understand or appreciate what the resurrection truly meant and how it would affect all of them. There were then still members of the Christian faithful, probably those who once belonged to the caste of the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection from the dead who had doubts about the resurrection and did not understand how it works. They therefore were still doubtful of the teachings of the Resurrection and some other tenets of the Christian faith.
St. Paul highlighted how through Christ, the Saviour of the world, Who came into this world, bearing the truth and salvation from God, has shown us a new life through Him, a new existence that goes beyond our earthly life. He mentioned how the first Adam, our ancestor was given life when he was created by God, and how the New Adam, that is Christ Himself, has brought upon us true and everlasting life, that we shall transcend beyond our mortal bodies and existence, and through Him we shall be reunited and reconciled with God. That new life, which God brought upon us through His Son, shows us that our mortality and death do not mark the end of our existence, and instead there is eternity beyond that of death.
In our Christian faith and beliefs, all of us believe that there is life beyond death, and while all of us have to experience suffering and death as consequences for our sins, but the same sins and death do not have the final say over us. To those who are righteous and worthy, God has shown us through Jesus Christ, His Son, our Saviour, that we shall be reunited with Him and shall once again enjoy the fullness of His grace and blessings as He has always intended for us. The Lord has always been so reassuring towards us, and He did not just love us despite our many rebellions and disobedience against Him, but He even sent us His Son to bring His salvation and deliverance upon us.
In our Gospel passage today, we heard the well-known parable of the sower by the Lord, in which the Lord Himself told His disciples of what happened to the seeds sown in four different places, by the roadside, on rocky and dry ground, amongst the thistles and brambles, and finally on rich and fertile soil. The Lord went through the meaning of each part of the parable and told them what each of them represented, and how the seeds were truly a reference to the Word of God, the Wisdom and truth which God has bestowed on all of His people. How and where the seeds landed represented how we mankind responded to the Lord, to His truth and love, to His Good News and grace in our midst.
We have to realise that as long as we continue to resist the Lord in the manner of how some among the faithful in Corinth continued to have doubts and reservations on their beliefs, and in their inability to comprehend the resurrection, then it is just like how we mankind tend to shut the Lord out of our lives as we prefer to live them in the manner that we want to live them, following the ways of the world and the paths that may not conform to the path that God has shown and taught us. More often than not we prefer to trust in our own judgments and ideals, and not listening to God speaking to us in the depth of our hearts and minds. And our preoccupation with our own desires prevent us from being able to listen to Him.
Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Januarius, a great and holy servant of God, whose life and commitment to God should serve as a great example and inspiration for all of us to follow in our lives. St. Januarius was the Bishop of Benevento in what is part of southern Italy today. He is famously today the patron saint of the great southern Italian city of Naples, where his blood relic miraculously undergoes liquefaction at important events especially on his feast day such as today. He was known for his dedication and commitment to his people, as the shepherd of the Lord’s flock, who were then suffering under the great persecution by the Roman state during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. It was told by Church traditions and contemporary accounts that he helped to hide and protect Christians from being persecuted and arrested, and eventually he himself was arrested, persecuted and martyred for his faith, ever faithful to the Lord, to the very end.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore follow the great examples of the saints and martyrs, and that of our Lord Himself, so that each and every one of us, in every opportunities and at every occasions, may always guide and strengthen us all in our resolve and desire to serve and follow Him ever more faithfully in all things. May all of us also be great inspiration and examples for one another, that we may truly show God’s righteousness and truth to all the whole world, as the witnesses of His Resurrection and the worthy bearers of His Good News. May God bless our every efforts and endeavours, and help us to live our lives worthily at all times. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Luke 8 : 4-15
At that time, as a great crowd gathered, and people came to Jesus from every town, He began teaching them with a story : “The sower went out to sow the seed. And as he sowed, some of the seed fell along the way, was trodden on, and the birds of the sky ate it up.”
“Some seed fell on rocky ground; and no sooner had it come up than it withered, because it had no water. Some seed fell among thorns; the thorns grew up with the seed and choked it. But some seed fell on good soil and grew, producing fruit, a hundred times as much!” And Jesus cried out, “Listen then, if you have ears to hear!”
The disciples asked Him, “What does this story mean?” And Jesus answered, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. But to others it is given in the form of stories, or parables, so that, seeing, they may not perceive; and hearing, they may not understand.”
“Now, this is the point of the parable : The seed is the word of God. Those along the wayside are people who hear it; but immediately, the devil comes and takes the word from their minds, for he does not want them to believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are people who receive the word with joy; but they have no root; they believe for a while, and give way in time of trial.”
“Among the thorns are people who hear the word, but, as they go their way, they are choked by worries, riches, and the pleasures of life; they bring no fruit to maturity. The good soil, instead, are people who receive the word, and keep it, in a gentle and generous mind, and, persevering patiently, they bear fruit.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Psalm 55 : 10, 11-12, 13-14
My enemies turn back when I call on You for help; now I know, that God is for me.
In God, Whose word I praise; in God I trust, without fear. What can mortals do against me?
I am bound to You by vows, o God; I shall offer my thanksgiving. For You have rescued my soul from death and my feet from stumbling; that I might walk in God’s presence, in the light of the living.
