Pope St. John XXIII

by

Thursday, 15 January 2015 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 94 : 6-7, 8-9, 10-11

Come and worship; let us bow down, kneel before the Lord, our Maker. He is our God, and we His people; the flock He leads and pastures. Would that today you heard His voice!

Do not be stubborn, as at Meribah, in the desert, on that day at Massah, when your ancestors challenged Me, and they put Me to the test.

For forty years they wearied Me and I said, “They are a people of inconstant heart; they have not known My ways.” So I declared on oath in My anger, “Never shall they enter My rest.”

 

Homily and Reflection : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/14/thursday-15-january-2015-1st-week-of-ordinary-time-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

by

Thursday, 15 January 2015 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 3 : 7-14

Listen to what the Holy Spirit says : ‘If only you would hear God’s voice today! Do not be stubborn, as they were in the place called Rebellion, when your ancestors challenged Me in the desert, although they had seen My deeds for forty years. That is why I was angry with those people and said : Their hearts are always going astray and they do not understand My ways. I was angry and made a solemn vow : They will never enter My rest.’

So, brothers, be careful lest some of you come to have an evil and unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. Encourage one another, day by day, as long as it is called today. Let no one become hardened in the deceitful way of sin. We are associated with Christ provided we hold steadfastly to our initial hope until the end.

 

Homily and Reflection : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/14/thursday-15-january-2015-1st-week-of-ordinary-time-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

by

Wednesday, 14 January 2015 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the great act of God’s love again, the love which He had for us mankind, so much so that He took up our human form and by what He did, He sanctified the whole human race because He sanctified His very humanity and that essence of humanity by the mingling of His divinity with the Flesh and Blood that He offered for our salvation on the cross.

Yes, God had made us all sanctified and justified by Jesus, the Word of God made flesh and incarnate through Mary. As Christ is both God and Man at the same time, fully human and fully divine, He shares with us our human nature and our human body with all of its properties, and yet for He is without sin and pure, through His selfless offering of Himself as the sacrificial victim in place for our sins, thus He made all of us pure, just as the priests of Israel of old offered lambs and their blood for the purification of sins.

But while the priests of old offered the sacrifices for the people and also for themselves, for they were also sinners, and therefore having to offer the gifts and sacrifices again and again for the people continued to sin and deny the Lord, meanwhile the sacrifice of Christ is the sacrifice of the pure and blameless condemned to death, but one that was done out of great and infinite love. That sincere and selfless offering was accepted by God and became the source of our salvation.

And this salvation that God offered through Jesus Christ was the proof of His love and care for us. He cannot even bear to witness us falling into damnation and annihilation, the consequences of our rebelliousness and sinfulness. He wants us to be rescued from our great predicament, and thus He went forth showing that love through His healing of the sick, as what He had done with the mother-in-law of St. Peter.

By those miracles and healings, He became the sign of hope for many who saw in Him the salvation of God, and it gave them the hope of the liberation from the shackles of sin. Many flocked and thronged to see Him, and they brought many of the sick people to Him, so that He might heal them and make them whole once again. And many others also sought Him to hear Him and listen to His teachings, which dispelled the confusion and mystery of the Law of God, and revealed the Law in all of its full truth and reality.

And how is this relevant to us all, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is because we often forget the fact that we are sinners and we have been afflicted with that sickness of our soul. Sin taints our beings, and it separates us from the Lord, as long as we live in that sin and embrace the ways of sin as the way of life we adopt. We have to realise how we need to seek the Lord and ask Him to heal us and liberate us from our sins.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, just as the disciples told Jesus that everyone was looking for Him, and He responded by going forth to those people who sought Him, thus we too should seek out our Lord, who loves us very much, and who had given us the sanctification and purification by His death on the cross. He had given us so much, so what we should do is indeed to appreciate that love and has respect for our Lord’s sacrifice.

Therefore, as children of God, we should behave like what is expected from us, that is to live faithfully and keep love in our hearts always. If our actions, deeds and words reflect who we are supposed to be, then we have lived our faith quite well and in the end, not only we will be saved, but also others who see our faith, and through that they are saved as well together with us.

May Almighty God bless us all, grant us strength and perseverance to continue living this life we have with zeal and love, with the same love that God had given us, so that we may love one another and inspire each other in faith that all may be saved. God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/13/wednesday-14-january-2015-1st-week-of-ordinary-time-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/13/wednesday-14-january-2015-1st-week-of-ordinary-time-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/13/wednesday-14-january-2015-1st-week-of-ordinary-time-gospel-reading/

by

Wednesday, 14 January 2015 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 1 : 29-39

At that time, on leaving the synagogue, Jesus went to the home of Simon and Andrew with James and John. As Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with fever, they immediately told Him about her. Jesus went to her and, taking her by the hand, raised her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

That evening at sundown, people brought to Jesus all the sick and those who had evil spirits : the whole town was pressing around the door. Jesus healed many who had various diseases, and drove out many demons; but He did not let them speak, for they knew who He was.

Very early in the morning, before daylight, Jesus went off to a lonely place where He prayed. Simon and the others went out also, searching for Him; and when they found Him, they said, “Everyone is looking for You.” Then Jesus answered, “Let us go to the nearby villages so that I may preach there too; for that is why I came.”

So Jesus set out to preach in all the synagogues throughout Galilee; He also cast out demons.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/13/wednesday-14-january-2015-1st-week-of-ordinary-time-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

by

Wednesday, 14 January 2015 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 104 : 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9

Give thanks to the Lord, call on His Name; make known His works among the nations. Sing to Him, sing His praise, proclaim all His wondrous deeds.

Glory in His holy Name; let those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and be strong; seek His face always.

You descendants of His servant Abraham, you sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is the Lord our God; His judgments reach the whole world.

He remembers His covenant forever, His promise to a thousand generations, the covenant He made with Abraham, the promise He swore to Isaac.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/13/wednesday-14-january-2015-1st-week-of-ordinary-time-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

by

Wednesday, 14 January 2015 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 2 : 14-18

And because all those children share one same nature of flesh and blood, Jesus likewise had to share this nature. This is why His death destroyed the one holding the power of death, that is the devil, and freed those who remained in bondage all their lifetime because of the fear of death.

Jesus came to take by the hand not the angels but the human race. So He had to be like His brothers and sisters in every respect, in order to be the High Priest faithful to God and merciful to them, a Priest able to ask pardon and atone for their sins. Having been tested through suffering, He is able to help those who are tested.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/13/wednesday-14-january-2015-1st-week-of-ordinary-time-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

by

Tuesday, 13 January 2015 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Hilary, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the Lord Jesus healing the sick, the possessed and the suffering ones, from whom He cast out the demons. Yes, even demons had to obey that Man, our Lord Jesus Christ, for He is not just merely a Man, but also the Lord and Master of all creations. Satan was also once counted among His angels, and so did the other evil spirits, who were cast down from heaven for their rebellion against God.

He had come into the world to set everything straight and to take all things into His own hands, the Lord of all creations and all existences. He came to reclaim us from the clutches of Satan and to free us from the chains of sin and death. Thus, He came through Jesus, who became Man for our sake, and for our sake He laboured and toiled, resisting and fighting the forces of evil wherever He went during His ministry in this world.

And that was exactly what led to His works in this world, His casting out of demons and healing of the sick, so that He might make full again a people who had been torn apart by the darkness of the world, and bring them to the salvation which He had brought into the world. He came to save sinners and rescue those who are lost, the ones who could not find their way, blinded by sin and darkness.

Thus is the love which God has for us all mankind, so great that He was willing to humble Himself to come down to dwell among us as a simple Man, and to suffer for us, bearing all of our sins and the sufferings for those sins, that we may be liberated and brought free, released from the bonds and shackles which Satan has imposed on us, that is sin, the wickedness within our body, heart and soul, the disease of the soul that separated us from our loving God.

Many of us think that we are perfectly healthy, capable of doing many things we want in life, and many of us think of ourselves as unassailable and invincible, and great as well, because of our achievements and many other things. However, do we realise that all of us are truly afflicted with the sickness of sin? All of us without exception, all of mankind save for Christ alone are subjected to sin and corrupted by it in one way or another.

That is why our Lord who loves us, desires that we be brought to Him and be healed from the affliction of sin. He offered nothing else more precious and greater than Himself, as the Lamb of Sacrifice, offered on the Altar of Calvary, shedding His own Blood and offering it with His Body as a pleasing sacrifice to God, so that by that act of ultimate love and sacrifice, He purchased us and freed us from the slavery and bondage under Satan, and paid for our sinfulness in full.

And that is what Satan fears very much, his ultimate and greatest defeat, when mankind was snatched from his grasp and he knew of his ultimate defeat at the hands of the triumphant Lord. Even the devil knows that he has to submit and acknowledge his defeat before the Lord no matter how much he refused to do so and no matter how reluctant he was.

Therefore, today, as we continue to live our lives faithfully, we have to realise that our hope lies only in the Lord, for it is only He who is the source of salvation and life that can deliver us from the hands of the evil one and his allies. We cannot triumph and succeed on our own, but with the Lord on our side, nothing is impossible. Let us all ask the Lord to come to us and heal us from our afflictions of sin, and remove from us this corruption from our souls, minds, bodies and hearts.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Hilary of Poitiers, one of the greatest and most influential early Church father, whose works and teachings still profoundly affect many of the faithful and the Church of God even until today. St. Hilary of Poitiers was born a Roman pagan, but after studying the Scriptures thoroughly, he became convinced of the salvation which only our Lord God can offer, and he and his family converted to the true Faith.

At that time, many of the faithful came under the sway of the lies of the devil, and by the devil’s machinations, many were lost in the heresy as espoused and preached by Arius, now known as the Arian heresy. Arianism swept like wildfire across Christendom and caught many countless souls among its victims. Many went into hellfire and condemnation because they were swayed and tempted by the lies of the devil.

St. Hilary of Poitiers worked hard to reverse all that and saved as many souls as he could from the clutches of the devil. He succeeded in converting many but his path was not easy. It is often that those who have been ensnared in the lies of the devil and who had power, used that power to persecute the faithful ones, including St. Hilary of Poitiers. But St. Hilary never gave up and until the end of his life he continued to minister to the people of God and call them to repent from their sins. This is indeed an example we all should follow in our own lives.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all the children of God and the members of His Church commit ourselves anew to reject Satan and all of his false promises and lies. With the intercession and the help of St. Hilary of Poitiers, let us cast aside his sweet words and falsehoods and instead put our complete trust and faith in God alone. Yes, we ought to put our trust in He who had given His all for our sake so that we may be healed and freed from sin. God be with us all, now and forever. Amen.

 

First Reading : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/12/tuesday-13-january-2015-1st-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-hilary-bishop-and-doctor-of-the-church-first-reading/

 

Psalm : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/12/tuesday-13-january-2015-1st-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-hilary-bishop-and-doctor-of-the-church-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/12/tuesday-13-january-2015-1st-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-hilary-bishop-and-doctor-of-the-church-gospel-reading/

by

Tuesday, 13 January 2015 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Hilary, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Mark 1 : 21b-28

At that time, Jesus taught in the synagogue on the sabbath day. The people were astonished at the way He taught, for He spoke as One having authority and not like the teachers of the Law.

It happened that a man with an evil spirit was in their synagogue, and he shouted, “What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are : You are the Holy One of God.” Then Jesus faced him and said with authority, “Be silent, and come out of this man!”

The evil spirit shook the man violently and, with a loud shriek, came out of him. All the people were astonished, and they wondered, “What is this? With what authority He preaches! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey Him!” And Jesus’ fame spread throughout all the country of Galilee.

 

Homily and Reflection : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/12/tuesday-13-january-2015-1st-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-hilary-bishop-and-doctor-of-the-church-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

by

Tuesday, 13 January 2015 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Hilary, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Psalm 8 : 2a and 5, 6-7, 8-9

O Lord, our Lord, how great is Your Name throughout the earth! What is man that You be mindful of him, the Son of Man, that You should care for Him?

Yet You made Him a little lower than the angels; You crowned Him with glory and honour and gave Him the works of Your hands; You have put all things under His feet.

Sheep and oxen without number and even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and all that swim the paths of the ocean.

 

Homily and Reflection : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/12/tuesday-13-january-2015-1st-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-hilary-bishop-and-doctor-of-the-church-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

by

Tuesday, 13 January 2015 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Hilary, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Hebrews 2 : 5-12

The angels were not given dominion over the new world of which we are speaking. Instead, someone declared in Scripture : ‘What is man, that You should be mindful of him, what is the Son of Man that You should car for Him? For a while You placed Him a little lower than the angels, but You crowned Him with glory and honour. You have given Him dominion over all things.’

When it is said that God gave Him dominion over all things, nothing is excluded. As it is, we do not yet see His dominion over all things. But Jesus who suffered death and for a little while was placed lower than the angels has been crowned with honour and glory. For the merciful plan of God demanded that He experience death on behalf of everyone.

God, from whom all come and by whom all things exist, wanted to bring many children to glory, and He thought it fitting to make perfect through suffering the Initiator of their salvation. So He who gives and those who receive holiness are one. He Himself is not ashamed of calling us brothers and sisters, as we read : ‘Lord, I will proclaim Your Name to My brothers; I will praise You in the congregation.’

 

Homily and Reflection : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/12/tuesday-13-january-2015-1st-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-hilary-bishop-and-doctor-of-the-church-homily-and-scripture-reflections/