Post Pentecost

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Monday, 29 June 2020 : Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Acts 12 : 1-11

About that time king Herod decided to persecute some members of the Church. He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword, and when he saw how it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also.

This happened during the Festival of the Unleavened Bread. Herod had him seized and thrown into prison with four squads, each of four soldiers, to guard him. He wanted to bring him to trial before the people after the Passover feast, but while Peter was kept in prison, the whole Church prayed earnestly for him.

On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound by a double chain, while guards kept watch at the gate of the prison. Suddenly, an Angel of the Lord stood there and a light shone in the prison cell. The Angel tapped Peter on the side and woke him saying, “Get up quickly!”

At once, the chains fell from Peter’s wrists. The Angel said, “Put on your belt and your sandals.” Peter did so; and the Angel added, “Now, put on your cloak and follow me.” Peter followed him out; yet he did not realise that what was happening with the Angel was real; he thought he was seeing a vision.

They passed the first guard, and then the second, and they came to the iron door leading out to the city, which opened by itself for them. They went out and made their way down a narrow alley, when suddenly the Angel left him. Then Peter recovered his senses and said, “Now I know that the Lord has sent His Angel and has rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from all that the Jews had in store for me.”

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Sunday, 28 June 2020 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday each and every one of us are yet again reminded of what it means for us to be called as Christians, that is as people who are truly believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, Divine Word Incarnate, by Whose deeds and sacrifice on the Cross all of us have been saved and redeemed from certain death. To all of us who have kept our faith in Him, the Lord has given us the reassurance of eternal life and true glory in Him.

Unfortunately, this is what many of us have forgotten in the midst of the hectic life we have in this world, all the experiences we have encountered in life among others. Many of us have forgotten God and ignored Him, and instead of trusting Him and having faith in Him, we worry and focus on the many distractions present in this world. We placed our trust in our own strength and power, and we are therefore bound to fall unless we are able to trust in God.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Second Book of Kings, about the prophet Elisha who came by the city of Shunem, and a rich woman and her family sheltered him and took good care of him during his stay. First of all, the rich woman recognised Elisha as a holy man of God and treated him nicely, giving him as good as an accommodation possible. At the time when being a follower of God and prophet was truly tough, as many among the people and the king worshipped pagan idols and disobeyed God, such a treatment for the prophet Elisha must have been really rare indeed.

And the Lord knew well what has been done to His faithful servant, and the woman did it without having certain ulterior motive or desire for her own selfish wants or purposes. Not knowing much more from the Scriptural sources, it can safely be assumed that the woman was simply a God-fearing woman and someone who believed in God enough that she respected His prophet Elisha very much, and treated him well. And the result of this was that, as the rich woman and her husband did not have a child of their own, God, through His prophet Elisha, granted them the child of their loving union.

This is related well to what we have heard in our Gospel passage today from the Gospel of St. Matthew, in which the Lord Jesus spoke of the matter of following God and becoming His disciples. In the first part, the Lord mentioned how being His followers would require them to give their all, to commit themselves body and soul, and dedicate themselves wholeheartedly, taking up and carrying their crosses together with the Lord, which means that they would face sufferings and difficulties, rejection and challenges just as the Lord Himself had faced these from the world.

But then, in the second part of the Gospel, the Lord said what had been recounted in the first reading, as He spoke of those who welcome the disciples and followers as having welcomed the Lord as well, and those who listened to them and treated them well as having listened and treated the Lord well too. This was clearly related to what had happened to the rich woman who welcomed the prophet Elisha to her home and treated him well, and God blessed her and her whole household because of that.

What then, is the significance of all these passages from the Scriptures today, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is that we must first of all be willing to follow God, and to trust ourselves in His providence and care, not worrying about what will happen to us or what we have to endure during the journey. Whether we will have an easy or difficult time in living up to our Christian calling is not something that we can predict or compare between us. Some of us may have to suffer a lot while others may suffer less or little, but nonetheless, what is important is that we serve God all the same.

Why I mention this is that, there are many of us who are afraid or unsure of following God and His path, and we always tend to delay, postpone and push aside God’s calling for us, and we tend to keep away from those responsibilities and duties we have been called to do as Christians and members of the Church. We are often worried about ourselves and our state in this world, our livelihood and all the things we have. We worry that if we follow the Lord, then we have to abandon whatever we have possessed and whatever we are comfortable with.

But, let us all not forget that, this is first of all, our responsibilities given to us as part of our Christian baptism, which in our second reading today, St. Paul highlighted that through baptism, we share in the death of Christ, that by plunging through the sacred waters of baptism, we go through that passage from death into life, recalling the journey of the ancient Israelites from their slavery in Egypt to their freedom through the Red Sea, and unite us all to the sufferings of Christ, Who took upon Himself all of our sins and the punishments due for those sins.

Through baptism, all of us have been made the members of the Church, and God has made us all His own beloved children, that all of us have become adopted sons and daughters of His, as we share in the death of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, and by the common humanity we share with Him. But then, we must not forget, that as we share in the death of Christ, as St. Paul told us, we also share in the new life He has brought us into through His glorious resurrection.

And that is what we need to take note of, as we heard from the closing part of our second reading today, ‘So you, too, must consider yourselves dead to sin, and alive to God, in Christ Jesus.’ That is exactly why we have to abandon our old fears and uncertainties, and embrace the Lord’s calling for us all with enthusiasm and desire to commit our lives in the service for His greater glory. God has called us all to various purposes in life, and we have received various talents, capabilities, skills and abilities to be used for this purpose.

There is no single calling that is better than the other in the Church and among us the faithful people of God. Some of us might have the misconception and wrong idea thinking that the ordained ministry, priesthood and religious life are better and higher compared to the lay ministry. Some of us glorify the holy orders and those in consecrated life as those who are better and holier than us, and that they are the ones doing all the work and the ministry, and some even misunderstood thinking that we then can be the content, receiving end of all the benefits without contributing much.

But we must forget that the lay ministry is equally as important, and we must dispel from our thoughts any preconceived notion that the lay ministry is anywhere less important. In fact, without active participation from the laity in proclaiming the Gospel in our daily living, then those in the holy orders, and those in religious and consecrated lives will also be affected badly in how they conduct their efforts. They cannot do what they are supposed to do, unless the laity and all work together to achieve the greater aims of the Church in obeying God’s will.

Each and every members of the Church are indivisibly part of the whole Body of Christ, that is the Church, and just as how all the organs need to work together to achieve the same purpose of sustaining the body, thus, all of us the faithful people of God must also do our part for the same purpose. Then, at the same time, each and every members of the Church also have their own respective and specific functions, and each can do best in their area of responsibilities, not competing but rather supporting each other.

Just as each organ are best in doing whatever they were designed to work as, thus, each and every one of us in the Church are also bound to do our best in whatever we have been called to, in our respective calling, to be holy priests, deacons and bishops, to be holy religious brothers and sisters, to be good missionaries and friars, prayerful monastics and all dedicating themselves to ascetic lifestyle, and of course to be good as laypeople, as singles or as married couples, as fathers and mothers, as sons and daughters, as members of good Christian families.

As the Lord Himself said, that ‘And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, because he is My disciple, I assure you, he will not go unrewarded.’, this means that if all of us support one another, and do what we can to serve God in our respective capacities, abilities, talents and opportunities, then just as the rich woman and her husband in our first reading today were blessed by God, then we too will enjoy the wonders of God’s providence and blessings. But we must not desire them or focus ourselves on them, lest we be distracted and fall into sin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all renew our faith and conviction to serve God at all times, with all of our strength and with all of our efforts. Let us all be the sources of strength and inspiration for one another, especially all the more important during these days when our world is facing so many troubles and great tragedies. Almost half a million people had lost their lives to the current coronavirus pandemic, and there had been so many acts of violence and divisions in our communities in the past few months alone, and it is our calling as Christians, to do whatever we can, be it as those in holy orders or the laypeople, to show the love and truth of God to all mankind.

Let us all be the light in the darkness for others, and let our words, actions and deeds bring hope and strength, encouragement and renewal for those who have been downtrodden, sorrowful and in despair. May the Lord continue to do His most amazing and wonderful works through our actions in life. May God bless us all in our good endeavours in fulfilling our Christian calling through our baptism, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 28 June 2020 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 10 : 37-42

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me. And whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me, is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life, for My sake, will find it.”

“Whoever welcomes you, welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me, welcomes Him Who sent Me. The one who welcomes a prophet, as a prophet, will receive the reward of a prophet; the one who welcomes a just man, because he is a just man, will receive the reward of a just man. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, because he is My disciple, I assure you, he will not go unrewarded.”

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Sunday, 28 June 2020 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 6 : 3-4, 8-11

Do you not know, that in baptism, which unites us to Christ, we are all baptised and plunged into His death? By this baptism in His death, we were buried with Christ and, as Christ was raised from among the dead by the glory of the Father, we begin walking in a new life.

But, if we have died with Christ, we believe we will also live with Him. We know, that Christ, once risen from the dead, will not die again, and death has no more dominion over Him. For, by dying, He is dead to sin, once and for all, and, now, the life that He lives, is life with God.

So you, too, must consider yourselves dead to sin, and alive to God, in Christ Jesus.

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Sunday, 28 June 2020 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 88 : 2-3, 16-17, 18-19

I will sing forever, o YHVH, of Your love, and proclaim Your faithfulness from age to age. I will declare how steadfast is Your love, how firm Your faithfulness.

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 YHVH; the God of Israel is our Shield.

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Sunday, 28 June 2020 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Kings 4 : 8-11, 14-16a

One day Elisha went to Shunem, and a rich woman invited him to eat. Afterward, whenever he went to that town, he would go to her house to eat. The woman said to her husband, “See, this man who constantly passes by our house is a holy man of God. If you want, we can make a small upper room for him, and place a bed, a table, a chair and a lamp in it. So when he comes, he may stay and rest.”

One day when Elisha came, he went to the upper room and lay down. So Elisha said to Gehazi, “What can we do for her?” The young man answered, “She has no children and her husband is now old.” And so Elisha said to him, “Call her.” The young man called her; and as the woman stood by the door, Elisha said, “By this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.”

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Saturday, 27 June 2020 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us are reminded of the need for all of us to seek God’s mercy, forgiveness, kindness and compassion. We are all reminded just how we are all truly sinners and unworthy of God and yet, all of us have been so fortunate and blessed to enjoy the graces of God and to be given many opportunities, yet again and again just that we may be reconciled with God.

Continuing from the previous few days’ discourse from the Old Testament in which we heard of the final days of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and how both kingdoms were destroyed because of the disobedience and sins of the people who chose to trust in their worldly designs and other worldly supports and matters rather than trusting in God, today, all of us heard in our first reading the part from the Book of Lamentations, which as the title holds, is filled with sorrow and regret for the sins that people have committed before God.

In that passage we heard of the destructions that had ravaged through the land, the destruction of Jerusalem and the entire kingdom of Judah and Israel centred in Samaria, which have been this week’s topic. And we heard how the Lord had laid the people humbled and low, shamed for their actions, disobedience and all. But at the same time, the author of the Book of Lamentations also called on the people to seek to return to God, to cry out for His mercy and forgiveness, to beg for His compassion and love to allow them to be reconciled with Him.

Then, we remember what we have then heard in our Gospel passage today, as the Lord encountered an army captain, whose servant had fallen sick and perhaps was on the verge of death. And being an army captain or centurion at that time, it was likely that this army captain was a member of the Roman army, and could very well have been a Roman himself. At that time, it was also quite common for the Jewish people to look down on the pagans and people whom they deemed to be unworthy of God’s kingdom, like the Samaritans as well as the Greeks and the Romans.

That was the context behind what the Lord then uttered when the army captain humbly sought the help of the Lord to heal his sick servant. And when the Lord wanted to go to his house, the army captain politely declined, and instead, spoke in a very interesting if not intriguing manner, saying that since in his position as an army captain, a mere word of his would be translated into direct order to be completed without fail, thus, if the Lord were to just speak the words, then the army captain believed that his servant would immediately be well.

First of all, visiting the house of a Gentile or a non-Jew especially if the Gentile is a pagan was truly a sensitive matter at the time, and many considered interacting with the Gentiles would make them unclean, going to the house of a Gentile made it even more unclean for them, and thus, was frowned upon by the society. The army captain might have been aware of this and wanted to avoid the Lord getting into controversy by visiting his house to heal his servant.

And then, what the army centurion said to the Lord also underlined his great and genuine faith in God, as contrasted to those who have seen the Lord’s works, heard His words and teachings, and yet, continued to doubt Him and demanded to see more signs and miracles, the army captain did not need to see the sign or witness for himself whatever the Lord was going to do. Instead, he believed that by the will of God alone, such a feat was possible and would be accomplished.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, that is exactly the kind of faith that all of us must have as well. The faith that leads us to seek God wholeheartedly, to be humble before Him and to love Him above all else, and not to allow the pride, ego, hubris and our desires from intervening and swaying us into disobedience and sin against God. In the past it was all these things that had brought the ancestors of the people of God into their downfall through sin and disobedience.

Are we able and willing to commit ourselves to God with new strength and hope, with new courage and desire to love God even more? That is why today we should also take courage and inspiration from one of our holy predecessors, namely St. Cyril of Alexandria, a great Church father and leader of the Church in Alexandria, and as its Patriarch, is one of the members of the Pentarchy, the five most senior leaders of the Church at time, and he was busy dealing with many issues facing the Church at that time.

St. Cyril of Alexandria was a courageous defender of the true Christian faith against the errors and the heresy of Nestorianism, which at that time was endangering the unity of the Church, with the false ideas being promoted by the then Patriarch Nestorius of Constantinople, the Imperial Capital of the Roman Empire. Nestorius claimed that the humanity and divinity of Christ were separated and not united together, creating a dual personality that were distinct, in contrast to the true teachings of the Church.

As Nestorius had his support from yet another powerful leader, the then Patriarch of Antioch, he had great sway over the Church and the faithful, and being the leader of the See of Constantinople, he had great influence over the secular Empire and its leadership as well. But this did not deter St. Cyril from trying his best to oppose the efforts of the heretics from gaining influence and further ground in the Church and among the faithful. He had to endure much suffering and opposition for his efforts.

But in the end, the efforts of St. Cyril of Alexandria bore fruits, as he managed to gain the support of the Church and many among those who remained true to the Orthodox faith, that the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus was convoked and in that Council, the true nature of Christ, his two natures, divine and human jointly united though distinct in the person of Jesus Christ, Lord and Saviour, was affirmed and the heresy of Nestorianism was condemned.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, having seen and heard what St. Cyril of Alexandria had done, all that he had done for the greater good of the Church, let us all devote ourselves, our time and attention, our faith and commitment to God from now on, that we may truly be able to follow God wholeheartedly from now on, following the good examples set before us by the army captain who professed his faith publicly before the Lord, as well as St. Cyril of Alexandria, the faithful servant of God.

May the Lord continue to guide us all through life, and may He strengthen us in faith and in the resolve to continue living our lives with faith from now on. May God bless us all and all of our good endeavours, at all times, now, always and forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 27 June 2020 : 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 8 : 5-17

At that time, when Jesus entered Capernaum, an army captain approached Him, to ask His help, “Sir, my servant lies sick at home. He is paralysed and suffers terribly.” Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

The captain answered, “I am not worthy to have You under my roof. Just give an order and my boy will be healed. For I myself, a junior officer, give orders to my soldiers. And if I say to one, ‘Go!’ he goes; and if I say to another, ‘Come!’ he comes; and if I say to my servant, ‘Do this!’ he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, He was astonished; and said to those who were following Him, “I tell you, I have not found such faith in Israel. I say to you, many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the kingdom of heaven; but the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown out into extreme darkness; there, they will wail and grind their teeth.”

Then Jesus said to the captain, “Go home now. As you believed, so let it be.” At that moment, his servant was healed. Jesus went to Peter’s house and found Peter’s mother-in-law in bed with fever. He took her by the hand and the fever left her; she got up and began to wait on Him.

Toward evening, they brought to Jesus many people possessed by evil spirits; and with a word, He drove out the spirits. He also healed all who were sick. In this way, what was said by the prophet Isaiah was fulfilled : He bore our infirmities and took on Himself our diseases.

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Saturday, 27 June 2020 : 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 73 : 1-2, 3-5a, 5b-7, 20-21

O God, have You rejected us forever? Why vent Your anger on the sheep of Your own fold? Remember the people You have formed of old, the tribe You have redeemed as Your inheritance. Remember Mount Zion, where You once lived.

Climb, and visit these hopeless ruins, the enemy has ravaged everything in the Sanctuary. Your foes have roared triumphantly in the holy place, and set up their banner of victory.

Like lumbermen felling trees, they smashed the carved panelling with hatchets, hammers and axes. They defiled Your Sanctuary and set aflame the dwelling place of Your Name.

See how they keep Your Covenant, in the dark caves of the land. Do not let the oppressed be put to shame; may the poor and needy praise Your Name.

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Saturday, 27 June 2020 : 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)

Lamentations 2 : 2, 10-14, 18-19

Without pity YHVH has shattered in Jacob every dwelling. He has torn down in His anger the ramparts of Judah’s daughter. He has thrown her rulers and her king to the ground, dishonoured.

The elders of the daughter of Zion sit in silence upon the ground, their heads sprinkled with dust, their bodies wrapped in sackcloth, while Jerusalem’s young women bow their heads to the ground. With weeping, my eyes are spent; my soul is in torment because of the downfall of the daughter of my people, because children and infants faint in the open spaces of the town.

To their mothers they say, “Where is the bread and wine?” as they faint like wounded men in the streets and public squares, as their lives ebb away in their mothers’ arms. To what can I compare you, o daughter of Jerusalem? Who can save or comfort you, o virgin daughter of Zion? Deep as the sea is your affliction, and who can possibly heal you?

Your prophets’ visions were worthless and false. Had they warned of your sins, your fate might have been averted. But what they gave you, instead, were false, misleading signs. Cry out to the Lord, o wall of the daughter of Zion! Oh, let your tears flow day and night, like a river. Give yourself no relief; grant your eyes no respite.

Get up, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches! Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him, for the lives of your children, who faint with hunger at the corner of every street.