power of God

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Wednesday, 5 August 2015 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of a Basilica)

Psalm 105 : 6-7a, 13-14, 21-22, 23

We have sinned like our ancestors; we have done wrong and acted wickedly. When they were in Egypt, our ancestors had no regard for Your wondrous deeds.

But soon they forgot His works and did not wait for His counsel. They gave way to wanton craving and tempted God in the desert.

They forgot their Saviour God, who had done great things in Egypt, wonderful works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Sea of Reeds.

So He spoke of destroying them, but Moses, His chosen one, stood in the breach before Him to shield them from destruction.

Alternative reading (Mass for Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Judith 13 : 18bcde, 19

My daughter, may the Most High God bless you more than all women on earth. And blessed be the Lord God, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has led you to behead the leader of our enemies.

Never will people forget the confidence you have shown; they will always remember the power of God.

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Tuesday, 21 July 2015 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Exodus 14 : 21 – Exodus 15 : 1

Moses stretched his hand over the sea and YHVH made a strong east wind blow all night and dry up the sea. The waters divided and the sons of Israel went on dry ground through the middle of the sea, with the waters forming a wall to their right and to their left. The Egyptians followed them and all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and horsemen moved forward in the middle of the sea.

It happened that in the morning watch, YHVH in the pillar of cloud and fire, looked towards the Egyptian camp and threw it into confusion. He so clogged their chariot wheels that they could hardly move. Then the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites for YHVH is fighting for them against Egypt.”

Then YHVH said to Moses, “Stretch your hand over the sea and let the waters come back over the Egyptians, over the chariots and horsemen.” Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The waters flowed back and engulfed the chariots and horsemen of the whole army of Pharaoh that had followed Israel into the sea. Not one of them escaped.

As for the Israelites they went forward on dry ground in the middle of the sea, the waters forming a wall on their right and their left. On that day YHVH delivered Israel from the power of the Egyptians and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore. They understood what wonders YHVH had done for them against Egypt, and the people feared YHVH. They believed in YHVH and in Moses, His servant.

Then Moses and the people sang this song to YHVH : I will sing to YHVH, the Glorious One, horse and rider He has thrown into the sea.

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Monday, 20 July 2015 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Exodus 14 : 5-18

The king of Egypt was told that the people had fled; then Pharaoh and his ministers changed their minds with regard to the people. “What have we done,” they said, “in allowing Israel to go and be free of our service?” Pharaoh prepared his chariot and took his army with him. There were six hundred of his best chariots; indeed he took all the Egyptian chariots, each one with his warriors.

YHVH had hardened the mind of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who set out in pursuit of the Israelites as they marched forth triumphantly. The Egyptians – all the chariots and horses of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army – gave chase and caught up with them when they had encamped by the sea near Pihahiroth, facing Baalzephon.

The Israelites saw the Egyptians marching after them : Pharaoh was drawing near. They were terrified and cried out to YHVH. Then they said to Moses, “Were there no tombs in Egypt? Why have you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done by bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not what we said when we were in Egypt : Let us work for the Egyptians. Far better serve Egypt than to die in the desert!”

Moses said to the people, “Have no fear! Stay where you are and see the work YHVH will do to save you today. The Egyptians whom you see today, you will never see again! YHVH will fight for you and all you have to do is to keep still.”

YHVH said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. You will raise your staff and stretch your hand over the sea and divide it to let the Israelites go dryfoot through the sea. I will so harden the minds of the Egyptians that they will follow you. And I will have glory at the expense of Pharaoh, his army, his chariots and horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am YHVH when I gain glory for Myself at the cost of Pharaoh and his army!”

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Monday, 6 July 2015 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Maria Goretti, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 90 : 1-2, 3-4, 14-15ab

You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High, who rest in the shadow of the Almighty, say to the Lord, “My stronghold, my refuge, my God in whom I trust!”

He will rescue you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions and give you refuge under His wings.

“Because they cling to Me, I will rescue them,” says the Lord, “I will protect those who know My Name. When they call to Me, I will answer; in time of trouble I will be with them.”

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Wednesday, 1 July 2015 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 8 : 28-34

At that time, when Jesus reached Gadara, on the other side, He was met by two men, possessed by devils, who came out from the tombs. They were so fierce that no one dared to pass that way. Suddenly they shouted, “What do You want with us, You, Son of God? Have You come to torture us before the time?”

At some distance away there was a large herd of pigs feeding. So the demons begged Him, “If You drive us out, send us into that herd of pigs.” Jesus ordered them, “Go!” So the demons left and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned.

The men in charge of them ran off to the town, where they told the whole story, also what had happened to the men possessed with the demons. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their area.

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Friday, 22 May 2015 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 102 : 1-2, 11-12, 19-20ab

Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless His holy Name! Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.

As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His love for those fearing Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove from us our sins.

The Lord has set His throne in heaven; He rules, He has power everywhere. Praise the Lord, all you His angels, you mighty ones who do His bidding, you who obey His word.

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Saturday, 18 April 2015 : 2nd Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 6 : 16-21

At that time, after the feeding of the five thousand, when evening came, the disciples went down to the shore. After a while they got into a boat to make for Capernaum on the other side of the sea, for it was now dark and Jesus had not yet come to them.

But the sea was getting rough because a strong wind was blowing. They had rowed about three or four miles, when they saw Jesus walking on the sea, and He was drawing near to the boat. They were frightened, but He said to them, “It is I! Do not be afraid!”

They wanted to take Him into the boat, but immediately the boat was at the shore to which they were going.

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Thursday, 19 March 2015 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 2nd Anniversary of the Installation of Pope Francis, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 1 : 16, 18-21, 24a

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and from her came Jesus who is called the Christ – the Messiah.

This is how Jesus Christ was born : Mary His mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to discredit her. While he was pondering over this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a Son. You shall call Him ‘Jesus’ for He will save His people from their sins.”

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do.


Alternative reading

Luke 2 : 41-51a

Every year the parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover, as was customary. And when Jesus was twelve years old, He went up with them, according to the custom of this feast. After the festival was over, they returned, but the boy Jesus remained in Jerusalem, and His parents did not know it.

They thought He was in the company, and after walking the whole day they looked for Him among their relatives and friends. As they did not find Him, they went back to Jerusalem searching for Him, and on the third day they found Him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. And all the people were amazed at His understanding and His answers.

His parents were very surprised when they saw Him, and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Your father and I were very worried while searching for You.” Then He said to them, “Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?” But they did not understand this answer.

Jesus went down with them, returning to Nazareth, and He continued to be subject to them.

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Monday, 16 March 2015 : 4th Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 4 : 43-54

At that time, when the two days Jesus was in Samaria were over, He left for Galilee. Jesus Himself said that no prophet is recognised in His own country. Yet the Galileans welcomed Him when He arrived, because of all the things which He had done in Jerusalem during the Festival, and which they had seen. For they, too, had gone to the feast.

Jesus went back to Cana of Galilee, where He had changed the water into wine. At Capernaum there was an official, whose son was ill, and when he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and asked Him to come and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.

Jesus said, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe!” The official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” And Jesus replied, “Go, your son lives!” The man had faith in the word that Jesus spoke to him, and went his way. As he was approaching his house, his servants met him, and gave him the good news, “Your son has recovered!”

So he asked them at what hour the child began to recover, and they said to him, “The fever left him yesterday, at about one o’clock in the afternoon.” And the father realised that that was the time when Jesus had told him, “Your son lives!” And he became a believer, he and all his family.

Jesus performed this second miraculous sign when He returned from Judea to Galilee.

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Friday, 13 February 2015 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the theme of the readings that we hear is sin and forgiveness of that sin, which had been the bane for all of us men. Sin came about because of the disobedience which we had shown to the Lord, when we chose to listen to the words and sweet temptations of Satan rather than listening to the will of God.

In the first reading, taken from the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, we heard the account of how mankind fell into sin for the first time, the sin of our first ancestors, Adam and Eve, who listened to the wicked serpent, that is Satan, eating the fruits of the forbidden tree which God had forbid them to eat from. That tree of knowledge of good and evil is the reason why we mankind have ever since been exposed to evil and to sin, which is because of our inability to distinguish between the two due to the limitation of our intelligence, wisdom and abilities.

We were too greedy, brothers and sisters in Christ, and since the days of our ancestors, we have desired to seek many things that we ought not to have with us. As a result, we fall into a state of disgrace and separation from the love of our God. Sin entered into us, and we are rendered sick, blinded, deafened and made mute by the taints of that sin.

And yet, someone did not give up on us, no matter how fallen and wicked we have become, and no matter how hopeless we appear to have become. And that One is our Lord Himself, who loved us so much beyond everything else. He loves us all and He is concerned about us, worried about the fate which will be ours if we continue to walk on this path towards disaster, that is the path of sin.

That is why in the Gospel today we heard the story of when Jesus our Lord healed the deaf and dumb man, whom the Lord healed by the outpouring of His mercy and love, to open the ears and the mouth of the man and enable him to finally speak and listen again. Indeed, to listen to the wonders of the nature, all of God’s creation, and to speak of the Lord’s glory and everlasting life for all of us.

Too long we have dwelled in the darkness, and too long we have been corrupted by the snares of Satan. We have been blinded, made deaf and mute by the sins which Satan had tempted us with, and with our desires and greed piling up and growing, it is increasingly becoming more and more difficult for us to escape from the snares and the chains that kept us in this world of darkness. But, our salvation comes from the Lord, and He personally came to ensure that all of us be saved from the dangers of death and annihilation because of our sins.

In baptism according to the traditional and reverent rite, the same ritual is performed, following what Jesus did to the man, by touching the ears and the tongue with spittle, and saying the words ‘Ephphata!’ which means, ‘be opened!’. This is to symbolise that through baptism, our Lord had lifted us up from the darkness of sin, and by cleansing us with the holy water of baptism, He had unveiled from us, the true light that exists within us, dispelling all the veils and the falsehoods that Satan had planted all around us.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, today let us all recall our own baptism, the time when we have the waters of baptism being poured onto us. Baptism is the important moment in time when we are freed from the shackles of sin that hold onto us, and brought by the Lord to enter into His eternal light. Thus, as we remember our own baptism, let us all renew our commitment of faith to God, and awaken in us all the passion and desire to love Him more and more.

Let us all shun all forms of sin, repent and be glad once again, for our Lord had come to liberate us, and all of us who believe in Him, will not be disappointed, but will forever enjoy the grace and love of our Lord. God bless us all. Amen.