Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 118 : 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102
How I love Your law, meditating on it all day!
Your command – mine – forever – has made me wiser than my enemy.
I have more insight than my teachers, for I meditate on Your decrees,
I have more understanding than the elders, for I abide by Your precepts.
I turn my feet from evil paths, that I may keep step with Your word.
I have not departed from Your decrees, for You, Yourself, have instructed me.
Liturgical Colour : Green
1 Corinthians 2 : 1-5
When I came to reveal to you the mystery of God’s plan I did not count on eloquence or on a show of learning. I was determined not to know anything among you but Jesus, the Messiah, and a crucified Messiah. I myself came weak, fearful and trembling; my words and preaching were not brilliant or clever to win listeners.
It was, rather, a demonstration of spirit and power, so that your faith might be a matter not of human wisdom, but of God’s power.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we all gather together to listen to the Word of God and reflect on what we have heard earlier on, we are all reminded first of all that as God’s holy and beloved people, we are all bound by His Law and commandments, and we have to not only know and understand them, but we also have to apply them consistently and thoroughly in each and every moments of our lives. Otherwise we cannot truly call ourselves as Christians if we do not truly embody and practice what we believe in, or if we do not walk in the path that the Lord has shown and taught us. Each and every one of us must always strive to do our part in embracing God and His path, so that we can be good examples and role models for each other in how we live our lives with faith.
In our first reading, we heard from the Book of Deuteronomy in which Moses, the leader of the people of Israel during the time of the Exodus and journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, reminded the Israelites that the Lord has given them all His Law and commandments, and they ought to abide by the precepts and details of that Law. They should heed whatever they had been told to do, to do what God has commanded them and shown them, and neither to take away or add anything to the Law, as changing those laws and commandments would mean that they would no longer truly obey the Lord in the right manner, and they would no longer be truly faithful to Him in their ways, actions, words and deeds. The Lord wants each and every one of His people to follow Him wholeheartedly and not be divided and swayed by false paths in life.
Moses also mentioned that the Israelites were truly blessed that God had chosen and called them to be His people, to be graced by His Law and Commandments, through which He showed them how to be truly be faithful to God at all times, and how they can be the shining beacons and examples of their faith and obedience to Him, so that everyone who witnessed their lives, works and actions, and interact with them would truly know that they all belong to the Lord, as God’s holy and beloved people, the shining beacons of God’s light, truth and love, bearing His salvation and righteousness into the world. On the other hand, if they did not do as the Lord had taught them to do, living their lives in a wicked and evil manner, then they would scandalise the good and Holy Name of God, and therefore, they would be judged and condemned by their lack of faith and virtue.
Then in the second reading this Sunday, taken from the Epistle of St. James the Apostle, we heard of the words of St. James, exhorting and reminding the faithful people of God that they all have received from the Lord Himself the gift of life, truth and also all the wonderful things that He has given and granted us, and which He had sowed and planted in us, entrusting to us many things which can help us to direct our attention towards the right path. But in that same passage taken as today’s second reading, we have also heard that St. James mentioned that we as the faithful people of God must be the ‘doers of the word’ and ‘not just hearers’, which complements nicely what he also mentioned in another part of his Epistle, that ‘faith without good works is dead’.
Essentially, this is a reminder to all of us that we have to be genuine followers and disciples of the Lord, not just as a formality and merely doing things for appearances. We have to be fundamentally faithful in all things, at all occasions and opportunities, doing our best to be the good and worthy in everything that we do throughout our whole lives. Otherwise then we are no better than hypocrites and unbelievers who do not have true and genuine faith in the Lord. There are many people who profess to be Christians and yet, they did not truly behave as those whom God had called and chosen to be His own people. We cannot be like those who only outwardly showed obedience to God and observance of His Law and commandments, and yet inside, they were without true love and desire to serve the Lord.
In our Gospel passage this Sunday, we heard exactly about this matter when the Lord told His disciples and rebuked the Pharisees who were there with Him, criticising His disciples on how they did not follow the prescribed manner of the Law in how they ought to wash their hands before they ate. The Lord criticised and rebuked those Pharisees precisely because they did not truly show genuine faith in the Lord, His Law and commandments, and were only making outward signs of obedience and fulfilment of the Law. Yet, their interior disposition and orientation in life were flawed and incorrect. They were more focused on worldly matters and all their preoccupations and obsessions with the rituals and details of the Law instead of truly obeying and following God in all things.
We heard the description of how the Pharisees were the group of religious and intellectual elites in the Jewish community at that time, who interpreted the Law of God and preserved it in a particularly strict and excessive manner, putting a lot of heavy burden on the people of God because they demanded a very rigorous and harsh observance of the Law of God, being overly obsessed with the details and the rituals associated with the Law of God, spending a lot of time and emphasis on those many rules and rituals, focusing on how much and how many times one washed one’s hands for example, which had to be done in a certain prescribed manner, and if the others do not follow as they had been told to do, then they would be criticised by the Pharisees.
This preoccupation and obsession with the rites and details of the Law is what the Lord criticised and rebuked the Pharisees for, as this led them to be empty in their hearts and minds, failing to truly appreciate and understand what the Lord had intended for us all through His Law and commandments. The Law of God has been given to us not to burden and make our lives difficult, and definitely not for a certain group of people to make themselves famous and glorious over others by gloating and thinking that they were superior and more worthy simply because they were obeying the Law and commandments in a more pious way. Instead, the Law of God was meant to help the people of God, all of us to love God and to follow His path, so that we may truly be able to embrace the righteousness of God.
Today, the Church also celebrates the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, the day when we are all reminded that the Lord has entrusted to us this world to be under our care and stewardship. Therefore, each and every one of us should always remember that we must be active in truly living our lives in the manner that God has told and shown us, and not to glorify ourselves or seek personal glory and ambition through this life. We certainly should not be like the Pharisees that twisted the Law of God for their own personal desires and ambitions. Instead, we must strive to do the things which the Lord has called us to do, to be true and genuine in our obedience and commitment to God, focusing our attention as always towards the Lord, our Master and Creator. We should take good care of this world, and responsibly play our roles as its steward that we do not end up ruining more of this world through our selfish actions and behaviours.
May the Lord continue to help us all to be ever more genuinely faithful and committed to Him. May He empower each and every one of us so that we will continue to do what is right and just which He has taught and shown us to do, and resist the temptations to disobey Him and to sin against Him. May God bless each and every one of us, bless our every good efforts, works and action, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Mark 7 : 1-8, 14-15, 21-23
At that time, one day, the Pharisees gathered around Jesus, and with them were some teachers of the Law who had just come from Jerusalem. They noticed that some of His disciples were eating their meal with unclean hands, that is, without washing them.
Now the Pharisees, and in fact all the Jews, never eat without washing their hands, for they follow the tradition received from their ancestors. Nor do they eat anything, when they come from the market, without first washing themselves. And there are many other traditions they observe; for example, the ritual washing of cups, pots and plates.
So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders, but eat with unclean hands?” Jesus answered, “You shallow people! How well Isaiah prophesied of you when he wrote : This people honours Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. The worship they offer Me is worthless, for what they teach are only human rules. You even put aside the commandment of God to hold fast to human tradition.”
Jesus then called the people to Him again and said to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and try to understand. Nothing that enters a person from the outside can make that person unclean. It is what comes from within that makes a person unclean, for evil designs come out of the heart : theft, murder, adultery, jealousy, greed, maliciousness, deceit, indecency, slander, pride and folly. All these evil things come from within and make a person unclean.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
James 1 : 17-18, 21b-22, 27
Every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of Light, in Whom there is no change, or shadow of a change. By His own will, He gave us life, through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of offering to Him, among His creatures.
And welcome the word that has been planted in you, and has the power to save you. Be doers of the word, and not just hearers, lest you deceive yourselves. In the sight of God, our Father, pure and blameless religion lies in helping the orphans, and widows in their need, and keeping oneself from the world’s corruption.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 14 : 2-3ab, 3cd-4ab, 5
Those who walk blamelessly and do what is right, who speak truth from their heart and control their words.
Those who do no harm to their neighbours and cast no discredit on their companions, who look down on evildoers but highly esteem God’s servants.
Those who do not lend money at interest and refuse a bribe against the innocent. Do this, and you will soon be shaken.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Deuteronomy 4 : 1-2, 6b-8
And now, Israel, listen to the norms and laws which I teach that you may put them into practice. And you will live and enter and take possession of the land which YHVH, the God of your fathers, gives you. Do not add anything to what I command you nor take anything away from it. But keep the commandments of YHVH, your God, as I command you.
When they come to know of all these laws, they will say, “There is no people as wise and as intelligent as this great nation.” For in truth, is there a nation as great as ours, whose gods are as near to it as YHVH, our God, is to us whenever we call upon Him? And is there a nation as great as ours whose norms and laws are as just as this Law which I give you today.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that each and every one of us as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, all the children of mankind all have received the various gifts, talents and blessings from God. All of us have been entrusted with those gifts with the intention of the Lord calling on us to share them and to make good use of them for the benefit of all those around us, for the good and benefit of everyone and not just for our own selfish needs and desires. We have been entrusted with all these so that we may be part of God’s Church and mission, to proclaim His truth and Good News to everyone around us.
In our first reading today, we heard of the continuation of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians in which the Apostle told the people of God there how they have been chosen by God to be His disciples and followers, and many among them were not important, powerful or influential in the eyes of the world. This does not mean that God was against the rich, powerful and influential ones in the world, but rather, He wanted to highlight to His beloved people, to all of us that He did not choose or judge us by our worldly qualities, possessions or by any other parameters which we often categorise ourselves into, as all those things are ultimately superficial and not what is truly important for all of us. Unfortunately, many of us often spent a lot of time and effort in trying to seek all those things instead of seeking what is truly important for us in our lives.
The Lord chose based on other qualities that often do not correspond with worldly standards of judgment, as this world often focuses on our material wealth, influence and fame, our physical appearances and other attributes which may prevent us from truly being able to follow the Lord faithfully, sincerely and with true commitment. That is because when we are obsessed with accumulating for ourselves those worldly things and matters, we often end up neglecting our responsibilities as Christians, in making good use of our gifts, talents and the guidance of God’s Wisdom, for the benefit of others around us. Instead, we often spend a lot of time and effort to try to garner for ourselves more of these worldly riches and possessions, all of which distract us from the true destination that we have in the Lord, as mentioned earlier.
In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Matthew in which the parable of the silver talents was told by the Lord to His disciples and to all those who were there listening to Him. In that parable we heard of how a master was going away overseas and chose to entrust three of his servants with some silver talents for them to make good use of and responsibly while he was away on his business. Then, we heard how the three servants acted differently with the silver which had been given to them. Each one of them were entrusted with different amounts of silver talents, with the one who were given five and two talents of silver investing and making good use of them and they gained the same amount in silver talents each, doubling what they had earlier from the master.
Meanwhile, the other servant who was only given one silver talent chose to hide it and not to use it at all, and because of that, by the time the master returns to ask for the results and reckoning the performance of his servants, that servant still had with him the same one silver talent. Those servants that had invested and doubled their investment were well-rewarded and entrusted by the master with great things, while the lazy and irresponsible servant faced the wrath of his master for his lack of action and irresponsibility. Instead of being rewarded, the lazy and irresponsible servant faced punishment and rebuke from the master, which is also a reminder for each and every one of us of what all of us are expected to do by God, our Lord and Master.
First of all, as we heard this, we must understand that as mentioned and discussed earlier in the first reading, God does not discriminate based on riches and wealth, or by how much He has blessed or gifted us with. We must not misunderstood that those who have received more, like those with five and two silver talents would be rewarded while the ones with less, like the servant with one silver talent would be punished. It was an analogy that the Lord used to show that what matters is our attitude and how we respond to what He has given and entrusted to us. More would be expected of those who have received more, and we should also make good use of these various gifts for everyone’s benefit and not just for ourselves.
It is important that we know and understanding this mission which we have been entrusted with by the Lord, to show love, care and concern towards one another, to our fellow brothers and sisters who may need our help and attention, particularly all those who have no one to care for them, those who have been neglected, abandoned and ignored by all others. As Christians, whatever we have been blessed with by God, and the many opportunities we have been given, they should be used for the greater good of those who are around us. We should not ignore the plight of those who are in need, and we must also realise that we have been given the opportunities to contribute our good works and actions to advance further the cause of the Lord and to fulfil the missions we have been entrusted with.
Let us all therefore renew our commitment to the Lord and do not allow ourselves to be led into inaction and ignorance of our responsibilities and missions as those whom God had called and chosen. Let us all be committed from now on to live lives that are truly worthy of the Lord, being good role models and inspiration for one another. May our lives as God’s holy and beloved people, as His faithful and committed disciples be inspiration and beacons of God’s light and truth to everyone. May God bless us all in our every actions, good works and endeavours, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Matthew 25 : 14-30
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Imagine someone who, before going abroad, summoned his servants to entrust his property to them. He gave five talents of silver to one servant, two talents to another servant, and one talent to a third, to each, according to his ability; and he went away.”
“He who received five talents went at once to do business with the talents, and gained another five. The one who received two talents did the same, and gained another two. But the one who received one talent dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.”
“After a long time, the master of those servants returned and asked for a reckoning. The one who had received five talents came with another five talents, saying, ‘Lord, you entrusted me with five talents, but see, I have gained five more.’ The master answered, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant, since you have been faithful in a few things, I will entrust you in charge of many things. Come and share the joy of your master.'”
“Then the one who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you entrusted me with two talents; with them I have gained two more.’ The master said, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant, since you have been faithful in little things, I will entrust you in charge of many things. Come and share the joy of your master.'”
“Finally, the one who had received one talent came and said, ‘Master, I know that you are a hard man. You reap what you have not sown, and gather what you have not scattered. I was afraid, so I hid your money in the ground. Here, take what is yours!’ But his master replied, ‘Wicked and worthless servant, you know that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered. You should have deposited my money in the bank, and given it back to me with interest on my return.'”
“Therefore, take the talent from him, and give it to the one who has ten. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who are unproductive, even what they have will be taken from them. As for that useless servant, thrown him out into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Psalm 32 : 12-13, 18-19, 20-21
Blessed is the nation whose God is YHVH – the people He has chosen for His inheritance. YHVH looks down from heaven and sees the whole race of mortals.
But YHVH’s eyes are upon those who fear Him, upon those who trust in His loving-kindness; to deliver them from death and preserve them from famine.
In hope, we wait for YHVH, for He is our help and our shield. Our hearts rejoice in Him, for we trust in His holy Name.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 