Purple

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Monday, 4 July 2022 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we recall the words of the Lord, we are reminded to turn wholeheartedly towards God and to remember just how much He has loved us, so graciously and wonderfully, and how through Him we shall receive the assurance of eternal life and true joy in His presence. The Lord has always been kind and loving towards us, and He has always reached out to us with love and patience, embracing us whenever we return to Him and wanting to be reconciled to Him. That is just how much God cares for us, when many of us simply often ignored Him and disregarded His love.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Hosea, we heard the Lord speaking to His people in the northern kingdom of Israel, who during the ministry of Hosea was on the last days of its existence, threatened from all sides by its neighbours, especially by the mighty Assyrians, who conquered many of the nations including Israel itself. Eventually the state of Israel itself was subjugated, crushed and utterly destroyed by the Assyrians, who destroyed their capital of Samaria and their other cities, carrying off their people into exile far away from their homeland. All these because they trusted more in themselves and in their pagan gods rather than in God.

In the past week, if we have been following the daily readings, we heard the readings from the prophet Amos, another prophet God sent to the land of Israel somewhat earlier than Hosea, telling them of this impending and unavoidable fate of destruction, because of their continued stubbornness and wickedness, and their refusal to repent their sinful ways. The Lord told them all that they would experience because of their pride, their lack of faith and evils, but at the same time, He also wanted to tell them that the path to His forgiveness, mercy and grace still remained open. He did not despise them but rather, He despised their sins and wicked way of life.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the two great miracles that the Lord performed for those who sought His help, in which one of them was a woman who had long suffered from a bleeding problem, while the other was the daughter of a synagogue official who had become sick and eventually died while the Lord was still on His way to her house. In both cases, the woman with the bleeding issue and the synagogue official himself were seeking for the Lord, wanting for healing to come from God, because they truly believed in Him. They had their own respective faith in the Lord and turned towards Him in their hour of need.

The woman had suffered from the bleeding which according to the Law would have made her unclean and unworthy of God, and as per the Jewish customs and laws, she could not have taken part in the worship and prayers at the Temple because of her unclean nature. She tried to approach the Lord discreetly because her condition understandably most likely had caused her to be somewhat a pariah or outcast within the community, and she did not want to draw attention to herself, or to the Lord. And it was by her faith that she was healed, because she sought the Lord and entrusted herself to Him, and the Lord made known her faith to everyone, and how her faith in Him saved her. This reminds us that no sinner is beyond redemption, and we should not be ashamed to seek for the Lord.

Meanwhile, what we heard from the account of the healing and resurrection of the dead daughter of the synagogue official reminded us all that there is nothing that the Lord cannot do for us, for He is the Master of all, even over live and death. Through Him and His will alone we exist, and through His love and grace we receive the gift of eternal life and the assurance of salvation and true joy, which the Lord gave to all those who are faithful to Him. The Lord has shown His compassion and kindness to those who entrust themselves to Him, and not even death could stop Him. And through His raising of the dead daughter of the synagogue official, He showed us all that there is nothing for us to worry or be afraid about, as His followers and as we embark on His path.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are called and reminded of the love and mercy of God, which He showed generously to us even though we are sinners. Each one of us are reminded of this and therefore are called to be filled with the same love that He has for us, that we may love Him with the same fervour and devotion. Today we should hence be inspired by the examples set by St. Elizabeth of Portugal whose feast we celebrate this day. St. Elizabeth of Portugal was the Queen of Portugal who although a member of the royal family, was renowned for her great piety and exemplary actions throughout her life in loving the poor and the needy all around her.

St. Elizabeth of Portugal often spent a lot of effort in caring for the need of her people, and in providing for the works of the Church, reaching out to many parties throughout her realm, renowned for her great charity and kindness. And after her husband’s death, she retired to a monastery, committing the rest of her life to a life of prayer and sanctity. St. Elizabeth of Portugal, her righteous and faithful life, her dedication to God and her obedience to Him should be inspirations and examples for all of us faithful people of God ought to follow and emulate in our own lives, in each and every moments of our present existence.

Let us all hence renew our commitment and devotion to God, so that we may draw ever closer to Him. Let us glorify Him from now on through our actions and deeds, our every words and works, and that through us more and more may come to believe in God as well and be saved. May all of us grow ever more in our faith and trust more in the Lord with each and every passing days. Amen.

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Monday, 4 July 2022 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Matthew 9 : 18-26

At that time, while Jesus was speaking to the disciples of John and the Pharisees, an official of the synagogue came up to Him, bowed before Him and said, “My daughter has just died, but come and place Your hands on her, and she will live.”

Jesus stood up and followed him with His disciples. Then a woman, who had suffered from a severe bleeding for twelve years, came up from behind and touched the edge of His cloak; for she thought, “If I only touch His cloak, I will be healed.”

Jesus turned, saw her and said, “Courage, my daughter, your faith has saved you.” And from that moment, the woman was cured. When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players and the excited crowd, He said, “Get out of here! The girl is not dead. She is only sleeping!” And they laughed at Him.

But once the crowd had been turned out, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up. The news of this spread through the whole area.

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Monday, 4 July 2022 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Psalm 144 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

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.

Parents commend Your works to their children and tell them Your feats. They proclaim the splendour of Your majesty and recall Your wondrous works.

People will proclaim Your mighty deeds; and I will declare Your greatness. They will celebrate Your abundant kindness, and rejoice in singing of Your justice.

Compassionate and gracious is YHVH, slow to anger and abounding in love. YHVH is good to everyone; His mercy embraces all His creation.

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Monday, 4 July 2022 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Hosea 2 : 16, 17b-18, 21-22

So I am going to allure her, lead her once more into the desert, where I can speak to her tenderly. There, she will answer Me, as in her youth, as when she came out of the land of Egypt.

On that day, YHVH says, “You will call Me my Husband, and never again : my Baal. You will be My spouse forever, betrothed in justice and integrity; we will be united in love and tenderness. I will espouse you in faithfulness; and you will come to know YHVH.”

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Sunday, 3 July 2022 : Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we gather together to celebrate the Eucharist, all of us are reminded through the readings of the Scriptures of the calling of the Lord, Who has told us of His love, grace and kindness, and also called on us to be the witnesses of this same love and compassion to our world today. Through the Scripture passages we have heard today, we are all reminded that as members of the Church of God, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, we are all sharing in the same mission that God has entrusted to us His Church. And that mission is for us to proclaim His truth and love to all the people of all the nations, so that more and more may come to believe in God and be saved.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which God spoke to His people through Isaiah, the prophet who delivered unto them the hopeful words of the coming of God’s salvation, the coming of the Saviour or the Messiah of God, which would later on come true in the coming of Christ into this world. The words of God’s salvation and truth have been revealed to His people, telling them that despite all the trials and challenges they have faced and were going to face, the Lord would one day show His saving help and bring them deliverance much in the same manner as how He had once freed their ancestors from the land of Egypt.

Back then, during the time of the ministry of the prophet Isaiah, the nation of Israel had been long divided into two parts, the northern kingdom, called Israel, centred in Samaria and the southern kingdom, called Judah, centred in Jerusalem, the City of God. And by that time, the northern kingdom had been crushed and utterly destroyed by the Assyrians, who destroyed Samaria and carried off most of its populations to far-off exile in Assyria, Babylon and beyond. And thus, the people of God was scattered all over the world, exiled from and losing their homeland, the land that God had given to their ancestors.

All these were due to the disobedience and infidelity of the people who often hardened their hearts and minds against God. God sent them many prophets and messengers, to remind them, guide them and help them to find their way back so that they might be reconciled with Him. Yet, many of these prophets, messengers and servants of God were persecuted, rejected and killed, all because they told the people of the sins and wickedness that they had committed before God and men alike. The Lord has shown His kindness and mercy, His ever generous love and compassion, and that was met by many of the people with apathy and indifference, or even hostility and stubbornness.

Yet, God never ceased to love His people, and still continued to reach out to them. He called on all of them to return to Him, to repent from their sinful ways and to embrace once again His ways. The Lord called on all to be His disciples and followers, which He had done through His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, through Whom the prophecies of Isaiah and the many other prophets came true. Through Christ, His Son, God revealed to us how He calls on all of us, not just the Jewish people, who were the direct descendants of the people of Israel and Judah, but also the whole entire world, the entire race of mankind, to be His people.

That was what St. Paul made clear in our second reading today, in the Epistle that he wrote to the Church and the faithful in the region of Galatia in Asia Minor. At that time, during the early Church, one of the common problems facing the Church is the divide and the disagreements existing between the Jewish converts to the Christian faith and those Gentiles who became believers, and each group frequently differed in their understanding of what the Church and the Christian faith is all about. Hence, that led to much controversies and even bitter divisions that hurt the unity of the Church, the Body of Christ, and endangering the fate of many souls.

Hence, St. Paul yet again reminded the people that each and every one of them are members of the same Church, having been called and chosen, and having decided to put their faith in the Lord and in His salvation. They should no longer be divided or be hostile against each other, or be exclusive and stubborn in their attitudes, in thinking that each one of them or their groups were better than the others, or that their way should prevail over that of other different ways and paths of believing in God. St. Paul reminded all the Christian faithful, and hence all of us today, that we are truly one people, one flock in one Church, worshipping the same one only True God.

This truth is what the Lord wanted to propagate to the whole world, as He sent out His disciples as we heard in our Gospel passage today, two by two as they went on their missions, to preach the Good News and to prepare the way for the Lord. In that Gospel passage today, we are reminded yet once again of the primary mission of the Church, which is evangelisation. The Church, composed of all of the faithful people of God, the priesthood and the laity, all alike, all have been entrusted with the same mission, and that is to proclaim the Good News of God, His salvation and to bring all peoples of all the nations to God, that they may all come to believe in God.

However, this cannot happen unless each and every one of us first live our lives well in accordance to the way which the Lord Himself had revealed to us. If we ourselves did not live our lives in the way that the Lord had taught us to do, then how can we proclaim His truth and ways to others? In fact, as it had happened many times throughout the history of the Church, the actions of those who were hypocrites and those who claimed outwardly to be Christians and yet were most un-Christian-like in their actions, words, deeds and way of life, had driven more and more people away from the Lord. That happens even right up to this very day.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through the Scripture readings that we have received and discussed earlier on, we are all called to remember that our lives ought to be reflection of our Lord’s truth and love, and we are all called to build an authentic community of believers, in which each and every one of us from every segments of the Church, in our various communities and groups, all of us are filled with the love of God, and with the desire to spread the Good News and the love of God to all people. And to that extent, all of us have to embody our beliefs in our every words, actions and deeds, to the best of our abilities, so that all who see us and witness our actions and works may believe in God as well through us.

Let us all hence seek the Lord wholeheartedly from now on, doing our best in whatever capacity we have now, and in all the opportunities that God had provided us. May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to guide us all and bless us in our every good efforts and endeavours, and may all of us be ever more worthy to walk in His Presence and to be with Him, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 3 July 2022 : Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 10 : 1-12, 17-20

At that time, the Lord appointed seventy-two other disciples, and sent them, two by two, ahead of Him, to every town and place, where He Himself was to go. And He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. So you must ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to His harvest.”

“Courage! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Set off without purse or bag or sandals; and do not stop at the homes of those you know. Whatever house you enter, first bless them, saying, ‘Peace to this house!’ If a friend of peace lives there, the peace shall rest upon that person. But if not, the blessing will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking at their table, for the worker deserves to be paid. Do not move from house to house.”

“When they welcome you to any town, eat what they offer you. Heal the sick who are there, and say to them : ‘The kingdom of God has drawn near to you.’ But in any town where you are not welcome, go to the marketplace and proclaim : ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off and leave with you. But know for a certainty that the kingdom of God has drawn near to you.'”

“I tell you, that on the Day of Judgment it will be better for Sodom than for this town.”

The seventy-two disciples returned full of joy. They said, “Lord, even the demons obeyed us when we called on Your Name.” Then Jesus replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. You see, I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the Enemy, so that nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the evil spirits submit to you; rejoice, rather, than your names are written in heaven.”

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Luke 10 : 1-9

At that time, the Lord appointed seventy-two other disciples, and sent them, two by two, ahead of Him, to every town and place, where He Himself was to go. And He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. So you must ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to His harvest. Courage! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Set off without purse or bag or sandals; and do not stop at the homes of those you know.”

“Whatever house you enter, first bless them, saying, ‘Peace to this house!’ If a friend of peace lives there, the peace shall rest upon that person. But if not, the blessing will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking at their table, for the worker deserves to be paid. Do not move from house to house.”

“When they welcome you to any town, eat what they offer you. Heal the sick who are there, and say to them : ‘The kingdom of God has drawn near to you.'”

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Sunday, 3 July 2022 : Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Galatians 6 : 14-18

For me, I do not wish to take pride in anything, except in the cross of Christ Jesus, Our Lord. Through Him, the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Let us no longer speak of the circumcised and of non-Jews, but of a new creation. Let those who live according to this rule receive peace and mercy : they are the Israel of God! Let no one trouble me any longer : for my part, I bear in my body the marks of Jesus.

May the grace of Christ Jesus our Lord be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

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Sunday, 3 July 2022 : Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 65 : 1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a, 16 and 20

Shout with joy to God, all you on earth; sing to the glory to His Name; proclaim His glorious praise. Say to God, “How great are Your deeds!”

All the earth bows down to You, making music in praise of You, singing in honour of Your Name. Come and see God’s wonders, His deeds awesome for humans.

He has turned the sea into dry land, and the river was crossed on foot. Let us, therefore, rejoice in Him. He rules by His might forever.

All you who fear God, come and listen; let me tell you what He has done. May God be blessed! He has not rejected my prayer; nor withheld His love from me.

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Sunday, 3 July 2022 : Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Isaiah 66 : 10-14c

Rejoice for Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her. Be glad with her, rejoice with her, all you who were in grief over her, that you may suck of the milk from her comforting breasts, that you may drink deeply from the abundance of her glory.

For this is what YHVH says : I will send her peace, overflowing like a river; and the nations’ wealth, rushing like a torrent towards her. And you will be nursed and carried in her arms and fondled upon her lap. As a son comforted by his mother, so will I comfort you. At the sight of this, your heart will rejoice; like grass, your bones will flourish.

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Saturday, 2 July 2022 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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 Scriptures, we are all called to embrace the new life in God and leave behind our past existence that is defiled and corrupted by sin. God has called us all into this new existence and provided us with the path to follow, so that through Him, we shall find the way to the true happiness and everlasting joy which we can find only through the Lord alone. That is why He has always tried His best to reach out to us, helping us and guiding us to find our way back to Him, and so that we will not be lost to eternity of suffering and darkness.

In our first reading today, the Lord continued to speak to the people of the northern kingdom of Israel through His prophet Amos. He told them all of the coming of good days once again through His guidance and help, that those people who would be enduring persecution and exile because of their sins and disobedience, would one day return to their homeland, their descendants and all, when all of them have returned to the Lord and been reconciled with Him. This showed that God in truth, truly loved His people, even though they had sinned against Him and been stubborn in their ways.

Prior to this, if we have paid attention to some of the earlier passages taken from the same Book of the prophet Amos earlier in the week, we will realise that God had proclaimed the destruction and the downfall of the northern kingdom of Israel, all because of their wickedness and disobedience. And because of all the refusal and stubbornness of the people in continuing to walk down the path of sin, they would have to endure the bitter consequences, the humiliations and the sufferings due to them because of their wickedness. But this is not what the Lord truly desired or wanted from them.

As mentioned, the Lord loves each and every one of us, because we are all His beloved ones. However, our sins are great barriers and obstacles in the path that we are walking towards Him. And as long as we continue to remain in the state of sin, in disobedience against God, as what happened to the people of the northern kingdom of Israel of the time of Amos, we will suffer the consequences of those sins. But what we all must know and be aware about is that if we turn away from sin and willingly accept God’s forgiveness and mercy, then the path to His grace and love will be opened to us.

We have God Who is always ever generous with His mercy and kindness, and all that remains is for us to commit ourselves to Him and the path that He has shown before us. The question is then, how willing are we to follow Him and to embrace His mercy and forgiveness? If God has been so generous with His mercy, and promised even those who have rebelled against Him, the promise of redemption and true happiness, then we may wonder why is it then that so many of us are still yet in the state of sin and rebellion against God?

That is because of our pride, our ego, our stubbornness and all those things that prevented us from seeking God’s love and mercy. We hardened our hearts and minds against the Lord because we are too proud and blinded by our hubris and inability to accept the fact that we can make mistakes and that we are imperfect, corrupted by sin. We need God to help lead us out of the darkness, and it is only with God’s help alone that we can find our way towards the light and the hope that He offers us freely and generously all these while, waiting for us to take up on His offer.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord Jesus speaking to the disciples of St. John the Baptist and to His disciples, using the parable of the wine and the wineskin, and the cloth and the patch. The disciples of St. John the Baptist were questioning the Lord’s disciples on why they were not fasting in the same manner as the Pharisees and the disciples of St. John themselves. This was where the Lord told them all the parable, to highlight the fact that His way is the new way that superseded the old path that the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were following, especially in the strict and excessive misapplication and misunderstanding of the Law of God.

That is yet another calling from the Lord for us to change our way of life and to embrace Him with renewed faith and commitment. Each one of us have to do our best to do God’s will and to turn our back to our sinful past, such that by our repentance and by the change in our way of life, we may truly be worthy of God, and like the Israelites in the past, we may come to share in the Lord’s glorious inheritance and promises, His grace and love once again. God is ever so merciful and forgiving, and all that remains is for us to loosen the doors of our hearts and minds, to welcome God into our midst and embrace Him wholeheartedly from now on.

May God be with us always, and may He bless each and every one of us, strengthening and guiding us in our journey throughout our lives. May He remain with us and be our Hope and the source of our inspiration, that we may always ever seek to glorify Him by our worthy lives and actions. Amen.