Saturday

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Saturday, 3 July 2021 : Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 20 : 24-29

At that time, Thomas, the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with the other Eleven when Jesus came. The other disciples told Him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he replied, “Until I have seen in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in His side, I will not believe.”

Eight days later, the disciples were again inside the house and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see My hands; stretch out your hand, and put it into My side. Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe!”

Thomas said, “You are my Lord and my God.” Jesus replied, “You believe because you see Me, do you not? Happy are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

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Saturday, 3 July 2021 : Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 116 : 1, 2

Alleluia! Praise YHVH, all you nations; all you peoples, praise Him.

How great is His love for us! His faithfulness lasts forever.

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Saturday, 3 July 2021 : Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Ephesians 2 : 19-22

Now, you are no longer strangers or guests, but fellow citizens of the holy people : you are of the household of God. You are the house, whose foundations are the Apostles and prophets, and whose cornerstone is Christ Jesus. In Him, the whole structure is joined together, and rises, to be a holy Temple, in the Lord.

In Him, you, too, are being built, to become the spiritual Sanctuary of God.

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Saturday, 26 June 2021 : 12th 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 of the Lord’s steadfast love for all of us, His people, the love that He has shown us all the time, as He faithfully kept to the Covenant that He has established with each and every one of us as He made it with our forefather, Abraham. God fulfilled His promise to Abraham and all of us, to be His beloved ones, blessed and protected by His love and care.

In our first reading today we heard about Abraham and how God came by to visit him at his tent, at the moment when He was about to fulfil the promise of a son to Abraham, and Abraham immediately recognised the Lord coming towards his place, welcoming Him and listening to whatever He was about to say to him. The Lord reaffirmed His promises to Abraham and told him that Sarah, his wife would bear a son as foretold, the son through whom God’s blessings would be given, to be the progenitor of many nations.

Sarah who was hidden in the tent wondered if such a thing was possible, considering that she had been barren for so many years and had by then been quite old in age, and contextually, that had also been around more than twenty years since Abraham began to journey from his ancestral lands to Canaan. Since the day of the promised son had not yet come, Sarah perhaps began to wonder if she would ever have any son at all. But the Lord knew what was in her heart and mind, and told her through Abraham, that everything is possible for God. In the end, everything happened as intended by the Lord.

Then in our Gospel passage today we heard about the moment when an army centurion approached the Lord asking Him to heal one of his servants, a most famous encounter which is in fact immortalised within every celebration of the Holy Mass. The army centurion or captain, who was most likely a Roman given the situation at the time, believed in the Lord and had faith in Him that He could save His servant from the brink of death, and sought Him to ask Him for the grace of healing.

And not only that he personally sought the Lord, showing great humility, as being a Roman, he was considered as superior and a man of his rank should not have directly sought the Lord. It was proven that he was a man of great power when later on he himself said that all those who were under him obeyed all of his commands. And yet, he humbled himself before the Lord, and asked Him for the command of healing, effectively putting him at the subordinate position, acknowledging the Lord Jesus as his true Lord and Master.

He also humbly refused to allow the Lord to come into his house, as contextually we need to understand that at that time, to enter the house of a Gentile or non-Jew, a pagan, would be deemed as improper and taboo, and would have made one unclean before the Law. In fact, many would have even stayed away from foreigners and Gentiles altogether. But the Lord reached out to the army centurion and even wanted to go to his place to heal the servant. The army centurion must have been aware of the cultural sensitivities and the issues that would have been created by the visit of the increasingly famous Jesus at that time.

Hence, he humbly asked the Lord to command him and acknowledging His power and authority, put his whole trust in His ability to cure and make his servant whole once again. The Lord was indeed impressed by this faith and made the centurion as an example of one who was often looked down and being prejudiced against by the Jewish people, and yet, showed more faith in the Lord than the supposed children and descendants of Abraham. Contrast the faith of the army centurion with the lack of faith that Sarah had, and we can see how first of all, we need to believe in the Lord and put our faith in Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today let us all be reminded by what we have heard in our Scripture passages, through the words of the Lord and His reassuring promises, that we all need to trust in Him and put our faith in Him. Let us not be worried or be fearful anymore. Instead, let us all seek the Lord with renewed faith and commitment, knowing that He loves each and every one of us, without exception. Just as He has reached out even to the army centurion, He shall also reach out to all of us as well, as His love is universal. But are we humble enough like the centurion to realise just how sinful and wicked we have been?

Let us all remember whenever we are about to receive the Lord in the Eucharist, of the army centurion’s words, ‘Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed’. Let these words be truly meant by our lips and our tongue, and not merely left as words alone. Instead, let us all be sincere in seeking the Lord’s love, mercy and forgiveness, and draw ever closer to Him and His grace. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 26 June 2021 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

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, 26 June 2021 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Luke 1 : 46-47, 48-49, 50 and 53, 54-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God, my Saviour!

He has looked upon His servant, in her lowliness, and people, forever, will call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, Holy is His Name!

From age to age, His mercy extends to those who live in His presence. He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.

He held out His hand to Israel, His servant, for He remembered His mercy, even as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.

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Saturday, 26 June 2021 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Genesis 18 : 1-15

YHVH appeared to Abraham near the oaks of Mamre. Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent, in the heat of the day, when he looked up and saw three Men standing nearby. When he saw Them he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet Them. He bowed to the ground and said, “My Lord, if I have found favour in Your sight, do not pass Your servant by. Let a little water be brought. Wash Your feet and then rest under the trees. I shall fetch some bread so that You can be refreshed and continue on Your way, since You have come to Your servant.”

They then said, “Do as you say.” Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said to her, “Quick, take three measures of flour, knead it and make cakes.” Abraham then ran to the herd, took a fine, tender calf, gave it to the servant who hurried to prepare it. He took butter and milk and together with the calf he had prepared laid it all before Them. And while he remained standing, They ate.

They then asked, “Where is Sarah, your wife?” Abraham answered, “She is in the tent.” And the visitor said, “At this same time next year I will return and Sarah by then will have a son.” Now Sarah was behind him, listening at the entrance to the tent. Abraham and Sarah were old, well on in years, and Sarah no longer had her monthly periods.

Sarah laughed to herself saying, “Now that I am old and worn and my husband is an old man, am I to have this pleasure?” YHVH said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Am I really going to have a child now that I am old?’ Is there anything that is impossible for God? At this same time next year I will return and Sarah by then will have a son.”

Sarah denied saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. But He said, “You did laugh.”

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Saturday, 19 June 2021 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Minh, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, the words of the Lord which reminded us of the need for us to trust in the Lord and to put our faith in Him, and not to worry about too many things, and not to be tempted by worldly temptations and desires, by all sorts of things that we are often tempted with, that we ended up losing our way and fall into the trap of sin.

In our first reading today, we heard the words of St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in the city of Corinth, in which the Apostle spoke about his own experiences in ministering to the faithful and in proclaiming the truth of God and His Good News to the people, in how he encountered wonderful things and visions, signs and omens throughout his ministry, and that if he needed to boast, then he ought to boast of all the wonders that he had seen and witnessed, and not of himself.

And St. Paul also reminded the faithful that they should not allow themselves to be swayed by their pride and their ambitions, their desires and other considerations, lest they fall into sin. He reminded the faithful that the flesh is weak, and is always full of temptations by Satan, which he mentioned in our first reading passage today as a thorn in his flesh, which St. Paul instead used as a reminder for himself not to be swayed by worldly desires and temptations.

Then in our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord speaking to His disciples first of all that they ought to make a stand and choose firmly between serving and following God or that of money, and they cannot serve both God and money, for sooner or later they will love one more than the other and despise the other one. He also reminded them all not to worry about their lives, or of any other worldly concerns and desires, for the Lord shall provide all that they need.

This is addressed to all of us, His beloved ones, who have often strayed from His path because we are too distracted by our personal ambitions and desires, our various preoccupations and all the temptations of worldly pleasures and achievements surrounding us. All these are serious obstacles that can prevent us from reaching the Lord and His salvation, and will cause us to end up falling deeper and further into the path of sin.

That is why, all of us today are called to reflect on our lives and our attitudes towards our faith, and whether we have been faithful to the Lord and trust Him with our lives and existence, or whether we have instead depended on our own strength and worldly means so far in life? We should not allow ourselves be deluded by the lies and deceptions of the devil who want to mislead us down the path of indulgence in our desires and all the concerns we have, in worldly things and matters.

Remember, brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all called to turn towards the Lord wholeheartedly, and we should focus ourselves on Him and not on the false treasures and false leads we have in life. We should learn to resist the many temptations present all around us that we do not end up walking down the wrong path. And today therefore, we should look upon the examples of St. Philip Minh and his companions in martyrdom, the saints whose memories we venerate and celebrate today.

St. Philip Minh is one of the many martyrs of the faith in Vietnam, who went through the period of harsh persecution from the state and the government, as the Vietnamese state at that time were highly suspicious of the Christian faith and its missionaries, and all those who were suspected and found to be Christians had to endure great difficulties and trials, as they were tortured and treated with worst sufferings to induce them to give up their faith.

Despite all these, St. Philip Minh and his fellow companions in martyrdom did not give up their faith and remained faithful to the end. They chose to remain true to their faith despite the sufferings that they had to face. They would rather remain firm in their belief in God rather than to give it up for the false assurances of worldly pleasures and satisfaction, one that does not last. They chose instead the promise and assurance of eternal glory and true joy with God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we all willing to follow the examples of those holy saints and martyrs, our holy predecessors, in how they lived their lives, so that we too may be exemplary in our own way of life and that we may become inspiration to our fellow brethren? Let us all help one another to grow ever closer to God and to learn to trust Him more and more, dedicating ourselves to Him wholeheartedly, from now on. May the Lord be with us all and may He strengthen each and every one of us in faith, always. Amen.

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Saturday, 19 June 2021 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Minh, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 6 : 24-34

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “No one can serve two masters, for he will either hate one and love the other; or he will be loyal to the first and look down on the second. You cannot, at the same time, serve God and money.”

Therefore, I tell you, not to be worried about food and drink for yourself, or about clothes for your body. Is not life more important than food; and is not the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow, they do not harvest, and do not store food in barns; and yet, your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more worthy than they are?”

“Can any of you add a day to your life by worrying about it? Why are you so worried about your clothes? Look at how the flowers in the fields grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you, that not even Solomon, in all his glory, was clothed like one of these. If God so clothes the grass in the field, which blooms today and is to be burnt in an oven tomorrow, how much more will He clothe you? What little faith you have!”

“Do not worry, and say : What are we going to eat? What are we going to drink? or : What shall we wear? The pagans busy themselves with such things; but your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. Set your heart, first, on the kingdom and righteousness of God; and all these things will also be given to you. Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

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Saturday, 19 June 2021 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Minh, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 33 : 8-9, 10-11, 12-13

YHVH’s Angel encamps and patrols, to keep safe those who fear Him. Oh, see and taste the goodness of YHVH! Blessed is the one who finds shelter in Him!

Revere YHVH, all you, His saints, for those who fear Him do not live in want. The mighty may be hungry and in need; but those who seek YHVH lack nothing.

Come, listen to Me, My children; I will show you how to fear YHVH. If you desire long life; if you want to enjoy prosperity.