Saturday

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Saturday, 10 February 2018 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Scholastica, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Kings 12 : 26-32 and 1 Kings 13 : 33-34

Jeroboam thought, “The kingdom could return to the house of David. Should this people go up to offer sacrifices in YHVH’s House in Jerusalem, their heart would turn again to their master, Rehoboam king of Judah. They would kill me and go back to him.”

And so the king sought advice and made two golden calves. Then he said to the people, “You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough. Here are your gods, o Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” He put one of these in Bethel, the other in Dan. This caused Israel to sin; the people went to Bethel and Dan to worship the calves.

Jeroboam also built temples on high places, appointing priests who were not from the Levites. Jeroboam also appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month in imitation of the feast in Judah, and he himself offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel; and sacrificed to the calves that he had made. There he placed priests for the high places he had made.

After this, however, Jeroboam did not abstain from doing evil. Instead he made priests for the high places from among the people. He consecrated anyone who wanted to be a priest for the high places. And this became the sin of the family of Jeroboam for which it was to be cut off and destroyed from the face of the earth.

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Saturday, 3 February 2018 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Ansgar, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s first reading we heard about the young king Solomon at the start of his reign praying to the Lord asking for guidance and strength. And God asked Solomon for what he desired, and he answered the Lord with the request for wisdom, the wisdom to judge right from wrong, in leading the people of God as he was still young and lacking in experience.

God was pleased with Solomon’s request, praising him because he did not ask what the others in the world normally would have requested. Given that we can request for anything we want to have, many of us would have chosen to request for money, or material possessions, or prestige, or worldly glory, or length of life and comforts of life, or even all of them. But Solomon did not do that.

He asked from God what the world could not give him, and wisdom, that is true wisdom is something that only God alone can grant to those to whom He was willing to reveal it. Ultimately money, wealth, prestige, long life and everything else that we normally desire, are all temporary and impermanent, and eventually we will lose all of them, and we will bring nothing with us at the end of our lives.

But even wisdom itself cannot guarantee everything or safeguard everything. If we read on further about the life of king Solomon, we will notice how in his later age, during his old ages, he was swayed by his many wives and fell into sin, erecting many pagan idols and altars to the foreign gods to satisfy his wives and concubines. God was angry at Solomon because he was unable to keep his commitment to Him and instead fell into temptation of his great wealth and power.

This is a reminder for us, that all of us must not be tempted and must resist the temptations of money, of prestige, of worldly glory, of material possessions, that we do not fall into sin as Solomon had been. Instead, we should really put our complete trust in God, in His wisdom and in His ways. When we start to put our trust in our own power and abilities, that is when we begin to sway away and be tempted.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God cares for us so much that He is willing to go to such great lengths to provide us what we need, and give us what we need. Just as He has offered help to Solomon in his time of need, He gave us nothing less than His own Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Lord and our Saviour, and in the Gospel passage we heard today, we see just how committed He is to all of us.

Despite being very tired, as Jesus and His disciples ministered to many people in many different places, when He saw the people being lost, leaderless and clueless, like sheep without a shepherd, He had pity and compassion on them, and He continued teaching them for many hours, guiding them to the right path by His words, telling them and calling them to repentance from their sins.

We should heed what the Lord has done, and as Christians, we must be courageous in doing what the Lord Himself had done and shown us. And we should perhaps model ourselves after faithful servants of God, whose memory we remember and celebrate today, namely St. Blaise and St. Ansgar. St. Blaise was a holy bishop and martyr of the faith, who lived in what is now today Armenia. St. Ansgar was a renowned missionary and bishop who worked hard to spread the faith in the region now part of northern Germany.

St. Blaise was a very skilled and experienced physician who often ministered to the people for their various sickness and illness, caring for them physically as well as spiritually, as their bishop and shepherd. He cultivated a strong spiritual life and habits, which was notable among his flock, and many were inspired by his great faith and dedication to God.

During one of the last great persecutions of the Church and the faithful, St. Blaise was among those who were arrested by the authorities, and as he remained steadfast in his beliefs and in his zeal in living the faith he had, he was martyred by beheading. However, his examples and great faith remained alive many decades, centuries after he died, even until this very day.

St. Ansgar meanwhile ministered to the many pagan peoples and tribes living in the area now found in the northern parts of Germany and Scandinavia. He went from place to place, working hard in the footsteps of the Lord Himself, teaching the people about the faith and about God. Many turned to the faith and converted because of his hard work, and slowly, more and more people, throughout northern Germany and Scandinavia became Christians.

He lived simply and devoutly, committing himself to prayer and fasting. St. Ansgar cared greatly also for the weak and for the poor, ministering to them regularly. Many were inspired by his examples and followed suit in the ministry to the people of God, and more and more people wanted to be baptised as Christians, having witnessed what the holy man of God had done.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all as Christians also do the same in our own lives, that in whatever capacity we are in, and in whatever way we can contribute, we may be able to spend our time, effort and attention, to love the Lord all the more, to dedicate ourselves ever more, and to put our trust in God alone, just as St. Blaise and St. Ansgar had done.

Let us not be tempted by worldly glory, hubris, desire, greed, ambition and all the other things which are major obstacles in our path to reach out to the Lord. Rather, let us all be ever more humble before God and men alike, so that in everything we do, we say and we act, we do them for the greater glory of God, and God Who knows all that we do, will bless us greatly. May God be with us always, with our efforts and works. Amen.

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Saturday, 3 February 2018 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Ansgar, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Bishops)

Mark 6 : 30-34

At that time, the Apostles returned and reported to Jesus all they had done and taught. Then He said to them, “Let us go off by ourselves into a remote place and have some rest.” For there were so many people coming and going that the Apostles had no time even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a secluded area by themselves.

But people saw them leaving, and many could guess where they were going. So, from all the towns, they hurried there on foot, arriving ahead of them. As Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He had compassion on them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.

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Saturday, 3 February 2018 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Ansgar, Bishop (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Bishops)

Psalm 118 : 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

How can young people remain pure? By living according to Your word.

I seek You with my whole heart; let me not stray from Your commands.

In my heart I have kept Your word, that I may not sin against my YHVH.

Praise to You, o YHVH; instruct me in Your statutes.

That, with my lips, I may declare all Your spoken decrees.

I delight in following Your laws, more so than in all riches.

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Saturday, 3 February 2018 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Ansgar, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Bishops)

1 Kings 3 : 4-13

The king used to sacrifice at Gibeon, the great high place; on the altar there he had offered a thousand burnt offerings. It was in Gibeon, during the night, that YHVH appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, “Ask what you want Me to give you.”

Solomon answered, “You have shown Your servant David my father a great and steadfast love because he served You faithfully and was righteous and sincere towards You. You have given him proof of Your steadfast love in making a son of his sit on his throne this day.”

“And now, o YHVH my God, You have made Your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a young boy who does not know how to undertake anything. Meantime, Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen – a people so great that they can neither be numbered nor counted.”

“Give me, therefore, an understanding mind in governing Your people that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this multitude of people of Yours?”

YHVH was pleased that Solomon had made this request. And He told him, “Because you have requested this rather than long life or wealth or even vengeance on your enemies; indeed, because you have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I shall grant you your request. I now give you a wise and discerning mind such as no one has had before you nor anyone after you shall ever have.”

“I will also give you what you have not asked for, both wealth and fame; and no king shall be your equal during your lifetime.”

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Saturday, 27 January 2018 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Angela Merici, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the Scripture passages, telling us first of all, the anger of God directed to His servant David, king of Israel, because of his disobedience and waywardness, when he plotted the killing of Uriah, the husband of a woman who he desired to be his own wife. The Lord delivered His words through the prophet Nathan, who severely rebuked the king for his sins.

However, unlike his predecessor, king Saul, David regretted his sins and immediately humbled himself before God, recognising how unworthy he was because of what he has committed. And this made a great difference between him and Saul, and one of the many qualities which made the Lord to be pleased with David, and confirmed him in his role as the king and leader of His people.

Nonetheless, he still committed a serious sin before the Lord, and for that, as the prophet Nathan mentioned, the son born of the relation between David and Bathsheba would die. David implored the Lord and begged Him to spare the life of his son, even to the point of fasting and humbling himself all the more before Him. But God did not relent, for it was just punishment that He had inflicted on David, and the king accepted that fate.

David’s moment of weakness is something truly extraordinary, considering that he was such a faithful servant of God, devoted wholeheartedly to Him, and was exalted by God as His great servant. But we must not forget that David was still a man, just like each and every one of us, and therefore a sinner. All man are susceptible to sin and to fall into temptation, and David did fall in that one occasion and another.

That is a lesson for all of us, that we must be ever vigilant in our lives, that we do not allow the devil any opportunity for him to tempt us or to persuade us by his false promises and persuasions, so that we will be less likely to fall into his trap and sin against God. The Gospel passage today is yet another reminder for this, that we should put our trust in God and not be swayed by the worries of the world.

We heard about the moment when the ship boarded by Jesus and His disciples in the Lake of Galilee was hit by a great storm, with strong winds and waves battering on the ship, threatening to sink the ship. But Jesus remained calm and did not panic, unlike the disciples, who were filled with fear. They could have chosen to abandon the ship and jump into the water in order to save themselves, but thankfully, they did not.

Brethren, do you know that the Church is often portrayed and compared to that of a big ship? The Lord in the ship actually represents Him as the Head of the Church, and all of the disciples in that ship represent all of us who belong to God’s Church. And that storm, the winds and the waves represent the difficulties, challenges and the temptations that many of us have to face day after day, one after another in our respective lives.

But if we abandon the Church and the Lord, just because we think that we can save ourselves, we will end up sinking just as if those disciples were to jump into the water, thinking they could save themselves. If we put our trust in the Lord, He will guide us and protect us, and in the end, even though we had to suffer and face difficulties, we will be triumphant with Him and share His glorious inheritance.

Today, we happen to celebrate the memory of a holy saint and a dedicated virgin, St. Angela Merici, who dedicated her life to the Lord, a renowned educator and founder of a society of like-minded individuals who committed themselves to the education of young Christian girls, especially from those who were poor and did not have the opportunity to have a proper education.

St. Angela Merici and her fellow religious sisters also opened up many schools and orphanages to support their work and mission, caring for many of those who have none to take care of them, and giving them the love which they lacked before. And this should inspire each and every one of us as Christians, to live our lives with faith and commit ourselves to the Lord by our loving actions to one another.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, may the Lord continue to strengthen in us our faith, so that we will always persevere through the many challenges and difficulties in life. May we find our way to the Lord, by our commitment and dedication, following the examples set by our predecessors in faith, especially that of St. Angela Merici and her contributions to the faith and the salvation of many. St. Angela Merici, pray for us. Amen.

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Saturday, 27 January 2018 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Angela Merici, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

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

Mark 4 : 35-41

At that time, on that same day, when evening had come, Jesus said to His disciples, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they left the crowd, and took Him along in the boat He had been sitting in, and other boats set out with Him. Then a storm gathered and it began to blow a gale. The waves spilled over into the boat, so that it was soon filled with water. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.

They woke Him up, and said, “Master, do You not care if we drown?” And rising up, Jesus rebuked the wind, and ordered the sea, “Quiet now! Be still!” The wind dropped, and there was a great calm. Then Jesus said to them, “Why are you so frightened? Do you still have no faith?”

But they were terrified, and they said to one another, “Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

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Saturday, 27 January 2018 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Angela Merici, Virgin (Psalm)

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

Psalm 50 : 12-13, 14-15, 16-17

Create in me, o God, a pure heart; give me a new and steadfast spirit. Do not cast me out of Your presence nor take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Give me again, the joy of Your salvation; and sustain me, with a willing spirit. Then I will show wrongdoers Your ways and sinners will return to You.

Deliver me, o God, from the guilt of blood; and of Your justice, I shall sing aloud. O YHVH, open my lips, and I will declare Your praise.

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Saturday, 27 January 2018 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Angela Merici, Virgin (First Reading)

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

2 Samuel 12 : 1-7a, 10-17

So YHVH sent the prophet Nathan to David. Nathan went to the king and said to him, “There were two men in a city : one was rich; the other, poor. The rich man had many sheep and cattle, but the poor man had only one little ewe lamb he had bought. He himself fed it and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and slept on his lap. It was like a daughter to him.”

“Now a traveller came to the rich man, but he would not take from his own flock or herd to prepare food for the traveller. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared that for his visitor.”

David was furious because of this man and told Nathan, “As YHVH lives, the man who has done this deserves death! He must return the lamb fourfold for acting like this and showing no compassion.” Nathan said to David, “You are this man! Now the sword will never be far from your family because you have despised me and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite for yourself.”

“Thus says YHVH : Your misfortune will rise from your own house! I will take your wives from you and give them to your neighbour who shall lie with them in broad daylight. What you did was done secretly, but what I do will be done before Israel in broad daylight.”

David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against YHVH.” Nathan answered him, “YHVH has forgiven your sin; you shall not die. However, because you have dared to despise YHVH by doing such a thing, the child that is born of you shall die.” Then Nathan went to his home.

YHVH struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and the child became very ill. David entreated God for the child. He kept a strict fast and lay on the ground the whole night. The elders of his house asked him to rise from the ground but he refused. Nor did he join them to eat.

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Saturday, 20 January 2018 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Fabian, Pope and Martyr, and St. Sebastian, Martyr, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the Scripture passages relating to us firstly from the time of the Old Testament, about the moment when king Saul was killed during the battle against the Philistines, and how David, his successor, reacted to the death of his predecessor. And then in the Gospel, we heard about the Lord Jesus and His family, Who told the people, that ‘He was out of His mind.’

In the first reading, we heard how David was overwhelmed with sorrow upon hearing that Saul has fallen in the battle, and even went so far as tearing his robe and garment, and declared great mourning for the fallen king. And this should be understood in the context of rivalry between Saul and David, as Saul in fact had tried to kill David in several occasions, out of his jealousy and fear of David, who was to replace him as king, but he failed to do so, because God was with David.

Yet David did not reciprocate the hatred and jealousy with his own hatred and jealousy. He continued to regard Saul as his lord and king, and his response to what he heard about the death of Saul confirmed just how much he regarded his predecessor, despite all that he had plotted against him, and how much suffering and difficulty that he had been inflicted with.

That is the essence and personality of someone who has obeyed the Lord for all of his life, and walked righteously in his path. David was a righteous man, with heart that was filled with love for God as well as for God’s people, whom he has been entrusted with. He has lived a life of honesty and upright attitude, and he committed himself selflessly to his Lord and Master.

And this is something that is certainly is not common in our world today, as most of us would not have done what David had done in his life. Let us look at our own lives, and think of all that we have done thus far. How many of us will forgive our enemies and those who hated us, and still love them back? Many of us would keep grudge and hatred alive in us, and seek revenge whenever we could.

Indeed, for us to be like David would mean for us to go out of step with how the people of this world usually behave and operate. And this is exactly why, in the Gospel today, we heard of how Our Lord Jesus was treated, even by His own family, who said that He was out of His mind! That is simply because what the Lord Jesus had done, was revolutionary at the time, and was against the norms of the society.

Yet, that was what the Lord has delivered into this world, the reality of His truth. And that is what all of us as Christians, all those who believe in the Lord and in His message ought to stand up for, living righteously and with devotion to God, just as King David, our predecessor in faith and role model had done. And there are still many more role models which are still available for us to follow, including the two saints whose memory we celebrate and remember today.

Pope St. Fabian and St. Sebastian were two martyrs of the Church, who in their own respective lives have shown great courage and commitment to live their faith, even amidst challenging times and persecutions, in their respective areas of responsibilities, doing whatever they could as faithful disciples and servants of the Lord, refusing to give in to the pressures of those who tormented and tortured them.

Pope St. Fabian lived during the time of the great persecutions of the Christians in the Roman Empire, and he led the people of God as Pope and Vicar of Christ during the time of the Emperor Decius, a notorious enemy of the faithful. He guided the people of God through those difficult moments and lived with virtuous examples, inspiring many of those who are suffering persecution for their faith. In the end, during one of the many persecutions carried out by Decius, Pope St. Fabian himself was martyred for his faith.

Meanwhile, St. Sebastian was an army captain or centurion, who served the Roman Emperors, and during the time of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruled a few decades after the martyrdom of Pope St. Fabian, all the members of the Roman army were obliged to offer sacrifices to the pagan idols and to the Roman Emperor to show their sign of loyalty to their Emperor and to the pagan ways of Rome. Through the many tribulations encountered by the faithful counted among the army members of the Roman Empire, eventually many, including St. Sebastian were discovered.

He was placed on a pole, to which he was tied, and arrows were shot on his body, a very painful way to die. And yet, St. Sebastian remained true to his faith, and he neither betrayed the Lord nor begged to be released from his sufferings. Miraculously, he was not killed by those arrows, even though many of those arrows had pierced him. He was rescued and nursed back to health, and even though he could have hidden himself to save his life, he went to confront the Emperor and rebuked him for his cruelty against Christians.

In the end, St. Sebastian was mauled to death on the order of the Emperor, and yet, his courage, together with the commitment of Pope St. Fabian should become sources of inspiration for all of us Christians living today, that we should not be lukewarm followers of the Lord. Instead, walking in the footsteps of king David the righteous, let us all be true disciples of the Lord, by living our lives with genuine faith and devotion.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He give us all the courage to live our lives with faith and commitment, that day by day, we may draw ever closer to Him, and eventually, we may find our way to His everlasting glory, and receive from Him the promised eternal life. Amen.