Saturday

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Saturday, 1 July 2017 : 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, 1 July 2017 : 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, 1 July 2017 : 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, 24 June 2017 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the solemnity of the nativity or the birth of one of the greatest of the saints, which the Lord Himself had mentioned to be among the greatest of the sons and daughters of man. St. John the Baptist was the relative of the Lord, for he was the son of Elizabeth, a relative of Mary, the Mother of God.

But more importantly, St. John the Baptist was the one who would announce to the world, the coming of the Messiah of God, the one who became the Herald to announce and proclaim the Messiah to mankind, and the one who would prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. And that was why, his conception in the womb of Elizabeth, his mother, was nothing less than a miracle, by the will of God that his old mother was able to conceive a child, St. John the Baptist, God’s great and faithful servant.

St. John the Baptist devoted his whole life to the Lord, fulfilling the calling which he had been given, to be the one to prepare the coming of the Lord to His people. He went about preaching repentance and penitence to the people, and called them to be baptised and be forgiven from their sins. Many people flocked to him and listened to his teachings, and through all of these, many became prepared in their hearts and minds to welcome the Lord Jesus when He came.

He was the one who baptised Jesus our Lord, which marked the moment when His earthly ministry began, heralding the start of the works of God’s mercy. And even then, he continued on to preach and to baptise people, calling them to repentance and to be ready for the Lord and His ways. Thus, today, as we rejoice and celebrate the moment of the nativity or the birth of St. John the Baptist, we also rejoice because of his life and all of his works and devotions.

St. John the Baptist, as one of the greatest saints of God is our great role model, as his exemplary life and activities should become examples for all of us to follow. He was not just devoted and committed to his mission, in preparing the way for the Lord and His works, but all the more, he was committed to the point of even being ready to face suffering and martyrdom in the face of opposition from the world. He faced king Herod and rebuked him, and was imprisoned as a result, and later he was martyred.

And then, we should also follow his examples, in how he laid down his life’s work and yielded himself to the Lord completely and thoroughly. When his disciples complained to him that Jesus was becoming more famous and popular than him, he welcomed it readily and mentioned that, while the Lord continued to rise, he himself must decrease. This is a very important example for us to follow, in being humble and dedicated to our mission as the disciples and followers of the Lord.

St. John the Baptist gave his all to serve the Lord, with all of his heart, mind and soul. He showed us all the example of how we ought to be acting as faithful servants of God. Let us all now ask ourselves, brothers and sisters in Christ, whether we have shown our faith in the same or similar manner as St. John the Baptist had devoted his life for the sake of the Lord?

Have we as Christians been truly devoted to the Lord in all of His ways? Have we walked in His path? Let us all think about this, and reflect sincerely on our life’s actions, and think of how we can devote ourselves better to the Lord. Let us follow the examples of St. John the Baptist, and realise that we are needed to do the same tasks and missions which the Lord had entrusted to St. John the Baptist and to all of His Apostles and disciples.

May the Lord bless us and continue to guide us in our path. And may He empower all of us to become ever better and more devoted disciples of His, in the same manner as St. John the Baptist had lived his life. May God be with us always, now and forever. Amen.

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Saturday, 24 June 2017 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Luke 1 : 57-66, 80

When the time came for Elizabeth, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the merciful Lord had done a wonderful thing for her, and they rejoiced with her. When, on the eighth day, they came to attend the circumcision of the child, they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father.

But his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.” They said to her, “But no one in your family has that name!” and they made signs to his father for the name he wanted to give him. Zechariah asked for a writing tablet, and wrote on it, “His name is John;” and they were very surprised. Immediately, Zechariah could speak again, and his first words were in praise of God.

A holy fear came on all in the neighbourhood, and throughout the hill country of Judea and the people talked about these events. All who heard of it, pondered in their minds, and wondered, “What will this child be?” For they understood that the hand of the Lord was with him.

As the child grew up, he was seen to be strong in the Spirit; and he lived in the desert, until the day when he appeared openly in Israel.

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Saturday, 24 June 2017 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 13 : 22-26

After that time, God removed Saul and raised up David as king, to whom He bore witness saying : I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all I want him to do.

It is from the descendants of David that God has now raised up the promised Saviour of Israel, Jesus. Before He appeared, John proclaimed a baptism of repentance for all the people of Israel. As John was ending his life’s work, he said : ‘I am not what you think I am, for, after me, another One is coming, Whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.’

Brothers, children and descendants of Abraham, and you, also, who fear God, it is to you that this message of salvation has been sent.

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Saturday, 24 June 2017 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 138 : 1-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15

O YHVH, You know me : You have scrutinised me. You know when I sit and when I rise; beforehand, You discern my thoughts. You observe my activities and times of rest; You are familiar with all my ways.

It was You Who formed my inmost part and knit me together in my mother’s womb. I thank You for these wonders You have done, and my heart praises You.

For Your marvellous deeds. Even my bones were known to You when I was being formed in secret, fashioned in the depths of the earth.

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Saturday, 24 June 2017 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Isaiah 49 : 1-6

Listen to me, o islands, pay attention, people from distant lands. YHVH called me from my mother’s womb; He pronounced my name before I was born. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword. He hid me in the shadow of His hand. He made me into a polished arrow set apart in His quiver.

He said to me, “You are Israel, My servant. Through you I will be known.” “I have laboured in vain,” I thought, “and spent my strength for nothing.” Yet what is due me was in the hand of YHVH, and my reward was with my God. I am important in the sight of YHVH, and my God is my Strength.

And now YHVH has spoken, He Who formed me in the womb to be His servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, to gather Israel to Him. He said : “It is not enough that you be My servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob, to bring back the remnant of Israel. I will make you the light of the nations, that My salvation will reach to the ends of the earth.”

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Saturday, 17 June 2017 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, speaking to us about how we have been saved by the Lord, Who had reconciled us to Himself. And all of us as Christians are called to live our lives henceforth for the sake of the Lord, and to bring glory to the Lord, and no longer seeking glory for ourselves.

All of us have been called to serve the Lord with faith, zeal and real commitment, and this is what all of us Christians must do, that we are truly worthy of being called Christians. The essence of what we heard in the Gospel passage today is the same. When the Lord said to the people and to His disciples, that they should not swear by the heavens or the earth, or by Jerusalem, or by God Himself, He was not prohibiting them from making oaths or swearing, but rather, what He wanted to say is, that all Christians must really mean what they say and show it through real action.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us ask ourselves, how many of us made promises upon each other, with many words and persuasions, only to renege on those promises later on? It cannot be the case for our faith, for in reality, there are many Christians who have made their baptismal vows and promises during their baptism, and which are renewed every year at Easter, who then committed what is evil and wicked before the Lord.

And this is because the lack of faith among those who have not obeyed the Lord in His ways and commandments. If we have a strong and genuine faith, certainly then we will try our best to fulfil what the Lord has required us all to do in our respective lives. But when our faith is not solid, when it is shaky and we easily stumble on temptations and persuasions to do what is evil, then we end up failing in fulfilling what we have promised to do before the Lord. And thus we commit sin.

The Lord is calling all of us to live our faith with sincerity and zeal. We can no longer be complacent or be ignorant of what our faith requires from us. We can no longer treat our faith as if it is merely just a formality and nothing else. Nothing good can come from having Christian listed as our identity or religion, if we then do nothing at all about it in our lives, or worse still, doing what is contrary to our Christian faith.

In all of this, we may think that we need to do a lot of things in our life. But in reality, it is indeed just our commitment and desire to do what the Lord wants us to do is required. If we cannot even give our heart’s commitment in small matters, how then can we give it for matters that are complicated and difficult? We have to begin from ourselves, by reexamining the way we have lived our lives.

Have we given our time daily for the Lord and spending that time with Him? Many of us have forgotten to pray to Him. And if you think that prayer is a matter of saying sets of pre-crafted prayers, then that is not good enough. Our prayers must be sincere and genuine communication with God, in which we ought to open our hearts and let the Lord to speak in the depths of our hearts, and we can then have a good conversation with Him, knowing what it is that He wants us to do.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, shall we therefore from now on renew our commitment to the Lord? Shall we seek to love Him with ever greater zeal and desire to love Him with all of our hearts, minds, bodies and souls? Let us all be true Christians who have genuine faith in God, and not just as mere formality or showing a fake and empty faith.

Let us all devote ourselves through our every words, actions and deeds, that all of them will declare the glory of God, and therefore, all of us will be worthy before the Lord, Who will bless us all, His faithful ones, forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 17 June 2017 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Matthew 5 : 33-37

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “You have also heard that people were told in the past : Do not break your oath; an oath sworn to the Lord must be kept. But I tell you this : do not take oaths. Do not swear by the heavens, for they are God’s throne; nor by the earth, because it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.”

“Do not even swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white of black. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything else you say comes from the evil one.”