Saturday

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Saturday, 17 January 2015 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 18 : 8, 9, 10, 15

The Law of the Lord is perfect : it gives life to the soul. The word of the Lord is trustworthy : it gives wisdom to the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right : they give joy to the heart. The commandments of the Lord are clear : they enlighten the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is pure, it endures forever; the judgments of the Lord are true, all of them just and right.

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart find favour in Your sight, o Lord – my Redeemer, my Rock!

 

Homily and Reflection : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/17/saturday-17-january-2015-1st-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-anthony-abbot-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Saturday, 17 January 2015 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Hebrews 4 : 12-16

For the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword. It pierces to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and judges the intentions and thoughts of the heart. All creation is transparent to Him; everything is is uncovered and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom we render account.

We have a great High Priest, Jesus, the Son of God, who has entered heaven. Let us, then, hold fast to the faith we profess. Our High Priest is not indifferent to our weaknesses, for He was tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sinning. Let us, then, with confidence approach the throne of grace; we will obtain mercy and, through His favour, help in due time.

 

Homily and Reflection : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/17/saturday-17-january-2015-1st-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-anthony-abbot-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Saturday, 10 January 2015 : Saturday after the Epiphany (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about baptism, the baptism which John the Baptist had performed, and the baptism which Jesus and His disciples also performed at the Jordan River. Then in the first reading from the First Letter of St. John spoke about sin, and the responsibility which we have to remind one another, in order to keep each other free from the taints of sin.

Today we prepare for tomorrow’s celebration of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the feast which marks the beginning of the official period of God’s service in the world through Jesus Christ. The ministry of Jesus in the world officially began after He was baptised at the River Jordan by John the Baptist. In the Gospel today, we heard about the beginning of that ministry, which was to bring mankind and the world, great blessings and graces which continue even until today and beyond.

And what is the mission that Christ came into this world with? It is with the singular purpose of bringing God’s love to real and concrete contact with us mankind, through Jesus Christ the Son of God. And the purpose of baptism is to bring mankind closer to God and into direct contact with the salvation in Jesus, by the removal of the barriers which come between us and our loving Lord and God.

And what is this barrier that stand between us and the Lord? It is sin and all of its forms. Sin and wickedness, the corruptions of evil in our hearts, our minds and our bodies are the primary barriers and obstacles that make it difficult for us to approach the Lord. Sin corrupts our heart and turn our attentions away from the Lord, as it distorts our perception of all things around us and closes our eyes, blinding us from the love and mercy of our God.

What our Lord wants is to free us from sin, from the enslavement to sin, and from the punishment that sin brings, that is death. And that is why He brought the gift of baptism to us, the cleansing of our body, mind, heart and soul from the depredation and corruption of sin, and while we were once sinful and filled with wickedness, because of baptism we were made clean, healed from our spiritual affliction of sin, and made holy and pure as the children of God.

For through baptism we are made the children of God, adopted through Christ who had reunited us with God our Father, and we are also made the members of His one and only Church, the communion and unity among all of His faithful ones, the vessel of His salvation in this world. But this does not mean that, because of baptism then we can be complacent or slack in how we live out our lives with faith. Otherwise, the forces of Satan and his allies will corrupt us once again with sin, and darken our path that we may be lost on our way.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are all called to live out our faith with true and genuine expression of our faith, that we ought to practice what we believe in, and not just merely paying a lip service to it. That is not true faith but a perversion of it. We cannot say that we are faithful to the Lord but our actions show otherwise, as them we will become the mockery of the nations.

We who are in the Church are charged with the responsibility and the mission which Jesus Himself had entrusted to the Apostles. What did He tell us? That we have to go forth to the whole world and to the ends of the earth, proclaiming the Good News of the Lord so that many and more will hear of the salvation that exists only in Christ and therefore they may be saved, through the holy baptism in the Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

Brethren, we must not take baptism lightly, for through it we were sealed and made the possessions of the Lord. It is a holy sacrament, and if we do not live up to our faith after our baptism, then we have to account it to the Lord our God. If we are to spread God’s Good News to the nations, then our faith to Him must be genuine and real for others to believe in us. We must walk the talk, or else no one will believe in us, and they will then be lost, and the responsibility for that loss then will also fall upon us.

Therefore, today, as we prepare for tomorrow’s feast of the Baptism of the Lord, our Lord Jesus Christ, let us all be faithful to God, not just in mere profession of the faith, but also through real action, and then, we must not forget that, we have to follow the example of John the Baptist, who served God faithfully, and yet took no credit for himself. He humbly submitted himself to the will of God and served and worked with great devotion. Let us all follow his examples and become better children of God, and bring all our brethren to the salvation in God, that together we shall be found righteous and just. God be with us all. Amen.

First Reading :

Saturday, 10 January 2015 : Saturday after the Epiphany (First Reading)


Psalm :

Saturday, 10 January 2015 : Saturday after the Epiphany (Psalm)


Gospel Reading :
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/09/saturday-10-january-2015-saturday-after-the-epiphany-gospel-reading/

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Saturday, 10 January 2015 : Saturday after the Epiphany (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 3 : 22-30

After this, Jesus went into the territory of Judea with His disciples. He stayed there with them and baptised. John was also baptising in Aemon, near Salim, where water was plentiful; people came to him and were baptised. This happened before John was put in prison.

Now John’s disciples had been questioned by a Jew about spiritual cleansing, so they came to John and said, “Rabbi, the One who was with you across the Jordan, and about whom you spoke favourably, is now baptising, and all are going to Him.”

John answered, “No one can receive anything, except what has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before Him.’ Only the Bridegroom has the bride; but the friend of the Bridegroom stands by and listens, and rejoices to hear the Bridegroom’s voice. My joy is now full. It is necessary that He increase but that I decrease.”

Homily and Reflection :
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/09/saturday-10-january-2015-saturday-after-the-epiphany-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Saturday, 10 January 2015 : Saturday after the Epiphany (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 149 : 1-6a, 9b

Alleluia! Sing to the Lord a new song, sing His praise in the assembly of His saints. Let Israel rejoice in his Maker, let the people glory on their King!

Let them dance in praise of His Name and make music for Him with harp and timbrel. For the Lord delights His people; He crowns the lowly with victory.

The saints will exult in triumph; even at night on their couches. Let the praise of God be on their lips, this is the glory of all His saints. Alleluia!

Homily and Reflection :
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/09/saturday-10-january-2015-saturday-after-the-epiphany-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Saturday, 10 January 2015 : Saturday after the Epiphany (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 5 : 14-21

Through the Son of God we are fully confident that whatever we ask, according to His will, He will grant us. If we know that He hears us whenever we ask, we know that we already have what we asked of Him.

If you see your brother committing sin, a sin which does not lead to death, pray for him, and God will give life to your brother. I speak, of course, of the sin which does not lead to death. There is also a sin that leads to death; I do not speak of praying about this. Every kind of wrongdoing is sin, but not all sin leads to death.

We know that those born of God do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them and the evil one does not touch them. We know that we belong to God, while the whole world lies in evil. We know that the Son of God has come and has given us power to know the truth. We are in Him who is true, His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

My dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

Homily and Reflection :
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/09/saturday-10-january-2015-saturday-after-the-epiphany-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Saturday, 3 January 2015 : Weekday of Christmas Time, Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus our Lord, where we celebrate the very Name which Jesus had received, and that Name which is the Name above every other names, set special and great above all things, with power and authority not present in any others. That is why today, we ought to reflect on how we use His holy Name and not to profane it, just as we also should reflect on the nature of our Lord’s coming into the world, as we continue to progress through this Christmas season.

First we have to heed what one of the Ten Commandments given to Moses by the Lord had said to us, that we must not take the Name of the Lord in vain, which is the second or third of the Ten Commandments. Yes, His Name is holy just as He is holy, and we should not profane it by using it inappropriately. Yet, it is truly sad and lamentable that many of us use the Name of the Lord as we like and in places and circumstances inappropriate.

How many of us have heard how people nowadays even use His Name in profanity-laden songs, for whatever purpose that is? This is inappropriate and unacceptable, and indeed it is sin to do so. Therefore, it is imperative that we realise that we ought to give honour to God and thank Him for all that He had done for us, out of His great love and mercy.

We have to realise that God had willed to save us all because He loves us all very, very much, and we who have been lost to Him through sin, once had no hope at all and death is all that awaited us, as the consequence of sin. However, He has promised us all from the beginning that He will stand by us, no matter what, and He will settle the score with Satan who in his jealousy had brought about the fall to himself and to all mankind.

Satan once was a great angel, mighty and powerful. Lucifer he was, the brightest and most brilliant of all the angels, and yet in his greatness and power, he grew proud and unbending, desiring more and more, even the throne of God. He warred with God and led his fellow rebel angels to fight against God to usurp His majesty and power. But what became of Satan? Do we now praise his name or bless him? No! Instead he is cast down to the lowest of the lowest, in the depths of the deepest hell is his place.

Satan was cast down because of his pride, because of his jealousy and desire, because of his greed. He decided that he should not fall alone, but through temptations and lies, to bring down the most beloved of all of God’s creations, that is us, mankind. And that was what he did, tempting Eve with sweet words, that mankind would also follow their own desires, greed and others as Satan himself had.

But God would not want to lose us. As much as He was disgusted at the wickedness and the corruption of our sins, the even greater is His love and mercy for us. So much so that He was willing to come down to us, lowering Himself, assuming our humble form of a Man, although He who is God is perfect, Almighty, great beyond any measure, and has no need for anything.

And this is precisely what St. Paul was talking about in his letter to the Philippians, that the Messiah, the Divine Word incarnate in Jesus, although great, mighty and all-powerful, He did not hesitate to empty Himself and assume the humanity of our flesh, so that in doing so, He might bring God’s plan to save us all into full perfection and completion.

Jesus bore our sins and iniquities, all of our wickedness and imperfections, all that have separated us from the love of God, so that by His sacrifice for us, He may be the hope for all of us, so that by His death and resurrection, He may free us from death and bring us into a new life in Him. And this is what Satan feared the most, for it is his final and ultimate defeat.

And that is also why Satan fears the Name of Jesus so much, as while all of mankind are given names, for God had said that He would know us all by our names, but one Name stands out from every other names, not by the virtue of the name itself, but because that Name is associated with none other than the Lord and Saviour who had taken up the flesh so that by that act, mankind may be freed from sin forever, and be led to eternal life, and Satan will no longer have any power over any of us.

The Name of Jesus therefore is feared by Satan and all of his allies because it is a clear and vivid reminder of their ultimate fate, that is eternal suffering and destruction for their refusal to listen to the Lord and obey Him. And it is also a reminder of his ultimate defeat when Jesus died on the cross. All of his plots and works against mankind were undone by that singular act, which offered to mankind the hope of new life. His faith in the Father and His perfect obedience made God to raise Him beyond all else, just as Satan was cast down instead for his pride.

And even Satan have to obey the Lord and bend his knee to Him, as much as he refuses to do so! For our God is Lord and Master over all creations, over all things created, Satan included, who was once a bright heavenly angel that fell for his sins, and also all creatures, including us all, the sons of man. Therefore, for what God has done for us out of His love, and for the love we have for our Lord and Creator, shall we not honour His holy Name by first using it appropriately and with proper deference?

We can also begin by bowing every time the Holy Name of Jesus is uttered during the celebration of the Mass as it should have been done. Many had failed to observe this simple gesture, but I am sure that we can begin from ourselves and change others as well, that by our example of respecting and honouring the Holy Name of Jesus, the bane and what Satan fears most, we shall bring honour and glory to our God. May our Lord Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world, whose Name is above every other names, be with us always, and may we all be able to follow His example of obedience to the will of God and walking in His love. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/02/saturday-3-january-2015-weekday-of-christmas-time-memorial-of-the-most-holy-name-of-jesus-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/02/saturday-3-january-2015-weekday-of-christmas-time-memorial-of-the-most-holy-name-of-jesus-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/02/saturday-3-january-2015-weekday-of-christmas-time-memorial-of-the-most-holy-name-of-jesus-gospel-reading/

 

Epistle (Usus Antiquior) :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/03/usus-antiquior-feast-of-the-most-holy-name-of-jesus-ii-classis-sunday-4-january-2015-epistle/

 

Gospel (Usus Antiquior) :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/03/usus-antiquior-feast-of-the-most-holy-name-of-jesus-ii-classis-sunday-4-january-2015-holy-gospel/

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Saturday, 3 January 2015 : Weekday of Christmas Time, Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 1 : 29-34

The next day John saw Jesus coming towards Him, and said, “There is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! It is He of whom I said : A Man comes after me, who is already ahead of me, for He was before me. I myself did not know Him, but I came baptising to prepare for Him, so that He might be revealed in Israel.”

And John also gave this testimony, “I saw the Spirit coming down on Him like a dove from heaven, and resting on Him. I myself did not know Him, but God, who sent me to baptise, told me, ‘You will see the Spirit coming down, and resting, on the One who baptises with the Holy Spirit.’ Yes, I have seen! And I declare that this is the Chosen One of God!”

 

Alternative reading (Mass of the Most Holy Name of Jesus)

Luke 2 : 21-24

On the eighth day the circumcision of the Baby had to be performed; He was named Jesus, the Name the angel had given Him before He was conceived.

When the day came for the purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought the Baby up to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord, as it is written in the Law of the Lord : ‘Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to God.’ And they offered a sacrifice, as ordered in the Law of the Lord : a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/03/saturday-3-january-2015-weekday-of-christmas-time-memorial-of-the-most-holy-name-of-jesus-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Saturday, 3 January 2015 : Weekday of Christmas Time, Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 97 : 1, 3cd-4, 5-6

Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you lands, make a joyful noise to the Lord, break into song and sing praise.

With melody of the lyre and with music of the harp. With trumpet blast and sound of the horn, rejoice before the King, the Lord!

 

Alternative reading (Mass of the Most Holy Name of Jesus)

Psalm 8 : 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

When I observe the heavens, the work of Your hands, the moon and the stars You set in their place – what is man that You be mindful of him, the Son of Man, that You should care for Him?

Yet You made Him a little lower than the angels; You crowned Him with glory and honour and gave Him the works of Your hands; You have put all things under His feet.

Sheep and oxen without number and even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and all that swim the paths of the ocean.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/03/saturday-3-january-2015-weekday-of-christmas-time-memorial-of-the-most-holy-name-of-jesus-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Saturday, 3 January 2015 : Weekday of Christmas Time, Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 2 : 29 – 1 John 3 : 6

You know that He is the Just One : know then that anyone living justly is born of God. See what singular love the Father has for us : we are called children of God, and we really are. This is why the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

Beloved, we are God’s children and what we shall be has not yet been shown. Yet when He appears in His glory, we know that we shall be like Him, for then we shall see Him as He is. All who have such a hope try to be pure as He is pure. Anyone who commits a sin acts as an enemy of the Law of God; any sin acts wickedly, because all sin is wickedness.

You know that He came to take away our sins, and that there is no sin in Him. Whoever remains in Him has no sin, whoever sins has not seen or known Him.

 

Alternative reading (Mass of the Most Holy Name of Jesus)

Philippians 2 : 1-11

If I may advise you in the Name of Christ and if you can hear it as the voice of love; if we share the same Spirit and are capable of mercy and compassion, then I beg of you, make me very happy : have one love, one Spirit, one feeling, do nothing through rivalry or vain conceit.

On the contrary let each of you gently consider the others as more important than yourselves. Do not seek your own interest, but rather that of others. Your attitude should be the same as Jesus Christ had :

Though He was in the form of God, He did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking on the nature of a servant, made in human likeness, and in His appearance found as a Man. He humbled Himself by being obedient to death, death on the cross.

That is why God exalted Him and gave Him the Name which outshines all names, so that at the Name of Jesus all knees should bend in heaven, on earth and among the dead, and all tongues proclaim that Christ Jesus is the Lord to the glory of God the Father.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/03/saturday-3-january-2015-weekday-of-christmas-time-memorial-of-the-most-holy-name-of-jesus-homily-and-scripture-reflections/