Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Psalm 144 : 17-18, 19-20, 21
Righteous is YHVH in all His ways, His mercy shows in all His deeds. He is near those who call on Him, who call trustfully upon His Name.
He fulfils the wish of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them. For those who love Him, YHVH has compassion; but the wicked, He will destroy.
Let my mouth speak in praise of YHVH, let every creature praise His holy Name, forever and ever.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
1 Corinthians 4 : 6b-15
Learn by this example, not to believe yourselves superior by siding with one against the other. How, then, are you more than the others? What have you that you have not received? And if you received it, why are you proud, as if you did not receive it?
So, then, you are already rich and satisfied, and feel like kings, without us! I wish you really were kings, so that we might enjoy the kingship with you! It seems to me, that God has placed us, the Apostles, in the last place, as if condemned to death, and as spectacles for the whole world, for the Angels as well as for mortals.
We are fools for Christ, while you show forth the wisdom of Christ. We are weak, you are strong. You are honoured, while we are despised. Until now we hunger and thirst, we are poorly clothed and badly treated, while moving from place to place. We labour, working with our hands. People insult us and we bless them, they persecute us and we endure everything; they speak evil against us, and ours are works of peace. We have become like the scum of the earth, like the garbage of humankind until now.
I do not write this to shame you, but to warn you, as very dear children. Because, even though you may have ten thousand guardians in the Christian life, you have only one Father; and it was I who gave you life in Christ through the Gospel.
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 Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that each and every one of us as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, all the children of mankind all have received the various gifts, talents and blessings from God. All of us have been entrusted with those gifts with the intention of the Lord calling on us to share them and to make good use of them for the benefit of all those around us, for the good and benefit of everyone and not just for our own selfish needs and desires. We have been entrusted with all these so that we may be part of God’s Church and mission, to proclaim His truth and Good News to everyone around us.
In our first reading today, we heard of the continuation of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians in which the Apostle told the people of God there how they have been chosen by God to be His disciples and followers, and many among them were not important, powerful or influential in the eyes of the world. This does not mean that God was against the rich, powerful and influential ones in the world, but rather, He wanted to highlight to His beloved people, to all of us that He did not choose or judge us by our worldly qualities, possessions or by any other parameters which we often categorise ourselves into, as all those things are ultimately superficial and not what is truly important for all of us. Unfortunately, many of us often spent a lot of time and effort in trying to seek all those things instead of seeking what is truly important for us in our lives.
The Lord chose based on other qualities that often do not correspond with worldly standards of judgment, as this world often focuses on our material wealth, influence and fame, our physical appearances and other attributes which may prevent us from truly being able to follow the Lord faithfully, sincerely and with true commitment. That is because when we are obsessed with accumulating for ourselves those worldly things and matters, we often end up neglecting our responsibilities as Christians, in making good use of our gifts, talents and the guidance of God’s Wisdom, for the benefit of others around us. Instead, we often spend a lot of time and effort to try to garner for ourselves more of these worldly riches and possessions, all of which distract us from the true destination that we have in the Lord, as mentioned earlier.
In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Matthew in which the parable of the silver talents was told by the Lord to His disciples and to all those who were there listening to Him. In that parable we heard of how a master was going away overseas and chose to entrust three of his servants with some silver talents for them to make good use of and responsibly while he was away on his business. Then, we heard how the three servants acted differently with the silver which had been given to them. Each one of them were entrusted with different amounts of silver talents, with the one who were given five and two talents of silver investing and making good use of them and they gained the same amount in silver talents each, doubling what they had earlier from the master.
Meanwhile, the other servant who was only given one silver talent chose to hide it and not to use it at all, and because of that, by the time the master returns to ask for the results and reckoning the performance of his servants, that servant still had with him the same one silver talent. Those servants that had invested and doubled their investment were well-rewarded and entrusted by the master with great things, while the lazy and irresponsible servant faced the wrath of his master for his lack of action and irresponsibility. Instead of being rewarded, the lazy and irresponsible servant faced punishment and rebuke from the master, which is also a reminder for each and every one of us of what all of us are expected to do by God, our Lord and Master.
First of all, as we heard this, we must understand that as mentioned and discussed earlier in the first reading, God does not discriminate based on riches and wealth, or by how much He has blessed or gifted us with. We must not misunderstood that those who have received more, like those with five and two silver talents would be rewarded while the ones with less, like the servant with one silver talent would be punished. It was an analogy that the Lord used to show that what matters is our attitude and how we respond to what He has given and entrusted to us. More would be expected of those who have received more, and we should also make good use of these various gifts for everyone’s benefit and not just for ourselves.
It is important that we know and understanding this mission which we have been entrusted with by the Lord, to show love, care and concern towards one another, to our fellow brothers and sisters who may need our help and attention, particularly all those who have no one to care for them, those who have been neglected, abandoned and ignored by all others. As Christians, whatever we have been blessed with by God, and the many opportunities we have been given, they should be used for the greater good of those who are around us. We should not ignore the plight of those who are in need, and we must also realise that we have been given the opportunities to contribute our good works and actions to advance further the cause of the Lord and to fulfil the missions we have been entrusted with.
Let us all therefore renew our commitment to the Lord and do not allow ourselves to be led into inaction and ignorance of our responsibilities and missions as those whom God had called and chosen. Let us all be committed from now on to live lives that are truly worthy of the Lord, being good role models and inspiration for one another. May our lives as God’s holy and beloved people, as His faithful and committed disciples be inspiration and beacons of God’s light and truth to everyone. May God bless us all in our every actions, good works and endeavours, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Matthew 25 : 14-30
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Imagine someone who, before going abroad, summoned his servants to entrust his property to them. He gave five talents of silver to one servant, two talents to another servant, and one talent to a third, to each, according to his ability; and he went away.”
“He who received five talents went at once to do business with the talents, and gained another five. The one who received two talents did the same, and gained another two. But the one who received one talent dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.”
“After a long time, the master of those servants returned and asked for a reckoning. The one who had received five talents came with another five talents, saying, ‘Lord, you entrusted me with five talents, but see, I have gained five more.’ The master answered, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant, since you have been faithful in a few things, I will entrust you in charge of many things. Come and share the joy of your master.'”
“Then the one who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you entrusted me with two talents; with them I have gained two more.’ The master said, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant, since you have been faithful in little things, I will entrust you in charge of many things. Come and share the joy of your master.'”
“Finally, the one who had received one talent came and said, ‘Master, I know that you are a hard man. You reap what you have not sown, and gather what you have not scattered. I was afraid, so I hid your money in the ground. Here, take what is yours!’ But his master replied, ‘Wicked and worthless servant, you know that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered. You should have deposited my money in the bank, and given it back to me with interest on my return.'”
“Therefore, take the talent from him, and give it to the one who has ten. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who are unproductive, even what they have will be taken from them. As for that useless servant, thrown him out into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Psalm 32 : 12-13, 18-19, 20-21
Blessed is the nation whose God is YHVH – the people He has chosen for His inheritance. YHVH looks down from heaven and sees the whole race of mortals.
But YHVH’s eyes are upon those who fear Him, upon those who trust in His loving-kindness; to deliver them from death and preserve them from famine.
In hope, we wait for YHVH, for He is our help and our shield. Our hearts rejoice in Him, for we trust in His holy Name.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
1 Corinthians 1 : 26-31
Brothers and sisters, look and see whom God has called. Few among you can be said to be cultured or wealthy, and few belong to noble families. Yet God has chosen what the world considers foolish, to shame the wise; He has chosen what the world considers weak to shame the strong.
God has chosen common and unimportant people, making use of what is nothing to nullify the things that are, so that no mortal may boast before God. But, by God’s grace you are in Christ Jesus, Who has become our wisdom from God, and Who makes us just and holy and free. Scripture says : Let the one who boasts boast of the Lord.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of one of the Twelve Holy Apostles of the Lord, namely that of St. Bartholomew the Apostle. The name Bartholomew had its origin from the patronymic name, Bar-Tholomew, indicating that this St. Bartholomew was the son of someone named Tholomew, Tholomaios or Talmai. In the Scriptures and Apostolic tradition, he was also known and associated with Nathanael, as we all heard his story today from the Gospel according to St. John. Regardless of his actual name, on whether it is Bartholomew or Nathanael, or whether it is Nathanael bar Talmai/Ptolemy or Nathanael son of Talmai/Ptolemy as some Biblical scholars proposed, what matters is that this faithful servant of God has lived his life in commitment to God and has done many wonderful deeds in His service.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Revelations of St. John about the vision of St. John the Apostle who saw the vision of the great city of New Jerusalem, the City of God that has come down from Heaven. This vision of the heavenly and new Jerusalem is the symbol of the coming of the eternal Kingdom of God, the restoration of everything that had fallen into disarray by our disobedience and sins. Everything would be restored to how God had intended it to be at the beginning of time and creation. God had always meant for us all to enjoy the fullness of His love and grace, to share in everything that He had created and prepared for us, the eternal joy and happiness which He has meant for us to have with us. And St. John saw the vision of the twelve gates of the city decorated richly with precious stones, with the names of the Twelve Apostles written on them.
From what we have heard in this account of the heavenly vision of St. John the Apostle, we heard of the ultimate destination which we all have in our lives, that is to be reunited completely and fully with God, with our loving Father and Creator. The heavenly and new Jerusalem present at the end of time, after all the tribulations, trials and sufferings which St. John witnessed in his visions, showed us all the end of all of our journeys and hardships, as we endure all those in our path to seek God’s salvation and to be reunited with Him. We must not give up easily on this journey, as in the end, all of us will have a share in the eternal glory of God, and we are meant to live and exist with Him in an eternity of joy, free from all hardships and sufferings. The Apostles themselves have also received this same assurance, and they would indeed be the ones by the side of the Lord, honoured greatly as the pillars of His Church.
Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus called the person named Nathanael to Him, and when He convinced this same Nathanael to join Him in His mission to the people of Israel. As mentioned earlier, this Nathanael is likely the same as Bartholomew, by his patronymic ‘son of Talmai or Ptolemy’, and this Nathanael was a rather wise and learned man, as someone who was knowledgeable in the Scriptures and the prophets. When it was mentioned that the Lord Jesus hailed from the area of Galilee, Nathanael knew that no prophet or great man would come from that region, showing his knowledge and understanding of the prophets and the Scriptures, but he did not know that the Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea just as the prophets had prophesied about Him and His coming.
The Lord then told Nathanael that He knew of what he was doing and where he was, a truly supernatural experience and ability which convinced Nathanael that the Lord Jesus was truly the One Whom the prophets and the Scriptures had predicted, the Messiah or the Saviour of the whole world. He told them that he and the other Apostles would see even more great and wonderful things, all the signs and wonders that He would perform before them, and ultimately, in the end of their respective journeys, they would be among the first to experience the beatific vision of Heaven, of the Angels of God glorifying the Lord, the One Whom St. Bartholomew himself had seen, witnessed and interacted with. His faith and commitment to the Lord would truly be rewarded by the Lord, and they would share in the glory of their Lord and Master just as St. John had seen and shared with us.
St. Bartholomew according to the Apostolic traditions would go on to carry out the mission which had been entrusted to him by the Lord after He has accomplished His works, His Passion and death, and after He has risen from the dead and ascended into Heaven. St. Bartholomew went on missionary journeys to many places, such as Mesopotamia, Parthia, Armenia, Lycaonia, Ethiopia and even as far as India. He worked tirelessly to proclaim the word of God to those places, ministering to the people of God and proclaiming God and His truth to many more people who have not yet known Him. St. Bartholomew spent his life to do whatever he could to evangelise the truth of God to more people, committing himself to the service of God.
According to Apostolic tradition, St. Bartholomew went to Armenia where he managed to convert Polymius, the local Armenian king, who became a Christian. This resulted in the riot and rebellion from the local pagan population, which led to the king’s brother to order the arrest, torture and execution of St. Bartholomew. Yet another related and popular tradition stated that St. Bartholomew was martyred in the nearby region of what is today Azerbaijan, where he was skinned alive and then beheaded. Regardless of the details of the sufferings and martyrdom of St. Bartholomew, what was clear is that he has truly devoted himself to the service of God, proclaiming His truth and Good News to the far ends of the world, suffering many things amidst his efforts and works, not fearing the persecutions, oppressions and tribulations that he had to face in the midst of doing so.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the examples of St. Bartholomew the Apostle and remember that each and every one of us as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, we have the shared responsibilities to continue the good works and ministry which the Apostles and disciples of the Lord, our predecessors have started. We should continue to do our best in whatever opportunities that have been given to us so that we may always be exemplary and good role models for our fellow brethren, and that our whole lives may truly shine with God’s ever present and wonderful light. May God continue to empower and bless us all in all of our endeavours, and may St. Bartholomew, Holy Apostle of the Lord continue to intercede and pray for us sinners still struggling and persevering daily in this world today. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Red
John 1 : 45-51
At that time, Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, and the prophets : He is Jesus, Son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”
Nathanael replied, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming, He said of him, “Here comes an Israelite, a true one; there is nothing false in him.” Nathanael asked Him, “How do You know me?” And Jesus said to him, “Before Philip called you, you were under the fig tree, and I saw you.”
Nathanael answered, “Master, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” But Jesus replied, “You believe because I said, ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ But you will see greater things than that. Truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened, and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 144 : 10-11, 12-13ab, 17-18
All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o Lord, will praise You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your power.
That all may know of Your mighty deeds, Your reign and its glorious splendour. Your reign is from age to age; Your dominion endures from generation to generation.
Righteous is YHVH in all His ways, His mercy shows in all His deeds. He is near those who call on Him, who call trustfully upon His Name.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Revelations 21 : 9b-14
And one of the seven Angels who were with the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues said to me, “Come, I am going to show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
He took me up, in a spiritual vision, to a very high mountain, and he showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven, from God. It shines with the glory of God, like a precious jewel, with the colour of crystal-clear jasper. Its wall, large and high, has twelve gates; stationed at them are twelve Angels.
Over the gates are written the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. Three gates face the east; three gates face the north; three gates face the south and three face the west. The city wall stands on twelve foundation stones, on which are written the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.
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