Saturday

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Saturday, 3 December 2022 : Feast of St. Francis Xavier, Priest and Patron of Missions (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Mark 16 : 15-20

At that time, Jesus told His disciples, “Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation. The one who believes and is baptised will be saved; the one who refuses to believe will be condemned.”

“Signs like these will accompany those who have believed : in My Name they will cast out demons and speak new languages; they will pick up snakes, and if they drink anything poisonous, they will be unharmed; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”

So then, after speaking to them, the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven and took His place at the right hand of God. The Eleven went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.

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Saturday, 3 December 2022 : Feast of St. Francis Xavier, Priest and Patron of Missions (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 116 : 1-2

Alleluia! Praise the Lord, 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 December 2022 : Feast of St. Francis Xavier, Priest and Patron of Missions (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 9 : 16-19, 22-23

Because I cannot boast of announcing the Gospel : I am bound to do it. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel! If I preached voluntarily, I could expect my reward, but I have been trusted this office against my will. How can I, then, deserve a reward? In announcing the Gospel, I will do it freely without making use of the rights given to me by the Gospel.

So, feeling free with everybody, I have become everybody’s slave in order to gain a greater number. To the weak I made myself weak, to win the weak. So I made myself all things to all people in order to save, by all possible means, some of them. This I do for the Gospel, so that I too have a share of it.

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Saturday, 26 November 2022 : 34th 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 mark this last day of our current liturgical year, and beginning the season of Advent tomorrow, we are all reminded again of what awaits us at the end of time, if we are to remain faithful to the Lord. We are reminded that we have always been intended to live in everlasting happiness and bliss. The Lord created each one of us to share and bask in His love and grace, but unfortunately because of sin, through our disobedience against God, we have been sundered and separated from God. But that did not stop God from loving and caring for us. In fact, He redoubled His efforts to reach out to us and wanted to help us out of our predicament and troubles.

That is why, He revealed to us His plans and His works, in how He will liberate all of us from the clutches of sin and death. He showed St. John the Apostle of what will come at the end of time and awaits those who are obedient to Him, listened to His call and answered it, and embraced His path towards salvation and eternal life. St. John saw through the Lord’s Angel, a vision of the New Jerusalem, the Holy City of God, one that is heavenly and perfect, unlike the old, worldly Jerusalem, at the end of time. That all will happen after the final triumphant victory over all sin, evil and death, and when Satan, with all of his forces and all those who have rejected God, betrayed and abandoned Him, and refusing to embrace His compassionate love and mercy, have been cast into eternal suffering and annihilation.

Essentially, St. John saw the revelation of what true paradise is like, in which mankind will no longer suffer any want or need, or endure any more physical, mental or spiritual hardships and pains, sufferings or trials, or challenges and difficulties because they have already existed in God’s presence and gained perfection through Him. No longer shall they ever be separated from Him again, and they shall exist forever in His Presence, continuously praising Him and enjoying the full fruits of their hard and faithful labours in this world. I am sure that is what many of us are looking forward to in our lives, as we want to be reunited with God and to find our way to achieve this eventual state of oneness with Him. However, the path going towards this state will be one that is filled with obstacles, challenges and trials.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must all realise that living as Christians is not an easy as it may seem to many of us. Some among us may have or have had this misconception that being Christians means that we have been assured and guaranteed salvation and grace from God without us needing to do anything else. As the Apostles mentioned, and sacred traditions and teachings of the Church ought to remind us, that if our faith is not made alive through real and concrete actions and deeds rooted in that genuine faith, then that faith is dead and meaningless to us, and will not avail us on the path towards salvation and eternal life in God. Our dead faith is no better than that of unbelievers and hypocrites, and we must keep that in mind lest we end up walking down that path.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord Jesus Himself reminding His disciples and hence all of us to be vigilant and ready for His coming, the coming of the end times as He has promised. This means that we should indeed not remain idle in living our lives as Christians, but we should do our best to practice our faith and to live this life as justly and filled with righteousness as possible, doing our best to obey the Law and commandments of God. This is how we are called to embrace God’s path and how we can find the surest path to the eternal life through God and His salvation. We have to be active in proclaiming God’s words and truth, His love and kindness through our own actions, by which we show the world and all those whom we encounter in life, what true Christian love is all about.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us spend some time to reflect upon our lives and our actions in this world. Let us use this opportunity and the reminders that God had presented to us throughout these few weeks to help us to discern carefully our path forward in life, that if we have been wayward in how we live our lives, we may find the true path towards the Lord and His salvation. We have to keep ourselves firmly centred on the Lord and keep our focus on Him so that we can strive to resist the temptations to walk away from Him and betraying Him for the comforts and pleasures of the world. We have to be ever vigilant and strong, and be inspired by the examples of our holy predecessors, who have committed themselves to God and devoted themselves, often suffering a lot in the midst of their efforts to walk in the path of God.

And we are all called to show that same love for God to our fellow brothers and sisters as well because as Christians, each and every one of us, even strangers and all those whom we encounter in life, and even those who have hated, hurt and persecuted us, are all equally beloved children of God. Hence, it is important that all of us diminish our sense of self-importance and hubris, diminishing our pride and ego so that we may truly and genuinely show the love that God has taught and shown us to one another. Just as the Lord Himself has loved us when we are still so despicable, rebellious and wicked, so we are called to love one another in the same way, and be great examples of what it truly means to be Christians, as the disciples and followers of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

May the Lord continue to guide us in our path and journey of faith through life, and may He empower and strengthen us that we may persevere more amidst the many trials and challenges in life, and all that we may encounter in our path. May He stay by our side and lead us through the challenges and trials of the year ahead, and grant us the grace and blessings in the path we walk, that we may remain true to Him and be good examples and inspirations for one another. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 26 November 2022 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

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

Luke 21 : 34-36

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “Be on your guard : do not immerse yourselves in a life of pleasure, drunkenness and worldly cares, lest that day catch you unaware, like a trap! For, like a snare, will that day come upon all the inhabitants of the earth. But watch at all times and pray, that you may be able to escape all that is going to happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

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Saturday, 26 November 2022 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

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

Psalm 94 : 1-2, 3-5, 6-7

Come, let us sing to the Lord, let us make a joyful sound to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him giving thanks with music and songs of praise.

For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the earth and the mountain heights. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hand shaped the dry land.

Come and worship; let us bow down, kneel before the Lord, our Maker. He is our God, and we are His people; the flock He leads and pastures. Would that today you heard His voice!

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Saturday, 26 November 2022 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

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

Revelations 22 : 1-7

Then the Angel showed me the river of life, clear as crystal, gushing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of the city, on both sides of the river are the trees of life producing fruit twelve times, once each month, the leaves of which are for healing the nations.

No longer will there be a curse; the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the City and God’s servants will live in His presence. They will see His face and His Name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light or lamp or sun for God Himself will be their light and they will reign forever.

Then the Angel said to me, “These words are sure and true; the Lord God Who inspires the prophets has sent His Angel to show His servants what must happen soon.” “I am coming soon! Happy are those who keep the prophetic words of this book.”

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Saturday, 19 November 2022 : 33rd 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 all reminded of our faith and belief in the Lord, that especially we believe in the resurrection from the dead, which means that there is life and existence after death. Death does not mean the end of our life and existence, but it only marks the end of our physical existence in the way we know it in our present world. What comes after is a greater existence and truth that awaits us in the Lord, just as He has affirmed it and showed us through His own death and resurrection from the dead. It is our core and central tenet and belief as Christians that we believe in the life in the world to come, where we will be raised body and soul, hopefully to enjoy forever the eternal life of bliss and happiness with God.

From our first reading today, taken from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle we heard of the tale of the two witnesses of the Lord, who will be sent by God into this world so that He may let all the whole world to know the truth and love of God, and that all who still want to repent from their sins and turn from their evils may still be able to do so, before it is too late for them. Yet, there are many who are opposed to the Lord, and they refused to listen to those two witnesses and servants of God. The vision of St. John then tells us how the great enemy will rise against those servants of God and will persecute, kill and destroy them. And yet, at the appointed time, much like the Lord Himself, the two witnesses rise again into glory and life, resurrected from the dead by the power of God, and are raised into Heaven.

In that passage, we can see how the belief in the resurrection from the dead forms such a central tenet of our faith, and the resurrection from the dead brings hope to all those who have suffered and been persecuted for the Lord and for their faith in Him, like those two faithful witnesses mentioned in the Book of Revelations. Throughout the history of the Church, from the time of persecutions in the earliest days of the Church, and then followed by the many other examples of bitter and harsh persecutions and oppositions against Christians all over the world, even to the present day, all these showed us how our faith in the Lord and in the Resurrection gave hope even amidst the bleakest darkness and evil in this world.

It is because many of the faithful entrusted themselves wholly in the Lord and trusted in Him, and believed that they shall enjoy forever the fruits of their labour and faith even beyond this world that they were willing to endure such hardships and struggles, torture, pain and humiliation in defending their faith and their trust in God. They also recall and remember how the Lord Himself had suffered and died for their sake, in His enduring and ever patient love for us mankind, that He willingly took upon Himself the burdens of our sins and the weight of the punishments and consequences due to our sins and wickedness. The Lord was with them and with all of us, His beloved children and people, wherever we are and in whatever circumstances we are in. When we are carrying our crosses in life, we must not forget that the Lord is carrying His Cross too, by our side.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the encounter between the Lord and the Sadducees, a group of influential and powerful people within the Jewish community who were opposed to the spiritual nature of their Jewish customs and faith, as those were mostly worldly in nature, refusing to believe in matters like the resurrection, life after death, the concept of soul and spirits, or in any spiritual beings like Angels and demons, among many other things. Those Sadducees were often very rich and influential people in the community, who by the nature of their wealth and power, obviously had strong attachments to their worldly life, to their present existence, and naturally, they tend to live their lives as if there is no life and existence after death, as per their beliefs. They lived in excess, enjoying life’s bounty as much as they wanted.

Their questions and responses to the Lord, using the example of the seven brothers and their shared wife showed how much they still desired worldly things, and wanted everything to be the way it is in this world. They did not realise that in the afterlife, all of us mankind are no longer bound by the needs and desires in this imperfect world, for we will be with God Himself, and in His presence and perfection, all of us have nothing lacking, and all of us are in state of perfect harmony and love with God and one another that we no longer need all the things we often fancy and desire in this world, like that of material wealth, money, pleasures of all kind, food or any other things that we often desire and try to accumulate in this world. We have to remember and indeed remind ourselves once again, that we exist to glorify God by our lives, and not for our own personal ambitions and gains.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians let us hence remind ourselves that we live in this world as a fleeting and temporary existence before we are fully reunited once again with God, and hence all of us should live our lives with that realisation found in our minds and hearts. If we realise this, then we should know that God will always be by our side and we have nothing to fear or lose if we entrust ourselves to Him, and do our best in our respective lives to do His will and to carry out whatever He has entrusted us with to do. Let us all inspire and help one another to persevere through our lives in this world, and do our best to be faithful witnesses of our faith, to be the bright beacons of God’s light and truth in our respective communities and places, at all times.

May the Lord be with us always and may He strengthen each and every one of us with the resolve to carry out our lives with faith and dedication from now on. May God bless our every good works and efforts, and empower us to be ever better and more committed disciples and witnesses of His truth in our world today. Amen.

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Saturday, 19 November 2022 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

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

Luke 20 : 27-40

At that time, some Sadducees arrived. These people claim that there is no resurrection, and they asked Jesus this question, “Master, in the Law Moses told us, ‘If anyone dies leaving a wife but no children, his brother must take the wife, and any child born to them will be regarded as the child of the deceased.'”

“Now, there were seven brothers; the first married a wife, but he died without children; and the second and the third took the wife; in fact, all seven died leaving no children. Last of all the woman died. On the day of the resurrection, to which of them will the woman be a wife? For all seven had her as a wife.”

And Jesus replied, “Taking a husband or a wife is proper to people of this world, but for those who are considered worthy of the world to come, and of resurrection from the dead, there is no more marriage. Besides, they cannot die, for they are like the Angels. They are sons and daughters of God, because they are born of the resurrection.”

“Yes, the dead will be raised, as Moses revealed at the burning bush, when He called the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. For God is God of the living, and not of the dead, for to Him everyone is alive.”

Some teachers of the Law then agreed with Jesus, “Master, You have spoken well.” They did not dare to ask Him anything else.

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Saturday, 19 November 2022 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

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

Psalm 143 : 1, 2, 9-10

Blessed be the Lord, my Rock, Who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.

My loving God, my Fortress; my Protector and Deliverer, my Shield where I take refuge, Who conquers nations and subjects them to my rule.

I will sing a new song to You, o God, I will make music on the ten-stringed harp, for You Who give victory to kings and deliver David, Your servant.