Saturday

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Saturday, 27 November 2021 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

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

Daniel 7 : 15-27

I, Daniel, was deeply troubled, since these visions terrified me. I approached one of those who were standing there, and asked him to tell me what all this meant. He answered me and gave me the interpretation of these things : ‘These four beasts are four kings who will rise from the earth. But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, to possess it eternally, forever and ever.’

Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, different from the others, extraordinarily terrifying, with iron teeth and bronze claws; that ate, tore into pieces and crushed underfoot whatever remained. I also wanted to know about the ten horns it had on its head, and about the other horn which had sprung up, and the first three horns that fell, and about this horn with eyes and a mouth that spoke with arrogance, and that looked greater than the other horns.

As I looked, this horn waged war against the holy ones and was subduing them until the One of Great Age came, to do justice for the holy ones of the Most High, and the time came for the holy ones to take possession of the kingdom. Then I was told : ‘The fourth animal shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, different from all the kingdoms. It will devour the earth, crush it and destroy it.’

‘The ten horns are ten kings who shall rise from this kingdom. Another one will rise up after them and destroy three kings. This king shall insult the Most High and persecute the holy ones of the Most High. He shall try to change the feasts and the laws. The holy ones shall be handed over to his power for a time, two times, and half a time.’

‘But judgment will come and dominion will be taken from him; he shall be destroyed and utterly wiped out. The kingship, dominion and leadership of all the kingdoms of the world shall be given to the people of the holy ones of God Most High : His kingdom will be without end. All the kingdoms shall serve Him and be subject to Him.’

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Saturday, 20 November 2021 : 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 presented with the continuation of the story from the Book of the Maccabees, this time about the end of the life of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who persecuted the Jewish faithful in his kingdom and caused the rise of the Maccabean Revolt. Then in the Gospel passage today we heard from the Gospel of St. Luke in which we heard the Lord’s encounter and exchanges with the Sadducees regarding the matter of the resurrection from the dead.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the Maccabees how King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the king of the Seleucid Greek Empire who was away campaigning in Persia, failed in his endeavours and not only that, he heard of the defeats inflicted to his forces in Judea and elsewhere due to the rise of the Jewish rebellion under Judas Maccabeus and his brothers who resisted the king’s efforts to impose Greek religion and customs among the Jews and others throughout his kingdom.

As we heard in yesterday’s readings, the forces of the faithful under the leadership of the Maccabees retook the holy Mount Zion and the Temple of God that was there, and reestablish the worship of the One True God there, overthrowing the idols that King Antiochus had installed there and broken down the old defiled Altar, rebuilding a new Altar worthy of Divine worship. Essentially, all that the king had done was to undermine his own power, control and authority over Judea and the lands where the Jews dwelled in, as they all rose in rebellion against Him.

The king died in regret, knowing that all that he had done were in vain, and God was punishing him for all of his sins, his pride, greed and megalomania. His lack of respect for the Lord and his actions had brought about all the calamities on him, and he would be held accountable for all of his actions, all the sufferings he had caused the people of God. And not long after that, he died in great agony, ending his rule as a king in this world, and entering into the afterlife. What is to become of King Antiochus, no one knows but God alone.

Now, linking to what we have heard in that passage with our Gospel passage today, we have something in common which is the matter of the afterlife. In the Gospel passage, we heard of the Lord Jesus and His encounter with the Sadducees, as they discussed about the matter of the resurrection from the dead and the afterlife. The Sadducees were one of the two very influential group back then in the Jewish community, which was made up of those who were powerful and rich, the aristocratic families and those with connections, and many of them were strongly influenced by Hellenism or Greek ways and customs.

As such, many among them did not believe in spiritual matters and did not believe in the afterlife or any resurrection from the dead. They preferred to enjoy life as they knew it there and then, and many likely enjoyed lavish parties and celebrations as were common at that time among the rich and powerful. When they asked the Lord about the resurrection, that was because the Lord always spoke of the world that is to come, and also for mankind to reject hedonistic ways that are incompatible with the way of God.

As they asked that, actually the Sadducees were showing that they feared what was to come after they die. While they did not believe in the resurrection, that also meant that they were afraid to part with all the things that they then currently enjoyed in life. They asked Him what would happen to a woman who married seven husbands and all of the husbands died, and who would be that woman’s husband in the afterlife because they were very concerned about worldly matters and things, and they do not want to lose what they were familiar with in the world, like their possessions, status, attachments and many other things.

This is where the Lord then reminded all of them and also all of us, that in the end, whatever we are in this world and whatever we possess, our status and all things are inconsequential in the world that is to come. All of us are mortals and will one day face death, and this is a certainty that all of us will endure, with the ultimate unknown being the time that this will happen to us. We will not bring our attachments and possessions in this world with us, and regardless whether we are beggars and poor, or rich and powerful kings like King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, all will die and face judgment for our actions and deeds in life.

The Lord revealed and reaffirmed that life after death is a reality, for our existence in this world is meant to be a temporary one. After passing through death, all those who are faithful to God and remained true to Him to the end will be judged worthy to share His glorious inheritance, to share in the beatific vision of the saints, whether immediately or through the fires of Purgatory. And in the end, it is immaterial what status or riches we have in this world, for all of us will be equal before God and equally beloved by Him without any prejudice and bias.

Now the question is, are we ready to welcome Him fully and enter into His kingdom should He call us back to Him at this very moment? Today’s readings serve as a reminder for our own fragile mortal existence, and we should remember that no matter how great we are in this world, we are still all the same before God, and we will have to answer Him for every single one of our actions and deeds. Will these be found worthy or wanting by the Lord? Will God find true and living faith in us, or will He instead find hypocrisy and lukewarmness in faith?

Let us all ponder these questions and discern carefully our path moving forward in life, so that we may know how to proceed and to dedicate ourselves from now on, that we may be worthy before the Lord. May God bless us all and remain with us, and may He guide us in our journey of faith through life. May God keep us in His love always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 20 November 2021 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

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

Luke 20 : 27-40

At that time, then 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, but died without children. The second married the woman, but also died childless. And then the third married her, and in this same way 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 ask Him anything else.

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Saturday, 20 November 2021 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

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

Psalm 9 : 2-3, 4 and 6, 16b and 19

Let my heart give thanks to YHVH, I yearn to proclaim Your marvellous deeds, and rejoice and exult in You; and sing praise to Your Name, o Most High.

For my enemies fell back in retreat, they stumbled and perished before You. You have turned back the nations; You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their names forever.

The feet of the pagans were ensnared by the trap they laid. For the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever.

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Saturday, 20 November 2021 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

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

1 Maccabees 6 : 1-13

When king Antiochus was making his way through the upper regions of Persia, he received news about Elymais, a city renowned for its wealth in silver and gold. They kept in the wealthy temple of their city golden armour, breastplates and weapons, left there by the Macedonian king, Alexander, the son of Philip, the first sovereign of the Greeks.

So Antiochus went there. But the inhabitants came out armed against him when they learnt of his intention, so his attempt to take the city failed. He had to turn back; and he returned much embittered to Babylon. While he was still in Persia, it was reported to him that the armies sent to Judea had been defeated. They told him that although Lysias had gone with a strong army, he had to flee before the Jews, who had been strengthened with the weapons and the abundant booty taken from the neighbouring armies.

He heard, too, that the Jews had destroyed the abominable idol he had erected on the altar in Jerusalem; and had rebuilt the Temple walls to the same height as before; and had also fortified the city of Beth-zur. When he received this news, he was terrified and deeply upset. He fell sick and became greatly depressed because things had not turned out the way he had planned.

So he remained overcome by this terrible anguish for many days. He felt he was dying, so he called his friends and said to them, “Sleep has fled from my eyes and I am greatly crushed by my anxieties. And I keep on asking why such grief has come upon me – I who was generous and well-loved when in power – and now I am so discouraged.”

“Now I remember the evils I did in Jerusalem, the vessels of gold and silver that I stole, the inhabitants of Judea I ordered to be killed for no reason at all. I now know, that because of this, these misfortunes have come upon me; and I am dying of grief in a strange land.”

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Saturday, 13 November 2021 : 32nd 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 all of us are reminded of the great love and kindness which the Lord has shown each and every one of us, which He has shown and given us through His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. Through Christ, the Lord has revealed to us His overflowing and ever present love, His enduring persistence in reaching out to us and in wanting to be reconciled with us.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Wisdom, we heard the Lord speaking to us His people, reminding us of the great and wonderful deeds He had done, in saving all of them from troubles and in caring for them, as how God had brought out the people of Israel from their enslavement in Egypt, how He rescued them and brought them to freedom, guiding them throughout their journey and Exodus towards the land promised to them.

Essentially, we heard of God’s love and kindness which He had shown, and which He had promised and fulfilled to His beloved ones. Then, we heard from our Gospel passage today, an interesting parable that the Lord Jesus used to explain about God and His love to the disciples and the other people listening to Him, that is the parable of the widow and the evil judge, as a comparison between that judge’s actions and God’s actions.

In that parable, as we heard from our Gospel passage today, we heard how the widow kept on asking and even pestering the evil judge, who was told to fear no one and had no regard for anyone, so that the judge would stand by her case against those who had accused her, namely her adversary. She kept on seeking the evil judge, who eventually gave in to her demands and addressed her needs just so that he could be rid of her incessant and continuous demands on him.

In comparing God to the actions of the evil judge, the Lord Jesus wants us all to know that if wicked and evil people can even answer to a request or demand, even though they had no regard or fear of anything, then how much more that God will be ready to seek us out and to love and care for us? The Lord will bless and love us far more than we can ever imagine, if we only commit ourselves to Him and seek Him with all of our strength and with all of our dedication and genuine love.

Unfortunately, many of us have forgotten about God and often ignored Him as He came to seek us. We put more of our attentions on worldly matters and on our desires, on things that we crave and seek, and God quickly became an afterthought, if not forgotten altogether. Many of us have become merely Sunday Catholics, or even nominal Catholics, when our participation in our faith is limited to just attending Sunday Masses, without real faith in God, and many still have already stopped coming to the Mass and living their faith at all.

Today, each and every one of us are called to reflect on our lives and how we can live a more wholesome and faithful Christian living from now on, especially if we have not yet done so. The Lord has called on us to remember the great love and grace with which He has cared for us, loved us and provided for us. It is indeed true that our sins and evils had separated and sundered us away from Him, but we should know that God wants us all to be reunited with Him, to find our way back to Him, so that we may be saved and share the eternal glory and joy with Him.

Are we willing to embrace the Lord, His love, mercy and forgiveness? Are we confident and capable of making the commitment necessary to follow the Lord wholeheartedly? Let us all allow the Lord to lead and guide us in our lives so that we may walk ever more faithfully in His path. May God be with us all and may He empower each and every one of us to be ever more committed and faithful to Him. Amen.

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Saturday, 13 November 2021 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

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

Luke 18 : 1-8

At that time, Jesus told them a parable, to show them that they should pray continually, and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain town there was a judge, who neither feared God nor people. In the same town there was a widow, who kept coming to him, saying, ‘Defend my rights against my adversary!'”

“For a time he refused, but finally he thought, ‘Even though I neither fear God nor care about people, this widow bothers me so much, I will see that she gets justice; then she will stop coming and wearing me out.'”

And Jesus said, “Listen to what the evil judge says. Will God not do justice for His chosen ones, who cry to Him day and night, even if He delays in answering them? I tell you, He will speedily do them justice. But, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”

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Saturday, 13 November 2021 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

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

Psalm 104 : 2-3, 36-37, 42-43

Sing to YHVH, sing His praise, proclaim all His wondrous deeds. Glory in His holy Name; let those who seek YHVH rejoice.

Then He smote all the firstborn, the first fruits of their manhood. He led Israel out of the alien land, laden with silver and gold, and none were left behind.

For He remembered His promise to Abraham, His servant. So He led forth His people with joy, His chosen ones with singing.

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Saturday, 13 November 2021 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

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

Wisdom 18 : 14-16 and Wisdom 19 : 6-9

While all was in quiet silence and the night was in the middle of its course, Your Almighty Word leapt down from the royal throne – a stern Warrior to a doomed world. Carrying Your fearful command like a sharpened sword and stretching from heaven to earth, He filled the universe with death.

All creation in its different forms was fashioned anew at Your command, in order to protect Your people. The cloud covered the camp with its shadow, dry land emerged where water had been. A safe passage was opened through the Red Sea, the tempestuous flood became a green plain where the whole nation of those protected by Your hand passed across, witnessing Your astounding deeds.

They were like horses led to pasture, or like frolicking lambs, praising You, their Lord, Who had delivered them.

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Saturday, 6 November 2021 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this day as we listened the words of the Scriptures we are all reminded to remain faithful and focused on the Lord, to follow Him wholeheartedly and not to be easily swayed and tempted by worldly temptations and distractions, all of which can mislead us and end up falling into the path of sin and damnation if we are not careful and allow ourselves to be misguided.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Rome, in which the Apostle spoke about his many contemporaries and fellow Christians, who have dedicated themselves in their own way, both in the city of Rome and in other places, in order to serve the Lord and to proclaim His truth to more and more people. It was their dedication and hard work, their contributions and efforts which allowed the faith to blossom rapidly in Rome and elsewhere.

St. Paul highlighted how God had called all the people to follow Him, Jews and Gentiles alike, from all origins and from various nations and races that had received His words and answered His call. And the ones St. Paul highlighted in his Epistle were just a few examples of the many others who had listened to the Lord and chose to respond to His call to be the bearers of the truth and to proclaim the same truth that they have received to many others who have not yet heard them.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the continuation of the words of the Lord regarding the parable of the dishonest steward which we have heard yesterday. The Lord told His disciples and the people who were gathered about the matter, including the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who were also in the midst of the crowd, and to whom the Lord actually addressed the parable to.

That is because in the parable of the dishonest steward, the Lord mentioned how a dishonest and greedy steward who was about to be dismissed by his master for his actions and mismanagement of the property, actually committed even more dishonest and wicked actions in order to secure for himself a good and comfortable life after he lost his job. And the Lord thereafter explained to the people, as we heard in our Gospel today, is why the actions of those who sought their own personal benefit is despicable, such as that done by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law.

When the Lord mentioned these things, He wants us to know that we all have a choice to make, which involves the choice between following the Lord and the path of the world, that is the path of Satan and evil. God has given us the free will and the freedom to choose our path in life, but we have to make good use of the opportunities given to us, as well as the truth and wisdom given to us to decide carefully which path we ought to follow in live, as we go forward living them.

The examples of the Pharisees and many others amongst our predecessors should have shown us how dangerous and alluring the temptations of power and worldly glory and wealth can be. If we are not careful, we may end up falling deeper and deeper into its clutches, and slowly it will corrupt us more and more, eventually leading us down to fall into the depth of sin and evil, and from which we may find it difficult to escape, if we keep on allowing sin to affect us.

Let us instead follow the examples of St. Paul and his contemporaries, all those who decided to follow the Lord and answer His call. We should do as they had done, in following the path that God had set before them. They devoted their time, effort and attention to serve the Lord and placed His will and commandments, His missions and works ahead of their own personal ambitions, desires or any other worldly aims that they might have had.

May the Lord help us and strengthen us in our faith, and may He empower each and every one of us to follow Him wholeheartedly, that all of us may find our way to the Lord and we may dedicate our time and attention to Him the way our holy predecessors had done. May God bless us all and our every endeavours, now and always. Amen.