Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

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Monday, 2 October 2017 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate together the Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels, remembering all those spiritual guardians who are constantly watching each one of us, defending us in the constant battle raging around us, even though we may not be aware of what is happening.

In the first reading today, taken from the Book of Exodus, we heard how God sent His Angels to guide the people of Israel as they made their way down towards the Promised Land from Egypt, from where they had been freed from the bonds of their slavery. The Angels of God protected them and cleared the path before them, and all of the enemies of Israel were defeated while the Angels of God were with the Israelites.

That was what God had done with His people, sending His Angels to help them. Those who are faithful will not be abandoned or left alone, for God will send His Angels to defend us, against all those who seek to destroy us. We may not be aware, but Satan and his fellow fallen angels are always out there, ready to strike at us and snatch us from God’s loving hands. They do this through their persuasions, temptations and even if necessary, force.

In the Gospel passage today, we heard Jesus talking to His disciples, about the faith of a child, that is truly the greatest among the people in the kingdom of heaven. And unless they have the same kind of faith as the faith of young children, they will not be great in the kingdom of Heaven. Why is that so? That is because, a child’s faith is pure and genuine, not yet corrupted by the many concerns of the world and by the temptation of sin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we often find it difficult to listen to the Lord, because temptations are always around us, the tempters are out and active, speaking to us, urging us to follow our desires, and therefore, doing what is sinful in the sight of God. And when we sin, the devil has been victorious in his plans for us, as with every sin we committed, we draw ever closer to the path to damnation.

But our guardian Angels are also always active, protecting us from the predation and attacks by these demonic forces. They are always out and about, keeping us safe and close to the way of the Lord. They also speak in the depth of our hearts, urging us to think about what it is that we believe in our faith, and how the temptations are wrong, and are urging us to do something that is against God’s teachings, and which are rebellious acts against His will.

This constant struggle is the spiritual warfare raging at all times around us, like a game of tug-of-war, with our souls at stake. Should Satan and his forces win, then we will end up in the eternal damnation in hell. And should God and His Angels, including our guardian Angels triumph by pulling us free from the bonds of Satan and from the temptations of sin, then we will receive the eternal glory and joy in heaven promised to us all who are faithful to God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, we must be really careful so as not to ignore the constant battle raging around us and not to be lukewarm in our faith. Otherwise, we will become easy prey for the devil who will do whatever is in his disposition to tempt us, to persuade us, to cajole us, to force us to do what he wants us to do, that is to sin against God.

Many of us have also been too busy to spend time with God, and our faith in Him had been muddled by the many worldly concerns we have. That is why all of us need to rediscover that faith which we once had as a child, or what we have seen in how a child believes. We must have that pure heart once again, wholly dedicated to God, just as a child would.

Therefore, let us from now on pledge ourselves, to do our best in order to do God’s will, guided by our holy Guardian Angels, that we always ready our ears, open our minds and hearts to listen to them, as they convey to us the message of God. Let us resist the temptation of sin, and do our best that we may come out from the daily and constant spiritual struggle over our souls triumphant, worthy of God’s grace and eternal life. May God and His Guardian Angels be with us always. Amen.

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Monday, 2 October 2017 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 18 : 1-5, 10

At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

Then Jesus called a little child, set the child in the midst of the disciples, and said, “I assure you, that, unless you change, and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble, like this child, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives such a child, in My Name, receives Me.”

“See that you do not despise any of these little ones; for I tell you, their Angels in heaven continually see the face of My heavenly Father.”

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Monday, 2 October 2017 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 90 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 10-11

You, who dwell in the shelter of the Most High, who rest in the shadow of the Almighty, say to YHVH, “My Stronghold, my Refuge, my God in Whom I trust!”

He will rescue you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions and give you refuge under His wings.

You shall not fear the terror of the night nor the arrows that fly by day, nor the pestilence that stalks by night, and the plague that destroys at noonday.

No harm will come upon you; no disaster will draw near your home. For He will command His Angels to guard you in all your ways.

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Monday, 2 October 2017 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Exodus 23 : 20-23

See, I am sending an Angel before you to keep you safe on the way and bring you to the place I have made ready. Be on your guard in his presence and listen to him; do not resist him for he will not pardon your wrongdoing, for My Name is in him.

If you listen to him and do what I say, I will be the enemy to your enemies and the opponent of your opponents. My Angel will go before you and bring you to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; all these I will destroy.

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Sunday, 1 October 2017 : Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, we heard the Word of God from the Sacred Scriptures, speaking to us about doing the will of God and obeying Him, in all the things we say and we do, following the examples of none other but the Lord Jesus Himself, as the example of perfect obedience. All of us as Christians have to devote ourselves to the Lord wholeheartedly, and be righteous in all of our deeds.

In the first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel, God reminded His people that it was not based on our status or prejudices that we are being judged or will be judged by Him. Rather, it is by our every actions that we will be judged by the Lord. For our every righteous deeds we do, we shall be judged to be worthy of God, while for every wicked and sinful deeds we do, we shall be judged to be unworthy of God and instead worthy of condemnation.

Even if the righteous were to commit sins and wickedness, they shall be judged on the accord of their righteous actions and their sins. Should their sins outweighs their righteous deeds, and their faith be found wanting in the presence of God, they will be condemned like all the other sinners. Equally, should the wicked and great sinners commit what is good and righteous, and their good deeds and righteousness be found worthy over all the wickedness they have committed, they may be considered worthy of God’s glory, and that is also why many souls are now in purgatory.

That was precisely what the Lord Jesus also alluded to in His parable to the people, telling them about two sons who said and did differently to his father’s will and orders. One son who voiced out his obedience to the father’s orders, and yet did not do as he had said, and another son who objected and made excuses against the orders, but in the end, did what the father wanted him to do. The son who actually did what the father wanted him to do, is the one who is righteous in the end.

That means, the readings today presented each and every one of us with both a warning and an opportunity each. The passages warned us that should we be lax in the practice of our faith, even those who are good and pious may end up falling into temptations and sins, and through those sins and scandals, they will end up being condemned instead of attaining salvation as they should have.

On the other hand, an opportunity has also been given to all of us, who are sinners and wicked people, to forge for ourselves a new pathway to God, to turn back on our sins and to be righteous, that through our sincere repentance and desire to be forgiven, all of us may be forgiven and be absolved from our sins, for Christ had died for all of us on the cross, and by His loving sacrifice, He has offered each and every one of us the forgiveness for our sins.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is often that many of us find this difficult to be done, especially because we encounter many temptations of this world, the temptations to do what we want in life, to do what is easier to be done, what is more convenient for us, rather than to obey the Lord and to follow what His will is for each and every one of us. We tend to take it easy and follow the easier path, and in many of our actions, we often think of the potential profits and benefits for ourselves.

But that is not the path we should be taking, brethren. We may think the path of the Lord is a tough and challenging one, but in the end, through our perseverance and righteousness, we will gain honour and eternal glory from our God, Who sees and knows all that we say and do. And by doing all that He wants each one of us to do, with full sincerity and desire to love Him, we will gain true righteousness and grace from God.

Let us all follow the examples of the holy saint whose feast we celebrate on this day, the saint whose life is an inspiration for each one of us on how we should be good in our lives and be obedient to God’s will. St. Therese of the Child Jesus or St. Therese of Lisieux was a renowned saint, most famously known as the ‘The Little Flower of Jesus’, and in the ‘Little Way’ she propagated.

St. Therese was a sickly young girl who encountered great difficulties early on in her life, having had to constantly grapple with her frail health and physique. Yet, her piety and devotion to God had been noted from a very early age, and as she grew in age, her piety and commitment to God only grew stronger. She experienced many amazing experiences of faith and moments of closeness with God, and wanted to join the Carmelites religious order.

She encountered many difficulties and challenges in entering the congregation, but eventually she was accepted as a Carmelite nun. She wrote extensively and lived a very pious life centred in strong devotion to God. She discovered the ‘Little Way’, in which she explained that she would get to Heaven by the little way, short and straight, through which by little and simple actions, we may discover the path to sanctity.

Many of us think that in order to be good and righteous we have to do great things in order to receive sanctity and approval from God. Yet, that is not true, as St. Therese of Lisieux showed us that even little and seemingly insignificant actions made based on faith, and with full sincerity, will have massive impact altogether towards our salvation and grace. What matters is that we do them sincerely, and devote ourselves wholeheartedly to God.

It is important that we do our deeds out of devotion to God, and not to seek human praise and approval. What will be the benefit for us, if we do what God wants us to do, but because we want to be praised by others, and not for the right intentions? Is that not vanity instead? And the pampering of our human ego and greed for fame? Rather, we should be humble, to be as little and meaningless as possible, so that in our humility and love for God, God may uplift us and glorify us in the end.

Ultimately, we should see the examples of the Lord Jesus Himself, Whom in the second reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Philippians mentioned as the One Who had obeyed perfectly the will of His Father, despite the great difficulties, pain and suffering that would have caused Him. He was tempted by the devil three times in the desert, in the pursuit of human and worldly glory, but He resisted all of them.

He was also tempted to abandon His mission as He prayed in agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before His Passion, suffering and death. But He accepted willingly and completely what God His Father has planned for Him and for all mankind, with the words ‘Let Your will be done and not Mine.’ This is the kind of faith and commitment that all of us Christians are called to make, following the example of Christ Himself.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, in conclusion, all of us must make the conscious effort to avoid sin and to repent wholeheartedly and sincerely from all the wicked and unfaithful actions we have done in our lives, for just as small and little acts of faith can bring us on the way to Heaven, even a small little sin can become a great obstacle to our salvation.

Let us all follow in the footsteps of the holy saint, St. Therese of Lisieux, and follow her ‘Little Way’ on our way to the Lord, doing whatever we can, even in small little things we can do in our daily lives, by caring for the needy, by showing love for our fellow brethren, and by forgiving those who have wronged us and caused us discomfort. Let us not keep grudges against one another, but follow the example of Christ, Who forgave His enemies and prayed for their sake.

Let us also follow the Lord Jesus and His example in His perfect obedience to the will of God His Father. Let us pray to God, with this prayer : ‘Lord, I know that I am a sinner and I am unworthy of You, but guide me so that I may not fall any further into the way of sin, but through the Little Way of Your holy saint, St. Therese of Lisieux, and through the perfect obedience of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, we may find the most straight and surest path to You. May we be made worthy through our actions, all made out of our love for You, and out of our love for our brothers and sisters. Amen.’

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Sunday, 1 October 2017 : Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 21 : 28-32

At that time, Jesus went on to say, “What do you think of this? A man had two sins. He went to the first and said to him, ‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard.’ And the son answered, ‘I do not want to.’ But later he thought better of it and went. Then the father went to his other son and said the same thing to him. This son replied, ‘I will go, sir,’ but he did not go.”

“Which of the two did what the father wanted?” They answered, “The first.” And Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you : the publicans and the prostitutes are ahead of you on the way to the kingdom of heaven. For John came, to show you the way of goodness, and you did not believe him; but the publicans and the prostitutes did. You were witnesses of this, but you neither repented nor believed him.”

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Sunday, 1 October 2017 : Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

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.

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Philippians 2 : 1-5

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.

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Sunday, 1 October 2017 : Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 24 : 4bc-5, 6-7, 8-9

O YHVH, make known to me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and instruct me, for You are my God, my Saviour; I hope in You all day long.

Remember Your compassion, o YHVH, Your unfailing love from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, but in Your love remember me.

Good and upright, YHVH teaches sinners His way. He teaches the humble of heart and guides them in what is right.

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Sunday, 1 October 2017 : Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Ezekiel 18 : 25-28

But you say : YHVH’s way is not just! Why, Israel! Is My position wrong? Is it not rather that yours is wrong? If the righteous man turns from his righteous deeds, and sins, then he dies, because of his sins.

And if the wicked man does what is good and right, after turning from the sins he committed, he will save his life. He will live and not die, because he has opened his eyes; and turned from the sins he had committed.

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(Usus Antiquior) Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, Memorial of St. Placidus and Companions, Martyrs (II Classis) – Sunday, 5 October 2014 : Homily and Scripture Reflections

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today Jesus our Lord highlighted to us on how the Lord is love, and Jesus Himself is love, as He is Son of God and therefore, is God. He at the same time is also the Son of David, as his legal descendant through Joseph, His foster-father, and therefore is the heir and indeed the one true and only King of the kingdom given to His ancestor David, as God had promised to David himself His servant, that his heir and descendant would sit forever on his throne.

And the commandments and the Laws which God had given to His people, which they knew as the Ten Commandments, together with all the accompanying laws and customs are all actually about love, and love that we need to express both to God, as well as to our fellow men, to our parents, our brothers and sisters around us. For the commandments were given to us, not to burden us unnecessarily with laws and customs, but to help us on our way to reach the Lord.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law favoured and imposed a very puritanical, fanatical and punitive approach of applying the Law to the people entrusted to them. In total, there were in fact up to six hundred and thirteen laws, customs and its various applications. Those numerous laws and customs strained the people and made life difficult for them, and the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were quick to condemn all those who committed the slightest act of disobedience.

And they were very quick to praise themselves and seek human approval, when they did what they had done in life. They thought highly of themselves and sought to advance their own cause, and their own standing among men, thinking that in their piety, they have earned the right to boast and to be proud on their ways, and that they had fulfilled the way and the will of the Lord.

No, Jesus made it very clear to them, that they would not be justified by what they had done. On the other hand, they would indeed be condemned, for their failure to guide the people of God entrusted to them on the right path. They have not led the people to grow stronger and deeper in love, but instead they oppressed the people for their own benefits, and they were concerned only about themselves.

If they themselves were not faithful to the commandments of the Lord, then it is definitely also impossible for the people of God to follow their examples to be faithful as well. Their faith was empty and meaningless, and their ego was their undoing. They were unable to control themselves and allowed themselves to be controlled by their emotions and desires. As such, they refused to listen to Jesus and refused to believe in Him and in His works.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all learn from what we had heard today, that we may all grow better and stronger in our own faith. That we will not follow the examples of the Pharisees and the elders of Israel, but instead listen to God, through Christ who had made all things clear to us. We have to obey the commandments of God, but not just to obey them for the sake of obeying. On the other hand, we should understand the real meaning and purpose of the Law, that is for us to know and to learn about love.

Our faith without love is empty and meaningless, and indeed, if we do not play our part in living our faith with real devotion, to love God with all of our strength, and with all of our heart, and if we do not love our brethren and our neighbours in the same manner, then we cannot find justification in the Lord, and we will have no part in His grace and blessing.

Today we celebrate together as the Church, the feast of St. Placidus and his thirty companions, who were martyred together for their faith in God, at the time of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, the architect and mastermind behind the last and greatest of the persecutions of the faithful by the Roman Empire. St. Placidus and his companions, the fellow martyrs of the faith, refused to compromise their faith and devotion to God, just for the sake of preserving their lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in this we can see the real contrast between the actions of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who compromised the purity and the truth about their faith, and what they ought to do to teach the faithful, for the sake of temporary and worldly pleasures and to satisfy their own wants and ego. Meanwhile, the holy martyrs, led by St. Placidus became an example to all others who looked upon their actions. Their staunch and strong faith in the Lord did not give way to the world and to their own desires. Instead, through their obedience and their shedding of their blood for the Lord, they helped many others to stay faithful to the Lord.

Therefore, let us today renew our commitment to the Lord, inspired by the example of St. Placidus and his companions in holy martyrdom, so that in all the things we do, in all the things we say, we may be truly loving in all things, that our ways may be made of love, and we will be worthy of being called the children of God, who is Love Himself. God bless us all. Amen.