Son of God

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Friday, 7 April 2017 : 5th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. John Baptist de la Salle, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
John 10 : 31-42

At that time, the Jews then picked up stones to throw at Jesus; so He said, “I have openly done many good works among you, which the Father gave Me to do. For which of these do you stone Me?”

The Jews answered, “We are not stoning You for doing a good work, but for insulting God; You are only a Man, and You make Yourself God.” Then Jesus replied, “Is this not written in your law : I said, you are gods? So those who received this word of God were called gods, and the Scripture is always true.”

“What then should be said of the One anointed, and sent into the world, by the Father? Am I insulting God when I say, ‘I am the Son of God?’ If I am not doing the works of My Father, do not believe Me. But if I do them, even if you have no faith in Me, believe because of the works I do; and know that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”

Again they tried to arrest Him, but Jesus escaped from their hands. He went away again to the other side of the Jordan, to the place where John had baptised, and there He stayed. Many people came to Jesus, and said, “John worked no miracles, but he spoke about You, and everything he said was true.” And many became believers in that place.

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Tuesday, 4 April 2017 : 5th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Isidore, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
John 8 : 21-30

At that time, Jesus said to the Jews, “I am going away, and though you look for Me, you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come.” The Jews wondered, “Why does He say that we cannot come where He is going? Will He kill Himself?”

But Jesus said, “You are from below and I am from above; you are of this world and I am not of this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. And you shall die in your sins, unless you believe that I am He.” They asked Him, “Who are You?”; and Jesus said, “Just what I have told you from the beginning. I have much to say about you and much to condemn; but the One Who sent Me is truthful and everything I learnt from Him; I proclaim to the world.”

They did not understand that Jesus was speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He and that I do nothing of Myself, but I say just what the Father taught Me. He Who sent Me is with Me and has not left Me alone; because I always do what pleases Him.”

As Jesus spoke like this, many believed in Him.

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Friday, 31 March 2017 : 4th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Wisdom 2 : 1a, 12-22

Led by mistaken reasons they think, “Let us set a trap for the Righteous, for He annoys us and opposes our way of life; He reproaches us for our breaches of the Law and accuses us of being false to our upbringing. He claims knowledge of God and calls Himself Son of the Lord. He has become a reproach to our way of thinking; even to meet Him is burdensome to us. He does not live like others and behaves strangely.”

“According to Him we have low standards, so He keeps aloof from us as if we were unclean. He emphasises the happy end of the righteous and boasts of having God as Father. Let us see the truth of what He says and find out what His end will be. If the Righteous is a Son of God, God will defend Him and deliver Him from His adversaries.”

“Let us humble and torture Him to prove His self-control and test His patience. When we have condemned Him to a shameful death, we may test His words.” This is the way they reason, but they are mistaken, blinded by their malice. They do not know the mysteries of God nor do they hope for the reward of a holy life; they do not believe that the blameless will be recompensed.

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Tuesday, 28 March 2017 : 4th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Ezekiel 47 : 1-9, 12

The man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple and I saw water coming out from the threshold of the Temple and flowing eastwards. The Temple faced the east and the water flowed from the south side of the Temple, from the south side of the altar. He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing the east and there I saw the stream coming from the south side.

The man had a measuring cord in his hand. As he went towards the east he measured off a thousand cubits and led me across the water which was up to my ankles. He measured off another thousand cubits and made me cross the water which came to my knees. He measured off another thousand cubits and we crossed the water which was up to my waist. When he had again measured a thousand cubits, I could not cross the torrent for it had swollen to a depth which was impossible to cross without swimming.

The man then said to me, “Son of man, did you see?” He led me on further and then brought me back to the bank of the river. There I saw a number of trees on both sides of the river. He said to me, “This water goes to the east, down to the Arabah, and when it flows into the sea of foul-smelling water, the water will become wholesome.”

“Wherever the river flows, swarms of creatures will live in it; fish will be plentiful and the sea water will become fresh. Wherever it flows, life will abound. Near the river on both banks there will be all kinds of fruit trees with foliage that will not wither and fruit that will never fail; each month they will bear a fresh crop because the water comes from the Temple. The fruit will be good to eat and the leaves will be used for healing.”

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Saturday, 25 March 2017 : Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Isaiah 7 : 10-14 and Isaiah 8 : 10

Once again YHVH addressed Ahaz, “Ask for a sign from YHVH your God, let it come either from the deepest depths or from the heights of heaven.”

But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask, I will not put YHVH to the test.” Then Isaiah said, “Now listen, descendants of David. Have you not been satisfied trying the patience of people, that you also try the patience of my God? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign : The Virgin is with Child and bears a Son and calls His Name Immanuel.”

“Devise a plan and it will be thwarted, make a resolve and it will not stand, for God-is-with-us.”

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Monday, 20 March 2017 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
2 Samuel 7 : 4-5a, 12-14a, 16

But that very night, YHVH’s word came to Nathan, “Go and tell My servant David, this is what YHVH says : When the time comes for you to rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your son after you, the one born of you and I will make his reign secure. He shall build a house for My Name and I will firmly establish his kingship forever. I will be a Father to him and he shall be My son.”

“Your house and your reign shall last forever before Me, and your throne shall be forever firm.”

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Friday, 17 March 2017 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Patrick, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Matthew 21 : 33-43, 45-46

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Listen to another example : There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a hole for the winepress, built a watchtower, leased the vineyard to tenants, and then went to a distant country.”

“When harvest time came, the landowner sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the harvest. But the tenants seized his servants, beat one, killed another and stoned a third. Again the owner sent more servants, but they were treated in the same way.”

“Finally, he sent his son, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they thought, ‘This is the one who is to inherit the vineyard. Let us kill him, and his inheritance will be ours.’ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.”

“Now, what will the owner of the vineyard do with the tenants when he comes?” They said to him, “He will bring those evil men to an evil end, and lease the vineyard to others, who will pay him in due time.” And Jesus replied, “Have you never read what the Scriptures say? The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and we marvel at it.”

“Therefore I say to you : the kingdom of heaven will be taken from you, and given to a people who will yield a harvest.”

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard these parables, they realised that Jesus was referring to them. They would have arrested Him, but they were afraid of the crowd, who regarded Him as a Prophet.

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Sunday, 12 March 2017 : Second Sunday of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Matthew 17 : 1-9

At that time, six days after Jesus predicted His own death, He took with Him Peter and James and his brother John, and led them up a high mountain, where they were alone. Jesus’ appearance was changed before them : His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became bright as light. Just then Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus.

Peter spoke and said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. If You wish, I will make three tents : one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Peter was still speaking, when a bright cloud covered them with its shadow, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My Son, the Beloved, My Chosen One. Listen to Him.”

On hearing the voice, the disciples fell to the ground, full of fear. But Jesus came, touched them and said, “Stand up, do not be afraid.” When they raised their eyes, they no longer saw anyone except Jesus. And as they came down the mountain, Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone what they had just seen, until the Son of Man be raised from the dead.

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Saturday, 18 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Mark 9 : 2-13

At that time, six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain. There His appearance was changed before their eyes. Even His clothes shone, becoming as white as no bleach of this world could make them. Elijah and Moses appeared to them; the two were talking with Jesus.

Then Peter spoke and said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say : they were overcome with awe. But a cloud formed, covering them in a shadow, and from the cloud came a voice, “This is My Son, the Beloved; listen to Him.”

And suddenly, as they looked around, they no longer saw anyone except Jesus with them. As they came down the mountain, He ordered them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept this to themselves, although they discussed with one another what ‘to rise from the dead’ could mean.

Finally they asked Him, “Why then do the teachers of the Law say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus answered them, “Of course Elijah will come first, so that everything may be as it should be. But why do the Scriptures say that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be despised? I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they have treated him as they pleased, as the Scriptures say of him.”

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Thursday, 2 February 2017 : Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the great feast in honour of the Presentation of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, in the Temple of God in Jerusalem. Traditionally, this is also the end of the Christmas season, occurring forty days after the celebration of the Nativity, from which date the timing of this feast is calculated.

On this day, we also pray for the sake of all those who have given themselves to the Lord as religious brothers and sisters, and as all those who have committed themselves to the holy priesthood, everyone who have given themselves to the service of God and His people, because they have been united to the Lord Jesus, our one and only true High Priest.

In the first reading today, taken from Book of the prophet Malachi, we heard of the proclamation of the coming of God’s salvation, the promise of the Saviour Who would come to bless the people of God, Who will refine all of them to be pure and glorified in His presence, that all of them will be like the sons of Levi, who have been appointed in accordance to the laws of Moses, to be priests of God’s people.

In this we see the works of God, the Eternal High Priest for all mankind, the One Who had come into this world, to bring unto all the ultimate and best offering of all, by offering Himself on the cross, so that on our behalf, Jesus had purified us and made us whole once again, delivering us from our troubles and from all the darkness that had once subjugated us. We have been brought from the darkness and into the light.

Today, all of us celebrate the moment when Jesus was offered to God as the firstborn Son, as a remembrance of the time of the Exodus. According to the tradition and the Law, all firstborn child of Israel must be offered to God, as a symbolic remembrance of the time when the Lord took away their punishment and changed it into liberation and freedom. What does this mean, brethren? In order to understand this, we will have to look into the events that took place around the first Passover.

At that time, the Pharaoh and the Egyptians refused to let the people of Israel go, and they refused to let them free from their slavery of the Israelites. The Pharaoh hardened his heart and made the Israelites to work even harder under the whip, and thus, God showed His might by sending to Egypt ten great plagues, the greatest of which was the last one.

The Pharaoh decreed that all the firstborn sons of Israel would be killed and continued to harden his heart against God. But God did not let such a punishment and intended destruction to fall against His beloved people. And thus He instructed Moses to tell the people to prepare an unblemished lamb for each families of Israel, and slaughter it on the day of salvation, the Passover day.

God passed over the houses which had been marked with the blood of the unblemished lamb of sacrifice, when He sent His Angels to destroy the firstborn of the Egyptians. The day of punishment and the day of destruction, when Pharaoh intended great harm for the Israelites, had become a day of rejoicing, of liberation and freedom. And this was what the Israelites celebrated from then on, year after year, rejoicing in God Who had liberated His people.

But mankind, God’s people had not been freed from their true afflictions, and they are still enslaved, not by any human forces or slavery, but by sin. Sin has become chains that kept us separated from God, and which has enslaved us to the forces of our human desires, our greed, and all of the temptations present in this world. The priests of Israel were incapable of redeeming the people because they themselves were also sinners, equally sinful before God and their brethren. And they offered the imperfect gifts and offerings of animal blood, which is insufficient to liberate us all from our afflictions of sin.

It is God alone Who is capable of forgiving our sins, and He Himself had taken charge of our liberation and redemption, much like how He had liberated Israel from the hands of Egypt. This time round, He liberates all of us from the chains of our sins, and brings us all to Him and to the eternal life He promises each and ever one of us who believe in Him.

But it is not something that is easily done, for the consequences of sin is death, suffering and pain. And there are just too many of us mankind, so grievous and great are our sins that we have once had no hope, for our fate would have been destruction and damnation. It was the great anguish and suffering which our Lord had endured for our sake, the pain and suffering of His cross, which had brought us all to freedom.

It was by His Precious Blood that we have been purchased, liberated and washed free from our sins. It was not an easy task, one that had burdened even the very Divine Son of God to anguish and sorrow, as He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane before His Passion, so great was the task laid before Him. And yet, He remained obedient to the very end, carrying the cross with utmost patience, and enduring every blows, spittle and insults.

Such was the great love which our God had shown us, that He was willing to endure such great troubles for our sake. And He has not stopped at that, but He gave those whom He had chosen the power and authority to extend His forgiveness and redemption to all of His people. He has called His Apostles and disciples, and gave them the power to do so. And they chose their successors and disciples in turn, our priests and bishops.

Today, let us all remember our courageous and faithful priests and bishops, all those who have given themselves and committed their lives for the Lord and for His people. They have tremendous responsibility and duty, to continue the good works which our Lord had begun. They, together with all others in the religious life and vocations had willingly devoted themselves for our sake. Let us assure them of our support and our prayers.

And last of all, let us all also renew our commitment to the Lord this day. After all, God had loved us so much that He gave us His only Son, and not just that, He even suffered for our sake, bearing all of our sins with Him, and suffering great injustice for our sake, so that by His wounds we may be healed. This is the truth which our holy priests, bishops and religious had devoted their lives to, and therefore, it is just right that we should also do our best to support them, and live a genuine, Christian life.

May the Lord bless us all today, and from now to the ends of our days, so that in every actions that we do, and in every thing we say, we must always glorify the Lord, and proclaim His love to all. Let us all be committed servants of our Lord, and bring His light to all the peoples, particularly to those who are still lost in the darkness. May God be with us all, now and forevermore. Amen.