Liturgical Colour : Green
Job 38 : 1, 8-11
Then YHVH answered Job out of the storm : “Who shut the sea behind closed doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling clothes; when I set its limits with doors and bars in place, when I said, ‘You will not go beyond those bounds; here is where your proud waves must halt?'”
Liturgical Colour : White
Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are reminded yet again today that we should put our trust in God and leave all things to Him who cares for us. We do not need to worry or think about what we are to do today and what we ought to have in our lives. As I have often mentioned, in this life, we often confuse between our needs and our wants, between the things that we truly need in life and things that is in our desire and greed.
Yes, we also often confuse between things that are truly precious and dear to us, and things that are what form our desire and our greed. In our world today filled with materialism and consumerism, this is becoming more and more out of hand, and instead of doing what the Lord wants us to do, we are getting more and more separated from Him by committing things unworthy in His sight.
What are some of the examples? We always worry about the latest gadgets and newest inventions that are marketed to us as things that we need to have so that we look ‘cool’ and acceptable to the society, and we also often beg and seek these things to fulfill our own feeling of inferiority and need for acceptance, but we fail to look beyond that, to find what we truly want and need in life.
God is with us, brothers and sisters, and He knows perfectly all the things that we need at all the moments of our lives. I am sure many of us did not realise this, but if we do take some time to think and reflect, have you realised that actually in many moments of our lives, we have been blessed by God who intervened in His own way and in His own time to help us and to be with us? God never left us alone.
We have to learn to let go of the many desires and egoistic feelings that we have in us. We cannot succumb to our desires and wants, as this will inevitably lead to more and more desire and more and more wants. Mankind are inherently greedy and desire pleasure, hence, we are predisposed to seek pleasures and comfort in life, forgetting what we truly need to do in life.
Today we commemorate the feast of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, a holy man and a dedicated worker of the faith and servant of God, who was born in the late Renaissance Italy, into a noble and wealthy family, one of the most influential and powerful families of that era in Italy. He was destined for greatness, both in inheritance and great wealth. However, the heart of St. Aloysius Gonzaga turned somewhere else.
Instead of dwelling in his privileged status and in his material wealth, of which he had so much that he need no more, St. Aloysius Gonzaga wanted to become a priest and a missionary, working to spread the Good News to the lands which were still in the darkness without the knowledge of God. As such, he wanted to join the Jesuits, but his family was adamantly against his choice.
However, despite persuasions and negotiations, his family failed to convince St. Aloysius Gonzaga to do otherwise. Eventually, St. Aloysius Gonzaga fulfilled his desire and became a Jesuit, and he committed himself totally to God, and even during a plague, when many died from the sickness, he did not fear and continued to commit himself to the patients and the sick in love, eventually succumbing to the disease himself. But in dying, he had shown us all, the power of love and faith that is lived in that love.
Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we able to live like St. Aloysius Gonzaga had done? Are we able to get our eyes and our minds away from our continuous desire for more and more goods and pleasures? We must really make the effort to do good for others as St. Aloysius Gonzaga had done for others. Let us really live our faith and be faithful to God, practicing our faith with love. May God be our guide and our strength. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
Matthew 6 : 24-34
No one can serve two masters; for he will either hate one and love the other, or he will be loyal to the first and look down on the second. You cannot at the same time serve God and money.
This is why I tell you not to be worried about food or drink for yourself, or about clothes for your body. Is not life more important than food, and is not the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow, they do not harvest and do not store food in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not less worthy than they are?
Can any of you add a day to your life by worrying about it? Why are you so worried about your clothes? Look at how the flowers in the fields grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his wealth was clothed like one of these.
If God so clothed the grass in the field, which blooms today and is to be burned tomorrow in an oven, how much more will he clothe you? What little faith you have!
Do not worry and say : What are we going to eat? What are we going to drink? or : What shall we wear? The pagans busy themselves with such things; but your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. Set your heart first on the kingdom and justice of God, and all these things will also be given to you.
Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 88 : 4-5, 29-30, 31-32, 33-34
You said, “I have made a covenant with David, My chosen one; I have made a pledge to My servant. I establish his descendants forever; I build his throne for all generations.”
I will keep My covenant firm forever, and My love for him will endure. His dynasty will last forever, and his throne as long as the heavens.
If his sons forsake My law and fail to follow My decrees, if they violate My statutes and do not keep My commandments.
I will punish their crime with the rod and their offenses with the scourge; yet I will not withdraw My love from him, nor will I withdraw My faithfulness.
Liturgical Colour : White
2 Chronicles 24 : 17-25
After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came to pay court to the king, and the king now turned to them for advice. The Judaeans abandoned the house of YHVH, the God of their ancestors, for the worship of sacred trunks and idols and God’s anger fell on Judah and Jerusalem because of their guilt.
He sent them prophets to bring them back to YHVH, but when the prophets spoke, they would not listen. The Spirit of God took control of Zechariah, son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said, “God says this : Why are you disobeying the commandments of YHVH? You cannot prosper. You have abandoned YHVH and He will abandon you.”
They then plotted against him and by order of the king stoned him in the court of YHVH’s House. King Joash forgot the kindness of Jehoiada, the father of Zechariah, and killed Jehoiada’s son who cried out as he died, “Let YHVH see and do justice!”
When a year had gone by, the Aramean army made war on Joash. They reached Judah and Jerusalem, and killed all the officials among the people, sending back to the king of Damascus all that they had plundered from them. Though the Aramean army was small, YHVH delivered into its power an army of great size for they had abandoned Him, the God of their ancestors.
The Arameans wounded Joash and when they withdrew they left him a very sick man; and his officers, plotting against him to avenge the death of the son of Jehoiada the priest, murdered him in his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the City of David, though not in the tombs of the kings.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, our faith in the Lord is possibly the greatest treasure that we will ever have in this world. What is treasure? A treasure is something that we find precious and really have a substantial meaning and value to us, either in financial terms or in any other terms. Basically, it is something very valuable to us, and presumably we will want to have it and keep it from losing it.
But, if we notice, in our world today, too many people are enamoured with treasure, so much, that they become obsessed with it. Treasure in this means worldly treasure, the treasure of wealth, possessions, goods, and amenities, that come with our world today and all its conveniences. All of these materialisms widespread in our world today, can easily be seen in the amounts of the advertisements in our television programmes, and in the internet media.
These advertisements take advantage of our human desire, of our greed and desire to have more of the material goods and pleasures that this world can offer in its various forms. Not that this is bad, brothers and sisters in Christ, as a tempered desire for possessions and wealth may indeed be beneficial if not necessary for mankind at times. We do need money and certain goods in order to lead a good normal life in our world today. What matters is however, do we really seek what we need? Or do we seek so much more than what we need, that it becomes a kind of greed?
When Christ mentioned that in the treasures lie our heart, He was not further than the truth. Indeed, our heart certainly lie with our treasures. Imagine a man with an enormous wealth stored inside a safety box inside his house. Certainly he will do all that he can in order to ensure that the treasure ‘chest’ remain safe from all external threats, such as thieves and even maybe natural disasters. He would not have done such things if his heart had not been with the treasure.
But what Christ had rightly warned us is that, these kind of wealth are temporary. my brothers and sisters. They are not permanent, nor will they remain with us forever. We will not bring our wealth and possessions with us to the afterlife, be it to heaven or hell, because in heaven we have no need for such possessions, because the Lord alone is our possession, and we will have enough, and in hell, no amount of material goods will be able to alleviate the ultimate suffering of the separation of man from God.
Another example I would like to bring to your attention is the recent curious cases of entire life savings being destroyed by termites that managed to get into the safely kept money, and almost brought disaster to the old lady who had saved the money. The bank kindly replaced most of the money for her, but this gives us yet another reminder that these possessions are not permanent, nor will they be able to withstand natural forces, just as Christ had mentioned.
And yet another case, where a safety box in a bank in India was thought to be untouched and safe, but in fact a colony of termites managed to find their way inside and destroy whatever it was that were kept inside that safety box. Nothing of this world lasts, brothers and sisters in Christ.
That is why, Christ told us, to seek the true treasure of our lives, that is God, because God, unlike the worldly material possessions can never be subjected to rust and the natural forces of destruction, termites or whatsoever. If we keep faithful to God’s covenant with us, keep His commandments at all times, God will belong to us, and we too will belong to God. This divine possession is lasting and eternal, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
Yes, of course, we are free to seek to obtain possessions and treasures of this world, but always remember that in doing so, let us always remember that in God, we have the true treasure, such that we will never be led astray by the worldly treasures or even overcome by our greed and human desire, that we fall into sin and be led away from God, which will end likely in eternal damnation in hell. No amount of our wealth in this world will be able to save us or alleviate our suffering in hell, my brethen.
Today, we commemorate the feast of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, a former noble youth from Italy, from the very renowned Gonzaga family of lords, dukes, and kings. But despite being the firstborn of the family, and therefore was entitled to inherit all the titles he was entitled to, with all its possessions and wealth, that many of us even today can only dream of, he was awakened to the true treasure of this life, that is the Lord.
He forsook all the privileges he had and his inheritance, seeking to become a religious, dedicating his entire life and entire being to the Lord. He forsook the inheritance of the powerful and the wealth of the world to seek a nobler and greater purpose in life, that is the Lord, and to serve the people of God. Yes, many opposed his decision, especially his father, who was completely surprised and angered by his decision. Nevertheless, in the end, St. Aloysius Gonzaga managed to be what he wanted to be.
Although unfortunately, St. Aloysius Gonzaga died early in his early twenties, in his short life, he had shown us the virtue of seeking the true treasure of our life. No, this does not mean that all of us should enter the monasteries and embrace the ascetic lifestyle of monks, and neither we should impoverish ourselves by selling all the things that we have. Yes, some of us can do that, if they do choose to do so, but what matters is, to look beyond the material and the pleasures of this world, in seeking the real treasure that will never be depleted, and that will never be lost.
No matter how much money and possessions that we have, eventually, they can run out. No matter how much pleasures we have in our lives, they can also run out, and we can also become bored of such possessions and pleasures, because they are not the true treasure. The love of God, that is our true treasure, will fill us and renew us, such that we will never be empty again. He will fill us and make us whole. God is always with us, if we too, love Him and remain in His grace. Amen.
Matthew 6 : 19-23
Do not store up treasures for yourself here on earth, where moth and rust destroy it, and where thieves can steal it. Store up treasures for yourself with God, where no moth or rust can destroy it, nor thief come and steal it.
For where your treasures is, there also your heart will be. The lamp of the body is the eye; if your eyes are sound, your whole body will be in the light. If your eyes are diseased, your whole body will be in darkness. Then, if your light has become darkness, how dark will be the darkest part of you!
Psalm 33 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7
I will bless the Lord all my days; His praise will be ever on my lips. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the lowly hear and rejoice.
Oh, let us magnify the Lord, together let us glorify His Name! I sought the Lord, and He answered me; from all my fears He delivered me.
They who look to Him are radiant with joy, their faces never clouded with shame. When the poor cry out, the Lord hears and saves them from distress.
2 Corinthians 11 : 18, 21b-30
As some people boast of human advantages, I will do the same. But if others are so bold, I shall also dare, although I may speak like a fool. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ? I begin to talk like a madman. I am better than day.
Better than they with my numerous labours. Better than they with the time spent in prison. The beatings I received are beyond comparison. How many times have I found myself in danger of death! Five times the Jews sentenced me to thirty-nine lashes.
Three times I was beaten with a rod, once I was stoned. Three times I was beaten with a rod, once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked, and once I spent a night and a day adrift on the high seas. I have been continually in hazards of travelling because of rivers, because of bandits, because of my fellow Jews, or because of the pagans; in danger in the city, in the open country, at sea; in danger from false brothers.
I have worked and often laboured without sleep. I have been hungry and thirsty and starving, cold and without shelter. Besides these and other things, there was my daily concern for all the churches. Who is weak that I do not feel weak as well? Whoever stumbles, am I not on hot bricks?
If it is necessary to boast, let me proclaim the occasions in which I was found weak.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 