St. Dominic

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Thursday, 8 August 2024 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 50 : 12-13, 14-15, 18-19

Create in me, o God, a pure heart; give me a new and steadfast spirit. Do not cast me out of Your presence nor take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Give me again the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will show wrongdoers Your ways and sinners will return to You.

You take no pleasure in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, You would not delight in it. O God, my sacrifice is a broken spirit; a contrite heart You will not despise.

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Thursday, 8 August 2024 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Jeremiah 31 : 31-34

The time is coming – it is YHVH Who speaks – when I will forge a new Covenant with the people of Israel and the people of Judah. It will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. For they broke My Covenant although I was their Master, YHVH declares.

This is the Covenant I shall make with Israel after that time : I will put My Law within them and write it on their hearts; I will be their God and they will be My people. And they will not have to teach each other, neighbour or brother, saying : ‘Know YHVH,’ because they will all know Me, from the greatest to the lowliest, for I will forgive their wrongdoing and no longer remember their sin.

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Tuesday, 8 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us as God’s people are reminded of the need for us to remain humble and also to put our trust always in the Lord. The Lord has shown His love and most generous kindness towards us, and He has always been patient in leading and guiding us, showing us the path of righteousness and justice. However, it is often that many of us gave in to the temptations of our desires and pride, our greed and ambitions, that we ended up shutting the Lord out of our lives and keeping Him away from our hearts and minds. As our Scripture readings highlighted to us, there had been many occasions in the past where man has been swayed and tempted by the temptations of worldly glory and ambitions that they fell into sin and evil.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Numbers, we heard of the story of the confrontation between Moses and his siblings, Aaron and Miriam, both of whom wanted a share of the limelight and the prominence of Moses’ leadership over the people of Israel, and being biased against Moses because of the woman he married while claiming that the Lord could also speak through them. Essentially, they both committed sins against God and against Moses by their slander and actions, as they were really jealous of the position and the prominence that Moses experienced in his leadership, and how he was chosen by God for this role. It was mentioned how Moses was really a very humble person, who did not seek for glory or greatness, as was evident very early on, before he even went forth for his mission to Egypt, as he was unsure and reluctant to take up the role of the leader of God’s people because of his lack of eloquence unlike that of his brother Aaron, and presumably, also his sister, Miriam.

Miriam and Aaron in turn were likely jealous of all the attention and the importance which Moses had received, and thus desired to have the same benefits and privileges that Moses had as well. Then, the Lord made it very clear to all of them and to all of the people that His favour and choice rested on Moses alone, and that it was Him Who chose and empowered Moses for his mission and ministry as the leader of the Israelites, and not the efforts and the persuasions of those who sought the same position as Moses, like that of Miriam and Aaron, or any others who attempted to usurp the leadership of the Israelites, such as in another occasion when a portion of the Israelites rebelled under the leadership of Korah and those who sided with him. And just as how God swiftly dealt with those rebels and crushed them, thus Miriam and Aaron were punished by God with a plague of leprosy to clearly show to everyone, the obvious sign of Divine displeasure.

In our Gospel passage today, the same attitude was shown by those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law and the elders of the people who criticised the Lord’s disciples because they deemed them to be unlawful in their behaviour. They criticised the Lord’s disciples as they did not wash their hands in the manner prescribed by the Law of God as revealed through Moses, which if we understand the context, had become very highly detailed and ritualised by the time of the Lord and His ministry. According to the Jewish traditions and Church history, those practices of purification and handwashing became so elaborate and complicated, that the people might very well ended up losing sight of the importance and meaning of those practices and customs altogether. While indeed, such practices had good reasons to maintain hygiene in a society living in especially crowded conditions during the Exodus, but it was more of the uncharitable and proud attitude of those same Pharisees and teachers of the Law which was criticised by the Lord.

Those people were swayed by their own pride and greed, and tempted by the allures of worldly glory and fame. Their privileged status and position within the Jewish community made them to be clouded in their judgment, as they deemed themselves to be infallible and better than all others, especially those who were not in accordance to their ideals and ways, those who did not obey and fulfil the Law of God according to their particularly strict and rigid understanding and appreciation. Hence, the Lord rebuked them and chastised them for their attitude and lack of true faith in God. They behaved exactly just like how Miriam and Aaron had done in the past, as they placed their own qualities, power and might, their own intellect and status above that of the love for their fellow men and women. Their condemnation and acts in ostracising those who need the Lord’s help the most, were particularly criticised by the Lord.

This is why, today, each and every one of us are reminded not to allow our emotions, our pride and greed, our ego and all the negative things and thoughts, the temptations and evils all around us to tempt and pull us away from the path towards God’s righteousness and grace. Instead, we should learn from many of our holy predecessors, the holy men and women who had gone before us. We should reject those excesses of worldly attachments and desires, and strive to put our focus on the Lord and place Him at the very centre of our lives and existence. Each and every one of us should be inspired by the examples of those who have answered God’s call, and embraced Him wholeheartedly, just like Moses himself, who dedicated his whole life to God, and hence God sent him to His people to be His servant and messenger, and as the leader to help His people out from the darkness of slavery and into the light of freedom.

Today, the Church celebrates together the feast of a great and renowned saint, whose life should be a great source of inspiration and strength for us as Christians, in how we ourselves should behave and live our lives as faithful and devoted followers and disciples of God. St. Dominic, also known as St. Dominic de Guzman was the great founder of the Order of Preachers or Ordo Praedicatorum, better known as the Dominicans after their founder. St. Dominic was born in what is today part of Spain where according to tradition, his mother gave birth to him after having dreamt of a dog that leapt out of her womb with a flaming torch on its mouth which set the whole earth on fire. Later on this would be part of the Dominican traditions and hagiography which linked the great courage and passion with which St. Dominic dedicated his life in preaching the Good News of God, and the charism of the Order, which is truly related to that vision which St. Dominic’s mother saw.

St. Dominic devoted his life to the Lord and soon became a priest from a young age of twenty-four, spending a lot of time travelling around and proclaiming the Good News of God to more and more people, especially to those who have fallen astray in their path and forgotten their faith in God. St. Dominic was also working with the other contemporaries of his time, who were working against the dangerous heresy of Catharism, which had befuddled many of the faithful and dragged them into the wrong path. St. Dominic and many others, and those who were inspired by his examples, ministered for many years among the areas affected by the Cathar heresy, and managed to bring many back to the Holy Mother Church and salvation in God. It was also during this mission that according to tradition, St. Dominic received a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, who gave him the rosary and therefore began the popularisation of the rosary devotion amongst Christians. St. Dominic dedicated himself to the very end of his life for the sake of the salvation of souls.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, shall we be inspired by the great examples and the dedication which St. Dominic has shown us all through his exemplary life and actions? Shall we all be renewed in our commitment to God and in our desire and willingness to walk down His path? Each and every one of us are part of God’s Church, and we all share in the same calling and commitment to live our lives worthily and to become the missionaries and witnesses of our faith in the Lord. All of us should keep in mind all that we have reflected upon today, and do whatever we can so that we may be truly God’s worthy followers, and as the great role models and inspirations for one another in faith. Let us all turn our back against the evils and temptations of this world, and all the wickedness of pride and ego which had brought about the downfall of so many of our predecessors, and return to the Lord with all our heart. May God be with us always and may He empower each and every one of us in our every good efforts and deeds, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 8 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 15 : 1-2, 10-14

At that time, some Pharisees, and teachers of the Law, who had come from Jerusalem, gathered around Jesus. And they said to Him, “Why do Your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders? For they, they do not wash their hands before eating.”

Jesus then called the people to Him, and said to them, “Listen and understand : What enters into the mouth does not make a person unclean. What defiles a person is what comes out of his mouth.”

After a while the disciples gathered around Jesus and said, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended by what You said?” Jesus answered, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted shall be uprooted. Pay no attention to them! They are blind, leading the blind. When a blind person leads another, the two will fall into a pit.”

Alternative reading

Matthew 14 : 22-36

At that time, immediately, Jesus obliged His disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowd away. And having sent the people away, He went up the mountain by Himself, to pray. At nightfall, He was there alone.

Meanwhile, the boat was very far from land, dangerously rocked by the waves, for the wind was against it. At daybreak, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. When they saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, thinking that it was a ghost. And they cried out in fear. But at once, Jesus said to them, “Courage! Do not be afraid. It is Me!”

Peter answered, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Jesus said to him, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water to go to Jesus. But seeing the strong wind, he was afraid, and began to sink; and he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Jesus immediately stretched out His hand and took hold of him, saying, “Man of little faith, why did you doubt?” As they got into the boat, the wind dropped. Then those in the boat bowed down before Jesus, saying, “Truly, You are the Son of God!”

They came ashore at Gennesaret. The local people recognised Jesus and spread the news throughout the region. So they brought to Him all the sick people, begging Him to let them touch just the hem of His cloak. All who touched it became perfectly well.

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Tuesday, 8 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 50 : 3-4, 5-6a, 6bc-7, 12-13

Have mercy on me, o God, in Your love. In Your great compassion blot out my sin. Wash me thoroughly of my guilt; cleanse me of evil.

For I acknowledge my wrongdoings and have my sins ever in mind. Against You alone, have I sinned.

What is evil in Your sight, I have done. You are right when You pass sentence; and blameless in Your judgement. For I have been guilt-ridden from birth; a sinner from my mother’s womb.

Create in me, o God, a pure heart; give me a new and steadfast spirit. Do not cast me out of Your presence nor take Your Holy Spirit from me.

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Tuesday, 8 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Numbers 12 : 1-13

Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married and they said, “Has YHVH only spoken through Moses? Has He not also spoken through us?” And YHVH heard.

Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than any man on the face of the earth. Yet suddenly YHVH said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, all three of you, to the Tent of Meeting.” The three of them came out.

YHVH came down in the pillar of cloud and, standing at the door of the Tent, called Aaron and Miriam. They both went out and He said, “Listen carefully to what I say, ‘If there is a prophet among you, I reveal Myself to him in a vision and I speak to him in a dream. It is not so for My servant, Moses, My trusted steward in all My household.'”

“‘To Him I speak face to face, openly, and not in riddles, and he sees the presence of YHVH. Why then did you not fear to speak against My servant, against Moses?'” YHVH became angry with them and He departed. The cloud moved away from above the Tent and Miriam was there white as snow with leprosy. Aaron turned towards Miriam and he saw that she was leprous.

And he said to Moses, “My lord, I beg you, do not charge us with this sin that we have foolishly committed. Let her not be like the stillborn whose flesh is half-eaten when it comes from its mother’s womb.”

Then Moses cried to YHVH, “Heal her, o God, I beg of You.”

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Monday, 8 August 2022 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Lord through the Scriptures, each one of us are called and reminded of the obligations that each and every one of us have as Christians, as the followers of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, to do His will and to obey His commandments. We are all called to do what we can in living our lives with faith, committing ourselves to His cause and doing all that we can to live good and virtuous Christian lives while at the same time also fulfilling our obligations to the secular world and states, wherever we are living in.

In our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel, we heard of the story of the calling of the prophet Ezekiel, who received a glorious vision of God on His Heavenly Throne, surrounded by Angels, the Seraphim and the Cherubim in all of His glory. He saw all the wonders of God, the might of the Lord surrounded by His mighty servants, the glorious Seraphim, the wonderful Cherubim and the steadfast Thrones. To him, having seen such a vision, Ezekiel must have indeed been terrified and amazed at the same time, and this vision is told to us all so that we may know, just as Ezekiel had experienced it, that the Lord our God, is truly Almighty and Lord of all the Universe.

This is the truth about the Lord Whom we believe in and serve all the days of our lives. Our very existence in this world are all due to God’s will and works, and we are all His people. Each and every one of us are God’s people and servants, and we ought to know Who it is that we believe in and Who it is that we are serving. How can we know the way to follow and serve the Lord faithfully if we do not even know Who our Lord is? That is something that each one of us ought to ponder in our hearts and minds. We may know about it and yet at the same time, we do not appreciate its significance or importance.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the words of the Lord speaking to us through His own words in speaking to His disciples regarding how He was to be handed over to His enemies, and would suffer grievously for the sake of many people, offering Himself as the perfect and worthy sacrifice, for the salvation of all mankind and the whole world. The Lord revealed and had in fact repeatedly mentioned this to His disciples, again and again, but many of them up to then still failed to understand the significance of those words that the Lord spoke about. They only fully realised and understood their meaning after everything had happened as the Lord said it would be.

That is Who our Lord is, the same Almighty and glorious God Whom Ezekiel saw in his vision in Babylon. The same God Who loves us all mankind from the very beginning and Who loves us so much that He gave us His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, to be born of Mary, His most blessed Mother and entering into this world so that through Him and all that He had done for us, by His most loving sacrifice on the Cross and by His revelation of God’s truths, all of us have been called and brought into the promise of eternal glory and true happiness with Him.

Then, in addition, within our Gospel passage today, we also heard the Lord speaking with regards to the matter of paying taxes, through which the temple tax collectors and the Lord’s opponents certainly would have wanted to test Him and see what He would say with regards to paying taxes to the Roman authorities and to the Temple as were required of the people at the time. If the Lord had answered that He and His disciples should not pay for either the temple tax or the Romans, it would have been dangerous for Him, as they could have easily accused Him of not obeying the Law and commandments of God as revealed by Moses, or of being a traitor to the Romans.

But the Lord wisely and aptly told His disciples and those tax collectors that they all ought to give their due to the powers of the world, although technically as children of God, they were not truly bound to their authority or obliged to fulfil the bonds given to them. What the Lord told His disciples to do was essentially telling them that they should obey the laws of the land wherever possible, as long as those laws do not contradict Divine law of God. One ought to obey God first and foremost, but at the same time, he or she should also be good citizens and people of this world as much as they can.

Doing otherwise would likely result in difficulties for them as they will face even more persecutions and hardships in the effort to evangelise and in spreading the truth of God. Hence, each and every one of us as Christians, as God’s disciples and followers should do whatever we can to obey both God’s Law and commandments as well as the laws and rules of the land, of whichever states and authorities that had dominion over us in this world. All of us should be role models in living our lives virtuously so that in all things we may always be filled with righteousness and be exemplary in our deeds so as to inspire others to follow our good examples, and more importantly, so that through us, God may be glorified and known by many more people.

Today all of us have the great example of the famous St. Dominic as an inspiration to follow, as we celebrate and rejoice together on his Feast day. St. Dominic, also known as St. Dominic de Guzman was the founder of the Order of Preachers, also known as the Dominican Order. He was a Spanish priest who had been known for his great faith and charitable acts since his early youth, and he did a lot of work especially in the area of conversion and missionary works, as he was involved in the preaching work and ministry against the heretical teachings, particularly the Cathars in the southern regions of what is now France.

St. Dominic established the foundation of his new religious order, dedicating himself and all others to a new way of life, focusing on God and leading a more ascetic and holy way of living, distancing themselves from worldly temptations and desires, and spending the time and effort to get ever closer to God. And through his extensive travels and missionary works, St. Dominic inspired many people to turn back towards the Lord in faith and many people were also inspired to join his religious order. He showed great example of faith and became a great inspiration for many down the centuries, and his devotion to Our Lady, the Blessed Mother of God and one of the earliest use of the rosary also brought many great graces for the Church and the people of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today therefore let us all do our very best to renew our commitment to God, knowing that He is truly our Lord, Master and King, the same Almighty One surrounded by His mighty Angels as seen by the prophet Ezekiel. Let us all do our best so that in our actions, words and deeds we may inspire others in the manner that the saints, especially that of St. Dominic, to follow the Lord and to believe in Him as well. May God be with us always and may He bless us all in our every endeavours and good works. Amen.

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Monday, 8 August 2022 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 17 : 22-27

At that time, when Jesus was in Galilee with the Twelve, He said to them, “The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. But He will rise on the third day.” The Twelve were deeply grieved.

When they returned to Capernaum, the temple tax collectors came to Peter and asked him, “Does your Master pay the temple tax?” He answered, “Yes.” Peter then entered the house; and immediately, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Simon? Who pay taxes or tribute to the kings of the earth : their sons or strangers and aliens?”

Peter replied, “Strangers and aliens.” And Jesus told him, “The sons, then, are tax-free. But, so as not to offend these people, go to the sea, throw in a hook, and open the mouth of the first fish you catch. You will find a coin in it. Take the coin and give it to them for you and for Me.”

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Monday, 8 August 2022 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 148 : 1-2, 11-12, 13, 14

Alleluia! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heavenly heights. Praise Him, all His Angels; praise Him, all His heavenly hosts.

Kings of the earth and nations, princes and all rulers of the world, young men and maidens, old and young together.

Let them praise the Name of the Lord. For His Name alone is exalted; His majesty is above earth and heaven.

He has given His people glory; He has a praise to His faithful, to Israel, the people close to Him. Alleluia.

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Monday, 8 August 2022 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Ezekiel 1 : 2-5, 24-28c

On the fifth of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of king Jehoiachin) the word of YHVH came to Ezekiel, son of Buzi, the priest, in the land of the Chaldeans by the banks of the Kebar. There the hand of YHVH was upon me.

I looked : a windstorm came from the north bringing a great cloud. A fiery light inside it lit up all around it, while at the centre there was something like a glowing metal. In the centre were what appeared to be four creatures with the same form.

I heard the noise of their wings when they moved, similar to the roar of many waters, similar to the voice of the Most High, the noise of a multitude or of a camp. When they were not moving they lowered their wings. I heard a noise above the platform over their heads. Above it was a Throne resembling a sapphire; and high on this Throne was a Figure similar to that of a Man.”

“Then I saw a light as of a glowing bronze, as if fire enveloped Him from His waist upwards. And from His waist downwards it was as if fire give radiance around Him. The surrounding light was like a rainbow in the clouds after a day of rain. This vision was the likeness of YHVH’s glory. On seeing it I fell on my face.