Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Psalm 111 : 1-2, 7bc-8, 9
Alleluia! Blessed is the one who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commands. His children will be powerful on earth; the upright’s offspring will be blessed.
For his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is confident, he needs not fear, he shall prevail over his foes at the end.
He gives generously to the poor, his merits will last forever and his head will be raised in honour.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Tobit 2 : 9-14
That same night, after I had buried the body, I returned home. I washed myself and went out into the courtyard to sleep against the wall; my face was uncovered because of the heat. I did not see that there were sparrows on the wall of the courtyard and, as my eyes were open, the hot droppings from the sparrows fell into my eyes and formed a white film on my eyes.
I went to find doctors to attend to me for medical treatment but the more ointments they smeared on my eyes, the more blind I became because of the film. Finally I became totally blind. I suffered from blindness for four years. All my brothers were burdened because of me. Ahikar kept me for two years before he departed for Elymiade.
My wife Anna worked hard at a woman’s task, weaving. On the seventh day of the month of March she cut the cloth and delivered it to her employers. They paid her wages and gave her, over and above, a young goat for food. When she returned home the kid began to cry. I said to her, “Where does the little kid come from? Did you steal it? Return it to its owners for we are not allowed to eat anything that is stolen.”
But she said, “It is a gift which has been given to me in addition to my wages.” “I do not believe it. I tell you to return it to its owners.” I was ashamed of her. She replied, “What about your own almsgiving and your good deeds? I have to put up with all this from you.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the famous Beatitudes in the Gospel, where Jesus taught His disciples and the people on the mountain, where He preached them a sermon of blessings. In the Beatitudes are the series of blessings and graces that God revealed to His people, as hope for those who have been faithful to Him and yet faced challenges because of the world and its ways which is often against the ways of the Lord.
In the Beatitudes, we see the profile of a model Christian, whom God had alluded in all the blessings He pronounced. The Lord showed us the way to go forward in our faith, and how we ought to behave as a disciple of our Lord, to be merciful and forgiving, to be just and to be righteous in all of our actions, to be poor in spirit and to be gentle, and to be persevering even in the midst of the toughest persecutions.
In the Beatitudes, we see how God is rewarding the merciful, those who show mercy to their brethren, as He will be merciful to them as well. This is in fact is what we also pray in the Lord’s Prayer, the Pater Noster. We ask God to forgive us our sins just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. If we want to be forgiven, then we have to forgive first.
And those who stood up for their faith in God would not be disappointed, for God is with them, as He promised in the Beatitudes. If someone stood up for their faith and they were persecuted because of that faith, they would receive God’s approval and grace. And in this matter, we have an example in our first reading from the Book of Kings, when the prophet Elijah was on the run from king Ahab of Israel, who wanted to kill him.
As the background story goes, the prophet Elijah had just contested the priests of Baal, the pagan god who king Ahab and many in Israel at that time worshipped at Mount Carmel, where he decisively proved that Baal and his priests were frauds, as they worshipped the false god who were in fact a myth and had no power whatsoever, as opposed to YHVH, the one True God Who listened to the prayers of Elijah and showed the people His might.
And when king Ahab was angry and hunted down Elijah after that event, looking for his death, God rescued him and brought him to the desert, where He took good care of him, feeding him and giving him drinks daily, to sustain him through the difficult times until when the time comes for Elijah to come out of hiding. In this we see how God for His people, those who are faithful to Him, those who show the qualities as listed in the Beatitudes.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, perhaps we should also look at the examples of the saint whose feast we are celebrating today, namely that of St. Norbert, a renowned German bishop and saint, who lived during the time of the Medieval era Europe. He was also known by the name of St. Norbert of Xanten, a city where he grew up in about nine centuries ago.
St. Norbert was known for his great piety from his youth, and served the Lord and His Church in various ways, and after a life-changing experience he encountered, he deepened his faith and committed his life more to the Lord. He adopted a holy and devoted lifestyle, practicing the virtues of the Beatitudes in his life, and many others followed his example to become what is now known as the Canons Regular of Premontre.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us should be inspired by the examples, the holiness and the exemplary lifestyle and actions shown by St. Norbert and his followers. All of us should walk in the same way as they have done, and be righteous in all the things which we do. All of that so that when the Lord comes again, He will find us worthy and just, worthy of His blessings and grace, and He will welcome us into His everlasting life.
May God bless us all, and may His grace remain shining upon us, and may all of us remain true and faithful to His ways, and not be disturbed or be tempted by the many falsehoods and lies of the devil. May God be with us all, now and forever. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Matthew 5 : 1-12
At that time, when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up the mountain. He sat down and His disciples gathered around Him. Then He spoke and began to teach them :
“Fortunate are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Fortunate are those who mourn, they shall be comforted. Fortunate are the gentle, they shall possess the land. Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.”
“Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy. Fortunate are those with a pure heart, for they shall see God. Fortunate are those who work for peace, they shall be called children of God. Fortunate are those who are persecuted for the cause of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
“Fortunate are you, when people insult you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you because you are My followers. Be glad and joyful, for a great reward is kept for you in God. This is how the people persecuted the prophets who lived before you.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Psalm 120 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
I lift up my eyes to the mountains – from where shall come my help? My help comes from the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth.
Will He let your foot slip, the One watching over you? Will He slumber? No, the Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.
The Lord is your Guardian, the Lord is at your side and you in His shade; sunstroke will not be for you by day, nor the spell of the moon by night.
The Lord guards you from every evil; He will protect your life. The Lord watches over your coming and going both now and forever.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
1 Kings 17 : 1-6
Now Elijah, the prophet from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As YHVH, the God of Israel Whom I serve lives, neither dew shall drop nor rain fall except at my command.”
Then the word of YHVH came to Elijah, “Leave this place and go eastward. Hide yourself by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook and, for your food, I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
So Elijah obeyed the word of YHVH and went to live by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan. There the ravens brought him bread in the morning and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops and Saturday Mass of our Lady)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, what the Church wants us to remember and keep in our minds is very clear. The theme of the Scripture readings which we heard is on humility and on generosity of almsgiving, that when we give others we must be generous, and we must always think of others first before we think about ourselves.
Unfortunately, it is in our own human nature to resist this, and to do things in opposition to this. We are by nature selfish, and we always think of ourselves first. It is easy for us to fall into the temptation of money, possessions and other forms of worldliness. And indeed, most of mankind from time to time and from ages to ages had been seeking their own personal aggrandisement, and for the enlargement of their own ego, their own power and their own domain.
Wars and violence had been fought over the inability of men to let go of their ego and desires. As a result, many had died and suffered because of this inherent fault in men’s hearts and minds, the results of mankind’s greed and ego. In the first reading today, we heard how the Archangel Raphael who was sent by God to heal both Tobit and Sara revealed himself in full before all of them, to show the fullness of the work of God accomplished in them.
God wanted to show them all that He sees all and He knows all that they do, and therefore all that we do as well. He rewards those who are faithful to Him and keeps their faith in Him, those who have done what is good to one another. Those who shows love and compassion on all their brethren in need. God saw all that Tobit had done, his charity and love for his desolate and abandoned brethren, those who died and was murdered without anyone left to care for them.
Remember what Jesus Himself had said? In one of the Gospel passages, Jesus mentioned about how the righteous will be separated and put aside from the wicked at the Last Judgment on the last day, and God Himself will judge all of them. The righteous He will praise and bless, for they have done what is good to the least of their brethren. They did not turn a deaf ear to those who called for help and their eyes saw the plight of the suffering and their hands and legs were moved by it.
The wicked on the other hand did not do all these, and their eyes, their ears and senses were closed against the pleas of the weak, the innocent and the oppressed. They were unable to comprehend that true greatness lies in the service to others and helping one another, and not by advancing one’s own greatness and glory. Unfortunately, wealth and possessions have the tendency of corrupting ourselves and our priorities in life.
The wealthy have the tendency of wanting to preserve more and more of what they have already had, and also to add up to what they had and made their possessions even more. It does not mean however, that wealth, money, riches and possessions are inherently evil by itself, as in fact they were all neutral, but in how men had used them, more often than not, they used them for selfish purposes instead and for evil.
The lesson which all of us ought to take out from this is that we have to firstly care for one another with loving and tender care. And then, when we give to others, we must be truly sincere and generous. We should not even be expecting for any returns or rewards for having done so. If we expect rewards, then it is already selfish for us to do so.
The Archangel Raphael told Tobit and his family that those who were humble are blessed and praised by God. He revealed that God truly cares for those who are faithful to Him. He will never leave them behind. The same therefore, had happened in the Gospel today with the woman who had donated all of her belongings and possessions to the Temple. That is because in her heart, she had devoted it all to God, while the rich men did not have their hearts fully concentrated at the Lord.
Therefore, as we today also celebrate the memory of St. Norbert, also known as St. Norbert of Xanten, who was renowned for his devotion to the Lord and his devotion to renew the faith and purify it from all the corruptions and evils that had crept up into the Church and its faithful the years, and despite oppositions and even assassination attempts, he remained faithful and dedicated to his cause. Hence, all of us should also be inspired to follow in His footsteps.
Brothers and sisters, let us all pray to the Almighty God, that He may keep us strong and faithful to our calling, and let us all be closer ever to the throne of His love. Let us all devote ourselves ever more strongly to our God. May God be with us all. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops and Saturday Mass of our Lady)
Mark 12 : 38-44
At that time, as Jesus was teaching, He also said to the people, “Beware of those teachers of the Law, who enjoy walking around in long robes and being greeted in the marketplace, and who like to occupy reserved seats in the synagogues, and the first places at feasts. They even devour the widow’s and the orphan’s goods while making a show of long prayers. How severe a sentence they will receive!”
Jesus sat down opposite the Temple treasury, and watched the people dropping money into the treasury box; and many rich people put in large offerings, but a poor widow also came and dropped in two small coins. Then Jesus called His disciples and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those who gave offerings. For all of them gave from their plenty, but she gave from her poverty, and put in everything she had, her very living.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops and Saturday Mass of our Lady)
Tobit 13 : 2cdef, 6fghi, 6klmn
It is God who punishes and He who has mercy; who makes people go down to hell and rise up again. No one can escape His hand.
If you turn back to Him with all your heart and soul, and live justly before Him, then He will turn back to you and will no longer hide His face from you.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops and Saturday Mass of our Lady)
Tobit 12 : 1, 5-15, 20
When the wedding feast was over, Tobit called Tobias, his son, and said to him, “Be sure you give the wages to the man who accompanied you, and we should add something extra.”
Then Tobias called the angel and said to him, “Please take half of all that you have brought.” The angel took Tobit and Tobias to one side and said to them, “Bless God, return thanks to Him, proclaim His glory and render Him thanks before all the living for all He has done for you. It is good to praise God and to exalt His Name, by making known in a worthy manner the story of God’s deeds.”
“Do not be slow in giving Him thanks. It is good to hide the secrets of kings but to make known publicly the works of God. Do the works of God. Do good, and evil will not harm you. It is a good thing to accompany prayer with fasting, almsgiving and justice. It is better to do a little with honour than much with injustice. It is better to give alms than to treasure up gold.”
“Almsgiving preserves from death; it purifies from all sin. Those people who give alms and act justly will have a long life, but sinners only harm themselves. I will hide nothing from you. Yes, I have said that it is good to keep the secrets of kings but to make known publicly the glorious works of God.”
“Tobit, when you and your daughter-in-law Sara prayed, I kept the remembrance of your prayer before the Holy One; when you, Tobit, buried the dead, I was with you in the same way; and when you did not hesitate to rise up and leave your meal in order to hide the dead man, your good deed did not go unnoticed because I was with you.”
“Well, God sent me to cure you and also to cure Sara, your daughter-in-law. I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of holy people and who stand before the glory of God. Now bless and give thanks to God, because I am returning to the One who sent me. Write down in a book all that has happened.”
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 