Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 2 : 7-8, 10-11
I will proclaim the decree of the Lord. He said to Me : “You are My Son. This day I have begotten You. Ask of Me and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, the ends of the earth for Your possession.”
Now therefore, learn wisdom, o kings; be warned, o rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and fall at His feet; lest He be angry and you perish when His anger suddenly flares. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
Liturgical Colour : White
1 John 3 : 22 – 1 John 4 : 6
Then whatever we ask we shall receive, since we keep His commands and do what pleases Him. His command is that we believe in the Name of His Son Jesus Christ and that we love one another, as He has commanded us. Whoever keeps His commands remains in God and God in him. It is by the Spirit God has given us that we know He lives in us.
My beloved, do not trust every inspiration. Test the spirits to see whether they come from God, because many false prophets are now in the world. How will you recognise the Spirit of God? Any spirit recognising Jesus as the Christ Who has taken our flesh is of God. But any spirit that does not recognise Jesus is not from God, it is the spirit of the antichrist. You have heard of his coming and even now he is in the world.
You, my dear children, are of God and you have already overcome these people, because the One Who is in you is more powerful than he who is in the world. They are of the world and the world inspires them and those of the world listen to them. We are of God and those who know God listen to us, but those who are not of God ignore us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error as well.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard of the proclamation of Jesus as the Holy One of God, the Anointed One, the Messiah or Saviour which the prophets of the old days had spoken about, revealing to all mankind of the plan of salvation through which our loving and devoted God had planned for us all, to bring us all out of our misery into the everlasting happiness to be found in Him.
Through Jesus, a people who have long awaited for their salvation and for the coming of their Saviour had seen and witnessed how their God Himself came among them and touched the least and the forgotten ones among them, healing them from their afflictions and carrying them back from the precipice of darkness and back into the light and grace of God.
God has not abandoned us all even though we have often abandoned Him and rejected Him for the preference of the world and all of its good offers, and thus, while we have sinned and deserved eternal damnation and death, but God Who created us and loved us all dearly since the beginning wanted to give all of us a chance.
This is why through Jesus, God wanted to show us His mercy and forgiveness, the care and concern which He showed to all of those who have been lost in their way in the world, just as He made it clear that He came to seek those who had been lost and those who have erred, those who were tainted and darkened by their sins and wickedness.
God healed them and made them whole again, filling up their beings not just with the physical food that satisfies the stomach, but also with the spiritual blessings and nourishment that fills up and satisfies the heart and the soul. And even though once we were delinquents and rebels who refused to comply and obey the laws and the commandments of our God, but God is willing to give us a chance.
Nevertheless, it does not mean that we should take His kindness, love and mercy for granted. We must take whatever opportunity He has given us, and do not wait until it is too late for us, or try to test God’s patience in His generous grant of mercy to all of us. In this we should heed what our Lord Jesus told His disciples in another occasion on the parable of the five wise women and the five foolish women.
The wise women were ready for the coming of the bridegroom and they had prepared amply for the provision of their lamps so that when the bridegroom came at the unexpected hour, they were ready and were therefore able to join him in the banquet prepared for them. Meanwhile, the foolish women did not prepare themselves beforehand, and they were caught unprepared when the bridegroom came, and they were left out.
Similarly therefore, it is important for us all to be ready and to welcome God’s mercy fully into ourselves. Let us commit ourselves and devote ourselves to receive worthily God’s mercy and love. And in this let us all follow the example shown by St. Raymond of Penyafort, a holy servant of God whose feast we are celebrating on this day.
St. Raymond of Penyafort was Dominican priest and a famous preacher who was renowned in his many works on the faith, and in how he zealously lived his life in ever preparedness and readiness for the Lord. He also refused the temptations of worldliness and human power, and instead, despite his fame and position, once appointed to lead his congregation, he remained very humble.
His examples in how he lived his life and how he committed himself to his faith can be examples for us all in how we should live out our own faith. If we can dedicate ourselves and commit ourselves to the Lord in the same way as this holy man of God had done, trusting in God’s love and mercy, then surely we shall be blessed and the inheritance of eternal joy and grace of God will be ours.
May God be with us all and may He continue to strengthen us in our faith, so that in all the things that we say and do, we may always align ourselves to the Lord and be always found in His grace. God bless us all, now and forever. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
Luke 4 : 14-22a
At that time, Jesus acted with the power of the Spirit; and on His return to Galilee, the news about Him spread throughout all that territory. He began teaching in the synagogues of the Jews and everyone praised Him.
When Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, as He usually did. He stood up to read, and they handed Him the book of the prophet Isaiah.
Jesus then unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written : “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me. He has anointed Me to bring Good News to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and new sight to the blind; to free the oppressed and to announce the Lord’s year of mercy.”
Jesus then rolled up the scroll, gave it to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. Then He said to them, “Today these prophetic words come true, even as you listen.” All agreed with Him, and were lost in wonder, while He spoke of the grace of God.
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 71 : 1-2, 14 and 15bc, 17
O God, endow the King with Your justice, the Royal Son with Your righteousness. May He rule your people justly and defend the rights of the lowly.
He rescues them from oppression and strife, for their life is precious to Him. May gold from Sheba be given Him. May people always pray for Him, and blessings be invoked for Him all day.
May His Name endure forever; may His Name be as lasting as the sun. All the races will boast about Him, and He will be blessed by all nations.
Liturgical Colour : White
1 John 4 : 19 – 1 John 5 : 4
So let us love one another, since He loved us first. If you say, “I love God,” while you hate your brother or sister, you are a liar. How can you love God Whom you do not see, if you do not love your brother whom you see? We received from Him this commandment : let those who love God also love their brothers.
All those who believe that Jesus is the Anointed, are born of God; whoever loves the Father, loves the Son. How may we know that we love the children of God? If we love God and fulfil His commands, for God’s love requires us to keep His commands. In fact, His commandments are not a burden because all those born of God overcome the world. And the victory which overcomes the world is our faith.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are presented with the truth proclaimed in the Scriptures and the Gospel, that our Lord is with us and He dwells among us, even now, as He had been, and will ever be. He will always be with us, as long as we remain faithful to our love for Him. He is ever faithful, ever graceful and ever providing for us, a loving and gentle Lord who cares for every single one of His people.
In the Gospel, we heard about Jesus walking through the storm on the water while the boat that the disciples boarded was battered with the winds and the waves, threatening to sink them. They were frightened and were filled with fear, and the sight of Jesus walking on the water towards them frightened them even more, and this was because they lacked the faith, which they should have in Jesus.
The disciples of Christ were always with Him, helping Him in His works and ministry, following Him wherever He went to, and became His faithful servants and helpers in proclaiming the Good News of God. What is this Good News? It is exactly what the First Reading today from the Letter of St. John had revealed to us, that the Lord had sent His Son into the world, and by the dwelling of the Son in the form of the flesh of Man, He is with us.
For Christ is the purest and most concrete manifestation of God’s love for us, the love that has become real and tangible, which we can see and feel with our senses. He came so that He may dwell within us, and thus the love of God may also dwell in us and we would know what love truly is. True love is just as what God had shown us through Jesus, the loving sacrifice He had committed, giving up His own life in exchange for ours, and through that act, gained new life for us all.
True love does not demand returns, and it is unconditional by nature just like what Jesus had done for us. We are sinners and tainted, wicked and undeserving of life and salvation, and yet, Jesus died for us while we were still sinners, as we are still today. He did not hesitate to do so, even though He must have fully known the kind of suffering and pain He would have to go through in order to achieve our salvation and liberation from sin.
The readings of this day teach us that we have God on our backs, and He will support us and provide for us, as long as we are faithful to Him, and as long as we are faithful, we do not have to worry about anything. We worry because we start to lose our faith in God and our firm faith in Him is being undermined. By what? By our own sense of insecurities, by our insatiable desires, and by many other things that distract us from our attention and focus towards the Lord.
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Raymond of Penyafort, the Master of the Dominican Order or also known as the Order of Preachers. St. Raymond of Penyafort had been very faithful and devoted to the Lord from the beginning, from his youth, and he dedicated much of his life in the service of God, to the conversion of sinners and the salvation of the lost sheep of the Lord.
St. Raymond of Penyafort led a simple but dedicated life, one that was filled with the love and concern for the people of God who were still lost to the darkness. Thus, in accordance of the part he played in the Dominican order, or the Order of Preachers, St. Raymond preached about the Faith to many people, especially those who have yet to accept Christ, Jesus our Lord, as their Lord and Saviour. Through his words, he changed their hearts and helped them to allow themselves to open their hearts to God.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, in our world today there are many people who remain blinded against the love of God, for their heart’s desires, their pride, their greed, their vanity and others often come in between them and their ability to recognise the love of God. Thus, by understanding what we had heard today in the Gospel and the Scriptures, and by witnessing the examples of St. Raymond of Penyafort and his dedications, let us all also do the same, helping one another especially those who are still lost in the world.
Therefore, let us from now on redirect our energies and efforts, that we may lead others from a life of vice and sin, not knowing the Lord and His love, into one that is firmly founded on the foundation of God’s eternal love. Let us all help each other to reach out to the Lord, and may our loving God, the Almighty Father, also guide us, help us and remain with us always. Amen.
First Reading :
Psalm :
Gospel Reading :
Liturgical Colour : White
Mark 6 : 45-52
At that time, immediately, Jesus obliged His disciples to get into the boat and get ahead of Him to the other side, towards Bethsaida, while He Himself sent the crowd away. And having sent the people off, He went by Himself to the hillside to pray.
When evening came, the boat was far out on the lake, while He was alone on the land. Jesus saw His disciples straining at the oars, for the wind was against them; and before daybreak He came to them, walking on the lake, and He was going to pass them by.
When they saw Him walking on the lake, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they all saw Him and were terrified. But at once He called to them, “Courage! It is I; do not be afraid!”
Then Jesus got into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely astonished, for they had not really grasped the fact of the loaves; their minds were dull.
Homily and Reflection :
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 71 : 1-2, 10-11, 12-13
O God, endow the King with Your justice, the Royal Son with Your righteousness. May He rule Your people justly and defend the rights of the lowly.
The kings of Tarshish and the islands render Him tribute, the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts, all the kings bow down to Him, and all nations serve Him.
He delivers the needy who call on Him, the afflicted with no one to help them. His mercy is upon the weak and the poor, He saves the life of the poor.
Homily and Reflection :
Liturgical Colour : White
1 John 4 : 11-18
Dear friends, if such has been the love of God, we, too, must love one another. No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us, and His love comes to its perfection in us.
How may we know that we live in God and He in us? Because God has given us His Spirit. We ourselves have seen and declare that the Father sent His Son to save the world. Those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in them and they in God.
We have known the love of God and have believed in it. God is Love. The one who lives in love, lives in God and God in him. When do we know that we have reached a perfect love? When in this world, we are like Him in everything, and expect with confidence the Day of Judgment.
There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives away fear, for fear has to do with punishment; those who fear do not know perfect love.
Homily and Reflection :
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