Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 24 : 4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14
Teach me Your ways, o Lord; make known to me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and instruct me, for You are my God, my Saviour.
Good and upright, the Lord teaches sinners His way. He teaches the humble of heart and guides them in what is right.
The ways of the Lord are love and faithfulness for those who keep His covenant and precepts. The Lord gives advice to those who revere Him and makes His covenant known to them.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Jeremiah 33 : 14-16
The days are coming when I shall fulfil the promise that I made in favour of Israel and Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause to sprout the Shoot of righteousness from David’s line; He will practice justice and righteousness in the land.
In those days Judah will experience salvation and Jerusalem will live in safety. He will be called YHVH-Our-Righteousness.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday is the Thirty-Fourth and therefore the Last Sunday of Ordinary Time for this current liturgical year. Beginning next Sunday, the season of Advent will begin and it will also mark the beginning of the new liturgical year cycle. On this Sunday therefore we celebrate the great occasion of the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, celebrating and honouring the Kingship of Our Lord, His Universal Dominion and Kingship, Mastery and Rule over the whole Creation and over all things. On this day we glorify our Lord and King, proclaiming Him as our only Sovereign and Master, the One Who is ruling over our lives, renewing our commitments and dedication to Him, as His followers and disciples, and as His one united people, the Church of God.
In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of the prophet Daniel in which the vision of Daniel was recounted to us, the vision of God on His Throne, One of a Great Age and the Son of Man, to Whom Daniel saw that the One of Great Age had granted power, sovereignty and dominion over the whole world. This vision was in fact a prelude and premonition of Christ’s coming into this world, the revelation that God would indeed send none other than His own Beloved and Begotten Son, the Divine Word of God, to be incarnate in our midst and to dwell among us, ruling over us all as our Lord and King. And as He comes upon us in the flesh, adopting our human nature and existence, He also made His Kingdom to be manifest in our midst, as something that is real and tangible.
We are also reminded that ultimately, our allegiance and obedience lies and rests in God. Of course we are parts and members of our own respective countries, states and other worldly authorities that we are under and subject to, but we must always keep in mind and remember that all the authority and power they have ultimately came from God, our true Lord and King, our Master and Ruler, Who has entrusted and delegated His power and authority to those whom He had chosen and called to be the ones to exercise that power and authority on daily basis, be it in the secular world, in our states and countries, our governments and worldly rulers, as well as in the Church of God, the Pope and the many bishops all around the world, who have been entrusted with all of us, God’s flock and holy people.
Then, in our second reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle where St. John recounted to us his heavenly vision of the events of the end of times and the Final Judgment, the ultimate triumph of the Lord and His victory over all evil, sin and death. St. John had witnessed all those things so that he might be able to encourage and strengthen every one of us, God’s holy and faithful people, reminding us that Our Lord, He Who is Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Lord, Master and Ruler of all will come again in the end of times, to gather us all and to lead us into the eternal bliss, true happiness and joy that He has promised and reassured us all these while. As long as we have faith and trust in Him, and commit ourselves wholeheartedly to Him, we will be saved.
From our Gospel passage this Sunday, taken from the Gospel according to St. John, we heard of the account of the time when the Lord was going through His Passion or Suffering, when Pontius Pilate, the Governor and Procurator of Judea was questioning Him about why the chief priests handed Him over to him to be condemned to death and crucified. Then, in that conversation and exchange we heard Pilate’s question to Jesus, asking Him about the accusations that the chief priests had been making against Him regarding the claim that He called Himself as the King of the Jews. This false claim and accusation was made by the chief priests against the Lord because they knew that it was high treason for anyone to claim to be king and ruler when the land was under Roman dominion and rule.
It was then that the Lord replied to Pilate that He is indeed a King, although not in the manner that he would think or know of. The Lord Himself mentioned that His Kingdom is not of this world, in the sense that His Kingdom, Dominion, power and sovereignty cannot be bound or described in the manner that any other earthly kingdoms and dominions, states and realms can be defined and bound. His Kingship is truly Universal and all-encompassing, and every nation, dominions, realms and other earthly boundaries are all under His rule and power, and this is the truth and reality that every one of us have to believe and trust in, knowing that because God is our Lord and King, hence, we are all the people of the King of Kings, the ones whom He had called and chosen to be His own beloved people.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to these words from the Scriptures and as we all ponder upon the reality of the Kingship of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, let us all therefore renew our faith and commitment in the Lord, to proclaim Him as our one true Lord and King. And if we truly believe and accept our Lord Jesus as King, then we must truly enthrone Him in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, in our whole being, and strive as always to put Him at the very centre of our existence and lives. This is what we have been invited and reminded to do, to follow and obey Our King at all times and in all circumstances. As Christians, we must always be ready to proclaim our allegiance to God and our adherence to His ways and teachings, His Law and commandments at every moments in our lives.
The problem often then lies in the fact that many of us do not truly proclaim and hold fast to the fact and belief that Our Lord Jesus Christ, our God, is our Lord and King, our Master and Ruler. Why is that so, brothers and sisters? That is because we often allow the temptations present all around us, the temptations of power, money, worldly desires and attachments to distract us and pull us away from God and His path. And we also end up making those things to be our idols and masters instead of the Lord. Indeed, there are plenty of false idols around us, the idol of money, possessions, ambitions and other forms of worldly pursuits and desires that can keep us away from being truly committed and faithful to the Lord, our true Master and King.
May our Lord and Saviour, our King and Master, Jesus Christ, the Almighty and All-Encompassing Master and Ruler of the whole entire Universe and Creation continue to bless and guide us in all of our every endeavours, efforts and works. May all of us as His beloved and faithful people, His one flock and nation, all remain united in total obedience and commitment to Him as our Lord and King, our true Master in all things. Let us all and our devotion to our King continue to inspire many others in how we live our lives, becoming the great and shining beacons of truth, hope and love, revealing the Good News of God to all creation. Christus Vincit! Christus Regnat! Christus Imperat! Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
John 18 : 33b-37
Pilate summoned Jesus and asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “Does this word come from you, or did you hear it from others?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed You over to me. What have You done?”
Jesus answered, “My kingship does not come from this world. If I were a King, like those of this world, My guards would have fought to save Me from being handed over to the Jews. But My Kingship is not of this world.” Pilate asked Him, “So You are a King?” And Jesus answered, “Just as you say, I am a King. For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is on the side of truth hears My voice.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Revelations 1 : 5-8
And from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him Who loves us and has washed away our sins with His own Blood, making us a kingdom and priests for God His Father, to Him be the glory and power forever and ever. Amen.
See He comes with the clouds and everyone will see Him, even those who pierced Him; on His account all the nations of the earth will beat his breast. Yes. It will be so. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, He Who is, Who was and Who is to come : the Master of the universe.
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 92 : 1ab, 1c-2, 5
YHVH reigns, robed in majesty; YHVH is girded with strength.
The world now, is firm; it cannot be moved. Your throne stands from long ago, o YHVH; from all eternity You are.
Your decrees can be trusted; holiness dwells in Your House, day after day, without end, o YHVH.
Liturgical Colour : White
Daniel 7 : 13-14
I continued watching the nocturnal vision : One like a Son of Man came on the clouds of heaven. He faced the One of Great Age and was brought into His presence. Dominion, honour and kingship were given Him, and all the peoples and nations of every language served Him. His dominion is eternal and shall never pass away; His kingdom will never be destroyed.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday we heard from the passages of the Sacred Scriptures about the coming of the end of times which we all should be well prepared for in our journey of faith and life as Christians, as we are all reminded that the Lord is sure to come again just as He Himself said that He will, and at that time, all of us shall have to give an account of everything that we have done, as well as whatever it is that we have not yet done, or failed to do in whatever opportunities and chances that the Lord has provided to us. We must always remember that as Christians we have to embody our faith in God and follow Him wholeheartedly through our every actions and deeds, in our every interactions and relationship with one another.
In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of the prophet Daniel the prophecy of the coming of the end times which was one of the apocalyptic prophecies mentioned by Daniel, predicting the time of struggle and strife for God’s holy people, and how despite all the challenges and trials they will have to face, God will lead them all to victory, and the figure of the great Archangel, St. Michael, the leader and prince of the Heavenly Host features prominently in this vision, being echoed in the later Revelations according to St. John the Apostle. It is a reminder that the end of times and the time of reckoning and the Last Judgment is something that is real and certainly will come for us, although none of us will know when exactly this will happen for sure, as only the Lord Himself knows the time and occasion of His coming.
But we must always have faith in Him and have trust and complete faith in His compassion and love for each and every one of us, much as He has shown it to us through His beloved Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, through Whom God has brought His salvation and redemption, making His love manifested and real to us, tangible and approachable to us, that has been the focus of our second reading this Sunday from the Epistle to the Hebrews. The author of this Epistle spoke at length about the role that Christ our Lord, as the Son of God and Son of Man both, had in becoming the one true Eternal High Priest for all of us mankind, offering on our behalf the perfect and most worthy offering for the atonement of all of our sins, and to redeem us into eternal life.
In our Gospel passage, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark we heard of the Lord Himself telling the disciples of the sign of times and everything that will happen for sure at the time of the Lord’s own knowing. He told them there will be signs accompanying His coming, but no one can surely know of the exact time that He will come. The Lord then highlighted to them of the lesson from the fig tree, which bears fruit at the appropriate time and with signs accompanying them. Therefore if the Lord Himself has already affirmed the fact and has repeatedly reminded His disciples of the coming of this time of judgment and reckoning then we have to keep in mind our way of life and faith in this world, so that we will not be found unworthy at the appropriate time.
Each and every one of us as Christians have received from God and through His Church the revelation of God’s truth, His Good News and of everything that will happen, as contained within the Scriptures and as the Lord has revealed to His Church through the Holy Spirit, bestowed upon the Apostles and through them to all of us. And because of that, it is important that we should be ever ready to welcome the Lord by doing our very best in every opportunities and moments, to be exemplary in all the things that we say and do so that we may be growing ever stronger in our faith and commitment to God, and be the shining examples and the worthy beacons of God’s light and truth in our world today, bearing His love and Good News to all the people whom we encounter daily in our lives.
This Sunday, being the last Sunday before the Solemnity of Jesus Christ the King, the Church also celebrates the World Day of the Poor, which was instituted by our current Pope, Pope Francis who wanted us all to remember the poor around us, those who need our care and compassionate love as we must realise that there are many around us who are struggling to make ends meet, and there are many of those all around the world who are suffering various ailments and troubles, from the effects of poverty and from injustice and oppression, those who have been marginalised and ostracised because of their background and origins, and all those who have no one to love and care for them. Each and every one of us are challenged today therefore to be the ones to bear the love of God to them all, and to truly embody our faith in God by our actions, especially our help and care to the poor and those less fortunate around us.
That is why we have to be ever active and be aware of our calling in life, our mission and commitment which the Lord has entrusted to all of us, the commission which God has given us to do in our respective lives and capacities, in the many opportunities and chances He has provided to us. We have been given the freedom to choose our course of action and path in life, and hence, as we have discussed about the end of times and the coming reckoning of our lives and worthiness, which will surely come at the end of time, let us all therefore remind one another and be ever more committed to live our lives in a most Christian manner, following the inspiration and example from the Lord Himself, Who has loved us all so much that as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews mentioned that He has given Himself to be the perfect sacrifice for the atonement of our sins.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, having been reminded of the coming of the Lord and the moment of the reckoning of our lives, let us all therefore renew our commitment to follow the Lord ever more faithfully from now on. Let our every efforts and endeavours, our words, actions and deeds from now on continue to bring glory to God and proclaim His goodness before the people whom we meet and encounter in life. Let us all do our part to contribute to the good works and efforts of the Church, and to follow the Lord in all the things He has entrusted to us to do. May the Lord continue to bless each and every one of us, and may He empower and encourage us all to remain ever more committed and faithful to Him, particularly in our show of love and care for those around us who are in need and suffering from poverty and hardships in life. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Mark 13 : 24-32
At that time, Jesus was speaking to His disciples, “Later on in those days, after that disastrous time, the sun will grow dark, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall out of the sky, and the whole universe will be shaken. Then people will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And He will send the Angels to gather His chosen people from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the sky.”
“Learn a lesson from the fig tree : as soon as its branches become tender and it begins to sprout leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that the time is near, even at the door. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all this has happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”
“But, regarding that day and that hour, no one knows when it will come, not even the Angels, not even the Son, but only the Father.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Hebrews 10 : 11-14, 18
So, whereas every priest stands, daily, by the Altar, offering, repeatedly, the same sacrifices, that can never take away sins, Christ has offered, for all times, a single sacrifice for sins, and has taken His seat at the right hand of God, waiting, until God puts His enemies as a footstool under His feet.
By a single sacrifice He has brought those who are sanctified to what is perfect forever. So, if sins are forgiven, there is no longer need of any sacrifice for sin.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 