Sunday Mass

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Sunday, 8 July 2018 : Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Corinthians 12 : 7-10

However, I better give up, lest somebody think more of me than what is seen in me, or heard from me. Lest I become proud, after so many and extraordinary revelations; I was given a thorn in my flesh, a true messenger of Satan, to slap me in the face. Three times, I prayed to the Lord, that it leave me, but He answered, “My grace is enough for you; My great strength is revealed in weakness.”

Gladly, then, will I boast of my weakness, that the strength of Christ may be mine. So I rejoice, when I suffer infirmities, humiliations, want, persecutions : all for Christ! For when I am weak, then I am strong.

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Sunday, 8 July 2018 : Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 122 : 1-2a, 2bcd, 3-4

To You, I lift up my eyes; to You, Whose throne is in heaven. As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master.

As the eyes of maids look to the hand of their mistress, so our eyes look to YHVH our God, till He shows us His mercy.

Have mercy on us, o YHVH, have mercy on us; for we have our fill of contempt. Too long have our souls been filled with the scorn of the arrogant, with the ridicule of the insolent.

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Sunday, 8 July 2018 : Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Ezekiel 2 : 2-5

A Spirit came upon me as He spoke and kept me standing; and then I heard him speak, “Son of Man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have sinned against Me to this day. Now I am sending you to these defiant and stubborn people to tell them ‘this is the Lord YHVH’s word.’”

“So, whether they listen or not, this set of rebels will know there is a prophet among them.”

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Sunday, 1 July 2018 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, we listened to the Scriptures telling us first of all from the Book of Wisdom, on how God was all good, and had every good intentions, including when He created us mankind. He did not intend for us to be created and then perish or be destroyed. Yet, how come is it that, then something like hell and eternal damnation exist?

Hell and eternal damnation in it did not come from God, and it was not because God wanted to punish or condemn us that many of us mankind ended up falling into hell. Rather, hell, in truth, is the state of total and complete separation from the love and grace of God. Hell is the product of our own sins and disobedience, which caused us to be separated from God. And in time, when we continue to sin and refuse to turn away from those sins, we fall into hell.

Hell is the product of constant and conscious rejection of God’s generous mercy, which He continuously offers us, without end, to the moment when we draw our last breath and meet death at the end of our earthly journey. That is when we will meet our particular judgment, every single one of us, who will be judged to go to heaven, or to purgatory, or to hell based on what our lives had been before God.

For those who have disobeyed the Lord, and refused His love and mercy, an eternity in hell is likely to be the fate awaiting the souls condemned to it. The Lord did not want to make us to suffer that fate, but our own pride, ego, greed, all of the obstacles and temptations that made us fall, caused us to sin, and when the sins were repeated and grew in number, our own folly led us into hell.

Those who are righteous shall enter into heaven, by God’s judgement, while those who are still burdened by some taints of sin will go to purgatory, where by the teachings of our faith we believe that the souls of the virtuous will be purified from the taints of their sins, and will then be worthy, in good time, to rejoice and be reunited fully with God for eternity.

Ultimately, after we have discussed about what is to happen after we encounter death, all of us have to realise that while our earthly lives and existence are limited and temporary in nature, but our souls are eternal. Naturally, we want ourselves to be blessed by God and enjoy forever the gift and the grace which God had prepared for all of those who remain faithful to Him.

However, we have been hindered because of our sins, as mentioned earlier. Sin is a terrible corruption of our heart, mind, soul and indeed, the whole being, which is a sickness that is slowly eating up on us. Normally, sin would have brought us down and would have destroyed us, but, fortunately, all of us have a great hope, which has been revealed to us, in Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour.

In the Gospel passage today, two people came to the Lord, seeking for help and assistance, seeing that nothing else could have helped them. One was the woman who had a terrible haemorrhage or bleeding issue, and the other was Jairus, the synagogue official, whose daughter was very sick and dying. Both of them came to the Lord with faith, knowing that He could cure whatever affliction they asked Him to cure.

Now, how many of us actually act in the same manner as the two of them? How many of us actually go out of our way seeking the Lord to be healed from our afflictions? How many of us humbled ourselves, recognising ourselves as sinners and as those who have fallen into sin and cast out from the grace of God? Many of us were not able to do so, because we were too proud in our hearts and too enclosed in our minds to admit that we need God and His help.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God alone is our help and our source of salvation. He alone has the power and ability to heal us from the sickness of our soul, that is our sins. And He wanted us to be healed, just as He said, that He came into this world, looking for those who are in need of healing and conversion. But sadly, the fact is that, many of those whom the Lord has come for, rejected Him and scorned Him, as they would rather seek solace in worldly comfort rather than seeking God’s ways and truth.

As St. Paul had said in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in the city of Corinth, the Lord had made Himself poor so that through that poverty, we may have a share in His richness. And how did He do that? It is through none other and nothing less than the ultimate sacrifice He bore for our sake, by His crucifixion, death and later on, resurrection. He has emptied Himself so completely and surrendered everything so completely, because of His infinite and great love for us.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we willing to embrace God’s love and accept the generous offer of mercy and forgiveness which He has extended freely to us? Through the cross, the Lord has given us all a new hope, the hope of healing from sin and all the wickedness and obstacles that had prevented us thus far, from reaching out to the Lord and His salvation.

May the Lord awaken in our hearts, the spirit of humility and the desire to love Him, so that each and every one of us may come to be drawn by His everlasting mercy, compassion and tender love. May He continue to guide us in our journey, so that all of us will eventually find our way to His salvation, and receive from Him the crown of everlasting glory, having been healed from the corruption of our sins. May God bless us all, and all of our endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 1 July 2018 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 5 : 21-43

At that time, Jesus then crossed to the other side of the lake; and while He was still on the shore, a large crowd gathered around Him. Jairus, an official of the synagogue, came up and, seeing Jesus, threw himself at His feet; and begged Him earnestly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may get well and live.”

Jesus went with him, and many people followed, pressing around Him. Among the crowd was a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a lot at the hands of many doctors and had spent everything she had, but instead of getting better, she was worse. Because she had heard about Jesus, this woman came up behind Him and touched His cloak, thinking, “If I just touch His clothing, I shall get well.”

Her flow of blood dried up at once, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her complaint. But Jesus was conscious that healing power had gone out from Him, so He turned around in the crowd, and asked, “Who touched My clothes?” His disciples answered, “You see how the people are crowding around You. Why do You ask who touched You?”

But He kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, aware of what had happened, came forward, trembling and afraid. She knelt before Him, and told Him the whole truth. Then Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be free of this illness.”

While Jesus was still speaking, some people arrived from the official’s house to inform him, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Master any further?” But Jesus ignored what they said, and told the official, “Do not fear, just believe.” And He allowed no one to follow Him except Peter, James and John, the brother of James.

When they arrived at the house, Jesus saw a great commotion, with people weeping and wailing loudly. Jesus entered, and said to them, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but asleep.” They laughed at Him. So Jesus sent them outside, and went with the child’s father and mother and His companions into the room, where the child lay.

Taking her by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha kumi!” which means, “Little girl, get up!” The girl got up at once and began to walk around. (She was twelve years old.) The parents were amazed, greatly amazed. Jesus strictly ordered them not to let anyone know about it; and He told them to give her something to eat.

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Mark 5 : 21-24, 35b-43

At that time, Jesus then crossed to the other side of the lake; and while He was still on the shore, a large crowd gathered around Him. Jairus, an official of the synagogue, came up and, seeing Jesus, threw himself at His feet; and begged Him earnestly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may get well and live.”

Jesus went with him, and many people followed, pressing around Him. Some people arrived from the official’s house to inform him, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Master any further?” But Jesus ignored what they said, and told the official, “Do not fear, just believe.” And He allowed no one to follow Him except Peter, James and John, the brother of James.

When they arrived at the house, Jesus saw a great commotion, with people weeping and wailing loudly. Jesus entered, and said to them, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but asleep.” They laughed at Him. So Jesus sent them outside, and went with the child’s father and mother and His companions into the room, where the child lay.

Taking her by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha kumi!” which means, “Little girl, get up!” The girl got up at once and began to walk around. (She was twelve years old.) The parents were amazed, greatly amazed. Jesus strictly ordered them not to let anyone know about it; and He told them to give her something to eat.

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Sunday, 1 July 2018 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Corinthians 8 : 7, 9, 13-15

You excel in everything : in the gifts of faith, speech and knowledge; you feel concern for every cause and, besides, you are first in my heart. Excel, also, in this generous service. You know well, the generosity of Christ Jesus, Our Lord. Although He was rich, He made Himself poor, to make you rich, through His poverty.

I do not mean that others should be at ease and you burdened. Strive for equality; at present, give from your abundance what they are short of, and, in some way, they, also, will give from their abundance, what you lack. Then, you will be equal and what Scripture says shall come true : To the one who had much, nothing was in excess; to the one who had little, nothing was lacking.

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Sunday, 1 July 2018 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 29 : 2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b

I extol You, o Lord, for You have rescued me; my enemies will not gloat over me.

O Lord, You have brought me up from the grave, You gave me life when I was going to the pit. Sing to the Lord, o you His saints, give thanks and praise to His holy Name. For His anger lasts but a little while, and His kindness all through life. Weeping may tarry for the night, but rejoicing comes with the dawn.

Hear, o Lord, and have mercy on me; O Lord, be my Protector. But now, You have turned my mourning into rejoicing; You have taken off my sackcloth and wrapped me in the garments of gladness. And so my soul, no longer silent, now sings praise without ceasing. O Lord my God, forever will I give You thanks.

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Sunday, 1 July 2018 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Wisdom 1 : 13-15 and Wisdom 2 : 23-24

God did not make death, nor does He rejoice in the destruction of the living. Since He has created everything, all creatures of the universe are for our good; there is no deadly poison in them and the netherworld has no dominion over the earth, because justice is immortal.

Indeed God created man to be immortal in the likeness of His own nature, but the envy of the devil brought death to the world, and those who take his side shall experience death.

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Friday, 29 June 2018 : Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this blessed and momentous day, we celebrate the great occasion of the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, the Patron saints of the Church of Rome, as both of those great servants of God were martyred in the city of Rome, at that time the capital and centre of the Roman Empire, which ruled most of the Mediterranean and Europe then.

Those two Apostles were considered to be the greatest among the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord, for St. Peter was the leader of the Apostles and the one to whom the Lord Jesus entrusted His whole Church, the flock of sheep of the whole faithful. And then, St. Paul was the great Apostle whose role in the evangelisation and conversion of the Gentiles was crucial, through his many missionary journeys and numerous Epistles and letters.

Hence, the two Apostles were essentially important pillars of the Church, together with the other Apostles of the Lord who spread the Christian faith far beyond their origin in Judea and Jerusalem. However, we may think that those Apostles were great and mighty people, who were endowed with great intellect and powerful in the sight of men. But those are the qualities and the perceptions of the world, and not what God’s truth prescribes.

Just as the Scriptures said, ‘It is not man who chooses to be worthy of God, but rather, God who made His people to be worthy.’ Essentially, we do not claim to be worthy of God, for if we judge ourselves by God’s standards, none among us are worthy of Him. But God empowered ordinary, mortal men like us to be His disciples, and make us to be worthy through the works He performed through each and every one of us who did His works.

Likewise, many of the Apostles came from humble and ordinary background, and even most likely of origins, those whom the world would never have thought to be possible as even consideration for those who would be called to the position and responsibility as the disciples and followers of the Lord God Most High, King of all kings and Master of the whole universe.

Many of the Apostles were illiterate and uneducated, as poor fishermen, and some others were rebels and thieves, and simple people making their living in various professions and works. One was a tax collector reviled and hated by his own countrymen, and deemed as a sinner for his work and role. And yet some were once enemies of the Lord and the faithful, like St. Paul had been, in his younger days.

St. Peter himself was a simple fishermen at the Lake of Galilee, doing his work and making a living, doing what many considered as a menial and unappreciated profession. But when the Lord Jesus came and called him, St. Peter together with his fellow fishermen left behind their fishing nets and boats, and followed Him from then on, to be fishers of men, just as He had told them.

He would go on to be the leader and the chief among all the disciples and followers of the Lord, because of his great faith and love for the Lord. But of course this did not mean that he had a perfect faith and pathway during his journey of faith. In fact, as we all should have known, St. Peter during the time when the Lord was arrested and tortured during His Passion, denied that he knew the Lord not just once, but three times.

He was utterly devastated after having realised the truth, and he was disappointed on his lack of faith, especially after he professed his faith and dedication to the Lord earlier on during the Last Supper. But unlike Judas Iscariot, the traitor, who also showed regret but chose to take the easy and cowardly way out through suicide, St. Peter chose the path of repentance and recommitment to God.

St. Peter reaffirmed his faith and dedication to the Lord, when the Lord Jesus spoke to him privately, asking him three times, “Peter, do you love Me?’ And Peter reaffirmed his love for Him with true sincerity and genuine intention. The Lord entrusted His Church and His entire flock to his care as leader of the Church and Vicar of Christ, through the words, ‘Feed My lambs’.

St. Peter would face many difficulties, challenges and persecutions, including what we have heard from the Scripture passage from the Acts of the Apostles, telling us how St. Peter was arrested during the episode of persecution by king Herod Antipas. He was imprisoned and was slated to face martyrdom just as what happened to St. James, the brother of St. John, by the same king Herod Antipas.

But God had greater plans for St. Peter, and He sent His Angel to free St. Peter from prison as we heard in our first reading passage today. He would continue from then on, to lead and guide the Church of God, and eventually established more Christian communities, becoming the first Bishop of Antioch and the Bishop of Rome. It was told that at the end of his missionary journey, he went to Rome, the capital of the Empire.

Meanwhile St. Paul was once known as Saul, who came from the region and city known as Tarsus, in southern part of what is now Turkey. He was born as a Pharisee, who were influential group of the Israelite elites at that time, particularly devoted to the preservation and conservation of the traditions and laws of the Jewish people. And St. Paul himself mentioned how he was very fanatical and dedicated to the cause of the Pharisees, even more than many others.

Hence, he was a great enemy of the faith at the very beginning of the Church. As Saul, according to the Acts of the Apostles, he took part in the martyrdom of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Church, who died defending the faith, stoned by the enemies of the faith, including Saul himself. And Saul took part in the intensive persecution of the Church, causing great fear and grief among the early Christian communities.

Surely, he would have been the least likely among those who would turn towards the Lord and be a Christian, at least in our worldly view of things. How could such a great enemy of the faith become one of the members of the Church? But as mentioned in the Scriptures, what is impossible or seemingly impossible for men, is possible for God. And God had a different plan for Saul.

He called Saul on the way to Damascus, when he was bent on destroying the Church and the faithful living in that city. He converted to the faith and turned himself completely from his past mistaken ways, and entrusted himself to the Lord and hearkened to the mission that was entrusted to him. Thus, he became the renowned St. Paul, a great enemy of the faith and the Church turned into one of its greatest champion and defender.

St. Paul travelled extensively throughout the eastern part of the Mediterranean region, visiting cities and towns, establishing Christian communities in those places and evangelised the faith to the pagan and non-Jewish peoples. His particular approach and passion in bringing about the faith and opening the door of salvation and the Church to the Gentiles or the non-Jewish people made him to be remembered as the Apostle to the Gentiles.

We knew of his many letters or Epistles to the various Church communities, in Ephesus, Corinth, Thessalonica, Galatia, and many more, and he was renowned for his great missionary zeal and commitment to the Lord, that just as St. Peter had suffered many persecutions and difficulties, St. Paul, as well as the other Apostles, also had to endure similar tribulations and trials.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, both St. Peter and St. Paul dedicated themselves completely, to serve the greater purpose of the Lord, the conversion and the salvation of souls, and the establishment and empowerment of the early Church. They were truly exemplary in their actions, as the important foundation of the Church of God, because of which, the Church, as the Lord had said, remained firm even in the midst of the most intense persecutions and trials, to this very day.

St. Peter himself, in the end, met his martyrdom in Rome, punished to die on the cross. To the very end, he showed his great faith and love for God, by humbly requesting that he should not die in the same way as his Lord and Master. He was crucified upside down at the site where now the great Basilica of St. Peter stands. Meanwhile, St. Paul was beheaded as part of the great persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Nero. Yet, the contributions and the importance of these two Apostles remain strongly felt even to this very day.

Now, each and every one of us as Christians must follow in the footsteps of those courageous and holy servants of God, by realising that all of us are the successors of the Apostles, who ought to continue the good works that they have begun among the people of God. There is a need for witnesses of the faith, to continue spreading the message of God’s Good News and truth among the people of various nations.

Are we able to dedicate ourselves to the Lord as the Holy Apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul had done? Are we able to live our lives as faithfully as they have done, in the giving of their whole lives and their whole effort to serve the greater glory of God? We are called to follow in their footsteps, and if we think and feel that we are not worthy, as we probably do, then we must realise that no one will ever be worthy of God, as we are all sinners by nature.

Rather, we must realise that God makes those whom He calls, to be worthy, and He called us in various ways, to follow the path that He has shown us. He called us from our various origins, backgrounds, and from our past, wicked and sinful lives, all to become His disciples, with a renewed life, with a new purpose, to devote ourselves to a new Christian existence, showing our faith by examples of our life.

May the Lord be with us all, and may He continue to guide us in our lives. May St. Peter and St. Paul, holy Apostles and patrons of our One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, intercede for us, and pray for all of us in the Church of God, that all of us will remain true and faithful in our dedication and life to the Lord. May God bless all of us and bless all of our endeavours. Amen.

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Friday, 29 June 2018 : Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 16 : 13-19

At that time, Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi. He asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They said, “For some of them, You are John the Baptist; for others Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”

Jesus asked them, “But you, who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “It is well for you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for it is not flesh or blood that has revealed this to you, but My Father in heaven.”

“And now I say to you : You are Peter; and on this Rock I will build My Church; and never will the powers of death overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven : whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you unbind on earth shall be unbound in heaven.”