Sunday

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Sunday, 11 February 2024 : Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Leviticus 13 : 1-2, 44-46

YHVH said to Moses and Aaron, “If someone has a boil, an inflammation or a sore on his skin which could develop into leprosy, he must be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of the priests, his descendants.”

“This means that the man is leprous : he is unclean. The priest shall declare him unclean; he is suffering from leprosy of the head. A person infected with leprosy must wear torn clothing and leave his hair uncombed; he must cover his upper lip and cry, ‘Unclean, unclean.’”

“As long as the disease lasts he must be unclean; and therefore, he must live away from others : he must live outside the camp.”

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Sunday, 4 February 2024 : Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday’s Scripture readings are clear reminders for each and every one of us of the fickleness of our human nature and existence, and of everything which we have and which we are currently experiencing in this world. All that we have enjoyed and all the wonderful and marvellous things we possess, all these are ultimately illusory in nature, and they may even distract us from our true path and progress in life, from our true focus and commitment, which is none other than the Lord, our God Himself. We must remember that we have been entrusted by the Lord with many things, with blessings and opportunities that we may glorify Him by our lives, and we should therefore make good use of them for the greater glory of God at all times.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Job, of the lamentations and sorrows which the man of God, Job uttered as he was reflecting upon the sufferings and hardships that he had been enduring and experiencing at that time. Job was a great and rich man, greatly blessed by God in all things on account of his great faith and righteousness, his commitment and dedication to Him. However, Job encountered great moment of trial and tribulation, hardship and difficulty when he was attacked by the devil, who struck him, his possessions and loved ones to test him and his faith in God. But Job remained firm in his faith and did not allow the devil and his machinations to dissuade him and to take him away from the faith that he had in the Lord.

Despite suffering greatly and being ridiculed, rejected and ostracised by those whom he knew, even those who were near to him, Job remained faithful to the Lord, and trusted in Him regardless of what he had experienced. While his heart was filled with sorrow and pain, despair and regret of what happened to him, and blaming himself on occasions that everything happened because of his fault, but he still held on firmly to his faith in the Lord no matter what. And this is what all of us should be inspired to follow in our own lives, as we should also do whatever we can such that we may truly live our lives most worthily as best as we are able to, and despite the challenges and trials that we may have to encounter and face along our journey, we can always continue to persevere in righteousness and virtue, to be always ever worthy of God.

In our second reading today, St. Paul in his Epistle to the Corinthians spoke about how he cannot boast for whatever he had done in preaching the Gospel, in doing God’s works and in carrying out everything that had been entrusted to him by the Lord, all the missions and miracles he had performed. All these are reminders that in everything that we do as Christians, and as God’s people in this world should not be seeking personal glory and ambition, worldly attachments and matters, and we should not revel in worldly praise and jubilation, or to be proud and haughty because we have done great deeds in our lives. Instead, like St. Paul himself, we should always remain rooted in the Lord and continue to live our lives with Him as the centre and focus, and not the many worldly matters and attachments we have.

That was also how Job managed to remain strong in faith despite having suffered many personal losses, of property, wealth and loved ones. If Job had placed his trust and immersed himself in those things, then losing all of them would have made him to despair and lose all hope. But he remained faithful to God and did not blame the Lord for his losses. He was also able to let go of his losses and accepted what he had suffered as his fate. St. Paul similarly endured many things throughout the period of his work and ministry, which he could do precisely because he trusted in the Lord, and he did not let himself to be misled and swayed by the temptations of worldly glory and ambitions. He trusted the Lord in everything that he has been entrusted to do, and followed the Lord wherever He led him to.

In our Gospel passage this Sunday, we then heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus healed and ministered to the mother-in-law of one of His disciples, that is St. Peter, whose mother-in-law was very sick. The Lord miraculously healed her, and made her well again, and we heard then how the whole neighbourhood found out about what happened, and many people came to the Lord bearing their sick ones, so that the Lord might hopefully heal all of them as well. He cared for those who had been brought to Him and healed them all. Then, curiously, we heard how the Lord went off in the very early morning to pray, disappearing from the place, to the consternation from His disciples and the people. That was when He told the disciples that there were still many people that He had to minister to, and they all ought to move on to other places as well.

The Lord Jesus could have stayed on in that place, well-liked and adored by all the people who have witnessed and believed in His miracles. He could very well have gained a large following and popularity without much effort, and lead a rather comfortable and convenient work, instead of having to go from places to places, without proper accommodations and encountering oppositions and challenges throughout His efforts and journeys. Yet, the Lord obeyed the will of His Heavenly Father, Who had sent Him, the Son, into this world to proclaim the Good News and the salvation of God to more and more people. Hence, this is why the Lord carried out His mission faithfully and did everything not for worldly comfort or glory, but to fulfil the will of God, and to glorify Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, having heard of all these readings and reminders from the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that as God’s faithful disciples and followers, we too should be filled with faith and trust in the Lord, and we should always continue to put God as the centre and the focus of our whole lives. We should not allow worldly temptations, attachments, glory, ambitions and our pride and greed, our desires and all other obstacles to prevent us from reaching ever closer to God, to His grace and salvation. Like Job, let us all detach ourselves from worldly matters and attachments, and remind ourselves that all the wealth and glory of the world are not lasting or permanent. Instead of seeking for worldly glory and greatness, we should seek the true joy and satisfaction which we can find in the Lord alone.

Let us all hence be good role models and inspirations, and be the worthy bearers of the light of God, His grace and love for us all. May all of us be blessed in our every good works, efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 4 February 2024 : Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 1 : 29-39

At that time, on leaving the synagogue, Jesus went to the home of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. As Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with fever, they immediately told Him about her. Jesus went to her and, taking her by the hand, raised her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

That evening, at sundown, people brought to Jesus all the sick and those who had evil spirits : the whole town was pressing around the door. Jesus healed many who had various diseases, and drove out many demons; but He did not let them speak, for they knew Who He was.

Very early in the morning, before daylight, Jesus went off to a lonely place where He prayed. Simon and the others went out also, searching for Him; and when they found Him, they said, “Everyone is looking for You.” Then Jesus answered, “Let us go to the nearby villages so that I may preach there too; for that is why I came.”

So Jesus set out to preach in all the synagogues throughout Galilee; He also cast out demons.

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Sunday, 4 February 2024 : Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 9 : 16-19, 22-23

Because I cannot boast of announcing the Gospel : I am bound to do it. Woe to me, if I do not preach the Gospel! If I preached voluntarily, I could expect my reward, but I have been trusted with this office, against my will. How can I, then, deserve my reward? In announcing the Gospel, I will do it freely, without making use of the rights given to me by the Gospel.

So, feeling free with everybody, I have become everybody’s slave, in order to gain a greater number. To the weak, I made myself weak, to win the weak. So, I made myself all things to all people, in order to save, by all possible means, some of them. This, I do, for the Gospel, so that I, too, have a share of it.

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Sunday, 4 February 2024 : Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 146 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Alleluia! How good it is to sing to our God, how sweet and befitting, to praise Him! YHVH rebuilds Jerusalem; He gathers the exiles of Israel.

He heals their broken hearts and binds their wounds. He determines the number of stars; He calls each of them by name.

The Lord is great, and mighty in power; His wisdom is beyond measure. YHVH lifts up the humble, but casts the wicked to the ground.

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Sunday, 4 February 2024 : Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Job 7 : 1-4, 6-7

Man’s life on earth is a thankless job, his days are those of a mercenary. Like a slave he longs for the shade of evening, like a hireling waiting for his wages. Thus I am allotted months of boredom and nights of grief and misery. In bed I say, “When shall the day break?” On rising, I think, “When shall evening come?” and I toss restless till dawn.

My days pass swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, heading without hope for their end. My life is like wind, you well know it, o God; never will I see happiness again.

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Sunday, 28 January 2024 : Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are reminded that in the Lord lies our hope and salvation, and He is our God and Master, and we are all His people, His beloved ones who are always cared for by Him, ever always precious in His sight. The Lord has shown His love to us, and fulfilled everything that He has promised to us since the very beginning, and He would not let harm come to us, His beloved ones. This is what He had done and reaffirmed to us again and again throughout time and history, and which we have also heard in our Scripture readings today. All of us should always therefore commit ourselves to the Lord and remain firmly focused on Him at all times, and not be swayed or tempted by worldly desires and evils.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, we heard how Moses proclaimed to the people of Israel, that the Lord their God would raise up a great Prophet like himself from among them, and how in this Prophet, the Word of God would be revealed and brought into the midst of this world, among God’s people, which is in fact a prophecy and prediction of the coming of the Messiah, the Holy One of God, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Through Christ, the salvation of God and His love has been made clear and evident to us, and He has brought unto us all the reassurances that as long as we all remain faithful to Him, obeying the Law and commandments of God, all of us shall remain in God’s grace and be saved.

In that same reading, we also heard how the Lord warned against all those false prophets and leaders, messengers and all those who sought to misappropriate and misuse the word of God and the truth for their own benefits and advantages. He told the people how all those so-called prophets who would speak differently from what He has shown, taught and revealed, would be crushed, destroyed and they would meet their end, because of the wicked deeds that they would do among the people of God. This is also a reminder for all the people of God, and hence to all of us as well, that we must be careful not to be easily swayed by the lies and falsehoods which the evil one would definitely attempt to plant in our midst, spreading the seeds of discord and doubt among us.

Then, in our second reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, in which the Apostle St. Paul reminded all the people and the faithful in Corinth not to be anxious and not to be overly concerned with their various worldly matters and attachments, and that was why, he told all of them that they should all be focused on the Lord and how to do His will, and to do their respective parts, whether as husbands or wives, which he used as examples, in living their lives worthily in accordance to God’s will, and not to follow the whim of their desires and any other worldly temptations and attachments, which would easily lead them astray down the wrong path of sin and evil.

St. Paul reminded the faithful in Corinth of all these things because at that time, there were strife and division among the Christians in Corinth, as there were oppositions to the teachings and works of St. Paul among a segment of the faithful there, especially from among the Christians recently converted from the Jewish diaspora community. This issue and other disagreements among the faithful in the region of Corinth had caused divisions and conflicts to break out among the members of the Body of Christ, and this led to the disruption in the works and efforts of the Lord’s Apostles and disciples in proclaiming the Good News and the truth, and hence, the faithful were exhorted to remain faithful to the teachings and truth of Christ, and not be easily swayed by all sorts of worldly temptations and desires.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the time when the Lord Jesus performed an exorcism on a possessed man who was afflicted and possessed by evil spirits who attempted to disturb the teaching session which the Lord was having at that time in the synagogue. The evil spirits tried to reveal before the people that the Lord is the Holy One of God, the One Whom the Lord had promised to send unto us His people, as He has promised throughout time and history, such as the one He had promised through Moses. The irony was indeed such that, while many of the people to whom God had sent His Son to refused to believe in the One Whom God had sent, it was the evil spirits who acknowledged and recognised the Lord, and proclaimed Him regardless of their ulterior motives.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who then often obstructed the Lord’s works and ministry were often against the Lord because they refused to accept the fact that their way of believing in things and practicing the Law could have been wrong. They took great pride in their intelligence and sense of superiority over all others, that they became enamoured and corrupted by those, and ended up rejecting the truth and the salvation of God, when they should have been the first to realise Who the Lord Jesus was, and what He has represented and taught among the people. Their pride, ego and greed were great barriers and obstacles which prevented them from opening their hearts and minds to God and His love, His truth and Good News.

This is why through the Scripture passages we have heard this Sunday, all of us are reminded to be always focused on the Lord and centre our lives and existence on Him. We are all reminded that the various temptations present all around us in this world, the falsehoods of the devil and all those seeking our ruin and destruction can bring us to our downfall, and we have to be ever vigilant lest all those distractions and temptations mislead us down this wrong path. We have to put our faith and trust as always in the Lord, and allow Him to lead and guide us down the path of righteousness and grace. This is why we should remind ourselves to grow ever more in our relationship with God, embracing His love and truth, His mercy and kindness at all times, and rejecting the wickedness of the world.

Let us all commit ourselves ever more wholeheartedly to the Lord, and let us do our best so that in each and every moments of our lives, we will always strive to be exemplary and inspirational in our way of life, that through our dedication and good examples, many others may also be helped and inspired to turn away from the path of wickedness and sin, and instead embracing the Lord as their Master and Saviour as all of us had done. May the Lord bless us all in our every good efforts and endeavours, and inspire us all that we may truly be His worthy disciples and followers, and be the shining beacons of His Light in this darkened world today. Amen.

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Sunday, 28 January 2024 : Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 1 : 21b-28

At that time, Jesus taught in the synagogue on the Sabbath day. The people were astonished at the way He taught, for He spoke as One having authority, and not like the teachers of the Law.

It happened that, a man with an evil spirit was in their synagogue, and he shouted, “What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know Who You are : You are the Holy One of God.”

Then Jesus faced him and said with authority, “Be silent, and come out of this man!” The evil spirit shook the man violently and, with a loud shriek, came out of him. All the people were astonished, and they wondered, “What is this? With what authority He preaches! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey Him!”

And Jesus’ fame spread throughout all the country of Galilee.

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Sunday, 28 January 2024 : Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 7 : 32-35

I would like you to be free from anxieties. He who is not married is concerned about the things of the Lord and how to please the Lord. While he who is married is taken up with the things of the world and how to please his wife, and he is divided in his interests.

Likewise, the unmarried woman and the virgin are concerned with the service of the Lord, to be holy in body and spirit. The married woman, instead, worries about the things of the world and how to please her husband.

I say this for your own good. I do not wish to lay traps for you, but to lead you to a beautiful life, entirely united with the Lord.

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Sunday, 28 January 2024 : Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 94 : 1-2, 6-7, 8-9

Come, let us sing to YHVH, let us make a joyful sound to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him giving thanks, with music and songs of praise.

Come and worship; let us bow down, kneel before YHVH, our Maker. He is our God, and we, His people; the flock He leads and pastures. Would, that today, you heard His voice!

Do not be stubborn, as at Meribah, in the desert, on that day at Massah, when your ancestors challenged Me, and they put Me to the test.