Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 18 : 2-3, 4-5
The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. Day talks it over with day; night hands on the knowledge to night.
No speech, no words, no voice is heard – but the call goes on, throughout the universe, the message is felt to the ends of the earth.
Liturgical Colour : White
Wisdom 13 : 1-9
The natural helplessness of humans is seen in their ignorance of God. The experience of good things did not lead them to the knowledge of Him Who is. They were interested in His works, but they did not recognise the Author of them.
Fire, wind, air, the sphere of the stars, rushing water and the lights in the sky were held as the rulers of the world. If, charmed by such beauty, they took them for gods, let them know how far superior is their sovereign. And if they were impressed by their power and activity, let them understand from this how much mightier is He Who formed them. For the grandeur and beauty of creatures lead us to ponder on their Author, greater and more magnificent.
No doubt these people are not to be blamed severely, for possibly they strayed though they searched for God and desired to find Him. They pondered over the created things that surrounded them and were captivated by the sight of such beauty. Even so they are not to be excused, for if they were able to explore the world, why did they not discover first the world’s Sovereign?
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Holy Virgins)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened from the Sacred Scriptures the reminders for all of us of the need to be truly attuned to the Lord in all things, in us embracing His Wisdom, love and truth. The Wisdom of God, His truth and love have been imparted to us mankind ever since He created us, but each and every one of us as Christians have received the greater revelation of this same truth which God has imparted to us, revealed and showed us through His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. All of us have been blessed with God’s bountiful grace and Wisdom, and hence, we should not only be thankful to Him for having blessed us with such great blessings, but we should also make good use of whatever it is that He has given us, for the good of all and for the glory of God.
In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Wisdom, we heard of the revelation and the explanation by the author of this Book of Wisdom, of what Wisdom of God itself is all about, and how this same Wisdom has been imparted and given to us, permeating our whole existences and lives, truly permeating all of our whole actions and works, our deeds and everything in our every moment throughout life, for God’s Wisdom are truly everywhere and transcendent, through the Holy Spirit and the Life that He has blessed us with, and the Spirit of God has indeed been given to us. All of us therefore have received the Holy Spirit and the Wisdom of God, but whether we truly make good use of this gift of God and everything He has provided us with, is up to our freedom to choose.
God has indeed given us the freedom to choose between obeying Him and His ways, or whether we want to walk away from His path. As the author of the Book of Wisdom mentioned, the Wisdom of God enters only the holy souls, those who have attuned themselves to God and willingly embraced the will of God, His Wisdom, truth and love. This means that all those who have not listened to God or obeyed Him, have consciously rejected God’s Wisdom, love and truth, and hence, God’s Wisdom has no place in our hearts and minds, and we gave priorities to our desires, pride, ego, ambition and greed instead. And when our hearts and minds are so full of all those, there is no place for God, His Wisdom, love and truth in us.
In our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus highlighted to the Pharisees who asked Him about the Kingdom of God. The Lord told them all that the Kingdom of God is not something that they can see from outside, or anything akin the kingdoms of this world. The Kingdom of God is truly all of us, living together as parts and members of the same Body of Christ, the Church, which the Lord Himself has established and affirmed in this world. Through the Holy Spirit and the Divine Wisdom that God has imparted His Church, to all of us, He has empowered all of us to live and exist together in harmony and love, living in the manner and the way that He himself has taught us, and which we should indeed be inspired and encouraged to follow and adhere to, at all times.
Today, the Church celebrates the feast of two great women whose lives and actions, works and collaborations should remind us how each and every one of us how we all should behave and act in life, doing God’s works and obeying His will, Law and commandments. St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gertrude the Great are both truly great role models and examples for each and every one of us in how we should lead a good and worthy life as Christians, in all of our actions and works. Both of them lived virtuous and faithful lives, committed and centred on God, and they showed love for God as well as for their fellow Christians, in showing solidarity, care and love for everyone as any Christians should be doing.
St. Margaret of Scotland was an English princess who was a very pious Christian from her early youth and throughout her life. She was exiled with her family, the House of Wessex, which was then displaced by the new Danish ruling family in the throne of England. Eventually, after a few other misfortunes and difficulties that she and her other family members faced, she ended up in Scotland, where the King gave her and her family refuge, and then eventually, she became the wife of the King, and hence, becoming the Queen Consort of Scotland. And even as Queen, St. Margaret of Scotland continued to show and exhibit the great piety which she had since early on in her life. According to historical and hagiographical accounts, St. Margaret of Scotland was a great influence on her husband, the King of Scotland. She carried out great reforms of the Church in Scotland, aligning its practices to the Universal Church, and helped to establish the firm foothold of the Church in all of Scotland, and she was also well known for her great charitable works and care for the people throughout the kingdom.
Meanwhile, St. Gertrude the Great was a German Benedictine nun renowned for her great piety and dedication to God, as she has spent most of her life in the service of God. According to some traditions, she was an orphan or having been entrusted to the care of religious nuns when she was still a young child. Eventually, St. Gertrude became a religious herself, dedicating herself in a life of holy sanctity, and committing her virginity to God. As she would later on be well-known for, she began to receive a series of mystical visions of God, and this led to her spending more and more time to deepen her spirituality and understanding of theology. She wrote a lot regarding various topics, especially those of her visions and theological matters, and her works inspired many both during her lifetime and long afterwards, till this very day. Her works and efforts, piety and exemplary life are indeed sources of inspiration for us to follow.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all listened and heeded the examples set by St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gertrude the Great, let us all hence examine well our actions and way of living our lives, that each and every one of us may be truly devoted and genuine in following God, and in allowing God to lead us all through His Divine Wisdom and strength. Let us all be filled with His Holy Spirit and be empowered to live our lives each day with great joy and love for God, as well as with the commitment and desire to love Him, and our fellow brethren more and more, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Holy Virgins)
Luke 17 : 20-25
At that time, the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God was to come. He answered, “The kingdom of God is not like something you can observe, and say of it, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘See, there it is!’ for the kingdom of God is within you.”
And Jesus said to His disciples, “The time is at hand, when you will long to see one of the glorious days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. Then people will tell you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go with them, do not follow them. As lightning flashes from one end of the sky to the other, so will it be with the Son of Man; but first He must suffer many things, and be rejected by this generation.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Holy Virgins)
Psalm 118 : 89, 90, 91, 130, 135, 175
O YHVH, Your word stands forever, firmly fixed in the heavens.
Your faithfulness lasts throughout the ages – as long as the earth You created.
Your ordinances last to this day, for all things are made to serve You.
As Your words unfold, light is shed, and the simple-hearted understand.
Favour me with Your smile and teach me Your statutes.
Long may I live, to sing Your praise, may Your ordinances always be my help!
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Holy Virgins)
Wisdom 7 : 22 – Wisdom 8 : 1
Because Wisdom, who designed them all, taught me. In her is a spirit that is intelligent, saintly, unique, manifold, subtle, active, concise, pure and lucid. It cannot corrupt, loves what is good and nothing can restrain it; it is beneficent, loving humankind, steadfast, dependable, calm though Almighty. It sees everything and penetrates all spirits, however intelligent, subtle and pure they may be.
Wisdom, in fact, surpasses in mobility all that moves, and being so pure pervades and permeates all things. She is a breath of the power of God, a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; nothing impure can enter her. She is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of God’s action and an image of His goodness.
She is but one, yet Wisdom can do all things and, herself unchanging, she renews all things. She enters holy souls, making them prophets and friends of God, for God loves only those who live with Wisdom. She is indeed more beautiful than the sun and surpasses all the constellations; she outrivals light, for light gives way to night, but evil cannot prevail against Wisdom.
Wisdom displays her strength from one end of the earth to the other, ordering all things rightly.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded yet again to be righteous, good and worthy in all of our works and deeds. Each and every one of us are called to put our faith and trust in the Wisdom that God has given to us, and place ourselves firmly in the path which the Lord has shown us. All of us as God’s followers and disciples, we are all expected to follow God’s ways, obey His Law and commandments at all times, regardless of our background, nature, occupation or whatever it is that we are doing. And today we are also reminded that especially for those in the positions of power and responsibility, it is even more important that we live our lives in accordance with God and His ways, or else we may end up misleading many others down the wrong path, and the consequences for us will indeed be severe.
In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Wisdom, we heard of the words of the Lord delivered to all of His people, and this time, particularly directed to those leaders, sovereigns and rulers of nations and peoples, reminding them all that all of their power, sovereignty and rule all ultimately came from God. Each and every one of them must always keep in mind that they should not allow the temptations of worldly pleasures, corruptions of sin and desires to mislead and trick us down the wrong path in life. Many people throughout history, especially those who have been entrusted with power and authority, fell into the temptations of sin and evil, abusing their power and authority for their own good, seeking to enrich themselves and to gain good things for themselves by misusing what God had entrusted to them.
What the Lord wants us all to know is that, each and every one of us have been given various distinct and unique blessings, gifts and abilities, talents and opportunities in our lives. How we use them is really up to us, and we have been given the freedom to choose how we want to live our lives. We can use those gifts and opportunities to do what is good, right and just according to God, or to misuse them just as how some of our ancestors and predecessors had done. What the Lord reminds us with is that, for everything we have done, be it good or bad, worthy or wicked, we shall be held accountable for them all, and for those of us who have been entrusted with more, then the more shall be accounted for them, in everything that they and all of us say and do, in our lives.
Then, in our Gospel reading today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Luke of the story of the encounter between the Lord Jesus and ten lepers, one of whom was a Samaritan and the healing that happened to all of them. All of them begged the Lord to have them healed from their leprosy, which had made them ostracised and cast out from the rest of the community. According to the Law of Moses, the lepers must be segregated and separated out from the community until they recovered from their illness, as this was meant to avoid the disease from spreading rampantly in the close quarters of the people during the time of the Exodus. However, this has also led to the the lepers from being treated badly and looked upon with disdain by everyone, and no one would have wanted that kind of experiences.
Hence, the Lord in His love and mercy, showed them His power and healed all of them from their sickness. He told them to show themselves to the priests as according to the Law of Moses, they had to present themselves being healed and whole to a priest before they could be readmitted into the community. But this happened before they were healed. They were healed as they made their way to the priests, and as we heard, everyone except for the Samaritan among them rejoiced greatly after knowing that they had been healed. Only the Samaritan retraced his steps and sought the Lord again to thank Him for what He had done. This is actually also an allusion and link to what we have heard in our first reading today, as this is yet another reminder that everything we have, and all that we have received, ultimately came from God, and we really should thank Him and keep in mind of whatever it is that He has entrusted to us.
Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Albert the Great, or St. Albertus Magnus, a renowned man of God and great teacher of the faith, whose life, works and dedication to God should inspire us all to be dedicated and committed to Him ourselves. Each and every one of us should heed the good examples set by this wonderful man of God, so that we may also be always faithful to Him, at all times. St. Albert the Great was born in what is now Bavaria in southern part of Germany, during the High Middle Ages. He was brought up well academically and showed his talents early on. He then became a member of the Dominican Order, and studied to become a theologian, which began his great and long ministry as a teacher and theologian henceforth.
St. Albert the Great later on became one of the provincials of the Dominican Order, and carried out his duties with great obedience and dedication. And while later on he was appointed as a bishop, as the Bishop of Regensburg, he remained humble and committed to the missions entrusted to him, walking all around his diocese on foot instead of riding a horse as he was entitled to. He dedicated himself to whatever missions God had entrusted him with, and despite the honour and respect that many people and his positions entitled him with, he remained very humble and focused on the Lord, not being swayed by the temptations of worldly power and glory. Instead, he committed himself wholly to the Lord and to the people of God, all throughout his life, and this is something that we should be inspired to follow as well.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from the story of the life and works of St. Albert the Great, let us all therefore strive to be good, worthy and responsible in how we live our lives as Christians in this world. Let us all be filled with the desire to love God and to proclaim His truth and love, with humility and faith, much as St. Albert the Great and the many other saints, holy men and women of God had done. Let us all be good examples and role models for one another, in how we live our lives so that we may inspire more and more people to live their lives worthily and to walk ever always in God’s path. May God bless us all in our every good works and efforts, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Luke 17 : 11-19
At that time, on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus passed through Samaria and Galilee, and as He entered a village, ten lepers came to meet Him. Keeping their distance, they called to Him, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
Jesus said to them, “Go, and show yourselves to the priests.” Then, as they went on their way, they found they were cured. One of them, as soon as he saw that he was cleansed, turned back, praising God in a loud voice; and throwing himself on his face before Jesus, he gave Him thanks. This man was a Samaritan.
Then Jesus asked him, “Were not all ten healed? Where are the other nine? Did none of them decide to return and give praise to God, but this foreigner?” And Jesus said to him, “Stand up and go your way; your faith has saved you.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Psalm 81 : 3-4, 6-7
Give justice to the weak and the orphan; defend the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the helpless and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
“You are gods,” I said, “You are all sons of the Most High.” But now, you will die like the others; you will all fall, like any mortal.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Wisdom 6 : 1-11
Listen, o kings, and understand; rulers of the most distant lands, take warning. Pay attention, you who rule multitudes and boast of the numerous subjects in your pagan nations!
For authority was given you by the Lord, your kingship is from the Most High Who will examine your works and scrutinise your intentions. If, as officials of His kingdom, you have not judged justly or observed His law or walked the way God pointed our, He will oppose you swiftly and terribly; His sentence strikes the mighty suddenly.
For the lowly there may be excuses and pardon, but the great will be severely punished. For the Lord of all makes no distinction, nor does He take account of greatness. Both great and lowly are His work and He watches over all, but the powerful are to be judged more strictly.
It is to you then, sovereigns, that I speak, that you may learn Wisdom and not stumble. For those who keep the holy laws in a holy way will be acknowledged holy, and those who accept the teaching will find in it their defence. Welcome my words, desire them and they will instruct you.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 