Sundays after Epiphany

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Monday, 25 September 2023 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 8 : 16-18

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “No one, after lighting a lamp, covers it with a bowl or puts it under the bed; rather, he puts it on a lamp stand, so that people coming in may see the light.”

“In the same way, there is nothing hidden that shall not be uncovered; nothing kept secret, that shall not be known clearly. Now, pay attention and listen well, for whoever produces, will be given more; but from those who do not produce, even what they seem to have will be taken away from them.”

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Monday, 25 September 2023 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 125 : 1-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6

When YHVH brought the exiles back to Zion, we were like those moving in a dream. Then, our mouths were filled with laughter, and our tongues with songs of joy.

Among the nations it was said, “YHVH has done great things for them.” YHVH has done great things for us, and we were glad indeed.

Bring back our exiles, o YHVH, like fresh streams in the desert. Those who sow in tears will reap with songs and shouts of joy.

They went forth weeping, bearing the seeds for sowing, they will come home with joyful shouts, bringing their harvested sheaves.

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Monday, 25 September 2023 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Ezra 1 : 1-6

In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, YHVH willed to fulfil the word He had said through the prophet Jeremiah. So He moved the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, to issue the following command and send it out in writing to be read aloud everywhere in his kingdom : “Thus speaks Cyrus, king of Persia : YHVH, the God of heavens, Who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has ordered me to build Him a Temple in Jerusalem, in the land of Judah.”

“To everyone belonging to His people, may his God be with him! Let them go up to Jerusalem with the help of their God and, there, build the House of YHVH, the God of Israel; the God Who is in Jerusalem. In every place where the rest of the people of YHVH live, let the people of those places help them for their journey with silver, gold and all kinds of goods and livestock. Let them also give them voluntary offerings for the House of YHVH which is in Jerusalem.”

Then they rose up – the heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, the priests and the Levites, and all those whose spirit God had stirred up – and they decided to go and build the House of YHVH. And all their neighbours gave them all kinds of help : gold, silver, livestock and precious objects in great quantity, besides every kind of voluntary offering.

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Sunday, 24 September 2023 : Twenty-Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we all heard the words of the Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded to be truly focused on the Lord in our whole lives, as we are all called to be His followers and disciples, walking in the path that He has shown us all, through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ and through the Church that He has established in this world, to be the one united Body of all the believers and all the people of God. All of us have been called and chosen by the Lord, and as Christians, we are all those who have responded to the Lord’s call and embraced His path, to do His will and to carry out His works, in our every words, actions and deeds in this world. Through those Scripture passages, we are reminded that our existence and purpose should truly be to follow and to serve the Lord our God, wholeheartedly, in all things.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the words of the prophet calling on all the people of God to seek the Lord and to call upon Him when He is still near, calling on all the people of God to turn away from their wickedness ands sins, and to embrace once again their loving God and Master, following Him with all faith and obedience, entrusting themselves to His Wisdom and Providence, and not to question and doubt His will and ways, because ultimately, there are many things that are beyond our thoughts and understanding, our ability to comprehend and for us to realise fully in our lives. That is why we should always trust in the Lord and follow Him all our lives, doing whatever we can in order to proclaim His truth and carry out His works all the time.

Then, in our second reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Philippians, we heard of the words of St. Paul to the faithful people of God there, relating to them the dilemma that he had in wanting to go to the Lord and to die for Him, versus continuing to labour and live in this world in carrying out God’s works and will. Both of those things did have merits, and as history has shown us, many of our holy predecessors had glorified God by their exemplary lives and actions, their works and ministry, as St. Paul himself had done, and then many also inspired by their courageous suffering and martyrdom, by which they left this world and enter into the glory of Heaven, which St. Paul himself eventually went through as well, when he was martyred in Rome at the end of his long ministry.

In essence, what St. Paul told the faithful in Philippi was a reminder for all of them to trust in the Lord and in whatever He has designed for them, just as He has led St. Paul in whatever that He wanted him to do in his ministry. One may indeed desire to do certain things in life, but ultimately, it is by God’s grace and guidance, and His will that will happen in the end. Thus, aligned to what we have discussed earlier, we have to answer God’s call and entrust ourselves to Him, committing ourselves to the path that He has shown and guided us all into. As Christians, we are called to walk the path of righteousness and virtue, and the path through which each one of us are expected to live our lives in accordance to God’s ways, and to embody our faith in our every actions, words and deeds.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the parable of the workers from the Lord, in which He spoke of a master and owner of a vineyard, who went forth to the streets and various places, calling upon people of all sorts to come and work in his vineyard. The landowner in that parable represents the Lord, our God and Master, and the vineyard represents this world, where we all labour and work in, with the workers called to work in the vineyard representing all of us whom God had called and chosen to be His people, His disciples and followers. Certainly, not all the people that the landowner called would have responded to him and accepted his offer to work in his vineyard, just as how many rejected the Lord and refused to believe in His Good News and salvation.

However, as we heard from the parable, the landowner kept on going again and again to the streets, reaching out to as many people as he could, and gathered more and more to come and work in his vineyard. It is not impossible or far fetched that some of those who have refused him earlier might have had a change of heart and mind, and therefore responded to the landowner, deciding to come and work in his vineyard. That is exactly just what the Lord would do to us, even if we were to reject Him and refuse Him. He will still call us and offer us His truth and guidance, as long as the time and opportunities are still available to us. Only those who persisted to refuse to the very end, will therefore be cast out into the darkness and eternal damnation, which by their own free will, they have rejected God and His generous love and mercy.

Then, we heard about how all those who have answered the landowner’s call and worked in his vineyard, all were rewarded the same amount in the end, whether those who started their work early or whether they joined at the very last hour. We heard how those who have joined earlier grumbled because they compared their work to those who have joined the work at the last moment, but the landowner told them all that everything had been done in accordance to what he had agreed with all of them, since the time when they had joined the work. Hence, they should not be grumbling or complaining that they were not being paid their dues. This must be better understood in the context that the landowner, being a representation of the Lord Himself, having called all of us to Himself, will give us all the same gift, since we are all equally beloved by Him.

It is also an important reminder that we should not live our lives and faith in comparing ourselves with one another, or thinking that just because we have responded to the Lord’s call earlier, then we are somehow superior or better than those who have answered the Lord’s call later on in their lives. This is the attitude that many of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law adopted at the time of the Lord and His ministry, in which their self-righteous and selfish attitudes ended up closing their hearts and minds against the Lord and His truth, in their repeated refusal to believe in Him and in their stubborn oppositions to His works. That is why, we must always remind ourselves that it is by God’s grace and love that we have been saved, and not by our own power, might and abilities.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore as we have heard from our Scripture passages today, we are all called to live our lives wholeheartedly for the Lord and commit ourselves thoroughly to Him and to His cause. As Christians, God’s holy and beloved people, we should not prioritise our own selfish desires and worldly concerns and attachments above that of serving God and doing His will. Rather, all of us should always put the Lord at the centre and as the focus of our whole entire lives and existence. That is how we can then truly live our lives more attuned to God and His ways, and that is how we can be better and more worthy disciples and followers of our Lord. Unless we do our best to trust in the Lord and allow Him to lead us down the right path, and unless we put the conscious efforts to obey Him in all and every one of our words, actions and deeds, we may end up falling away into sin and damnation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore strive our best this Sunday and henceforth to be true and genuine Christians, in doing what the Lord has called and entrusted us to do, in all available opportunities. Let us all do our best in our own ways and in our various respective areas in life, so that in each and every things we do, in our every interactions with one another, we will always proclaim the glory of God and reveal His truth and love to more and more people. That is what each and every one of us are expected to do, as the workers of the Lord’s vineyard, that is this world where we are living in. Let us all be great role models and inspirations for one another, that God’s light and truth may be shown to all around us. May God be with us always, and may He empower and strengthen us at all times. Amen.

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Sunday, 24 September 2023 : Twenty-Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 20 : 1-16a

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “This story throws light on the kingdom of heaven : A landowner went out early in the morning, to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay each worker the usual daily wage, and sent them to his vineyard.”

“He went out again, at about nine in the morning, and, seeing others idle in the town square, he said to them, ‘You also, go to my vineyard, and I will pay you what is just.’ So they went. The owner went out at midday, and, again, at three in the afternoon, and he made the same offer.”

“Again he went out, at the last working hour – the eleventh – and he saw others standing around. So he said to them, ‘Why do you stand idle the whole day?’ They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ The master said, ‘Go, and work in my vineyard.'”

“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wage, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ Those who had gone to work at the eleventh hour came up, and were each given a silver coin. When it was the turn of the first, they thought they would receive more. But they, too, received one silver coin. On receiving it, they began to grumble against the landowner.”

“They said, ‘These last, hardly worked an hour; yet, you have treated them the same as us, who have endured the heavy work of the day and the heat.’ The owner said to one of them, ‘Friend, I have not been unjust to you. Did we not agree on one silver coin per day? So take what is yours and go. I want to give to the last the same as I give to you. Do I not have the right to do as I please with what is mine? Why are you envious when I am kind?'”

“So will it be : the last will be first.”

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Sunday, 24 September 2023 : Twenty-Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Philippians 1 : 20c-24, 27a

Christ will be exalted through my person, whether I live or die. For to me, living is for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I am to go on living, I shall be able to enjoy fruitful labour. Which shall I choose?

So I feel torn between the two. I desire greatly to leave this life and to be with Christ, which will be better by far, but it is necessary for you that I remain in this life. Try, then, to adjust your lives according to the Gospel of Christ.

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Sunday, 24 September 2023 : Twenty-Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 144 : 2-3, 8-9, 17-18

I will praise You, day after day; and exalt Your Name forever. Great is YHVH, most worthy of praise; and His deeds are beyond measure.

Compassionate and gracious is YHVH, slow to anger and abounding in love. YHVH is good to everyone; His mercy embraces all His creation.

Righteous is YHVH in all His ways, His mercy shows in all His deeds. He is near those who call on Him, who call trustfully upon His Name.

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Sunday, 24 September 2023 : Twenty-Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Isaiah 55 : 6-9

Seek YHVH while He may be found; call to Him while He is near. Let the wicked abandon his way, let him forsake his thoughts, let him turn to YHVH for He will have mercy, for our God is generous in forgiving.

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, My ways are not your ways, says YHVH. For as the heavens are above the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts.

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Saturday, 23 September 2023 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, and as we remember those words, we are all called to grow in faith in God, to nurture the faith that we have received from Him through the Church so that each and every one of us may truly be fruitful and bountiful in the living of our faith, and so that our every words and actions may truly be filled with God’s grace and love. All of us as Christians, we are all called to be genuine and truly faithful Christians, in all of our words, actions and deeds, and not just merely in outward appearances and in symbolic faith only. We have to be truly steeped in the way of the Lord and in the commandments and Law that He has given us, that our every works and actions may be transformed to one of Christian virtues and righteousness.

In our first reading today, from the Epistle of St. Paul to St. Timothy, that is what the Apostle told to his protege and to all the faithful, that every one of them should keep themselves pure and blameless, free from the corruption of sin and evil, that in all of their words and actions, they should always strive to be truly good and worthy of God, following the very examples of their own Lord and Master, Who has come into our midst in the person of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of all, Who has proclaimed the truth of God before all the people, before all those who judged and betrayed Him, and before Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judea, who sentenced Him to death. According to tradition, this event and also his wife’s dream terrified and struck Pontius Pilate so much, that eventually, he himself became a believer and a Christian.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the famous parable of the sower mentioned by the Lord to the people, who listened to His teachings and words, and in this parable, the Lord told them all about the fates of the seeds that fell on four different types of places and soils, and how only the ones that landed on the rich and fertile soil could truly grow well and bear rich and bountiful fruits, while all those that landed on the barren ground, by the roadside, on rocky ground and among the thistles and brambles, they all could not grow well, either by failing to germinate, eaten up by the birds of the air, or that they grew temporarily, but perished from the heat and the scorching heat of the Sun.

As the Lord explained and made it clear to His disciples and to the people, this is a reminder to all of us, that as Christians, as God’s holy and faithful people, we must always be filled with true and genuine faith in Him, that we have to nurture in our hearts and minds, in our every moments in life, and in all of our interactions, words and actions. It is by living our lives with true and genuine faith, and by providing the best conditions for our faith to be nurtured and to grow, that we can truly proclaim the Good News and the Gospels of the Lord’s salvation and grace to all. Like that of the Lord Himself, Who has shown us His perfect example of faith, obedience and love for God and for all of God’s children, and like that of the saints and martyrs, whose lives and works had shown us how we ought to live a truly holy and worthy Christian life. We should follow their great examples in our own lives.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of the famous St. Pius of Pietrelcina, much better known by his epithet of Padre Pio. He was a Capuchin Franciscan friar and priest who was renowned for his great piety and dedication to God, for his experience in having the Lord’s wounds, the stigmata, as well as for his great personal holiness and sanctity, in which he became a very popular figure both during his life and after his passing. St. Pius of Pietrelcina was born into a family of peasants that were very deeply religious and committed to God, and this had great impact on the upbringing and development of the young St. Pius of Pietrecina, who developed a great love and commitment for God from an early age, and who joined the Capuchins in his early teenage years.

This young future saint had experienced mystical visions and revelations from a very young age, something which would continue to influence and affect him throughout his later life and ministry. When he later on became a Capuchin friar and saint, he ministered to the people faithfully, in his devotion and prayerful life, and through his miraculous stigmata and personal holiness, many began to come to him with various problems and needs, coming to him at the monastery at San Giovanni Rotondo, where today a great Basilica and shrine to this saint now stands. St. Pius of Pietrelcina however did not have it easy, as he also faced a lot of hardships and trials, challenges and difficulties from those who doubted the authenticity of his miracles and stigmata among others.

For many years, St. Pius of Pietrelcina faced opposition and investigations by the Church authorities and investigators who sought to find out the truth and veracity behind the purported miracles that surrounded his figure and works. He also faced a lot of attacks and persuasions from Satan and the evil spirits, and frequently struggled with demonic attacks from time to time. In one well-known and attested occasion, the devil even attempted to set fire to his chambers, in part of the attacks against this holy man and servant of God. But St. Pius of Pietrelcina remained firmly committed to his faith in God, drawing ever more people and pilgrims seeking his advice and help, for him to heal them and cast out demons, and for hearing their confessions. This is why, the devil truly hated him so, because St. Pius of Pietrelcina, by his dedication and faith, and by his perseverance and faith, and holiness, inspired many to turn away from sin and evil, and back towards God’s path.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore follow the great examples set by St. Pius of Pietrelcina, in all the holy actions and works that he had done, in his devotion to prayer and to the righteous and virtuous path of God. Let us all not lose heart or be discouraged by the challenges that we may face in life, but be the inspiration and be the role models for one another, in all of our actions, words and deeds, so that in everything, we may always inspire more and more in this world, all those around us, to walk ever more faithfully, in the path that God has revealed to us. Let us all be great role model in nurturing our Christian faith, so that we may truly be the shining beacons of God’s Good News and light. May God be with us always, and may He bless our every efforts and endeavours, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 23 September 2023 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 8 : 4-15

At that time, as a great crowd gathered, and people came to Jesus from every town, He began teaching them with a story : “The sower went out to sow the seed. And as he sowed, some of the seed fell along the way, was trodden on, and the birds of the sky ate it up.”

“Some seed fell on rocky ground; and no sooner had it come up than it withered, because it had no water. Some seed fell among thorns; the thorns grew up with the seed and choked it. But some seed fell on good soil and grew, producing fruit, a hundred times as much!” And Jesus cried out, “Listen then, if you have ears to hear!”

The disciples asked Him, “What does this story mean?” And Jesus answered, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. But to others it is given in the form of stories, or parables, so that, seeing, they may not perceive; and hearing, they may not understand.”

“Now, this is the point of the parable : The seed is the word of God. Those along the wayside are people who hear it; but immediately, the devil comes and takes the word from their minds, for he does not want them to believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are people who receive the word with joy; but they have no root; they believe for a while, and give way in time of trial.”

“Among the thorns are people who hear the word, but, as they go their way, they are choked by worries, riches, and the pleasures of life; they bring no fruit to maturity. The good soil, instead, are people who receive the word, and keep it, in a gentle and generous mind, and, persevering patiently, they bear fruit.”