Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 27 : 2, 7, 8-9
Hear my cry for mercy as I call to You for help, as I lift up my hands toward Your innermost Sanctuary.
YHVH is my strength, my shield; my heart was sure of Him; I have been helped and my heart exults; with my song I give Him thanks.
YHVH is the strength of His people, the saving refuge of His anointed. Save Your people, and bless Your inheritance, be their Shepherd and carry them forever.
Liturgical Colour : Green
1 Timothy 2 : 1-8
First of all, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for everyone, for rulers of states, and all in authority, that we may enjoy a quiet and peaceful life, in godliness and respect. This is good and pleases God. For He wants all to be saved, and come to the knowledge of truth.
As there is one God, there is one Mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, Himself human, Who gave His life for the redemption of all. This is the testimony, given in its proper time, and of this, God has made me Apostle and herald. I am not lying, I am telling the truth : He made me teacher of the nations regarding faith and truth.
I want men, in every place, to lift pure hands, in prayer, to heaven, without anger and dissension.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are reminded that as Christians, each and every one of us are called to be full of love, care and compassion for each other, to be forgiving and merciful just as our Lord Himself has been loving, caring and merciful towards us. Each one of us should be filled with God’s ever generous mercy and love, in our every actions, words and deeds, so that in all the things we say and do, we will always radiate God’s love and compassion, and be ever ready to forgive one another our faults and mistakes, which is what our Christian faith and calling are all about. Just as the Lord Himself has shown us all the love and compassionate mercy, thus we too, as His disciples and followers, should always be filled with the same love and kindness to one another.
In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Sirach, we heard of the words of the prophet Sirach in which we are all reminded that as God’s faithful people and believers, each and every one of us should always be filled with love and forgiveness, patience and humility. All these virtues and values are very important for all of us, as these are what the Lord Himself has shown us, all these while, in His ever patient love for all of us, His most generous and tender mercy, all the compassion He has shown us despite our frequent and constant rebellions, disobedience and wickedness in our lives. If God Himself has not despised or hated us for all of these, and still continued to love us all regardless, then why can’t we do the same as well, brothers and sisters?
The prophet Sirach also mentioned how we have to learn to forgive one another first and to show mercy on others around us, before we can even expect to be forgiven our own sins and mistakes by God. That corresponds very well with what we all know in the Lord’s Prayer, in the phrase, ‘Forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us’. And as we have seen from that example of the Lord’s Prayer, which we all should know very well, forgiveness and compassion, love for one another is at the very centre and heart of our Christian existence and lives. We cannot claim to be true and genuine Christians unless our lives, our every words, actions and interactions with one another show the kind of love, compassion and mercy that God Himself has shown us ever so generously all these while.
In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the famous parable of the unforgiving and ungrateful servant, in which we are reminded yet again that unless we show the same kind of love and mercy that God has shown us, then no love and mercy will truly be shown and given to us. We must always be ready to forgive one another, to be charitable and compassionate, and to be patient with each other, as after all, just as others had wronged us, or made us angry and unhappy, there are likely moments and times when we ourselves have made others to be angry with us, or when our own words and actions had caused hurt or hardships to others. That is why, we should forgive each other our faults and mistakes to each other, and not to hold grudge or hatred against anyone else, reminding ourselves that God had forgiven us far greater sins that we have committed against Him.
In that parable, the king, who represents our Lord and God, had forgiven a servant who owed him a huge sum of ten thousand pieces of gold, a truly phenomenal amount, when that servant begged the king to give him more time to settle the account, and not to punish him and his family for the debt. The king was so generous that he did not just do that, but proceeded to cancel the whole entire debt, representing just how wonderful is God’s love and mercy to us, that despite our innumerable sins, He still graciously and willingly forgave us when we came to Him, seeking His forgiveness and mercy. Yet, that same servant then went on to threaten and force another servant who owed him merely just a hundred pieces of silver, which while it may seem to be a significant sum of money, but it paled in comparison to ten thousand pieces of gold that he had been forgiven from by the king.
We heard how that servant refused to budge or forgive his fellow servant the much smaller debt that he was owed, and how his uncharitable and wicked actions came to be known by the king, who then ordered the ungrateful servant not only to pay his debts in full again, but to face the full severity of his punishments, for his lack of charity towards his fellow servants and brethren, and for lacking in gratitude and appreciation for the mercy and love that he had been shown. This is therefore a very important reminder to each and every one of us that we must always show kindness, compassion and mercy to each other, and to be ready to forgive and to let go of our hatred and anger, with our fellow brothers and sisters. This is of course easier said than done, but unless we keep our focus and thoughts on the right things in life, that is on God and His Law and precepts, then with time and effort, we should be able to do what we have been expected to do.
Often times, the main obstacle to our ability to forgive others and to love one another as we should, is our own pride and desire. Our pride and ego often became stumbling block in our path because we end up being so focused on our wants and desires, our ambitions and pursuits that turn us inwards and behaving exactly like that ungrateful and wicked servant, whose self-interest and selfish wants and pursuits ended him in great trouble, because he could not look past his own desires and the ego he had. In his attempts to gain things for himself, therefore, he faltered and fell into disobedience against his master’s will, who definitely wanted all of his servants to follow what he had done, in forgiving and being generous to one another.
This is also what St. Paul briefly mentioned in our second reading passage today from his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Rome, in which he mentioned how everyone lived and ought to live for the sake of the Lord, and that when they die, they ought to die in the Lord, reminding all of them how Christ, their Lord and Saviour had suffered and died for them, through His Cross, by which He saved all of us from the darkness of evil, sin and death, and brought us all to the assurance and hope of eternal life and the light of His grace and salvation. It reminds us all that our lives should not be centred on ourselves and our own ambitions, but rather, be centred on God. As Christians, we should always have the love first and foremost for God, and then, to love our brethren, our fellow men and women, in the same manner.
Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have been reminded of these passages from the Scriptures, let us all therefore strive from now on, to be ever more loving and forgiving to our brothers and sisters around us, to be merciful and compassionate, following the examples set by the Lord Himself. He has kept on loving us and caring for us despite our constant disobedience and rebelliousness, and He has always patiently reached out to us with ever generous love. He has forgiven us despite our repeated wayward actions and betrayals. Like the king in the parable who had forgiven that servant who owed him a lot, the Lord has forgiven us our innumerable sins and wickedness.
Therefore, are we able to follow His path and examples, and love ever more generously, be more forgiving in our every actions, ways and interactions? Can we purge from our hearts and minds the poison of hatred, anger, envy, jealousy and all the things which may end up causing us to hate one another and cause hurt to each other. Let us all instead cultivate the culture of forgiveness, compassion and selfless love, in all of our actions and dealings. May the Lord be with us always in our journey, and may He continue to bless us all in our every efforts and endeavours, for His greater glory, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Matthew 18 : 21-35
At that time, Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times must I forgive the offences of my brother or sister? Seven times?” Jesus answered, “No, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
“This story throws light on the kingdom of Heaven : A king decided to settle accounts with his servants. Among the first of them was one who owed him ten thousand pieces of gold. As the man could not repay the debt, the king commanded that he be sold as a slave with his wife, his children and all his goods, as repayment.”
“The servant threw himself at the feet of the king and said, ‘Give me time, and I will pay you back everything.’ The king took pity on him, and not only set him free, but even cancelled his debt. When this servant left the king’s presence, he met one of his fellow servants, who owed him a hundred pieces of silver. He grabbed him by the throat and almost choked him, shouting, ‘Pay me what you owe!'”
“His fellow servant threw himself at his feet and begged him, ‘Give me time, and I will pay everything.’ But the other did not agree, and sent him to prison until he has paid all his debt. Now the servants of the king saw what had happened. They were extremely upset, and so they went and reported everything to their lord.”
“Then the lord summoned his servant and said, ‘Wicked servant, I forgave you all that you owed me when you begged me to do so. Were you not bound to have pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ The lord was now angry. He handed the wicked servant over to be punished, until he had paid the whole debt.”
Jesus added, “So will My heavenly Father do with you, unless you sincerely forgive your brothers and sisters.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Romans 14 : 7-9
In fact, none of us lives for himself, nor dies for himself. If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. Either in life or in death, we belong to the Lord; It was for this purpose that Christ both died and came to life again, to be Lord, both of the living and of the dead.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 102 : 1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12
Praise YHVH, my soul; all my being, praise His holy Name! Praise YHVH, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.
He forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness; He redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion.
He will not always scold nor will He be angry forever. He does not treat us according to our sins, nor does He punish us as we deserve.
As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His love for those fearing Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove from us our sins.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Sirach 27 : 30 – Sirach 28 : 7
Grudge and wrath, these also are abominations in which sinful people excel. He who demands revenge will suffer the vengeance of the Lord Who keeps a strict account of his sins. Forgive the mistakes of your neighbour and you may ask that your sins be forgiven.
If a man bears resentment against another, how can he ask God for healing? If he has no compassion on others, how can he pray for forgiveness for his sins? As long as he, mere flesh, is resentful, who will obtain his pardon? Remember your end and give up hatred; keep in mind your final corruption in the grave and keep the commandments.
Remember the commandments and do not bear grudges against your neighbour. Remember the Covenant with the Most High and overlook the offence.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the need for all of us as Christians, that is as God’s followers and disciples, to truly obey and follow the Law and commandments of God in all things, and in all of our words, actions and deeds. Otherwise, our faith is empty and meaningless, and have no bearing upon us and our identity as God’s people, those whom the Lord had called and chosen to be His own people and beloved ones. We have to be genuinely and truly faithful to God, knowing and appreciating His Law and commandments, that we may indeed embody our faith in all the things we say and do, at all times.
In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to St. Timothy, we heard of the Apostle telling St. Timothy of the fundamental belief that all of us Christians believe in, that we all believe in the salvation that we all have attained through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, Whom God the Father had sent into this world, so that by His coming and entry into our world, all of us might be brought into the new life and existence that He has revealed to us, the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, our Saviour, might lead us into full and complete reconciliation with God, our loving Father and Creator. We may be freed therefore from the threat of eternal damnation and sufferings in the darkness and in hellfire, reserved to those who have rejected God and disobeyed Him. Without the grace of God and His salvation, we would have ended up in the same fate as well.
But the Lord showed forth His compassion and great mercy, His desire to be reunited with us and through all of these, He has opened for us the certain and sure path to His grace and salvation, by sending unto us His Son, to bear the Cross that contained our sins and our innumerable iniquities, so that by His loving sacrifice on the Cross at Calvary, He might crush the dominion and tyranny of sin that have burdened us all these while, and through Him, we have seen the light of sure hope and grace, the path out of the darkness that surrounded us and kept us away from the fullness of God’s love and care. Yet, many of us still do not have true, strong and genuine faith in God, and many of us still allow ourselves to be easily swayed by the temptations and wickedness present all around us.
In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Lord speaking to His disciples that no good trees produce bad fruits and vice versa, and using that parable to teach them all how those who are good in their hearts draw upon those goodness to do what is good and righteous in their lives, while those whose hearts and minds were steeped in evil and wicked things, would inevitably draw upon those and commit what are evil and wicked in the sight of God and men alike. He also used another well-known parable, comparing two people with different attitudes towards God’s truth and teachings, likening them to people who built their houses upon two different types of foundations, be it foundation of solid rock, or a house that was not built on any foundation or support at all.
These all showed us how faith in God is truly very important for each and every one of us, and is here represented by that foundation in the Lord’s parable. For without faith, we can live our lives and do our actions and works, but what we say, do and carry out in our lives may not bring us to the fullness and true righteousness and virtues, grace and salvation that are found in God alone. If we put our trust in our own achievements, power and ability, and in worldly desires and means, then sooner or later we will realise that none of those things can truly satisfy or guarantee us, as none of those last forever, unlike putting our trust and faith in God, through which we can truly gain assurance of salvation and true glory and joy, the guarantee of eternal life and true satisfaction in life, which the world cannot give to us, no matter how many things we possess or how powerful we may be in this world. We must always trust in the love and mercy of God.
Today, the Church celebrates the feast of two great and holy men, whose faith and lives can and should indeed give us the inspiration and courage to carry out our lives and actions in accordance with God and His path. Pope St. Cornelius was the leader of the Universal Church during the time of great persecutions against the Christians throughout the Roman Empire, and also during a time when the Church was torn apart by great disagreement and schisms, particularly by those who disagreed with the practice of readmitting those who had lapsed in their Christian faith, or practiced pagan ways in order to protect themselves and avoid the harsh persecutions common at that time. Those who refused to allow those lapsed Christians who repented to rejoin the Church were known as the Novatianists after their most prominent leader, whom they elected as a rival Pope or Antipope.
That leader, Novatian, rejected the election of Pope St. Cornelius as the leader of the Church succeeding the martyred Pope St. Fabian because to the former, the latter was too lenient in allowing the lapsed Christians to rejoin the Church as according to the Novatianists, once a Christian has lapsed in the faith, then they can no longer be forgiven or be readmitted in their lives, in a rather self-righteous and almost Pharisaical kind of attitude, without understanding and appreciating how the Lord Himself would have reached out to those lapsed Christians and those who had been lost, like the ones who during the time of the Lord’s ministry were deemed as unworthy and sinful, like the tax collectors, prostitutes and those who suffered from ailments and demonic possessions. In the same manner therefore, Pope St. Cornelius and his compatriot, St. Cyprian of Carthage, another renowned leader of the Church, sought to champion this true ideal of the Church.
Essentially, as what we all still believe to this day, all of us believe that the Church is not just a museum for the ones who are holy, but is also a hospital for sinners. The Church is the Lord’s manifest outreach to the whole world, to all of the children of mankind, that each and every one of them may come to know the Lord, and be part of the one Body of Christ, called and chosen from the world to walk once again righteously in the path that God has shown them. The Church should not close its doors to those who truly and genuinely repented, and have been willing to carry out the penance for their sins, if the sinners desired to return to the Lord and to seek His mercy. After all, that is what the Lord Himself entrusted to His Church through St. Peter, as He entrusted to him the keys of the kingdom of Heaven, the power to bind or loosen those on earth that they may also be either bound or loosened in Heaven.
Pope St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian both courageously led the Church and resisted against all the efforts of those who sought to exclude the lapsed Christians from returning to the Lord, and their great efforts and works eventually prevailed, as the support for the Novatian heretics floundered and the Church kept its open arms and doors, ever ready to welcome those sinners who come seeking God’s forgiveness and grace. This is therefore also a reminder to all of us that we should not allow ourselves to be swayed by the sense of pride and self-righteousness, which may end up causing us to behave in the same Pharisaical and prideful way as those Novatianists, but instead, we should always be caring and concerned about our fellow brothers and sisters, many of whom are in need of our help and assistance in their struggles to live lives worthy of the Lord.
Let us all therefore today resolve to live our lives ever more worthily of the Lord, by doing what He has willed and commanded us to do, obeying Him as best as we are able to, in every moments and opportunities. Let us all remind one another of God’s ever gracious and generous love for us, His mercy and compassion which have always been generously given to us, at all times. Let us also help one another to walk with ever greater dedication in the path of our Christian faith, and be great role models, examples and inspirations to one another, now and always. May God bless each one of us in our every good efforts and endeavours. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Luke 6 : 43-49
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “No healthy tree bears bad fruit, no poor tree bears good fruit. And each tree is known by the fruit it bears : you do not gather figs from thorns, or grapes from brambles. Similarly, the good person draws good things from the good stored in his heart, and an evil person draws evil things from the evil stored in his heart. For the mouth speaks from the fullness of the heart.”
“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not do what I say? I will show you what the one is like, who comes to Me, and listens to My words, and acts accordingly. That person is like the builder who dug deep, and laid the foundations of his house on rock. The river overflowed, and the stream dashed against the house, but could not carry it off because the house had been well built.”
“But the one who listens and does not act, is like a man who built his house on the ground without a foundation. The flood burst against it, and the house fell at once : and what a terrible disaster that was!”
Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 112 : 1-2, 3-4, 5a and 6-7
Alleluia! Praise, o servants of YHVH, praise the Name of YHVH! Blessed be the Name of YHVH now and forever!
From eastern lands to the western islands, may the Name of YHVH be praised! YHVH is exalted over the nations; His glory above the heavens.
Who is like YHVH our God, Who also bends down to see on earth as in heaven? He lifts up the poor from the dust and the needy from the ash heap.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 