Sundays after Epiphany

by

Sunday, 3 September 2023 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, all of us are reminded of the need for all of us to resist the temptations and the pressures all around us, that we do not end up allowing ourselves to be swayed by worldly glory, fame, temptations, and the pleasures of the world, that we fall into the path of sin and evil. Unless we make that conscious effort and have the strong determination to keep ourselves committed to the path that the Lord has shown us, and unless we do whatever we can so that our every actions, words and works proclaim the glory of God, His truth and love in our society today, we cannot truly consider ourselves as faithful and devout Christians. Each one of us are God’s holy people, and we have been called and chosen to follow Him, and to entrust ourselves to His cause.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, in which we heard the struggle of Jeremiah in carrying out the will of God, in his predicament in facing challenges and hardships throughout his ministry, as he encountered stiff opposition and rejection from many of those whom he had been sent to minister to, that was the people of the kingdom of Judah. Back then, the kingdom of Judah was in its final days, torn between the great powers of the Neo-Babylonian Empire under King Nebuchadnezzar and the Kingdom of Egypt under Pharaoh Necho II and his successor. The kingdom of Judah was therefore in a very precarious situation where the king and the nobles were swayed by the temptations of power and glory, and the assurance of worldly powers and politics, and trusted in all those rather than to trust in the Lord, their God.

Instead, they doubled down on their disobedience and sins, in their worship of pagan idols and false gods. They refused to listen to the Lord, and they persecuted all the prophets and messengers that God had sent to them to remind them of their allegiance and obligation in following God and His Law, His commandments and ways. This included that of the prophet Jeremiah, whom the Lord sent to the people of Judah on the last days of the existence of their kingdom. The prophet Jeremiah spoke of everything that would happen to the kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem, how destruction would come upon everything because of the constant sins and wickedness of the people, who have not truly obeyed the Lord as they should and who have allowed their desires, greed and evils to corrupt them and to lead them away from the path of righteousness and virtue. They allowed the devil to tempt them and to sway them away from the path of God into the path of sin.

The prophet Jeremiah himself was also persecuted greatly, and he suffered for all that he had done for the Lord, so much so that as we heard in the same first reading passage, he was also likely tempted by the devil, who persuaded him to stop for a while in his mission and work for the Lord. Yet, the Lord kept on calling and reminding Jeremiah, who therefore heeded the Lord’s call and embrace once again the missions and works that he has been called to do. He was tempted and the devil prevailed for a short while, but eventually Jeremiah came by and remained firm in his efforts and conviction to follow the Lord wholeheartedly, and to continue to speak the truth of God, His words of warning to the people and kingdom of Judah, even if that meant hardships and challenges would come to him, and he was persecuted greatly for his courage and commitment to his calling and mission.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord speaking to His disciples, in which the Lord told them that He would eventually have to face His enemies and those who would oppress Him, and how He would suffer in Jerusalem, and faced in His Passion and death. This brought about consternation and unrest among the disciples who heard that, and St. Peter in particular, pulled the Lord and tried to dissuade Him from allowing such a thing to happen. This was then met with immediate rebuke by the Lord, not on St. Peter personally, but Satan who was manipulating St. Peter and others, so that the Lord would doubt His mission and works. Hence, He told Satan off through St. Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan!” to highlight just how susceptible any one of us are to the temptations and to the falsehoods and persuasions of the evil one, and how he has always been busy at work in trying to subvert and destroy us all.

In essence, as we compare what we heard from the prophet Jeremiah and the Lord’s stories, we can see how the works of God met the opposition and challenges from the evil one, and all those who do not desire our salvation and liberation from the tyranny and power of sin and death. Just as Jeremiah had been persecuted for speaking the truth, and how he has suffered greatly for that, like the other prophets and messengers of God, thus the Lord Himself was not spared such a fate. He also encountered stubborn attitude and hardships from those same ones that He had tried to save, and those to whom He had been sent to, in order to reveal and proclaim the salvation and Good News of God. Yet, the Lord persisted and resisted those temptations, much as how He has rejected the advances of Satan during the time when He was tempted in the desert. The Lord’s dedication and obedience to His heavenly Father’s will, and His love for us all mankind allowed Him to keep on going regardless of the hardships and trials that He would have to face.

In our second reading today, St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Rome, the Apostle told and reminded the faithful there to lead lives that were truly faithful and committed to God, resisting the worldly and pagan ways of life around them, to be always ever righteous and committed to the Law and commandments of God, in not doing things that were contrary to their faith, in embracing the pagan ways and the worship of false idols. Like that of the prophet Jeremiah, and the many other prophets, and the Lord Himself and His disciples, all of them have been called to proclaim God’s truth, as God’s holy and faithful people, that they may inspire and show everyone else, what it truly means to be followers and disciples of God. To be Christians means that we have to do what the Lord Himself had told us, that we have to carry our crosses just as He has carried His Cross.

It means that we may have to suffer injustice, oppression and rejection from the world, and challenges as well as trials throughout our lives here in this world. We may be tempted to give up our faith and struggle for the truth, just as Satan had done to Jeremiah, St. Peter, and undoubtedly many others of even our great and holy predecessors, and definitely for many others. Are we going to listen to his words of deceit and lies, the falsehoods and the wicked things that he suggested to us? Or are we going to heed instead the Lord’s persistent calling and reminders in our hearts and minds, that like Jeremiah, we may turn once again wholeheartedly towards the Lord, and dedicate ourselves once again to His cause. Each and every one of us are all the examples and the tangible signs of God’s works, in proclaiming His truth and Good News, His love and kindness in our world today.

Let us all therefore do whatever we can so that we may always be committed and focused on the Lord at all times, in living our lives well and worthily as Christians, to be holy and worthy of God, in all of the things we say and do, and in our every interactions and works. May God be with us always and may He strengthened and encouraged us in our resolve to walk ever more faithfully in His path, so that in all things and at all opportunities, we will always do what we can for the greater glory of God and for the well-being and salvation of more souls, of our fellow brothers and sisters. May God bless our every works and efforts, our every good endeavours, at all times, and may He continue to inspire us all to follow Him so that we may always do what we can to seek Him, and not for the glory of the world. Amen.

by

Sunday, 3 September 2023 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 16 : 21-27

At that time, from that day, Jesus began to make it clear to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem; that He would suffer many things from the Jewish authorities, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law; and that He would be killed and be raised on the third day.

Then Peter took Him aside and began to reproach Him, “Never, Lord! No, this must never happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an obstacle in My path. You are thinking not as God does, but as people do.”

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If you want to follow Me, deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow Me. For whoever chooses to save his life will lose it, but the one who loses his life, for My sake, will find it. What will one gain by winning the whole world, if he destroys his soul? Or what can a person give, in exchange for his life?”

“Know, that the Son of Man will come, in the glory of His Father with the holy Angels, and He will reward each one according to his deeds.”

by

Sunday, 3 September 2023 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 12 : 1-2

I beg you, dearly beloved, by the mercy of God, to give yourselves, as a living and holy sacrifice, pleasing to God; that is the kind of worship for you, as sensible people.

Do not let yourselves be shaped by the world where you live, but, rather, be transformed, through the renewal of your mind. You must discern the will of God : what is good, what pleases, what is perfect.

by

Sunday, 3 September 2023 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 62 : 2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

O God, You are my God, it is You I seek; for You, my body longs and my soul thirsts, as a dry and weary land without water.

Thus have I gazed upon You in the Sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You.

I will praise You as long as I live, lift up my hands and call on Your Name. As with the richest food, my soul will feast; my mouth will praise You with joyful lips.

For You have been my help; I sing in the shadow of Your wings. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.

by

Sunday, 3 September 2023 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Jeremiah 20 : 7-9

YHVH, You have seduced me and I let myself be seduced. You have taken me by force and prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; they all make fun of me, for every time I speak I have to shout, “Violence! Devastation!” YHVH’s word has brought me insult and derision all day long.

So I decided to forget about Him and speak no more in His Name. But His word in my heart becomes like a fire burning deep within my bones. I try so hard to hold it in, but I cannot do it.

by

Saturday, 2 September 2023 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded of the obligation which the Lord has entrusted to us, in doing His will and living our lives to the fullest, in proclaiming His Good News and truth, and in living our lives to the best of our abilities so that we may indeed be exemplary and inspirational, in reaching out to our fellow brethren with love and with genuine faith. All of us as Christians are called and obliged to make good use of all the opportunities that we have been given, so that we may truly be full of God’s grace and faith, in being fruitful and bountiful in the things that we do, for the greater glory of God and for the good of our fellow brothers and sisters, which is what we have been called to do with our lives.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Thessalonica, we heard of the call that the Apostles made to them, in praising and encouraging those faithful people in Thessalonica to do even more of what they had faithfully done in walking the path that God has shown them. They have been doing great in following God, in living their lives according to His Law and commandments, as active and committed disciples and followers of the Lord, and whose lives are exemplary and full of grace and virtues worthy of true Christians. They were the shining examples to all the other Christians of their time, as the ones who have followed the teachings of the Apostles diligently and properly.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, all of us heard of the famous parable of the silver talents, in which the Lord Jesus told His disciples His intentions through the story of a master who entrusted his three servants with three different amounts of silver talents, five, two and one silver talents each. A talent is a rather large amount and quantity in weight, and silver being a precious commodity means that each of those servants, regardless of the amount they received, had been entrusted with significant amounts of wealth by their lord and master, and they were therefore expected to take good care of what they had been entrusted with, and not to misuse or to lose them, and to allow those properties and wealth to grow just as we heard in that parable.

We heard how the three servants took care of the silver talents entrusted to them differently, with those who were entrusted with five and two silver talents made good use of the silver talents, actively investing them in various businesses and efforts, so that they received back twice the amount of the silver talents they had been entrusted with, by the time the master returned to account for the silver talents entrusted to them. We heard how the last servant, the one entrusted with one silver talent chose to hide the silver talent that had been entrusted to him, and then returned the silver talent to the master in fear, which showed his reluctance to be responsible for what he had been entrusted with, his lack of aptitude and his lazy demeanour.

This is why the master rewarded richly those who have committed themselves to him and done what they could to make good use of the riches they had been entrusted with, while the one who had not been obedient and dutiful in the exercise of his works, the one who hid the silver talent, was punished greatly for his disobedience and lack of action, his unfaithfulness and lack of responsibility. And all of these are reminders for each and every one of us, so that we may be truly committed to our Christian faith and calling, to the mission and whatever it is that the Lord has entrusted to us, which He has also blessed us with His every blessings and graces, the various talents and abilities, opportunities and moments, all those that He has given us, just as those servants in the parable received the silver talents.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all therefore reminded to follow in the footsteps of the faithful Thessalonians, so that in everything we say and do, we will always do the will of God, follow His commandments and Law, and to carry out living our lives with true dedication and commitment to God. Each and every one of us are called to serve the Lord faithfully and to show genuine dedication and commitment to God, so that in all and everything in our lives, at every moment, we will be truly shining examples and beacons of our Christian faith, proclaiming the Lord and His truth, His love and compassionate kindness in all of our communities, within our families, circles of friends and acquaintances, and even to the strangers whom we encounter each day.

Are we able to do something like this in our lives? Are we able to commit ourselves to the works for the greater glory of God and to do what he has taught and commanded us to do? Or do we prefer to do things according to our own preferences, our own desires and ambitions, and all the things which often led us into the path of worldliness and sin? We are all called today to choose our path in life well, and to heed the Lord’s call, and all the mission which He has entrusted to us. Each and every one of us as Christians have to heed God’s call and we have to embrace the fullness of His love, in all things, and we have to be the shining beacons of His light and love. We are all the bearers of His truth, His Good News and His Law, and it is through our actions, words and deeds that we may proclaim Him more and better to our world today.

May the Lord our God continue to help us and guide us in our journey of faith, in our lives today, so that in everything that we say and do, we will always do the will of God, glorify Him, and be strengthened in our faith, and that we may ever be better disciples and followers of our Lord and Saviour. May God be with us all, His disciples and His faithful ones, and may He bless our every good works and efforts, that we may always do them for His cause, and do our best in all things, to proclaim His truth to all those whom we encounter in life. Amen.

by

Saturday, 2 September 2023 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Matthew 25 : 14-30

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Imagine someone who, before going abroad, summoned his servants to entrust his property to them. He gave five talents of silver to one servant, two talents to another servant, and one talent to a third, to each, according to his ability; and he went away.”

“He who received five talents went at once to do business with the talents, and gained another five. The one who received two talents did the same, and gained another two. But the one who received one talent dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.”

“After a long time, the master of those servants returned and asked for a reckoning. The one who had received five talents came with another five talents, saying, ‘Lord, you entrusted me with five talents, but see, I have gained five more.’ The master answered, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant, since you have been faithful in a few things, I will entrust you in charge of many things. Come and share the joy of your master.'”

“Then the one who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you entrusted me with two talents; with them I have gained two more.’ The master said, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant, since you have been faithful in little things, I will entrust you in charge of many things. Come and share the joy of your master.'”

“Finally, the one who had received one talent came and said, ‘Master, I know that you are a hard man. You reap what you have not sown, and gather what you have not scattered. I was afraid, so I hid your money in the ground. Here, take what is yours!’ But his master replied, ‘Wicked and worthless servant, you know that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered. You should have deposited my money in the bank, and given it back to me with interest on my return.'”

“Therefore, take the talent from him, and give it to the one who has ten. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who are unproductive, even what they have will be taken from them. As for that useless servant, thrown him out into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

by

Saturday, 2 September 2023 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Psalm 97 : 1, 7-8, 9

Sing to YHVH a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

Let the sea resound and everything in it, the world and all its people. Let rivers clap their hands, hills and mountains sing with joy.

Before YHVH, for He comes to rule the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the peoples, with fairness.

by

Saturday, 2 September 2023 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

1 Thessalonians 4 : 9-11

Regarding mutual love, you do not need anyone to write to you, because God, Himself, taught you how to love one another. You already practice it with all the brothers and sisters of Macedonia, but I invite you to do more.

Consider how important it is, to live quietly, without bothering others, to mind your own business, and work with your hands, as we have charged you.

by

Friday, 1 September 2023 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are reminded that we are all called to be good and faithful Christians in all things and at all times, always doing what is according to that which we have been taught and shown by the Lord through His Church, all of His Law and commandments, in the manner that we have been guided and helped by the Church and its laws. All of us as Christians are part of this same Body, this same Church, and hence it is only right for us to do what we have been expected to do, in following faithfully and closely the path that God has shown us, so that each and every one of us may inspire and help one another in our path of following God in all circumstances and at all occasions. Otherwise, if we have not been faithful and obedient to God and His Law and commandments, how can we call ourselves as Christians?

In our first reading today, we are all reminded by what St. Paul wrote in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Thessalonica, on the matter of righteous living and justice, and all that the people of God there had to do in their relationship and married living. Each and every one of us are reminded of the same kind of life that we are all expected to have, in our exemplary living and actions, so that all of us may indeed be truly faithful and committed to God, not just in name and appearances only, but also in all the things that we say and do, in our every moments in life, in every part of our existence and our works. In every single step we take, on each and every days, we all should be the role models and examples for one another. All of us should be the shining beacons of God’s light, His love and Good News, to all others around us. That is how we can be truly dedicated and holy people of God.

Then, in our Gospel passage, we heard from the famous parable of the Lord, the parable of the wise and foolish handmaidens, in which we heard how there were five wise handmaidens and five foolish and lazy handmaidens, each of whom were supposed to welcome the bridegroom to a wedding celebration and be part of the celebrations and parties. However, they differed in that the wise handmaidens brought extra oil with them and were prepared in case they had to wait for the bridegroom, while the foolish handmaidens did not bring any extra oil for their lamps, and hence, when the bridegroom did come late, they were caught off-guard and had to go and seek for the oil, during which time, as we heard, the bridegroom came and the doors to the celebration were closed. The foolish handmaidens returned only to find them excluded from the celebrations because they were late.

The message from that Gospel passage is that, just as the bridegroom actually represented the Lord, Whose return, Second Coming, is expected by all of us, and therefore, the handmaidens represent all of us, God’s faithful people, but how we are to welcome Him, in our lives and actions, are very important. We also must realise that the Lord will come again at the time of His own choosing, and which no one in this world has any idea of, and therefore, we must always be ever ready and vigilant, in doing God’s will at every possible opportunities. We must not be ignorant of those warnings and reminders from the Lord, calling on all of us to be prepared and to be worthy of Him when the time of reckoning comes in the end. All of us are reminded that we should live righteously and in accordance of the path that the Lord has shown us, as we have discussed earlier.

Being Christians require us to make such commitments and works, and we cannot think that just because we have received the grace of baptism and become part of the Church, then we are already saved and have no more need to commit ourselves to the Lord’s cause and efforts. Instead, a truly faithful and worthy Christian should always be filled with the willingness and the courage to do God’s will, and to carry out His works at every possible opportunities given to us. All of us should always do our best to live our every moments with the focus on the Lord and the desire to serve Him ever more faithfully, and thus, even in the smallest and least of the things that we do in life, we must always do them with the strong desire and commitment to walk ever more gracefully in God’s presence. Our every words, actions and works, all of them must truly embody who we are, the holy people of God, the ones to whom the Lord had entrusted this world to.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are truly the stewards of the Lord’s creation, the ones entrusted with the care of this world, and all that He has created for us. Today, this resonates well with the occasion of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, in which we all turn our attention towards the care of this world, and what we all can do, in our own various ways, so that we may indeed be the worthy caretakers and stewards of this world, the creation of God. All of us should be inspired by the good examples set by our holy and dedicated predecessors, who have themselves lived worthily of the Lord and did what they could in order to glorify the Lord at all times, like those of the Thessalonians in the early Church and like those of the wise and prepared handmaidens in our Lord’s parable. Each one of us can also therefore be these faithful servants of the Lord, doing wonderful works for the Lord’s sake, and in all the things we do.

All of us should take good care of this world, and all that had been entrusted to us, this world, our environment and everyone else who live in them. Pope Francis, our Holy Father and Leader has instituted this World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation in highlighting how the irresponsible actions of man, and the neglect and the ignorance with many of us have shown in living our lives had caused great destruction not only that of our world and the nature, which God had created for us, but it also caused the hardships and destructions for various people whose livelihood and well-being depends on the state of the nature and this world. Many people were driven by greed, ambition and worldly desires in seeking more wealth, glory and power for themselves, and thus in their works and actions, they manipulated, exploited and brought hardships upon others, for their own self benefits. These are things that we should not be doing ourselves, and instead, we should do our best to care for what the Lord has entrusted to us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore do our best to follow the Lord and to commit ourselves anew in His path, doing whatever we can, so that we may always live our lives doing what the Lord has shown and taught us to do, in loving one another and in being responsible with our actions and works, so that in all things we will always be mindful of our roles as the stewards and caretakers of all that God had created for us, in our world today. Let us all inspire one another to live ever more faithfully, and so that more and more may be called to live lives that are truly worthy of God, now and always. Plant in us, Lord, a heart full of love for others, and a heart that is filled with the courage and the desire to love You, and all that You have created. Amen.