Sundays after Epiphany

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Friday, 30 November 2018 : Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate together the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, one of the Twelve Apostles of Our Lord, who was called together with his brother, St. Peter, at the shores of the lake of Galilee from his profession as a fisherman. The four Apostles called that day was St. Peter and St. Andrew, brothers, and the sons of Zebedee, also brothers, St. James the Greater and St. John the Apostle and Evangelist.

St. Andrew was the first to be called among the Apostles, and that was why he is also usually known as St. Andrew the First-Called, and was also probably one of the disciples of St. John the Baptist. In the Gospel, St. John the Baptist baptised Jesus at the Jordan at the beginning of His worldly ministry, and he pointed out to his disciples, “Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world!”, pointing out the True Messiah of God to them.

And thus St. Andrew came to the Lord and listened to His call, as He called him, his brother and his fellow fishermen, the sons of Zebedee, to follow the path that God has called them into, to be the disciples of Christ, to be His Apostles and the ones through whom, God would come to exercise many of His wondrous works and blessings in this world. They were no longer mere fishermen, but according to the Lord Himself, they became fishers of men.

The Apostles, twelve among them were the closest collaborators and disciples of the Lord, and St. Andrew was one of them. They followed the Lord wherever He went, and listened to His words and teachings. He followed the Lord to His Passion, suffering and death in Jerusalem, and witnessed His glorious resurrection from the dead and ascension into heavenly glory.

And St. Andrew received the commandment from God together with his fellow Apostles and disciples, to go forth to all the nations, and to baptise them in the Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, and receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, he and the other disciples of the Lord began the evangelising and missionary efforts of the Church. He went to many places in faraway lands, in what is now today Ukraine, Russia and Greece.

He preached the Word of God and the truth of the salvation in Our Lord Jesus Christ to the people living in those places, calling them to believe in God and to turn away from their past ways of sin. He founded several dioceses and communities of the faithful in the places he went to, and eventually he was martyred in Achaea in Greece, crucified on the X-shaped cross, which would later be known as St. Andrew’s cross.

Now, we have just heard how this simple fisherman of Galilee became a great worker and missionary of God, truly fulfilling what the Lord had Himself said, that he and the other disciples would become fishers of men, and they really did. We have witnessed and heard, and probably read and knew the many good works that St. Andrew and the other Apostles had done, in their courageous and tireless deeds and works to serve God and His people.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, surely we realise that God has called everyone to follow Him and to be His disciples. He called those whom He wanted to make worthy and not those who think that they are worthy. That is why He called simple fishermen, prostitutes and tax collectors, sinners and thieves just as He also called on the intellectuals and the righteous. What matters is for us to change our way of life so completely, that we orientate ourselves towards God.

Let us all realise that we are the successors of the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord, in that we have to continue the same mission which God has entrusted to the Apostles and the disciples, in bringing the truth and the salvation of God to more people, of all the nations. We are called to live our lives more faithfully and be living witnesses of the Gospel through our daily living, following in the footsteps of the Apostles themselves.

If the Apostles such as St. Andrew has given his all to dedicate all his efforts to the Lord, then why are we not doing the same? The common answer to this is because of our own pride, our own emotions, temptations in life and all the allures and pressures to abandon the righteous way of the Lord, which have prevented us from giving our all to God. We have also then become more and more distant from God and easier to fall into the traps Satan prepared for us.

Let us all be inspired therefore by the courage and the faith of St. Andrew the Apostle and the many other holy men and women of God, that from now on, for each and every one of us, our lives will be ever more attuned to the Lord and that we will be ever closer to Him. May the Lord continue to watch over us and love us, every days of our life, from now on. May He empower each and every one of us to live faithfully in accordance to His will. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 30 November 2018 : Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 4 : 18-22

At that time, as Jesus walked by the lake of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come, follow Me; and I will make you fish for people.”

At once they left their nets and followed Him. He went on from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them.

At once, they left the boat, and their father, and followed Him.

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Friday, 30 November 2018 : Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

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.

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Friday, 30 November 2018 : Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Romans 10 : 9-18

You are saved, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and, in your heart, you believe that God raised Him from the dead. By believing from the heart, you obtain true righteousness; by confessing the faith with your lips, you are saved.

For Scripture says : No one who believes in Him will be ashamed. Here, there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; all have the same Lord, Who is very generous with whoever calls on Him. Truly, all who call upon the Name of the Lord will be saved.

But how can they call upon the Name of the Lord without having believed in Him? And how can they believe in Him, without having first heard about Him? And how will they hear about Him, if no one preaches about Him? And how will they preach about Him, if no one sends them?

As Scripture says : How beautiful are the feet of the messenger of Good News. Although, not everyone obeyed the Good News, as Isaiah said : Lord, who has believed in our preaching? So, faith comes from preaching, and preaching is rooted in the word of Christ.

I ask : Have the Jews not heard? But, of course, they have. Because the voice of those preaching resounded all over the earth, and their voice was heard, to the ends of the world.

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Thursday, 29 November 2018 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this say we heard the story of the downfall of two cities, that is of Babylon and Jerusalem, each from the Book of the Revelations and from the Gospel of St. Luke. In those stories, we heard of the fall of the great city of Babylon and how the Lord and His Angels and saints stood triumphant against the forces of the wicked. And then, similarly, in the Gospel, we heard of the downfall of Jerusalem as prophesied by the Lord Jesus.

In order to understand the meaning and purpose of these two passages, we must first understand the context and history in which these two references to two great cities took place in the minds of the people of God at that time. The city of Babylon and Jerusalem were both great cities of historical past, and were capitals of great kingdoms, the former one of the Babylonians, while the latter was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Israel, under kings David and Solomon.

The Babylonians were the archetype of the wicked after what they have done to the people of God and the kingdom of Israel and Judah, having not just ended the line of kings that were continued unbroken from David to the last king of Judah, Zedekiah, but also the destruction city of Jerusalem itself, considered the Holy City of God, because of the Temple built by Solomon containing the Ark of the Covenant as the tangible and real presence of God in the midst of His people.

Therefore, in the memory of the people of God, the city of Babylon, where the Babylonians ruled much of the then known world from, that city would naturally become a very hated and despicable place. And this reference of the place of evil and wickedness was likely the reason for the attribution of the city of Babylon in the story we heard today from the Book of the Revelations of St. John the Apostle.

That story was basically the promise of God’s salvation and liberation for His people, from the tyranny and oppression of the wicked, that the power of the wicked, no matter how powerful they may seem to be, will eventually be broken and the evil ones will be overthrown. This is symbolically represented by the downfall and destruction of Babylon, which will never rise again, showing to the people of God, the ultimate triumph over evil.

Similarly, and interestingly, is the choice of Jerusalem in the Lord’s prophecy over the city as we heard in the Gospel today. That is because the Lord lamented the attitude of the people of Israel, many of whom, especially the majority of their religious and secular leaders, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the scribes and the teachers of the Law who refused to believe in the truth that the Lord was bringing them, and instead, just as their ancestors persecuted the prophets, those people persecuted the Lord and His disciples.

Thus, the downfall of Jerusalem kind of parallels the downfall of Babylon mentioned in the first reading, again with the understanding of the oppression of the faithful by the wicked and by those who refused to follow God. And with that, came persecutions and difficulties, challenges and many temptations to leave behind our faith and to embrace the seemingly easier and more acceptable path of the world.

But this is what the devil always planned in order to prevent us from ever being able to reach out to God’s salvation and grace. He is doing all that is within his power and ability to lure us mankind further and further away from God. We must resist his temptations and his efforts, and persevere through the challenges and difficulties, no matter how difficult it is. There will be moments when we will be tempted to give up, but we must always remember, that in God alone lies our only hope and true path to freedom.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us now therefore turn towards the Lord and faithfully dedicate ourselves anew to serve Him and to be good witnesses of our faith. Let us grow ever stronger in our faith, and commit ourselves with ever greater courage and strength. May God bless us all and be with us, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 29 November 2018 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 21 : 20-28

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that the time has come when it will be reduced to a wasteland. If you are in Judea, flee to the mountains! If you are in Jerusalem, leave! If you are outside the city, do not enter it!”

“For these will be the days of its punishment, and all that was announced in the Scriptures will be fulfilled. How hard will it be for pregnant women, and for mothers with babies at the breast! For a great calamity will come upon the land, and wrath upon this people. They will be put to death by the sword, or taken as slaves to other nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled upon by the pagans, until the time of the pagans is fulfilled.”

“Then there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth anguish of nations, perplexed when they hear the roaring of the sea and its waves. People will faint with fear at the mere thought of what is to come upon the world, for the forces of the universe will be shaken. Then, at that time, they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”

“So, when you see things begin to happen, stand erect and lift up your heads, for your deliverance is drawing near.”

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Thursday, 29 November 2018 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 99 : 2, 3, 4, 5

Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God; He created us and we are His people, the sheep of His fold.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless His Name.

For the Lord is good; His love lasts forever and His faithfulness through all generations.

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Thursday, 29 November 2018 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Revelations 18 : 1-2, 21-23 and Revelations 19 : 1-3, 9a

After this I saw another Angel coming down from heaven. So great was his authority that the whole earth was lit up with his glory. In a strong voice he cried out : “Fallen is Babylon the great! Fallen! She has become a haunt of demons, a lodge for every unclean spirit, a nest for any filthy and disgusting bird.”

A powerful Angel picked up a boulder the size od a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “With such violence will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down, never again to be seen. Never again will tunes of harpists, minstrels, trumpeters and flutists be heard in you. Never again will an artisan of any trade be found in you. Never again will the noise of the mill be heard.”

“Never again will the light of a lamp shine in you. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never again be heard in you. Because your traders were the world’s great and you led the nations astray by your magic spell.”

After this I heard what sounded like the loud singing of a great assembly in heaven : “Alleluia! Salvation, glory and might belong to our God, for His judgments are true and just. He has condemned the great harlot who corrupted the world with her adultery. He has avenged His servants’ blood shed by her hand in harlotry.” Once more they sang : “Alleluia! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever!”

Then the Angel told me, “Write : Happy are those invited to the wedding of the Lamb.”

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Wednesday, 28 November 2018 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture, speaking to us about the reality of what we are to expect in becoming one of the followers of Christ, as Christians. That is what the Lord presented before His disciples in the Gospel passage we heard today, on how there would be persecutions and trials awaiting those who are faithful to God.

The Lord presented this fact to the disciples, that they should expect to suffer for the sake of His Name, when they would have to endure all sorts of ridicule, rejection and oppression just as the Lord has suffered at the hands of all those who refused to believe in Him. He revealed to them in advance what many of them would suffer as Christians, as what was made evident by the great persecutions in the first few centuries of the Church.

First the Jewish authorities, the Sanhedrin and the chief priests hunted the Christian faithful in Jerusalem, Judea and beyond, and Saul, who would later become a Christian himself as St. Paul, hunted and persecuted Christians harshly before his conversion. And this scattered many of the early Christians to the various places around the world, where they would still encounter persecution and challenges from those Jews who refused to believe in God, and in addition, from the Romans, Greeks and the Persians.

Through the many centuries since the birth of the Church, persecutions have been staple for Christians, throughout time and age. When one persecution ended, another persecution would rise in its place, and the faithful were often forced even to choose between remaining faithful to God and suffer, or to abandon their faith and receive plenty of worldly rewards and pleasures of life.

We have seen these persecutions in the recent centuries and decades, and even to this very day. Many people had to suffer indignations, injustice and pain, suffering and wicked deeds, just because they were Christians, believeing in God and following His ways. And there were many of those who sought to obliterate the Church and eliminate the faithful and all the truths and the teachings of Christ.

Yet, all of these eventually came to no avail, as despite the persecutions, in fact the Church continues to grow, to this very day. The words and sayings that ‘the blood of martyrs is the seeds of Christians’ indeed ring true in this case, as all those who have suffered and been persecuted for their faith in turn, became sources of great inspiration and hope for all those who follow after them, including that of all of us.

And all of these were because of the great faith that the people of God and the faithful had in the Lord, which overcame the fear and the doubt in their hearts and minds, and the promise of everlasting glory and true happiness with God, as we heard in our first reading today from the Book of the Revelations of St. John. St. John saw how at the end of time, God will send His Angels to bring forth destruction on all the wicked and all those who refused to believe in Him, but those who believe in Him, He will raise up and glorify.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us reflect on our own lives. Have we been truly faithful to God and been faithful to Him despite the challenges and persecutions that we are facing daily in our lives? We are called to be bearers and witnesses of God’s truth, but have we been truly faithful to God in our actions? Have our words, actions and deeds make and inspire others to be more faithful or have they instead caused others to distance themselves from God and His Church?

Let us all turn ourselves to God, and renew our commitment to love and serve Him from now on, each and every days of our life. May the Lord be with us and may He continue to love us always and give us the strength and courage to persevere in faith in Him. May God bless us all in all of our endeavours, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 28 November 2018 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 21 : 12-19

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Before all these things happen, people will lay their hands on you and persecute you; you will be delivered to the synagogues and put in prison, and for My sake you will be brought before kings and governors. This will be your opportunity to bear witness.”

“So keep this in mind : do not worry in advance about what to say, for I will give you words and wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death.”

“But even though, because of My Name, you will be hated by everyone, not a hair of your head will perish. By your patient endurance you will save your souls.”