Sundays after Epiphany

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Friday, 9 November 2018 : Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 45 : 2-3, 5-6, 8-9

God is our strength and protection, an ever-present help in affliction. We will not fear, therefore; though the earth be shaken and the mountains plunge into the seas.

There is a river whose streams bring joy to the City of God, the holy place, where the Most High dwells. God is within, the city cannot quake, for God’s help is upon it at the break of day.

For with us is YHVH of hosts, the God of Jacob, our refuge. Come, see the works of YHVH – the marvellous things He has done in the world.

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Friday, 9 November 2018 : Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Ezekiel 47 : 1-2, 8-9, 12

The Man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple and I saw water coming out from the threshold of the Temple and flowing eastward. The Temple faced the east and the water flowed from the south side of the Temple, from the south side of the Altar. He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside, to the outer gate facing the east; and there I saw the stream coming from the south side.

He said to me, “This water goes to the east, down to the Arabah, and when it flows into the sea of foul-smelling water, the water will become wholesome. Wherever the river flows, swarms of creatures will live in it; fish will be plentiful; and the seawater will become fresh. Wherever it flows, life will abound.”

“Near the river on both banks, there will be all kinds of fruit trees, with foliage that will not wither; and fruit that will never fail; each month they will bear a fresh crop, because the water comes from the Temple. The fruit will be good to eat and the leaves will be used for healing.”

Alternative reading

1 Corinthians 3 : 9c-11, 16-17

But you are God’s field and building. I, as good architect, according to the capacity given to me, I laid the foundation, and another is to build upon it. Each one must be careful how to build upon it. No one can lay a foundation other than the One which is already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Do you not know that you are God’s Temple, and that God’s Spirit abides within you? If anyone destroys the Temple of God, God will destroy him. God’s Temple is holy, and you are this Temple.

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Thursday, 8 November 2018 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the word of God in the Scriptures reminding us of our mission as Christians, as those who have been called and have responded to the truth which the Lord revealed to us through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We are called to be missionaries to reach out to those who have not yet seen the light of Christ and therefore, still lost to Him.

In the first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Philippi, we listened to the Apostle speaking about the matter of circumcision and true circumcision in Christ. This must be understood in the context of the historical practices of the time, when circumcision was something that became a distinctive mark of being a member of the people of Israel.

Ever since the time of the Covenant established between God and Israel through Moses, all of the Israelites’ males have to be circumcised, all the newborn males ever since then had to be circumcised on the eighth day after they were born, as the sign of the Covenant which they make with God. If someone was not circumcised, that person was considered to be not an Israelite, and therefore a pagan and unbeliever.

The Covenant of God was considered as something that was exclusive, and no other people could be saved outside the Covenant, meaning if someone was not circumcised and did not believe in YHVH, the God of Israel, they were condemned and doomed, as those who have no part in the salvation which was thought to belong to the Israelites alone. But this is what St. Paul wanted to overturn, by saying that salvation belongs to all the children of God.

St. Paul was bringing with him the New Covenant which Christ has made with His people, with all mankind, through the loving sacrifice that He made on the cross. This New Covenant supersedes the old Covenant, and the Lord Himself revealed what being His followers and His disciples mean, and that is no longer the exclusive attitude and mentality of the old faith, but the new and inclusive nature of the new Covenant.

This meant that the old physical circumcision no longer serves its purpose as a sign to the nation of those who have been chosen by God. Instead, as St. Paul mentioned, the nobler and better spiritual circumcision of our heart and mind, is what the Lord expects from each and every one of us. And this means that as Christians, we cannot live in ways that are not in accordance to what the Lord wants us to do with our lives.

First of all, to be Christians, we must love, and love generously and tenderly. We cannot act in ways that are egoistic, individualistic, selfish and filled with jealousy and hatred, with exclusivist attitudes. Instead, we should reflect on the parables that the Lord Jesus taught to the people in our Gospel passage today. Through those parables, the parable of the lost sheep and the parable of the lost coin, the Lord wants us to know that we must reach out to those who are lost, who are in still darkness and those who have not yet received the truth of God and His salvation.

The Lord mentioned how a shepherd who had a hundred sheep lost one of his sheep, which wandered off into the wilderness. And the shepherd went forth in search of the lost sheep until he found it and rejoiced with the discovery of the lost one. The same went with the lost coin, and the owner of the coin rejoiced greatly when the lost coin was discovered. That is exactly the attitude that all of us Christians must have.

In our society today, we must be filled with love, and all of our actions must stem forth from our love, care and concern for those who in our society, are the most needy, the weakest, and the most ignorant of God’s truth. And we all need to reach out to them, to help them and to nourish them, in the case of those who are poor and suffering, materially, and for those who have not known God or refused to believe in His truth, spiritually.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all turn towards God and commit ourselves anew to Him, and serve Him with ever greater commitment, day after day, by loving our fellow men, and by reaching out to those who still live in the darkness of ignorance of the faith and salvation in God, through our own actions, showing what being a Christian is, through our direct witnessing, in our actions and deeds.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to guide us in our journey, day after day, that we may be ever more faithful to Him, and be ever more devoted, be truly and spiritually circumcised and dedicated to Him in our hearts, minds and in our whole being. May God bless us all and may He bless all of our good works and endeavours. Amen.

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Thursday, 8 November 2018 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 15 : 1-10

At that time, tax collectors and sinners were seeking the company of Jesus, all of them eager to hear what He had to say. But the Pharisees and the scribes frowned at this, muttering, “This Man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So Jesus told them this parable :

“Who among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and seek the lost one till he finds it? And finding it, will he not joyfully carry it home on his shoulders? Then he will call his friends and neighbours together, and say, ‘Celebrate with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’ I tell you, in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner, than over ninety-nine decent people, who do not need to repent.”

“What woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one, will not light a lamp, and sweep the house in a thorough search, till she finds the lost coin? And finding it, she will call her friends and neighbours, and say, ‘Celebrate with me, for I have found the silver coin I lost!’ I tell you, in the same way, there is rejoicing among the Angels of God over one repentant sinner.”

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Thursday, 8 November 2018 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 104 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Sing to the Lord, sing His praise, proclaim all His wondrous deeds. Glory in His holy Name; let those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Look to the Lord and be strong; seek His face always. Remember His wonderful works, His miracles and His judgments.

You descendants of His servant Abraham, you sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is the Lord our God; His judgments reach the whole world.

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Thursday, 8 November 2018 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Philippians 3 : 3-8a

We are the true circumcised people since we serve according to the Spirit of God, and our confidence is in Christ Jesus rather than in our merits. I myself do not lack those human qualities in which people have confidence. If some of them seem to be accredited with such qualities, how much more am I!

I was circumcised when eight days old. I was born of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin : I am a Hebrew, born of Hebrews. With regard to the Law, I am a Pharisee, and such was my zeal for the Law that I persecuted the Church. As for being righteous according to the Law, I was blameless.

But once I found Christ, all those things that I might have considered as profit, I reckoned as loss. Still more, everything seems to me as nothing compared with the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord.

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Wednesday, 7 November 2018 : 31st 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 God in the Scripture reminding us to be aware of what being a Christian is for each and every one of us. That is because to be a true Christian is not just sufficient, for us to receive the Sacrament of Baptism, and going through catechism, attending the regular Sunday Masses as obliged to us by the Church.

What is needed for us is to truly embody our faith in all of our actions. We must believe in the way that even when challenges and difficulties come our way, we will not easily give up our faith, but will persevere on despite the difficulties and challenges. St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Philippi mentioned this in the light of the situation at the time, when Christians lived in a relatively hostile environment.

At that time, Christians were looked upon with suspicion by the community, both by the Greeks and the Romans who might find their belief in one God to be anything from a curiosity to something that was an affront and sacrilege towards the official Greco-Roman pantheon of gods and also in opposition to the official worship of the Roman Emperors, and then also from the Jewish diaspora that existed in many cities throughout the Mediterranean.

Some of the Jews followed the teachings and the actions of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, and also the Sadducees, who were all mostly opposed the teachings of Christ and the works of His Apostles. The Jews in some other places had rioted when St. Paul came into their midst and evangelise among both the Jews and the Gentiles alike. They disagreed with the teachings of the Apostles and how they reached out to the Gentiles.

That was why the Lord Jesus Himself had revealed in our Gospel passage today, when He said to His disciples and followers, that no one could really be His true followers and disciples, unless they were willing to carry their cross with Him, and follow Him in His journey. What He really meant was that, to be a Christian, we must be ready to face opposition and suffering just as He Himself has suffered.

However, there are many of us who did not realise this truth, and we live our faith looking for satisfaction and happiness through our faith. There are many of us coming to believe in God just because we seek something to make us happy and joyful, or to feel spiritually high and fulfilled. But this false expectation and understanding of our faith is not what we ought to have, brothers and sisters in Christ.

On this day, we are called to reflect on this reality of our faith and what the Lord is calling us to. We cannot remain complacent and idle in living our faith. We are called to be active and living Christians, to be exemplary in how we live our lives in accordance with the faith that we believe in. And at times, we must realise that not everyone will agree with us, or will accept our faith easily.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, there will be times when life will be difficult for us, and when everything will seem to be up against us. But we must not give up hope and faith, for we must realise that the Lord is carrying His cross with us, just as we are carrying our own respective crosses in life. We will always have the Lord on our side, even when everything else in this world fail us. This is what we must hold firm, our faith in the loving God, our Father Who will always love us till the very end.

And if we remain faithful, the Lord will bless us and reward us with nothing less than eternity of glory and life with Him. Let us all turn our hearts and minds towards Him and devote ourselves anew with a new love and commitment to God. May the Lord always be with us and may He give us the courage to continue living faithfully in our daily lives despite the challenges and difficulties we may face. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 7 November 2018 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 14 : 25-33

At that time, when large crowds were walking along with Jesus, He turned and said to them, “If you come to Me, unwilling to sacrifice your love for your father and mother, your spouse and children, your brothers and sisters, and indeed yourself, you cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not follow Me, carrying his own cross, cannot be My disciple.”

“Do you build a house without first sitting down to count the cost, to see whether you have enough to complete it? Otherwise, if you, have laid the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone will make fun of you : ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'”

“And when a king wages war against another king, does he go to fight without first sitting down to consider whether his ten thousand can stand against the twenty thousand of his opponent? And if not, while the other is still a long way off, he sends messengers for peace talks. In the same way, none of you may become My disciple, if he does not give up everything he has.”

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Wednesday, 7 November 2018 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 26 : 1, 4, 13-14

The Lord is my Light and my Salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the Rampart of my life; I will not be afraid.

One thing I ask of the Lord, one thing I seek – that I may dwell in His house all the days of my life, to gaze at His jewel and to visit His sanctuary.

I hope, I am sure, that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Trust in the Lord, be strong and courageous. Yes, put your hope in the Lord!

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Wednesday, 7 November 2018 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Philippians 2 : 12-18

Therefore, my dearest friends, as you always obeyed me while I was with you, even more, now, that I am far from you, continue working out your salvation “with fear and trembling.” It is God Who makes you, not only wish but also, carry out what pleases Him.

Do everything without grumbling, so, that, without fault or blame, you will be children of God, without reproach, among a crooked and perverse generation. You are a light among them, like stars in the universe, holding to the word of life. I shall feel proud of you, on the day of Christ, on seeing that my effort and labour have not been in vain.

And if I am being poured out, as a libation over the sacrifice, and the offering of your faith, I rejoice and continue to share your joy; and, you, likewise should rejoice and share my joy.