Sundays after Pentecost

by

Saturday, 2 November 2024 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Black or Purple/Violet

Isaiah 25 : 6-9

On this mountain YHVH Sabaoth will prepare for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, meat full of marrow, fine wine strained. On this mountain He will destroy the pall cast over all peoples, this very shroud spread over all nations, and death will be no more.

The Lord YHVH will wipe away the tears from all cheeks and eyes; He will take away the humiliation of His people all over the world : for YHVH has spoken. On that day you will say : This is our God. We have waited for Him to save us, let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.

by

Friday, 1 November 2024 : Solemnity of All Saints (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the occasion of the great Solemnity of All Saints, celebrating all the holy saints, all those holy men and women who have enjoyed the beatific vision of Heaven. Today we rejoice in the honour of all these predecessors of ours who have lived their lives most worthily of God and who have shown us all how we should live ours as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people. And today we celebrate and honour all those saints who do not have their own date of celebration or feasts in particular, together with all the other more well-known saints. They all now enjoy the great joy and happiness that the Lord has promised to all of us, the experience of Heaven, the reward that they have received from God for their faith, their virtues and all the good things that they had done in life.

And while the saints are already in Heaven enjoying the happiness and wonders there, they do not forget about us, and in fact, they are still constantly praying and interceding for each and every one of us in this world. They are in fact part of the same Church of God, and are still part of this same one Body of Christ, made up of all the believers and faithful people of God, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. While the most visible and tangible members of the Church are the ones who are still living in this world, daily struggling with our faith and with all the challenges, temptations and difficulties in life, but the saints are very much part of the same Church and they are also always concerned about us, knowing the challenges and difficulties that they themselves had once gone through and overcome.

The saints of God are parts of the Church Triumphant, with them having triumphed against the evil one and their fellow forces, in trying to destroy and bring them to their downfall. They have triumphed and won a victory with God against their enemies, and have been found worthy to enjoy the eternal gift and grace which God has always intended for each and every one of us as Christians, as His holy and beloved people. Together with them, we are also all parts of the Church of God, as the Church Militant, the ones who are still struggling daily, fighting against the evil ones and their deceptions and temptations, in trying to each God and His salvation. And we must also not forget all the other members of the Church, the parts of the Church Suffering, whom we will commemorate tommorow as part of this Allhallowtide, the faithful and holy souls of the departed in Purgatory.

Let us all now go through our Scripture passages on this Solemnity of All Saints. In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle, we heard of the vision of St. John as he saw a great throng of the righteous, a hundred and forty-four thousand of them, who had been deemed righteous by God, and who had washed their garments clean in the Blood of the Lamb, all those who have arrived into the glory and the true joy which God had prepared for them, to be united as one in praising and glorifying the Lord, together with all the Holy Angels of God, and all those whom St. John had seen in his heavenly vision are truly the saints of God, the ones whom God and His Church had deemed to be worthy of veneration and of the bliss of Heaven.

This is a reminder for all of us that no matter what challenges, difficulties, persecutions or obstacles we may have to face or endure in our path and journey in life, in the end, if we remain faithful to the Lord and true to His path and to the missions entrusted to us, eventually, we will share in His victory and triumph, and we will be triumphant like all those saints that St. John had seen in his vision. To those early Christians living during the time of St. John’s ministry and when he received these visions of the end times in the island of Patmos during his exile there, being persecuted and oppressed by the Romans and the local authorities, or by the Jewish leaders and authorities earlier on, as well as by other members of the public and the pagan supporters, this would have indeed been a truly uplifting, encouraging and hopeful message of reassurance and support.

From our second reading, taken from the Epistle of St. John the Apostle, we heard of the words of assurance from St. John reminding all of us of God’s ever enduring love for us, as He is truly our loving Father, and He has always been filled with generous and most bountiful love towards us. And because we have been truly loved by God, we are truly fortunate, as He has always considered us to be His children, and has always designed it to be so. For each one of us have been created as mentioned in the Book of Genesis, in the image and likeness of God Himself, and we have been made perfect and most wonderful, to enjoy the fullness of God’s creation, to be the ones to share His most generous and wonderful love that overflows from Himself to all of us, and as His beloved children, therefore, He has always intended for us to enjoy forever this eternity of bliss.

However, because of our disobedience and refusal to obey the Lord’s words, will and commandments, we have fallen into the traps of the evil one, who lured us with the false pleasures and attachments of worldly desires and goods, all of which had made us to fall astray from the path that God has shown us. Instead, we chose to rebel against the love of God and embraced instead the false lies and sweet words of Satan, walking down this path of disobedience and sin which caused us to be sundered and separated from God’s love and grace. We have disregarded the great things that God has created and meant for us, and instead sought the inferior and illusory desires of our worldly pursuits, attachments and ambitions, all the things which had kept us away from His loving Presence and from the eternal inheritance and true glory awaiting us.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel of St. Matthew, we heard of the words of the Lord teaching His disciples and all the people in the famous Sermon on the Mount, also known as the Eight Beatitudes. The word Beatitude is the same meaning as ‘Blessed’ or ‘Beatus’ and this is because the Lord pronounced a series of blessings for all those whose lives have truly been worthy of God, in how they have embodied good and virtuous lives, full of love for one another and with genuine faith and desire to love the Lord and to seek Him wholeheartedly in their lives. We heard about those who were poor in spirit, referring to those who were humble enough to recognise their faults and shortcomings, recognising the need for them to embrace God’s mercy and love, His guidance and strength, and also those who have mourned and in trouble, being persecuted because of their faith in God.

We also heard of those who were peacemakers and striving for peace, those who seek and hunger for justice for everyone, those who show mercy to others around them and other virtuous qualities and things which the Lord was in fact encouraging all of us to do through His proclamations. All of those virtues, values and actions were what the innumerable holy men and women, some of whom had been declared officially by the Church as saints and celebrated in our ceremonies and liturgies, have done in their own lives, in their own unique ways. And each one of us also have the potential and opportunities that the Lord Himself has granted us generously to be like one of them as well. Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, today, on this Solemnity of All Saints day, while we celebrate and rejoice in the memory and honour of all those holy men and women, our predecessors, it is also an important reminder of what we can be.

All the saints have once been sinners as well, just like us. They had their flaws and weaknesses, faults and mistakes which they had made. If we read through the numerous lives and experiences of the saints, then we will realise that at some point in their lives, they have encountered many of the things which we have ourselves experienced, all the struggles, challenges and difficulties, the persecutions, trials and obstacles we may have faced in different moments in our lives. But what is common from the lives and experiences of the saints is that they all reject the path of sin and darkness, embracing wholeheartedly afterwards the path towards God and His salvation in their own unique ways, making good use of the various gifts, talents and opportunities that He had granted to each one of them, for the benefit of the people around them and for the causes of the Church and its missions.

We must realise that the Church is one Body of Christ, the united Body composed of those whom God had called and chosen from this world to follow Him, and to be His own people. And He had called us all with our own various diverse backgrounds, with our own imperfections and flaws, faults and sins. We are not a Church composed of perfect people without any fault, sin or imperfections, as none of us can claim to be such perfect people. But we are all reminded through the examples and the fates of the saints, who are now enjoying the wonderful bliss of Heaven, that we may also share in their joy, and that none of us are denied this opportunity by the Lord. Now what matters is for us to embrace this opportunity that the Lord has given us and do our best to walk in the footsteps of the holy saints of God, to enter into the narrow path to the Kingdom of God.

May the Lord, our most loving God and Creator, and with His innumerable saints and the Holy Angels, continue to strengthen us in all of our journey and efforts to come towards Him with faith and dedication. May He continue to bless our every good efforts, works and endeavours in each and every moments of our lives so that we may always be committed to do what is right and just, virtuous and worthy of His cause, as we should always be doing. May His glorious saints, our holy predecessors, in their constant intercessions and prayers for us continue to help and inspire us all in our own journey, so that one day, we may ourselves be in their place, to be worthy partakers and parts of God’s everlasting Kingdom and dominion. All the Holy Saints of God, Holy Men and Women of God, pray for us sinners, now and always. Amen.

by

Friday, 1 November 2024 : Solemnity of All Saints (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 5 : 1-12a

At that time, when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up the mountain. He sat down and His disciples gathered around Him. Then He spoke and began to teach them : 

“Fortunate are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Fortunate are those who mourn; they shall be comforted. Fortunate are the gentle; they shall possess the land.”

“Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied. Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy. Fortunate are those with pure hearts, for they shall see God.”

“Fortunate are those who work for peace; they shall be called children of God. Fortunate are those who are persecuted for the cause of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”

“Fortunate are you, when people insult you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you because you are My followers. Be glad and joyful, for a great reward is kept for you in God.”

by

Friday, 1 November 2024 : Solemnity of All Saints (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 3 : 1-3

See what singular love the Father has for us : we are called children of God, and we really are. This is why the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

Beloved, we are God’s children, and what we shall be has not, yet, been shown. Yet, when He appears in His glory, we know, that we shall be like Him, for, then, we shall see Him as He is. All who have such a hope, try to be pure, as He is pure.

by

Friday, 1 November 2024 : Solemnity of All Saints (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 23 : 1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

The earth and its fullness belong to YHVH, the world and all that dwell in it. He has founded it upon the ocean and set it firmly upon the waters.

Who will ascend the mountain of YHVH? Who will stand in His holy place? Those with clean hands and pure heart, who desire not what is vain.

They will receive blessings from YHVH, a reward from God, their Saviour. Such are the people who seek Him, who seek the face of Jacob’s God.

by

Friday, 1 November 2024 : Solemnity of All Saints (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Revelations 7 : 2-4, 9-14

I saw another Angel, ascending from the sunrise, carrying the seal of the living God, and he cried out with a loud voice, to the four Angels empowered to harm the earth and the sea, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads.”

Then, I heard the number of those marked with the seal : a hundred and forty-four thousand, from all the tribes of the people of Israel. After this, I saw a great crowd, impossible to count, from every nation, race, people and tongue, standing before the Throne, and the Lamb, clothed in white, with palm branches in their hands, and they cried out with a loud voice, “Who saves, but our God, Who sits on the Throne, and the Lamb?”

All the Angels were around the Throne, the elders and the four living creatures; they, then, bowed before the Throne, with their faces to the ground, to worship God. They said, “Amen, Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honour, power and strength to our God forever and ever. Amen!”

At that moment, one of the elders spoke up, and said to me, “Who are these people clothed in white, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, it is you who know this.” The elder replied, “They, are those who have come out of the great persecution, they have washed, and made their clothes white, in the Blood of the Lamb.”

by

Thursday, 31 October 2024 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded of the need for all of us to remain faithful, strong and vigilant amidst every moments in our lives when we may face challenges, difficulties, trials, opposition, ridicule, obstacles and other hardships that may dampen our desire to follow the Lord faithfully as His beloved and holy people, as His disciples and followers. We must not easily give up just because of these obstackes and challenges. We need to put our trust and faith in the Lord, that He is always with us in our journey and struggles. We must also realise that as Christians, it is likely that we may face persecution and oppression just as the Lord Himself has faced the same difficulties and persecutions.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in the city and region of Ephesus the exhortation that he gave to the faithful about how the people of God should always strive to put on the whole armour of God, which is a reference to all the many gifts, blessings, graces and all the guidance which we have received from the Lord, the gift of His Wisdom and the Holy Spirit, that become our source of hope and strength amidst all the difficulties hardships, trials and all the darkness surrounding us. The Lord has always provided us with the means and the help needed for us to resist the challenges and to remain strong despite the persecutions that we may face. Most importantly, we must always trust in the Lord and be open to His help, as we likely cannot overcome those difficulties by ourselves without God.

At that time, in Ephesus and in other places, the Christians in the community did face quite a bit of challenges from various sources, from the external attacks and obstacles laid by the local and Roman authorities, the opposition from the pagan worshippers who disliked the spread in popularity of the new Christian faith, as well as from the Jewish authorities and groups who wanted to curb the continuing spread of the Christian faith in proclaiming Christ despite their efforts to snuff the Church and the Christian missionary efforts from the very beginning. There were also significant divisions within the community of the faithful, from the disagreements in how they ought to follow the Lord and His Law and commandments, and also the presence of false teachers and heretical ideas that were already rampant even from those early days of the Church.

Then, in our Gospel passage today from the Gospel according to St. Luke, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus in His lamentations on Jerusalem when some of the Pharisees told Him to leave the place because Herod wanted to kill Him for what He has done in His missions among the people. In His response to Herod and the Pharisees, the Lord was in fact also showing premonition of what He would face and suffer during the time of His Passion, His suffering and death on the Cross, when He would be betrayed by one of His own disciples, rejected and accused by the elders and the leaders of the people to whom He had been sent to, with the people crying out for His punishment and death, even when He had no fault at all with Himself, or deserve any of those punishments.

The Lord lamented over Jerusalem because of the persecutions that He and the many other messengers and prophets had suffered and endured, despite the constant and persistent love and kindness, mercy and compassion that God has shown to them all, to those people who had been stubborn, obstinate and hardened in their hearts and minds, whose sins and wickedness, infidelities and lack of faith had led to them falling ever further and deeper away into the path towards damnation and destruction. God still does not want to see His people suffering and destroyed, and therefore, as we have received such a great grace from God, being loved so much by Him, it is essential and just for us to realise how our sins, wickedness and stubborn attitudes did not help at all.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are reminded that prayer is indeed very important, as the Epistle to the Ephesians had also mentioned earlier. Many of us have lost our path and way in life, falling into the path of rebellion and disobedience against God because we have allowed the temptations, pressures and coercions of the world to pull us away from the path towards God and His salvation. And most importantly, many of those people have not developed good, vibrant and active prayer life in their daily occurrences and moments. Without this important link to God, which prayer provides us, it is therefore easy for us to fall into the attacks of the evil ones, and to the many pressures of the world to push us to conform to its ways, and away from God’s path.

This is why all of us as Christians must always spend good and quality time with the Lord our God, in silent prayer and devotion to Him. Prayer is a way for us to communicate with God, and through this prayer and connection, we can come to know what the Lord wants from us, from our lives and paths going forward. Through prayer, each and every one of us can remain connected and attuned to God’s will, to His love and grace, and it will help us to persevere through the many challenges and trials we have to face in our journey. We should also open our hearts and minds, to be humble in listening to God, and to allow Him to lead us down the right path in life. We should not be like all those who have proudly put forward their greatness and achievements in life, that they end up being stubborn in opposing the Lord and His truth, as those people who have persecuted the Lord and His prophets had done.

Today, which is also the Eve of All Saints’ Day, the beginning of Allhallowtide and which we all celebrate as Halloween, we also remember all those holy and devoted people of God, our holy predecessors, whom have persevered through the many hardships and obstacles as mentioned, and they did not give up their faith in God. On the contrary, they remained faithful and committed to Him, living their lives and enduring through the many persecutions and challenges with joy, knowing that they have obeyed the Lord and lived their lives according to the path that God has shown them. We should also therefore be inspired by their good examples and inspiration, and remain strong in our own faith, remembering that all those saints and martyrs are in fact still with us, constantly praying for us and supporting us in our journey.

May the Lord, our most loving and compassionate God continue to strengthen and empower each and every one of us with the power, wisdom and guidance, the ‘armour of God’ needed for us to resist the temptations and pressures in life. May He continue to guide us in our journey of faith and life, helping us to be good role models and inspirations for everyone around us by our faithful journey and obedience to God and His will, keeping in mind at all times to maintain a good relationship with God through prayer and other means. May He continue to bless us in our every good efforts and works, our every commitments to His cause, so that by our every actions, words and deeds, truly worthy of Him, we may continue to proclaim Him as always in our communities and among all those whom we encounter in life. Amen.

by

Thursday, 31 October 2024 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 13 : 31-35

At that time, some Pharisees came to Jesus and gave Him this warning, “Leave this place and go on Your way, for Herod wants to kill You.”

Jesus said to them, “Go and give that fox My answer : ‘I drive out demons, and I heal today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish My course!’ Nevertheless, I must go on My way today, and tomorrow, and for a little longer; for it would not be fitting for a Prophet to be killed outside Jerusalem.”

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you slay the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often have I tried to bring together your children, as a bird gathers her young under her wings, but you refused! From now on, you will be left with your Temple, and you will no longer see Me, until the time when you will say, ‘Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord.'”

by

Thursday, 31 October 2024 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 143 : 1, 2, 9-10

Blessed be the Lord, my Rock, Who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.

My loving God, my Fortress; my Protector and Deliverer, my Shield where I take refuge, Who conquers nations and subjects them to my rule.

I will sing a new song to You, o God, I will make music on the ten-stringed harp, for You Who give victory to kings and deliver David, Your servant.

by

Thursday, 31 October 2024 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Ephesians 6 : 10-20

Finally, be strong in the Lord with His energy and strength. Put on the whole armour of God to be able to resist the cunning of the devil. Our battle is not against human forces but against the rulers and authorities and their dark powers that govern this world. We are struggling against the spirits and supernatural forces of evil.

Therefore put on the whole armour of God, that in the evil day, you may resist and stand your ground, making use of all your weapons. Take truth as your belt, justice as your breastplate, and zeal as your shoes to propagate the Gospel of peace. Always hold in your hand the shield of faith to repel the flaming arrows of the devil. Finally, use the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, that is, the word of God.

Pray at all times as the Spirit inspires you. Keep watch, together with sustained prayer and supplication for all the holy ones. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, I may be given words to proclaim bravely the mystery of the Gospel. Even when in chains I am an ambassador of God; may He give me the strength to speak as I should.