Sundays after Pentecost

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Sunday, 26 September 2021 : Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time, World Day of Migrants and Refugees (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 9 : 38-43, 45, 47-48

At that time, John said to Jesus, “Master, we saw someone who drove out demons by calling upon Your Name, and we tried to forbid him, because he does not belong to our group.”

Jesus answered, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My Name can soon after speak evil of Me. For whoever is not against us is for us.”

“If anyone gives you a drink of water because you belong to Christ and bear His Name, truly, I say to you, he will not go without reward. If anyone should cause one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble and sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a great millstone around his neck.”

“If your hand makes you fall into sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without a hand, than with two hands to go to hell, to the fire that never goes out. And if your foot makes you fall into sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without a foot, than with both feet to be thrown into hell.”

“And if your eye makes you fall into sin, tear it out! It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, keeping both eyes, to be thrown into hell, where the worms that eat them never die, and the fire never goes out.”

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Sunday, 26 September 2021 : Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time, World Day of Migrants and Refugees (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

James 5 : 1-6

So, now, for what concerns the rich, cry and weep, for the misfortunes that are coming upon you. Your riches are rotting, and your clothes, eaten up by the moths. Your silver and gold have rusted, and their rust grows into a witness against you. It will consume your flesh, like fire, for having piled up riches, in these, the last days.

You deceived the workers who harvested your fields, but, now, their wages cry out to the heavens. The reapers’ complaints have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You lived in luxury and pleasure in this world, thus, fattening yourselves for the day of slaughter. You have easily condemned, and killed the innocent since they offered no resistance.

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Sunday, 26 September 2021 : Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time, World Day of Migrants and Refugees (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 18 : 8, 10, 12-13, 14

The Law of YHVH is perfect : it gives life to the soul. The word of YHVH is trustworthy : it gives wisdom to the simple.

The fear of the Lord is pure, it endures forever; the judgments of the Lord are true, all of them just and right.

They are a light to Your servant, in keeping them, they win a great reward. But who can discern one’s own errors? Forgive the failings of which I am unaware.

Preserve me from wilful sin; do not let it get the better of Your servant. Then shall I walk blameless and innocent of serious sin.

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Sunday, 26 September 2021 : Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time, World Day of Migrants and Refugees (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Numbers 11 : 25-29

YHVH came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. He took some of the Spirit that was upon him and put It on the seventy elders. Now when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But this they did not do again.

Two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad, the name of the other Medad. However, the Spirit came on them for they were among those who were registered though they had not gone out to the Tent. As they prophesied inside the camp, a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

Joshua, the son of Nun, who ministered to Moses from his youth said, “My lord Moses, stop them!” But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous on my behalf? Would that all YHVH’s people were prophets and that YHVH would send His Spirit upon them!”

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Saturday, 25 September 2021 : 25th 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 through the readings of the Sacred Scriptures all of us are called to remember God’s love and providence for us, how He cares about us and has always been present for us, loving us dearly and never giving up on us despite our constant stubborn attitudes and our waywardness. He still patiently cared for us and sent to us His Saviour as He has promised, that everything which He has proclaimed and spoken through His prophets and messengers would be fulfilled.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Zechariah, we heard of the Lord speaking through the prophet to His people regarding the Lord Who would protect His people and would not allow harm to come to them, even as the city of Jerusalem back then was in the midst of being rebuilt. Contextually, the prophet Zechariah was active during the reign of the King of Persia, Darius, some time after the Israelites had returned from their exile in Babylon and Assyria.

At that time, the people of Israel were gradually beginning to rebuild their cities and lives anew, and the city of Jerusalem itself was in the midst of reconstruction after having been devastated and razed by the Babylonians many decades previously. The Temple of God in Jerusalem was also then in the midst of rebuilding, as the people turned back towards the Lord under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah, as well as the influence of other prophets including that of Zechariah himself.

Therefore, with this context, we can understand better how the Lord reassured His people of His continued presence in their midst and how He would be the centre and focus of their lives, being their Hope and strength amidst the darkness and evils surrounding them. This He communicated to them, and He later on would make evident and firm His commitment by sending us His Son, Jesus Christ, into this world to be our Saviour, to bring unto us the Light of Hope that we all have been awaiting for.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard the Lord Himself speaking on this matter as He told His disciples how He would be betrayed into the hands of His enemies and how He would be persecuted and made to suffer by the authorities, and eventually, would be condemned to die and to suffer for everyone’s faults and sins. He did all of these because He has patiently loved us and wanted us all to be reconciled to Him, and He wants us to put our trust once again in Him. Yet, despite all that we had done for us, we persecuted Him and rejected Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Scripture today, we are all called to reflect on our lives and how we have lived them as Christians thus far. Have we been faithful to the Lord as we should? Have we been committed to Him and loved Him as we should? Have we realised just how fortunate we are to be constantly beloved by God despite of our sins and wickedness? We should spend the time to carefully reflect on our actions in life so that we may not end up in the wrong path.

Today we are all challenged to grow in love and faith towards the Lord, and to leave behind our sinful ways, our disobedience and all the things that had prevented us from being able to reach out to the Lord. Let us all humble ourselves before the Lord and realise just how ungrateful and sinful we have been thus far. Let us follow the Lord with ever greater sincerity and commit ourselves to Him anew with a heart filled with love for Him, with the strong and genuine desire to be a good and committed Christian from now on.

May the Lord be with us always and may He continue to strengthen each and every one of us to walk faithfully in His path so that we may be inspiration and good examples, as great role models for one another. May all of us do in whatever way we can to glorify the Lord by our lives, thankful that He has always loved us and blessed us in each and every one of our activities, and given even His Son for our salvation. May God bless us always, at all times. Amen.

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Saturday, 25 September 2021 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

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

Luke 9 : 43b-45

At that time, while all were amazed at everything Jesus did, He said to His disciples, “Listen, and remember what I tell you now : The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men.” But the disciples did not understand this saying; something prevented them from grasping what He meant, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.

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Saturday, 25 September 2021 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

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

Jeremiah 31 : 10, 11-12ab, 13

Hear the word of YHVH, o nations, proclaim it on distant coast lands : He Who scattered Israel will gather them and guard them as a shepherd guards his flock.

For YHVH has ransomed Jacob and redeemed him from the hand of his conqueror. They shall come shouting for joy, while ascending Zion; they will come streaming to YHVH’s blessings.

Maidens will make merry and dance, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness, I will give them comfort and joy for sorrow.

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Saturday, 25 September 2021 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

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

Zechariah 2 : 5-9, 14-15a

Raising my eyes again, I saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. I asked, “Where are you going?” He answered, “I am going to measure Jerusalem, to find its width and its length.”

As the Angel who spoke to me came forward, another Angel met him and said, “Run and tell this to that young man : ‘Jerusalem will remain unwalled because of its multitude of people and livestock.’ For this is the word of YHVH : I, Myself, will be around her like a wall of fire, and also within her, in glory.”

“Sing and rejoice, o daughter of Zion, for I am about to come, I shall dwell among you,” says YHVH. “On that day, many nations will join YHVH and be My people.”

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Friday, 24 September 2021 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are all reminded through the readings of the Sacred Scriptures of the great works by which the Lord had done in guiding us through our life’s journey, and all that He has done for our sake, and how He will restore all of us and redeem us. He has always stayed by our side, and He is ever present in our lives, even if we have not realised it. God wants us to know that He shares our sufferings with us, and through this same sharing, we shall share in His eternal glory at the end.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Haggai, we heard of the words of the Lord spoken to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, as the Exilarch of the Israelites being descended from the House of David, as well as to Joshua the then High Priest. The Lord told them that they must not be hesitant to rebuild the House of God in Jerusalem, the Temple that was there in the Holy City, but which had been destroyed many decades earlier by the Babylonians who also destroyed Jerusalem and exiled the people of Israel for many years.

Contextually, at that time, the descendants of Israel had just returned to the land of their ancestors after the long exile, and they were allowed to return with the permission from King Cyrus of Persia who had emancipated them and specifically mentioned that the House of God in Jerusalem ought to be rebuilt again. Yet, after a number of years, by the reign of King Darius of Persia, the Temple of God had not yet been rebuilt and through the prophet Haggai, God spoke to the leaders of the people telling them to trust in Him and to rebuild the Temple as they ought to.

The Lord reassured them that He would always be with them, and His Spirit would dwell in their midst. He told them that they have nothing to worry of be afraid of since He will glorify Himself before all, and all who trust in Him shall be glorified together with Him, and share in the inheritance and true joy that they had been promised. And this would come to fulfilment eventually in Christ, the Saviour of all mankind, Who came to the midst of His people, as God’s Holy Presence in the flesh, no longer hidden but fully manifested, His love fully revealed before all.

And all of that happened because of what Christ would do for our sake, as He Himself foretold it before His disciples and the people, how He would be made to suffer and to endure rejection and ridicule from the people, and from the elders and the chief priests no less, from those most powerful and influential in the community who rejected Him and His truth, and persecuting His followers. But it was there then that the Lord would glorify Himself as the Living Temple of God, as the very Presence of God in the world, even as He laid down His life on the Cross and died.

That is because He rose triumphantly from the dead, overcoming the power of sin and death itself, and winning for all of us mankind the price of our freedom. And He established in this world the Church, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church as the visible symbol of His Presence and the unity that we share with Him. God reassured us through His Church that He is always with us and He will never abandon us, as He will always be with us and His Church, that in His own words, ‘will stand even against the gates of hell’.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, reflecting on what we have heard from the readings of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all called to put our trust in the Lord even as we have been called out of our exile from the world of sin, just as the Israelites had been brought out of their exile back to their ancestral homeland. And God is now calling us all to do whatever we can and to contribute to the works of His Church, just as He had called on the leaders of Judah to contribute to the rebuilding of the House of God in Jerusalem.

Are we willing and able to commit ourselves to this cause and effort, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to trust in the Lord and to contribute our works and our labours, even in the smallest things to work for the greater glory of God through His Church? We are all called to be the shining examples and role models of our faith, and we should do whatever we can, at all times, to be inspiration for our fellow brothers and sisters, to be good and faithful followers of God by doing His will and obeying His Law and commandments.

Let us all strive to work together as members of this same Church of God, to establish God’s kingdom in this world, and to gather together all the faithful in one united effort to serve our Lord to the best of our abilities, not to be afraid anymore to stand up for our faith and to speak and to show the truth of God in our respective communities. May the Lord continue to guide us and watch over us, and may He bless us in our every endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 24 September 2021 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 9 : 18-22

At that time, one day, when Jesus was praying alone, not far from His disciples, He asked them, “What do people say about Me?” And they answered, “Some say, that You are John the Baptist; others say, that You are Elijah; and still others, that You are one of the Prophets of old, risen from the dead.”

Again Jesus asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God.” Then Jesus spoke to them, giving them strict orders not to tell this to anyone. And He added, “The Son of Man must suffer many things. He will be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the teachers of the Law, and be put to death. Then after three days He will be raised to life.”