Sundays after Pentecost

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Monday, 23 August 2021 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are all reminded to be truly faithful to the Lord in all things, and not just having an empty and meaningless faith, or merely being superficial in our love and dedication to God. We should not allow ourselves to be swayed by worldly temptations for power, glory, fame and wealth, for influence and prestige, among many other things. We must not allow all these to cloud our judgment, and we have to keep ourselves well attuned to the Lord.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Matthew on the matter of the Pharisees and their religious practices, which the Lord spoke before those assembled and gathered to listen to Him. The Lord rebuked the Pharisees and also the teachers of the Law because many among them, the religious and intellectual elites of the Jewish community, did things that were unbecoming of their trusted position as the guardians of the Law of God as well as the leaders of the people.

They made it difficult for the people of God to come towards their Lord and Master, imposing very strict practices and rules, customs and obligations to follow, which were mainly due to their mistaken interpretation and understanding of the Law of God. As such, they did not bring the people closer to God as they had been entrusted to do, but instead, they were driving more and more people away from God in their misguided zeal and lack of proper understanding of the Law and its true intentions.

That was why the Lord rebuked them, and spoke out against them, to remind all of them and the people included, of what it truly means to be the believers and followers of the Lord. It means that we cannot be merely superficial in our faith, focusing on our own appearances and vanity, by appearing outwardly religious and good, and yet rotten and wicked in our hearts and minds. We should not be like those who made loud and widely publicised prayers and acts of faith, and yet, at the same time, being prejudiced against the poor and sinners, hating and disliking them.

Instead, all of us are called to reflect more deeply on the true intention and meaning of the Law of God, so that all of us may understand and appreciate it better, and that we may be better and more genuine Christians in all things, and not just in name only. We cannot be those who only profess the faith in the Lord in our lips only, and then act in a manner contrary to our faith. Those who did so have not only been lacking in faith, but in fact, may also scandalise their faith and the Lord’s Name, by making others to misunderstand God and His truth.

That is why all of us are challenged to live our lives in the way that is aligned with the Lord, and to do whatever we can in order to proclaim Him in our own communities, by our own words, actions and deeds. We cannot be idle in our faith, and neither can we act in ways that brought scandal to the Lord and to our Christian faith and Church. And that is why, we should strive to do what we can, to obey the Lord more wholeheartedly from now on, and to give of ourselves to Him with ever greater sincerity.

Today we can also follow the good examples and inspiration from St. Rose of Lima, one of the famous saints of the Church, who is the first saint canonised from the New World, the Americas. She is remembered for her great love and true piety for the Lord, in all of her actions and deeds, dedicating her whole life to the Lord. She was born into a noble family, and later on would dedicate herself to a life of holy virginity and total dedication to God, as a lay member of the Dominican Order.

St. Rose of Lima had led a most virtuous and pious lifestyle since very early age, that since her youth, it was told that she had observed fasting and abstinence regularly, leading a prayerful life and a holy life. She was renowned for her great beauty, and many suitors tried to get her attention, and even her own family tried to force her to marry. In the face of all these efforts and oppositions, St. Rose of Lima cut her hair and made herself look ugly to deter the suitors and steadfastly refused any attempts to force her to marry.

Throughout the rest of her life, St. Rose of Lima dedicated herself to the Lord and poured out her love to others, especially those who were poor and needy, those who were sick and troubled. She spent a lot of time ministering to them and taking care of them, while spending other times in prayers and devotions, doing whatever she could to commit herself wholly to God. Her exemplary faith and life had inspired so many others to follow in her footsteps.

How about us, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we also able to do the same with our own lives? Are we able to love God and our fellow brothers and sisters in the same way as St. Rose of Lima had done with hers? Let us all commit ourselves anew to the Lord and do whatever we can to glorify God by our lives, and be faithful witnesses of His truth in all things. May the Lord be with us all and may He bless us in everything we say and do, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 23 August 2021 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

Matthew 23 : 13-22

At that time, Jesus said to the people and to His disciples, “But woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door to the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You, yourselves, do not enter it, nor do you allow others to do so.”

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You devour widows’ property; and as a show, you pray long prayers! Therefore, you shall receive greater condemnation. Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel by sea and land to make a single convert; yet, once he is converted, you make him twice as fit for hell as yourselves!”

“Woe to you, blind guides! You say : To swear by the temple is not binding; but, to swear by the gold of the temple is binding. Foolish men! Blind men! Which is of more worth : the gold in the temple, or the temple which makes the gold a sacred treasure? You say : To swear by the altar is not binding, but to swear by the offering on the altar is binding. How blind you are! Which is of more value : the offering on the altar, or the altar which makes the offering sacred?”

“Whoever swears by the altar, is swearing by the altar and by everything on it. Whoever swears by the temple, is swearing by the temple, and by God, Who dwells in the temple. Whoever swears by heaven, is swearing by the throne of God, and by Him, Who is seated on it.”

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Monday, 23 August 2021 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

Psalm 149 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b

Alleluia! Sing to YHVH a new song, sing His praise in the assembly of His saints. Let Israel rejoice in his Maker; let the people of Zion glory in their King!

Let them dance in praise of His Name; and make music for Him with harp and timbrel. For YHVH delights in His people; He crowns the lowly with victory.

The saints will exult in triumph; even at night, on their couches, let the praise of God be on their lips. This is the glory of all His saints. Alleluia!

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Monday, 23 August 2021 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

1 Thessalonians 1 : 1-5, 8b-10

From Paul, Sylvanus and Timothy, to the church of Thessalonica, which is in God, the Father, and in Christ Jesus, the Lord. May the peace and grace of God be with you.

We give thanks to God, at all times for you, and remember you in our prayers. We constantly recall, before God, our Father, the work of your faith, the labours of your love, and your endurance, in waiting for Christ Jesus our Lord.

We remember, brothers and sisters, the circumstances of your being called. The Gospel we brought you was such, not only in words. Miracles, the Holy Spirit, and plenty of everything, were given to you. You, also, know how we dealt with you, for your sake.

The faith you have in God has become news in so many places, that we need say no more about it. Others tell, of how you welcomed us, and turned from idols, to the Lord. For you serve the living and true God, and you wait for His Son, from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, Who frees us from impending trial.

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Sunday, 22 August 2021 : Twenty-First 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 Scripture, we are all reminded of our faith in the Lord, and of the obligations that each and every one of us have as Christians, and that is to hold firmly to the Law and commandments that the Lord has given to us all, revealed to us through Christ, His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, and passed down to us through the Church, through His Apostles and disciples, and their successors.

In our first reading today, we heard of the story from the Book of Joshua, in which Joshua, the leader of all the Israelites, as the one who led the Israelites into the promised land, gathered all the whole assembly of the Israelites and reminded them to remain faithful to God and not to be easily swayed by the other gods and idols, and thus, he told them to make a stand right there and then, who they would follow and serve, whether the Lord or whether they preferred to follow the pagan gods and false idols instead.

We heard then how the people chose to follow the Lord and promised to follow Him and His path, and so would their descendants. Joshua then charged all the people to keep in mind the Lord’s Law and commandments, all that He had revealed and given to them, and pass them on to their descendants. They were charged with passing down all the stories and the faithful witnesses of the Lord’s great wonders and deeds, as He led them all out of the land of Egypt, took care of them throughout their Exodus in the desert, and finally led them to the promised land they were dwelling in.

Yet it was not easy for them to remain faithful to the Lord, or from time to time, again and again, they lapsed and fell into the wrong paths, as they abandoned the Lord and embraced the worship of pagan and false idols, and God sent to them His servants, the Judges and later on the prophets, to keep them in check, to guide them and to redirect their attention towards the Lord, and to remind them that as the people of God, they had an obligation to follow the Law of God and His commandments.

It is then we come to hear the account from the Gospel passage today, in which we heard the aftermath of the Lord’s miraculous feeding of the multitudes of thousands of people, and His discourse on the Bread of Life. At that occasion, the Lord told the people frankly and without hiding the truth, that He would gave them all His Body and His Blood for them all to partake, as real food and drink that they may eat and drink from. And this made the people to wonder and question Him and His truth, as they found it difficult to accept this truth, that the Lord as the Bread of Life is giving them His own Precious Body and Blood.

Many of the Lord’s disciples and the people who followed Him left Him at that time, and those who were left behind were few, including the Twelve who remained faithful, and who still trusted the Lord and His truth. Yet even they found the truth difficult to understand and endure, as represented by St. Peter, they told Him that such a harsh truth would be difficult for anyone to bear and stomach, and even they found it difficult to believe themselves, as some of them undoubtedly were still hesitating and still had doubts in them.

It was then that the Lord doubled down even more, by telling them that what He has revealed to them was just part of the greater revelation, that if they found it difficult to accept what He has just revealed to them, then it would be even tougher for them to accept and appreciate the things that they would come to witness, such as His Passion and death, and His Resurrection and Ascension into heaven, which He did allude to in that occasion. And through this, we can see that to be Christians is not one simple matter or easy feat.

Often times we may have to go against the popular opinion or even logic in our faith, and we have to face persecutions, trials and troubles for our faith and trust in the Lord, and for standing up to His truth and love. Yet, we have to persevere and prevail, for the Lord’s truth has been revealed to us, the fullness of His love, care and compassion towards us as He has shown us through Christ, His Son. By His loving sacrifice on the Cross, He, our Eternal and True High Priest offered Himself, as the worthy Paschal Lamb of God, a sacrifice and offering of His own Most Precious Body and Blood, that we all who partake in His Body and Blood receive the assurance of eternal life through Him.

All of us as Christians have received this truth, and the revelation of God’s love. Therefore, as faithful servants and followers of the Lord, we should do our very best to commit ourselves to live righteously and strive to walk in His path, doing whatever we can, in our own capacities, and within our own communities and in the opportunities given to us, so that we may indeed be worthy of being called God’s chosen people, the members of His Church, with Christ as our Head, and we as the parts of this united Body of Christ, all sharing in the same Bread of Life.

Each and every one of us should embrace the Lord’s call for us to be more active in our faith life, and we should discern carefully what each and every one of us can do in order to be part of the Church’s efforts and good works in reaching out to more and more of our fellow brothers and sisters, especially those who have not yet known the Lord, and those who may have had a wrong idea or impression Him and our Christian faith. It is up to us to be genuine witnesses of our faith and be inspiration to one another as Christians.

Let us all therefore today commit ourselves anew to the Lord, making commitment and dedication that lasts a lot longer and far more than the promises made by the Israelites of old before God and Joshua. Let us all follow in the path of the Apostles and the many other faithful disciples of the Lord, following the inspiring examples of the saints, and striving to lead a worthy and holy life, that we can become a source of inspiration ourselves to help inspire one another, especially those who lack the faith and are filled with doubt.

May the Lord, our most loving God and Father be with us always, and may He help us to remain strong in our faith, and may He encourage and strengthen us as we continue to walk through our life’s journey with true and sincere devotion to Him, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 22 August 2021 : Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

John 6 : 60-69

At that time, after the Jews heard Jesus, many of His followers said, “This language is very hard! Who can accept it?”

Jesus was aware that His disciples were murmuring about this, and so He said to them, “Does this offend you? Then how will you react when you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit that gives life, not the flesh. The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are life. But among you there are some who do not believe.”

From the beginning, Jesus knew who would betray Him. So He added, “As I have told you, no one can come to Me unless it is granted by the Father.” After this many disciples withdrew and no longer followed Him. Jesus asked the Twelve, “Will you also go away?

Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We now believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.”

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Sunday, 22 August 2021 : Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Ephesians 5 : 21-32

Let all kinds of submission to one another become obedience to Christ. So wives to their husbands : as to the Lord. The husband is the head of his wife, as Christ is the Head of the Church, His Body, of Whom He is also the Saviour. And as the Church submits to Christ, so let a wife submit in everything to her husband.

As for you, husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her. He washed her and made her holy by baptism in the Word. As He wanted a radiant Church without stain or wrinkle or any blemish, but holy and blameless, He Himself had to prepare and present her to Himself.

In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they love their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. And no one has ever hated his body; he feeds and takes care of it. This is just what Christ does for the Church, because we are members of His Body.

Scripture says : Because of this a man shall leave his father and mother to be united with his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a very great mystery, and I refer to Christ and the Church.

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Sunday, 22 August 2021 : Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 33 : 2-3, 16-17, 18-19, 20-21, 22-23

I will praise YHVH all my days; His praise will be ever on my lips. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the lowly hear and rejoice.

The eyes of YHVH are fixed on the righteous; His ears are inclined to their cries. But His face is set against the wicked, to destroy their memory from the earth.

YHVH hears the cry of the righteous and rescues them from all their troubles. YHVH is close to the brokenhearted and saves the distraught.

Many are the troubles of the just, but YHVH delivers them from all. He keeps all their bones intact, and none of them will be broken.

Evil will slay the wicked; the enemies of the just will be doomed. But YHVH will redeem the life of His servants; none of those who trust in Him will be doomed.

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Sunday, 22 August 2021 : Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Joshua 24 : 1-2a, 15-17, 18b

Joshua summoned all the tribes of Israel in Shechem, and assembled the elders, judges and secretaries. And together they presented themselves before God.

Addressing the people, Joshua said to them : “If you do not want to serve YHVH, make known this very day whom you shall serve – whether they be the gods your ancestors served in Mesopotamia or the gods of the Amorites who formerly occupied the land in which you now live. As for me, I and my household will serve YHVH.”

The people answered : “May God not permit that we ever abandon YHVH to serve other gods! For it was He Who brought us and our ancestors out of Egypt, the house of slavery. It was He Who did those great wonders that we have seen; He protected us on the way and through all the land where we passed. So we shall also serve YHVH : He is our God!”

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Saturday, 21 August 2021 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pius X, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all called to listen to the Lord and follow Him wholeheartedly, to be righteous and good in all things, and not just paying lip service to the Lord. We should have real and genuine love, devotion and desire to follow the Lord, and to look upon good role models that we may walk in the right path and not lose our way to temptations and allures of the evil ones.

In our first reading today, we heard the story of Ruth, one of the ancestors of king David of Israel, who was in fact not counted initially among the Israelites as she was a Moabite woman that belonged to the neighbouring nation of Israel called Moab. But she followed her mother-in-law, an Israelite named Naomi back to the land of Israel after losing her husband, and she was accepted among the Israelites, as Ruth insisted to follow Naomi and accepted the latter’s God as her own God.

Ruth helped Naomi and encountered Boaz, one of Naomi’s relatives, who came to like Ruth and through what we have heard in our first reading today, they eventually married each other, by God’s blessings and guidance, and Ruth came to bear Boaz’s son, called Obed. Obed was the grandfather of king David through his father Jesse, who was Obed’s son, and Ruth’s grandson. Therefore, one of the ancestors of the greatest historic kings of Israel hailed from among the pagans, who willingly accepted the Lord and became one of His followers.

Compare this to our Gospel passage today in which we heard about the Lord speaking to the people and His disciples regarding the attitudes and behaviours of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. He spoke to them regarding how those people were outwardly pious and prayed aloud in synagogues, making show of their faith and piety in public places, as most of them did, but they did so for the wrong reasons, as they were led by their vanity and human desires to seek glory and fame rather than true love and faith in God.

The Lord highlighted this as an irony to show how those people who claimed themselves to be faithful and pious, and who liked to look down on others, on those they deemed to be unworthy and sinners, like the prostitutes, the tax collectors, and foreigners and pagans. And yet, Ruth, the pagan Moabite woman, had greater faith than they were, as she embraced the Lord wholeheartedly and was so devoted to her mother-in-law even though she had no reason to do so, as her husband and Naomi’s son had passed away.

This is therefore a reminder for all of us not to have just an external and superficial faith, like that which many of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had. And neither should we behave in the way they did, by looking down on others whom they deemed to be inferior and less worthy of God than themselves. That is not what we should be doing as Christians. On the contrary, we should be good role models of our faith in our own actions, in everything we say and do, so that all who see us and witness our works may know the Lord through us.

That is why today, we should look upon the good examples set by Pope St. Pius X, whose feast we are celebrating this day. Pope St. Pius X, born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto to a poor family in what is now northern region of Italy, and as he joined the seminary to become priest, he worked hard, and was known as a priest to be both humble and dedicated to his mission, in reaching out to the poor and the needy, and in his works to restore the churches and to advance proper education for the youth.

Eventually he was made a chancellor and rector of the local diocesan seminary, where he worked more wonders in reforming the Church administration and priest formation, and served as caretaker for the local Diocese of Treviso before being chosen as the Bishop of Mantua by the Pope. As bishop and then later on as Cardinal and Patriarch of Venice by the Pope’s appointment, Pope St. Pius X, Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto continued to do his best for his flock, in reforming the Church and in reaching out to them.

Cardinal Sarto was elected as the Successor of St. Peter as Pope Pius X, in which capacity, he immediately embarked on serious reforms, particularly against the dangers of heresies of modernism and other irregularities of the faith, began the reform the Canon Law and making important changes to the liturgy and sacred music, placing the Gregorian Chant back in its proper place as the primary form of Church music in liturgical celebrations.

Lastly, Pope St. Pius X was also remembered for his important reforms in lowering the age of the First Communion, that younger children could receive the Lord at a younger age when they have been prepared and are spiritually ready. That is why Pope St. Pius X is also known as the Pope of the Holy Eucharist, in his drive to allow more to receive the Eucharist, both at a younger age and also in the encouragement of frequent partaking of the Eucharist, while previously the people only received the Lord in few occasions throughout the year.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, having seen the faith and examples of Pope St. Pius X, let us all be inspired to follow his path and dedicate ourselves anew to the Lord, that we may indeed be inspirational in our own way of living, that we may be truly faithful to the Lord in all things, in words, deeds and actions, and not just being superficial or misguided like many among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law as we discussed earlier.

May the Lord be with us all through this journey of faith, and may He strengthen each and every one of us with the resolve and strength to follow the Lord with all of our hearts and with all of our might. May God bless us all in our every efforts and endeavours, now and always, and help us to persevere through. Amen.