Sundays after Pentecost

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Thursday, 19 August 2021 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Eudes, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Judges 11 : 29-39a

The Spirit of YHVH came upon Jephthah. He went through Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and then entered the territory of the Ammonites.

Jephthah made a vow to YHVH : “If You make me victorious, I shall sacrifice to You whoever first comes out of my house to meet me when I return from battle. He shall be for YHVH and I shall offer him up through the fire.”

Jephthah crossed the territory of the Ammonites to fight against them, and YHVH gave him victory. He pursued them from the city of Aroer to the entrance of Minnith and Abel Keramim, seizing twenty towns. So he defeated the Ammonites.

When Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, his daughter came out to meet him. She was so happy to see her father that she danced to the sound of her tambourine. She was an only child; besides her he had no other daughter or son. When Jephthah saw her, he tore his clothes and cried out, “My daughter, you have shattered me; you have brought me misfortune. For I have made a foolish vow to YHVH. And now I cannot take it back.”

She answered him, “Father, even if you have made such a foolish vow, you have to do to me just as you promised, for YHVH has avenged you and crushed your enemies. I only beg of you to give me two months to live with my companions in the mountains. There I shall lament because I will never marry.”

Jephthah said to her, “Go then.” And he sent her away for two months. She and her companions went to the mountains and wept because she would never marry. At the end of two months, she returned to her father and he fulfilled the vow he had made.

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Wednesday, 18 August 2021 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are reminded that God has called on all of us to follow Him and be His disciples, as we heard in our Gospel passage today how the Lord used a parable to highlight this fact to all of us and all of His disciples at that time. He used the parable to explain His intentions to them, to make known to them that God called all men and women alike, all to follow Him to do His will.

How is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? Let us all discern carefully the parable which we ourselves have heard, and remind ourselves of the need for us to answer the Lord’s call, to heed His words and to follow Him. The owner of the vineyard in the parable is none other than the Lord, Who called on all the people in the streets and in the backyards, namely all of us, to work in His vineyard.

That the owner of the vineyard came out and sought people to work in his vineyard from time to time, even to the very last hour is a reminder of the great patience and love by which God sought us out, from time to time, again and again, to the very end. God had called on us all to rescue us and to bring us forth into the light. He has called on us all to follow Him to His kingdom, to be His followers and disciples.

And many thus came to answer the call of the owner of the vineyard, just as many of us responded to God’s call and followed Him. Some of us answered His call earlier and some others yet answered His call later on. And indeed, there are some who never answers His call at all, those who rejected the Lord and continued to live in sin, and perish in those sins all the same. But among those of us who have responded to God’s call and become His followers, what we heard today is something important for us to discern.

In the parable, when those workers had finished their work and gained their reward, those who came earlier scoffed and were unhappy that they received the same reward and remuneration as those who came in as late as the last hour. But then, the owner of the vineyard said to them that he had agreed with them to have that amount of pay, the reward which had been promised and then thereafter paid to all the workers at the end of their labour.

What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that our lives and faithful labours through life all will end with the promise of eternal glory and true joy with God, and all of us shall receive the same reward come the end, and it does not mean that the earlier we came to respond to God’s call and be saved that we merit greater honour, reward or glory. All of us shall share the same joy that each and every one of us have been promised by God, without exception.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, we must be careful lest we may be tempted by the desire for glory, honour, fame and accolades, for praise and adulation which can mislead us and misguide us down the path of elitism, exclusivism and the refusal to embrace our fellow brethren in faith, and we end up being no better than those like the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who looked and thought highly of themselves while looking down on others whom they deemed to be inferior and less worthy than they were.

This is an attitude that we should not have, and instead of being proud and haughty, or in seeking for our own salvation and benefits, we should be concerned about each others’ well-being, and learn to show care and concern to one another. That is why the Lord called on all of us to follow Him wholeheartedly and for the right reasons, that is not because of personal ambitions and desires. Unless we understand this truth, we will end up doing things in the wrong way. As Christians, we should put God first and foremost in all things, and not to bargain our faith in seeking rewards and pleasures in life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore seek the Lord with renewed faith and do our very best to serve Him wholeheartedly from now on. Let us all be exemplary in our actions and way of life, so that each and every one of us may inspire one another and help each other in the journey towards the Lord, in the labour of faith in this world, our Lord’s vineyard, that by our endeavours bearing rich product of fruits, we may receive grace and new life in God. May God be with us always, and may He bless us all in our every efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 18 August 2021 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 20 : 1-16a

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “This story throws light on the kingdom of heaven : A landowner went out early in the morning, to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay each worker the usual daily wage, and sent them to his vineyard.”

“He went out again, at about nine in the morning, and, seeing others idle in the town square, he said to them, ‘You also, go to my vineyard, and I will pay you what is just.’ So they went. The owner went out at midday, and, again, at three in the afternoon, and he made the same offer.”

“Again he went out, at the last working hour – the eleventh – and he saw others standing around. So he said to them, ‘Why do you stand idle the whole day?’ They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ The master said, ‘Go, and work in my vineyard.'”

“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wage, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ Those who had gone to work at the eleventh hour came up, and were each given a silver coin. When it was the turn of the first, they thought they would receive more. But they, too, received one silver coin. On receiving it, they began to grumble against the landowner.”

“They said, ‘These last, hardly worked an hour; yet, you have treated them the same as us, who have endured the heavy work of the day and the heat.’ The owner said to one of them, ‘Friend, I have not been unjust to you. Did we not agree on one silver coin per day? So take what is yours and go. I want to give to the last the same as I give to you. Do I not have the right to do as I please with what is mine? Why are you envious when I am kind?'”

“So will it be : the last will be first.”

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Wednesday, 18 August 2021 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 20 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7

The king rejoices in Your strength, o YHVH, and exults in Your saving help. You have granted him his desire; You have not rejected his request.

You have come to him with rich blessings; You have placed a golden crown upon his head. When he asked, You gave him life – length of days forever and ever.

He glories in the victory You gave him; You shall bestow on him splendour and majesty. You have given him eternal blessings, and gladdened him with the joy of Your presence.

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Wednesday, 18 August 2021 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Judges 9 : 6-15

Then all the lords of Shechem and the whole council assembled together by the oak of the pillar in Shechem, and proclaimed Abimelech king. When Jotham was told about this, he went to the top of Mount Gerizim. There he cried out to them, “Listen to me, lords of Shechem, that God may listen to you!”

“The trees once set out to find and anoint a king. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’ The olive tree answered, ‘Am I going to renounce the oil by which – thanks to me – gods and people are honoured, to hold sway over the trees?'”

“The trees said to the fig tree : ‘Come and reign over us.’ The fig tree answered them, ‘Am I going to renounce my sweetness and my delicious fruit, to hold sway over the trees?'”

“The trees said to the vine : ‘Come and reign over us.’ The vine answered, ‘Am I going to renounce my juice which cheers gods and people to sway over the trees?'”

“Then the trees said to the bramble bush : ‘Come, reign over us.’ The bramble bush answered the trees, ‘If you come in sincerity to anoint me as your king, then come near and take shelter in my shade; but if not, let fire break out of the bramble bush to devour even the cedars of Lebanon.'”

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Tuesday, 17 August 2021 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scripture detailing to us the calling of Gideon, one of the Judges of Israel, as the Lord called him to lead His people against the tyranny and rule of the Midianites. God called Gideon and he accepted God’s call, becoming a great Judge who led the Israelites to freedom. Meanwhile, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of how the Lord told His disciples that entering into His kingdom will not be an easy task, while reassuring them that those who had given themselves to His cause and dedicated themselves to Him shall not be disappointed.

In our first reading, as we heard of God’s calling to Gideon, at that time, the people of Israel had long been under the repeated attacks and tyranny by their neighbouring peoples, one of which being the Midianites. While the Israelites were likely to be more numerous and powerful, but it was their lack of faith in God and divisions that existed among them which led to their misery and troubles. God raised several servants to be the leaders of His people, to free them from the tyranny of their neighbours, all these despite their repeated infidelities and wicked behaviours. For God still loved His people after all.

Gideon initially hesitated and doubted, lamenting why they had to suffer under the regime of the Midianites if they had truly been beloved by God, who according to their ancestors had led the latter to leave their enslavement in Egypt, providing for them and caring for them all throughout their journey. But the Lord revealed to Gideon what He was about to do, through him, in saving the Israelites, even if Gideon came from the humblest of origins. God called him to follow His path, and after having seen God’s proof through His Angel, Gideon dedicated himself fully to the Lord, leading the Israelites to freedom from the Midianites.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from it about how the Lord reminded the people and His disciples that following Him was going to be tough and challenging, and they would encounter persecutions and difficulties due to the opposition from the world and from all those who refused to believe in the Lord and His truth. St. Peter then represented the disciples in saying how they had given up everything in order to follow Him and then wondered what would it be in there for them in following the Lord.

The Lord then quickly reassured all of them that those who had wholeheartedly given themselves to Him, in responding to His call much like that of Gideon and the Judges, the prophets and many other faithful ones of God, all would receive just rewards in the end, and their glory and joy would be complete, for the Lord knows and remembers everything, and all who hold fast to their faith in Him, all will receive justification and grace, and be counted among the saints.

All these that we have heard today are therefore reminders for us, brothers and sisters in Christ, that each and every one of us as Christians have the solemn duty to remain faithful and to commit ourselves to the Lord in each and every moments of our lives. The question is, are we willing to answer God’s call and embrace His will and His commandments? And are we willing to make the effort to follow the Lord and to be faithful and good witnesses of His truth? Many of us have yet to respond to God’s call and many are still ignorant of our Christian duties and obligations.

Let us spend some time to reflect on this, brothers and sisters in Christ. Let us all consider what each and every one of us can do in order to be part of the Lord’s call to mission, and to be active in the Church’s outreach to the world. And we do not have to do massive or ambitious things, brothers and sisters. On the contrary, we should begin even from the smallest things, from our own families and our own interactions with one another, in every ordinary things and actions through life.

We are all called to be exemplary in our way of life, even to the simplest and smallest things that we may inspire many more people to follow the Lord and to believe and put their faith in Him. May the Lord be with us all, that we may persevere courageously in faith from now on, that in all things and at all times, we may always strive to be faithful and grow ever closer to the Lord. May God bless us all in our endeavours and efforts, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 17 August 2021 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 19 : 23-30

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you : it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes, believe Me : it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for the one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

On hearing this, the disciples were astonished and said, “Who, then, can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and answered, “For human beings it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” Then Peter spoke up and said, “You see, we have given up everything to follow You. What, then, will there be for us?”

Jesus answered, “You, who have followed Me, listen to My words : on the Day of Renewal, when the Son of Man sits on His throne in glory, you, also, will sit, on twelve thrones, to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. As for those who have left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or property for My Name’s sake, they will receive a hundredfold, and be given eternal life. Many who are now first, will be last, and many who are now last, will be first.”

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Tuesday, 17 August 2021 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 84 : 9, 11-12, 13-14

Would, that I hear God’s proclamation, that He promise peace to His people, His saints – lest they come back to their folly.

Love and faithfulness have met; righteousness and peace have embraced. Faithfulness will reach up from the earth while justice bends down from heaven.

YHVH will give what is good, and our land will yield its fruit. Justice will go before Him, and peace will follow along His path.

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Tuesday, 17 August 2021 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Judges 6 : 11-24a

The Angel of YHVH came and sat under the sacred tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, of the family of Abiezer. Gideon, the son of Joash, was threshing the wheat in the wine press to hide it from the Midianites.

The Angel of YHVH said to him, “YHVH be with you, valiant warrior.” Gideon answered, “Please, my lord, if YHVH is with us, why is all this happening to us? Where are the wonders which our fathers recounted to us? Did they not say that YHVH led them up from Egypt? Why has He abandoned us now and given us into the hands of the Midianites?”

YHVH then turned to him and said, “Go, and with your courage, save Israel from the Midianites. It is I Who send you.” Gideon answered : “Pardon me, Lord, but how can I save Israel? My family is the lowliest in my tribe and I am the least in the family of my father.”

YHVH said to him, “I will be with you and you shall defeat the people of Midian with one single stroke.” Gideon said to Him, “Please give me a sign that it is indeed You Who speak. Do not leave until I return with an offering and present it to You.” YHVH responded, “I am going to wait for you here.”

Gideon went and prepared a young goat, took a measure of flour and baked unleavened bread. He put the broth in a pot and the meat in a basket, and went to present them to the Angel under the tree. Then the Angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the bread; put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.”

Gideon did so. At that moment, the Angel of YHVH extended the staff he was holding and touched the meat and the bread. Suddenly, fire blazed from the rock. The fire consumed the meat and the bread, and the Angel of YHVH disappeared.

Gideon realised that he was the Angel of YHVH and said, “Alas, o Lord YHVH! I have seen the Angel of YHVH face to face.” But YHVH said to him, “Peace be with you. Do not fear for you shall not die.” Gideon built an altar to YHVH in that place and called it YHVH-Peace.

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Monday, 16 August 2021 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that we as God’s people are to keep His commandments and His Law faithfully, dedicating our hearts completely to the Lord, loving Him with all our strength and effort, and doing whatever we can to be His faithful and dedicated witnesses in our community, wherever we may be. And we should do this with sincere heart and be filled with genuine commitment to the Lord, in giving of ourselves wholeheartedly to Him.

In our first reading today, we heard of the moment when the Lord sent His servants and called judges to be His representatives among His people, to be their leader and guides in their journey of life, in the land promised to them and which they had received. And we heard how those people had fallen into sin, disobeying God and following the path of pagan and idol worship, forgetting the love which God had shown them and their ancestors, all the miracles and wonders, and the good fortunes and life they have enjoyed in the promised land.

As a consequence, they had to suffer because of their insolence and their lack of gratitude and appreciation of everything that the Lord had done for them. They were easily swayed by worldly pleasures and temptations, and they did not truly have genuine love for the Lord, and as a result, they easily fell into the traps that the devil and all of his forces had set up in order to mislead and distract all of the people from their path towards God. They were lulled by the comfort of their new life, and were tempted to abandon the strict rules and regulations of the Law, which served as a constant reminder that they ought to live worthily for the Lord.

That is why, they walked away from God’s path and became wayward. And yet, despite the punishment that He has levied against them, the Lord in fact still loved His people very much. Those punishments were meant to chastise and discipline as much as to remind and to redirect the people to the right path, which God has shown His people through His judges and other servants, all those appointed to help the people to be reconciled with God and to find their way back to Him, so that they may be saved. And the same passage told us how the people fell again and again into sin, as once the previous judge passed on, they would fall again into temptations and sin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in what we then heard in our Gospel passage today, we heard about the encounter between a rich young man with the Lord. The young man wanted to follow the Lord and asked Him what he should have done in order to follow Him. And the Lord then asked him if he has already dedicated himself to the Law and understood God’s commandments. The young man was well-versed in the Law and the commandments, and he confidently said that he had done everything as prescribed by the Law.

However, when the Lord then called him and asked him to give up everything he had to the poor and to leave everything behind in order to follow the Lord, he left the Lord with great sorrow and being very dejected. This showed us all that the man did not truly have the Lord as the true focus and emphasis of his heart, and that is why he had a hard time detaching himself from the temptations of his worldly comforts, his possessions and wealth, his properties and resources, all of which had prevented him from truly embracing the Lord’s will.

This is why today we are all reminded not to fall into the same temptation of the flesh, and to listen to God and obey His will. We should remain firmly faithful in Him, and just as the Israelites looked up to the Lord’s appointed judges for guidance and inspiration, we should also seek inspiration from among our holy predecessors, namely the saints whose lives had been virtuous and exemplary, and which we can also emulate and follow in our own respective lives.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Stephen of Hungary, the first Christian King of Hungary. St. Stephen was remembered as a great king who ruled wisely and helped to unite his people and make his nation a strong and also most importantly Christian one. He dedicated his country to the Blessed Virgin Mother of God and established many churches and institutions throughout the land. Not only that the people and the country flourished physically and economically, but also spiritually.

St. Stephen ruled as a wise and just king, and he genuinely cared for the well-being of his people, both in physical and spiritual matters. He helped to establish a solid foundation for the Church, building its infrastructure and hierarchy, and led to many of his own people to convert to the true faith. He was also pious and dedicated to God, and his own piety became great inspiration to many of his successors and many others who emulated his great example as a Christian king.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we too can emulate the faith and the good examples set by St. Stephen of Hungary, in our own lives. Are we all able to commit ourselves to the Lord in the same way, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to follow the Lord wholeheartedly, and not be easily tempted and swayed by worldly desires and possessions? Let us all not be like the rich young man, who still loved his worldly possessions more than the Lord. It does not mean that we have to sell everything and give everything to the poor, but rather, we must never put the Lord as less important than those worldly things.

Let us all now therefore commit ourselves anew to the Lord, inspired by the examples of the holy saints and martyrs, particularly that of St. Stephen of Hungary. May the Lord be our guide and strength, and may He empower us all to live ever more faithfully and with greater dedication to serve the Lord in each and every moments of our lives. May God bless each and every one of us, now and always, forevermore. Amen.