Sundays after Pentecost

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Sunday, 6 October 2024 : Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 10 : 2-16

At that time, some Pharisees came and put Jesus to the test with this question : “Is it right for a husband to divorce his wife?”

He replied, “What law did Moses give you?” They answered, “Moses allowed us to write a certificate of dismissal in order to divorce.” Then Jesus said to them, “Moses wrote this law for you, because you are stubborn. But in the beginning of creation God made them male and female, and because of this, man has to leave father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one body. So they are no longer two but one body. Therefore let no one separate what God has joined.”

When they were indoors at home, the disciples again asked Him about this, and He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against his wife, and the woman who divorces her husband and marries another also commits adultery.”

People were bringing their little children to Jesus to have Him touch them, and the disciples rebuked them for this. When Jesus noticed it, He was very angry and said, “Let the children come to Me and do not stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.”

Then He took the children in His arms and, laying His hands on them, blessed them.

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Mark 10 : 2-12

At that time, some Pharisees came and put Jesus to the test with this question : “Is it right for a husband to divorce his wife?”

He replied, “What law did Moses give you?” They answered, “Moses allowed us to write a certificate of dismissal in order to divorce.” Then Jesus said to them, “Moses wrote this law for you, because you are stubborn. But in the beginning of creation God made them male and female, and because of this, man has to leave father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one body. So they are no longer two but one body. Therefore let no one separate what God has joined.”

When they were indoors at home, the disciples again asked Him about this, and He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against his wife, and the woman who divorces her husband and marries another also commits adultery.”

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Sunday, 6 October 2024 : Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 2 : 9-11

But Jesus, Who suffered death, and for a little while, was placed lower than the Angels, has been crowned with honour and glory. For the merciful plan of God demanded that He experience death, on behalf of everyone.

God, from Whom all come, and by Whom all things exist, wanted to bring many children to glory, and He thought it fitting to make perfect, through suffering, the initiator of their salvation. So, He Who gives, and those who receive holiness, are one. He, Himself, is not ashamed of calling us brothers and sisters.

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Sunday, 6 October 2024 : Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 127 : 1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

Blessed are you who fear YHVH and walk in His ways. You will eat the fruit of your toil; you will be blessed and favoured.

Your wife, like a vine, will bear fruits in your home; your children, like olive shoots, will stand around your table.

Such are the blessings bestowed upon the man who fears YHVH. May YHVH praise you from Zion. May you see Jerusalem prosperous all the days of your life.

May you see your children’s children, and Israel at peace!

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Sunday, 6 October 2024 : Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Genesis 2 : 18-24

YHVH God said, “It is not good for man to be alone; I will give him a helper who will be like him.” Then YHVH God formed from the earth all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air and brought them to man to see what he would call them; and whatever man called every living creature, that was its name.

So man gave names to all the cattle, the birds of the air and to every beasts of the field. But he did not find among them a helper like himself. Then YHVH God caused a deep sleep to come over man and he fell asleep. He took one of his ribs and filled its place with flesh. The rib which YHVH God had taken from man He formed into a woman and brought her to the man.

The man then said, “Now this bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken from man.” That is why man leaves his father and mother and is attached to his wife, and with her become one flesh.

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Saturday, 5 October 2024 : 26th 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 as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded ever always of God’s providence and love, especially in moments when we are suffering and enduring challenges, trials and difficulties in life. There may be many moments when the world may be very difficult for us to live in, and when everything seems to be terrible for us, when it may seem impossible for us to carry on in life. However, we must not forget that the Lord our God will always be by our side, protecting and providing for us even when we do not realise it. He is always there guiding us and helping us to walk down the right path, encouraging us and strengthening us by His Presence and through the Holy Spirit, and we should not forget this fact or ignore His Presence and existence in our journey.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Job, we heard the conclusion of the story of Job, the faithful man of God who suffered from the attacks of the evil one, Satan, who tried to prove to God that Job would fall into sin if he was to lose all the blessings and the good things which he had received from God. Job lost almost everything in the events that happened, his great wealth, his family and loved ones and even his health and body was affected. But Job did not lose faith in the Lord and continued to be faithful to Him throughout all of His ordeals and difficulties. He did not let all those challenges and trials to dissuade and tempt him away from the path that God has led him through. Job continued to hold fast and strongly in the faith that he has always had in the Lord. Despite all the attacks he also faced from his friends, who accused him of wrongdoings to have merited such a suffering, he remained steadfast.

Job did face a lot of struggles and also moments of despair, which he had to endure throughout his path of suffering as he did experience all the pain and sorrows associated with what he had to persevere through at that time. He had his doubts and uncertainties, but he never let his fears to tempt him away from God. But God did rebuke Job for his despair and for having questioned himself and his faith because of his sufferings and the opposition he faced from his peers. He should not have doubted himself and his self-value, and he should have continued to trust in the Lord wholeheartedly, and indeed, the Lord rewarded His faithful one, Job, most wonderfully, double than everything that he had once received and been blessed with, showing that God indeed is the source of everything that is good, and if we have trust and faith in Him, then truly we shall not be disappointed.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard about the account from the Gospel of St. Luke in which the Lord Jesus had His disciples that He sent out earlier returning to Him with great joy because of all the wonders, signs and works that they had performed among the people through the power and authority which the Lord Himself has granted to them all. They had healed many of the sick brought to them and showed power and authority against the evil spirits and demons, casting them out from those who had been possessed. Never before had this power and works had been shown among the people of God, and they all received this great grace of God from none other than the Saviour of the world Himself, the Divine Son of God Incarnate, Jesus Christ, Our Lord.

Through Him we have received the assurance of God’s love and providence, and the assurance of His salvation. We heard the Lord proclaiming the downfall and destruction of Satan, because it was indeed what was happening to the order of the world, to the power and dominion of Satan, the evil one, who had ruled and held dominion for so long over all of us through sin. By His power and authority, and by the great love and kindness, compassion and generosity which He has always had for us, God Himself has rescued us from the destruction and damnation that threatened because of our sins and wickedness. God would not let us all to be lost from Him, and He did whatever He could so that through His providence and help, through His Son, our Lord and Saviour, we are shown the path to eternal life.

The Lord also proclaimed before His disciples everything that God had done through Him, the manifested and incarnate Son of God, fulfilling every promises and reassurances which He has promised to each and every one of us and our predecessors. God has manifested Himself in His Son, making Himself approachable to us and allowing us all to share in this generous love. And through Him, the revelation of God’s truth and love had been made to us, showing to us just how faithful and loving God has always been towards us, from the very beginning. He reassured us all with His love, showing us that He has always desired to be reunited and reconciled with us. God showed us all His power and majesty, overcoming even the mighty power of Satan and the forces of this world, to rescue us and to bring us all back to His Presence, much as He had done for Job earlier on.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the significance of this to all of us is that we must always continue to trust in the Lord our God, in all things and at all circumstances of our journey in life. We may encounter lots of trials, challenges, obstacles and difficulties in our path, but we should not allow all these to distract us from the Lord and from dissuading and coercing us to abandon the Lord and instead to seek other sources of desire, hope and satisfaction. We must always continue to stand by the Lord and uphold our faith in Him, obey and follow His Law and commandments, resisting the challenges, difficulties, trials and temptations, all of which had threatened to lead us away from the Lord and His path. All of us should continue to trust in the Lord at all times and be the examples and inspirations for one another in faith.

May the Lord continue to help, guide and inspire us all with His strength, love and compassion, and grant us all the Holy Spirit and the power to persevere through the various challenges in life, and may He continue to love us all generously as He has always done. May the Lord be with us all and may He bless our lives and works, our every efforts and endeavours in all things, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 5 October 2024 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

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

Luke 10 : 17-24

At that time, the seventy-two disciples returned full of joy. They said, “Lord, even the demons obeyed us when we called on Your Name.” Then Jesus replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. You see, I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the Enemy, so that nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the evil spirits submit to you; rejoice, rather, than your names are written in heaven.”

At that time, Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and made them known to little ones. Yes, Father, such has been Your gracious will. I have been given all things by My Father, so that no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”

Then Jesus turned to His disciples and said to them privately, “Fortunate are you to see what you see, for I tell you, that many prophets and kings would have liked to see what you see, but did not see it; and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”

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Saturday, 5 October 2024 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

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

Psalm 118 : 66, 71, 75, 91, 125, 130

Give me knowledge and good judgment, for I trust in Your commands.

It is good for me to have been afflicted, for I have deeply learnt Your statutes.

I know, o YHVH, that Your laws are just; and there is justice in my affliction.

Your ordinances last to this day, for all things are made to serve You.

Give me knowledge; I am Your servant, who desires to understand Your statutes.

As Your words unfold, light is shed, and the simple-hearted understand.

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Saturday, 5 October 2024 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

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

Job 42 : 1-3, 5-6, 12-16

This was the answer Job gave to YHVH : “I know that You are all powerful; no plan of Yours can be thwarted. I spoke of things I did not understand, too wonderful for me to know. My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore I retract all I have said, and in dust and ashes I repent.”

YHVH blessed Job’s latter days much more than his earlier ones. He came to own fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-donkeys. He was also blessed with seven sons and three daughters. The first daughter he named Dove, the second Cinnamon, and the third Bottle of Perfume. Nowhere in the land was there found any woman who could compare in beauty with Job’s daughters. Their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.

Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.

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Friday, 4 October 2024 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are all reminded of the greatness of God and how unfathomable and vast His majesty and power is, and at the same time, we are also reassured of His love and generosity in having reached out to us, considering us all as His own beloved children, having always desired to seek for us and reach out to us to help and guide us in our journey towards Him, that we may find Him and be reconciled and reunited with Him through His forgiveness and grace. We must not take God’s love for us for granted, as if we continue to disobey Him and rebel against Him, as the Lord Himself had made it clear that we will have to account for everything on the Day of Judgment, the time when we have to face the judgment for our eternal fate.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Job in which the Lord told Job of everything that He had done, in all the wonders which He has performed throughout all Creation and time, and He showed Job how limited his human perceptions and understanding are, as compared to God’s infinite wisdom, truth and power. This must be understood in the context of how Job, who had faced a lot of sufferings and hardships due to the attacks of the evil one, while he remained fully faithful and firm in his conviction to follow the Lord, and not blaming Him for all of his misfortunes, but he did encounter moments of despair and hopelessness as he continued to be battered by those sufferings and at the same time also attacked and criticised by his own peers who alleged that Job must have committed sin before God to endure such sufferings.

Thus Job himself assumed that it must have been because of his mistakes, faults and blame that he had to suffer such tribulations, sufferings and hardships. This was where God rebuked him lightly with love and told Job that he must not assume such things, as truly, he was beloved by God, just like all of us here today. No one can be separated from the love of God, and we are reminded therefore not to easily give in to despair, to all the temptations to disobey the Lord and to abandon Him despite all the many hardships and obstacles we face. We truly must have faith in the Lord and believe that in Him alone there is hope and salvation. We must not think that there is something that God cannot solve or provide for us, and think that we are beyond redemption.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard then of the Lord’s laments, frustrations and rebuke against the cities of Galilee, those of Capernaum, Bethsaida, Chorazin and others where He had ministered in and performed His many miracles and wonders in. The Lord had done all of that, and yet many among the people, especially those Pharisees and teachers of the Law refused to believe in Him, continually doubting Him and hardening their hearts and minds, opposing His works and continuously questioning and spreading doubts about the authenticity and the veracity of His works, miracles and authority to teach. They did all these likely because they were jealous of the Lord’s great popularity and the great wisdom that He has shown in His teachings and words, while they disagreed with what He had taught and proclaimed.

Those people were blinded by their own pride, ego and arrogance which they had due to their sense of superiority from their supposed better knowledge and understanding of the Law of God, and which led them to think that they were better than any others in matters of the faith and the Law, and that was why, they refused to believe that anyone could have been present or available to point out their own errors and shortcomings. Thus, the Lord criticised and rebuked them for their lack of faith, and showed how others whom they deemed to be less worthy and condemned publicly as sinners, such as those afflicted with diseases and illness, possessed by evil spirits and demons, as well as the tax collectors and prostitutes, those were closer than they were on the way to the Lord and His salvation, as they were humble and willing to listen to God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are therefore reminded today that each and every one of us as Christians must always strive to be faithful to God in all things, to be humble and willing to listen to Him, and not to be easily swayed by our desires and the temptations of pleasure all around us. We must not allow those worldly temptations and evils, attractions and attachments from deluding and misleading us down the wrong path in life. Instead, we have to remember the faith of our holy predecessors, like that of Job and many other faithful servants of God, and keep in mind God’s love for each one of us, which He has shown us most wonderfully through His own beloved and begotten Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of the renowned St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Order of Friars Minor, also best known as the Franciscans after their founder. St. Francis of Assisi was born as Giovannj di Pietro di Bernardone, as John, son of Peter Bernardone, a rich textile merchant in Medieval era of what is now Italy. He was given the finest education and preparation early on in his life as his father expected the young St. Francis to succeed him in his textile and merchant business. However, God had different plan for this young man, as the young St. Francis encountered the Lord through the poor and the needy, and while he was not lacking anything material, and living the high life of a rich young man, blessed in all worldly matters, but he was not satisfied and truly happy.

He began experiencing spiritual events and also conversion experience, and in one well-known occasion, the young St. Francis encountered the Lord at the ruined church of San Damiano, where he heard the Lord’s voice, telling him to repair His Church that is falling into ruins. St. Francis took it as the Lord asking him literally to restore the church at San Damiano that was in ruins where he was at, and he took some of his father’s textiles and merchandise, selling them to fund the restoration of the church. The priest in charge of the church refused the money as it was obtained from ill-gotten gains by stealing, which upset St. Francis, who threw the coins on the floor. And when St. Francis’ father found out about it and confronted him on several occasions, leading to a settlement before the Bishop of Assisi, St. Francis very publicly renounced both his father and his inheritance, symbolically stripping himself of all of his clothes which he returned to his father.

Thereafter, St. Francis of Assisi went to live with some others, begging for money and living a life of communal care, which eventually became the beginning of the Franciscan order. They lived a holy and pious life, ministering to the people around them, proclaiming God’s words through everyone, and not just through words, but even more importantly, through real and genuine actions. St. Francis inspired many others through his examples, and very soon his Franciscan order grew and gained the attention even from the local bishops and the Pope himself. Through all these works and many others I cannot mention, St. Francis of Assisi has indeed shown us what it truly means to be a committed Christian, to be truly focused on the Lord and wholeheartedly committed to Him, while resisting the temptations of worldly pleasures and vices. To the end of his life, St. Francis of Assisi continued to contribute to the good works and ministry of the Church, reaching out towards and touching the lives of many.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from the life of St. Francis of Assisi, let us all therefore reflect well and carefully upon our own lives as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people. Let us all remember that we should always put the Lord as the first and most important One in each and every one of our lives, as our focus and the emphasis of our lives in everything that we say and do. Like Job who has trusted in the Lord in all things despite the challenges and struggles that he faced, and that of St. Francis of Assisi, who gave up on everything, on status and material wealth to follow the Lord, let us all therefore do the same in our own lives as well, to do God’s will in all things and at all times and opportunities.

May the Lord, our most loving and compassionate God continue to watch over us, strengthen us in our faith and help us in our journey towards Him, so that we all, having been inspired by the great examples of His saints, may continue to grow in holiness and love for Him, and that we ourselves may be good role models and examples for everyone around us, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 4 October 2024 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 10 : 13-16

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! So many miracles have been worked in you! If the same miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would already be sitting in ashes and wearing the sackcloth of repentance.”

“Surely for Tyre and Sidon it will be better on the Day of Judgment than for you. And what of you, city of Capernaum? Will you be lifted up to heaven? You will be thrown down to the place of the dead. Whoever listens to you listens to Me, and whoever rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me, rejects the One Who sent Me.”