Sundays after Pentecost

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Friday, 1 September 2017 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are reminded yet again, to be prepared for the coming of the Lord, just as we have been reminded in the Scripture passage yesterday, which told us about the faithful and the lazy servants, whose were found by their master to be faithful and lazy in their works, and they were rewarded accordingly, one receiving great praises and glory, while the other one was punished severely.

Then in the Gospel passage today, all of us heard another parable by the Lord Jesus, Who told the people the parable of the five wise women and five foolish women, as yet another reminder that each and every one of us as Christians must be prepared and must be vigilant at all times, through our actions, that we continue to be mindful of this as we proceed through our lives in our actions and deeds, in how we relate with one another.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the parable showed us how we mankind can respond to God’s calling to us. As Christians, all of us in particular need to know that we need to be vigilant because we will never know when it is that the Lord will come again, as He has promised. Otherwise we will be like the five foolish women who did not prepare and plan well in advance for any possibilities, and when the bridegroom comes at a surprising time, they were caught unprepared.

As I have asked it yesterday, now I think it is just the right opportunity for me to ask it again from each one of us. How do we want to lead our lives, and what is it that we want to be in the end? To be like the five foolish women who were unprepared for the coming of the bridegroom, or would we rather be like the five wise women who were prepared for all possibilities and prepared everything well in advance?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we are given this choice, to do what we should do in order to walk in the path of the Lord, that we will be able to welcome the Lord when He comes again, and when He sees us, He Who knows everything will find us worthy of His grace and love, and we will receive from Him what He has promised all of us, the gift of eternal life.

We have been entrusted this world for our care, and as we live our lives in this world, God entrusted us to be caretakers for one another, both for our fellow men and for the rest of creation. This is in time with what we pray for today, as together as one Church, we have today, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, remembering that as Christians, we have the obligations to care for all that God had entrusted to us.

This is how we are being prepared, by being righteous, hardworking and committed stewards of creation, and as those who are called by God, all of us should responsibly discharge our duties, by being loving and forgiving, in our relationship with one another, and by being responsible in our relationship with the nature and all that God had created for us.

What does that mean? That means, besides being good to one another we must also be friendly to this world that we live in, in all the beauty and all the animals and plants God had created for us, that we must take great care that we do not abuse them, or bring destruction upon them due to our selfishness and lack of responsibility. Yesterday we just heard the Lord speaking to us about the faithful and loyal servant, who did all that were asked of him, and that is what we should be as well.

We should not condone the acts of those who destroy the environment, for their own selfish gains, and neither should we walk in the same path. We should be responsible in how we obtain what we need in life, in our procurement of food and other things we need for the sustenance of life. We should not be greedy for more than what the Lord has blessed us, and we should not be overcome with the desire for money and wealth, that we destroy what God had given us, just to satisfy our selfish needs and wants.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, today, let us all pray together, as the whole Church, that there will be more and more people who will be called by God, to walk His path and to be prepared thoroughly for His coming, by the good care they have shown for His creation, their responsible life and behaviour, so that they become good stewards of this world, and God will deem them all, all of us here, worthy of Him when He comes.

Let us pray that each of us will be moved to devote our time and energy to volunteer and help out in the many efforts that the Church had begun in ensuring the stability and sustenance of our world around us, and at the same time, not forgetting all those who are hungry and suffering, that we may be generous to give what we can spare, and also our time and effort to help them.

May the Lord be with us all, and may He guide us throughout this journey, that we may be ever more dedicated in living our lives faithfully and filled with the love and care for our fellow men and for the whole world. Let us follow the examples of the five wise women, and in our wisdom, let us be prepared for God at all times. Amen.

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Friday, 1 September 2017 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 25 : 1-13

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “This story throws light on what will happen in the kingdom of heaven : Ten bridesmaids went out with their lamps to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were sensible. The careless bridesmaids took their lamps as they were, and did not take extra oil. But those who were sensible, took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom delayed, they all grew drowsy and fell asleep.”

“But at midnight, a cry rang out, ‘The bridegroom is here, come on and meet him!’ All the maidens woke up at once, and trimmed their lamps. Then the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, ‘Give us some oil, for our lamps are going out.’ The sensible ones answered, ‘There may not be enough for us and for you. You had better go to those who sell, and buy some for yourselves.'”

“When the bridegroom came, the foolish maidens were out buying oil, but those who were ready went with him into the wedding feast, and the doors were shut. Later the other bridesmaids arrived and called out, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered, ‘Truly I do not know you.'”

“So stay awake, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”

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Friday, 1 September 2017 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 96 : 1 and 2b, 5-6, 10, 11-12

YHVH reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the distant islands be glad. Justice and right, are His throne.

The mountains melt like wax before YHVH, the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim His justice, all peoples see His glory.

You who love YHVH, hate evil, for He preserves the lives of His faithful; He delivers them from their foes.

He sheds light upon the upright, and gladness upon the just. Rejoice in YHVH, you, who are blameless; and give praise to His holy Name.

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Friday, 1 September 2017 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Thessalonians 4 : 1-8

For the rest, brothers, we ask you, in the Name of Jesus, the Lord, and we urge you, to live in a way that pleases God, just as you have learnt from us. This you do, but try to do still more. You know the instructions we gave you on behalf of the Lord Jesus : the will of God for you is to become holy and not to have unlawful sex.

Let each of you behave towards his wife as a holy and respectful husband, rather than being led by lust, as are pagans, who do not know God. In this matter, let no one offend or wrong a brother. The Lord will do justice in all these things, as we have warned and shown you.

God has called us to live, not in impurity but in holiness, and those who do not heed this instruction disobey, not a human, but God, Himself, Who gives you His Holy Spirit.

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Thursday, 31 August 2017 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day the Word of God in the Scriptures speak to us the need to be ever vigilant, day and night, from time to time, that we will not be caught unaware and unprepared, should the Lord come again in His own time, as He had promised. This we heard ourselves from the parable which Jesus our Lord spoke to the people, the parable of the faithful and the bad servants.

In that parable, Jesus spoke first of a faithful and devoted servant to whom his master entrusted his household, his servants and his entire properties while he was away from his residence, essentially becoming his steward and the caretaker of his many possessions. And the faithful servant did all that his master had ordered him to do, fulfilling all that was required of him, and when his master came back, the servant was richly rewarded.

And then, we also heard about another servant, who was also entrusted with the possessions and the household of his master when he was away. Yet this servant was different from the previous one, as this servant was lazy, and he misused the authority given to him by his master, abusing the other servants and by shirking his duties and abandoning his responsibilities, thinking that he could get away with all that, as his master was away.

The reality only came to strike at that lazy servant when the master suddenly came back without warning and found the lazy servant to be idling at his work and even abusing the servants. The servant was punished and earned what he deserved, and all these are reminders for us all that these things will come to us as well if we are not vigilant in how we live our lives daily.

What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that each one of us have been entrusted by God with this life we have, just as the master of the house entrusted his properties and household to the servants. And how well we do in this life, we will then be judged by the Lord, Who is our Lord and Master. He will know of what we have done in our lives, as well as what we have not done.

Now, the question is that, who is it that we want to be, brothers and sisters in Christ? Do we want to be like the faithful servant, whom the master found to be faithful and good in his work, even though those labours and works might be hard, and yet, provided him with bountiful returns and rewards? Or would we rather be like the lazy servant, who had done nothing and wasted his time?

That brings us then to the need to question ourselves, what have done as a Christian and as a member of the Church of God? We cannot be lukewarm in our faith, and that means, we cannot be ignorant of what we need to do, that is to love God with all of our heart, with all of our mind and our strength, indeed, with our whole being. And that means for us to spend time with Him and to be true to our faith to Him in all the things we say and do.

We may think that it is something that is easy to be done, but in reality, it can be quite difficult. There are plenty of temptations and pressures around us tempting us to do otherwise. And we must also not forget that as Christians, we are also called to love our fellow brethren just as much as we love ourselves and just as how we loved God. Are we ready and able to give our love to our brethren, unconditionally and generously?

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all reflect on these questions and indeed think through of what each and every one of us are able to do in order to be good servants of God, walking faithfully in His ways, that in the end, when God comes again, and when it is time for us to render our accounts of our own lives, we will be able to receive worthily the graces and blessings which God had promised all of us.

May the Lord be with all of us, and may He bless us at all times, that He will always guide us on this journey of faith, that we may draw ever closer to Him with each passing day. Amen.

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Thursday, 31 August 2017 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 24 : 42-51

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Stay awake then, for you do not know on what day your Lord will come. Obviously, if the owner of the house knew at what time the thief was coming, he would certainly stay up and not allow his house to be broken into. So be alert, for the Son of Man will come at the hour you least expect.”

“Imagine a faithful and prudent servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give them food at the proper time. Fortunate, indeed, is that servant, whom his master will find at work when he comes. Truly I say to you, his lord will entrust him with everything he has.”

“Not so with the bad servant, who thinks, ‘My master is delayed.’ And he begins to ill-treat his fellow servants, while eating and drinking with drunkards. But his master will come on the day he does not know, and at the hour he least expects. He will punish that servant severely; and place him with the hypocrites. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

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Thursday, 31 August 2017 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 89 : 3-4, 12-13, 14 and 17

You turn humans back to dust, saying, “Return, o mortals!” A thousand years in Your sight are like a day that has passed, or like a watch in the night.

So make us know the shortness of our life, that we may gain wisdom of heart. How long will You be angry, o YHVH? Have mercy on Your servant.

Fill us at daybreak with Your goodness, that we may be glad all our days. May the sweetness of YHVH be upon us; may He prosper the work of our hands.

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Thursday, 31 August 2017 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Thessalonians 3 : 7-13

What a consolation for us, brothers and sisters, in the midst of our troubles and trials, this faith of yours! It is a breath of life for us, when you stand firm in the Lord. How can we thank God enough, for all the joy that we feel before God, because of you? Day and night, we beg of Him, to let us see you again, that we may complete the instruction of the believers.

May God, our Father, and Jesus, our Lord, prepare the way for us to visit you. May the Lord increase, more and more, your love for each other and for all people, as He increases our love for you. May He strengthen you, internally, to be holy and blameless before God, our Father, on the day that Jesus, our Lord, will come with all His saints.

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Wednesday, 30 August 2017 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we continued to hear the discourse from the Scriptures, telling us of the importance of living and adopting the way of the Lord, as St. Paul reminded to the Church and the faithful people of God in Corinth. He thanked God that they have lived righteously in obedience of the Lord, to remember His laws and to seek holiness in life.

This is contrasted with what we heard in the Gospel today, when Jesus continued to rebuke the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who were hypocrites in how they lived their lives, and they were rightfully called so, because of how they observed their faith and lived their lives. They claimed to be faithful to God in their ways and claimed to be pious and good, yet they did not do what they had done to serve the Lord or His people, but rather to serve their own interests.

They have imposed tough and difficult laws and rules, all the ordinances and obligations upon the people, which they themselves were not able to fulfil, and at the same time, which they also used as tools through which they could seek for more personal glories and achievements, for fame and renown, that through all they have done, they would be praised by the people and retain the prestige and honour which they had received.

That was why they were opposed to Jesus, because, just as the prophets of old came to the people, bearing the message of God’s truth, Jesus Himself, as the Lord and Master of all truths came bearing the fullness of His truth, through which He exposed the falsehoods and the lies of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. And for that same reason, the prophets were harassed, made to suffer, persecuted, tortured and even murdered for having irritated the people, who refused to turn away from their sinful ways.

And that was exactly what the Lord Jesus had to suffer at the hands of those who persecuted Him and His disciples, those who sought for His arrest and death, and those who have condemned Him before the governor Pontius Pilate, calling for Him to be crucified. And yet, despite all of these, Jesus forgave them all from the cross and prayed, that God His Father would not put their sins against them, for having condemned Him to death.

In the end, the Lord was so loving and merciful, that He was willing to even forgive all those who have slighted Him and wronged Him. But ultimately, it was up to the acceptance of those individuals of God’s mercy and forgiveness that will lead them to righteousness and reconciliation with Him. And this is what the Lord had revealed to us, and which He wanted us to know, that He loved each and everyone of us, that He wants us to be reconciled with Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what is it that we as Christians must take note of from what we heard in the Scriptures today? First of all, we must not follow the path of those who are hypocrites and those who did not truly serve God in their hearts. Instead, all of us should be genuine in our faith, by living our lives filled with actions and deeds showing that we are truly Christians, those who believe in God with all of our hearts, and placing God at the centre of our lives.

Then secondly, as foretold in the Scriptures, there will be persecutions and challenges for all of us who remain faithful in the Lord. Just as those people had persecuted the prophets and even our Lord Jesus, Whom they persecuted and condemned to die on the cross. The temptations and the pressure for us to give in to the demands of the world would be great, but if we remain faithful to the Lord, we can be assured of His grace and love. He will grant us the gift of life eternal.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all look forward to the fulfilment of God’s promises, by remaining faithful to Him and staying devoted at all times, that we will not be swayed by the falsehoods and lies of the devil. Let us live our lives full of faith, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 30 August 2017 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 23 : 27-32

At that time, Jesus said to the people and to His disciples, “Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, beautiful in appearance; but, inside, there are only dead bones and uncleanness. In the same way, you appear religious to others, but you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness within.”

“Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets, and decorate the monuments of the righteous. You say : Had we lived in the time of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding thr blood of the prophets. So, you, yourselves, confess to be the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.”

“And now, finish off what your ancestors began!”