Sundays after Pentecost

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Monday, 14 August 2017 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 17 : 22-27

At that time, when Jesus was in Galilee with the Twelve, He said to them, "The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. But He will rise on the third day." The Twelve were deeply grieved.

When they returned to Capernaum, the temple tax collectors came to Peter and asked him, "Does your Master pay the temple tax?" He answered, "Yes." Peter then entered the house; and immediately, Jesus asked him, "What do you think, Simon? Who pay taxes or tribute to the kings of the earth : their sons or strangers and aliens?"

Peter replied, "Strangers and aliens." And Jesus told him, "The sons, then, are tax-free. But, so as not to offend these people, go to the sea, throw in a hook, and open the mouth of the first fish you catch. You will find a coin in it. Take the coin and give it to them for you and for Me."

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Monday, 14 August 2017 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 147 : 12-13, 14-15, 19-20

Exalt YHVH, o Jerusalem; praise your God, o Zion! For He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your children within you.

He grants peace on your borders and feeds you with the finest grain. He sends His command to the earth and swiftly runs His word.

It is He, Who tells Jacob His words; His laws and decrees, to Israel. This, He has not done for other nations, so His laws remain unknown to them. Alleluia!

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Monday, 14 August 2017 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Deuteronomy 10 : 12-22

So now, Israel, what is it that YHVH, your God, asks of you but to fear Him and follow all His ways? Love Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Observe the commandments of YHVH and His laws which I command you today, for your good.

See : the heavens, those that are seen and those that are unseen, the earth and all that is in it, everything belongs to YHVH, your God. Nevertheless, it was on your fathers that YHVH set His heart. He loved them, and after them, He chose their descendants – you – preferring you to all the peoples, as you can see this day.

Purify your hearts, then, and do not be defiant towards YHVH because YHVH is the God of gods and the Lord of lords. He is the great God, the strong and terrible God. When He judges, He treats everyone equally; He does not let Himself be bought by gifts. He renders justice to the orphan and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him bread and clothing.

Love the stranger then, because you yourselves were strangers in the land of Egypt. Fear YHVH, your God, serve Him, follow Him and call on His Name when you have to make an oath. He is your pride and He is your God, Who has done those amazing things for you. When you went down to Egypt, your ancestors were no more than seventy persons, but now, YHVH, your God, has made you as many as the stars of heaven.

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Sunday, 13 August 2017 : Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today's Sunday Mass readings, all of us heard from the Scriptures all about God appearing to His people in times of distress, to bring them out of their troubles and difficulties, for they are His people and He is their God. He has established His Covenant with them, and He will always be faithful to that Covenant which He had made with them. He will make them strong and give them the power and energy needed to remain faithful.

In the first reading today, we heard about how Elijah met God in the desert, at the holy mountain of God, after travelling there from the land of Israel for forty days and forty nights. The prophet Elijah had been in exile from Israel, after the king of Israel, king Ahab and his wife, Queen Jezebel, with all the pagan worshippers and the enemies of the Lord wanting for his death.

This was after what Elijah had done to the pagan Baal priests at the Mount Carmel, where God showed His might and showed that He is the True God. Four hundred and fifty Baal priests were killed that day by the Israelites, and the pagans wanted to get revenge on the prophet of God, Elijah. And thus, Elijah had to flee from Israel to the desert, where God took care of him and provided food and drink to him.

And He called Elijah to His holy mountain, where He revealed Himself to Elijah, in what we heard in our first reading today. God first sent a great windstorm that battered the rocks and the mountain, and then an earthquake that sundered and shook the entire mountain, and then a great fire that sizzles and burnt everything in its wake, but the Lord was not amongst all of these. Instead, Elijah recognised God being in the gentle breeze that followed, and covered himself before Him.

God spoke to Elijah, His prophet and servant, and commanded him to do what He willed for him, that he ought to go back to the land of Israel to continue the works which God had laid out for him amongst His people. God reassured Elijah of His providence and guidance, and strengthened the faith and commitment he had, that he returned to Israel to confront king Ahab and all those who have made themselves enemies of the Lord.

What Elijah went through at that time, was the same as what the disciples encountered at the time when they were in the boat, battered by the winds and the waves. That is what we have heard today from our Gospel passage. The disciples of the Lord were inside a boat, rocked by the winds and the waves, and they feared greatly for their lives. They encountered a great difficulty and a challenging moment in their life.

And Jesus appeared before them, walking towards them on the surface of the water. They did not believe that it was Him, as to them, it was impossible for any human beings to be able to walk on water, and less probable still in the midst of such a great storm. Their faith in Jesus was still weak, and as they were in such a situation, they faltered.

The boat also represents the Church, as the Church is often represented as a ship, carrying all the faithful, the people of God on it, as they journey through life, represented by the voyage embarked by the ship through the waters. And we are just like the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord on the boat. All of us are human beings just as they were, all sinners and weak in the flesh, and just they doubted and had fear, so do we in our own lives.

The storms and the waves are the troubles and challenges that the Church and all of us the faithful had faced, are facing, and will be facing as those who have kept the faith in Jesus our Lord. And it is the same challenges which the prophet Elijah has faced, in all the persecutions he encountered, the threats made to his life and safety. The prophet had endured those difficult moments, and there were surely times when there would be doubts and fears in him, as it had been for the Apostles.

But the prophet Elijah showed us that in the face of opposition and worldly persecutions, all of us must remain strong and committed to our faith in the Lord, for he never gave up the fight and the struggle against the pagan worship and the lack of faith among the Israelites, but continuing to persevere faithfully through his actions and deeds. He recognised the presence of God in his midst, and humbly came before Him to listen to His will.

The Apostle St. Peter also made the same attempt, as he tried to walk on the water towards Jesus, but his faith was not strong and he faltered. He was sinking when the Lord Jesus came to pick him up by the hand, and saved him from sinking. This is what many of us Christians will encounter in our lives, through those moments when we encounter great difficulties and challenges, at which time, we may just feel that we would rather give up our struggles.

However, we must never forget the fact that God is ever there for us, guiding us, protecting us and providing for us all that we need. He is ever ready to bless us and to give us what we need to persevere. This He has given to the prophet Elijah, caring for him as he went through his exile, sending him ravens to provide him with food and drink, and then later on, in another occasion, He provided for him through the widow at the city of Zarephath, who then God also blessed and provided for, that none of them would ever be in need at a time when a great famine ravaged the land.

Through all of these, God wants to let us all know that first of all, as Christians we cannot expect to have a smooth sailing life without troubles or concerns. If our lives thus far have been good and without problems, then probably it is either because God has truly blessed us, or more likely, that we have not been truly faithful in our lives and in our actions. If we do not actively live up to what we believe in our faith, then it is no surprise that we have not been encountering opposition in our faith life.

Then secondly, There will definitely be those times when we will stumble and falter in our faith, as the disciples had been, meaning that at those times, we may end up questioning our faith and beliefs in the Lord. We will be like the Apostles who trembled in fear, even doubting that the Lord is there for us, and we will perhaps end up sinking like St. Peter, because we do not truly believe that God is there for us.

Yet, that is the reality which we must accept, that the Lord is always with us, no matter what happens, and He is forever faithful to the Covenant which He has established with us all, His beloved ones. This is what I have mentioned at the very beginning of this discourse today, and which is the key message which the Lord wants us to know, as we continue with our respective lives, and especially as we continue with the struggles and hurdles of our lives.

God is always faithful, even when we have not been faithful. If not, He would not have sent us His Son to save us, by the loving sacrifice He made on the cross for our sake. He has loved us even though we are sinners and rebels, all those who have refused to listen to Him and those who have disobeyed Him. What He wants us to do, though, is for us to be thoroughly converted to His cause, and to have a profound change in our lives.

How do we do this, brothers and sisters in Christ? We have to learn to trust the Lord, in His providence, by deepening our relationships with Him, through prayer and devotion, and by spending our time with Him. It is too often that we mankind had forgotten to spend time with God, just because we are too busy and preoccupied with our worldly matters, ending up getting more and more distant from the Lord. It is not surprising then that we doubt in God when difficulties and challenges arise, for in the first place, our faith in Him is lukewarm and weak.

And then, we should also practice and deepen our faith through real actions based on our faith. We do not need to do great and marvellous deeds, for indeed, any actions ought to begin from ourselves, from small and little deeds that we do in life. If we can learn to love our neighbours and all those people who come to us, needing our help and love, then surely we can also show love in even greater deeds. If we are able to be generous to others in small things, then we can be generous in even greater things.

Let us all therefore, be truly faithful and devoted to God, that no matter what tribulations and challenges that will come our way, we will always be able to persevere through them, following in the footsteps of the prophet Elijah and also the Apostles and disciples of the Lord, to whom the Lord had given the gift of faith. Let us no longer be afraid or be doubtful, but put from now onwards, our complete trust in God, for He is always faithful and loving to us, without ceasing.

May God be with us always, and may He bless all of our endeavours, that we will always be able to work together, as His one Church, united together on this journey, that we will reach out to Him and find our way to the eternal glory He has promised to all those who are faithful to Him. May God bless us always, forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 13 August 2017 : Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 14 : 22-33

At that time, immediately, Jesus obliged His disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowd away. And having sent the people away, He went up the mountain by Himself, to pray. At nightfall, He was there alone.

Meanwhile, the boat was very far from land, dangerously rocked by the waves, for the wind was against it. At daybreak, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. When they saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, thinking that it was a ghost. And they cried out in fear. But at once, Jesus said to them, "Courage! Do not be afraid. It is Me!"

Peter answered, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." Jesus said to him, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water to go to Jesus. But seeing the strong wind, he was afraid, and began to sink; and he cried out, "Lord, save me!"

Jesus immediately stretched out His hand and took hold of him, saying, "Man of little faith, why did you doubt?" As they got into the boat, the wind dropped. Then those in the boat bowed down before Jesus, saying, "Truly, You are the Son of God!"

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Sunday, 13 August 2017 : Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 9 : 1-5

I tell you, sincerely, in Christ, and my conscience assures me in the Holy Spirit, that I am not lying. I have great sadness and constant anguish for the Jews. I would even desire, that, I myself, suffer the curse of being cut off from Christ, instead of my brethren : I mean, my own people, my kin.

They are Israelites, whom God adopted, and on them, rests His glory. Theirs, are the Covenants, the Law, the worship and the promises of God. They are descendants of the patriarchs, and from their race, Christ was born, He, Who, as God, is above all distinctions. Blessed be He forever and ever : Amen!

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Sunday, 13 August 2017 : Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 84 : 9ab-10, 11-12, 13-14

Would, that I hear God's proclamation, that He promise peace to His people, His saints. Yet, His salvation is near to those who fear Him, and His glory will dwell in our land.

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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Sunday, 13 August 2017 : Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Kings 19 : 9a, 11-13a

On reaching the place, Elijah came to the cave and stayed in it. Then YHVH said, "Go up and stand on the mount, waiting for YHVH." And YHVH passed by.

There was first a windstorm, wild wind which rent the mountains and broke the rocks into pieces before YHVH, but YHVH was not in the wind. After the storm, an earthquake, but YHVH was not in the earthquake; after the earthquake, a fire, but YHVH was not in the fire; after the fire, the murmur of a gentle breeze.

When Elijah perceived it, he covered his face with his cloak, went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

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Saturday, 12 August 2017 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the continuation of what Moses had taught the people of Israel during their time of journey through the desert to the Promised Land, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy. Moses reminded them of the Covenant which God had established with their ancestors, and exhorted them to continue to keep the same faith which they had, even after the Lord had brought them into the Promised Land, and after they have settled in that land in peace and prosperity.

Yet, as history had shown throughout the Scriptures, the people of Israel had not been faithful. God had blessed them and cared for them in many occasions, through their moments of difficulty, sending them judges to liberate them from their enemies and oppressors, and appointed kings to lead and guide them on the right path. But, still, they continued to disobey the Lord, and even many of the kings and leaders led the people astray.

They were the ones whom the Lord mentioned, as those who had little faith in God, and in His ability to save them from their distress. What applied at the time of Jesus, also applied in the times of the ages past, when the people of Israel repeatedly failed to walk righteously in the path that God had shown them. They instead trusted in their own power and turned to the pagan idols and gods.

This is despite God having shown them His miracles and wonders, after all that He had done for them, and after all the prophets and messengers, and the great deeds and miracles those prophets had performed before them. They refused to repent from their sins and consistently sinned, doing what was abhorrent and wicked in the sight of God and man alike.

At the time of the Lord Jesus, as mentioned in the Gospel today, although the people had seen the miracles and wonders that He had done amongst them, but they were not convinced or had faith in Him. They still had doubts in their hearts, and that was why they were not able to do as the Lord had told them to do. If they truly have faith in Him, they would not be shaken or be doubtful, when the Lord was taken from them at the time of His Passion. As we see, all of the disciples fled when the Lord was arrested by the chief priests.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, what is it that the Lord wants to remind us with today's Scripture passages? It is that all of us who follow Him, who call ourselves as Christians must have true and genuine faith in God. We cannot be lukewarm in our faith, or worse still, to have a faith that is just a formality. We either have a faith that is living and genuine, or not to have faith at all. For a lukewarm faith is just as good as a dead and non-existent faith.

All of us must live out our faith with real commitment and action, and we must wholeheartedly believe in the Lord and entrust Him with our very life, in everything we say and do. All of us must obey Him in His laws and commandments, and restrain ourselves from doing what is evil and wicked in the eyes of God. These are the things that we as Christians must do in our lives, as those who are faithful to God.

Then, how should we proceed, brethren? Perhaps, we should heed the examples of today's saint, St. Jane Frances de Chantal, who was widowed at a young age, losing her husband to an accident, leaving her and her four children without a husband and a father. After having settled the matters and the inheritance of her husband, St. Jane Frances de Chantal made a vow of chastity and joined the religious life.

She devoted the rest of her life to the Lord, in her good works and through prayerful dedication, and by founding the Congregation of the Visitation, a new religious order for women who were called to serve the Lord, reaching out to the public and serving the poor and the needy. What she had done at that time was considered revolutionary, as it was not common for women religious to do outreach work such as what she and her companions had done.

Yet, through the examples and the piety which St. Jane Frances de Chantal had shown, all of us should be inspired to live in the same manner, following the Lord with faith, through our real commitment and good works in life. Let us all therefore renew that commitment we must have to the Lord. Let us all be like St. Jane Frances de Chantal and the many other holy men and women of God who have gone before us, and resist the temptations to sin. Let us have a real and living faith, and not be lukewarm any longer in our faith.

May the Lord bless us and strengthen our faith inside us, that our faith, once lukewarm and weak, may become a blazing fire inflamed by the power of the Holy Spirit, guiding us to be ever faithful and devoted in our life. May God be with us always, and may through the intercession of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, the Lord may move our hearts and souls, to desire Him and to seek Him before all else. Amen.

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Saturday, 12 August 2017 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious (Gospel Reading)

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

Matthew 17 : 14-20

At that time, when Jesus and His disciples came to the crowd, a man approached Him, knelt before Him and said, "Sir, have pity on my son, who is an epileptic and suffers terribly. He has often fallen into the fire, and at other times into the water. I brought him to Your disciples but they could not heal him."

Jesus replied, "O you people, faithless and misled! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to Me." And Jesus commanded the evil spirit to leave the boy, and the boy was immediately healed. Later, the disciples approached Jesus and asked Him privately, "Why could we not drive out the spirit?"

Jesus said to them, "Because you have little faith. I say to you : if only you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could tell that mountain to move from here to there, and the mountain would obey. Nothing would be impossible for you."