Tempus Ordinaria

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Tuesday, 15 July 2025 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Exodus 2 : 1-15a

Now a man belonging to the clan of Levi married a woman of his own tribe. She gave birth to a boy and, seeing that he was a beautiful child, she kept him hidden for three months. As she could not conceal him any longer, she made a basket out of papyrus leaves and coated it with tar and pitch. She then laid the child in the basket and placed it among the reeds near the bank of the Nile; but the sister of the child kept at a distance to see what would happen to him.

Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the Nile; her attendants meanwhile walked along the bank. When she saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maidservant to fetch it. She opened the basket and saw the child – a boy, and he was crying! She felt sorry for him, for she thought : “This is one of the Hebrew children.”

Then the sister of the child said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” Pharaoh’s daughter agreed, and the girl went to call the mother of the child. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take the child and nurse him for me and I will pay you.”

So the woman took the child and nursed him and, when the child had grown, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter who adopted him as her son. And she named him Moses to recall that she had drawn him out of the water. After a fairly long time, Moses, by now a grown man, wanted to meet his fellow Hebrews. He noticed how heavily they were burdened and he saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his own people.

He looked around and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. When he went out the next day he saw two Hebrews quarrelling. Moses said to the man in the wrong, “Why are you striking a fellow countryman?” But he answered, “Who has set you prince and judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”

Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must be known.” When Pharaoh heard about it he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian.

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Monday, 14 July 2025 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures that we received today, we are all reminded of the challenges and difficulties that we may have to encounter in our journey and path as Christians and as God’s holy and beloved people. This is because being a disciple and follower of the Lord does not mean that we will be free from hardships and challenges, trials and difficulties in life, unlike what some among us might have believed in. We must not delude ourselves into thinking that our lives will be absolutely happy and smooth after we have followed the Lord and been faithful to Him. Instead, we have to remind ourselves that we must be steadfast even in the face of the toughest challenges and trials.

In our first reading passage today, taken from the Book of Exodus, we heard of the moment when the people of Israel, the descendants of Jacob living in Egypt after Joseph brought his whole extended family there, began to suffer the persecutions and oppressions by the new Pharaoh, king of Egypt who according to the accounts did not know the good deeds and works which Joseph had done for the Egyptians. Historically, Biblical scholars and historians had attributed this to the change of government or dynasty in Egypt, with the Pharaohs favourable to the Israelites hailing from among the Hyksos people that conquered and ruled Egypt for a period before they were overthrown by the local Egyptians.

That was why when the new rulers of Egypt came to power, they feared the growing numbers of the Israelites, who grew rapidly in numbers, being blessed by God in the land of Egypt. And that was how the Israelites came to be subjugated and enslaved by the Egyptians and their Pharaoh, who persecuted them badly and made use of them to do hard labour and works, beginning the period of enslavement, from which God would eventually save all of them from, through Moses, the one whom He would send to His beloved people to guide them out of the land of Egypt. And despite the efforts of the Pharaohs to eradicate and destroy the people of Israel, they kept on thriving regardless, as God was with them.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we are all reminded that being disciples and followers of the Lord will likely require us to face challenges and difficulties, and for us to make sacrifices and efforts to follow the Lord faithfully. And the Lord also presented the reality of how we may even face opposition, rejection and hardships from those who are closest to us, our own family members and closest friends at times. The Lord was telling this to His disciples in particular because at that time, the common perception was that when the Messiah was to come into the world, many thought or expected that the Messiah or Saviour would bring an era of everlasting peace and joy, glory and greatness to the people of God, reestablishing the glorious Kingdom of Israel as how it once was during the reigns of King David and King Solomon.

The Lord wanted His disciples and followers, and hence also all of us here to realise that being His disciples and followers will likely entail obstacles and opposition because ultimately, the world and its ways hate the Lord and His truth, His ways and righteousness. And that is why His disciples and followers, all those who adhere to His path, all of these, including each and every one of us will be tested and made to endure hardships, instead of enjoying immediate joy and satisfaction in life. It does not mean that our lives will be completely miserable, but we must not have the unrealistic expectation that our lives will be totally free from trouble, or that everything that we want and desire will be fulfilled. We have to prepare and strengthen ourselves, our resolve and commitment that we may always be faithful as disciples of Christ.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Camillus de Lellis, the founder of the religious order of the Camillians, dedicated to the care of the sick, and was famous for his great efforts and works in caring for the ones who have suffered physical maladies and difficulties. He was born during the time of the Renaissance in Italy and he had a rather neglected childhood and upbringing as his mother passed away when he was young while his father as an army officer was rarely home. As he grew up, he followed his father in his career, serving in the military for a number of years, and after a rather tough period of time, and having lost his possessions through gambling, he sought to join the Capuchin friars only to be rejected because of a persistent leg wound he was suffering from.

And that was how he ended up establishing a new religious order with several others who were also called to minister to the service to the patients and the sick in the hospital, which would eventually be known as the Order of Clerks Regular, Ministers of the Infirm, known more popularly by their association with their founder, St. Camillus de Lellis himself, as the Camillians. Together, St. Camillus de Lellis and his fellow workers of the faith ministered to the people who were suffering from various sicknesses and committed to care for them until their dying moments, and they cared for many during the numerous occasions of epidemics that broke out throughout Italy at that time and beyond. While he himself was suffering from ailments, St. Camillus de Lellis did not allow those ailments to stop him from helping others who were in need, and it was told that he would even crawl when he was unable to walk towards his patients.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we recall the words of the Sacred Scriptures and as we remember the inspiring examples and faith shown to us by St. Camillus de Lellis, we ought to keep in mind that each and every one of us are called and challenged to live our lives ever more faithfully in each and every moments, to serve God and to help one another, showing genuine love and concern as St. Camillus de Lellis and our many other holy predecessors had done in their lives and ministry. May the Lord continue to help and guide us, strengthen each one of us in our commitment to walk ever more faithfully in what the Lord Himself has called us to do, in each and every moments of our lives, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 14 July 2025 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Matthew 10 : 34 – Matthew 11 : 1

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Do not think that I have come to establish peace on earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Each one will have as enemies, those of one’s own family.”

“Whoever loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me. And whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me, is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life, for My sake, will find it.”

“Whoever welcomes you, welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me, welcomes Him Who sent Me. The one who welcomes a prophet, as a prophet, will receive the reward of a prophet; the one who welcomes a just man, because he is a just man, will receive the reward of a just man.”

“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, because he is My disciple, I assure you, he will not go unrewarded.”

When Jesus had finished giving His twelve disciples these instructions, He went on from there to teach and proclaim His message in their towns.

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Monday, 14 July 2025 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Psalm 123 : 1-3, 4-6, 7-8

Had not YHVH been on our side – let Israel say – had not YHVH been on our side, when people rose up against us, then, they would have swallowed us alive; such was their anger against us.

A bit more, and the flood would have engulfed us; the torrent would have swept over us; the raging waters would have swept us away. Blessed be YHVH, Who did not let us be devoured.

Like a bird, our soul escaped from the snare of the fowler; the snare that was broken and we were freed. Our help is in the Name of YHVH, Who made heaven and earth.

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Monday, 14 July 2025 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Exodus 1 : 8-14, 22

Then a new king who had not known Joseph came to power and said to his people, “The Israelites are more numerous and stronger than we are. Let us deal warily with them lest they increase still more and, in case of war, side with our enemy, fight against us and escape from the land.”

So they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labour. In that way they built the storage towns of Pithom and Rameses. But the more they oppressed the Hebrews the more they increased and spread, until the Egyptians dreaded the Israelites and became ruthless in making them work. They made life bitter for them in hard labour with bricks and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields. In all their work the Egyptians treated them harshly.

Pharaoh then gave this order to all the people : “Every infant boy born to the Hebrews must be thrown into the Nile, but every girl may live.”

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Sunday, 13 July 2025 : Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are reminded through the words of the Sacred Scriptures that we have received in which focused on the matter of the Law and commandments of God, which we all have received from the Lord through His Church and the Scriptures themselves. We are reminded this Sunday that the Law of God is not just meant for us to follow and obey blindly, but we must truly understand the true meaning, purpose and intentions of such Law and commandments so that we can become better, more faithful and more loving Christians in all things. We cannot be shallow in our faith and be merely paying lip service or be hypocrites in how we live our Christian lives and in how we follow the Law and commandments of God, but we must always be sincere and genuine in following God wholeheartedly at all times.

In our first reading today from the Book of Deuteronomy, we are reminded that the Law that God has given us all originated from the Law which the Lord Himself has shown and revealed to His first called people, the Israelites, through Moses, and therefore was also known as the Law of Moses. It was composed of the famous Ten Commandments and also the many rules and regulations that accompanied the Law. All those laws and rules, commandments and precepts were all meant by God to help and guide His people in their path and in their journey towards becoming a people truly blessed by God. However, in time, such Law, commandments and all of the precepts became blurred in their intentions and purposes, and the people grew to forget what their significance truly were in the first place.

That was why by the time of the Lord’s ministry and life, the Law and commandments of God had become a shadow of its original intent and purposes, with the people who were entrusted with its guardianship and safekeeping, namely the teachers of the Law and Pharisees being more concerned with the manner of how the Law and the commandments were enforced and lived, followed through and obeyed, in all of its intricate details, particularly with the additions and modifications made on them over the centuries, rather than truly understanding their significance and purpose, that is to teach everyone, all the people of God how to love Him and how to love their fellow brothers and sisters all around them. This is what truly matters, instead of how many among the Pharisees using them to discredit and being biased against those they deemed to be inferior.

Then, from our second reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the region of Colossae in Phyrgia in Asia Minor, we heard of the Apostle describing the Lord Jesus, the Saviour of all as the Image of the Unseen God, the Firstborn of all, and the One through Whom God had created the whole world and the Universe. He is the Logos, the Incarnate Word of God, the Divine Son of God made Flesh, becoming the Son of Man, and He is indeed the perfect manifestation of God’s Love, His Law and commandments being made visible, tangible and real for all of us, that God is no longer a distant concept, but as One Who is truly present among us and within us all.

That is why all of us who have received this great grace from God, of knowing His love personally and most wonderfully, which He had made through the sending of His only Begotten Son, we should indeed be grateful and thankful of everything we have received, and at the same time, we should also realise what the Lord truly wants us to do with our lives, in following His Law and commandments in the right way and with the right purpose and intentions. As the Head of the Church, Christ has shown us all what it truly means for all of us to be Christians, to be the ones whom He had called and chosen from the world to be His own, to be loved by Him and to be the examples and inspirations for everyone around us in our way of life so that many more may come to know what it means to follow the Lord, His Law and commandments in the right manner.

Lastly, from our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we are all reminded of what the true meaning and purpose of the Law of God is, as we heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples and followers, and to a teacher of the Law who asked of Him regarding what he ought to do to gain eternal life, and then regarding the Law and the commandments which he and the other teachers of the Law had always held very sacred and committed to guard and fulfil, the Lord then used the parable of the Good Samaritan to make it clear to all of them and to His disciples. This is important because the Samaritans from the perspective of the Jewish people at the time had a rather low regard and they were seen as heretics and even pagans, classified as the same level as sinners like prostitutes, tax collectors and those deemed to be unworthy of God.

But in that story of the Good Samaritan, the Samaritan was clearly the protagonist of the story, unlike the behaviour of the priest and the Levite who passed by and ignored the plight of the man who had been beset by bandits and robbers and left to die on the way to Jericho. And this comparison is significant because the Samaritans as mentioned were seen as sinners and wicked people, while the priests were highly revered in the Jewish community as the ones who were offering the sacrificial offerings and prayers to God on behalf of the people, while the Levites were the members of the tribe that had been consecrated and dedicated to God, and from among whom the members of the priesthood came from, and hence, shared the same respect and honour as the priests themselves.

Therefore the irony in that parable story was that the ones who were supposedly the most devout, most pious and the ones who got the positive outlook and respect from the people were the ones that ignored the sufferings and hardships of their own brother, who was evidently from the story of the Lord, was also a fellow Jew. It was in fact a Samaritan, which at that time could be said as the bitter enemy of the Jewish people, who actually bothered to stop and help the wounded man, who was on the verge of death. Not only that, but the Samaritan in fact went the extra mile to help the wounded man, telling the innkeeper to take good care of the man, and how he would return and pay any extra expenses that the man incurred should his injuries required longer recuperation time.

Now, that is what the true intention and meaning of the Law of God is, what the Lord had wanted us all to learn, that is to love as He Himself has loved all of us, without limit and without boundary. To love everyone generously and sincerely, and even more so to those whom we love and are dear to us. And we cannot be biased and prejudiced against others simply because of our man-made divisions and categorising, that ‘us-vs-them’ attitude that often directed our actions and way of interacting with those whom we encounter, like how the Jews and the Samaritans were often at each others’ throats. For us to be true and genuine Christians, and to obey His Law and commandments authentically, we ought to learn to love as the Lord Himself has loved, as how the Good Samaritan has loved, so generously and so sincerely.

Now, are we all ready and willing to follow the Lord faithfully in the manner that He has called us to do? Are we willing to follow Him in His Law and commandments in the manner that He Himself has shown and taught us, in loving others around us sincerely and generously, and not only showing outward expression of faith, but by truly being filled with God’s love, and sharing that love to others, to be faithful at all times and to share our hope in God’s light and truth to everyone we encounter in life, at all times? May all of us be inspired and strengthened in all these, and may God bless our every endeavours made with truly generous love, all for His greater glory. Amen.

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Sunday, 13 July 2025 : Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 10 : 25-37

At that time, then a teacher of the Law came and began putting Jesus to the test. And he said, “Master, what shall I do to receive eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What is written in the Law? How do You understand it?” The man answered, “It is written : You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind. And you shall love your neighbour as yourself.”

Jesus replied, “What a good answer! Do this and you shall live.” The man wanted to justify his question, so he asked, “Who is my neighbour?” Jesus then said, “There was a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him and went off, leaving him half-dead.”

“It happened that a priest was going along that road and saw the man, but passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite saw the man, and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan also was going that way; and when he came upon the man, he was moved with compassion. He went over to him, and cleaned his wounds with oil and wine, and wrapped them in bandages. Then he put him on his own mount, and brought him to an inn, where he took care of him.”

“The next day, he had to set off; but he gave two silver coins to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and whatever you spend on him, I will repay when I return.'” Jesus then asked, “Which of these three, do you think, made himself neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The teacher of the Law answered, “The one who had mercy on him.” And Jesus said, “Then go and do the same.”

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Sunday, 13 July 2025 : Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Colossians 1 : 15-20

He is the image of the unseen God, and for all creation, He is the Firstborn, for, in Him, all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible : thrones, rulers, authorities, powers… All was made through Him and for Him. He is before all and all things hold together, in Him.

And He is the Head of the Body, that is the Church, for He is the first, the first raised from the dead, that He may be the first in everything, for God was pleased to let fullness dwell in Him. Through Him, God willed to reconcile all things to Himself, and through Him, through His Blood shed on the cross, God established peace, on earth as in heaven.

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Sunday, 13 July 2025 : Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 68 : 14 and 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36ab and 37

But I pray to You, o YHVH. At a time most favourable to You, in Your great love, o God, answer me, with Your unfailing help. In Your mercy, o YHVH, give me a good answer; in Your great compassion, turn to me.

But I myself, am humbled and wounded; Your salvation, o God, will lift me up. I will praise the Name of God in song; I will glorify Him with thanksgiving.

Let the lowly witness this, and be glad. You who seek God, may your hearts be revived. For YHVH hears the needy; and does not despise those in captivity.

For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. The children of His servants shall inherit it, and those who love His Name will dwell in it.

Alternative Psalm

Psalm 18 : 8, 9, 10, 11

The Law of the Lord is perfect : it gives life to the soul. The word of the Lord is trustworthy : it gives wisdom to the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right : they give joy to the heart. The commandments of the Lord are clear : they enlighten the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is pure, it endures forever; the judgments of the Lord are true, all of them just and right.

They are more precious than gold – pure gold of a jeweller; they are much sweeter than honey which drops from the honeycomb.

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Sunday, 13 July 2025 : Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Deuteronomy 30 : 10-14

For you shall turn to YHVH, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul, and observe His commandments and norms, in a word, everything written in this book of the Law. These commandments that I give you today are neither too high nor too remote for you. They are not in heaven that you should say : “Who will go up to heaven to get these commandments that we may hear them and put them into practice.”

Neither are they at the other side of the sea for you to say : “Who will cross to the other side and bring them to us, that we may hear them and put them into practice.” On the contrary, My word is very near you; it is already in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can put it into practice.