Thursday

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Thursday, 9 September 2021 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Lord in the Scriptures, we are all reminded to be genuine Christians in all things, in our every actions and dealings, in even the smallest things we say and do, so that we will always be the Lord’s faithful witnesses and that by our every words, actions and deeds we may glorify His Name and inspire many others to follow the path that we ourselves are walking down towards the salvation in God.

As Christians, we are all called to be filled with God’s love and to be loving as the Lord Himself has loved us, just as the Apostle St. Paul mentioned in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Colossae, in our first reading today. In that passage, we heard St. Paul encouraging the faithful to ‘clothe themselves’ in the raiments of God’s truth and virtues, to follow the Lord wholeheartedly in all things, to be filled with compassion and love for all, and to be righteous and just in all of their way of life.

Essentially, to be Christians, we have to adopt a total conversion of our hearts and minds, of our whole being and our entire way of life, embracing God and His love, and to immerse ourselves in that love, taking that up to be our own love, and our own compassionate care and concern for others whom we encounter in life and throughout our ministry and calling in this world. St. Paul asked the faithful to do everything for the glory of God, and to allow the Lord to lead them to the right path, that they may be the inspiring examples for one another, in how they remain faithful to God.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord speaking to His disciples regarding how each and every one of them ought to learn how to love one another as Christians, in the most Christ-like way, and in reaching out in love even to all those who have not loved us, and be kind and compassionate even to those who have rejected us and made us to suffer. He has revealed to us that as Christians we ought to love unconditionally, and to show that same genuine love for all of those who need them.

He told the people that loving only those who love us back, is something that even the wicked could easily do, as this kind of love is often found in a transactional and even selfish kind of love, as we desire to be loved back in the same or even greater way than how we have loved others. In that way, our love is not yet one of genuine Christian love, for we love only because we expect something in return, and not truly because we are really moved to love those who have nothing to give back to us, and has nothing to benefit us with.

That is why, as the Lord had Himself said, that true and genuine Christian love, is about a selfless and unconditional love that is rooted in giving and not in expecting returns, in the sharing of oneself and one’s joy and love, to everyone regardless of their background and origins, regardless of their status and preferences. And the best example of this kind of love is none other than the Lord’s own loving example, as He laid down His own life on the Cross for each and every one of us.

When He told the people about giving one’s cheek and offering it to be struck when one has been struck in the face, and praying for and blessing those who have cursed and made us hurt, forgiving those who have brought pain upon us, it is a reminder of how the Lord Himself was bruised and broken during the time of His Passion, as He was whipped and tortured, humiliated and spat against, ridiculed and rejected by the people and their leaders, condemned to death like a criminal and put to bear the burden of the Cross, which He willingly took up for our sake.

The Lord took it all with love, with compassion and mercy, for all those who have wronged Him, abandoned Him and rejected Him. Yes, and that was why He even prayed for all those chief priests and those who have persecuted Him and condemned Him to His death. He prayed for their sake and asked the Father not to hold their sins against them, essentially seeking all of them to be forgiven, and to be reconciled with God, that they might be willing to listen to the truth, despite all that they had done.

The Lord’s self-giving and most selfless love is a great example and He Himself is the great and perfect role model for all of us, in doing what we should do as dedicated Christians, filled with God’s love and compassionate care for others. We are all in fact challenged to love in the same manner as the Lord, and we are all called to be sincere in loving others, and be less self-centred and selfish in our attitudes. Instead, we are all called to do our best to love God first and foremost, and then to love one another just at least as much as we love ourselves.

Certainly, this is something that is much more easily said than done. That is why, we should encourage each other to pick up these crosses of our callings, to be true and faithful disciples of Our Lord, in all things especially in loving one another. And today, we should also be inspired by the examples of our holy predecessor, namely St. Peter Claver, whose feast day we are celebrating on this very day. St. Peter Claver was a truly dedicated servant of God and a great missionary and priest, who spent much of his life in seeking for the betterment of the poor and the marginalised, and whose works and efforts saw the conversion of not just few, but hundreds of thousands of unbelievers into the true Faith.

St. Peter Claver was a Spanish Jesuit priest and missionary who decided to dedicate himself to the mission of the Church and the works of evangelisation, setting for the New World, the American continent, where he dwelled ever since, where he spent many decades working among the poor and the slaves who were aplenty at that time, as they were treated badly and sold to the highest bidder from time to time, treated often less than human beings and having no rights on their own. St. Peter Claver championed their cause and ministered to many of them, an effort which eventually led to more than three hundred thousand people baptised personally by St. Peter Claver throughout his ministry.

St. Peter Claver always treated the slaves with dignity and saw in them as fellow Christians, loving them and caring for them when no one else would love them or even treated them inhumanely. St. Peter Claver dedicated his time and efforts, and through all of those, showed us all truly what true and genuine Christian love is all about, which we ourselves should be inspired to follow and emulate in our own lives. Are we willing and able to do so, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to love one another unconditionally and be as selfless as St. Peter Claver had been?

Let us all discern these things carefully and ponder on the calling that the Lord has given us all, to be loving Christians and to be dedicated to our fellow brothers and sisters, especially to those who are in need of our love, care and compassion. Let us all grow ever more generous in loving and in forgiving one another our faults, and let us be ever more sincere in how we live our lives with true Christian spirit and love. May God bless us always in our every good endeavours and works, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 9 September 2021 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Luke 6 : 27-38

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “But I say to you who hear Me : Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who treat you badly. To the one who strikes you on the cheek, turn the other cheek; from the one who takes your coat, do not keep back your shirt. Give to the one who asks, and if anyone has taken something from you, do not demand it back.”

“Do to others as you would have others do to you. If you love only those who love you, what kind of grace is yours? Even sinners love those who love them. If you do favours to those who are good to you, what kind of grace is yours? Even sinners do the same. If you lend only when you expect to receive, what kind of grace is yours? For sinners also lend to sinners, expecting to receive something in return.

But love your enemies and do good to them, and lend when there is nothing to expect in return. Then will your reward be great, and you will be sons and daughters of the Most High. For He is kind toward the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

“Do not be a judge of others and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you, and you will receive in your sack good measure, pressed down, full and running over. For the measure you give will be the measure you receive back.”

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Thursday, 9 September 2021 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Psalm 150 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Alleluia! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in the vault of heaven. Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him for His own greatness.

Praise Him with trumpet blast; praise Him with lyre and harp. Praise Him with dance and tambourines; praise Him with pipe and strings.

Praise Him with clashing cymbals; praise Him with clanging cymbals. Let everything that breathes sing praise to the Lord. Alleluia!

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Thursday, 9 September 2021 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Colossians 3 : 12-17

Clothe yourselves, then, as is fitting for God’s chosen people, holy and beloved of Him. Put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience to bear with one another and forgive whenever there is any occasion to do so. As the Lord has forgiven you, forgive one another.

Above all, clothe yourselves with love which binds everything together in perfect harmony. May the peace of Christ overflow in your hearts; for this end you were called to be one body. And be thankful. Let the Word of God dwell in you in all its richness. Teach and admonish one another with words of wisdom. With thankful hearts sing to God psalms, hymns and spontaneous praise.

And whatever you do or say, do it in the Name of Jesus, the Lord, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

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Thursday, 2 September 2021 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Scripture, all of us are called to live our lives in an exemplary Christian way, and to be worthy of God by following the path that He Himself has shown us. And we are also called to reach out to our fellow brothers and sisters, and be part of the Church’s evangelising mission, in calling more and more people to believe in the Lord and His truth, of which the best way is by our living our lives worthily, as true and genuine Christians.

In our first reading today, we heard the words of St. Paul the Apostle as he exhorted the faithful to to lead a lifestyle and to act in accordance with the way of the Lord, that they do not fall into temptations and remain faithful in all things, and to persevere through the difficulties and the challenges that we may face through life. We must be careful and wary lest those difficulties and challenges deter us from doing what we can and should do as Christians, in showing our faith and love for God and our fellow men alike.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the moment when the Lord called some of His Twelve Apostles, as He was at the Lake Gennesaret or the Lake of Galilee, in which the four fishermen had been spending long hours the previous night in order to catch fish without any success. As the Lord saw those fishermen, Simon and his brother Andrew, and the brothers James and John, He told them to try and reach out for fishes again, despite their fruitless search over the past night.

He told them all to ‘put out into the deep waters’ and lower their nets there. Although they were skeptical at first and told the Lord that they had not found anything despite all night efforts, they obeyed in the end, and immediately, there were so many fishes trapped in the nets that it almost made the fishing boats to sink under their weight. Those four fishermen, amazed by what they had witnessed, believed in the Lord, chose to abandon their fishing trade and followed Him, becoming the first of the Lord’s disciples.

What we have just heard in our Scripture passage today is actually a symbolic representation of what each and every one of us are called to do as Christians, that is to listen to the Lord and to obey His will, by allowing Him to lead us and to help guide us in what we should do, just as He has told the fishermen, the future four disciples and Apostles to reach out and put their nets our into the deep waters. We have to do what the Lord has asked us to do, and trust in Him in the path that He is leading us through.

It is often that we are not able to gain true success in what we are doing, simply because we trust more in our own strength and powers rather than to listen to the Lord. We do things in our own way, and some of us are stubborn even after the Lord has shown us advice and guidance. Instead, we should be like the Apostles who listened to the Lord even though they had reservations and doubts earlier on. They chose to follow the Lord, and they saw the benefit in doing so.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, at the same time we are all also reminded that we should not be afraid to reach out beyond our comfort zone, which is when the Lord mentioned ‘to go and put out in the deep waters’. Too often many of us are hesitant to follow the Lord because we are afraid of the risks and we are more concerned about our safety and needs. And this is also because we did not have enough trust and faith in the Lord. If only we can trust in the Lord more, then surely we can even do many things we might have think to be impossible.

The question is, are we all willing to commit ourselves to the Lord wholeheartedly? Are we willing to entrust ourselves to His care and providence, and are we capable of walking down this path that the Lord has shown us with faith? Each and every one of us have been entrusted by the Lord with specific mission and responsibility in life, and as St. Paul mentioned in his Epistle in our first reading today, all of us are called to lead a life that is worthy of God, to be faithful and committed to Him, and to be exemplary in all things.

May the Lord continue to bless us and guide us in all things, and may He strengthen each and every one of us so that we may always persevere in faith, and will not easily give in to worldly temptations. May He remain with us all and may He bless us all in our every good efforts and endeavours, at all times, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 2 September 2021 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 5 : 1-11

At that time, one day, as Jesus stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, with a crowd gathered around Him listening to the word of God, He caught sight of two boats, left at the water’s edge by fishermen, now washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to pull out a little from the shore. There He sat, and continued to teach the crowd.

When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon replied, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing. But if You say so, I will lower the nets.” This they did, and caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. They signalled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came, and they filled both almost to the point of sinking.

Upon seeing this, Simon Peter fell at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For he and his companions were amazed at the catch they had made, and so were Simon’s partners, James and John, Zebedee’s sons. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. You will catch people from now on.” So they brought their boats to land and followed Him, leaving everything.

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Thursday, 2 September 2021 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 97 : 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6

YHVH has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love, nor His faithfulness to Israel.

The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you, lands, make a joyful noise to YHVH, break into song and sing praise.

With melody of the lyre and with music of the harp. With trumpet blast and sound of the horn, rejoice before the King, YHVH!

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Thursday, 2 September 2021 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Colossians 1 : 9-14

Because of this, from the day we received news of you, we have not ceased praying to God for you, that you may attain the full knowledge of His will, through all the gifts of wisdom and spiritual understanding.

May your lifestyle be worthy of the Lord and completely pleasing to Him. May you bear fruit in every good work and grow in the knowledge of God. May you become strong, in everything, by a sharing of the glory of God, so that you may have great endurance and perseverance in joy.

Constantly give thanks to the Father, Who has empowered us to receive our share in the inheritance of the saints, in His kingdom of light. He rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son. In Him, we are redeemed and forgiven.

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Thursday, 26 August 2021 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are all called to remain true to our faith in the Lord, and to persevere in faith so that we do not easily fall into the temptations to sin, and to disobey against God and His will. We are all called to be faithful at all times and to do our best at every possible opportunities given to us so that we will always be prepared whenever He comes, as He has promised us that He will.

We should always be aware and realise that we ought not to squander whatever opportunities and gifts that God has given us all these while. Yes, God is always ever patient and He is always persisting in His efforts to reach out to us, in each and every moments, but we have also been given the gift of free will and the wisdom to discern the right path, and the outcome of each paths that we encounter in life are often already known, and yet, many among us still hesitated and refused to believe in the Lord wholeheartedly or to trust Him fully.

Instead, we allow ourselves to be swayed by worldly desires, by our hesitation to act or to dedicate ourselves to action for God, and by our sloth and laziness, in remaining comfortable and idle wherever we are, that our lives, especially that of our spiritual lives become stagnant and lacking in vigour, as we allow the devil to tempt us with inaction and with personal comfort and the reluctance to move out of our comfort zone, in pursuit of our own personal happiness and desires, which led us to be like that of the lazy servant as described in our Gospel today.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord speaking in parables to the people, highlighting about servants of a lord and master of the house who were going to a long journey, and who entrusted to those same servants the care and responsibility over his household. The Lord clearly highlighted the two different attitudes of two different servants who acted differently upon what their lord and master had instructed them to do. Then we heard how the lazy servant was caught unprepared and red-handed in his laziness and idleness, in his debauched and wicked attitude towards those entrusted under his care when the master suddenly returned.

Meanwhile, the faithful servant who remained vigilant and did his best as was expected of him received great rewards and joy when he welcomed his master back, and he would be entrusted with far greater things on the account of his hard work and dedication to his duty and responsibilities. And this serves also as a reminder of who we are all expected to be, to walk faithfully in God’s presence, our Lord and Master, with true faith and dedication.

As we heard in that parable, all of us are called to follow the examples of the faithful and diligent servant, and not to be like the lazy and unfaithful servant. All of us have been given and entrusted with many great gifts by the Lord, in all of our various talents, abilities and different opportunities. And yet, many of us have often not used those things, gifts and opportunities as we have been called to do. Instead, we kept them hidden, ignored them, and we acted in ways that were against the Lord and in opposition to His truths.

Are we going to continue walking down that path, brothers and sisters in Christ? We should all know what lies at the end of that path, and if we are not careful, we will end up in eternity of regret, when the judgment is cast on us, and from which we have no further recourse or way out of. God has entrusted to us many things, and He has also given us many opportunities to turn things around, and He has called on us all to fulfil our responsibilities, all these while. Are we willing to listen to the Lord, and are we willing to turn to Him from now on, entrusting ourselves in His care and doing His will from now on?

Let us all therefore strive to be ever more faithful and dedicated with each and every passing opportunities, and do our very best to be worthy servants and disciples of the Lord, so that in everything we say and do, we may always glorify the Lord and praise Him, and as His worthy disciples and followers, we will be worthy of His presence and everlasting life, promised to all those who are faithful to Him. May God bless us always, in all things, and may He guide us in our journey of faith in life, even to the smallest things. Amen.

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Thursday, 26 August 2021 : 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.”