Thursday

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Thursday, 15 July 2021 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are all reminded to trust ourselves in the Lord and to follow Him, and not to be easily swayed by worldly temptations and pressures, or by sufferings and trials that we may encounter in our path. We should not be easily swayed and distracted by the lies of the devil and all those seeking our downfall, masking their traps and dangers by false promises of comfort and pleasures in life.

In our first reading today, we heard the Lord and His calling of Moses to be His servant and as the leader of His people, the Israelites. God called Moses at Mount Horeb from a miraculously burning bush, calling on him to go to the land of Egypt and to speak to the Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to let the people of Israel go free. Moses was unsure and he was afraid that the people would reject him. But God reassured him and told him that he must reveal Who He was before the assembly of the people, and they would know that God had sent Moses into their midst.

God also reassured His people through Moses, by telling Moses to proclaim to the people the promises of God’s faithfulness to the Covenant which He had made with their ancestors, with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God would not abandon His people in their hour of need, and He would show His might and power before the Egyptians and their Pharaoh, that if they would not let the people of Israel go free, then they would see the might and power of God, and by His hand, the Israelites would be set free.

That was what eventually happened in history, as the Pharaoh hardened his heart and refused to let the people of Israel go free. As such, God sent ten great plagues to Egypt through Moses, and after enduring all the sufferings and pains, the Pharaoh and the Egyptians finally let the Israelites to go free. And when the Pharaoh attempted at the last hour to try to bring the Israelites back again, God opened the sea before all of His people, and crushed the armies and the chariots of Egypt under the waves of the sea.

God has shown His love and faithfulness to His people, and He has proven, time and again, His love and dedication to them. But at the same time, He also called on them all to embrace His Law and His path, as the Covenant which He made with their ancestors and thereafter renewed, entailed the commitment from both parties in the Covenant. Just as God has been faithful to the Covenant He made, the people of Israel were also expected to be faithful to the Lord in all things. This is the ‘yoke’ that they had to bear, in being faithful and resisting the temptations and pleasures of life.

Thus, this is what has been mentioned in our Gospel passage today, as the Lord Jesus told the disciples and others, to come and seek Him, all those who were weary and heavily burdened, as in Him they would find rest and succour, comfort and true joy in the end. At the same time, the Lord also mentioned that His yoke is easy and light, and His kindness and love prevail over all things. This serves as a very important reminder for us that following God as His faithful ones do not mean that we are not to suffer or to endure sorrow and difficulties.

Instead, just as the Lord Himself often highlighted to His disciples, that being a faithful follower of His would lead to conflict and disagreements, even divisions and plenty of challenges and trials. As they commit themselves to Him and His way, there would be those who refused to align themselves to Him, and therefore, led to persecutions, even violence and hatred against those who believe in the Lord and committed themselves to Him. This is the yoke that we have to bear, that is to be faithful even against the opposition of the world and against the temptations of worldly pleasures.

Today, all of us are reminded of this need for us to be faithful and committed to God, and not to be easily swayed by worldly temptations, so that we may grow ever stronger in our faith. And we can look upon the examples set by St. Bonaventure, our holy predecessor in faith, a great bishop, Cardinal and declared Doctor of the Church for his many important contributions to the Church and the faith, and for his dedication to the Lord and to His people. St. Bonaventure was very much involved in the reforms of the Church of his time.

He was a member of the Franciscan order, one of its earliest members, and a renowned expert on Church teachings and theology. He wrote extensively and had many publications and works attributed to him, and he was also active in the governance of the Church, being also entrusted to be one of the princes of the Church as a Cardinal, supporting the Pope in his efforts to reform the Church and in encouraging the unity and development of the Church. Through his many works and contributions, St. Bonaventure has shown us what it truly means to be a follower and disciple of Christ.

Are we then able to commit ourselves in the same way, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we able and willing to follow the Lord and focus ourselves on Him as we continue to embark on our journey of life? Let us all turn towards Him with renewed faith and conviction from now on, that in all things we will always seek the Lord and bear the burdens and yoke we have to wear as Christians with joy, as we know that in the end, we will triumph with God, and gain eternal glory and true joy with Him. May God bless us always, in our every good works and endeavours. Amen.

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Thursday, 15 July 2021 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 11 : 28-30

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart; and you will find rest. For My yoke is easy; and My burden is light.”

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Thursday, 15 July 2021 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 104 : 1 and 5, 8-9, 24-25, 26-27

Give thanks to YHVH, call on His Name; make known His works among the nations. Remember His wonderful works, His miracles and His judgments.

He remembers His Covenant forever, His promise to a thousand generations, the Covenant He made with Abraham, the promise He swore to Isaac.

YHVH made His people fruitful and much stronger than their foes; whose hearts He turned, to hate His people, to deal deceitfully with His servants.

Then He sent Moses His servant and Aaron whom He had chosen. They performed His signs among them, His miracles in the land of Ham.

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Thursday, 15 July 2021 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Exodus 3 : 13-20

Moses answered God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them : ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ they will ask me : ‘What is His Name?’ What shall I answer them?”

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO AM. This is what you will say to the sons of Israel : ‘I AM sent me to you.” God then said to Moses, “You will say to the Israelites : ‘YHVH, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has sent me.’ That will be My Name forever, and by this Name they shall call upon Me for all generations to come.”

“Go! Call together the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘YHVH, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob appeared to me and said : I have seen and taken account of how the Egyptians have treated you, and I mean to bring you out of all this oppression in Egypt and take you to the land of the Canaanites, a land flowing with milk and honey.'”

“The elders of Israel will listen to you and, with them, you shall go to the palace of the king of Egypt and say to him : ‘The God of the Hebrews, YHVH, has met with us. Now let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to YHVH our God.'”

“I well know that the king of the Egyptians will not allow you to go unless he is forced to do so. I will therefore stretch out My hand and strike Egypt in extraordinary ways, after which he will let you go.”

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Thursday, 8 July 2021 : 14th 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 heard of the moment from the Book of Genesis when Joseph, son of Jacob, was reunited with his brothers in the land of Egypt, in a most unlikely encounter between Joseph, who was then the second most powerful man and Regent over all of Egypt, and his brothers, who had come from the land of Canaan seeking for food and provisions during the great famine that time.

Initially, none of the brothers had recognised Joseph, and since they had thought him long gone after they sold him off to the Midianites, and even probably dead, they did not expect to see Joseph again, after so many years and in such an occasion no less. Joseph, on the other hand, recognised his brothers immediately, and although he could have revealed himself immediately, but he waited and tested his brothers first to see how they were doing.

Eventually, Joseph could not take it anymore and revealed himself before his brothers, saying that it was God’s plan and grace that allowed everything to happen as it was, that their evil plots had been turned to good things as God sent Joseph to Egypt to pave the path for Jacob and his descendants. God sent Joseph ahead of the rest to prepare everything, so that when they would eventually come, they would eventually be taken good care of, as Israel would eventually stay in Egypt for quite many years.

Then in our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord speaking to His disciples regarding the way that they ought to live up to their lives and mission as those whom the Lord had sent to be His servants and witnesses, His disciples to be the ones to proclaim His truth among the peoples of all the nations. The Lord called on them all to turn towards Him and entrust themselves to Him, not worrying about what they were to bring and how they were to survive, for God Himself would be with them.

Those disciples would encounter significant challenges and opposition, trials and problems throughout their ministry, just as almost all the Apostles save for St. John encountered martyrdom along with numerous other saints of the early Church and beyond. Throughout the history of the Church, there were then still so many others who had suffered in the midst of their trials and journeys. Yet, they all persevered and remained faithful.

This is what we have been reminded of through today’s Scripture readings, that each and every one of us as Christians ought to trust in the Lord and to follow Him wholeheartedly, and not to be easily swayed by worldly temptations or our fears. We must never be afraid since we will always be preserved and protected by the Lord Who loves each and every one of us without exception. If only that we all have this great faith in Him and love for His kindness and compassionate Heart, with which He has generously taken care of us as always.

Today, we are all called to refocus our attention and focus on the Lord, and do our very best to glorify His Name by our every actions and commitment in life. Are we capable and willing to commit ourselves to be the true bearers of God’s light and truth, brothers and sisters? If we have not followed Him in the manner that we should have, then we really ought to begin doing so now. God has called us to follow Him and to respond to this calling. He has revealed to us what we all need to do as Christians.

We can no longer be complacent or idle as Christians, ignorant of all that we can and should be doing as those who proclaim to believe in God and His truth. God has called on all of us to walk in His path, and that is what we all should be doing, with great faith and dedication. That is why, we should dedicate our time and effort to serve Him, to be His witnesses to all the whole world. Let us all be good witnesses and servants of God, and let us show our devotion, now and always. May God be with us always, and may He ever strengthen our resolve to walk in His path. Amen.

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Thursday, 8 July 2021 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 10 : 7-15

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Go, and proclaim this message : The kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. Freely have you received, freely give. Do not carry any gold or silver or money in your purses. Do not take a travelling bag, or an extra shirt, or sandals, or a walking stick : workers deserve to be compensated.”

“When you come to a town or a village, look for a worthy person, and stay there until you leave. When you enter the house, wish it peace. If the people are worthy people, your peace will rest on them; if they are not worthy people, your blessing will come back to you.”

“And if you are not welcomed, and your words are not listened to, leave that house or that town, and shake the dust off your feet. I assure you, it will go easier for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment, than it will for the people of that town.”

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Thursday, 8 July 2021 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 104 : 16-17, 18-19, 20-21

Then YHVH sent a famine and ruined the crop that sustained the land; He sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

His feet in shackles, his neck in irons; till what he foretold came to pass, and YHVH’s word proved him true.

The king sent for him; set him free; the ruler of the peoples released him. He put him in charge of his household and made him ruler of all his possessions.

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Thursday, 8 July 2021 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Genesis 44 : 18-21, 23b-29 and Genesis 45 : 1-5

Judah then went forward and said, “My lord, allow your servant to speak. Do not be angry with your servant, although you are equal to Pharaoh himself. The last time you questioned your servants saying : ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ We said to my lord : ‘We have an aged father who had a child in his old age. His brother is dead and he is the only one left of his mother’s children. And his father loves him.'”

“Then you said to us : ‘Bring him down so that I can see him for myself, if your youngest brother did not come with you, you would not be admitted to my presence.’ All this we said to our father on returning there. So when he told us to come back and buy a little food, we said : ‘We cannot go down again unless our youngest brother is with us. We shall not be admitted to the lord’s presence unless our brother is with us.'”

“Then my father said : ‘You know that my wife had two children. One went away from me and has surely been torn to pieces since I have not seen him anymore. If you take this one from me and something happens to him you will bring my gray hair in sorrow to the grave.'”

Now Joseph could no longer control his feelings in the presence of all those standing by and he called out, “Leave my presence, everyone!” And only his brothers were with him when Joseph made himself known to them. He wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard and the news spread through Pharaoh’s house.

Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” And his brothers could not answer because they were terrified at seeing him. Joseph said, “Come closer,” and they drew nearer. “I am Joseph your brother, yes, it is me, the one you sold to the Egyptians. Now do not grieve or reproach yourselves for selling me, because God has sent me before you to save your lives.”

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Thursday, 1 July 2021 : 13th 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 Scriptures, we are called to remember the love of God by which He has reached out to us and called us into His loving embrace. In return, all of us should also love the Lord wholeheartedly, and let us all commit ourselves to the Covenant which He has established with each and every one of us.

In our first reading today we heard of how the Lord called His servant Abraham, our father in faith and asked him to bring his beloved son Isaac, the son whom God had promised to Abraham, to Mount Moriah to be offered to the Lord as a sacrificial offering. Such a command by the Lord, especially what he was to do with Isaac, his own beloved and long awaited son must have come as a great shock to Abraham and must have saddened him greatly, considering just how long and how much he has expected the coming of Isaac.

Nonetheless, Abraham obeyed without question, and faithfully and dutifully performed everything as the Lord had commanded him to do. He brought Isaac to Mount Moriah just as the Lord asked for, and he brought him up the mountain, with full faith and entrusting everything to the Lord. We can see clearly here the great faith which Abraham had in the Lord, and how he entrusted himself so completely to the Lord. This is something that all of us as Christians should be inspired from. Many of us have not been as faithful as Abraham had been in the way he dedicated himself.

Abraham gave everything to the Lord, even his most precious one, Isaac. And the Lord blessed Abraham for his faith and obedience, as He saw how Abraham gave everything, even his most beloved one and did not spare Isaac. Of course God did not actually wish to have Isaac offered as a sacrifice, and hence, He stopped Abraham and showed him a ram that He sent as the replacement offering instead of Isaac. He reaffirmed His Covenant with Abraham and his descendants, and showed His faithfulness to all of us this way.

And then, linking to this story of Abraham and Isaac at Mount Moriah, we then come to the Lord Jesus, in our Gospel reading today, as He healed a paralysed man who was brought to Him on a stretcher. He showed the love of God expressed through none other than the same Christ, the Son of God and Saviour of the whole world, born into this world to be the Saviour of all. He forgave the sins of the paralysed man and healed him from his afflictions, allowing him to move and walk freely once again.

The Lord said that to the paralysed man, despite the protests of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who were there among the assembled people and refused to believe that the Lord Jesus could have forgiven the man from his sins. Yet, they had seen all that happened, and saw how the man was healed from all of his troubles, and became whole once again. Through this, the Lord Jesus in fact also revealed the Lord’s true intentions, that is to offer His own Son, the Lord Jesus, to be the sacrificial Victim for the salvation of the world, for the forgiveness of all sins.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, the sacrifice of Our Lord at Calvary mirrored closely the sacrifice of Mount Moriah, with Mount Moriah itself having often been identified as the site of the Crucifixion outside of Jerusalem, and just as the Lord obeyed His Father’s will so completely just as Isaac obeyed his father, Abraham and as Abraham himself obeyed his Lord and Master. The Lord Jesus willingly took up the wood of the Cross and bore it up the hill of Calvary, so that by His Passion, His suffering and death, and having shouldered upon Himself the multitudes of the burdens of our sins and transgressions, He may deliver us all from the fate of destruction due to our sins.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we still not convinced of God’s love and compassion for us? God has given us His only Begotten Son, His most beloved One to suffer and die for our sake. If He has always loved us and has always been faithful to the Covenant which He had made with us, then we should also love Him and commit ourselves to Him in the same way, following the examples of Abraham, our father in faith. Let us all turn towards the Lord and dedicate ourselves to Him, each and every moments of our lives. May God be with us all, and may He empower us all to live ever more faithfully in His presence, with each and every passing moments in life. Amen.

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Thursday, 1 July 2021 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 9 : 1-8

At that time, Jesus got back into the boat, crossed the lake again, and came to His hometown. Here, they brought to Him a paralysed man, lying on a bed. Jesus saw their faith and said to the paralytic, “Courage, my son! Your sins are forgiven.”

Some teachers of the Law said within themselves, “This Man insults God.” Jesus was aware of what they were thinking; and said, “Why have you such evil thoughts? Which is easier to say : ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? But that you may know, that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins,” He said to the paralysed man, “Stand up! Take your stretcher and go home!”

The man got up, and went home. When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe, and praised God for giving such power to human beings.