Thursday

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Thursday, 12 November 2020 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are brought to attention of the sufferings of the followers of Christ just as the Lord Himself had suffered at the hands of those who opposed Him and refused to believe in Him. And because of this, we have to keep our faith in God strong and keep up our hope in Him even as we face trials and challenges in this life.

The Lord wants us all to be strong and to keep the faith, and because of that He has constantly reassured us through His servants, the Apostles and the saints, whose lives become our inspiration and strength, that we may continue to follow Him with zeal. And today, in particular, we recall the glorious life and inspirational faith of St. Josaphat Kuntsevych, holy bishop of the Lord and martyr of the Church.

St. Josaphat Kuntsevych was a monk of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth a few hundred years ago, at the time when the Christian faithful were divided between those who obeyed the Pope and are in communion with him, both the Roman Rite and the ones following the Eastern Orthodox communion with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

By that time the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople had been separated due to the Great Schism for over five hundred years, and the sum of mutual distrust, political circumstances and greed by others involved in the matter led to increasingly distant and hostile relationship between the two sides, and consequently, the faithful also ended up becoming ever more divided and hostile against each other.

St. Joseph Kuntsevych was a monk who eventually rose to the position of leadership within the Church as an Archbishop. At that time, a significant majority of the local Ruthenian population in the region now known as Belarus and Ukraine sought to be reconciled with the Pope led by the Metropolitan of Kiev and other bishops, who worked towards reconciliation that culminated in the Union of Brest.

Through that Union many communities of the faithful were led by their bishops and the clergy into full communion and reconciliation with the Pope and therefore becoming once again a member of God’s One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. However, this did not mean that the reunification of the Church occurred smoothly, as there were significant opposition from some segments of the faithful, both the clergy and laity alike.

It was in that situation that St. Josaphat Kuntsevych became a leader and shepherd for his flock, despite the rising tensions and clashes between those who were supportive of the Union and those who opposed the Union. He had the difficult job of trying to resolve the tensions and differences between the feuding factions of the faithful. Nonetheless, he dedicated himself as best as possible and did what he could to steer the faithful through to the right path despite the challenges.

And this was also accompanied by his personal holiness, exemplary conduct and life, constantly mortifying the flesh and resisting the temptations to sin. Nonetheless, amidst the rising sectarian tensions and violence eventually it led to the martyrdom of this faithful and holy man of God, as the townspeople who were opposed to the Union with the Pope rose against St. Josaphat and attacked him, tortured him and threw his dead body into the river.

As we can see from this case, St. Josaphat Kuntsevych showed us that being faithful to God is often not an easy task and is likely to be a challenging journey. But we must not lose hope or faith in God as the Lord will be with us, guiding us in our journey together towards Him. We must remain faithful, no matter what challenges we may encounter, that when the Lord comes again, we can confidently say that we have kept the faith, and will be worthy of His eternal glory.

May God bless us all and guide us, strengthen us in our journey that we may draw ever closer to Him, with each and every moments of our lives. Amen.

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Thursday, 12 November 2020 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 17 : 20-25

At that time, the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God was to come. He answered, “The kingdom of God is not like something you can observe, and say of it, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘See, there it is!’ for the kingdom of God is within you.”

And Jesus said to His disciples, “The time is at hand, when you will long to see one of the glorious days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. Then people will tell you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go with them, do not follow them. As lightning flashes from one end of the sky to the other, so will it be with the Son of Man; but first He must suffer many things, and be rejected by this generation.”

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Thursday, 12 November 2020 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 145 : 6c-7, 8-9a, 9bc-10

The Lord is forever faithful; He gives justice to the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free.

The Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord straightens the bent. The Lord loves the virtuous, but He brings to ruin the way of the wicked. The Lord protects the stranger.

The Lord sustains the widow and the orphan. The Lord will reign forever, your God, o Zion, from generation to generation. Alleluia!

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Thursday, 12 November 2020 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Philemon 7-20

I had great satisfaction and comfort on hearing of your charity, because the hearts of the saints have been cheered by you, brother. Because of this, although in Christ I have the freedom to command what you should do, yet I prefer to request you in love. The one talking is Paul, the old man, now prisoner for Christ. And my request is on behalf of Onesimus, whose father I have become while I was in prison.

This Onesimus has not been helpful to you, but now he will be helpful both to you and to me. In returning him to you, I am sending you my own heart. I would have liked to keep him at my side, to serve me on your behalf while I am in prison for the Gospel, but I did not want to do anything without your agreement, nor impose a good deed upon you without your free consent.

Perhaps Onesimus has been parted from you for a while so that you may have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but better than a slave. For he is very dear brother to me, and he will be even dearer to you. And so, because of our friendship, receive him as if he were I myself.

And if he has caused any harm, or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, write this and sign it with my own hand : I will pay it…. without further mention of your debt to me, which is you yourself. So, my brother, please do me this favour for the Lord’s sake. Give me this comfort in Christ.

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Thursday, 5 November 2020 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we heard the words of the Lord through the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the supreme and amazing love of God that He has shown to each and every one of us. God does not abandon us when we are in need, when we are stranded alone in the darkness, but on the contrary, God will go the extra distance to look for us and find us through the darkness.

In our Gospel today, we heard the Lord using two parables to highlight His intent to His people, telling them the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin to show how the Lord cared for all of His beloved creation, that He would go out of His way just to find that one lost sheep or the one lost coin, leaving everyone else that had already been saved and saving those who need to be saved.

Economically and logically, it is entirely pointless and even befuddling for the Lord to have done so. What was the point of putting effort to go out of one’s way just to get one lost sheep when you already had ninety-nine that were not lost in the first place? But the Lord does not act in ways that are economical or logical, brothers and sisters, as He acts with pure and genuine love towards us.

That was why He willingly looked for us, for those who had been lost to Him, that we may be found and not be lost again. The Lord knew full well what will happen to us if we are not found, and that is we will be lost forever to Him in eternal fire and darkness in hell. No matter how great our sins may have been, as long as it is not too late, the love that God has for each one of us does not permit Him to abandon us.

God Himself has thus laid down His life as He picked up His Cross, suffering for us and went through the most bitter ordeal of the crucifixion, dying for us on the Cross as the perfect sacrifice of love, as the perfect offering for the absolution of all of our sins and our redemption from sin and evil. Through Him, we have been made clean and once again His beloved children.

With all that God had done for us, and by making a New Covenant with us, alluded to in our first reading today by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Philippians, as we Christians are the new and true ‘circumcised’ people, which does not refer to the physical circumcision of the flesh, but the far better ‘circumcision’ of the heart, we have embraced God and been brought back into His grace and love.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now we know just how much God has loved us, that He has called us all from among the nations, then we should really love Him back in the same way, and be appreciative and thankful how He has done so much for us, as our loving Father and as the Good Shepherd Who lays down His life for His sheep, all of us. And He rejoices when we have been found and were lost no longer.

Can we spend more time with God and put more effort into our faith in Him, in doing His will and being good in our actions and deeds? Let us be good Christians from now on, and make good use of the lives and opportunities that He has given to us. Let us devote ourselves and focus our attention on God from now on, living our live in a Christ-centric way from now on. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 5 November 2020 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 15 : 1-10

At that time, tax collectors and sinners were seeking the company of Jesus, all of them eager to hear what He had to say. But the Pharisees and the scribes frowned at this, muttering, “This Man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So Jesus told them this parable :

“Who among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and seek the lost one till he finds it? And finding it, will he not joyfully carry it home on his shoulders? Then he will call his friends and neighbours together, and say, ‘Celebrate with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’ I tell you, in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner, than over ninety-nine decent people, who do not need to repent.”

“What woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one, will not light a lamp, and sweep the house in a thorough search, till she finds the lost coin? And finding it, she will call her friends and neighbours, and say, ‘Celebrate with me, for I have found the silver coin I lost!’ I tell you, in the same way, there is rejoicing among the Angels of God over one repentant sinner.”

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Thursday, 5 November 2020 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 104 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Sing to the Lord, sing His praise, proclaim all His wondrous deeds. Glory in His holy Name; let those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Look to the Lord and be strong; seek His face always. Remember His wonderful works, His miracles and His judgments.

You descendants of His servant Abraham, you sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is the Lord our God; His judgments reach the whole world.

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Thursday, 5 November 2020 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Philippians 3 : 3-8a

We are the true circumcised people since we serve according to the Spirit of God, and our confidence is in Christ Jesus rather than in our merits. I myself do not lack those human qualities in which people have confidence. If some of them seem to be accredited with such qualities, how much more am I!

I was circumcised when eight days old. I was born of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin : I am a Hebrew, born of Hebrews. With regard to the Law, I am a Pharisee, and such was my zeal for the Law that I persecuted the Church. As for being righteous according to the Law, I was blameless.

But once I found Christ, all those things that I might have considered as profit, I reckoned as loss. Still more, everything seems to me as nothing compared with the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord.

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Thursday, 29 October 2020 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day each and every one of us have been reminded to be strong and to be prepared against the attacks and assaults from the evil one and all of its wicked forces. All of us are told to be firm in our faith in God and to be ready to resist those who are going to try to harm us and bring us to our downfall.

St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus in our first reading today spoke of how through God, we are truly blessed, well-protected and taken care of. We have nothing to fear since God Himself is on our side, protecting us and leading us down the right path. And St. Paul also spoke of how we ought to wear our whole armour of God to struggle in the battle against evil.

This is because we are indeed in the middle of the constant struggle against evil for our souls. We are always struggling to resist the attempts by those who wanted to lead us to harm and downfall, tempting us with false promises and coercion, hoping that we will end up abandoning our faith and fall into sin.

In our Gospel today, we heard of the Lord and how He lamented the wickedness of those who have persecuted the faithful servants of God, and those who have refused to believe in Him despite all the things He Himself has performed before them, all the miraculous healings, all the wonders and the amazing revelations and wisdom that He has shown them all.

Throughout history, many prophets and messengers had been sent to the people of God in order to remind them to be faithful to Him. Yet, the people remained in their stubbornness, refusing to listen to those reminders sent to them. This happened because the people were proud, and refused to admit that their ways could be wrong, and refused to humble themselves before God and His servants, or to seek forgiveness for their faults and shortcomings.

Their greed also led them to seek worldly pleasures and the false joys of the world at the expense of their souls. The devil and his fallen angels had an easy time to lead them down the path of ruin, tempting them with many things that distracted them from the truth, pulled them away from the path of redemption and reconciliation with God. And that is why, the Lord lamented this state of affairs, after all He had done for them.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all constantly reminded to be strong in our faith, and to renew our commitment and dedication to God. Amidst all the pressures and temptations from the devil and all of the excesses of the world he presented before all of us, we must strengthen our defences that we do not falter and slide into the path of sin.

Let us all strengthen our relationship with God, through constant prayer and spending good, quality time with Him. Let us all be genuine and zealous in living up our Christian lives and respective calling in life. As we continue to walk down this path that the Lord has shown us, let us all pray for His guidance and protection that we may persevere faithfully through whatever challenges and trials, difficulties and temptations that are in our paths.

May God be with us always, and may He bless us all, in our everyday lives and actions, that we may ever be more and more attuned to Him and His will, and we may draw ever closer to the fullness of His love and grace. Amen.

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Thursday, 29 October 2020 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 13 : 31-35

At that time, some Pharisees came to Jesus and gave Him this warning, “Leave this place and go on Your way, for Herod wants to kill You.”

Jesus said to them, “Go and give that fox My answer : ‘I drive out demons, and I heal today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish My course!’ Nevertheless, I must go on My way today, and tomorrow, and for a little longer; for it would not be fitting for a Prophet to be killed outside Jerusalem.”

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you slay the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often have I tried to bring together your children, as a bird gathers her young under her wings, but you refused! From now on, you will be left with your Temple, and you will no longer see Me, until the time when you will say, ‘Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord.'”