Thursday

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Thursday, 25 October 2018 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 12 : 49-53

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “I have come to bring fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and what anguish I feel until it is finished! Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on, in one house five will be divided : three against two, and two against three.”

“They will be divided, father against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

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Thursday, 25 October 2018 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 32 : 1-2, 4-5, 11-12, 18-19

Rejoice in the Lord, you who are just, praise is fitting for the upright. Give thanks to Him on the harp and lyre, making melody and chanting praises.

For upright is the Lord’s word and worthy of trust is His work. The Lord loves justice and righteousness; the earth is full of His kindness.

But His plan stands forever, and His heart’s design, through all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is YHVH – the people He has chosen for His inheritance.

But the Lord’s eyes are upon those who fear Him, upon those who trust in His loving-kindness to deliver them from death and preserve them from famine.

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Thursday, 25 October 2018 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Ephesians 3 : 14-21

And, now, I kneel in the presence of the Father, from Whom, every family in heaven and on earth has received its name. May He strengthen in you, the inner self, through His Spirit, according to the riches of His glory; may Christ dwell in your hearts, through faith; may you be rooted and founded in love.

All of this, so that you may understand, with all the holy ones, the width, the length, the height and the depth – in a word, that you may know the love of Christ, that surpasses all knowledge, that you may be filled, and reach the fullness of God.

Glory to God, Who shows His power in us, and can do much more than we could ask or imagine; glory to Him, in the Church, and in Christ Jesus, through all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

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Thursday, 18 October 2018 : Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate together the feast day of one of the four writers of the Holy Gospels, or also known as the Evangelists. St. Luke was a renowned physician and a disciple who followed St. Paul during part of his journeys and missions throughout the Eastern Mediterranean area. He was also the one who was regarded as the writer of the Acts of the Apostles, documenting the works of the Apostles in the evangelising of the Gentiles, especially that of St. Paul the Apostle.

In the first reading today, we are presented with the reality of such a dedication to the Lord as an Apostle, or as an Evangelist like St. Luke. St. Paul wrote to one of his fellow elders of the Church, his protege, St. Timothy, about how he was troubled and in difficult times, having been abandoned even by those who had been with him during his missionary journeys. Those have abandoned him for various reasons, and only St. Luke remained with him.

In order to appreciate the full nature of the challenges and the difficulties that St. Paul faced at that time, we must understand the historical background of what happened during the time when St. Paul wrote to St. Timothy. St. Paul had to endure many difficult moments, in various places, when the people refused to listen to him and his fellow disciples. The Jews and the Gentiles alike in those various places chased them out, and even stoned them in one occasion, leaving St. Paul and St. Barnabas, another of St. Paul’s fellow missionary, almost dead.

At that time, the Jewish authorities, consisting of the Jewish High Priest, the priests and the Pharisees, were against the Christian faith and the works of the disciples. The Jews in the various places across the diaspora were also influenced to a certain extent by the Jewish authorities, and some among these stirred trouble among the disciples and opposed the work of the Christian elders.

And they also incited trouble for the Christians with the Roman authorities, by spreading lies and untruths about them to the authorities. As a result, the Romans also made it difficult for the Apostles to work in their various places. Meanwhile, among the Gentiles, while the disciples managed to gain many followings, but there were also many of those who refused to believe in them and misunderstood their teachings, causing more difficulties for the Christians.

This was already mentioned clearly by the Lord Himself before His disciples, as mentioned in our Gospel passage today. As He sent them out before Him to prepare His way, He has already mentioned how there would be rejections and difficulties, and He told them of what to expect and what to do in those cases when the people they were sent to, refused to believe in the message of the Lord.

And He reminded them that while there were probably many of those who refused to see the truth in God’s ways, but there were also many of those who were willing and wanting to listen to the truth. This is the rich harvest that the Lord mentioned to His disciples, waiting for labourers and workers to collect them all. Otherwise, as all the farmers then should know, without sufficient number of labourers and harvesters, the harvest crops will rot and be destroyed.

Therefore, without the work of the labourers of the Lord, then the rich harvests of the Lord, all of His people who are desiring and wishing to know of Him would not be able to hear of the Lord’s truth, and therefore, be lost to the Lord. The Apostles and the disciples of the Lord had done their part, in their ceaseless works and labours amongst the people of God, Jews and Gentiles alike amidst the difficult times and persecutions that they had to face.

St. Luke also contributed in his own way, by the power of his pen, inspired by the Holy Spirit, speaking the truth to the people of God, through the Gospel he wrote, which contained the essence of God’s truth, in the life of the Lord, His teachings, His many works, and all that He has revealed to the world, to all of us. Together, the Apostles, the Evangelists and the disciples of the Lord have shown us all what being a true labourer of the world entails.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us as Christians are called to follow in the footsteps of these faithful and courageous servants of the Lord, that we, through our own actions and interactions with those whom we encounter in our daily lives, be the same bearers of God’s truth. There are many ways in which this can be done, and we can begin from as simple as within our families and within our immediate communities.

What we need to do is for us to take concrete steps in living our lives with faith, that we truly embody that faith we believe in, and others who see us will come to believe in the same truth and faith which we possess. And we also need to realise the reality of suffering, rejection and even persecution at times when we stand up for our faith and really practicing what we believe in our lives. But we must trust in the Lord and remember that He will always be with us, regardless of all the things we encounter.

May the Lord help us all, to be able to devote ourselves and to serve Him just as St. Luke the Evangelist has given his effort to spread the Good News and the truth which God has revealed to him through the Holy Spirit. Let us pray that God will send us His Holy Spirit as well, that we will grow ever more courageous in our respective lives, to live in accordance with our faith. May God bless us all, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 18 October 2018 : Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 10 : 1-9

At that time, the Lord appointed seventy-two other disciples, and sent them, two by two, ahead of Him, to every town and place, where He Himself was to go. And He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. So you must ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to His harvest. Courage! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Set off without purse or bag or sandals; and do not stop at the homes of those you know.”

“Whatever house you enter, first bless them, saying, ‘Peace to this house!’ If a friend of peace lives there, the peace shall rest upon that person. But if not, the blessing will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking at their table, for the worker deserves to be paid. Do not move from house to house.”

“When they welcome you to any town, eat what they offer you. Heal the sick who are there, and say to them : ‘The kingdom of God has drawn near to you.'”

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Thursday, 18 October 2018 : Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 144 : 10-11, 12-13ab, 17-18

All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o YHVH, will praise You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom, and speak of Your power.

That all may know of Your mighty deeds, Your reign, and its glorious splendour. Your reign is from age to age; Your dominion endured, from generation to generation.

Righteous is YHVH in all His ways, His mercy shows in all His deeds. He is near those who call on Him, who call trustfully upon His Name.

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Thursday, 18 October 2018 : Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

2 Timothy 4 : 10-17b

You must know, that Demas has deserted me, for the love of this world : he returned to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke remains with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is a useful helper in my work. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.

Bring with you the cloak I left at Troas, in Carpos’ house, and also the scrolls, especially the parchments. Alexander, the metalworker, has caused me great harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. Distrust him, for he has been very much opposed to our preaching.

At my first hearing in court, no one supported me; all deserted me. May the Lord not hold it against them. But the Lord was at my side, giving me strength, to proclaim the word fully, and to let all the pagans hear it.

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Thursday, 11 October 2018 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture speaking to us about the loving nature of God, and how we mankind, as God’s beloved children should put our trust in our God, and place ourselves in the caring hands of our loving Father. We heard how the Lord Jesus in today’s Gospel describing the loving nature of God as like of that of fathers, who loved their children.

And because God loves each and every one of us, then He will surely listen to us, should we ask Him to look upon us and to take care of us. He will not purposefully harm us or do something that ends up making us to suffer. When we suffer, in truth, we are actually acting in the manner that we misuse the freedom that God has given to us, which therefore end up causing us to make others suffer in order to satisfy our own personal desires and greed.

That was why, St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in the city of Galatia chided and rebuked the faithful living in that city because of their lack of faith and ability to live faithfully in accordance to that faith. They have succumbed to the temptations of their flesh, and instead of putting their trust in God, they fell into sin through their wicked and unfaithful attitudes and behaviours.

God reminded us that He is always there for us, ready to welcome us back, even when we have erred, disobeyed and failed to listen to Him. He will not turn a deaf ear to us, should we call upon Him, and crying out for His mercy. But first of all, we must also be willing to commit ourselves to the path of reconciliation, to be ready to be forgiven, and ultimately, ready to make the commitment to change our way of life.

However, the issue for many of us is that, we are often too preoccupied, too busy and too distracted in our lives, that we failed to notice this, and we failed to realise just how much God loves each and every one of us. We have been blinded and made deaf by the distractions, temptations and all the noise present in this world. We have been pulled away by the allure of human desire, of worldly glory and many other things that have been keeping us away from God.

Are we then able to overcome these temptations in life, and rediscover this love which we should have for God, our loving Father? For many of us, we have been wayward in our faith, and we have not been truly faithful, as we spent more time trying to gain for ourselves worldly acceptance and glories of this world. But this is exactly where we end up forgetting about God, His love and His caring nature for us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we should reflect on what we have just discussed and look deeply into our lives and how we have acted in our lives thus far. Have we been living in this world filled with the desires of worldliness and human greed, in trying to satisfy our own selfish desires and wants? Or have we been truly devoted to the Lord, in all of our actions and deeds?

Today, we celebrate the feast of Pope St. John XXIII, also known by his nickname of the ‘Good Pope’. He was the Pope who initiated the Second Vatican Council, in bringing about reform and renewal to the Church, almost six decades ago. He was remembered as a holy and devout servant of God, who spent his whole life, trying to bring the people of God closer to their loving Father.

Pope St. John XXIII was born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, in a poor farmer family in northern Italy. He was born into poverty and hard life, and yet, he was raised well and heard the call to priesthood and holiness early in his life. He became a priest and was involved in the social works in the Church among his local community early on, inspired by the examples set by his local bishop, who devoted himself to the care and the well-being of the poor, especially the workers who were oppressed by the then horrible conditions at work.

Later on, he became the Apostolic Delegate to Bulgaria, and then later still, the Apostolic Delegate to Greece and Turkey. In his role as the representative of the Pope to those countries, he fostered many good relationships both with the state as well as with the Christians belonging to the Eastern Orthodox traditions, who have always treated Catholics with much suspicion and animosity. But Pope St. John XXIII’s persistence in love and kindness have softened many hearts and won much adoration and praise.

In his many other roles and capacities, he was also remembered for his role in saving many Jewish refugees from Europe during the time of the Second World War when millions of Jews were massacred by the NAZI regime in Germany. He also helped to reconcile the relations between the Church and the state in France after the war, and many other good deeds, as the Pope of the Church, when he led the entire Church in the journey of discovering their faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we too, should follow in the footsteps of this holy Pope in our own life, in how we live our lives, in our actions and deeds. Let us all turn towards God with all of our hearts, and turn ourselves towards God. And if we want to be one with God, then our actions must also show this faith and love which we ought to have for God. May the Lord be our guide and be our help, and bless us always in our every deeds and works. Amen.

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Thursday, 11 October 2018 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, Pope (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)

Luke 11 : 5-13

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to his house in the middle of the night and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine who is travelling has just arrived, and I have nothing to offer him.’ Maybe your friend will answer from inside, ‘Do not bother me now; the door is locked, and my children and I are in bed, so I cannot get up and give you anything.'”

“But I tell you, even though he will not get up and attend to you because you are a friend, yet he will get up because you are a bother to him, and he will give you all you need. And so I say to you, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For the one who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened.”

“If your child asks for a fish, will you give him a snake instead? And if your child asks for an egg, will you give him a scorpion? If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.”

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Thursday, 11 October 2018 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, Pope (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)

Luke 1 : 69-70, 71-72: 73-75

In the house of David His servant, He has raised up for us a victorious Saviour; as He promised through His prophets of old.

Salvation from our enemies and from the hand of our foes. He has shown mercy to our fathers; and remembered His holy Covenant.

The oath He swore to Abraham, our father, to deliver us from the enemy, that we might serve Him fearlessly, as a holy and righteous people, all the days of our lives.