Thursday

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Thursday, 13 September 2018 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 8 : 1b-7, 11-13

We know that all of us have knowledge, but knowledge puffs up, while love builds. If anyone thinks that he has knowledge, he does not yet know as he should know, but if someone loves God, he has been known by God.

Can we, then, eat meat from offering to the idols? We know that an idol is without existence and that there is no God but one. People speak indeed of other gods in heaven and on earth and, in this sense, there are many gods and lords. Yet for us, there is but one God, the Father, from Whom everything comes, and to Whom we go. And there is one Lord, Christ Jesus, through Whom everything exists, and through Him, we exist.

Not everyone, however, has that knowledge. For some persons, who, until recently, took the idols seriously, the food remains linked to the idol, and eating of it stains their conscience, which is unformed. Then, with your knowledge, you would have caused your weak brother or sister to perish, the one for whom Christ died. When you disturb the weak conscience of your brother or sister, and sin against them, you sin against Christ Himself. Therefore, if any food will bring my brother to sin, I shall never eat this food, lest my brother or sister fall.

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Thursday, 6 September 2018 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the Lord speaking to us, through His Apostle St. Paul, in the Epistle he wrote to the faithful in Corinth, as well as through His calling of the Apostles St. Peter, St. Andrew, St. James and St. John at the lake of Galilee. Through these words of the Scripture we are reminded that God has given us His wisdom and His truth, and He is calling on us to follow Him and put our trust in Him.

He was at the side of the lake, when He saw the boats of fishermen coming ashore without fish. He then told the fishermen, some of whom would become His disciples, to go out into the sea and cast out their net to catch the fish. St. Peter initially hesitated and said to the Lord, that they had gone out all night and were not able to catch any fishes, but he still listened to the Lord and obeyed His commands.

In the end, he and his fellow fishermen caught such a huge number of fish, that they needed help to get the fishes into their boat, that almost sunk because of the huge catch of fishes. St. Peter immediately bowed down before the Lord, begging Him for mercy and forgiveness, for he was a sinner. But the Lord was loving and kind to him and the other fishermen He called, and said that from then on, they would fish for men instead.

What do we make of this, brothers and sisters in Christ? First of all, we must understand that St. Peter and the other fishermen must have been quite experienced in their work and profession as fishermen. They were surely able to know where they could catch a lot of fishes and gather plenty of gains for themselves, but they could not find anything on that day.

We must understand the context that likely the fishermen had been going out for hours to catch the fishes, as St. Peter himself said, and they must have been tired and exhausted, disappointed and probably even angry at the lack of catch, as any one of us would, if we have done plenty of work and yet no result appeared. And for the fishermen, the last thing they needed was for someone to tell them to go and catch fishes again.

And not least the fact that such a request was made by someone, who was not even a fisherman at all, like the Lord Jesus. In their minds, they must have thought that they were good fishermen, with much skill and experience, and why they should listen to the command of a Man Who seemingly did not even know how to fish at all. Yet, they listened and did what the Lord told them to do, and they were dumbfounded by what happened, as what has been mentioned in the Gospel today.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what does the readings today mean to us? First of all, linking back to what St. Paul said in his Epistle to the Corinthians, many of us if not most, tend to think that we know everything that we know in this world, in our respective areas of expertise. We think of ourselves as good, educated, intellectual and capable in the ways of the world, and we put a lot of trust in our human wisdom, intellect and power.

Therefore, what St. Peter initially said to the Lord Jesus is in fact a natural response that we mankind will often make, when the Lord speaks to us and tells us what He wants us to do. However, as we have seen and heard from the Gospel, trusting in the Lord’s words can open our eyes to the reality of the truth, that it is not our will that will be done, but the Lord’s will.

For all the wisdom, power and abilities that we have, first of all, we must realise that they all pale in comparison with the wisdom and power of God, and God alone knows what is best for us. And then, we must realise that all of our abilities, talents, knowledge, power and all ultimately came from God and were blessings that He has bestowed upon us. And He intends for us to make use of these gifts and blessings for good use.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now, are we able to put our trust in God in the same way as the Apostles had done? They left everything behind and followed the Lord, and the Lord made them the fishers of men. And many souls have been saved through their hard work and commitment, their faith and dedication that they were even willing to lay down their lives for the Lord’s sake.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, it does not mean that we have to follow the exact same way as the Apostles, leaving everything behind to serve the Lord. What is important is that, we must discern what is our true calling in life, by listening to God speaking in our hearts, and by quietening ourselves from all the noise of this world, and from all the temptations of pride in our hearts.

Let us all seek to be humble and to be open to the Lord’s calling in our hearts, and learn to put our complete trust in Him. Let us no longer be proud or haughty, arrogant or be ambitious, thinking that we alone know what is best for us. May the Lord be our Guide, and may He continue to watch over us in our lives. May God bless us all, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 6 September 2018 : 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, 6 September 2018 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 23 : 1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

The earth and its fullness belong to YHVH, the world and all that dwell in it. He has founded it upon the ocean and set it firmly upon the waters.

Who will ascend the mountain of YHVH? Who will stand in His holy place? Those with clean hands and pure heart, who desire not what is vain.

They will receive blessings from YHVH, a reward from God, their Saviour. Such are the people who seek Him, who seek the face of Jacob’s God.

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Thursday, 6 September 2018 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 3 : 18-23

Do not deceive yourselves. If anyone of you considers himself wise in the ways of the world, let him become a fool, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s eyes. To this, Scripture says : God catches the wise in their own wisdom. It also says : The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is useless.

Because of this, let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you; Paul, Apollos, Cephas – life, death, the present and the future. Everything is yours, and you, you belong to Christ, and Christ is of God.

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Thursday, 30 August 2018 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are all reminded of our obligations as Christians to be true to our faith, and to be worthy and ready at all times for the Lord, Our God. Each and every one of us, as St. Paul mentioned in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in the city of Corinth, have been sanctified and made worthy by the Lord Jesus Himself, Who has given His own Body and Blood in the Eucharist, and sent us the Holy Spirit.

He has given us the rich and wonderful inheritance of His grace and many blessings, and all these He has given us because of His love for us all. All of us have been entrusted by God with the stewardship of our own lives in this world, entrusted with the many things we have possessed in this life, as His stewards and caretakers of this world. And this is related to what we have heard in our Gospel passage today.

In the Gospel today, we heard about the parable of the faithful and unfaithful steward, in which the contrast was placed before those who heard the Lord, between a prudent and good servant of a master, who obeyed the master’s commands and desires, and did all that he was supposed to do, and then, with a wicked and unfaithful servant, who did not obey the commands of his master, but delayed in doing what he was supposed to do.

The good steward and servant did not delay in doing the will of his master, putting his master’s will and expectations above that of his own ones. But the bad and wicked servant enjoyed life and abused his authority and position, and put his own desires and wishes first above that of his master’s. And he even took pride in thinking that he was safe, as he thought that his master would be delayed in returning.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in what we have heard and learnt from the Gospel passage, all of us are reminded not to be like the bad, wicked and lazy servant, who only thought about himself and his own needs. In his selfishness and pride, he has led himself into his own downfall. The master caught the lazy servant unprepared, and sent him to his own doom.

Now, this is a reminder for us all, that we must be ever prepared and ever ready for the reckoning of our lives, as we must realise just how fragile our human life and existence is. All of us will one day, sooner or later experience death, that is the ending of our mortal and earthly existence. And at that moment, we will be judged on our actions and deeds in life, our obedience and disobedience against God, our fulfilment or failure to fulfil God’s will.

Now, do we want the fate like that of the wicked and lazy servant, who was caught unprepared by his master when he suddenly returned? The same fate will be ours should we ignore God’s reminders and calling for us, to repent and turn away from our sinful ways. If we do not actively resist the temptations of life and all sorts of pleasures and distractions that the devil placed on our path, then we will end up falling badly in our journey of faith.

Let us all remember this, brothers and sisters in Christ, the suffering of those who have rejected and disobeyed God, and refused to listen to Him. Let us all seek the Lord from now on with all of our hearts and with all of our strength. May God be with us all, and may He continue to watch over us and strengthen us, that we will always walk faithfully in His path, and not fall into the temptation of human pride and greed. Amen.

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Thursday, 30 August 2018 : 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.”

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Thursday, 30 August 2018 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 144 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7

I will praise You, day after day; and exalt Your Name forever. Great is YHVH, most worthy of praise; and His deeds are beyond measure.

Parents commend Your works to their children and tell them Your feats. They proclaim the splendour of Your majesty and recall Your wondrous works.

People will proclaim Your mighty deeds; and I will declare Your greatness. They will celebrate Your abundant kindness, and rejoice in singing of Your justice.

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Thursday, 30 August 2018 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 1 : 1-9

From Paul, called to be an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, and from Sosthenes, our brother, to God’s Church which is in Corinth; to you, whom God has sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called, to be holy, together, with those, who, everywhere, call upon the Name of Our Lord Christ Jesus, their Lord and ours.

Receive grace, and peace from God, Our Father, and Christ Jesus, Our Lord. I give thanks, constantly, to my God, for you, and for the grace of God given to you, in Christ Jesus. For you have been fully enriched, in Him, with words, as well as with knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you. You do not lack any spiritual gift and only await the glorious coming of Christ Jesus, Our Lord.

He will keep you steadfast to the end, and you will be without reproach, on the day of the coming of Our Lord Jesus. The faithful God will not fail you, after calling you to this fellowship with His Son, Christ Jesus, Our Lord.

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Thursday, 23 August 2018 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Virgins)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the Scriptures, with the beautiful and very meaningful passages that are bringing us to contemplate on the importance of our proper internal disposition, in how we believe in God and in how we truly have that genuine faith in Him and not just merely a superficial and illusory commitment.

In the first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel, we heard God calling upon His people, the Israelites who have been cast away from their ancestors’ land and went to exile in faraway lands. God wanted to love them again and gather them from their scattered places all around the world. He wanted them to once again become His people and that He become their God.

And this is through a change of attitude and conversion of hearts, that all those whom God called into their midst would have new hearts in them. This change of heart would result in a people whose hearts and minds were hardened and stubborn, always disobedient against God and His will, to be filled with a new love for God, and to be transformed into new beings of light, God’s own beloved ones.

In the Gospel passage today, the Lord alluded to the same intention through the parable which He related to His disciples and to the people listening to Him. He was using the example of a king who invited guests to his feast and yet, many of the people who were invited refused to come to his banquet. This represents those in the past, whom God had called to be with Him and to obey Him, and yet, they refused to believe and chose to rebel instead through sin.

All of them have received their just rewards, and they have been condemned by their own actions. But God is so filled with love for us all, that He desired for us to have the chance fo repent and to turn away from our sins. And that was why, in the parable the Lord used, He compared this with the king who asked his servants to go out and gather all those whom they were able to gather, to be in the banquet that he had prepared.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, each and every one of us have been called by God to be His followers, that is to be partakers in the heavenly banquet He has prepared for each one of us. But are we willing to come and be in the banquet of the Lord? Are we indeed ready to be in the heavenly banquet, to be at the presence of God Himself? Let us all now heed the last part of today’s Gospel passage to remind us that we need to be constantly ready for the Lord.

In the Gospel passage, the king came to one man who was not dressed in the proper garment for the feast, and asked him how he came into the venue. The man was sent out by the king and made to suffer because of his lack of preparation and ignorance of what needed to be done to be present at the banquet. Through this, the Lord reminded each one of us that while the Lord has called us to be part of His heavenly inheritance, but we must be prepared to meet Him and to be with Him.

And that means, all of us must have a genuine and committed faith in God, and we must do our very best to love God and to do our best in our every words and actions, to be worthy of God and to bring greater glory to Him. This is what the Lord wants from us, that is for us to be thoroughly changed and converted in heart, mind, soul and our whole being.

Therefore, we need to be wholly attuned to God and turning ourselves to Him, and in order to do so, we must begin from ourselves, from our actions, resisting the temptations to sin, and doing what is just and righteous in all of the things we say and do. And perhaps, we should model ourselves based on the examples and inspiration of St. Rose of Lima, the holy woman and saint whose feast we celebrate today.

St. Rose of Lima was known as the first saint of the New World, the American continent. St. Rose of Lima was remembered for her great piety, even from a very young age. She spent much time devoting herself through prayer and asceticism, committing herself to prayer and to merciful act of charity towards her brethren. She cared for others and loved God much more than she even loved or cared about herself.

St. Rose of Lima was such an inspiring example of faith that many people throughout the ages modelled themselves after her faith and dedication to the Lord. She has shown us what it means for us to be transformed in the heart, mind and soul, to be those whom the Lord had called to be His disciples. St. Rose of Lima reminds us that a life dedicated to God is our calling in life, and we have to strive our best, each and every day to be ever more faithful to God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all no longer harden our hearts or minds, and allow God to enter into our lives, and transform us from our old ways of sin and disobedience to a new way of life. We are called to love God just as God has loved us all, and for us to devote ourselves just as his holy saints, including St. Rose of Lima had done. May the Lord be with us all, and may He continue to guide us in the way of truth. May God bless us all. Amen.