Thursday

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Thursday, 3 August 2017 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us are reminded of God's love for us, beginning from what we have heard in the first reading, taken from the Book of Exodus, in which we heard about how Moses commissioned and dedicated the Holy Tent of Meeting, which would become the centre and focus of the community of Israel as they journeyed through the desert for forty years, and also later on once they were in the Promised Land.

For the Holy Tent of Meeting was the house of God Himself, Who have willingly come down to dwell among His people, through the Covenant He had established with them, and through the Law which He had passed onto them through Moses. He had become their God, and they had become His people. It was God's love for them which allowed this to happen, and therefore, all of us who have received such a great honour and grace should be happy and be joyful.

And yet, at the same time, we are also reminded through the Gospel passage today, that God's love for us also require us to love Him in the same manner. He has unconditionally given us all His love, by reaching out to us even when we are still sinners and unworthy of Him. He gave us the opportunities in order to redeem ourselves, and to turn away from our wickedness and rebellious ways. But, if we ourselves refuse to turn away from those sins, and close our hearts against Him, then what the Lord Jesus spoke of in the Gospel passage today will come true.

The Lord spoke of the kingdom of heaven in a parable, comparing it to a huge fishing net, gathering many fishes of all types and kinds, of all sizes and shapes. This corresponds to how the Lord wants to gather all the people, of all races and from all the nations, to come to Him and to be reconciled with Him. This is why He sent forth His Apostles and disciples with the command, 'Go and make disciples of all the nations, and baptise them in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!'.

However, many of us do not remain true and faithful to our faith, and we often failed to obey the commandments of God. We put the priority to our own selfish desires and succumbing to our greed, and thus ignoring what we should have done in life, that is to be committed and dedicated to God in all of our words, actions and deeds. Instead, we let our desires to take control over us, dictating our actions, causing conflict, pain and suffering on others at times just so that we may satisfy our own needs.

As a result, we have become the bad fishes, which in accordance to the Gospel passage, will be disposed of at the time when the Lord came to judge all of us. The Angels of God would be the ones to sort out the good from the bad, and while the good ones will end up being chosen as they are considered worthy, the bad ones will be discarded and destroyed.

In the same way therefore, unless we change our way of life, that we obey the Lord and His laws, we will end up leading ourselves down the way towards eternal damnation and suffering in hell, where there will be no escape or hope for salvation. The Lord might have indeed shown us all His love and mercy, unconditional and generous, but if we have closed the doors of our hearts to these, then the Lord Himself will also reject us at the time of reckoning.

What is it then, that we all as Christians need to do? All of us must be faithful to the Covenant which God had made with us all. Just as He made the Covenant with Israel with the help of Moses, He had made another, everlasting and true Covenant through none other than the loving sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. And a Covenant is a pact made between two parties, that requires both of them to be faithful to the Covenant.

Therefore, as the Lord our God is always faithful to His Covenant with us, for He cannot possibly lie or be untruthful about what He has promised us all, now it falls unto us His people, that we should do our part to fulfil the part we have in our Covenant with God. And how do we do that, brothers and sisters? It is by our showing of love to one another, by being merciful to our fellow men, forgiving one another our faults, and by showing tender care and compassion to the poor and to the sick.

Let us all not be deterred by the amount of hard work that we need to put in, in order for us to be worthy of God. For it is indeed going to be quite challenging for us to lead a life that is dedicated to God, and is considered righteous before God. Yet, if we make the effort to do so, and consciously begin to do what the Lord had taught us to do, even in small and simple things, slowly all of us will put ourselves firmly on the path towards God's salvation and grace.

May the Lord be with us always and may He continue to guide us through this journey we have in life, that we may always strive to be faithful to the Covenant which He had established with us, and so that we will be found worthy of the kingdom of heaven, and the eternal life and glory God had prepared for all those who are faithful to Him. Let us all be truly faithful, not just in mere words, but also through all of our deeds and actions in life. Amen.

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Thursday, 3 August 2017 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 13 : 47-53

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a big fishing net, let down into the sea, in which every kind of fish has been caught. When the net is full, it is dragged ashore. Then they sit down and gather the good fish into buckets, but throw the bad away. That is how it will be at the end of time; the Angels will go out to separate the wicked from the just, and to throw the wicked into the blazing furnace, where they will weep and gnash their teeth."

Jesus asked, "Have you understood all these things?" "Yes," they answered. So He said to them, "Therefore, every teacher of the Law who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven, is like a householder, who can produce from his store things both new and old."

When Jesus had finished these parables, He left that place.

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Thursday, 3 August 2017 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 83 : 3, 4, 5-6a and 8a, 11

My soul yearns; pines, for the courts of YHVH. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young, at Your altars, o YHVH of hosts, my King and my God!

Happy are those who live in Your house, continually singing Your praise! Happy, the pilgrims whom You strengthen, they go from strength to strength.

One day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be left at the threshold in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.

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Thursday, 3 August 2017 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Exodus 40 : 16-21, 34-38

Moses did this; he did exactly as YHVH had commanded him. The Holy Tent was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year. Moses set up the Holy Tent. He fixed the bases for it, put up its frames, put its crossbars in position, set up its posts. He spread the tent over the Holy Tent and on top of this the covering for the Tent, as YHVH had commanded Moses.

He took the Covenant and placed it inside the Ark. He set the poles to the Ark in place and put the mercy seat on it. He brought the Ark into the Holy Tent and put the screening veil in place; thus he screened the Ark of YHVH, as YHVH had commanded Moses.

Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting and the Glory of YHVH filled the Holy Tent. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because of the Glory of YHVH that filled the Holy Tent. At every stage of their journey, whenever the cloud rose from the Holy Tent, the people of Israel would continue their march. If the cloud did not rise, they waited and would not move their camp until it did.

For the cloud rested on the Holy Tent by day, and a fire shone within the cloud by night for all the house of Israel to see. And so it was for every stage of their journey.

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Thursday, 27 July 2017 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us heard from the Book of Exodus in our first reading about how the people of Israel came into the new covenant which God established between Himself and all of them at Mount Sinai. A covenant is a formal act of commitment made between two parties, where each parties solemnly promised to fulfil their part of the covenant to each other.

God had made the covenant with His people, beginning from Abraham, who was called by God to be His servant. Abraham showed a very dedicated and committed faith, through which he lived his life, following the will of God in how He wanted his life to be, and obeyed God in all of His will and commandments. And God Himself was always faithful to His covenant and promises, and thus God fulfilled what He had told Abraham, that his descendants would be a great nation and God would be their God.

Yet, if we read on through the accounts and history of the people of Israel, just right after God established His covenant with Israel, the people of Israel betrayed Him and left Him behind for other, pagan gods. Just because Moses went up the Mount Sinai for an extended stay there with God, Who used that opportunity to relay His laws and commandments to him, then the people rose up against Moses and God, and lifted up a pagan idol over them, a golden calf.

In the Gospel today, we heard about the Lord Jesus and His disciples, at the moment when they asked Him why He was teaching and speaking to them and to the people in parables. A parable is a story which is an approximation and a representation of what actually happened in the real life, which Jesus used for His teachings to deliver the truth to the people in a way that is more understandable and easier to be accepted.

Why is this so? That is because Jesus liked to use parables related to farming practices, such as the parable of the sower, the parable of the fig tree and others, which farmers and those who were working in the agricultural field could appreciate and understand. In addition, Jesus also liked to use parables related to fishing and shepherding, where many of the people also were shepherds and fishermen. Through all these parables, our Lord wanted to enlighten our minds with the truth and help us to comprehend the great mystery of God.

Yet, even though the Lord had shown His people through words, through parables and stories, and through miracles and wonders, many of His people refused to listen to Him or believe in Him. They refused to believe even after having seen how Jesus healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, curing the deaf and the mute and casting out the evil spirits from those who were possessed by those wicked and evil spirits. It was the same with their ancestors, who refused to believe in God and constantly rebelled against Him even though they have frequently witnessed God's power and wonders firsthand.

Their faith was a superficial faith, and the faith did not have strong roots in them. They were easily amazed and attracted by the great wonders and miracles of God, and were awed by what they had seen, but this did not equate to a strong, living and genuine faith inside of them. They were easily tempted by worldly temptations of power, of greed, of desire and all those that the devil had placed as obstacles in their path. They stubbornly hardened their hearts and refused to open themselves to the Lord.

This is a reminder for all of us, that our faith in God cannot be like that of the Israelites. Our faith must be real and living, and we must have sincere devotion and commitment to God. In that way, then we will be able to truly be God's people, and we will be able to follow Him wholeheartedly without any reservations. This is what we need to do, brothers and sisters in Christ, that we need to take real actions and steps to ensure our commitment to the Lord and His ways.

How do we do this, then? We have to begin from ourselves, by looking deep into ourselves and think in what manner that we are able to contribute to the good works of the Church, and how we can be better disciples of the Lord. When we are faithful to the Lord, all that we do and say will give glory to God, and God will reward our faithfulness and commitment with His everlasting love and grace.

Let us all from now on be true disciples of the Lord, so that in all of our lives we may always seek to become closer to God, and strive to obey Him in all of His commandments and laws, that we will have true faith in Him, and not just merely superficial faith that is easily shaken by the worldly temptations and challenges we encounter. May the Lord be with us and may He continue to guide us in our path. Amen.

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Thursday, 27 July 2017 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 13 : 10-17

At that time, the disciples of Jesus came to Him and said, "Why do You speak to them in parables?" Jesus answered, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but not to these people. For the one who has will be given more; and he will have in abundance. But the one who does not have will be deprived of even what he has. That is why I speak to them in parables; because they look and do not see; they hear; but they do not listen or understand."

"In them, the words of the prophet Isaiah are fulfilled : However much you hear, you do not understand; however much you see, you do not perceive. For the heart of this people has grown dull. Their ears hardly hear and their eyes dare not see. If they were to see with their eyes, hear with their ears and understand with their heart, they would turn back, and I would heal them."

"But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For I tell you, many prophets and righteous people have longed to see the things you see, but they did not see them; and to hear the things you hear, but they did not hear them."

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Thursday, 27 July 2017 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Daniel 3 : 52a, 53, 54, 55, 56

Blessed are You, Lord, God of our fathers, be praised and exalted forever.

Blessed are You in the Temple of Your sacred glory; Your praises are sung forever.

Blessed are You, on the throne of Your kingdom; honoured and glorified forever.

Blessed are You, Who fathom the depths, Who are enthroned on the Cherubim; praised and exalted forever.

Blessed are You, in the firmament of heaven; praised and glorified forever.

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Thursday, 27 July 2017 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Exodus 19 : 1-2, 9-11, 16-20b

Exactly two months after the Israelites had left Egypt, they arrived at the wilderness of Sinai. They arrived there coming from Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai.

YHVH spoke to Moses, "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud so that the people may hear Me speaking with you and trust you always." Then Moses related to YHVH what the people had said. Again YHVH spoke to Moses, "Go to the people and have them sanctified today and tomorrow; let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day YHVH will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people."

On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning and a dense cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast was heard. All the people in the camp trembled. Moses then made the people leave the camp to meet God and stand at the foot of the mountain.

Mount Sinai was completely covered in smoke because YHVH had come down in fire, and the smoke rose as from a furnace. The whole mountain shook violently, while the blast of the trumpet became louder and louder. Moses spoke and God replied in thunder.

When YHVH had come down to the summit of Mount Sinai, God called Moses who went to the summit.

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Thursday, 20 July 2017 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us heard about the calling of Moses by God, Who called him at the mountain of Horeb in Sinai, calling him to be His servant before Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, in order to free His people Israel from slavery and bondage. God told Moses what to say and do before Pharaoh, and before the people of Israel, that He would deliver them from the slavery in Egypt and bringing them into the land of their forefathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.

In the Gospel today, then we heard about the Lord Jesus speaking the well-known words, ‘Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.’ And then He continued with, ‘Take My yoke 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.’ These words of encouragement are reminders of the time when the people of Israel were enslaved under heavy burdens, the yoke of their slavery.

A yoke is the object placed on top of bulls and buffaloes, or horses and other beasts of burden in order to be the piece that holds up the burdens which are to be carried by those animals. The yoke is placed such that the animals would not be able to easily get rid of it, and it is indeed a heavy burden placed on the back of the animal. It is therefore a symbol of enslavement and burden, which had been placed on God’s people.

God wants to remove the heavy burden from His people, just as He had removed the burden of their slavery in Egypt, where the people of Israel was crushed and persecuted under the Pharaohs who forced them into slave labour, building up his cities and monuments under the worst of conditions. They were tortured and treated badly, their rights were ignored and the Pharaohs even wanted to exterminate Israel as a people, ordering the male Hebrew newborns to be thrown into the Nile River.

God rescued His people, by sending Moses to deliver the people from the hands of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and through Moses God sent ten great plagues that heavily crushed the Egyptians and forced the Pharaoh to relent and let the Israelites go free from slavery. And when the Pharaoh reneged on his words and chased after the Israelites, God destroyed the chariots and the armies of Egypt in the middle of the Red Sea while His people walked through the sea unharmed.

But what most people would have missed out is the fact that when God brought His people to freedom, He was not bringing them to an unbridled freedom or a life where they could just do whatever it was they wanted. No, in fact, this is what Jesus our Lord mentioned in the Gospel, when He said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. This means that the people of God were given a new burden, and this burden was for them to be obedient to God and follow all of His ways.

This happened as God established a new Covenant with His people, renewing the one which He had made with Abraham their forefathers. And through that Covenant, God gave His people a set of ten commandments and laws, which He relayed to them through Moses. The people were obliged to obey those laws and commandments, and when they refused to do so, and as they disobeyed the Lord, they perished in the desert.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is a reminder to all of us that in order for us to walk faithfully upon God’s path, it will not be a painless or easy process for us. There will be challenges and difficulties, all the things that will be obstacles in our way to the Lord. There will be times when we have the temptations to give up and to turn away from God. There will be times when we will falter and prefer the comforts of the world, just as the Israelites had done before.

But let us remember, brethren, that if we turn away from the Lord and are not faithful to Him, even though we may gain a brief respite in this world, and enjoy acceptance from the world, the Lord will reject us and the consequences for us will be catastrophic. That is why the burden of this world, while it may seem to be lighter and easier, but in reality, it is far worse than the burden of becoming a faithful disciple of the Lord.

Let us not give up, brothers and sisters in Christ, but instead commit ourselves to a new life blessed with faith, following in the example of what St. Apollinaris, a holy bishop and martyr of the Church had done in his life. As we celebrate his feast day today, let us take heed of what he had committed, as he led his flock, the faithful people of God as the bishop of Ravenna in the earliest days of the Church.

St. Apollinaris propagated the faith with zeal among the people, helping to establish the Church foundations in the city of Ravenna and beyond. When the faithful were persecuted by the Roman Emperor and its administration, St. Apollinaris did not give up but continued to labour hard for the sake of the faithful people of God. It was told that he was arrested, exiled from Ravenna with many of his faithful, and as he was faithful to the end, he gladly received martyrdom.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, St. Apollinaris and the many other holy saints and martyrs of God have lived their lives filled with sincere devotion and commitment, knowing that God will free them all from their slavery to sin and from their fated destruction. Yes, brethren, God has freed us all and He has promised us all eternal life and glory with Him, if only that we are also faithful to Him and to the Covenant He has made with us all through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let us all therefore renew our faith in the Lord, and let us all seek to be closer to the Lord, by doing what is right and just, and what is according to God’s will in our lives. May the Lord also help us in our journey towards Him, and may He help us to persevere through the challenges and obstacles we may face on our way. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 20 July 2017 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
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.”