Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 113A : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Alleluia! When Israel came out of Egypt, the family of Jacob, from a people of foreign language. Judah became His Sanctuary; Israel, His possession.
At His sight, the sea fled and the Jordan retreated; the mountains skipped like rams, the hills frolicked like lambs.
Why is it, sea, that you flee? Jordan, that you turn back? Mountains, that you skip like rams? Hills, that you frolic like lambs?
Liturgical Colour : Green
Joshua 3 : 7-10a, 11, 13-17
Then YHVH said to Joshua : "Today I will begin to make you great in the eyes of Israel and they shall known that I am with you as I was with Moses. Give this order to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant : As soon as you come to the banks of the Jordan, stand still in the river."
And Joshua said to the Israelites : "Come nearer and listen to the words of YHVH, our God. Do you want a sign that YHVH, the living God, is in your midst? See, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to cross the Jordan before you. When the priests who carry the Ark of the Lord of all the earth put their feet into the water of the Jordan, the water coming from the upstream shall stop flowing and stand in one single mass."
When the people set out from their camp to cross the Jordan, the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant went before them. There was much water in the Jordan, for it was overflowing its banks at this time of the barley harvest. Nevertheless, when those who carried the Ark went down to the river and their feet touched the edge of the water, the water from upstream stopped flowing.
The water stood still, forming something like a dam very far from that place, near Adam, the neighbouring city of Zarethan. The water flowing down to the Dead Sea was completely cut off, and so the people could cross opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant remained in the middle of the river which dried up, until all the Israelites had crossed the Jordan.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, God reminded us this day, that all of those who sowed meagrely will also reap meagrely, using the parable of the sower and the seeds as a guide to teach all of us His people. The Lord has given us all the blessings and graces in life, so that we may use them for the benefit of one another, and not to serve our own selfish purposes and desires.
What does that mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that we should not be greedy or be haughty in life. We must not think that all the power and glory, all the wealth and blessings we have in this world were due to our own might and power. All of these have in fact been entrusted to us by the Lord our God, to be shared with each other.
In the same passage from the first reading today, from the Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, God showed us how we ought to become true and committed Christians. It is through our generosity in the giving of ourselves, in the service and love which we show upon our fellow brethren, our willingness to care for each other that lead us to the righteousness in God.
But all of us are too ready to care about ourselves first before others. We always instinctively think that we have to protect our own interests and desires first, before we even think in the slightest manner about others. And this is exactly what the Lord Jesus spoke about in the Gospel passage today. Jesus spoke of those who love their lives, who will in the end lose everything that they tried to protect, and then conversely, those who do not even worry to lay down their lives, who will gain eternal life.
It is again another reminder for us that as Christians, all of us must be selfless, and we must not put forth our personal desires and interests before that of others, and before that of the needs of the general community. Those who want to protect their own lives first, they are too absorbed in their desires and they succumb to the temptations of worldliness.
In another occasion as recorded in the Gospels, the Lord Jesus even said, that all those who loved themselves, or loved their families and friends more than they loved the Lord, those will not be considered worthy of the Lord. Jesus mentioned that because as long as we put ahead our own personal desires and interests, ahead of what the Lord had commanded us to do, that is firstly, to love our Lord with all of our heart and strength, and then, to love our fellow men in the same manner.
A Christian is not selfish, but selfless. A Christian is not haughty and proud, but humble in heart and open in his or her mind, ready to welcome the words of God, through which He spoke to us and let us known His will. And we should perhaps learn from the examples of the holy saint whose feast we are celebrating today, namely St. Lawrence, a holy deacon and saint of the Church, who were also martyred for his faith and dedication to God.
St. Lawrence was a deacon of the Church in Rome, entrusted with the care of the faithful people of God in the city of Rome and its surroundings, the heart of Christendom and also the heart of the Roman Empire at the time. The faithful had to serve the Lord and worship Him in secret as the Roman Empire's official pagan religion and faith rejected the teachings of Christianity, and actively persecuted the faithful and the Church.
Thus, St. Lawrence lived and served the Lord at a difficult time, where every single day was indeed a matter of life or death. However, he continued to faithfully serve the Lord's people, ministering to them and obeying the will of God through His Church. And when he, along with the Pope St. Sixtus II and many others of the faithful were arrested by the Roman authorities, he remained strong and resolute in his faith, even unto martyrdom.
St. Lawrence showed us all, the people of God, that as Christians all of us need to be selfless and be humble, and be generous in our love and care for others, putting the will of God above everything else, and not allowing our personal desires and interests from interfering from our faith in God and from what we ought to be doing as God's faithful disciples.
Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all renew our commitment to the Lord, by walking in the footsteps of St. Lawrence of Rome, holy deacon and martyr, that by emulating the faith and devotion which he once had in God, we too may be worthy to share the same everlasting inheritance and glory he has received for eternity. May God bless us all. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Red
John 12 : 24-26
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Those who love their life destroy it, and those who despise their life in this world save it even to everlasting life."
"Whoever wants to serve Me, let him follow Me; and wherever I am, there shall My servant be also. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honour him."
Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 111 : 1-2, 5-6, 7-8, 9
Alleluia! Blessed is the one who fears YHVH, who greatly delights in His commands. His children will be powerful on earth; the upright's offspring will be blessed.
It will be well with him who lends freely, who leads a life of justice and honesty. For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered and loved forever.
He has no fear of evil news, for his heart is firm, trusting in YHVH. His heart is confident; he need not fear; he shall prevail over his foes at the end.
He gives generously to the poor; his merits will last forever; and his head will be raised in honour.
Liturgical Colour : Red
2 Corinthians 9 : 6-10
Remember : the one who sows meagerly will reap meagerly, and there shall be generous harvests for the one who sows generously. Each of you should give as you decided personally, and not reluctantly, as if obliged. God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to fill you with every good thing, so that you have enough of everything, at all times, and may give abundantly for any good work.
Scripture says : He distributed, He gave to the poor, His good works last forever. God, Who provides the sower with seed, will also provide him with the bread he eats. He will multiply the seed for you and also increase the interest on your good works.
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.
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.
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.
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.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 