Thursday

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Thursday, 6 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 47 : 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 9, 10-11

Great is YHVH, most worthy of praise in the City of God, His holy mountain. Beautifully elevated, it is the joy of all the earth.

Mount Zion, heavenly mountain, the City of the great King. Here, within her lines of defence, God has shown Himself to be a sure fortress.

As we have heard, so have we seen, in the City of YHVH of hosts, in the City of Our God, the City God founded forever.

Let us recall Your unfailing love, o God, inside Your Temple. Let Your praise, as does Your Name, o God, reach to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is ever victorious.

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Thursday, 6 February 2025 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Hebrews 12 : 18-19, 21-24

What you have come to, is nothing known to the senses : nor heat of a blazing fire, darkness and gloom and storms, blasts of trumpet or such a voice that the people pleaded, that no further word be spoken.

The sight was so terrifying, that Moses said : I tremble with fear. But you came near to Mount Zion, to the City of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, with its innumerable Angels. You have come to the solemn feast, the assembly of the firstborn of God, whose names are written in heaven.

There is God, Judge of all, with the spirits of the upright, brought to perfection. There is Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant, with the sprinkled Blood that cries out more effectively than Abel’s.

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Thursday, 30 January 2025 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded through the readings of the Sacred Scriptures in which we are all called to be active in fulfilling the many responsibilities and missions, the duties and works that we have been given, the opportunities and the many other things that God has given to us. All of us as Christians must always strive to carry out all those duties and works with great faith and commitment, and we should not be ignorant of this calling and mission which God has entrusted to us. To be a truly dedicated and faithful Christian, each and every one of us must always be active in the efforts to serve and glorify the Lord by our lives, to do what He has commanded to us, taught and shown us to do in our lives.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews, we heard of the continuation of the exhortation by the author of this Epistle, held by many Biblical experts and scholars to be St. Luke the Evangelist, in which he continued to remind the Jewish community of the works and efforts which the Lord Himself has done for our sake through the sending of His most beloved Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, to be our High Priest and the One to deliver us all from the jaws of death by breaking us from the chains and domination by sin, evil and wickedness all around us. Through Christ, our Lord, Who has willingly taken upon Himself the many burdens of our sins and evils, and by offering His own Most Precious Body and Blood, God has redeemed us all and opened for us the sure path towards eternal life.

But as we have been made partakers of this Covenant, the New and Eternal Covenant that God Himself has made with us, His beloved and holy people, therefore, all of us are reminded again and again that a Covenant between us and God is not meant to be one way, as a Covenant is a most solemn agreement between two parties in which both parties agree to abide by the terms of the Covenant, the agreement that we have bound over us, and in this case, which has been sealed and made firm by the Blood of the Lamb of God, as He laid dying on the Cross at Calvary. It is therefore a reminder for all of us not to ignore our part in this Covenant between God and us, and we have to commit ourselves to the Lord wholeheartedly and completely just as the Lord Himself had done the same as well.

As Christians, it is important that we are the ones to proclaim the Lord to the whole world, His salvation and everything that He has taught and revealed to us. And therefore, we ought to adhere well to the path that He has shown to us, and help one another, just as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews had said, to remain courageous and faithful in how we all live our lives in accordance with God and His path. We are all called to follow the Lord with ever greater commitment and devotion, and to help and inspire one another so that by our good examples and inspirations, many more among us may be touched, strengthened and awakened in our faith and in our desire to live a truly holy life in the Lord’s Presence, to be true and faithful Christians at all times.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the words of the Lord speaking with a parable to His disciples and to all the others who were then following Him, using the parable of the lamp or the light of the world. He told and reminded all of them that no one hid a lighted lamp under a table or bed, as a lamp that is lit but hidden serves no purpose and is utterly useless. This is a reminder for all the disciples and the people of God, and hence, all of us who have listened to these words that we should not be idle in the living of our faith, and as Christians, it is imperative that we fulfil our obligations and do whatever we can so that our lives will always be rich and full of virtue at all circumstances, to be truly full of love for God in everything that we say and do.

And the Lord also mentioned that the measure that a person has been given, is the measure that he or she is expected to give as well, which is yet another reminder that we have to be active in living our lives, devoting our time, effort and contributions to serve the Lord and to be the shining beacons of His light and truth in the midst of our communities and societies today. The Lord has given each and every one of us unique and diverse set of gifts, talents, abilities, and many opportunities for us to make good use of what He has given us so that we may truly enrich each others’ lives and fill one another with love, care and compassion. This is what He has expected us all to do, and in case we have not realised it yet, then we should begin doing so from now on.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore reorientate our lives and seek to follow the Lord ever more firmly and with ever greater love and devotion, dedicating the time and the resources to live a most Christian life, not just in mere words or appearances alone, but also in true devotion, commitment, action and the true application of whatever it is that we have believed in the Lord. We should always strive to be good Christians at all opportunities and in every circumstances, listening to the Lord and allowing Him to lead and guide us down the right path. We must not be idle or ignorant anymore of our mission, vocation and calling in life, and if we have not realised what these are yet, then we should spend the time to listen to the Lord calling us, and speaking to us in the depth of our hearts and minds, and remove all that had distracted and kept Him away from us, all the temptations and distractions around us in this world.

May the Lord, our ever loving God and Father, our Creator and Master continue to help and strengthen each and every one of us so that we may continue to persevere through the many different challenges and hardships that we may have to face in our journey of faith and life. May He continue to give us the strength and courage to walk down this path that He has led us into, and guide us along the journey so that we may continue to be the worthy disciples and followers of His, in everything that we say and do, in each and every moments of our lives, to lead more and more people towards the Lord. Amen.

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Thursday, 30 January 2025 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 4 : 21-25

At that time, Jesus also said to His disciples, “When the light comes, is it put under a basket or a bed? Surely it is put on a lamp stand. Whatever is hidden will be disclosed, and whatever is kept secret will be brought to light. Listen then, if you have ears!”

And He also said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. In the measure you give, so shall you receive, and still more will be given to you. For to the one who produces something, more will be given; and from him who does not produce anything, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

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Thursday, 30 January 2025 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

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

The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord, 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 the Lord? 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 the Lord, 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, 30 January 2025 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 10 : 19-25

So, my friends, we are assured of entering the Sanctuary, by the Blood of Jesus Who opened, for us, this new and living way, passing through the curtain, that is, His Body. Because we have a High Priest in charge of the House of God, let us approach, with a sincere heart, with full faith, interiorly cleansed from a bad conscience, and our bodies washed, with pure water.

Let us hold fast to our hope, without wavering, because He, Who promised, is faithful. Let us consider, how we may spur one another to love and good works. Do not abandon the assemblies, as some of you do, but encourage one another, and all the more, since the Day is drawing near.

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Thursday, 23 January 2025 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heard from our Scripture passages today, today as we all heard again from the readings of the Sacred Scriptures and we continue on the discourse about the identity of Jesus Christ as the High Priest of all and the Son of God, all the miracles and wonders that He has performed among the people, we are all reminded about Who it is that we believe in, in our faith and belief as Christians so that we all may know how we may share about Him to all others whom we encounter in our respective daily lives. If we do not even know the Lord, or understand His role and mission in what He had done for our sake, then how can we be effective and good missionaries and evangelisers in our world today?

In our first reading today, we continue to hear from the Epistle to the Hebrews the discourse about the truth and identity of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world and the Messiah which the Jewish people had long awaited for. If yesterday we heard the author speaking about Melchizedek and his connections and associations to Christ, then today we again explore the role of Jesus Christ our Lord as our One, True and Eternal High Priest, as the One through Whom all of us have received the assurance of salvation because He has broken the chains and dominion of sin and death that once had control over all of us. This was particularly directed to the Jewish people in order to explain to them why there was no more need for them to offer sacrifices anymore as they had been mandated by the Law.

The author explained that all the sacrifices which the people had offered up to that time were all temporary and reflections of the one true Sacrifice and Offering which the Lord Jesus, as the High Priest offered once and for all for everyone. It was also highlighted how the High Priest and the other priests had to offer sacrifices in atonement for their own sins first before offering the sacrifice for the people, and they also offered the sacrifices and blood of lambs, goats and others that could not atone for the multitudes of sins of so many. And in contrast, Jesus Christ, the One, True and Eternal High Priest had no need to offer sacrifices for Himself because He Himself is without any sin or blemish, perfect in all things beyond comparison.

More importantly, what He offered was none other than His own Self, His own Most Precious Body and Blood as the Son of God and Son of Man, as well as the Paschal Lamb of sacrifice, offered as the only worthy offering worth all of the multitudes of the innumerable sins, faults and mistakes of all mankind from the very beginning of time, from the time of Adam and Eve right up to the very end of time. His incarnation into this world made possible the perfection of God and His Divinity to transcend our human nature and make Himself that perfect offering and sacrifice on our behalf. And the Lord Jesus truly did suffer most grievously for our sake, as He willingly bore the great and unimaginable weight of the Cross upon His shoulder, and as the scourges were brought upon Him, nails piercing through His Body, broken and His Blood outpoured for us.

As the perfect and most unblemished sacrifice, Our Lord as the Lamb of God offered for us all His own Most Precious Body and Blood for our salvation, and He did it once and for all on Calvary, on His Cross, which is the Altar of His Sacrifice. And by His great grace, He has also extended this same Sacrifice to each and every one of us through the authority and power that He has given to His Church through His disciples. It is one of the core tenets of our Christian faith that we believe in the Real Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, the dogma on Transubstantiation. What we all believe is that during each and every celebrations of the Holy Mass, more appropriately known as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the same Sacrifice of Our Lord at Calvary, our One, True and Eternal High Priest has been brought to us, transcending time and space.

Each and every one of our priests have all received this same power and authority, that at the moment of the Consecration of the bread and wine, those are turned completely and utterly into the substance and essence of the Lord, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world. That is what we all believe in, and we truly believe in the Lord our God Who has manifested Himself in the flesh, so that He could be with us, making Himself approachable and reachable by us, no longer separated by the veil and chasm of sin and death. This is what we have heard in our Gospel passage today as well, as we heard how the Lord has gone among His people, ministering to them, healing their sick and casting out evil spirits from those who have been afflicted, among other things that He had done.

All these showed us once again of the most generous and wonderful love of God made clear and tangible for us through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour. As Christians, it is therefore very important that we must always be grateful of everything that God has done for us, in all the sufferings and the sacrifices He had made for our sake. It is sad to know that quite a few Christians do not truly recognise and appreciate the Lord for what He had done for us, when as our Gospel passage today mentioned, that even evil spirits proclaimed Him as the Holy One of God. Have we made the Lord to be the very centre and focus of our lives? Or have we instead allowed the many temptations around us, our many pursuits for power and glory to distract us away from God and His salvation?

Let us all remind ourselves of these things as we continue to move forward in life, making good use of the time and opportunities which have been presented to us. Let us no longer take God’s love for granted, but do our best from now on to do His will wholeheartedly, to love Him with all of our might and strength from now on, as we all should do. May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to bestow His blessings and love on us, so that we may also be truly loving in all of our words, actions and deeds. Amen.

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Thursday, 23 January 2025 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 3 : 7-12

At that time, Jesus and His disciples withdrew to the lakeside, and a large crowd from Galilee followed Him. A great number of people also came from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, Transjordan, and from the region of Tyre and Sidon, for they had heard of all that He was doing.

Because of the crowd, Jesus told His disciples to have a boat ready for Him, to prevent the people from crushing Him. He healed so many, that all who had diseases kept pressing towards Him to touch Him. Even the people who had evil spirits, whenever they saw Him, they would fall down before Him and cry out, “You are the Son of God.” But He warned them sternly not to tell anyone Who He was.

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Thursday, 23 January 2025 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 39 : 7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 17

Sacrifice and oblation You did not desire; this You had me understand. Burnt offering and sin offering You do not require. Then I said, “Here I come!”

“As the scroll says of me. To do Your will is my delight, o God, for Your law is within my heart.”

In the great assembly I have proclaimed Your saving help. My lips, o Lord, I did not seal – You know that very well.

But may all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; and may all who love Your saving grace continually say, “The Lord is great.”

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Thursday, 23 January 2025 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 7 : 25 – Hebrews 8 : 6

Consequently Jesus is able to save for all time those who approach God through Him. He always lives to intercede on their behalf. It was fitting that our High Priest be holy, undefiled, set apart from sinners and exalted above the heavens; a Priest Who does not first need to offer sacrifice for Himself before offering for the sins of the people, as high priests do. He offered Himself in sacrifice once and for all.

And whereas the Law elected weak men as high priests, now, after the Law, the word of God with an oath appointed the Son, made perfect forever. The main point of what we are saying is that we have a High Priest. He is seated at the right hand of the Divine Majesty in heaven, where He serves as minister of the true Temple and Sanctuary, set up not by any mortal but by the Lord.

A high priest is appointed to offer to God gifts and sacrifices, and Jesus also has to offer some sacrifice. Had He remained on earth, He would not be a priest, since others offer the gifts according to the Law. In fact, the ritual celebrated by those priests is only an imitation and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary.

We know the word of God to Moses with regard to the construction of the holy tent. He said : You are to make everything according to the pattern shown to you on the mountain. Now, however, Jesus enjoys a much higher ministry in being the Mediator of a better covenant, founded on better promises.