Thursday

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Thursday, 15 August 2024 : Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates a great event, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. On this day we commemorate the moment when Mary, the Mother of God, of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man, was assumed into the glory of Heaven by virtue of her Divine Motherhood, that in being the Mother of God and also therefore as the Ark of the New Covenant of God, she has been spared from the punishment and consequences of sin and death. This is because she has been specially prepared and set aside by the Lord Himself with the singular grace of being spared from the taint of original sin which had corrupted all other children of mankind ever since the fall of our first ancestors.

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the Four Marian Dogmas together with that of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, which was just mentioned, that Mary was conceived free from all sins and their corruption. But why is this so? This is because as mentioned, Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant through whom God’s New and Eternal Covenant would enter into this world, born in the hallowed womb of Mary, carrying within her for nine whole months the Son of God, the Divine Word of God Himself incarnate in the flesh, becoming the Son of Man through Mary and her humble acceptance of God’s will and plans. This was highlighted and shown in the first readings both from the Vigil and the Solemnity of the Assumption itself, showing the Ark of the Covenant of God and how it is related to Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant.

For like the old, first Ark of the Covenant which God had instructed to Moses and Aaron to craft and build, made from the finest materials of the world, from gold and the finest wood and other precious materials, God Himself crafted the New Ark of the New Covenant, Mary, just like us, made in God’s own image and also made hallowed, blessed and perfect just like and even better than the original Ark of the Covenant. The original Ark of the Covenant was so hallowed and holy that no one could touch the Ark directly by their hands. Those who touched the Ark were struck dead because their sins and wickedness judged them and made them to be unworthy to be in God’s Holy Presence. Not only that, but the Ark of the Covenant itself was the representation of God’s Holy Presence among His people, as the Lord Himself on occasion would come down to rest and be enthroned upon the Cherubim on top of the Ark.

In the same manner, Mary herself has been hallowed and set aside, made holy and perfect by the Lord Who willed this to be. Is it possible for God? Certainly! For God is omnipotent, all powerful and almighty, and there is nothing that is impossible for Him. It is certainly possible for the Lord to prepare Mary and hallow her by keeping her in a state of fullness of grace and light, to be a truly worthy vessel bearing God Himself within her. Just like the old Ark that contained within itself the two slabs of stone of the Ten Commandments, Mary as the New Ark contained within her the Lord Himself, the manifestation and perfection of God’s Law. And just like the old Ark containing the heavenly bread manna, Mary contained the Bread of Life, the Lord Himself, Who would offer His Body and Blood for everyone to partake and share for eternal life.

Lastly, just like the old Ark which contained the staff of Aaron, the staff of authority over all the people of Israel, thus Mary as the New Ark of the Covenant also bore within her the One Who has been given the authority over all the people of God, the Staff of the Kingdom of God, the Staff of Judah and the dominion over all the whole world and the whole Universe. This was also alluded to in our first reading of the Solemnity from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle where St. John saw the heavenly vision of the end times, with the struggles between the Great Dragon of the Apocalypse, that represents Satan, the great enemy of all, and the Woman clothed with the radiance of the Sun and the stars crowning her head, right after the Ark of the Covenant was viewed in Heaven.

That vision of the great heavenly struggle is a symbol of the great battle between God’s forces and that of Satan, who had risen up in rebellion against God. The Woman who was groaning in pain in labour of childbirth is in fact a personification of both Mary and the Church, in that the first, Mary as the Mother of God bore her Son, the Saviour of the whole world, and the Church of God personified at the same time as the Mother of all, through whom God Himself came into this world, after periods of great sufferings and tribulations, of Satan’s dominion over us and the world through sin and darkness, evil and wickedness present all around us. But God wanted to show us all that the reign and dominion of Satan is coming to an end, and through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, God had broken forever the power and dominion of Satan, leading us all into eternal life and true glory with Him.

Through Mary’s humble and faithful acceptance of her role in the whole entire plan of salvation, the plan that God had prepared since the very beginning for the salvation of all mankind, all of us have been made partakers in this New Covenant that God had made with us through His Son. And since the punishment and consequences of sin and disobedience against God is death, it is naturally incompatible with the fact that the Mother of the Mediator of the New Covenant, the one who had made this New Covenant possible through her complete obedience and faith in the Lord should succumb to the same fate of suffering through death. That is why, this belief of the Assumption or also known as the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary as it is known by our brethren in the Eastern Church, had been held by Christians from the earliest days of the Church.

There is no doubt that the early Christians themselves from the time of the Apostles experienced what actually happened to the Blessed Mother of God at the end of her earthly life and existence. Thus such a belief in the Assumption or Dormition of Mary is certainly backed by firm evidences which was then passed down through the Church and the communities of the faithful to this day. There are two main versions of what had happened, the first being that Mary did not suffer death at all, but was immediately raised body and soul by the power of God, to the glory of Heaven, the explanation being that as mentioned, she did not become tainted by the taint of original sin and has also remained sinless throughout her whole life, and hence, it is not fitting that she should have a taste or experience of death, which is the consequence of sin.

Then, the second version revolves around Mary going into sleep at the end of her earthly life and existence, surrounded by the Apostles, and she did experience death, but not because of the consequences of her own sins or iniquities, or any form of defects or mistakes that she had committed. Instead, through her brief experience with death, she shared in the death that her Son Himself experienced on the Cross, as He went through His Passion, in suffering the most grievous sufferings and pains for the sake of our salvation. Her love for her Son was so great, that she was willing to share in His Passion, just as she has shared with Him the shared existence when He was in her womb during the nine months of sacred gestation, before the Lord our Saviour was born into the world.

Thus, in the end, this great New Ark, of the New Covenant of God, bearing the Mediator of the New and Everlasting Covenant, was raised and brought up body and soul into Heaven. According to tradition, the body of Mary disappeared miraculously shortly after her passing, replaced with a bed full of roses, which is also why Mary is often associated with roses and flowers. Regardless of which version of events actually happened, what matters is that, Mary has therefore been raised body and soul to Heaven, a privilege shared by very few others like Enoch and Elijah in the Old Testament. But Mary was raised even greater than they were, because she as the Mother of God has indeed been accorded with the honour of being the Queen Mother of Heaven, exalted and honoured first and foremost among all other beings created by God. At the same time, she is also our greatest intercessor and help, being always ever closest to her Son in Heaven, ceaselessly praying for all of us, whom the Lord Himself had entrusted to us as our own Mother.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, after having gone through what the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, is all about, then what matters now is how all these relate to us, to each and every one of us as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people. Mary has shown us all how to be the worthy and faithful Christians, to be God’s holy and worthy disciples, in obeying His will and carrying out His Law and commandments, and in being ever constantly filled with His grace, empowered and strengthened by the Holy Spirit. In each and every moments of our lives we should always be strengthened and filled by the Spirit of God and filled with the love and devotion that we all ought to have for Him, our Lord, God and Master. Mary is our perfect example and role model, and through her, we have also seen a glimpse of our own future selves, glorified and free from the taint and corruption of sin.

Let us all therefore strive to do our best in following God at all times and in doing whatever He had called and entrusted to us to do. Let us all be exemplary in all of our works and actions, in our every interactions and endeavours so that we may truly be the missionary and evangelising disciples and followers of Christ in our every efforts and good works, at all times. May the Lord be with us always, and may His mother Mary, gloriously assumed into Heaven, our greatest help and intercessor, continue to pray for us all sinners, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 15 August 2024 : Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 1 : 39-56

Mary then set out for a town in the hill country of Judah. She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leapt in her womb.

Elizabeth was filled with Holy Spirit, and giving a loud cry, said, “You are most blessed among women, and blessed is the Fruit of your womb! How is it that the mother of my Lord comes to me? The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby within me suddenly leapt for joy. Blessed are you who believed that the Lord’s word would come true!”

And Mary said, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God my Saviour! He has looked upon His servant in her lowliness, and people forever will call me blessed.”

“The Mighty One has done great things for me, Holy is His Name! From age to age His mercy extends to those who live in His presence. He has acted with power and done wonders, and scattered the proud with their plans. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up those who are downtrodden. He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.”

“He held out His hand to Israel, His servant, for He remembered His mercy, even as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.”

Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months, and then returned home.

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Thursday, 15 August 2024 : Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 15 : 20-27

But no, Christ has been raised from the dead, and He comes before all those who have fallen asleep. A human being brought death; a Human Being also brings resurrection of the dead. For, as in Adam all die, so, in Christ, all will be made alive. However, each one in his own time : first Christ, then Christ’s people, when He comes.

Then, the end will come, when Christ delivers the kingdom to God the Father, after having destroyed every rule, authority and power. For He must reign and put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed will be death. As Scripture says : God has subjected everything under His feet.

When we say that everything is put under His feet, we exclude, of course, the Father, Who subjects everything to Him. As Scripture says : God has subjected everything under His feet. When we say that everything is put under His feet, we exclude, of course, the Father, Who subjects everything to Him.

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Thursday, 15 August 2024 : Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 44 : 10bc, 11, 12ab, 16

At your right hand, in gold of Ophir, stands the queen.

Listen, o daughter, pay attention; forget your father’s house and your nation.

And your beauty will charm the King, for He is your Lord.

Amid cheers and general rejoicing, they enter the palace of the King.

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Thursday, 15 August 2024 : Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Revelations 11 : 19a and Revelations 12 : 1-6a, 10ab

Then, the Sanctuary of God, in the heavens, was opened, and the Ark of the Covenant of God could be seen inside the Sanctuary.

A great sign appeared in heaven : a woman, clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant, and cried out in pain, looking to her time of delivery.

Then, another sign appeared : a huge, red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and wearing seven crowns on its heads. It had just swept along a third of the stars of heaven with its tail, throwing them down to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman, who was about to give birth, so that, it might devour the Child as soon as It was born.

She gave birth to a male Child, the One Who is to rule all the nations with an iron sceptre; then, her Child was seized, and taken up to God, and to His throne, while the woman fled to the desert, where God had prepared a place for her. Then, I heard a loud voice from heaven : Now has salvation come, with the power and the kingdom of our God.

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Thursday, 15 August 2024 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 11 : 27-28

At that time, as Jesus was speaking, a woman spoke from the crowd and said to Him, “Blessed is the one who gave You birth and nursed You!”

Jesus replied, “Truly blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it as well.”

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Thursday, 15 August 2024 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Chronicles 15 : 54b-57

When our mortal being puts on immortality, the word of Scripture will be fulfilled : Death has been swallowed up by victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?

Sin is the sting of death, to kill, and the Law is what gives force to sin. But give thanks to God, Who gives us the victory, through Christ Jesus, our Lord.

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Thursday, 15 August 2024 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 131 : 6-7, 9-10, 13-14

Then came the news, “The Ark is in Ephrata, we found it in the fields of Jaar.” Let us go to where He dwells and worship at His footstool!

May Your priests be arrayed in glorious mantle; may Your faithful ones shout in gladness. For the sake of Your servant, David, do not turn away the face of Your Anointed.

For YHVH has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling : “This is My resting place forever; this I prefer; here, will I dwell.”

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Thursday, 15 August 2024 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Chronicles 15 : 3-4, 15-16 and 1 Chronicles 16 : 1-2

Then David gathered all Israel together in Jerusalem to bring the Ark of God up to the place he had prepared for it. David called together the sons of Aaron and the sons of Levi. And the Levites carried the Ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had ordered according to the command of YHVH.

David then told the leaders of the Levites to assign duties for some Levites to sing and play a joyful tune with their various musical instruments : harps and lyres and cymbals. They brought the Ark of God in and put it inside the tent that David had prepared for it; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to God.

And when David had finished offering the sacrifices, he blessed the people in the Name of YHVH.

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Thursday, 8 August 2024 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the Covenant which God had made with each and every one of us. He has established this most wonderful Covenant as the sign and proof of His ever enduring and wonderful love for us, which He has repeatedly shown us, again and again despite our constant rebelliousness and disobedience against Him. God has always been loving towards us and He desires for us to come back to Him with the desire to be healed and to be forgiven from our many sins and wickedness. He has always called on us to respond to His call, as He embraced us all and bringing us close to Him, giving us all His Beloved Son to reassure us all of His love and salvation, and establishing His Church to gather each and every one of us, and bringing us out of the darkness and into the light.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah in which the Lord reassured His people, those remnants of the Israelites in the southern kingdom of Judah that He would establish a new Covenant with each and every one of them, and that He still cared for them and loved them regardless of everything that He told them would happen to them. At that time, the people of Judah had been living through a hard time, pressed on all sides by their many enemies and subjugated by the Babylonians. The prophet Jeremiah had been sent as the final prophet God sent to the land and people of Judah to tell them of their coming destruction and conquest by the Babylonians, to tell them the consequences of their wickedness and sins.

That was why the prophet Jeremiah often spoke of the coming ruin of Jerusalem and Judah, the downfall of the Temple of Jerusalem, all of which drew the ire of those who refused to accept the truth of God’s words. Many among the people still thought that they did nothing wrong, and that their ways of disobeying God’s Law and commandments were not an issue. But God made it clear that while He loved each one of them, He did not condone all the wickedness and evil deeds that they had committed, and their sins had been the ones that judged and condemned them to their fate. That was why their cities would be destroyed and thrown down, all because of their hubris and sins in worshipping pagan idols and gods instead of the Lord their God, Who has cared for all of them all the while.

But God still loved His people nonetheless and desired their repentance and reunion with Him. That was why He still sent them prophets and messengers, one after another, all the way to the prophet Jeremiah himself, to help remind His people of the errors of their ways, so that they hopefully might be touched in their hearts and return once again towards God. God’s love and compassionate mercy have always been generously shown to us, but we have to embrace His love and mercy, and do what is necessary so that we may receive the fullness of His love and kindness, and be forgiven from our many sins that had separated us all from His love and grace. God reminded us all that we have been made partakers of this new Covenant He has established with us, and we ought to honour our part in it.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the Gospel according to St. Matthew in which the Lord told His disciples about Who He was, as He asked them who they think that He truly was. It was there that St. Peter spoke truthfully and courageously that the Lord Jesus was indeed the Holy One of God, the Messiah and Son of God that has come into this world to bring about its salvation. He was therefore chosen by the Lord Who knew the great faith which St. Peter had in Him, the great love and commitment that he would make, that he was entrusted with the governance and leadership of the Church that God was establishing in this world, to lead the other Apostles and disciples as the Lord’s Vicar, the very first Pope and Supreme Pontiff, whose successor now is Pope Francis, our current Pope.

Through what we heard in our Gospel passage today, we are again reminded of God’s love that He has established His Church to gather each and every one of us His lost sheep, so that we may all be found and gathered together, united as one people and flock, no longer scattered and lost from the Lord, but having been reunited with Him through the Church and the many shepherds that He had sent to help us find our path in life, like that of St. Peter and the other Apostles, the other disciples of the Lord and their many successors throughout time, right up to our bishops and priests today. But at the same time, as we heard in our Gospel passage today, the Lord also reminded us all to obey Him and His words, just as He told St. Peter when He rebuked his temptation by Satan, to dissuade Him from carrying out His ultimate duty, of His suffering and Passion on the Cross.

It reminds each and every one of us as part of this one united Body of Christ, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, we are all called to unite ourselves to the Lord, and to devote ourselves to His path, following Him and His leads, as He guides us all to the right path. Wr must always strive to do what God has taught and shown us to do, so that in everything we do, we will always proclaim God’s truth and Good News, and proclaim Him and His love to all the people around us, to the whole world. In each and every moments of our lives, we should always be committed to the Lord, be faithful to Him and be evangelising and missionary in our attitudes and actions. This is what we are expected to do as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, those whom He had called and chosen from this world to be His own.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of the great and famous St. Dominic, also known as St. Dominic de Guzman, the founder of the Order of Preachers, popularly known as the Dominicans after their founder. St. Dominic was born in what is now Spain, and he was brought up early in a monastery for his education, learning art and theology, eventually becoming a priest. It was later on that the Pope, who was sending missionaries to help against the Cathar heresy that was then rampant in southern France, sent Cistercian monks there without much success, and those monks encountered St. Dominic who was on his way back from a diplomatic mission. St. Dominic therefore went to the region of southern France, establishing himself and some others in his group in a monastery in the region of Prouille in southern France.

He spent many years there preaching to the people and ministering there, calling upon them to return to the Lord and to His Church, and eventually establishing the Order of Preachers in Toulouse during his ministry there. It was largely due to his tireless efforts and that of his fellow Dominican preachers and priests that many among the Cathars were convinced to return to the Holy Mother Church and to the orthodox Christian faith, abandoning their Gnostic-dualist heresy, and saving the souls of many among them. St. Dominic was also credited with the beginnings of the rosary devotion, as it was told that the Blessed Mother of God, Mary herself appeared to him in a vision, presenting to him the rosary, which was also instrumental in converting many of those who had fallen astray from the Lord back to His path.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have discussed earlier on from today’s Scripture passages and from the lives and examples of St. Dominic, let us therefore do our part to be good and worthy disciples and followers of the Lord, following in the footsteps of St. Dominic and the other disciples of the Lord, our holy predecessors. Let us all continue to be grateful to the Lord for His ever generous and enduring love for us, and continue to do our part so that in each and every actions we do in life, we will continue to live worthily as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, in His One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, helping our fellow brothers and sisters to come towards the Lord and His salvation. May God bless us all and be His Church always, now and forevermore. Amen.