Thursday

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Thursday, 11 January 2024 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Samuel 4 : 1-11

At that time Samuel was a prophet of Israel. The Israelites went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines encamped at Aphek. The Philistines then drew up in battle formation. They attacked Israel and after a fierce fighting, Israel was defeated, leaving about four thousand men dead on the battlefield.

When the troops retreated to their camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why has YHVH allowed us to be defeated by the Philistines? Let us take the Ark of God from Shiloh and bring it here so that YHVH may be with us and save us from our enemies.” So the people sent messengers to Shiloh to take the Ark of YHVH Who is seated on the Cherubim. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, accompanied the Ark.

As soon as the Ark of YHVH entered the camp, the Israelites began to cheer so loudly that the earth resounded. The Philistines heard the shouting and asked, “What does this loud shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And they were told that the Ark of YHVH had been brought to the camp.

The Philistines were overcome with fear. They exclaimed, “A God has come into the camp. Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who can save us from the power of these mighty Gods? These are the Gods Who struck the Egyptians with all sorts of plagues – and in the desert. Take courage and conduct yourselves like men, o Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews in the same way they have been slaves to you. Be manly and fight.”

So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated. Everyone fled to his home. It was a disastrous defeat; thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel were killed. The Ark of God was captured and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.

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Thursday, 4 January 2024 : Weekday of Christmas Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that Christ our Lord is our focus and right direction in life, and not all the other temptations and falsehoods all around us. We must not easily be swayed by the many pressures of worldly things and matters, and all the attachments we may have to such things, which may easily lead us down the wrong path to our downfall and destruction. This is why all of us must always be reminded of our obligations to Christ our Lord, and do whatever we can so that by all of our actions and deeds we will always walk in God’s Holy Presence and we will continue to glorify God by our exemplary lives.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. John, the Apostle spoke to the faithful of the need for everyone to be truly committed to the path of Christ, that is the path of righteousness and virtue, rejecting the path of disobedience that leads to sin. St. John exhorted all the faithful people of God to stay away from the path of the devil, and strive their best to follow the path of Christ, the Son of God, Who has been manifested in our world through His Incarnation and coming into our midst, born a Man through the Blessed Virgin Mary, His mother, which therefore allowed us all to experience firsthand the love of God that had been made tangible to us in Jesus. We have heard His teachings, known about His works and wonders from those who had experienced them firsthand, the Apostles and the other disciples of the Lord, who passed their knowledge to us through the Church.

This must be understood in the context of why St. John wrote such a reminder in the first place. In other parts of the same Epistle, St. John also warned the faithful about the presence of antichrists, false prophets and false leaders who could mislead many among the faithful into walking down the path of evil and sin, by showing paths and ways of life that were contrary to what the Lord had shown and taught them. Many of those false leaders and guides sought to change the teachings of God and mislead the faithful to the wrong paths. Such is the path of the devil, the path of disobedience which leads to sin, and from sin into damnation and eternal destruction. But the Lord has sent us all His Son, so that all of us who believe in Him, may not fall into the same wrong paths that the devil has been busy trying to mislead us into.

Through Christ, the Lord has gathered us all back into His Presence, calling upon all of us to follow Him and to walk in His path once again. The Lord Jesus through His coming into this world, as He revealed unto us the wonders of God’s love and the truth which He has given us, wanted us to know that the path of the devil is the path to oblivion and destruction, and He planted in us all the seeds of faith, hope and love, the seeds of His Good News, by which all of us have been made to be the adopted children of God. This is a reference to the Church of God and all of us who have been made part of this Church, gathered and baptised all in the Name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, with the Lord calling us all to be part of His one Body, and bestowing on us the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the same calling echoed through the words of St. John the Baptist, who told and exhorted his own disciples to follow the Lord Jesus. At that time, Jesus came to St. John the Baptist who was busy baptising many people at the River Jordan, asking for St. John to baptise Him. St. John recognised Who the Lord was, and told Him that it was he who needed to be baptised instead. The Lord told St. John the Baptist to carry out things as it should be, and after His Baptism, the Heavens opened, with the voice of the Father and the Holy Spirit like a Dove descending upon the Son of God, and hence, affirming Who Jesus truly is. Thus, St. John the Baptist pointed out to his own disciples that the Lord is the Lamb of God, Whom they should be following.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, that was exactly what the role of St. John the Baptist had, as he directed everyone towards Christ, the Saviour of the world. He did what was entrusted to him, and unlike all those false prophets and leaders, who served their own selfish interests and desires, St. John the Baptist was perfectly happy and satisfied to see his Lord and Master, Whose coming he had prepared and laboured for, prospering and gaining more and more followers. St. John the Baptist did not become jealous or envious at what the Lord had done and achieved, and he did not seek glory and greatness for himself. This was what set him apart and made him different from all those false leaders and false prophets who were rampant, in their pursuits of worldly agenda and glory, and in leading the people of God not to Him but to themselves.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all continue to progress through this joyous season of Christmas, let us always be focused on Christ and centre all of our celebrations and rejoicing on Him. Let us all not be easily distracted by all sorts of worldly pleasures and ambitions, temptations and the allures of worldly glories, that we do not end up falling into the wrong paths set before us by the devil and all those who sought our downfall and destruction. Let us all as Christians be great examples and role models for one another as we all carry on living our lives each day in our world today. Let us all be the faithful, good and worthy bearers of the light and hope of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, at all times.

May God be with us always, and may He continue to bless us and empower us all so that we may always be filled with His Wisdom, strength and the Holy Spirit, in enduring the challenges and trials of life, and in being ever faithful and committed to Him, and not being swayed by worldly temptations and the allures of worldly glory. Amen.

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Thursday, 4 January 2024 : Weekday of Christmas Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 1 : 35-42

On the following day John was standing there again with two of his disciples. As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and said, “There is the Lamb of God.” On hearing this, the two disciples followed Jesus. He turned and saw them following, and He said to them, “What are you looking for?”

They answered, “Rabbi (which means Master), where are You staying?” Jesus said, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where He stayed, and spent the rest of that day with Him. It was about four o’ clock in the afternoon.

Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard what John had said, and followed Jesus. Early the next morning he found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means the Christ), and he brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John, but you shall be called Cephas” (which means Rock).

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Thursday, 4 January 2024 : Weekday of Christmas Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 97 : 1, 7-8, 9

Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

Let the sea resound and everything in it, the world and all its peoples. Let rivers clap their hands, hills and mountains sing with joy before the Lord.

For He comes to rule the earth. He will judge the world with justice and the peoples with fairness.

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Thursday, 4 January 2024 : Weekday of Christmas Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 3 : 7-10

My little children, do not be led astray; those who do what is right are upright, just as Jesus Christ is upright. But those who sin belong to the devil, for the devil sins from the beginning.

This is why the Son of God was shown to us, He was to undo the works of the devil. Those born of God do not sin, for the seed of God remains in them; they cannot sin because they are born of God. What is the way to recognise the children of God and those of the devil? The one who does not do what is right is not of God; so, too, the one who does not love his brother or sister.

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Thursday, 28 December 2023 : Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Innocents, also known as the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem or the Martyrs of Bethlehem, in which the innocent children of Bethlehem were massacred by the forces of King Herod the Great, the then ruler over the land, in his futile pursuit and effort to destroy the fledgling Messiah, prophesied to be born in the city of David, Bethlehem of Judea. This day we recall this moment of great infamy and evil which mankind had committed in the pursuit of worldly glory and power, and we are all reminded that we have to be careful lest we are tempted and swayed by the many worldly temptations and coercions all around us which may lead us to our downfall and destruction through sin.

Back then, as we listened through the Gospel passage, King Herod who got to know about the coming of the Messiah through the Three Magi or the Three Wise Men who came to visit and pay homage to Him, saw this Messiah as a great threat to his rule as king, and hence he likely wanted to remove this threat as immediately and quickly as possible, firstly by pretending to want to pay homage to this new King also, and when the Three Magi, warned by the Angel of God of Herod’s true intentions, did not return back to him, hence, in his desperation, he committed a truly great sin in murdering the young and innocent children, which were without blame, and were caught in the events that unfolded then. They were killed amidst Herod’s futile effort to secure his reign and power.

Perhaps we can better understand the context as we learn more about the history of that time, and how Herod the Great himself came to power. Herod was a usurper and not a rightful king of Israel, as he actually took power by deceit and plots, and through collusion and cooperation with the Romans, who sought to secure their rule in the region. Prior to Herod’s accession to power, the land of the Israelites were ruled by the Hasmoneans, the descendants of the Maccabean rebels who led the descendants of the Israelites in a rebellion against the former rulers of the land, the Greek Seleucid Kings and gained independence for them. The Hasmonean Kingdom lasted for about a century since then before internal discord eventually led to its downfall, and Herod was the son of Antipater the Idumaean, a foreigner hailing from the lands adjacent to Judea, whom the Romans found favour in.

Thus, it was how Herod eventually rose to power, through his connections and plots, and the Romans eventually entrusted Judea, Galilee, Samaria and other surrounding regions to Herod the Great, who became sort of a client king for the Romans, a tactic that was often employed by the Romans back then to help them secure the lands that they had just conquered or extended their dominion towards. However, from this point of view, Herod was indeed a usurper, and hence, the people of God did not truly accept him as king and ruler over them. That was why Herod was known especially for his many efforts and megalomaniac ambitions, with many grand projects designed to shore up his rule and legitimacy among the people.

Given this context, it was likely therefore that Herod was desperate in holding onto power after a whole lifetime of trying to expand his rule and power, dominion and glory, and he did not wish to let all of these escape him or his family. This was why, we are taught and shown here a lesson of why we should not allow worldly temptations to bring us to ruin because of their strong allure and hold on us, the desires and ambitions of the world, which then led to Herod committing such a grievous and terrible crime in the futile efforts to secure his rule, which in the context of history eventually faltered and failed not long after that moment of massacre. Herod’s kingdom did not long last his immediate descendants, and eventually met its end and downfall.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, something that may often make us wonder regarding this event of the Massacre of the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem is that, if God is so good and loving, why is it that He allowed such a terrible atrocity to take place? That is precisely because while God despises sin and evil, at the same time He also gave us the freedom to choose our course in life, the free will that He has given each and every one of us. We have been given the capacity to discern our course of action in life, the wisdom and the ability to choose our path in life because God did not want to take that gift of free will from us. Hence, it is our free will to choose to do what is good or what is evil and wicked in the sight of God, and for Herod, he chose to abuse that free will, doing what was wicked for his own selfish desires. That is also how suffering came to be in our world today, when mankind abuse their free will and encroach on others’ rights.

The same therefore can be said to what is now happening in our world today. As we all well know, that war is still currently raging on in the Holy Land, with people suffering and dying daily in this recent conflict, borne out of human greed, ego, pride and desire, the desire to retain power and for more worldly influence and glory, which is honestly not that different from what had happened two millennia ago at Bethlehem. This is why we should learn from the lessons of the past, and not allow ourselves to be misled yet again by our human greed and desires, all the things which had caused the downfall of so many throughout time. This Christmas, many of our brethren in the Holy Land are unable to celebrate the way that many of us have done and are doing, and they are under constant threat and hardships.

Let us all therefore do our part to help them and to also strive for peace, that we should utterly and completely reject violence and all the wicked ways of the world so that we do not end up causing all these hardships and sufferings to others. Let us also in our lives be ever mindful of our actions in life, so that in our exercise of our freedom to choose our actions we do not cause inconvenience and difficulties for the people around us. Let the Lord our God, Whose birth we commemorate and celebrate this season be the centre and focus of our lives, and not our selfish desires and greed. May the Lord continue to guide us all that we may live our lives worthily as Christians as always. Holy Innocents of Bethlehem, Holy Martyrs, pray for us, especially for those now suffering in the Holy Land! Amen.

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Thursday, 28 December 2023 : Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 2 : 13-18

After the wise men had left, an Angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, “Get up, take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will soon be looking for the Child in order to kill Him.”

Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and left that night for Egypt, where He stayed until the death of Herod. In this way, what the Lord had said through the prophet was fulfilled : I called My Son out of Egypt.

When Herod found out that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was furious. He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its neighbourhood who were two years old or under. This was done in line with what he had learnt from the wise men about the time when the star appeared.

In this way, what the prophet Jeremiah had said was fulfilled : A cry is heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation : Rachel weeps for her children. She refuses to be comforted, for they are no more.

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Thursday, 28 December 2023 : Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 123 : 2-3, 4-5, 7cd-8

Had not the Lord been on our side, when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive; such was their anger against us.

A bit more and the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away.

The snare was broken and we were freed. Our help is in the Name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.

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Thursday, 28 December 2023 : Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

1 John 1 : 5 – 1 John 2 : 2

We heard His message from Him and announce it to you : God is light and there is no darkness in Him. If we say we are in fellowship with Him, while we walk in darkness, we lie instead of being in truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we are in fellowship with one another, and the Blood of Jesus, the Son of God, purifies us from all sin.

If we say, “We have no sin,” we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He Who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from our wickedness. If we say that we do not sin, we make God a liar, His word is not in us.

My little children, I write to you that you may not sin. But if anyone sins, we have an Intercessor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Just One. He is the sacrificial Victim for our sins and the sins of the whole world.

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Thursday, 21 December 2023 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us continue to progress through the season of Advent and towards the time and season of Christmas, we are constantly being reminded of everything that God has done for us, in His love for each and every one of us, that by this same love, this has made it possible for us to find our path towards the Lord and His ever enduring love for us. Through God’s love, He has shown us His ever present guidance and existence in our midst, and that we are never alone in this journey of faith and life. We must therefore always strive to put our focus in the Lord at all times, and we should not easily be swayed to abandon Him for other, worldly sources of satisfaction and pleasures.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Songs, we heard of the words of the author speaking about the love that God has for us all, we who are His lovers, the ones who are enjoying the grace of His Presence, His love and kindness. The Lord is calling upon all of His people to come forth away from the darkness and the desolation of sin, that they may embrace His love, His light and warmth that have been generously and ever consistently been projected and shared to all of us without fail. He has always been generous in showing us all His love and mercy, His patience and kindness, that we should really consider ourselves truly blessed and fortunate for having been beloved in such a way by our Lord, Who loves us all.

In our other first reading option today, from the Book of the prophet Zephaniah, we have also heard a similar series of words of reassurance and affirmation, telling all the people of God that their Lord and Master Who loves them all, will come to them, and all o will indeed come true, showing us how loving, patient and forgiving God has been to all of those who are dear to Him. The prophet Zephaniah came to the people of God and ministered to them during the time and reign of King Josiah of Judah, who reigned after the downfall of the northern kingdom of Israel to the Assyrians, and after many misfortunes have befallen the people of God, the kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem.

Hence, the words of the Lord’s affirmation and love must have truly come at a very timely moment then because it means that the people who had been suffering and enduring a lot of hardships were reminded yet again that despite their stubborn and wicked attitudes, the Lord still loved His people nonetheless, and He wanted all of them to be reconciled with Him, and hence, He told them of His ever generous mercy and love, by which His people through genuine repentance, may always come to seek Him, and this includes each and every one of us as well, because we are all also God’s beloved people, whom He has called and gathered from among the nations, to follow Him and to walk in His Holy Presence.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the story of the moment when Mary, the Mother of Our Lord, God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Child within her, as she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was also bearing St. John the Baptist in her own womb. We heard of the great joy which both Elizabeth and her baby, St. John the Baptist had experienced upon knowing that Mary and Our Lord Himself had come to their dwelling place. We may not realise it, but this occasion was truly a very symbolic and meaningful one as this represents the moment when the Lord came towards His people, manifesting Himself by being Incarnate and present in this world through His Mother, fulfilling all that God had promised to us.

This is why it is important that today we must ensure that our lives’ focus and our attention are properly directed towards God, and not upon other distractions in life. We must make sure that we are all centred on the Lord and not on our selfish desires and wants, our ambitions and attachments to worldly pleasures and greed. And in our upcoming Christmas celebrations and festivities we must always keep in mind to focus our attention on the Lord and not on all the glamour and the festivities that often took up much of the event, and we end up actually forgetting the One in Whom we ought to be all celebrating about, that is Christ Himself, our Lord and Saviour, by Whose love and actions, we have been saved from our impending damnation.

Today the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Peter Canisius, the holy priest and man of God, and a renowned teacher of the faith and honoured as a great Doctor of the Church, who is also one of my patron saints and therefore is the patron of this blog. St. Peter Canisius was a Dutch Jesuit priest renowned being one of the founders and first members of the Jesuits or the Society of Jesus, and who was remembered greatly for his works in Counter-Reformation, and in the works of evangelisation and catechesis among the people of God. He helped to spearhead the efforts of the Jesuits in the German speaking regions of Christendom, establishing institutions and schools meant to strengthen the knowledge of the faithful about their faith through proper catechesis.

He also wrote and authored the now-still famous Catechism which became a great standard of many other catechism works and books, in being very effective in delivering the teachings and aspects of the Christian faith to the people, and managed, together with St. Peter Canisius’ constant efforts in reaching out and having dialogues and conversations with the lapsed Catholics, and all who had been swayed by the false heresies of Protestantism. He helped the implementations and the reforms of the Council of Trent which strengthened the foundation and the teachings of the Church, and through his efforts, countless souls had been saved from the threat of damnation, and brought back to the Holy Mother Church.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in all of his works and efforts, St. Peter Canisius has always been rooted and focused on Christ. Let us all therefore follow his good examples and do whatever we can so that we may also be truly faithful in all things, and that we may indeed be filled with genuine faith and commitment to God at all times. May the Lord be with us always and may He guide us through this time of Advent, and help us to prepare ourselves well through this time towards a proper and worthy celebration of Christmas. Amen.