Thursday

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Thursday, 31 August 2023 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded to be true to our faith and devotion to God, and not to be easily swayed by the temptations of worldly glory and attachments, all those things which may lead us down the path of sin and evil. We must not be easily swayed and tempted by worldly temptations and evils, by the vices and wickedness of the world, all of which could distract and prevent us from finding the path towards God. Each and every one of us are reminded that we are all God’s beloved people, who have all been called to holiness and greatness, and all of us are called to do God’s will and to follow Him wholeheartedly in all things, in everything we say and do, in our every interactions and efforts so that through us, more and more people may come to know the Lord and may receive the truth which God has intended for us and all mankind.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Thessalonica, we heard of the Apostle speaking to the Thessalonians regarding their faith and good examples, and we heard in the past few days of readings, of how the faith and the obedience of those same Thessalonians have become great inspiration for many others all throughout the world, as many others were inspired by the actions and interactions shown by the Thessalonians, in following and committing themselves to the Law and commandments of God wholeheartedly, turning away from the evils and the vices of the world. These must be contrasted to those who have allowed themselves to be swayed and tempted by their desires, ego, pride and ambition, such as many of the Pharisees, elders and teachers of the Law from the time of the Lord and His ministry.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the parable of the faithful and prudent servant, versus that of faithless, lazy and wicked servant. Each of those servants had different attitudes towards what their lord and master had told and commanded them to do, as the latter went away to a far away place. The faithful and prudent servant did everything that he could in order to fulfil all of his master’s commands, doing his duties and works faithfully and obediently, diligently and properly while the wicked and lazy servant delayed in doing what he was supposed to do, neglected his obligations and works, and abused his authority and power granted to him by his lord and master. We then heard how each of the servants were correspondingly rewarded and punished, the faithful and prudent servant rewarded greatly for all the commitment and hard work that he had made, but the lazy and wicked servant punished and faced the consequences of his disobedience and laziness.

What all these passages from the Sacred Scriptures remind us is that each one of us are the servants and stewards entrusted by God with the care of this world, and with the well-being of our own fellow brothers and sisters. All of us are the people of God, His disciples and followers, entrusted with His truth and Good News, and everything which He has revealed to us, and therefore, we are expected to do what He has taught us to do and we are all called to follow in His footsteps, in how we should live our lives and in how we should do our best to glorify Him and proclaim His love to all the people whom we encounter in our own daily lives. And as each one of us are expected and called to live our lives wholeheartedly as Christians, we should therefore remind ourselves with this parable, that we cannot be idle and ignorant of what each one of us have been called to do by God, in our own respective areas in life.

Many of us have probably been idle in living our Christian faith in our lives, and we may have not realised that to be Christians is for us to be evangelising and missionary in our lives and actions, in our every works and indeed in our every moments in life. But lest we misunderstand, it does not mean that we preach the Gospels and the Scriptures to those people whom we meet, encounter and collaborate with in life. Rather, it is a genuine Christian living that each and every one of us are expected to do, so that even in the smallest and seemingly least significant things we say and do, we can truly proclaim the Lord in all the things we have, and through our exemplary lives and deeds, we may inspire many more people to come to know the Lord and to believe in Him. That is what we should be doing, brothers and sisters.

For example, in our own daily lives, within our families, circles of friends and relatives, we should be people who are filled with love for one another, for our families and friends, and for everyone whom we encounter. That means we should also be kind and cordial to strangers and acquaintances we meet, in each and every moment, that those whom we well know and all those who encounter us, may see God’s love and truth being manifested in even the smallest and least significant of our words and actions. And that is how we can best proclaim the Lord in the midst of our communities and societies, to be truly devoted and committed Christians, always ever focused and centred on God, and to be always charitable and filled with love for our fellow brothers and sisters, in whatever way we can do that.

That is why, all of us should remind one another to live our lives well and faithfully in accordance to our Christian faith and beliefs. We should not be idle any longer in our lives and definitely we should not do things that are contrary and against our beliefs and faith. That is how we can become good and faithful stewards of God’s creation, as responsible and dedicated disciples and followers of God, in doing His will and in obeying His Law and commandments at every possible opportunities. Each and every one of us are reminded that we need to do this or else, in the end, just like that of the wicked and lazy servant, when the time of reckoning comes, we will be made to account for our failures to do what God has commanded for us to do. We should do our best at every moment, so that our lives may truly reflect what we believe in.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all renew our commitment to the Lord, and let us do whatever we can so that we may glorify Him by our lives, and so that in all things, we may indeed be the shining examples and beacons of His light in the midst of our societies today. Let us all be the shining beacons of God’s light and truth in our darkened world today, helping more and more souls to find their way out of the darkness of sin and into the light of God’s grace and salvation. May God bless us all and may He empower each one of us so that our lives may truly be a reflection of our enduring and vibrant faith. Amen.

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Thursday, 31 August 2023 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 24 : 42-51

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Stay awake then, for you do not know on what day your Lord will come. Obviously, if the owner of the house knew at what time the thief was coming, he would certainly stay up and not allow his house to be broken into. So be alert, for the Son of Man will come at the hour you least expect.”

“Imagine a faithful and prudent servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give them food at the proper time. Fortunate, indeed, is that servant, whom his master will find at work when he comes. Truly I say to you, his lord will entrust him with everything he has.”

“Not so with the bad servant, who thinks, ‘My master is delayed.’ And he begins to ill-treat his fellow servants, while eating and drinking with drunkards. But his master will come on the day he does not know, and at the hour he least expects. He will punish that servant severely; and place him with the hypocrites. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

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Thursday, 31 August 2023 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 89 : 3-4, 12-13, 14 and 17

You turn humans back to dust, saying, “Return, o mortals!” A thousand years in Your sight are like a day that has passed, or like a watch in the night.

So make us know the shortness of our life, that we may gain wisdom of heart. How long will You be angry, o YHVH? Have mercy on Your servant.

Fill us at daybreak with Your goodness, that we may be glad all our days. May the sweetness of YHVH be upon us; may He prosper the work of our hands.

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Thursday, 31 August 2023 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Thessalonians 3 : 7-13

What a consolation for us, brothers and sisters, in the midst of our troubles and trials, this faith of yours! It is a breath of life for us, when you stand firm in the Lord. How can we thank God enough, for all the joy that we feel before God, because of you? Day and night, we beg of Him, to let us see you again, that we may complete the instruction of the believers.

May God, our Father, and Jesus, our Lord, prepare the way for us to visit you. May the Lord increase, more and more, your love for each other and for all people, as He increases our love for you. May He strengthen you, internally, to be holy and blameless before God, our Father, on the day that Jesus, our Lord, will come with all His saints.

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Thursday, 24 August 2023 : Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Feast of St. Bartholomew the Apostle, one of the Twelve Apostles of the Lord, and therefore one of the great pillars of the Church. St. Bartholomew was also likely known as Nathanael as according to today’s Gospel passage, one of the Lord’s Twelve Apostles was one named Nathanael, whom the Lord called in an amazing way, and known for his great intellect and wisdom. There was no one else among the known Twelve Apostles who can fit the description of Nathanael except for St. Bartholomew the Apostle. There was scant reference to him otherwise in the Scriptures, but Church and Apostolic traditions and histories had extensive details about the efforts and works of St. Bartholomew, including that of his ministry and his martyrdom, how he died in the face of opposition and persecution against Christians.

St. Bartholomew was likely named as such because he was the son of a man named Talmai or Ptolemy, with the ‘bar’ in Hebrew meaning ‘son of’. As Ptolemy or Ptolemeus at that time was a Greek name, it was likely that he was a Hellenised Jew, with the given name of Nathanael. He was a wise and learned man, who knew the Law and the Prophets well, just as we heard in our Gospel passage today. In what he said upon knowing that the Lord Jesus had come from the region of Nazareth in Galilee, with the words, ‘Can anything good come from Nazareth?’, it indicated to us his familiarity with the prophets and their prophecies about the coming of the Messiah or the Saviour of Israel. But the Lord convinced Nathanael and showed Him His power, wisdom and truth, as He told him that He saw him below the fig tree, revealing His ability to know the thoughts and the location of Nathanael, showing that He was truly the Messiah of God promised to the people that He loved. Thus, Nathanael or St. Bartholomew recognised the Lord Jesus as the Son of God and King of Israel, the Holy One of God.

Later on, after everything that happened with the Lord and His Passion, His suffering and death on the Cross, and the events surrounding His Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven, as well as the coming of the Holy Spirit, it was told according to the Apostolic traditions that St. Bartholomew went on missions to spread the Good News and truth of God to many distant places including India and Armenia among other places. In India, it was told that St. Bartholomew went to the ancient city of Kalyan and other places, spreading the word of God and His truth, complementing the works of St. Thomas who also went to that land. He also went to Armenia as mentioned, together with another Apostle, St. Jude Thaddeus, in proclaiming the Good News and in calling more and more people to come to know their Lord and Saviour. In his travels and works throughout that region, St. Bartholomew managed to gain converts to the true Faith, while facing opposition and hardships in the midst of his missions.

In Armenia, it was told that St. Bartholomew managed to convert the ruler or king of Armenia named Polymius, who embraced the Christian faith because of the preaching and the works of St. Bartholomew. This brought about a resistance from the pagans and the powerful nobles, led by the king’s brother, Astyages, who therefore ordered the arrest and then torture of St. Bartholomew. In what would become truly renowned about St. Bartholomew, the Apostle was flayed or skinned alive and then beheaded. Thus, that is why many of the portrayals of St. Bartholomew showed the Apostle holding onto his own flayed skin. Another tradition stated that St. Bartholomew was crucified upside-down in the manner just like another Apostle, St. Peter. In the end, regardless in what way St. Bartholomew was martyred, what matters is that he died defending his faith, and suffered just as the Lord Himself had suffered, for the glory of God and for the good of His people.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we celebrate this Feast of the Holy Apostle, St. Bartholomew, on this day, let us all therefore reflect upon the actions and dedication which St. Bartholomew had shown the Lord and all of us, in everything he had done, in all the works and missions he had gone to, in proclaiming the Good News of God courageously and fearlessly, and in living his life with great virtues and examples, that many were convinced by his words and actions, in accepting and embracing the Lord Jesus Christ as their own Lord and Master, and as their Saviour and King. For all that he had done, in doing God’s will to the very end, St. Bartholomew has been glorified and raised to the bliss and joy of Heaven, as the Lord had promised to all those who have been faithful to Him. As we heard in our first reading today, from the Revelation or Apocalypse of St. John, we heard how St. John saw the vision of the New Jerusalem, with the names of the Apostles inscribed upon its gates.

Thus, that is how the Lord will also treat all those who have been faithful and true to Him, all those who have given their lives to His cause, like all the Apostles and the holy saints and martyrs, and the innumerable other holy men and women, who have gone before us, and whose lives shone forth with great virtue and faith. Their works and examples should serve inspiration to all of us as Christians, God’s beloved people and disciples, on how each and every one of us should be living our own lives with faith. We should be inspired and strengthened by their examples, particularly that of St. Bartholomew, in how we should act and do our best to love one another, and to proclaim God’s truth and Good News by our faithful lives. This is our calling as Christians, and what each and every one of us should do, as those whom God had called and chosen to be His own.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore all of us are reminded today that we cannot be idle in the living of our faith in life. Each one of us have been blessed and given the grace of God’s love and kindness, His gifts, talents, abilities and the various opportunities that have been presented to us. If the Apostles and the other holy saints and martyrs had not done what they did for the sake of the Lord, in doing what the Lord had called and told them to do, in making the effort and in sacrificing time and their comfort for the spread of the Good News and the Light of God’s truth, in sharing His love and compassionate mercy, many souls including ours would have been doomed to damnation, and we might not have received His love and kindness, His truth and Good News, His salvation and grace. We are all called and inspired to do our best that our lives may truly reflect our Christian faith and all that the Lord had taught us to do, just as St. Bartholomew had done with his life.

May the Lord continue to guide and strengthen all of us, in our every works and actions, in every moments of our lives. May He inspire and empower all of us so that we may serve Him ever more faithfully and with greater courage, in the manner that St. Bartholomew, and the other Holy Apostles, saints and martyrs had done. All of us are part of the Lord’s Church and each one of us are integral part of the missions which God has entrusted to us. Let us all strive to commit our every time and effort to glorify God and to seek the betterment of all mankind. May God bless us all and bless our every works, and may He remain with us always, and strengthen us in all of our endeavours. St. Bartholomew, Holy Apostle of the Lord, pray for us all sinners. Amen.

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Thursday, 24 August 2023 : Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 1 : 45-51

At that time, Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, and the prophets : He is Jesus, Son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”

Nathanael replied, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming, He said of him, “Here comes an Israelite, a true one; there is nothing false in him.” Nathanael asked Him, “How do You know me?” And Jesus said to him, “Before Philip called you, you were under the fig tree, and I saw you.”

Nathanael answered, “Master, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” But Jesus replied, “You believe because I said, ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ But you will see greater things than that. Truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened, and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

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Thursday, 24 August 2023 : Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 144 : 10-11, 12-13ab, 17-18

All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o Lord, will praise You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your power.

That all may know of Your mighty deeds, Your reign and its glorious splendour. Your reign is from age to age; Your dominion endures from generation to generation.

Righteous is YHVH in all His ways, His mercy shows in all His deeds. He is near those who call on Him, who call trustfully upon His Name.

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Thursday, 24 August 2023 : Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Revelations 21 : 9b-14

And one of the seven Angels who were with the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues said to me, “Come, I am going to show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

He took me up, in a spiritual vision, to a very high mountain, and he showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven, from God. It shines with the glory of God, like a precious jewel, with the colour of crystal-clear jasper. Its wall, large and high, has twelve gates; stationed at them are twelve Angels.

Over the gates are written the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. Three gates face the east; three gates face the north; three gates face the south and three face the west. The city wall stands on twelve foundation stones, on which are written the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.

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Thursday, 17 August 2023 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the love and kindness that God has always shown unto us, His beloved people, through the various times that He had aided us and our predecessors in the past from what we have heard in the Scriptures, and how He, our Master, has shown us His generous mercy and kindness, compassion and love, sparing us from destruction and damnation because of our sins, and therefore how He expects us all to do the same in our own lives, that we, as His disciples and followers, show the same love that He has shown us, to our fellow brothers and sisters all around us. We are reminded to forgive one another our faults, mistakes and sins to each other, just as the Lord Himself has already forgiven us ours.

In our first reading today, we heard the story from the Book of Joshua during the time when the people of Israel, under Joshua’s leadership, was finally about to enter into the Promised Land of Canaan by crossing through the River Jordan. At that time, the Lord had patiently led His people through a long forty years sojourn in the desert as a punishment for their repeated rebellions and refusal to trust in Him and in His providence, in doubting that He would lead them safe and sound into the land He has promised to them and their descendants. He has continued to care for them and loved them despite the repeated betrayals and grumblings from those ungrateful people, and in the end, the Lord was finally about to lead them into the land promised to them, and He also reassured Joshua that He would be with him in his leadership of the Israelites just as Moses had been blessed before him.

God therefore opened the River Jordan itself before the people, as He instructed Joshua and the people of Israel to put the Ark of the Covenant handled by the Levite priests to the middle of the River itself. Just as God had once opened the Red Sea before His people to lead them through the dry seabed to their freedom from their slavery in Egypt, thus He once again showed His power and might, in leading all of them through the river, opening it before their very own eyes, so that all of them might remember His deeds and love, in His guidance through all those years, and that when they finally entered into the land promised to them, they would still continue to do what He has shown and taught them all to do through His Law and commandments. As mentioned earlier, just as God has loved His people, thus He expected all of them to love one another in the same way.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples regarding the parable of the ungrateful servant, in which a servant who owed his master a large sum of money, ten thousand pieces of gold in total, was ungrateful and uncharitable in his actions, even though his master had shown him his mercy and compassion, in forgiving his whole debt when that servant was just begging for the master to give him more time to settle his debts. We heard how that ungrateful and uncharitable servant went to one of his fellow servants who owed him just a hundred pieces of silver, which was probably barely a thousandth or even less than what the ungrateful servant owed his master earlier. That ungrateful servant refused to forgive the debt or to give a chance for his fellow servant to pay off his debt, unlike what his master had done to him.

We heard well how the ungrateful servant was punished severely by his master for his lack of empathy and love, his lack of mercy and understanding, compassion and care for another. It is a reminder to all of us that just as the servant was expected by his master to follow in his examples in loving one another and in forgiving each other, one’s debts and faults, therefore, all of us, as God’s people, and with God as our Lord and Master, each one of us should be like Him in all of our words, actions and deeds. Hence, we should commit ourselves to walk ever more faithfully and with greater conviction to follow the Lord at all times, and to show one another the inspiration and the actions that we should be doing as faithful and committed disciples of the Lord. Each one of us should be more loving and forgiving, kind and compassionate towards one another as Our Lord Himself had done to us.

If God has forgiven us our huge and enormous sums of debts, that is our many sins and wickedness, which we have committed before Him, then how can we not forgive others who have committed faults and mistakes towards us? We ourselves must have also committed some mistakes and faults in our own lives, and we cannot pretend that we are ourselves without any blame at all. If God is willing to forgive us all these faults and debts, then we should always be ready to forgive our fellow brothers and sisters their mistakes and faults towards us as well. After all, each and every one of us must reflect the light and the love of God in our own lives, and we should be the beacons of God’s light and truth, His love and kindness in our communities and societies today. It is through us, our way of life and actions that we can show the Lord and His truth, His love and compassion to others around us, and to the world.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded therefore that each and every one of us must remember God’s love and kindness, which He has always generously shown us all these time. We must also remember just how patient He has been with us, despite our repeated iniquities, stubbornness and wicked actions, just as He had done to the Israelites. That is why, all of us should keep in mind to turn our whole heart and mind, our whole entire being towards the Lord, and commit ourselves thoroughly to Him once again. Are we able to do that, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing and able to do God’s will in our lives, and to be exemplary in our actions and lives, so that by our examples and inspirations, we may show the Lord to more and more people, and to bring them ever closer to God and His salvation? This is our calling as Christians, and what we are all expected to do, and what we should live up to, in our daily actions and lives.

May the Lord, our most loving and compassionate, patient and kind Master, continue to bless and love us all, and may He continue to guide each and every one of us as we continue to live our lives in our world today. May God be with us always and may He bless our every good efforts and works, all of our actions and dealings, our way of life. Amen.

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Thursday, 17 August 2023 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 18 : 21 – Matthew 19 : 1

At that time, Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times must I forgive the offences of my brother or sister? Seven times?” Jesus answered, “No, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

“This story throws light on the kingdom of Heaven : A king decided to settle accounts with his servants. Among the first of them was one who owed him ten thousand pieces of gold. As the man could not repay the debt, the king commanded that he be sold as a slave with his wife, his children and all his goods, as repayment.”

“The servant threw himself at the feet of the king and said, ‘Give me time, and I will pay you back everything.’ The king took pity on him, and not only set him free, but even cancelled his debt. When this servant left the king’s presence, he met one of his fellow servants, who owed him a hundred pieces of silver. He grabbed him by the throat and almost choked him, shouting, ‘Pay me what you owe!'”

“His fellow servant threw himself at his feet and begged him, ‘Give me time, and I will pay everything.’ But the other did not agree, and sent him to prison until he has paid all his debt. Now the servants of the king saw what had happened. They were extremely upset, and so they went and reported everything to their lord.”

“Then the lord summoned his servant and said, ‘Wicked servant, I forgave you all that you owed me when you begged me to do so. Were you not bound to have pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ The lord was now angry. He handed the wicked servant over to be punished, until he had paid the whole debt.”

Jesus added, “So will My heavenly Father do with you, unless you sincerely forgive your brothers and sisters.” When Jesus had finished these sayings, He left Galilee and arrived at the border of Judea, on the other side of the Jordan River.