Tuesday

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Tuesday, 22 June 2021 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop, and St. John Fisher, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Thomas More, Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops) or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we heard first from the Book of Genesis, the story between Abraham and Lot, and we heard about their disagreements and the conflicts between their employees and shepherds, who vied for the rich and fertile lands for their flocks and possessions. In the end, Abraham and Lot decided to part ways and divide the land among them.

God would then continue to guide Abraham, while at the same time also still watching over Lot, as we know in how Lot would later be involved in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham meanwhile would continue to grow in God’s grace, and he continued to remain faithful and obedient to the path and guidance that the Lord has shown to him. As the Lord called him, Abraham responded with faith and gave his all to follow his Lord and Master.

Then in our Gospel today, the Lord spoke to His disciples, with regards to the matter of how they all should seek what is holy and not to throw all those things because of the temptations that they might face along the way. He told them all that the path towards the kingdom of God is not one that is easy and simple. Instead, there would likely be plenty of obstacles and challenges that would face them as they proceed forward with faith.

All of these serve as reminders for all of us brothers and sisters, that we should not allow ourselves to be swayed by the many temptations and allures of worldly glory, fame, wealth and many other tempting desires that can lead us astray from our path and distract us from our focus and faith in the Lord. That is why today we should seek the inspirations from the saints, our holy predecessors whose memory we recall this day at their feast.

St. Paulinus of Nola was a bishop in the early Church, who was remembered and renowned for his great piety, steadfast faith in the Lord, and the dedication with which he devoted himself to the members of his flock. While he was born into an influential senatorial family, he chose to follow the Lord and leave behind everything, all the glory and all the opportunities that he had, and committed himself fully to the Lord.

St. Paulinus of Nola spent much time in furthering the studies of the faith, writing extensively on many matters of the faith, and he was also deeply involved in serving his community, spending the time and effort to reach out to more and more of the people in his community, and doing all that he could in order to bring more and more people to believe in the Lord. He devoted himself wholly to this calling, and this is something that we can be inspired from.

Then, we also celebrate the feast of the two courageous and holy martyrs of the ‘reformation’ in England, when King Henry VIII forcefully sundered the Church there from the Universal Church in personal pursuit of family matter and succession, in satisfying his ego and desire for dynastic success, which led to the painful splintering and division of the Church, which effects still lasted to this very day, even after hundreds of years.

Back then, St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher were among the few who stood against the king’s corrupted desire and efforts to separate the Church in England from the Universal Church. St. Thomas More himself was the trusted Chancellor of the King, who enjoyed close confidence from the king, while St. John Fisher was the influential Bishop of Rochester and one of the preeminent bishop in all of England. He was eventually made a Cardinal for his faith and dedication to the Church.

All of the entire kingdom, all the people and especially the high officials had been made to obey the king’s new decision and ruling in breaking ties from the Pope in Rome, as well as for various other changes and actions that the king had decided and taken. This was often done so under the certain threat of suffering and death. Some would eventually abandon their faith in exchange for guarantees of safety and comfort in life, while many others remained faithful.

St. Thomas More remained faithful to the true Mother Church and opposed the king, even while knowing that such a choice and action could not only just cause him to lose his role as Chancellor, but that could very well end up with his death. Yet, he chose to remain faithful, and resigned his chancellorship rather than betraying the true Church and faith in God. He was arrested and imprisoned, and eventually was put to death, faithful to the end. The same fate faced St. John Fisher, who also courageously spoke out in defence of the faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be inspired by all these examples showed by our holy predecessors, and let us all follow their actions and faith, that we too may glorify the Lord by our lives, and be inspiration ourselves to many more other people, many of whom had not yet known the Lord, and are still living in the darkness of sin and ignorance of God’s truth. May the Lord continue to guide us, and may He strengthen our faith at all times, that we may walk ever more faithfully in His path. Amen.

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Tuesday, 22 June 2021 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop, and St. John Fisher, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Thomas More, Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops) or Red (Martyrs)

Matthew 7 : 6, 12-14

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Do not give what is holy to the dogs, or throw your pearls before pigs. They might trample on them, and then turn on you and tear you to pieces.”

“So, do to others whatever you would that others do to you : there, you have the law and the prophets. Enter through the narrow gate : for wide is the gate, and broad is the road, that leads to destruction, and many go that way. How narrow is the gate that leads to life; and how rough, the road; few there are, who find it.”

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Tuesday, 22 June 2021 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop, and St. John Fisher, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Thomas More, Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops) or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 14 : 2-3ab, 3cd-4ab, 5

Those who walk blamelessly and do what is right, who speak truth from their heart and control their words, who do no harm to their neighbours.

Those who cast no discredit on their companions, who look down on evildoers but highly esteem God’s servants.

Those who do not lend money at interest and refuse a bribe against the innocent. Do this, and you will not be shaken.

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Tuesday, 22 June 2021 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop, and St. John Fisher, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Thomas More, Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops) or Red (Martyrs)

Genesis 13 : 2, 5-18

Now Abram was very rich in flocks, silver and gold. Lot who went with Abram also had flocks, cattle and tents. The land was not sufficient to allow them to stay together, for their possessions were too great for them to live together.

A quarrel arose between the herdsmen of Abram’s flock and those of Lot. (The Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at the time.) Abram said to Lot, “Do not let there be a dispute between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and yours, since we are brothers! Is not the whole land before you? Let us part company. If you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”

Lot looked up and saw the whole valley of the Jordan : how well it was watered! Before YHVH destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, this was like one of YHVH’s gardens, like the country of Egypt, on coming to Zoar. Lot chose for himself all the Jordan valley and journeyed eastward. In this way they separated from each other.

Abram settled in the country of Canaan while Lot lived among the towns of the plain and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the people of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against YHVH. YHVH said to Abram after Lot had left him, “Raise your eyes and look from where you are, towards the north, the south, the east and the west; all the land you see I will give to you and your descendants forever.”

“I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; if the grains of the dust can be counted, then your descendants may be counted. Come, travel through the length and breadth of the land, for it is to you that I am giving it.” So Abram moved his tent and came to live by the oaks of Mamre at Hebron. There he built an altar to YHVH.

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Tuesday, 15 June 2021 : 11th 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 Lord speaking to us and reminding us all again and again what it truly means for us to be Christians, as those whom God had chosen and called to follow Him, and to be His witnesses among the people of this world. He has taught and shown us His love, and how He has loved us sincerely and tenderly, and therefore, we are expected to show this love through our lives and actions, at all times and in all places and occasions.

In our Gospel passage today, we are all reminded that as Christians we are all entrusted to be able to love one another, that is to learn to forgive those who have sinned against us and to reach out and care even for those who despised and hated us. This is what the Lord has taught and shown us to do, to be exemplary in our faith and in our way of life, that we may be walking in the same path that the Lord has walked before us, as He showed us all what it truly means to love.

Many of us love only ourselves and those whom we love or those who are dear to us, and we are biased against those whom we disagree with or whom we find to be different from us or incompatible. That is why we have not truly been wholehearted in our obedience to the Lord and His path. We are often too blinded by our selfishness and pride, our human desires and many other emotions and distractions that led us astray and keep us away from the true path of Christian love and charity.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is easier said than done for us to love others, especially more so for those whom we despise and who consequently also mutually despised us. It is difficult for us to let go of the anger and the negativities, the bitterness and pain that exist between us. But this is exactly where we should then model ourselves upon the Lord and His own example of love, as He has shown us what is meant by true and most unconditional and selfless love, love that is genuine, sincere and vast beyond all things.

How is it not so, brothers and sisters, when the Lord has given so much for our sake, loved us so wonderfully and patiently even when we have already caused Him so much pain and anger, and after we have betrayed, abandoned and wronged Him time and again, from the moment that we first fell into sin. Through our disobedience and our wickedness, we have been sundered from the true grace and happiness in Eden and in heavenly glory, and yet, God still loved us all, even when we are dirty, corrupted and wicked.

He ceaselessly reached out to us and sent to us His messengers and servants, to call on all of us to return to Him and to be reconciled with Him. He reached out to us with love, hoping that we will change our hearts and minds, and be willing to open the doors of our hearts to allow Him to enter and transform us, freeing us from the chains of our sins and from the tyranny of evil and death. And last of all, He fulfilled all that He has promised us by sending us His own Beloved Son, the same Christ, Our Lord, to be our Saviour.

He endured all the worst of sufferings and pains, the worst of humiliations out of love for us. He bore the blows and insults from His enemies and all those who hated Him, and even still, He prayed for them all and asked His Father not to hold anything against those who had condemned Him to death and made Him to suffer. And when He referred to this, we need to realise that He was in fact also referring to each and every one of us. It was our burdens and punishments that He bore, and yet, He bore them faithfully with love, for us, that we will not have to suffer that damnation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, can we see now just how fortunate we are to be so beloved by the Lord? And therefore, can we grow to appreciate His love more, day after day, by welcoming Him into our hearts, embracing His love and mercy, and allow Him to transform us into His beloved children, a people of the true Light? And in this same manner, we should also imitate Him in all things including love, and it means that we should be the wonderful beacons of His love and light in our world today.

May all of us as Christians, in our every works, efforts and endeavours, in our interactions and outreach will always be filled with true love, love that is pure and selfless, in being concerned and caring towards each other. May God be with us all and may He guide us in our path, that we will always be faithful to Him. Amen.

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Tuesday, 15 June 2021 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 5 : 43-48

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “You have heard, that it was said : Love your neighbour and do not do good to your enemy. But this I tell you : love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven. For He makes His sun rise on both the wicked and the good; and He gives rain to both the just and the unjust.”

“If you love those who love you, what is special about that? Do not even tax collectors do as much? And if you are friendly only to your friends, what is so exceptional about that? Do not even the pagans do as much? As for you, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

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Tuesday, 15 June 2021 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 145 : 1-2, 5-6ab, 6c-7, 8-9a

Alleluia! Praise YHVH, my soul! I will sing to YHVH all my life; I will sing praise to God while I live.

Blessed are they whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in YHVH their God, Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and all they contain.

YHVH is forever faithful; He gives justice to the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. YHVH sets the prisoners free.

YHVH gives sight to the blind; YHVH loves the virtuous; but He brings to ruin the way of the wicked. YHVH straightens the bent. YHVH protects the stranger.

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Tuesday, 15 June 2021 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Corinthians 8 : 1-9

Now, I want you to know about a gift of divine grace among the Churches of Macedonia. While they were so afflicted and persecuted, their joy overflowed, and their extreme poverty turned into a wealth of generosity. According to their means – even beyond their means – they wanted to share, in helping the saints.

They asked us for this favour, spontaneously, and with much insistence, and, far beyond anything we expected, they put themselves at the disposal of the Lord, and of us by the will of God. Accordingly, I urged Titus to complete, among you, this work of grace, since he began it with you.

You excel in everything : in the gifts of faith, speech and knowledge; you feel concern for every cause and, besides, you are first in my heart. Excel, also, in this generous service. This is not a command; I make known to you the determination of others, to check the sincerity of your fraternal concern.

You know well, the generosity of Christ Jesus, our Lord. Although He was rich, He made Himself poor, to make you rich, through His poverty.

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Tuesday, 8 June 2021 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of God in the Scriptures today, we are all reminded as Christians to be active in living our faith and to say yes to the Lord, to Him calling us to serve Him. We should be the salt of the earth and the light of the world just as the Lord mentioned it in His parable to His disciples, that as Christians, we are truly active and devoted to the cause of the Lord, and live our lives in the most Christian way possible.

In our first reading today, St. Paul exhorted the Church and the faithful in the city of Corinth to be faithful and dedicated to God, to respond to the Lord’s call with a resounding ‘Yes!’, and not to be hesitant anymore in responding and answering the Lord’s call. The Lord has given all of us His guidance and strength, and the Holy Spirit has also come down upon us through His Church, and by the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation that we have received.

Therefore, the Holy Spirit has dwelled within us and has given us wonderful gifts, that may be distinct depending on our calling and actions in our respective lives. But many of us have not realised, recognised and utilised these gifts that we have received from the Lord, and we end up hiding them, not recognising them and leaving these gifts, these talents and abilities, as well as opportunities to remain dormant within us. Many of us do not know what we are supposed to do with our lives, in serving the Lord and following Him.

And this is what the Lord meant when He said that if the salt has lost its saltiness, then it is useless, and if the light is hidden and cannot be seen, then it is useless either, and therefore is pointless to have either one of those. The Lord also used the example of salt and light because these two are indeed very important commodities that were crucial to many people of that time, just as it is still important even to the present day. It was very important for the people to have and use salt, because of its preservative qualities, allowing it to preserve food and keeping them longer, and at the same time also providing flavour to food that is bland.

Meanwhile, light is very important because at that time in particular, at a time and age when electricity and night lighting were not yet available, darkness of night always hindered many actions and activities, and unlike today when lighting and electricity are so easily available to many people all around the world, lighting in the form of burning candles and other forms of illumination were expensive and difficult to obtain. Hence, by using the examples of salt and light in His parable, the Lord wanted to highlight just how precious are the gifts that we have received from the Lord through His Holy Spirit.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we still going to be stubborn in refusing to acknowledge the gifts and opportunities that the Lord has provided for us, remaining idle and not doing what we can do in order to take part actively in the actions and works of the Church? All of us are reminded today that we cannot be idle and ignorant of our calling and responsibility as Christians. Without real and genuine action, commitment and contribution, our faith is truly meaningless and dead, and such faith is useless for us.

Let us reflect on these words that we have received from the Lord, and discern the path that we all ought to take from now on. Are we going to continue to ignore the Lord’s calling and the mission He has entrusted to us? Or are we going to allow Him to lead us down the path He has shown us, entrusting ourselves and our future to Him, and walking faithfully with Him, dedicating ourselves through service to others, by loving those whom He has placed in our path, and showing that we are truly Christians not just in name only?

May the Lord be with us all and may He strengthen us with the courage and resolve to be salt of the earth and the light of the world, to be no longer fearful but filled with faith and trust, in proclaiming the truth of God through our words and actions, in our community and to all whom we encounter throughout our lives. May God bless us all and our good works and endeavours, for His greater glory, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 8 June 2021 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 5 : 13-16

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples and to the people, “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt has lost its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It has become useless. It can only be thrown away and people will trample on it.”

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a mountain cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and covers it; instead it is put on a lampstand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine before others, so that they may see the good you do and praise your Father in heaven.”