Liturgical Colour : White
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.
Those who do no harm to their neighbours and 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 soon be shaken.
Liturgical Colour : White
Revelations 3 : 1-6, 14-22
Write this to the Angel of the Church in Sardis, “Thus says He Who holds the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars : ‘I know your worth : you think you live but you are dead. Wake up and strengthen that which is not already dead. For I have found your works to be imperfect in the sight of My God.”
“‘Remember what you were taught; keep it and change your ways. If you do not repent I will come upon you like a thief at an hour you least expect. Yet, there are some left in Sardis who have not soiled their robes; these will come with Me, dressed in white, since they deserve it. The victor will be dressed in white and I will never erase his name from the book of life; instead, I will acknowledge it before My Father and His Angels.'”
“‘Let anyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches.'”
Write this to the Angel of the Church in Laodicea, “Thus says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of God’s creation : ‘I know your works : you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! You are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold so I will spit you out of My mouth.'”
“‘You think you are rich and have piled up so much that you need nothing, but you do not realise that you are wretched and to be pitied, poor, blind and naked. I advise you to buy from Me gold that has been tested by fire, so that you may be rich, and white clothes to wear so that your nakedness may not shame you, and ointment for your eyes that you may see. I reprimand and correct all those I love. Be earnest and change your ways.'”
“‘Look, I stand at the door and knock. If you hear My call and open the door, I will come in to you and have supper with you, and you with Me. I will let the victor sit with Me on My throne just as I was victorious and took My place with My Father on His throne. Let anyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches.'”
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Lord in the Scriptures, we are reminded of our duties as Christians, to listen to the Lord and to obey His will at each and every moments of our lives, through our actions and our dealings, our interactions and efforts within our respective communities. All of us have been called to serve God to the best of our abilities.
In our first reading today from the Epistle of St. Paul to St. Titus, the Apostle wrote to his brother bishop and also protege, St. Titus with regards to the faithful people of God, and how each and every one of them ought to act and behave in their respective positions and parts of the community at large. Each and every one of them had important roles to play as members of the Church of God, to be righteous and just according to the teachings and ways He had shown us.
As the members of the clergy, the bishops, priests and the deacons, each of them had important roles to play, in serving the greater community of God’s people, to minister to them and lead everyone towards the Lord, guiding the faithful down the right path and caring for them spiritually. And the laity also had their own respective roles to play as Christians, as family members, as fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, as children, as grandparents and grandchildren, to form faithful Christian families.
Not only that, but in whatever each and every one of them are doing, in their respective commitments and works, all of them are called to be exemplary in carrying out their Christian virtues and actions. This is what each and every one of us have been called to do, to be virtuous examples of our Christian faith in our every day workplaces, in our schools and in everywhere we are, reaching out to our fellow brothers and sisters through our good examples.
But we must then also must heed the Lord’s words in our Gospel passage today to guide us down the right path. In that Gospel passage, we heard the Lord using a parable to teach His disciples and the people, the parable of the dutiful servant in which the Lord compared our relationship with God in a way with the relationship between a master and his servant. The servant had a duty to serve his master well and to do what he had been told to do. But the master is under no obligation to congratulate or please the servant as mentioned.
What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that each and every one of us must not treat our faith as merely an achievement or as a means to satisfy our own desires and wants. Surely there are those of us who want to be praised for our actions and dedications to God, but our faith truly is not about ourselves. It is not about how much we have done, or that if we have done more then we deserve more praise and rewards. Whatever we have done and are going to do, we have to do it for the greater glory of God.
Today therefore all of us are called to follow the Lord more faithfully as Christians, to be committed to loving Him and our fellow brethren with sincerity and generosity, in each and every actions we take and at every moments of our lives. And we should be inspired further by the examples of the saints such as Pope St. Leo the Great whose feast day we celebrate today. There is a lot that we can learn from his examples and inspirations.
Pope St. Leo the Great led the Church as the Pope and Successor of St. Peter the Apostle at a very important time and juncture for the Church and the world, as the Roman Empire began to fall apart in its western regions, falling apart to the invasions from the barbarians that came and conquered many of its territories, wrecking a lot of havoc and confusion. Despite all these, Pope St. Leo the Great led the Church and the faithful through this most difficult moment, and was instrumental in strengthening the Church in standing up against the various heresies that also came up at that time.
Pope St. Leo the Great was firmly against the Arian heresy and its followers, as well as to other heresies like monophysitism and others, sending delegates to Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon to affirm the teachings of the faith as preserved through the Church, also writing extensively in defence of the true faith. Pope St. Leo the Great also dedicated himself wholeheartedly to the well-being of his flock, and in one well-remembered occasion, stood before the much dreaded king of the Huns, Attila at the gates of Rome, and managed to persuade him to turn away and not destroy the city.
Pope St. Leo the Great had showed us what it means to be a true and dedicated disciple of the Lord, as did many other great saints, holy men and women of God. Are we willing and able to follow their good examples, brothers and sisters in Christ? Each and every one of us are called and have been challenged to follow the Lord in each and every one of our own ways, to serve Him and glorify Him with all of our efforts and strength. May God be with us always, and may He guide us in our journey of faith, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
Luke 17 : 7-10
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Who among you would say to your servant, coming in from the fields after plowing or tending sheep, ‘Go ahead and have your dinner?’ No, you tell him, ‘Prepare my dinner. Put on your apron, and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink afterwards.'”
“Do you thank this servant for doing what you told him to do? I do not think so. And therefore, when you have done all that you have been told to do, you should say, ‘We are no more than servants; we have only done our duty.'”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 36 : 3-4, 18 and 23, 27 and 29
For they will fade as any green herb and soon be gone like withered grass.
The Lord watches over the lives of the upright; forever will their inheritance abide. The Lord is the One Who makes people stand, He gives firmness to those He likes.
Do good and shun evil, so that you will live secure forever. The righteous will possess the land; they will make it their home forever.
Liturgical Colour : White
Titus 2 : 1-8, 11-14
Let your words strengthen sound doctrine. Tell the older men to be sober, serious, wise, sound in faith, love and perseverance. The older women in like manner must behave as befits holy women, not given to gossiping or drinking wine, but as good counsellors, able to teach younger women to love their husbands and children, to be judicious and chaste, to take care of their households, to be kind and submissive to their husbands, lest our faith be attacked.
Encourage the young men to be self-controlled. Set them an example by your own way of doing. Let your teaching be earnest and sincere, and your preaching beyond reproach. Then your opponents will feel ashamed and will have nothing to criticise.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, teaching us to reject an irreligious way of life and worldly greed, and to live in this world as responsible persons, upright and serving God, while we await our blessed hope – the glorious manifestation of our great God and Saviour Christ Jesus. He gave Himself for us, to redeem us from every evil and to purify a people He wanted to be His own and dedicated to what is good.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are reminded that as Christians we should be humble and obedient just as Christ Himself, as the Son had been obedient to His Father’s will, and how He had carried out everything perfectly as how it was supposed to be. And therefore we are all reminded of the Lord’s calling in our lives to be faithful and obedient to Him.
St. Paul reminded all of us the faithful of the Lord’s own dedication and obedience to His Father in his Epistle to the Philippians, referring to how Christ was willing even to empty and humble Himself of His glory and divinity, to assume the humble appearance and status of a slave, to bear the burden of the many sins and faults of the whole world, suffering the most grievous pain and humiliation out of His love for us.
In our Gospel today, we heard from the Lord Jesus a reminder and also a rebuke to all of us for our frequent lack of faith, our refusal to listen to God and obey Him. Through a parable, the Lord told the people about the reality how many of them were too busy with many preoccupations, distractions and temptations to notice the Lord’s calling and what they were supposed to do in their lives. Instead of listening to God and answering His call, they all chose to walk down their own path, into error and sin.
This was represented in the Gospel passage today in the parable, as those guests who had been invited to the a great man’s banquet, and yet refused to come because of their various excuses, all the things that they used as reasons why they could not come to the banquet, such as that they were busy with their lives, their own pursuits in life, their various preoccupations. In the end, their places were given to the others whom the man chose to invite instead.
In the same way, the Lord has also generously invited us all to enter into His heavenly kingdom, to embrace fully His grace and love. However, more often than not, we mankind tend to ignore Him, His calling and His patient persistence in reaching out to us. We refuse to acknowledge and even appreciate His love and compassion, His care and desire to be reconciled with us.
Instead, we allowed ourselves to be tempted and persuaded. We allowed the devil to have a free reign and for him to twist our minds and priorities. We turned away from God and His ways, and end up becoming more and more selfish, wicked and shut off away from God. And unless we realise this mistake that we have often made, we will end up deeper and deeper into trouble.
Therefore, today all of us are reminded that as Christians we should follow the path and examples set before us by the Lord Himself in His obedience. And today, in addition, we also have the good examples set by the saint whose memory we remember and celebrate, namely that of St. Martin de Porres, a holy religious and member of the Dominican Order, from Peru in the New World, from a time when many among the natives and the mixed-race peoples there were being prejudiced against and had difficulties living their lives as they should.
St. Martin de Porres was born into poor condition, from a family of mixed descent from the natives and African slaves through his mother, and as an illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman. He had to endure lots of hardships early in life, and despite his desire to join the religious life, particularly the Order of Preachers or the Dominicans, St. Martin de Porres had a great obstacle as all those who belonged to the slaves, natives and mixed-race were barred from joining the religious orders as full members.
That was why although St. Martin de Porres eventually joined the Dominicans as a Third Order member, as a laybrother, he was never ordained a priest. Nonetheless, despite all the hardships and prejudices that he had to face throughout his life, St. Martin de Porres remained firm in his faith and conviction, and he obeyed faithfully the Lord’s commandments and the precepts of the Dominican order. He served his community and the people with zeal and commitment.
St. Martin de Porres was remembered for his great love, care and concern for the poor and those who were suffering, just as he himself had understood and experienced suffering, prejudice and difficulties in life. He cared for the poor and the sick, and when a terrible disease was spreading through the community, he even travelled long distances to care for those who were suffering. He obeyed his superiors who were against his efforts, although subtly, he did remind them that the precepts of obedience should also not overtake the precepts of charity.
Throughout his life, St. Martin de Porres had exhibited great faith in God and the values of what a true Christian is like and is supposed to be. He has shown us all how each and every one of us should live up to our faith as Christians. Are we willing and able to follow his good examples, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to follow the examples of faith and obedience showed to us by this courageous and loving saint of God?
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us always constantly remind ourselves of our Christian mission and calling, to obey the Lord, our Father and Master, and let us all follow Him and His examples, as well as the good examples set by our holy predecessors, especially today as we recall St. Martin de Porres and his holy life. Let us all serve the Lord with a new faith and zeal from now on, and strive to love Him, and love our neighbours with ever greater commitment from now on. May God be with us and bless us all in our every good endeavours and efforts. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)
Luke 14 : 15-24
At that time, upon hearing the words of Jesus, one of those at the table said to Him, “Happy are those who eat at the banquet in the kingdom of God!”
Jesus replied, “A man once gave a feast and invited many guests. When it was time for the feast, he sent his servant to tell those he had invited to come, for everything was ready. But all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘Please excuse me. I must go and see the piece of land I have just bought.'”
“Another said, ‘I am sorry, but I am on my way to try out the five yoke of oxen I have just bought.’ Still another said, ‘How can I come, when I have just got married?'”
“The servant returned alone, and reported this to his master. Upon hearing his account, the master of the house flew into a rage, and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly, into the streets and alleys of the town, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'”
“The servant reported after a while, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out, but there is still room.’ The master said, ‘Go out to the highways and country lanes, and force people to come in, to ensure that my house is full. I tell you, none of those invited will have a morsel of my feast.'”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)
Psalm 21 : 26b-27, 28, 29-30a, 30c-32
I will fulfil my vows before all who revere You. The lowly will eat and be satisfied. Those who seek the Lord will praise Him. May your hearts live forever!
The whole earth will acknowledge and turn to the Lord; the families of nations will worship Him.
For dominion belongs to YHVH and He reigns over the nations. Before Him all those who rest in the earth will bow down, all who go down to the dust.
My soul will live for Him. My descendants will serve Him and proclaim the Lord to coming generations; they will announce His salvation to a people yet unborn, “These are the things that He has done.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)
Philippians 2 : 5-11
Your attitude should be the same as Jesus Christ had : Though He was in the form of God, He did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking on the nature of a servant, made in human likeness, and in His appearance found as a Man.
He humbled Himself by being obedient to death, death on the cross. That is why God exalted Him and gave Him the Name which outshines all names, so that at the Name of Jesus all knees should bend in heaven, on earth and among the dead, and all tongues proclaim that Christ Jesus is the Lord to the glory of God the Father.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 