Tuesday

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Tuesday, 5 February 2019 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Mark 5 : 21-43

At that time, Jesus then crossed to the other side of the lake, and while He was still on the shore, a large crowd gathered around Him. Jairus, an official of the synagogue, came up and, seeing Jesus, threw himself at His feet, and begged Him earnestly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may get well and live.”

Jesus went with him, and many people followed, pressing from every side. Among the crowd was a woman, who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a lot at the hands of many doctors, but instead of getting better, she was worse. Because she had heard about Jesus, this woman came up behind Him and touched His cloak, thinking, “If I just touch His clothing, I shall get well.” Her flow of blood dried up at once, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her complaint.

But Jesus was conscious that healing power had gone out from Him, so He turned around in the crowd, and asked, “Who touched My clothes?” His disciples answered, “You see how the people are crowding around you. Why do You ask who touched You?”

But He kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, aware of what had happened, came forward trembling and afraid. She knelt before Him, and told Him the whole truth. Then Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be free of this illness.”

While Jesus was still speaking, some people arrived from the official’s house to inform him, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Master any further?” But Jesus ignored what they said, and told the official, “Do not fear, just believe.” And He allowed no one to follow Him except Peter, James and John, the brother of James.

When they arrived at the house, Jesus saw a great commotion, with people weeping and wailing loudly. Jesus entered, and said to them, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but asleep.” They laughed at Him. So Jesus sent them outside, and went with the child’s father and mother and His companions into the room, where the child lay.

Taking her by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha, kumi!” which means, “Little girl, get up!” The girl got up at once and began to walk around. (She was twelve years old). The parents were amazed, greatly amazed. Jesus strictly ordered them not to let anyone know about it; and He told them to give her something to eat.

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Tuesday, 5 February 2019 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 21 : 26b-27, 28, 30ab, 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.

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.”

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Tuesday, 5 February 2019 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Hebrews 12 : 1-4

What a cloud of innumerable witnesses surround us! So let us be rid of every encumbrance, and especially of sin, to persevere in running the race marked out before us.

Let us look to Jesus the Founder of our faith, Who will bring it to completion. For the sake of the joy reserved for Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and then sat at the right of the throne of God. Think of Jesus Who suffered so many contradictions from evil people, and you will not be discouraged or grow weary.

Have you already shed your blood in the struggle against sin?

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Tuesday, 29 January 2019 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the essence of today’s Scripture passages is very clear, that is a reminder for each one of us of what we need to do as Christians in our own lives, to be committed and dedicated to God in all things, to listen to Him and to know His will, and then to do His will each and every single moment of our existence in this world. We are reminded of this important obligation, so that we may grow ever deeper in faith in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, our first reading today taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews mentioned the reality of what the practices and customs of the Jewish people had become, in the observation of the Law of God as revealed through Moses and the prophets. The people and especially their priests, all those who preserved the traditions and the laws followed what their ancestors had practiced, in offering animal sacrifices, of fats and blood, on the altar of the Temple of God.

But all of that are just temporary measures, as no blood or fats of animals will be able to wipe out all the sins and disobedience of men, in all of its vast multitudes and variety, throughout all time. Nothing in this world is worthy enough to do so, and that is why the priests had to continuously offer the sacrifices daily from time to time, for the sake of all those who have fallen into sin again and again. And the priests themselves also need to offer those sacrifices for themselves, as they were sinners too.

Yet, God revealed that this would not last forever, as He would send the One through Whom all of us would be brought to our eternal joy and redeemed from the snares of sin. The Divine Word Incarnate, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, also the Lamb of God and Eternal High Priest of all creation, has come into this world, to take up the role as our High Priest, as the One Who offered the sacrificial offering, and not many times, but once and for all, for the forgiveness of mankind’s sins, past, present and future till the end of time.

By linking what the Lord Jesus would do with the actions of the priests in accordance with the old laws of Moses, the Lord highlighted the redemptive nature of His mission, that is to bring all of mankind back to His loving embrace, to forgive them from their sins, that they may not perish because of those sins, but instead, become worthy to be present in His kingdom, and to receive the fullness of the graces and blessings that He has promised to them.

But Christ did all of these through painful suffering, by bearing the heavy cross that is burdened not so by the physical weight of the wood, but by the vast mountain of our sins, accumulated from every single human beings that has ever lived, living and will live, to the end of time. All the wounds that were inflicted on Him, were actually our sins and our disobedience, which Christ, as our High Priest, bore upon Himself, even as He offered the most worthy and precious offering of all, the slain Lamb of God on the altar, His Most Precious and Holy Body and Blood.

God has loved us so much, that He was willing to go through and endure all the sufferings, no matter how painful it was, in order to save us from the destructions due because of our sins. And most importantly, He showed us all the perfect obedience, the Lord Jesus obeying the will of His heavenly Father. At the Gardens of Gethsemane, Jesus agonised over this great burden He was to bear, all the painful wounds and sufferings He had to go through, but He submitted so completely that His prayers were heard and sacrifices were accepted, and our salvation came forth.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are called to look once again deep into our own lives, asking ourselves if we have loved the Lord our God just as He has loved us so much and so dearly that He was willing to endure so much pain and suffering for our sake. Have we spent the time to be with Him and to listen to Him speaking in the depth of our hearts and minds? If we have not done all these, then I am afraid that our faith is no better than those Pharisees and teachers of the Law whom the Lord criticised for their hypocrisy and superficial faith, as they demanded very strict obedience to the Law and yet failed to understand it and had no place for God in their hearts and minds.

We are called today to turn once again towards the Lord in faith, committing ourselves anew and renewing the zeal that each and every one of us should have, in loving God and in walking in the path that He has shown to all of us. Are we ready to commit ourselves to the Lord in this manner? Or are we too distracted by the many temptations in life to be able to take note of the Lord’s presence and love in our midst?

Let us all be strengthened in faith and grow deep in our love for the Lord, from this day onwards. May God be with us always, and may His presence continue to inspire us each and every days of our life to love and serve Him with zeal, at all times. Amen.

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Tuesday, 29 January 2019 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 3 : 31-35

At that time, the mother and brothers of Jesus came. As they stood outside, they sent someone to call Him. The crowd sitting around Jesus told Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are outside asking for You.”

He replied, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” And looking around at those who sat there, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers. Whoever does the will of God is brother and sister and mother to Me.”

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Tuesday, 29 January 2019 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 39 : 2 and 4ab, 7-8a, 10, 11

With resolve I waited for the Lord; He listened and heard me beg. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.

Sacrifice and oblation You did not desire; this You had me understand. Burnt offering and sin offering You do not require. Then I said, “Here I come!”

In the great assembly I have proclaimed Your saving help. My lips, o Lord, I did not seal – You know that very well.

I have not locked up in my heart Your saving help, but have spoken about it – Your deliverance and Your faithfulness. I have made no secret of Your truth and of Your kindness in the great assembly.

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Tuesday, 29 January 2019 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 10 : 1-10

The religion of the Law is only a shadow of the good things to come; it has the patterns but not the realities. So, year after year, the same sacrifices are offered without bringing the worshippers to what is the end. If they had been cleansed once and for all, they would no longer have felt guilt and would have stopped offering the same sacrifices.

But no, year after year their sacrifices witness to their sins and never will the blood of bulls and goats take away these sins. This is why on entering the world, Christ says : You did not desire sacrifice and offering; You were not pleased with burnt offerings and sin offerings. Then I said : “Here I am. It was written of Me in the scroll. I will do Your will, o God.”

First He says : “Sacrifice, offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not desire nor were You pleased with them – although they were required by the Law. Then He says : Here I am to do Your will. This is enough to nullify the first will and establish the new. Now, by this will of God, we are sanctified once and for all by the sacrifice of the Body of Christ Jesus.

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Tuesday, 22 January 2019 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture that reminded us of the need to understand what God wants each and every one of us to do as His followers and disciples, in particular given the context of today’s Scripture passages. We are called to love Him and to serve Him, as part of the Covenant which He has made for us. But ultimately, God also desires for our well-being and salvation.

In the first reading today we heard of the many favours and wonders that He has bestowed on those who have been faithful to Him, focusing on the persona of Abraham, the righteous man who has devoted himself to the Lord such that God Himself made a Covenant between Himself and all of his descendants. And the Covenant He made was such that, He has been faithful to what He has promised to Abraham, that He will bless his descendants and make them His own beloved people.

As Abraham became the father of many nations, and by virtue of our Christian faith, we have also become the spiritual children of Abraham, all of us are part of the same Covenant that God has established with him, and which He has renewed again and again throughout the centuries and ages past. He has always been faithful even though many of us mankind have been wayward and disobedient.

That was why He also gave us His laws and commandments, all with the purpose of getting us all to love Him and to put our focus on Him, and not on all the various distractions we often have in life. And one such law, as mentioned in our Gospel passage today, is the law of the Sabbath, which regulated the way the people of God should act and behave on the seventh day in the week, the Sabbath day, a day that the Lord had made holy.

The Scriptural basis of the law of the Sabbath is related to the works of the Lord Himself, Who created the universe and all the world, only to rest on one of the days, at the last day. Thus, the same day in the Jewish law and tradition is meant for the people of God to ‘rest’ from their various activities and to focus their attention on God, and God alone. That is the true intention and purpose of the Sabbath day and its related laws.

Unfortunately, the purpose and the intention of the Law had been forgotten and misunderstood by the people and their elders, as the Gospel passage had shown us. What had been given with the good intention of realigning men and their focus and attention towards God, instead became a source of great obstacle and suffering for many among the people, as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law enforced them on the people.

Those people enforced a very strict observation of the Sabbath law to the point that the people could not do anything, even anything good and productive, and even in the matter of feeding oneself, as the disciples of the Lord did when they were hungry and picked on the grains of the wheat in the field. They have forgotten that by doing so, what they did was in fact observing the Law in the letter, but not in the spirit.

This means that they knew what the Law is, but they failed to understand and appreciate what the Law is truly about, its meaning and purpose. The Law of God is meant to bring us closer to God, to help us to focus on Him and His way, and not to distance us and make it difficult for us to follow Him. This is why, the Lord rebuked the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for their shortsightedness.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we should turn towards the Lord with a new spirit and commitment to love and to serve Him with all of our strength, obeying Him by understanding that all of His laws and commandments are meant to redirect our attention and focus on Him, and away from all things that can end up causing us to fall into temptation and damnation. And today, we should model ourselves based on the examples shown by the holy servant of God, St. Vincent, holy deacon and martyr.

St. Vincent was a deacon who served the people of God in what is today Spain, in the city of Saragossa, during the difficult years of terrible persecution by the Roman Emperor Diocletian. He dedicated himself so much to his service and his faith, that even when he was arrested and forced to reject his faith, he refused to do so. His defence of his faith was so resolute and strong that it made his enemies even angrier and he suffered grievously for his dedication.

Nonetheless, St. Vincent continued to be faithful and dedicated himself to the service of God. He remained firm in his dedication, and was martyred in good faith. His examples and his courage continued to inspire many of the faithful throughout the ages. And we can also follow his good examples, by devoting our own lives to the Lord, and by knowing how much love He has given to each and every one of us.

Let us all from now on, turn towards the Lord, spending day after day of our lives with faith, doing our very best to serve the Lord. Let us devote ourselves with a new spirit and strength, from now on, each and every days of our life. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 22 January 2019 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Mark 2 : 23-28

At that time, one Sabbath Jesus was walking through grainfields. As His disciples walked along with Him, they began to pick the heads of grain and crush them in their hands. Then the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look! They are doing what is forbidden on the Sabbath!”

And He said to them, “Have you never read what David did in his time of need, when he and his men were very hungry? He went into the house of God, when Abiathar was High Priest, and ate the bread of offering, which only the priests are allowed to eat, and he also gave some to the men who were with him.”

Then Jesus said to them, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Master even of the Sabbath.”

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Tuesday, 22 January 2019 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 110 : 1-2, 4-5, 9 and 10c

Alleluia! I thank the Lord with all my heart in the council of the just, in the assembly. The works of the Lord are great and pondered by all who delight in them.

He lets us remember His wondrous deeds; the Lord is merciful and kind. Always mindful of His covenant, He provides food for those who fear Him.

He has sent His people deliverances and made with them a covenant forever. His holy Name is to be revered! To Him belongs everlasting praise.