Tuesday

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Tuesday, 11 September 2018 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 6 : 12-19

At that time, Jesus went out into the hills to pray, spending the whole night in prayer with God. When day came, He called His disciples to Him, and chose Twelve of them, whom He called ‘Apostles’ : Simon, whom He named Peter, and his brother Andrew; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alpheus and Simon called the Zealot; Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who would be the traitor.

Coming down the hill with them, Jesus stood in an open plain. Many of His disciples were there, and a large crowd of people, who had come from all parts of Judea and Jerusalem, and from the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon. They gathered to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. And people troubled by unclean spirits were cured.

The entire crowd tried to touch Him, because of the power that went out from Him and healed them all.

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Tuesday, 11 September 2018 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 149 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b

Alleluia! Sing to the Lord a new song, sing His praise in the assembly of His saints! Let Israel rejoice in his Maker, let the people of Zion glory in their King!

Let them dance to praise of His Name and make music for Him with harp and timbrel. For the Lord delights in His people; He crowns the lowly with victory.

The saints will exult in triumph; even at night on their couches. Let the praise of God be on their lips; this is the glory of all His saints. Alleluia!

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Tuesday, 11 September 2018 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 6 : 1-11

When you have a complaint against a brother, how dare you bring it before pagan judges, instead of bringing it before God’s people? Do you not know, that you shall one day judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you incapable of judging such simple problems?

Do you not know, that we will even judge the Angels? And could you not decide everyday affairs? But when you have ordinary cases to be judged, you bring them before those who are of no account in the Church! Shame on you! Is there not even one among you wise enough to be the arbiter among believers?

But no. One of you brings a suit against another one, and files that suit before unbelievers. It is already a failure that you have suits against each other. Why do you not rather suffer wrong and receive some damage? But no. You wrong and injure others, and those are your brothers and sisters. Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Make no mistake about it : those who lead sexually immoral lives, or worship idols, or who are adulterers, perverts, sodomites, or thieves, exploiters, drunkards, slanderers or embezzlers will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. Some of you were like that, but you have been cleansed, and consecrated to God and have been set right with God, by the Name of the Lord Jesus, and the Spirit of our God.

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Tuesday, 4 September 2018 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s Scripture readings presented to us a deep mystery of our faith and an issue which often comes into our minds, whenever we try to understand the Lord and His works in the midst of our lives. In our attempt to perceive God and His presence, we are often frustrated because we cannot seem to feel or to understand His works amongst us.

In the first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city of Corinth, he explained in great detail how the Spirit of God is in work in all, and it is through the Spirit of God, that is the Holy Spirit, that we have received the revelation of God’s truth, and even then, only the Spirit Himself has the fullness of revelation and truth, such that even for us Christians, we are still not yet endowed with the fullness of truth.

And St. Paul mentioned in the same Epistle passage that a spiritual experience is required for the faithful to be able to understand and to appreciate what God has done in our midst. A spiritual experience and conversion is required, and not just on the intellectual or psychological level. Those who do not have the spiritual experience and understanding, will not be able to understand the great depth of God’s mysteries and truth, unless they receive this experience, that is faith.

We see in our world today, plenty of skepticism and even opposition against God, as many of us mankind are focused on what exists on the material world and on the tangible plane, and ignoring what exists on the spiritual plane and existence. That is why we have many people who tried to use evidences and misusing scientific knowledge and discoveries in order to disprove the existence of God. But the Lord, Our God cannot be proven in existence just merely on the physical, psychological and intellectual areas alone, for in order to understand Him, and know Him, we must delve deeper into the depth of our spirit.

For our spirits were given to us by God, placed in us as part of the gift of life we have received from Him. While our physical flesh and existence are mortal and temporary, but our spiritual existence and self is eternal. While our physical self can be destroyed and erased from existence by earthly forces and by death, nothing can destroy our existence in the spirit and in our soul.

That is why, now, we should look upon what we have heard in our Gospel passage today, of the moment when the Lord Jesus cast out a demon inside a possessed person while He taught in the synagogue in Capernaum. This happened right after He was chased out of His own village of Nazareth, as mentioned in yesterday’s Gospel reading, when He proclaimed to the people of Nazareth that all the prophecies of the prophets were fulfilled in Him, as the Messiah of God.

By comparing the two occasions, we can see a great irony in how, the people of God, even those who knew Him the most, the people of His own hometown in Nazareth, could not recognise Him and even rejected Him, refusing to listen to Him or to obey Him, but an evil spirit, a demon, possessing a person, immediately recognised Him for Who He is, and spoke openly before the people of the true identity of Jesus Christ, not just the Messiah, but also the Son of God.

Why is this so? That is because the man recognises someone based on what his eyes can see, and what his ears can hear, and what his senses can perceive, but the spirit recognises by what the spirit itself understands, for all things were created by God, and were all good and perfect in the beginning. All the Angels and even fallen angels and demons were created by God, together with all of creation. But the fallen angels and demons fell from grace, and through their disobedience against God, were cast out of heaven.

Yet, they still have to recognise God for Who He is, and regardless of their rebellion and prideful disobedience, they cannot go against the power of the Lord, Who is still their true Lord and Master. Even Satan himself, the great enemy, has to bend his knee at the Holy Name of Our Lord, and at every mention of Our Lord’s Name, Jesus Christ, even Satan has to submit to God’s will and power. That is why the evil spirit recognised and acknowledged the Lord’s power at that time in Capernaum.

Why was it then that the people failed to recognise God in their midst? That is because their hearts and minds were too full of pride and other distractions which prevented them from truly being able to recognise God’s presence among them. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were distracted by their pride and their desire to maintain their teaching authority, that they refused to allow the Lord’s truth to enter their hearts, seeing Jesus as a Rival instead of as the Teacher.

The others were too distracted by the many temptations in life, by misinformations of the Pharisees, or by their inability to internalise what they have seen in order to recognise the presence of God in their midst. They did not yet have faith in them, and that was why, they failed to recognise Him even though they have seen all the miracles that God had performed in their midst. They have closed their hearts and minds to Him, and they did not allow Him to have place in their hearts.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, what shall we do with our lives then? Are we going to follow the examples of the people in Capernaum and all those others who have not been able to realise the presence of God in their midst? Are we going to be so distracted with the many distractions in this life, that we end up not being able to recognise God being present in our midst? Let us all reexamine our lives and think of what we should have done from now on, that we will become true disciples and followers of Our God.

Let us all deepen our spiritual relationship with the Lord, and spend more time to develop a genuine and true faith in Him, by the means of prayers and devotions, through which we may communicate with God, allowing Him to reveal to us the truth and the knowledge about His love and His will for us. Let us all draw ever closer to the Lord, and may all of us come to know the Lord more closely day after day.

May the Lord continue to watch over us, protect us, and guide us. May He allow us all to see the fullness of His loving works in our midst, and that we may grow ever deeper in holiness and love for Him and for our fellow men. May God bless us all and all of our works and endeavours, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 4 September 2018 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 4 : 31-37

At that time, Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee, and began teaching the people at the Sabbath meetings. They were astonished at the way He taught them, for His word was spoken with authority.

In the synagogue, there was a man possessed by an evil spirit, who shouted in a loud voice, “What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I recognise You : You are the Holy One of God.”

Then Jesus said to him sharply, “Be silent and leave this man!” The evil spirit then threw the man down in front of them, and came out of him without doing him harm. Amazement seized all these people, and they said to one another, “What does this mean? He commands the evil spirits with authority and power. He orders, and you see how they come out!”

And news about Jesus spread throughout the surrounding area.

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Tuesday, 4 September 2018 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 144 : 8-9, 10-11, 12-13ab, 13cd-14

Compassionate and gracious is YHVH, slow to anger and abounding in love. YHVH is good to everyone; His mercy embraces all His creation.

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.

The Lord is true to His promises and lets His mercy show in all He does. The Lord lifts up those who are falling and raises those who are beaten down.

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Tuesday, 4 September 2018 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 2 : 10b-16

Because the Spirit probes everything, even the depth of God. Who, but his own spirit, knows the secrets of a person? Similarly, no one, but the Spirit of God, knows the secrets of God. We have not received the spirit of world, but the Spirit Who comes from God and, through Him, we understand what God, in His goodness, has given us.

So we speak of this, not in terms inspired by human wisdom, but in a language taught by the Spirit, explaining a spiritual wisdom to spiritual persons. The one who remains on the psychological level does not understand the things of the Spirit. They are foolishness for him; and he does not understand, because they require a spiritual experience.

On the other hand, the spiritual person judges everything, but no one judges him. Who has known the mind of God so as to teach Him? But we have the mind of Christ.

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Tuesday, 28 August 2018 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s Scripture readings we listened to the word of God speaking to us about the importance for us to stay true to our faith in the Lord, no matter what distractions or temptations that may come in our way. We should not be easily swayed by worldly desires and concerns, that we end up being corrupted by our greed and desires, by our ego and pride, and therefore end up falling into sin.

In the first reading today, St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in the city of Thessalonica in Greece stated to them that they must not easily be alarmed or be discouraged by what some people might be hearing, especially if these ran contrary to the Gospel and the truth that the Apostles had brought into their midst. He reminded them to be strong and to remain true to the faith which they have received from the hands of the Apostles.

This would come to be important as in time to come, there were many heresies and false teachings that came among the people of God, which brought down many of the faithful, and including even priests and bishops who came to believe in all those falsehoods and wrong teachings. Heresies and syncretic teachings such as Arianism, Gnosticism, Monophysitism, Manichaeanism, and many others, including more recent examples, have caused many souls to be lost to the Lord.

In the Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, in His series of condemnations for those who were entrusted with the care and guidance over the people of God. They were supposed to show care and concern for the fate of the Israelites, but they have failed to fulfil their obligation and supposed duty. Instead, they abused their power and influence for their own uses and selfish purposes.

They imposed harsh rules and regulations on the people, expecting them to follow their standard and practices of the Law, but they did all these, in order to be praised more by the people, to be respected and even feared, as the only authority that was available in teaching the people. Even though their interpretation of the Law and God’s commandments were wrong and misguided, but they refused to listen to the Lord Who came to right the wrongs they have committed.

Faced with such great challenges and difficulties, the Church and many of the faithful people of God struggled. Many people fell, and even from within the hierarchy of the Church itself fell into the heresies and became spreaders of the lies and terrible falsehoods instead. And yet, while many have fallen, but equally many have recovered from the fall and returned to the true faith in God.

And today we celebrate the feast of one great and renowned saint, whose life was the perfect example of that experience of falling into sin and to the lies of the devil, and returning back to the faith with a repentance and conversion of heart. St. Augustine of Hippo, also known as St. Augustine the Great is one of the most well-known and respected saints of Christendom, considered as one of the four original Doctors of the Church.

But early in his life, St. Augustine lived a life of debauchery, immorality and sin. He was not a Christian unlike his mother, St. Monica, whose feast we celebrated just yesterday. St. Monica prayed hard for the conversion of her son, who lived in a state of great sin and committing adultery, even to the point of having a son out of wedlock. But St. Monica did not give up on her son, and continued to pray for him, knowing that God would also never abandon His people.

St. Augustine turned to Manichaeanism following the examples of his peers and through the enticing nature of its worldly teachings. But in the end, he did not find true satisfaction and joy in the false ways of the Manichaeans, and through the works of St. Ambrose of Milan, another one of the four great Doctors of the Church and by St. Monica’s intercession, St. Augustine eventually repented his sinful ways and turned to the Lord.

It was through this long journey of repentance and faith, that many of the faithful living throughout the ages, even until this very day, benefitted through the many great works of St. Augustine of Hippo, who after turning away from his past, sinful ways, turned to be a great champion and protector of the true Christian faith or orthodoxy. He wrote extensively and preached in many occasions, inspiring many future generations of Christian leaders and teachers to continue keeping the fullness of truth as preserved in the Church.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now, all of us are called to follow in their footsteps, in the courage of the saints and all of our predecessors. Let us all remain true to the fullness of truth of God, found in the Church alone, that by its sacred traditions and the preservation of the rightful interpretation of the Holy Scriptures through the Holy Spirit, by the teachings of St. Augustine and the many other holy and committed teachers of the truth, we may remain ever faithful and remain true in our dedication to the Lord, despite all the challenge we may encounter in life.

May the Lord be with us always, that each and every one of us will find the courage like that shown St. Augustine, to acknowledge just how sinful we have been, and how we are in need of God’s healing and mercy. Let us all turn to the Lord with all of our hearts, and live a renewed existence in faith. May God bless us all and our endeavours, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 28 August 2018 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 23 : 23-26

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You do not forget the mint, anise and cumin seeds when you demand the tenth of everything; but then, you forget what is most fundamental in the Law : justice, mercy and faith! You should have done these things without neglecting the others. Blind guides! You strain out a mosquito, but swallow a camel.”

“Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You fill the plate and the cup, with theft and violence, and then pronounce a blessing over them. Blind Pharisee! Purify the inside first, then the outside, too, will be purified.”

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Tuesday, 28 August 2018 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 95 : 10, 11-12a, 12b-13

Say among the nations, “YHVH reigns!” He will judge the peoples with justice.

Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound; let the fields exult and everything in them.

Let the forest, all the trees, sing for joy. Let them sing before YHVH Who comes to judge the earth. He will rule the world with justice, and the peoples, with fairness.