Tuesday

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Tuesday, 29 November 2016 : 1st Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s Scripture passages and readings we have heard revealed to us that we truly live in a time of grace, not quite as what we heard in the first reading from the prophet Isaiah yet, but it is a time of grace because we have all heard and received the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ, which we have received through the Church, that is from our priests and bishops, who in turn received it from the Apostles who received it from the Lord Himself.

In the Gospel today, Jesus prayed and thanked the Father for revealing His truth to those whom He deemed worthy of it, not based on the standards of the world, but based on their own faith. Those who were intelligent and had the worldly knowledge then, for example the Pharisees, the elders, chief priests, the scribes and the teachers of the Law all rejected Jesus because they refused to abandon their mistaken way of thinking and embrace the Lord’s teachings.

It was all the normal people, the commoners and all those who were deemed to be uneducated, and even many of those regarded as sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes who actually accepted Jesus as their Lord and listened to Him. Those who have sinned regretted their sinful ways and turned back towards the Lord in sincere repentance. They welcomed the Lord into their midst and they were saved.

What we heard in the Gospel today also pointed out to what great privilege we have for having heard the message of God’s salvation and Good News. Many people before the Lord came had hoped for a long time to be able to receive God’s assurance of salvation and Good News but were not able to. We have received the Good News through the Church, and yet sadly there are those among us who do not appreciate what a great grace we have received.

In this time and season of Advent therefore, it is appropriate and important for us to get ourselves properly prepared and ready for the Lord, that when we come to our celebration of Christmas, we can celebrate it meaningfully, purposefully and then it will benefit us in our way towards the Lord and in our effort to seek salvation in Him.

Have we put our focus and attention on Christ for this coming Christmas? Are our plans for the celebrations putting Christ at the centre of all? We have to understand that if our focus is wrong, then our joy and celebrations will feel empty, as there is something missing from all of them, something that all those kings and prophets were looking for and waiting for, and yet they were not able to get what we now have received through Christ.

This season of Advent is a time for us to take stock of our actions and how we have lived our lives. It is a time for us to reflect and take some time to prepare ourselves spiritually and mentally so that we may appreciate just how great is the grace we have received through Christ and His coming into the world, which is what this Christmas celebration is precisely about.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all commit ourselves to the Lord anew and devote ourselves ever more to Him, listening to His words in the Scripture and understanding His ways through the teachings of the Church. Let us all deepen our spiritual life through prayer and devotions to Him, and be ready for a wonderful celebration of Christmas, commemorating the birth and entry of our Lord Jesus into this world. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 29 November 2016 : 1st Week of Advent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Luke 10 : 21-24

At that time, Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and made them known to little ones. Yes, Father, such has been Your gracious will. I have been given all things by My Father, so that no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”

Then Jesus turned to His disciples and said to them privately, “Fortunate are you to see what you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings would have liked to see what you see, but did not see it; and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”

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Tuesday, 29 November 2016 : 1st Week of Advent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 71 : 1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17

O God, endow the King with Your justice, the royal Son with Your righteousness. May He rule Your people justly and defend the rights of the lowly.

Justice will flower in His days, and peace abound till the moon be no more. For He reigns from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.

He delivers the needy who call on Him, the afflicted with no one to help them. His mercy is upon the weak and the poor, He saves the life of the poor.

May His Name endure forever; may His Name be as lasting as the sun. All the races will boast about Him, and He will be blessed by all nations.

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Tuesday, 29 November 2016 : 1st Week of Advent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Isaiah 11 : 1-10

From the stump of Jesse a Shoot will come forth; from his roots a Branch will grow and bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon Him – a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and power, a Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.

Not by appearances will He judge, nor by what is said must He decide, but with justice He will judge the poor and with righteousness decide for the meek. Like a rod, His word will strike the oppressor, and the breath of His lips slay the wicked. Justice will be the girdle of His waist, truth the girdle of His loins.

The wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will rest beside the kid, the calf and the lion cub will feed together and a little child will lead them. Befriending each other, the cow and the bear will see their young ones lie down together. Like cattle, the lion will eat hay.

By the cobra’s den the infant will play. The child will put his hand into the viper’s lair. No one will harm or destroy over My holy mountain, for as water fills the sea the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. On that day the “Root of Jesse” will be raised as a signal for the nations. The people will come in search of Him, thus making His dwelling place glorious.

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Tuesday, 22 November 2016 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the apocalyptic messages from the Scripture readings that we heard, about the coming of the end of times, when the Lord will come to judge all of His peoples. But before that, as foretold in the Gospel and in the Book of Revelations, there will be tribulations, challenges, difficulties and all kinds of obstacles on the path of us all, the faithful people of God.

There will be many false prophets who are trying to dissuade us and lure us away from finding our way to the Lord, and these are active out there, spreading lies and sweet promises trying to gain our attention and allegiance to their cause. And it will be difficult to remain true in our faith to God, challenges and obstacles abound and plenty in our path. But God had also foretold this to us through His disciples, and we ought to expect this outcome.

And we do not know of the time of our Lord’s coming, which will come suddenly in the end at the time of His own choosing. When God comes, will He find good on earth? Or will He find plenty of wickedness instead? It is more likely that it will be the latter one, as mankind increasingly forget about their Lord and God, and continued to act in ways that are contrary to His ways and teachings.

We live in this world today at a time when the world increasingly becoming more secularised as well as materialistic. We live at a time when in the hearts and minds of many people, God no longer exists. To many people, God is not a priority for them, and some others even contended that God does not exist at all, and actively seeking to persecute the faithful who are living their daily faith, ridiculing and striking at the holy people of God.

And in the ever more materialistic world we have today, increasingly there are more and more temptations and all the other obstacles placed by the agents of the evil one in order to make us stumble and fail in our journey towards God. We are inundated with messages from advertisements and other forms of communications, with inappropriate conduct and behaviour, with improper persuasions of lust, pleasures of the flesh, greed and other wicked things.

The question that we are facing now is, what are we, as Christians, going to do in the midst of this difficult and troubling times? Do we run away and pretend that we know nothing about what is happening? Should we be ignorant and just carry on with our normal routines and our daily lives? Or should we fall into the line and conform with what the world expects all the people to be like?

There is a better option, brothers and sisters in Christ, and that is to stay faithful and committed to the Lord in all of our ways, as what the holy martyrs and saints of the past had also done. St. Cecilia, whose feast we are celebrating today, is one of those great examples. She was a young noble Roman woman who devoted herself to her faith in God. But she was asked to marry another nobleman.

At her marriage, she sang her heart out to the Lord, telling all who were present that she devoted herself wholly to the Lord, and that is why she is now patron saint for all musicians, all who devoted themselves to the Lord through song and music. She continued to lead a chaste life, devoted in holy virginity to the Lord, and through her many others were inspired to lead a more devout life and existence in the world. Even she convinced her husband by a vision to be baptised as a Christian.

St. Cecilia, her husband and some others of the faithful were martyred for their faith by the Roman prefect, at that time when a great persecution of the faithful was carried out. Yet, their examples and their inspiration continued to inspire many people throughout the centuries. We too should follow the examples of St. Cecilia in how we lead our lives.

May the Lord help us that we may resist the temptations of the world and grow ever more devoted and stronger in our faith. Let us all commit ourselves to God, be true in our ways and never fear, for God will always be with us and reward all of His faithful ones in the end. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 22 November 2016 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Luke 21 : 5-11

At that time, while some people were talking about the Temple, remarking that it was adorned with fine stonework and rich gifts, Jesus said to them, “The days will come when there shall not be left one stone upon another of all that you now admire; all will be torn down.” And they asked Him, “Master, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?”

Jesus then said, “Take care not to be deceived, for many will come claiming My title and saying, ‘I am He, the Messiah; the time is at hand!’ Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and troubled times, do not be frightened; for all these things must happen first, even though the end is not so soon.”

And Jesus said, “Nations will fight each other and kingdom will oppose kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and plagues; in many places strange and terrifying signs from heaven will be seen.”

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Tuesday, 22 November 2016 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 95 : 10, 11-12a, 12b-13

Say among the nations, “The Lord 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 the Lord Who comes to judge the earth. He will rule the world with justice and the peoples with fairness.

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Tuesday, 22 November 2016 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Revelations 14 : 14-19

Then I had this vision, I saw a white cloud and the One sitting on it like a Son of Man, wearing a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. An Angel came out of the sanctuary, calling loudly to the One sitting on the cloud, “Put in Your sickle and reap, for harvest time has come and the harvest of the earth is ripe.”

He Who was sitting on the cloud swung His sickle at the earth and reaped the harvest. Then another Angel, who also had a sharp sickle, came out of the heavenly sanctuary. Still another Angel, the one who has charge of the altar fire, emerged and shouted to the first who held the sharp sickle, “Swing your sharp sickle and reap the bunches of the vine of the earth for they are fully ripe.”

So the Angel swung his sickle and gathered in the vintage, throwing all the grapes into the great winepress of the anger of God.

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Tuesday, 15 November 2016 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Dear brothers and sisters, as we listened to the words of the Scriptures today, we are given several reminders on what we as Christians are supposed to do in our daily lives, so that we will truly live out our lives as faithful and living Christians, and not just as Christians on paper only or as nominal Christians. We are all called to be good and devoted servants of our God, and as we reflect on the word of God we have just heard, let us think about all these.

First of all, in the Book of the Revelations of St. John the Apostle, we heard the Lord calling His people to repentance and to change their ways. We are all sinners, brothers and sisters in Christ. Some of us have committed more sins than others and some have committed less, but regardless, we have made mistakes and imperfections on our paths towards God. But this is what the reality of our lives is. And we need to change this direction of our lives.

If we do not spend time to think about this, and reflect on what direction our lives are taking us, then just like a ship with a captain who does not carefully decide the navigation path beforehand, then the ship will end up having a high chance of hitting rocks and obstacles on its journey that will cause it to run aground, capsize and sink. And the same applies to our own lives.

In this journey of life, it is important for us to always spend time to think about our actions and deeds, words and all things we have committed in this life. Have we been faithful to the Lord? Have our actions represent us as those who are worthy of being the children and followers of the Lord? Or have our actions instead bring about contradiction and divisions, scandal for our Lord, for our faith, for our Church and for our fellow brethren? If our answer for these are the latter ones, then we really need to change.

And this then comes to the second point brought up in the Scriptures today. In the same passage from the Book of Revelations, God spoke to us about not being lukewarm in our faith, as if we are neither hot or cold, it is disgusting to Him and He will reject us. What this means is that we cannot be a Christian and profess to be one, and yet doing nothing in order to fulfil that life as a Christian.

A thorough conversion and change of our lives require us to also take an active role in living our lives with faith, through real and genuine actions based on our faith, on what we believe in God. This is real and living faith, the faith of those who are not lukewarm in our faith. We cannot and indeed must not think that faith in God alone can save us, for what is faith without true and genuine devotion? A lukewarm faith is no faith at all, as it is dead.

And in this, we should follow therefore the example of Zaccheus, the tax collector who in the Gospel today, which many of us should be familiar with, where he tried his best, climbing up a tree just so that he could see Jesus due to his short height. He made that conscious effort to seek the Lord, and he found Him. And God, recognising his faith, his genuine effort and devotion, called him, welcomed him, forgave him and made him to be one of His children.

Contrast this to the attitude of the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and the chief priests, most of whom rejected Jesus and refused to believe in Him and His teachings. Instead, they even made life and work difficult for Jesus and His disciples, hounding and disrupting them in almost all known opportunities available to them.

All of us are sinners, but if we harden our hearts as the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and the chief priests had done, then there will be no way forward for us, as our stubbornness and our refusal to recognise our sins and our wickedness become our undoing. It was Zaccheus, whom in his sincere desire to be forgiven, in his effort to seek the Lord, was forgiven and reconciled with God.

Let us all take these into our minds and spend time to reflect on this, and let us also reflect on the examples of St. Albert the Great, the holy saint whose feast we celebrate today. St. Albert the Great was a renowned Dominican preacher and bishop, whose actions and works still inspire many people up to this day. He was a humble person, devoting his whole life to the Lord, and he often acted as mediator between conflicting parties, bringing peace and harmony where there were conflicts and divisions.

He always showed with good example, of how a Christian should live his or her faith life, carrying out his responsibilities dutifully as the bishop of his diocese, caring for his flock with gentle and tender love, and with the strong desire to seek their salvation through proper education and instruction in the faith, and by his examples, many followed in his footsteps and were set on the path towards God’s salvation.

Looking at the examples of this holy and devoted saint, we should also follow in his footsteps in living a genuine life filled with strong and living faith. We should spend time with one another, caring for those who have not been cared, forgiving one another our trespasses and faults to each other. We should be role models for one another, living to the best of our abilities to be faithful in all the things we say, do and act.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us renew our commitment to the Lord our God, and be true in our faith and be genuine in our actions. May the Lord help us and guide us on our way to Him, that we may be able to reach out to Him, and by the intercession of St. Albert the Great, may we follow in his footsteps and may God have mercy on us, as He had mercy on that blind man. Amen.

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Tuesday, 15 November 2016 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Luke 19 : 1-10

At that time, when Jesus entered Jericho and passed through the city, a man named Zaccheus lived there. He was a tax collector and a wealthy man. He wanted to see what Jesus was like, but he was a short man and could not see Him because of the crowd.

So he ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree. From there he would be able to see Jesus, Who was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, Zaccheus, come down quickly, for I must stay at your house today.” So Zaccheus climbed down and received Him joyfully.

All the people who saw it began to grumble, and said, “He has gone as a guest to the house of a sinner.” But Zaccheus spoke to Jesus, “Half of what I own, Lord, I will give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay him back four times as much.”

Looking at him Jesus said, “Salvation has come to this house today, for he is also a true son of Abraham. The Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”