Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 12 : 6ab, 6cd
But I put my trust in Your unfailing love, my heart will rejoice on seeing Your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord, for He has been good to me!
Tuesday
Tuesday, 8 September 2015 : Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)
Liturgical Colour : White
Micah 5 : 1-4a
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, so small that you are hardly named among the clans of Judah, from you shall I raise the One who is to rule over Israel. For He comes forth from of old, from the ancient times.
YHVH, therefore, will abandon Israel until such time as she who is to give birth has given birth. Then the rest of His deported brothers will return to the people of Israel. He will stand and shepherd His flock with the strength of YHVH, in the glorious Name of YHVH, His God. They will live safely while He wins renown to the ends of the earth. He shall be peace.
Alternative reading
Romans 8 : 28-30
We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love Him, whom He has called according to His plan. Those whom He knew beforehand, He has also predestined to be like His Son, similar to Him, so that He may be the Firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
And so, those whom God predestined He called, and those whom He called He makes righteous, and to those whom He makes righteous He will give His Glory.
Tuesday, 1 September 2015 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard how the Lord had sent His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, to be our Saviour, to bring us from the darkness and into the light. Through Christ, He had brought us away from the certainty of death and from the dominion of Satan and his allies. And from us He had cast out the demons and the evil spirits that dwelled inside us, and in its place, He places within us His Word, His own Divine Presence, and the Holy Spirit.
The Lord has come to deliver us from the forces of evil that assailed us, and He has come to bring us from the punishments which were designed for us, because of our sins and our rebellions against God. We are the children of the Light, greatest and most beloved among all of God’s creations, and we were special, but because of our inability to resist our temptations, that brought about our fall from grace.
We would rather follow the devil’s instructions and accept his offers, because it seems to be more lucrative and beneficial for us. That is because the devil knows exactly what we have in us, our desires and wants, and he is tapping on those to bring about our downfall. Satan was once the prince of the heavenly forces and the greatest, most brilliant and mightiest of the angels of God, Lucifer, the lightbringer, but he was brought down by his own pride and wickedness.
As he fell from grace, Satan must have been jealous on the glory and grace that God had bestowed on men, on our ancestors, for He created them to be His most beloved and greatest creatures. Therefore, just as He has fallen from grace and was cast down, he was likely determined to bring us down with him as well. That was why he tempted Adam and Eve, and their failure to keep up their faith brought about their fall as well.
But God is a loving God, who loves us all very greatly beyond compare. Even though we have sinned before Him, and even though He hates our sins and wickedness, but He still has His love for us. For we were created to share in His love, in His very own image, and to us He has given dominion over all creations. But we were unable to match up to what the Lord expected of us.
Yet, He is still willing to give us a chance, just as He had given those who came before us many, many chances at repentance and forgiveness. He openly offered His mercy, and through Jesus, He made it clear that sinners may come to Him and be freed from the bonds that had held them, namely the bonds of sin. The Lord cast out the evil spirits from them, and in this, He showed all that He values us more than anything else.
Now we also have to realise that, as powerful, mighty and scary the devil is, or his allies, they all have no power against God who is all powerful and Almighty. No matter what hubris the devil had lavished and shown, even he, being a mere angel, mighty as he was, is still subject to the Lord, who is his Lord and God, as painful and as horrible as it is for Satan to admit this fact.
He tried to undermine and to stop the Lord’s work at saving His people, by condemning them before His presence, as he had done with Job, and when he was unsuccessful, he continued to pester us, and tempted us all the more, trying hopefully to steer us far away from finding the salvation in God. And in the end, he even tried to tempt Jesus Himself, not knowing that He is God, the Divine Word who took up the flesh of Man.
Jesus made it clear that He had the authority over the evil spirits, just as He is the Master and Lord of all things. And He wants all sinners and those troubled in heart to be healed and to be brought back to the grace of God. This is what He wanted, and what He had done for us, even unto bearing the cross of sins and sufferings and died for us on Calvary.
God had done so much for us, and He has been willing to go the extra mile to help us and deliver us from certain destruction because of our own actions and faithlessness. Shall we do the same as well? It is just right and honourable for us all to return Him the love and dedication He had shown us. And how do we do so? It is by living righteously and sinning no more, and in all of our words and actions, let us all always be mindful of the Lord and His love for us.
Let us all bless the Lord and let us from now on walk again in His path, so that by doing so, we will be found just and worthy to receive the eternal life and the fullness of grace and inheritance He had promised all who remain faithful to Him. Let us all reject and rebuke Satan and all of his lies, and all of his wicked temptations and falsehoods, and let us seek and worship the Lord our God alone. God bless us all. Amen.
Tuesday, 1 September 2015 : 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.
Tuesday, 1 September 2015 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 26 : 1, 4, 13-14
The Lord is my Light and my Salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the rampart of my life; I will not be afraid.
One thing I ask of the Lord, one thing I seek – that I may dwell in His house all the days of my life, to gaze at His jewel and to visit His sanctuary.
I hope, I am sure, that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Trust in the Lord, be strong and courageous. Yes, put your hope in the Lord!
Tuesday, 1 September 2015 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)
Liturgical Colour : Green
1 Thessalonians 5 : 1-6, 9-11
You do not need anyone to write to you about the delay and the appointed time for these events. You know that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When people feel secure and at peace, the disaster will suddenly come upon them as the birth pangs of a woman in labour, and they will not escape.
But you, beloved, are not in darkness, so that day will not surprise you like a thief. All of you are citizens of the light and the day; we do not belong to night and darkness. Let us not, therefore, sleep as others do, but remain alert and sober.
For God has not willed us to be condemned but to win salvation through Christ Jesus our Lord. He died for us so that we might enter into life with Him, whether we are still awake or already asleep. Therefore, encourage one another and build up one another, as you are doing now.
Tuesday, 25 August 2015 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Louis, and St. Joseph Calasanz, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the Lord rebuking the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of their lack of true faith and devotion to the Lord as well as their hypocrisy, acting as if they were just and faithful, whereas in fact, they were rotten on the inside, maintaining only good appearances and reputation to be praised and honoured by men, for their supposed good faith.
The clear message which all of us should take note of is that, true faith comes from the inside, and it comes with genuine and sincere dedication of oneself to the Lord, and not just maintaining good appearances and good facade for the sake of viewing, so that others may see us and praise us. That indeed is not something bad, and indeed, it is necessary that we too show the faith in us through how we behave and how we live our lives, but if we have no goodness and faith inside of us, then we truly have nothing.
The first reading today showed us how St. Paul in his interactions with the faithful in the city of Thessalonica explained how he and his fellow disciples of the Lord ministered to the people of God in various means, ministering to them in body and spirit, providing especially consolation and care for the soul, tendering care and provided for them that thy have enough in everything.
We cannot be truly faithful if we do not truly love God in our hearts, and if have no love for one another, which is the essence of the Law which God had given to us all mankind, for us to emulate and to follow. The Law of God should not be misinterpreted, misunderstood and worse, misused, to be a tool of oppression or something of mere monotony by those who fail to understand the true importance of the Law.
The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law during Jesus’ time professed to be faithful because they deemed themselves as the only ones who were able to commit themselves to obey the entirety of the so-called laws of Moses, which is the entirety of the laws and commandments that God had given, but then on top of those, there were many other laws decided and added through the ages to complement what had been given.
But they were so obsessed and focused on those laws that eventually many if not most of them enforced such laws and observed them because they thought that they had to do so. In the end, many of them did not understand what they were doing, and they were blindly following the law as they deemed fit. And worse still, they condemned others when they saw that these others did not follow what they had done.
That is not true faith, and we indeed should take note not to fall into the same situation. Let us all learn from the examples of the two saints whose life and memory we are celebrating today on their feast day. They are St. Louis, King of France, also known as St. Louis IX, one of the few canonised kings, and St. Joseph Calasanz, a holy priest hailing from Spain, known for his dedication to Catholic education.
St. Louis IX was known to be a very good and dedicated king, who put his people above everything else, and who led an exemplary life in faith, supporting the Church and the institutions of the faith, building churches and schools to help the people and especially the poor to be closer to the Lord their God. St. Louis IX helped to strengthen the Church and the faith, opposing many forms of vices and oppositions to the ways of the Lord.
St. Louis IX prohibited sinful and worldly activities such as prostitution, gambling, simony and many other vices that had penetrated deep into the society and even within the Church. He also ensured that justice was upheld in the society, ensuring those who were innocent did not receive unjust punishment and those who were to be blamed, received their just punishment.
St. Louis IX was also deeply devoted in the advancement of the cause of the Faith, and he devoted himself to a faithful Crusade against the godless and the faithless, to help liberate the Holy Land and the Holy City of Jerusalem after he was healed from an illness and made a vow to launch a Crusade should he be healed. Nevertheless, God had other plans, and He called St. Louis IX to His side while he was out there fighting in the Name of God, a faithful servant to the end.
Meanwhile, St. Joseph Calasanz was a Spanish priest who went on to spend most of his time in Rome, the heart of Christendom, where he ministered to the faithful and many of the poor and the less fortunate of the society there. He opened schools and many other institutions designed to help the destitute and all those who had no opportunity at education and those who were ostracised by the society.
St. Joseph Calasanz showed by his numerous works and devotions to the people of God, that there are so many things that we all can do to help our brethren who are suffering around us, and there are even more things we can do to help them in their lives so that they can have a better life. Together with St. Louis IX, they have shown us the way to live as a faithful disciple of the Lord.
Let us all therefore from now on dedicate ourselves anew, to be true followers of our Lord, by showing it in our action and showing deep and genuine faith to the Lord, because we love Him and all that He created, and not just because we seek good appearances or human praise, or because we obey as we were told to do so. Let us all be truly faithful and devoted to the Lord our God in all things. God bless us all. Amen.
Tuesday, 25 August 2015 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Louis, and St. Joseph Calasanz, Priest (Gospel Reading)
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Matthew 23 : 23-26
At that time, Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples, “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. These you must practice, instead of neglecting them. 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.”
Tuesday, 25 August 2015 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Louis, and St. Joseph Calasanz, Priest (Psalm)
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Psalm 138 : 1-3, 4-6
O Lord, You know me : You have scrutinised me. You know when I sit and when I rise; beforehand You discern my thoughts. You observe my activities and times of rest; You are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is formed in my mouth, You know what it is all about, o Lord. From front to back You hedge me round, shielding me with Your protecting hand. Your knowledge leaves me astounded, it is too high for me to reach.
Tuesday, 25 August 2015 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Louis, and St. Joseph Calasanz, Priest (First Reading)
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
1 Thessalonians 2 : 1-8
You well know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not in vain. We had been ill-treated and insulted in Philippi but, trusting in our God, we dared announce to you the message of God, and face fresh opposition. Our warnings did not conceal any error or impure motive, no did we deceive anyone.
But as God had entrusted His Gospel to us as to faithful ministers, we were anxious to please God who sees the heart, rather than human beings. We never pleased you with flattery, as you know, nor did we try to earn money, as God knows. We did not try to make a name for ourselves among people, either with you or anybody else, although we were messengers of Christ and could have made our weight felt.
On the contrary, we were gentle with you, as a nursing mother who feeds and cuddles her baby. And so great is our concern that we are ready to give you, as well as the Gospel, even our very lives, for you have become very dear to us.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 