Tuesday

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Tuesday, 23 June 2015 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we heard today in the first reading how Abraham and Lot, his possessions and servants contended with each other because of the lack of land between the two of them, so rich and great were their possessions. And God blessed Abraham because of his dedication and great faith. He kept holy and worthy what God had shown him in life.

In the Gospel then we heard how Jesus exhorted His disciples and the people to keep holy what has been given to them in the Law and in the teachings of the prophets, namely to keep the ways of Abraham, their forefather. They ought to listen to the teachings and to practice these in their own daily actions and behaviours, that they truly are worthy to be a holy people, a people chosen by God and blessed because of the faith of Abraham, their forefather.

The way of this world is wickedness, selfishness, filled with human desires and greed, filled with utter disregard for the Lord and His Laws. This was shown by the conflicts between the shepherds of Abraham and those of Lot, his cousin. These conflicts show perfectly how many of us often succumb to our desires, and being driven by those desires, we end up acting in ways that contradict the way of the Lord.

The conflict between the shepherds of Abraham and the shepherds of Lot show this inability to detach ourselves from these afflictions. If we look back at the past century and the many centuries before in the history of mankind, we can see easily how so much violence and conflicts were born out of mankind’s jealousy and desire for more worldly things. Many of these were born out of our failure to adhere to the ways of the Lord.

All of us have to learn the lessons from the past and on what mankind had wrought in history. It is very often that because we do not learn from our past mistakes, and because we refuse to listen to the reminders which God had sent to us, that much sorrow and troubles had appeared. Had our ancestors learnt from their mistakes and repent, and had they listened to the prophets and messengers which God had sent to them, they would not have suffered such.

Now, the impetus is upon us, and the ball is in our park. It is now our turn to see and realise what our actions had done upon others around us, and ultimately upon ourselves. Do we realise that whenever we give in to our desires, to our greed, to our selfishness, to our pride, and to many other negativities inside us, then we are actually taking steps closer towards doing what our ancestors had done? All their wickedness and all of their vile things?

Then what should we do, brothers and sisters in Christ? All of us should take some time to reflect on our own life, on our own actions and deeds, and on every words that had left our mouth. Have we been agents of love, of compassion, of harmony, of peace, of faith and of total devotion to our Lord? Or have we instead been agents of chaos, of violence, of hatred, of jealousy, of darkness and destruction?

Let us all therefore from now on be more careful in what we do and in what we say. Let us remember that when we say something to others, we should be loving, nurturing, understanding and gentle, rather than being proud, condescending or being judgmental. So that when we interact with others, we do not hurt them or cause them suffering, but instead to have joy together in the love of God.

And the same should apply to our actions. If we have been very selfish up to now, and thinking only about ourselves, our wants and our desires, then it is truly the time for us to change. Let us have more love for one another, more concern and more attention. Let the gaze of our eyes and our minds not be concentrated just upon ourselves, but instead let them be upon those who are around us, especially those who are in need of our help.

May Almighty God help us to understand His ways and His Law more, for His Law is love, and He is Love Himself. May He help us that we may have more love in us, both for Himself, and for our brethren around us. Let us all die to our pride, to our desires and to our selfishness, and let us rise again in a new life filled with love, with compassion, with peace and the harmony that God had shown us, through His prophets and His Laws, and ultimately, through the ultimate sacrifice of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, on the cross. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 23 June 2015 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 7 : 6, 12-14

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Do not give what is holy to the dogs, or throw your pearls to the pigs : they might trample on them, and even turn on you and tear you to pieces.”

“So, do to others whatever you would that others do to you : there you have the Law and the Prophets. Enter through the narrow gate : for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many go that way. How narrow is the gate that leads to life, and how rough the road; few there are who find it.”

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Tuesday, 23 June 2015 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

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. 

They 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.

They who do not lend money at interest and refuse a bribe against the innocent. Do this, and you will soon be shaken.

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Tuesday, 23 June 2015 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Genesis 13 : 2, 5-18

Now Abram was very rich in flocks, silver and gold. Lot who went with Abram also had flocks, cattle and tents. The land was not sufficient to allow them to stay together, for their possessions were too great for them to live together.

A quarrel arose between the herdsmen of Abram’s flock and those of Lot. The Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at the time. Abram said to Lot, “Do not let there be a dispute between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and yours, since we are brothers! Is the whole land not there before you? Let us part company. If you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”

Lot looked up and saw the whole valley of the Jordan : how well it was watered! Before YHVH destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, this was like one of YHVH’s gardens, like the country of Egypt, on coming to Zoar. Lot chose for himself all the Jordan valley and journeyed eastward. In this way they separated from each other.

Abram settled in the country of Canaan while Lot lived among the towns of the plain and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the people of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against YHVH. YHVH said to Abram after Lot had left him, “Raise your eyes and look from where you are, towards the north, the south, the east and the west; all the land you see I will give to you and your descendants forever.”

“I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; if the grains of the dust can be counted, then your descendants may be counted. Come, travel through the length and breadth of the land, for it is to you that I am giving it.”

So Abram moved his tent and came to live by the oak of Mamre at Hebron. There he built an altar to YHVH.

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Tuesday, 16 June 2015 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we heard about how we ought to love in our lives. Should we love only those who also show love and care for us? Or should our love and care be extended to all the peoples around us without exception, including those who have hated and despised us? What is love really, and how do we express it then?

We ought to first understand what Christ had taught us through His disciples, and most importantly what He had shown by action to show us what love really is, for He is Love Himself. He showed us that love should be impartial, unconditional and selfless, and not the kind of love that we are often exposed to, love that is selfish, filled with desire and lust. This is worldly and selfish love that does not bring benefit to us.

When we expect our love to be reciprocated back to us, then this is where the root of many problems came from. A lot of conflict and disputes between families and members of families, and a lot of discontent and discord that happened between the people of God, can be traced back to how we in our selfishness were afraid and fearful that we would lose the love and the attention of others. We treasure that human friendship and approval, and we fear the moments when we are not loved by others around us.

And when this happens, we either become resentful on others, being jealous on the loving relationship that others have, and desiring it as our own, or otherwise we seek to capitalise on that relationship, resulting in disloyalty and lack of commitment, because we see how relationships are just assets and things to be possessed and manipulated, and once they have outlived their usefulness, we abandon them and cast them aside.

This is why we have seen a great increase in the occurrence of divorce, where married couples could not commit to their wedding commitment, and decided to disobey the Lord and His Law, by breaking the union which had existed between them through divorce, and therefore sinning against God. Divorce is sin, plain and straightforward, no matter how the world tried to argue against this fact. But this would have been preventable had they understood what love really is.

Love in reality is selfless, the selfless giving of oneself to another. And when in a married couple, love ought to be truly a selfless giving of each other to one another, so that in the couple is cultivated true love, where both of the couple, man and woman are bound by the indissoluble bonds of love. This is exactly what our Lord had shown us by His example, of having loved us all first even when we were still sinners.

St. Paul in his letter pointed out this fact, that God loves us so much that even when we are still sinners, He was willing to give up His life for us, so that we may have life in ourselves through His love. If He had not genuinely loved us, and wanted returns from us, it is unlikely that He would have died for our sake. After all, we mankind had shown unfaithfulness and untrustworthiness from the example of the Israelites, who continued again and again to defy the Lord and committed sins after sins.

But did the Lord hesitate to invest His time and attention, and ultimately His love and care to this rebellious people? No, He did not, and in fact, He offered Himself freely, and He even gave Himself for the sake of those who have rejected and persecuted Him, namely the chief priests, the teachers of the Law, the elders and the Pharisees, who had given Him so much trouble during His ministry.

Jesus Himself gave example by loving even His enemies, and indeed, He prayed for them, when He asked His Father not to hold their sins against them on the account of ignorance and blindness to the truth. Thus, He did not just preach with words only, but also with real action. When Jesus spoke about us having to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, He showed it Himself by using Himself as the prime example, so that we too may believe in Him and follow His examples.

Therefore, on this day, brothers and sisters, let us all reflect on this which we have just discussed. Do we really know and understand what love is? It is an important question for us to ask ourselves, if we are to continue to live faithfully as the children and servants of God. Truly, if we practice the same kind of love as what Jesus had shown us, all of us will have our lives transformed for the better. Thus, let us all pray that God will continue to love us, and show us the way to love ever more and ever better, that we may love Him and one another with true sincerity. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 16 June 2015 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 5 : 43-48

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “You have heard that it was said : Love your neighbour and do not do good to your enemy. But this I tell you : love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven. For He makes His sun rise on both the wicked and the good, and He gives rain to both the just and the unjust.”

“If you love those who love you, what is special about that? Do not even tax collectors do as much? And if you are friendly only to your friends, what is so exceptional about that? Do not even the pagans do as much? As for you, be righteous and perfect in the way your heavenly Father is righteous and perfect.”

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Tuesday, 16 June 2015 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 145 : 1-2, 5-6ab, 6c-7, 8-9a

Alleluia! Praise the Lord, my soul! I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to God while I live.

Blessed are they whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and all they contain.

The Lord is forever faithful. He gives justice to the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free.

The Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord straightens the bent. The Lord loves the virtuous, but He brings to ruin the way of the wicked. The Lord protects the stranger, sustains the widow and the orphan.

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Tuesday, 16 June 2015 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Corinthians 8 : 1-9

Now I want you to know about a gift of divine grace among the Churches of Macedonia. While they were so afflicted and persecuted, their joy overflowed and their extreme poverty turned into a wealth of generosity. According to their means – even beyond their means – they wanted to share in helping the saints.

They asked us for this favour spontaneously and with much insistence and, far beyond anything we expected, they put themselves at the disposal of the Lord and of us by the will of God. Accordingly, I urged Titus to complete among you this work of grace since he began it with you.

You excel in everything : in the gifts of faith, speech and knowledge; you feel concern for every cause and, besides, you are first in my heart. Excel also in this generous service. This is not a command; I make known to you the determination of others to check the sincerity of your fraternal concern. You know well the generosity of Christ Jesus, our Lord. Although He was rich, He made Himself poor to make you rich through His poverty.

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Tuesday, 9 June 2015 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Doctors of the Church)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the two phrases that we surely are familiar with, namely the salt of the earth and the light of the world. These two are the qualities that our Lord Jesus Christ described as those that are part of the virtues of the faithful ones.

All of us have been given our respective skills and talents, which differ from one to another person. Each of us were given unique abilities so that we may be able to use them to complement each other and help each other. Each of us have our own strengths and weaknesses. This is important to take note because many of us do not realise the gifts which had been given to us, or on the other hand, we just use them to satisfy our own needs and wants.

What is the meaning of salt of the earth and light of the world? Just as Jesus Himself had explained it to His disciples, it means that we have a duty and indeed responsibility, to use the gifts which had been given to us, for the sake of the Lord, in serving our community and helping each other in the larger community of the faithful in the Church and in the world at large.

And on top of that, we who have been baptised and received into the Church of God, and having been confirmed in faith gave received the Holy Spirit from God Himself, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit itself are plenty in form, and abundant in nature. If we who have received the Holy Spirit in us do not make use of the gifts in us, then indeed, we are like salt that has lost its saltiness and light that had been hidden under the table.

For salt and light have their uses, and each of them are used to add flavours and goodness to whatever they are used in. When there is blandness in the food, the salt gives it good taste and flavours, while when there is darkness, the light reveals things in the darkness otherwise not visible to our eyes. If salt is no longer salty then it is useless and it adds no flavour to the food, and if light is hidden, it does not help anyone who need it in the darkness, and thus they become useless.

Remember, brethren, that one commonly forgotten and overlooked form of sin, is the sin of ignorance, of omission and of the lack of action. We do not sin just because we do something wicked and obviously in direct opposition to God’s ways, but also when we see an opportunity to do something good, and when we are in position to help and contribute when there is someone who needs us and fail to do so.

Jesus said that at the Last Judgment, the righteous will be separated from the wicked and the condemned. Do we remember what Jesus rebuked the wicked ones with? He rebuked them for having ignored the plight of others around them, particularly that of the least and weakest in the society, the ones most hated and unloved. They had not shown love and compassion, and neither have they lifted up their hands to help. And thus they receive their just reward.

Today, we commemorate the memory of St. Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor of the Church. If we examine his life and work, we can see how this faithful servant of God had done so much good things for the benefit of many of the faithful, through his numerous writings and works that discussed and explained many tenets and teachings of the Church.

St. Ephrem used his writings and his other works to combat heresies in the Church and among the faithful. Through them, he explained the true faith in great clarity and depth, to bring the people who had fallen into darkness into realisation of their sins and mistakes, that they may repent and be saved. St. Ephrem had therefore done what God had asked us to do, and he was truly a genuine salt of the earth and light of the world.

Let us all be inspired by his examples and commit ourselves to an ever stronger faith to our God. May we all be more active in our faith and commit it through real actions, showing love for each other, so that we may truly become salt of the earth and light of the world. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 9 June 2015 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Doctors of the Church)

Matthew 5 : 13-16

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt has lost its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It has become useless. It can only be thrown away and people will trample on it.”

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a mountain cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and covers it; instead it is put on a lampstand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine before others, so that they may see the good you do and praise your Father in heaven.”