Tuesday

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Tuesday, 26 November 2024 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

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, 19 November 2024 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, it is clear that we are all reminded to repent from our many wickedness and sins, to stop our acts of disobedience towards God and all the things which had separated us from Him, all the things that had kept us from being able to commit ourselves thoroughly and wholeheartedly to His path. All of us are reminded that God has always been rich in mercy and generous in offering us His compassionate love and kindness, and all of us are truly precious to Him, being those whom He has always loved and cared for from the very beginning, and He has created us all with love and truly intends for us all to enjoy the fullness of His love and grace.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle, we heard of the words of the Apostle reminding the faithful people of God throughout the many prominent early churches that were spread then across Christendom of the words of the Lord that had been passed and revealed to him in the series of the revelations and visions he received while he was exiled to the Island of Patmos, many decades after the Lord’s Passion, suffering, death and Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven. The Lord showed St. John what happened to those who have not obeyed the Lord and followed His ways, those who have fallen into the path of wickedness and evil, and refused to listen to Him and turn towards the light of God. He also showed then what those who have been living righteously and worthily of the Lord will enjoy at the end of time.

Thus, St. John passed on the words of the Lord delivered through the visions that he had received to the faithful people of God across Christendom, reminding them and all of us of all that we are expected to do as God’s people, His disciples and followers. We must not be lukewarm in our faith and be ignorant of our calling and the missions which God has entrusted to us, reminding all of us that everything that we should be actively doing in our lives, in each and every one of our actions and interactions with one another. We must show love and compassion to our fellow brothers and sisters around us, to be the shining beacons of God’s light, hope and truth to everyone, so that everyone may know the Lord through our dedication and commitment, our every examples and inspiration in life.

Then, from our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke we heard of the famous story of the encounter between the Lord Jesus and Zaccheus the infamous tax collector, which I am sure that all of us are quite familiar with. At that occasion, as we heard from the Gospel, the Lord was visiting the place where Zaccheus lived in, and Zaccheus, being intrigued and wanting to meet the Lord, made the effort to go and climb up a tree to be able to see Him, as he was short in stature. And already here in that part, we see the first of Zaccheus’ good qualities, being the effort that he put into seeking the Lord, going out of his way to seek Him and to find Him, when many others could be less bothered to do the same, ignoring Him and even rejecting His message and refusing to believe in Him.

Then, not only that, but Zaccheus also pledged Himself to the Lord in a most public manner before everyone who were assembled there, pledging that he would undo whatever wicked things and deeds that he might have done in the past as a tax collector. One of the many reasons why tax collectors during the time of the Lord Jesus were often reviled, hated and ostracised was that they were themselves corrupt, putting heavier taxes on the people while pocketing some of those gains for their own selfish desires and ambitions. Zaccheus must have been doing the same and hence, he was mentioned as being quite notorious among the people. But the Lord did not care about all that, as what He truly saw in Zaccheus is the potential as well as the strong desire to seek Him, which Zaccheus committed firmly in his public confession of faith and desire to repent from his many sins.

Zaccheus showed us all that even the greatest of sinners may have a change of heart and repent from his or her many sins, provided that the sinner is willing to embrace God’s most generous and wonderful love and mercy, like Zaccheus had done. His public form of repentance and commitment, as well as the desire to follow the Lord is an inspiration for many of us that God truly loves us all and wants us all, His beloved children and people to come back to Him and to be reconciled and reunited with Him without any exception. No one is truly beyond God’s rich mercy and love, and we should keep this in mind as we continue to progress through this life. We must not forget that God loves each and every one of us and He does not discriminate us one from another. It is always us who made artificial and man-made categories and barriers separating us from other people.

We should begin with following the example of humility that Zaccheus had shown us all and also the realisation that we are all sinners, imperfect and flawed, needing God’s healing and mercy above all else. We cannot and should not think that we are better and superior than others, or that there are those who does not deserve God’s love and kindness. In fact, if we see around us that there are those who are bereft of love, compassion and kindness, we should lead the way in showing them the genuine love that our Lord Himself has shown to us. In each and every one of our actions, words and deeds, in our every efforts and works, in our every interactions, we should always show love, care and concern for everyone without prejudice, and strive to seek the Lord together, helping and supporting one another in this endeavour.

May the Lord, our ever loving and compassionate God, our patient and ever caring Father, continue to bless us all with His love and grace, and help us to open our hearts and minds to Him, to get rid of the pride and stubbornness which had prevented us to come towards His salvation. May His compassionate love and mercy embrace us all much as He Himself has embraced Zaccheus the penitent in the past. May God always be with us and may He continue to journey together with us as He has always done, in our every efforts and endeavours, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 19 November 2024 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

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.”

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Tuesday, 19 November 2024 : 33rd 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.

Those 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.

Those 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, 19 November 2024 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Revelations 3 : 1-6, 14-22

Write this to the Angel of the Church in Sardis, “Thus says He Who holds the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars : ‘I know your worth : you think you live but you are dead. Wake up and strengthen that which is not already dead. For I have found your works to be imperfect in the sight of My God.”

“‘Remember what you were taught; keep it and change your ways. If you do not repent I will come upon you like a thief at an hour you least expect. Yet, there are some left in Sardis who have not soiled their robes; these will come with Me, dressed in white, since they deserve it. The victor will be dressed in white and I will never erase his name from the book of life; instead, I will acknowledge it before My Father and His Angels.'”

“‘Let anyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches.'”

Write this to the Angel of the Church in Laodicea, “Thus says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of God’s creation : ‘I know your works : you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! You are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold so I will spit you out of My mouth.'”

“‘You think you are rich and have piled up so much that you need nothing, but you do not realise that you are wretched and to be pitied, poor, blind and naked. I advise you to buy from Me gold that has been tested by fire, so that you may be rich, and white clothes to wear so that your nakedness may not shame you, and ointment for your eyes that you may see. I reprimand and correct all those I love. Be earnest and change your ways.'”

“‘Look, I stand at the door and knock. If you hear My call and open the door, I will come in to you and have supper with you, and you with Me. I will let the victor sit with Me on My throne just as I was victorious and took My place with My Father on His throne. Let anyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches.'”

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Tuesday, 12 November 2024 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that we must always continue to live our lives well in the manner that the Lord has shown and taught us. We must always be righteous and good in all of our words, actions and deeds, so that the Lord will find us all to be worthy and just, worthy of the eternal life and true happiness that He has promised to each one of us. As Christians, it is expected that all of us should always be full of faith and zeal in living our lives, in each and every moments in them to be truly shining and worthy beacons of God’s light and grace. And if we are truly God’s people, His followers and disciples, then we should always live our lives with God’s teachings and truth at the forefront in our lives at all times.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to St. Titus, we heard of the words of St. Paul to his protege, who was one of the first bishops of the Church as the successors of the Apostles that they and all the other faithful people of God must always be good, virtuous and faithful to the Lord so that in all their daily living, each and every one of them, in their own respective capacities and parts of the community they were living in that they may become worthy bearers of Christ’s truth and Good News to everyone they encountered and interacted with. They have to be truly devoted to God through their faithful observance and living of the Lord’s Law and commandments, and by showing Christian charity and virtue in all the things that they say and do.

To be Christians, it is always important for all of us to be truly faithful to God, not just in appearances and formality, not just in words and proclamations, but also in all of our every actions and deeds, in our every good works and contributions, our every encounter with everyone around us, those whom we meet in our daily lives. As Christians, all of us ought to be good, worthy and righteous in all things, to strive to do what the Lord has called and commanded us all to do, to be truly devoted to Him in all things, doing our very best so that our whole lives may indeed be full of virtue and goodness, that through us, many more people will come to know the Lord and believe in Him, experiencing His love and grace, His kindness, compassion and mercy through our own loving actions, words and deeds.

Then, in our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples highlighting the fact and reality that we are all servants of the Lord, our Master and each and every one of us should always remember that we should only do what our Lord and Master has wanted and called us to do, and then at the same time, we should not be conceited and proud, thinking that we deserve more things or that we ought to have more just because of our actions, works and deeds, or end up demanding the Lord to reward us for whatever we have done in His Name, in our obedience and contributions to the Church and the works of salvation, our many missions and outreach to everyone around us.

It is a reminder for us that salvation in a grace from God for us, and we are saved by our faith in Him, which we make alive and genuine through our actions and works, our contributions and efforts in life. But we are not saved solely through our own efforts and works, as without true and genuine faith in God, those efforts and works are meaningless. Similarly, faith that is not made alive, real and manifest through active contributions, actions and genuine Christian virtues, efforts and works is also dead and meaningless. Hence, we are all reminded today that we must always put the Lord our God at the centre and as the focus of our whole lives and existence. Then, at the same time, we must also actively live our lives as Christians, in following the Lord ever more courageously and faithfully at all times, obeying Him in all the Law and commandments He had presented to us, and answering His call to us, that He made to each one of us.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Josaphat Kuntsevych, a faithful and holy servant of God, who as bishop of the Church was truly a courageous and dedicated servant of God, being martyred for his faith against all those who refused to listen to reason and embrace the true teachings of the Church and the unity of the Church against all the divisions that had brought about much harm to the Church and the faithful. St. Josaphat was one of the Eastern Orthodox bishops in Ruthenia, what is today part of Poland and Ukraine, where he was one of the leaders of the faithful people of God. Amidst the efforts of the time in that region to reconcile the divided Church and the Christian communities between those who are in communion to the Pope and those who have separated themselves from the communion of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, St. Josaphat rose to prominence in his efforts to bridge this gap.

St. Josaphat Kuntsevych was one of the bishops who accepted the agreements of reunion between the Churches, which was also known as the Union of Brest, about four centuries ago. He worked hard to bridge the differences between all those who supported and those who refused to embrace the efforts at reunification and reconciliation between the faithful members of the Body of Christ, the Church. But he still faced a lot of opposition and rejection from many of those who refused to listen to reason and truth, and in the end, he was martyred and suffered a terrible fate as those who opposed him and his efforts at reunion of the churches mobbed and attacked him, and brutally murdered him. Nonetheless, the inspiration and courageous examples of St. Josaphat Kuntsevych continues to inspire many people even to this day.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have discerned and discussed from the passages of the Sacred Scriptures and as we have heard from the life and inspiring examples of St. Josaphat Kuntsevych, let us all therefore be resolved to live a good and worthy life in the manner that God has called us to in each and every moments, opportunities and occasions throughout our lives. Let us all be the shining examples and role models for one another in faith in all things, and help one another to remain firmly faithful to the Lord, to be truly committed in actions and deeds, to be courageous despite all the challenges and difficulties, trials and hardships we may encounter in our journey in life. May God continue to bless us all, and may He empower us all to remain ever always in His loving presence, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 12 November 2024 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 17 : 7-10

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Who among you would say to your servant, coming in from the fields after plowing or tending sheep, ‘Go ahead and have your dinner?’ No, you tell him, ‘Prepare my dinner. Put on your apron, and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink afterwards.'”

“Do you thank this servant for doing what you told him to do? I do not think so. And therefore, when you have done all that you have been told to do, you should say, ‘We are no more than servants; we have only done our duty.'”

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Tuesday, 12 November 2024 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 36 : 3-4, 18 and 23, 27 and 29

For they will fade as any green herb and soon be gone like withered grass.

The Lord watches over the lives of the upright; forever will their inheritance abide. The Lord is the One Who makes people stand, He gives firmness to those He likes.

Do good and shun evil, so that you will live secure forever. The righteous will possess the land; they will make it their home forever.

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Tuesday, 12 November 2024 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Titus 2 : 1-8, 11-14

Let your words strengthen sound doctrine. Tell the older men to be sober, serious, wise, sound in faith, love and perseverance. The older women in like manner must behave as befits holy women, not given to gossiping or drinking wine, but as good counsellors, able to teach younger women to love their husbands and children, to be judicious and chaste, to take care of their households, to be kind and submissive to their husbands, lest our faith be attacked.

Encourage the young men to be self-controlled. Set them an example by your own way of doing. Let your teaching be earnest and sincere, and your preaching beyond reproach. Then your opponents will feel ashamed and will have nothing to criticise.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, teaching us to reject an irreligious way of life and worldly greed, and to live in this world as responsible persons, upright and serving God, while we await our blessed hope – the glorious manifestation of our great God and Saviour Christ Jesus. He gave Himself for us, to redeem us from every evil and to purify a people He wanted to be His own and dedicated to what is good.

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Tuesday, 5 November 2024 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all presented with the important reminder for all of us not to allow ourselves to be swayed by all the false leads and temptations of this world which may bring us into the wrong paths and directions in life, as all those things may hinder us from truly being able to embrace God’s path wholeheartedly and prevent us from accepting Him as our Lord and Saviour, from following the path that He has shown us and from coming close to the salvation which He has generously provided, granted and reassured to us all these while. Our inability to detach ourselves from the various worldly attachments and distractions is a major reason for us to keep falling into the path of sin.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city and region of Philippi in what is today part of Greece, we heard of the Apostle reminding the people of God there to be faithful and obedient to God in the same manner as how Christ has been obedient to the will of His heavenly Father, and just as how He has shown us what it truly means to be a people whom God had called and chosen. The Lord showed us all of these through His willing acceptance of the role that He has been entrusted with by His Father, that is to become the Mediator of a New Covenant between God and mankind, and to be the One through Whom all of us mankind are to be saved and liberated from the dominion of sin and evil.

First of all, we have to understand that we have suffered sin and its consequences in the first place because of our refusal to obey the Lord and as we had preferred to follow the whim of our own desires and worldly ambitions, all of which had led us into this path of rebellion and disobedience, separating and sundering us away from the Lord, from His love and grace. had made us to disobey the Lord and His commandments, leading us to be corrupted by sin, and hence, defiled and corrupted as we are, we can no longer stay in the presence of the Lord, He Who is all Holy and perfect, and in Whose Presence sin and corruption of the world cannot exist or stand. That is why, by our own conscious choice to abandon God and to embrace the path of sin, we have ended up being separated and sundered away from God’s love and grace. Yet, the Lord has never given up on us, and He has given us none other than His own Son, so that if we desire knowledge, glory and power of the Lord that led us to sin, by His selfless giving and show of perfect obedience, He may lead us all back to Himself.

Through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Lord has made available to us the sure path towards His salvation and eternal grace, opening the doors of His rich and most generous mercy, love and compassion, calling on all of us to come back to Him and to follow the examples showed by His Son, to be obedient and humble in our ways, so that through our humility and obedience, we may finally be freed from the dominion of sin, evil and darkness around us. God has always loved us all and He has always sought for the reconciliation between us and Himself. This is why we must not resist anymore or be ignorant of the efforts that He has made to bring us back to His loving Presence. He wants us to walk down this path of forgiveness and reconciliation, and if we continue to disobey and disregard His love, then in the end, we will regret our course of action.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, which was taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke, we heard the parable that the Lord Jesus used to teach the people, in which the story of how many of the people that a man had invited to come to his banquet refused to come and attend the banquet due to their various excuses and reasons, as they used those excuses to tell the envoy and messengers the host sent out that they could not come to the banquet despite having been invited to come to it. Essentially, each one of them were putting their own personal reasons and actions, their own attachments above the rich and wonderful banquet that they had been invited to attend, which they did not have to pay for at all, not even for a single cent.

We heard then how the host was furious at the rejection and refusals shown by those invited guests, and he told his servants to go out to the streets and to invite all those who were there to his banquet, to gather everyone to come to his table where he would provide for them rich and wonderful food and drink. This is in fact a metaphor for our own situation, as we all have been invited to God’s holy Presence, to come together and to enjoy the glorious inheritance that He has prepared for all of us. But many of us had disregarded His calling and generous offer, much like those ungrateful and wicked invited guests that had snubbed the host and refused to come to the banquet to attend to their own personal ambitions and things.

Therefore, it is a reminder fo all of us that if we put our own worldly ambitions and desires, our attachments to worldly matters and pursuits, all these above that of obeying God’s Law and commandments, and if we allow our many distractions and temptations present around us to lead us away from the Lord and His path towards salvation and eternal life, then we shall share in the fate of all those who have refused to attend the banquet that they had been generously invited into. Those who have fallen into Hell and damnation are those who have consciously refused the Lord and rejected His generous offer of love and mercy, and it is not God Who condemns us and strikes us down, but rather, our own wickedness and sins, and our own stubborn attitude, our rebelliousness and disobedience are what will condemn us into an eternity of darkness and destruction.

Let us all therefore abandon this prideful and wicked attitudes we have, be more humble and welcoming towards the Lord and His generous love. Let us turn away from our sins and evils, and embrace wholeheartedly the love of God, the kindness, compassion and mercy which He has generously poured down upon us. Let us remember the love of God shown to us through His beloved Son, His loving sacrifice on the Cross, which He has freely and willingly given to us, so that through Him, we may all have a part in the eternal and most joyful banquet of Heaven, which we shall all partake, and we will all be sharing in the love and wonders of the Lord forever. May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to empower us to live ever more faithfully in His Presence, now and forevermore. Amen.